Tag: parmesan princess food blog


Dec
2016

Apple Butter & Pecan Spiced Cupcakes!

categories: Desserts, Fun for Kids, Party Time, Recipes

Apple Butter is probably the most underrated…condiment? Spread? Jam? Always refreshingly delicious, the sweet spread pairs well with flavors of the season-spiced- which is the ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves combo. Add some sweet butter toffee pecans and you’ve create quite possible the best dessert ever!

Enjoy these delicious cupcakes …

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Ingredients:
1 white cake mix- or your favorite vanilla cake base mix (follow instructions, mixed) plus:
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
2 tbsp butter toffee pecans, crushed

Apple Butter Frosting
2 cups powdered sugar + more if needed
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup apple butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Butter Toffee Pecan for topping

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Prepare cake mix according to package and add spices to mixture.
Bake 18-22 minutes until a toothpick is clean when inserted into the middle of the cupcake.
Frosting:
In mixing bowl beat together butter and sugar until smooth.
Add Apple Butter and vanilla and incorporate.
Frost cool cupcakes.

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Enjoy!
Ciao!


May
2016

Corn & Chicken Chowder!

categories: Dinner, Recipes, Soup

Most of the time my menus are planned around the weather. Chilly, rainy Spring days call for a warm and comforting dinner.

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The days activities determine the intricacy and time commitment of the prep. There is nothing wrong with taking a few shortcuts, like buying a rotisserie chicken, for example. Hey, we are cooking at home, the number one step towards a healthier lifestyle. It is possible to cook delicious meals for the family. It is impossible to add time to our day.

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Sweet corn has just started popping up in my local grocery stores- really early I know, but I have ben totally in the mood, especially after the 78 degree summer teaser days we have had recently. Many of my favorite dishes require fresh frozen or sweet corn cut off the cob. I am a huge salty sweet fan, so anytime corn is roasted with garlic, butter, and salty spices, I cannot get enough. My latest find is a dry sriracha seasoning. I’ve been sprinkling it on everything!

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A corn chowder is a perfect example of this mix of flavors. Comforting, with just enough kick to be different, this recipe is a family favorite and my kid’s eat seconds!
Here is the recipe…

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Corn & Chicken Chowder
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. butter
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp. flour
1-1/2 lbs. chicken breast, roasted (or rotisserie chicken breast shredded)
6 cups chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
2 – 10 oz. bag frozen corn or 6 ears of corn cut off the cob
1 14 oz. can cream style corn
salt/pepper to taste
chopped green onions /parsley for garnish
Optional- 3 tbsp. sriracha, dried sriracha, cayenne pepper to taste

Directions:

Melt butter in a soup pot.
Add onions and cook until softened.
Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
Stir in flour until thickens.
Whisk in chicken stock bring to a boil and simmer 15-20 minutes.
Add chicken and corn and cook low to medium heat 10 minutes.
Ladle into bowls and top with garnish.

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Enjoy!
Ciao!


Apr
2016

Moroccan Beef and Lentils!

categories: 20 Minutes or Less, Dinner, Healthy Living, Learn From An Expert, Recipes

High protein low carbs…because it is almost bathing suit season and seriously delish! Moroccan flavors literally spice up ingredients like vegetables, crushed tomatoes, ground beef, and lentils. You can easily create a sliding heat scale by adding more or less cayenne pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.

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I was introduced to these flavors and can’t stop. Lately, I have been incorporating them into quick and easy dinners that take the meal to the next level.

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I cooked this dish in a pan and simmered/softened the lentils in a medium saucepan. Start to finish about 20 minutes -my lentils did cook fast- prep to table. The colors and age of lentils definitely effect their cooking time.
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The key to this dish is great quality meat and I was lucky enough to have some ground beef from Big Horn Ranch . Big Horn Ranch offers a meat CSA!

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Grass fed, natural meat delivered right to your door. Farmer Mike Wright is a grass expert as well as a certified nutrient management consultant. Get to know where your meat comes from, what your meat eats, and what meat from natural sources tastes like… Check it out!

I love getting mail…especially food mail, with hand written notes and instructions! Ha!

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Enough about the beautiful beef, let’s cook it up!

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Here is the recipe…

 

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Moroccan Beef and Lentils
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tiny onion or 1/2small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lb. ground beef
1 cup dry lentils
2 cups water
1 tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 lemon, squeeze
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
red pepper flakes (garnish)
parsley or cilantro (garnish)
salt/pepper

Tahini Sauce
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 tsp. tahini
1 garlic clove, crushed
salt/pepper to taste

Directions:
Rinse lentils and pick out any sediment, skins, or rocks.
Add lentils and 2 cups water to a saucepan and cook on medium heat approx. 20 minutes until lentils soften. (get to a simmer with little bubbles and keep there never boiling or creating rapid bubbling.
Cook beef in a pan until browned. If there is fat drain, remove meat and put in a bowl.
Drain lentils.
Add olive oil onion and garlic to the beef pan.
Cook until softened and add beef, lentils, and spices.
Remove from heat, plate, and top with tahini sauce, parsley, red pepper flakes.
Serve with a roasted vegetable.

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Enjoy!
Ciao!


Feb
2016

Peanut Butter Almond Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies!

categories: Desserts, Recipes

If you close your eyes, these cookies taste like the best peanut butter cookies ever…

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But they are chocolate chip?? Yes, the almond cream and peanut butter frosting do all of the work! In the past, I have tried to make homemade almond cream to use as a spread on biscuits and muffins like this one Almond Cream by Martha Stewart, but this time I used the Sicilian Almond Cream from the Italian World at Oil & Vinegar . Save yourself some time because the homemade version will never top the Sicilian version ; ) This frosting is a super sweet! Peanut butter and chocolate are my sweet tooth’s favorites, but the almond cream adds a subtle sophistication I could totally get used to.

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One of our new faves for sure. Here is the recipe…

Peanut Butter & Almond Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies
(makes 3 dozen 2 inch cookies)

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds

For Frosting:
4 tbsp. almond cream
2 tbsp. powdered sugar
2 tbsp. peanut butter
1 tbsp.+ almond milk until desired consistency

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Using a mixer, cream butter and sugar.
Add eggs, baking soda, salt, and vanilla and mix on low until incorporated.
Slowly add in flour until dough forms.
Mix in chocolate chips and almonds with a wooden spoon. Mix well so each scoop contains chips and almonds.
Drop by teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.
Bake 9-12 minutes until golden.
Let cookies cool and frost. I used a spatula and a knife to create a striped pattern!

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Enjoy!
Ciao!


Dec
2015

Bakn!

categories: Around Pittsburgh, Restaurant Review

The staff t-shirts actually say “I like pork butts and I cannot lie.” How fun is that? Super cool and totally trendy, I still haven’t figured out if the restaurant called Bakn in Carnegie, PA is a diner or a gastropub? I entered with an expectation for bacon overdone-ness. Bacon on everything, in everything, and of course the topping of choice. Although this is somewhat the case, you can definitely eat your bacon on the side if you wish.

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Serving as right now’s hot spot for revitalization, Carnegie is finding “new” from food to fashion. From the retail store of A. Ward’s Cheescakes, my favorite cheesecake ever, Fluhme GlamBar, which sounds like a princess’s dream, and every little cute boutique and coffee shop in between, Carnegie is movin’ on up!  Once a main street lined with empty store fronts, the town’s parking meters come at a premium. And now there’s a fresh, hip restaurant called Bakn…

Bakn has a bar. Check. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect! With hours 8am-10pm Tuesday through Saturday and Sunday 8am-9pm, you can get your breakfast for dinner, dinner for breakfast, and everything in between. I started with a Bakn Bloody Mary which contained house Bakn-Infused vodka, spicy bloody mary mix, a pickle, a hot pepper, and peppered bacon.
Absolutely delicious, I tasted a bit of horseradish in mine. Not sure if this was a bartending preference or what, but I loved it.

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The Freshly Squeezed OJ is a must try along with the cocktails made with the OJ like Bakn’s Beermosa, Mimosa, Brunch Punch, or the 376 Standstill! Ha!

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On to the menu…


Mostly breakfast-inspired, the menu ranges from signature eggs and omelet items to burgers. Being a pork belly girl, what caught my eye were the pork belly options- tacos, cuban, and a reuben. Since I was dining during brunch, I ordered for breakfast, the Breakfast Sandwich #1 Fried Egg, Peppered Bakn, Jarlsberg Cheese, Oven Roasted Tomato, Arugula, and Baknaise on Sourdough and for lunch, the Pork Belly Reuben.

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The Bakn Flight was a perfect appetizer, a sampling of all five house bacon flavors of the day- Applewood Smoked, Maple, Boar, Peppered, and Cajun. The Breakfast Sandwich #1 was yummy! The creamy Jarlsberg and fresh sourdough made it! The pork belly Reuben did not disappoint. The pork belly was juicy with a pleasant sauerkraut, nothing overpowering. Baknaise is exactly what you think a bacon mayonnaise would taste like, a pairing light enough to love on probably anything!
I will go back to try the many different versions of pancakes and waffles with and without bacon!
We are so lucky to have local “foodpreneurs” dreaming, making it happen, taking the jump. Thank you! Pittsburghers are loving the dining diversity, the food, the fun!
Ciao!

Bakn
335 East Main St.
Carnegie, PA 15106
412-275-3637


Oct
2015

A. Ward’s Cheesecakes Opens Retail in Carnegie, PA: A Bakery Paying It Forward!

categories: Recipes

I thought the story was the opening of the delicious commercial cheesecake supplier A. Ward’s Cheesecakes’ retail space, and we will totally get to that because it is awesome, but the real story is the spirit and the heart behind the cheesecake company’s owners, Jason Black and Alonzo Ward. Always giving and helping, Black and Ward have set a new standard for community outreach and small business growth. I realized their big hearts personally. When friends of ours (strangers to them) were in need and the bakery went above and beyond to help. From not wanting to steal business from another town’s bakery to helping other bakeries grow, their story gives hope that with honesty, passion, and love, a small suburban bakery will thrive. You want to buy from A. Ward’s Cheesecakes because the product is exceptional, but even more because you want to support Black and Ward.

My favorite is the limoncello cheesecake!
My favorite is the limoncello cheesecake!

Previously an order only, commercial cheesecake supplier available at Pittsburgh restaurants such as Penn Brewery, Stoke’s Grill, Luke Wholey’s Wild Alaskan Grille, and Penn Ave Fish Company, Black and Ward listened to the citizens in the community of Carnegie, PA,  and are giving the town a retail bakery…with a little help from their friends.

The entrance is Williams Way parallel to Carnegie's Main Street!
The entrance is Williams Way parallel to Carnegie’s Main Street!

A. Ward’s Cheesecakes retail location offers made to order fresh cheesecakes and now the pages of Black’s grandma’s recipe book also adorn the cases with cookies and candy. Black’s childhood favorite Cajun pistachio toffee is a must try! I ate the entire bag in the car on the way home!

Ladyfingers, scones, carrot cake muffins! Order a dozen Cinnamon Pecan Tight Bunns for your holiday company!

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The bakery will also carry a few outside products, too, like made to order birthday and party cakes from L.A. Sweets in Washington, PA. and exotic jerky sticks by Buffalo Bob. Coming soon to the bakery’s menu are Cuban meat pies!

I heard a resounding theme while discussing the cheesecake company’s partnerships, “They helped us so we are helping them.” It’s paying it forward, it’s rare, and look out Pittsburgh because it’s contagious!
Ciao!

A.Ward’s Cheesecakes
35 Williams Way
Carnegie, PA 15106
412-589-2543

Monday-Friday 6am-2pm
http://m.awardscheesecakes.com


Sep
2015

Fried Heirloom Tomatoes!

categories: 20 Minutes or Less, Dinner, Healthy Living, Healthy Snacks, Homemade Italian, Lunch, Recipes, Sides

Traditional Southern fried green tomatoes are actually tart, unripened red tomatoes, breaded and fried in oil. Their firmness makes them perfect for frying! I was given some gorgeous, solid heirloom tomatoes that were so sweet, not mushy at all, so I decided to fry them for a sweeter version.  Of course topping them with parmesan cheese and fresh basil for a totally perfect mix of flavors!
Heirloom tomatoes are the best. Passed down from generation to generation, heirlooms’ taste will far exceed any tomato you find at the grocery store. Found in an array of colors, they all taste a bit different.

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I made a Caprese salad last night using really ripened heirlooms. I’m not sure which ones tasted better yellow, orange, red/green striped, brown? They are all amazingly delicious!
Ok, back to frying them. So the trick is to use firm tomatoes, and fry them in a hot pan. This way the outside “crust” will be nice and crunchy.

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Fried Heirloom Tomatoes
Ingredients:
2 firm heirloom tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 cup flour
1/2 tbsp. dried basil
1/2 tbsp. dried rosemary
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
2 eggs, whisked
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
3 tbsp. olive oil
salt/pepper
fresh grated parmesan cheese
fresh basil

Directions:

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Add olive oil to pan and heat on high.

Mix flour, basil, rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder in a bowl.

Whisk eggs in a second bowl.

Add Panko breadcrumbs to a third bowl.

Prepare tomatoes by lightly salting slices, coating in flour, dipping in egg, and covering in breadcrumbs.

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Add slices to pan, fry until golden brown on first side, then flip.

Remove slices, let oil absorb on a paper towel covered plate.

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Top with fresh grated parmesan cheese, fresh basil, and serve!

Enjoy!
Ciao!