Blue Monday ~ Hearts

There are hearts everywhere you look~ We picked these up at the spit on Boston's south shore. That's right...

These are God's rocks.

Happy Valentines Day!

Don't forget to check in at Smiling Sally for more blues.
Y'all enjoy~
Sandi

Novel Food ~ The Magic City!

Lisa ChampaignTaste and Simona Briciole are hosting their Novel Food event. I have entered before with All of These Posts. Now it is time to choose another Novel.

Of course, I have decided to feature another of Fannie Flaggs novels. Her latest Novel is 'I Still Dream About You'. It is typical of her tales of Southern life and the fabulous characters she creates. This time it is set in the 'Magic City' ~ also known as my hometown of Birmingham. If you haven't read it... it is a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

'The Club' sits high above the city and has always been known as a place to see and to be seen. It is just the kind of place that Maggie Fortenberry, the ex-Miss Alabama in Fannie's novel, would love to be.

My recipe is a duplication of a dessert we had there just last night.
Raspberry Mousse Brownie
Brownie
1 2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) Nestlé Chocolatier Dark Chocolate Morsels, divided
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup (2/3 stick) butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/3 cup frozen raspberries, drained, mashed
Raspberry Mousse
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 to 7 drops red food coloring (optional)
1/4 cup frozen raspberries, drained, mashed
1/3 cup whipping cream
For Brownie
Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease 9-inch-square baking pan.
Microwave 1 cup chocolate morsels in small, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on high (100%) power for 45 seconds; stir. Morsels may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until smooth; cool to room temperature.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl. Beat granulated sugar, butter and vanilla extract in medium mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs; beat until light and fluffy. Beat in melted chocolate. Stir in flour mixture until blended. Stir in mashed raspberries. Spread into prepared baking pan.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out slightly sticky. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.
For Raspberry Mousse
Chop remaining morsels into roughly 1/4-inch pieces. Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and food coloring, if desired, in medium mixer bowl until creamy. Fold in mashed raspberries and chopped chocolate morsels.
Beat cream in small mixer bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold into raspberry cream cheese mixture until blended. Spread mousse over cooled brownie. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Cut into bars.
Recipe from Cuisinart.com

Even now... I still dream about you~

Y'all enjoy!
Sandi

Photohunt ~ Education

The photohunt for this week is 'education'Does Cooking School in Italy count towards my education? I Think So!
Happy huntng y'all~
Sandi

Friday's Favorites ~ Snow!

One of the things I love about Alabama is the weather. Not so much July and August when it is hotter than Fried Green Tomatoes fresh out of the grease. Not so much April when everything is covered with yellow pollen.

I do love January... when we get a dusting of snow that lasts for 24 hours~ then is gone.

What's not to love about that?

What is your favorite today?
Y'all join in the linky party~

Sandi

Blue Monday ~ LOVE

I saw this at Three Pixy Lane and decided it was a fun idea. How many ways can you spell LOVE?

I kicked mine up a notch with a super cute boot, a pretty Blue Plate for my blue monday friends,

a handy kitchen tool, and a curly e (work with me on that one y'all!)

Now . . . how many of you are up to the Challenge? Let's see how many ways we can spell L.O.V.E

between now and valentine's day.

Don't forget to check in at Smiling Sally for more blues and I am also linking up at Between Naps on the Porch.
Love y'all~
Sandi

My friend Rhoda who is Southern Hositality is having a huge moving sale! Check out her blog if you are in the area!

Photohunt ~ Fashion

The photohunt for this week is 'fashion'

When we were in Italy, I got a little carried away taking pictures of the fashionable shoes.Even shoes with vespa'sItalians take their shoes seriously!and of course so did we... Happy huntng y'all~
Sandi

Friday's Favorites ~ Wear Red!

Today is the American Heart Associations Wear Red Day. It is a National effort to raise awareness about Heart Disease in Women.I'll be wearing my favorite red apron in the kitchen~

So ~ Let's all show some Red!

Y'all join in the linky party~

Sandi

Pomodori e Vino ~ Braised Fennel

Fennel has always been my 'most' favorite. Well... the truth? It's been my favorite since Ive been old enough to know what it was. Marcella describes Finocchio as related to anise, but with a cool, mild aroma. I love it raw in a fresh salad, on pizza, or roasted with olive oil.

This is Marcella's rendition of Braised Fennel with olive oil. The fennel stalk is sliced and then cooked in water and olive oil. Turn the slices until it becomes lightly browned. When done, the fennel will be tender and the liquid is gone.

Beautiful!

Remember to follow us along daily on Facebook or on the Pomodori e Vino Blog ...
Ciao Y'all,
Sandi

Cooking Light ~Heart Healty Red Food

Our Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club had become a little more exciting this month with the edition of 2 new bloggers. I am super excited that my friend Jerry has decided to join in from Canada. He is an adventurous cook and a brilliant writer. We are both a part of the Pomodori e Vino group and are cooking our way through Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Italian Cooking. Roz's blog is La Bella Vita and I 'm sure that she is also going to offer a nice variety to our Cooking Light Supper Cub.

We have fun planning our menues from month to month. This month our 'theme' is Red Heart Healthy~ Red Food. I found my Cooking Light Recipe with red onions and the bright flavor of mint. I couldn't resist a little taste of spring.

Spanish Salad with Fennel, Red Onions and Mint
2 cups thinly sliced red onion
3 large navel oranges
3 cups thinly sliced fennel bulb
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
3 Tbs plain fat-free yogurt
2 Tbs frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 Tbs red wine vinegar
1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted and crushed
4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Place thinly sliced red onion in a medium bowl; cover with ice water, and soak 15 minutes. Drain well.
Carefully remove rind and white pithy part of rind from oranges; discard rind and pith. Cut each orange in half vertically; remove white pithy core portion, and discard. Cut oranges crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices, reserving about 1/3 cup juice for dressing.

Layer red onion, thinly sliced fennel, and orange evenly in a bowl or on a platter, and sprinkle with fresh mint leaves. Combine reserved juice, plain fat-free yogurt, juice concentrate, and remaining ingredients in a small bowl, and stir with a whisk to combine. Drizzle evenly over salad; serve immediatelyI served it last week with a nice grilled salmon fillet... making this one Heart Healthy meal!


Now let's see what everyone else has brought for our Red Food Red Heart Virtual Supper Club~~
Jamie is bringing the appetizer plate of Bruschetta with Warm Tomatoes
Val has picked red meat and red potatoes with a Bourbon Brown Sugar Flank Steak and Potatoes (Yum!)
MaryAnn has a salad with Red Radish and Radicchio with a Warm Walnut Viniagrette.
Jerry is bringing a vegetable of Roasted Sweet and Sour Beats with Carrots and Parsnips (yum-yum!)
Roz is in charge of desserts and she has a Almond Jelly Roll with Rasperry filling
Don't forget, that y'all are welcome to join in our virtual supper with the blog hop!

Y'all enjoy~

Sandi

Blue Monday

This is a happy blue monday~ I finally found someone to dye the wedding shoes BLUE!

The rinestone shoe clips belonged to my grandmother. How special will that be? Gekie would be thrilled to know that she is a part of Brooke's wedding... along with her ring ( Click HERE for that story )!
Something Old, Something Borrowed, Something Blue . . .

The New Dress has been ordered. 8 weeks to go!

Don't forget to check in at Smiling Sally for more blues.
y'all enjoy~
Sandi

Photohunt ~ Standing

The photohunt for this week is 'standing' Which is what you do when you are riding the tube in London.
Cheers y'all~
Sandi

Friday's Favorites ~Eggplant Parmigiano

It's friday!
Time to share all of our favorites.

Yesterday I posted Marcella Hazan's simple recipe for fried eggplant. I quickly turned that into my favorite... eggplant parmigiano. This is a simple No Recipe recipe from my 'Long & Blond Limoncello' niece. It is all about the freshness of the ingredients and the simplicity of layering the stacks. First a thin layer of fresh tomato sauce, a thin slice of fried eggplant, a layer of fresh mozzarella, fresh basil leaves, and then repeat. Bake until the mozzarella cheese is melted. Top with fresh parmigiano cheese.

A bite of Italy!

So~ now what is your favorite today?
Y'all join in~

Sandi

Pomodori e Vino ~ Eggplant

It is actually my partner Jan's turn to post this week for Pomodori e Vino. . . But I saw some beautiful thin Italian eggplant in the produce department and decided to join in the fun.

I followed Marcella's instructions on thinly slicing the eggplant and laying it in a colander with salt. This will draw out the bitter taste and any excess liquid.The dried eggplant is then lightly floured...and fried in hot vegetable oil (we like ours crispy!) If a southern cook knows anything... it is how to fry!

Come back tomorrow on our friday's favorite linky party to see what I did with these fried eggplant.

Remember to follow us along daily on Facebook or on the Pomodori e Vino Blog ...
Ciao Y'all,
Sandi

Blue Monday~fun in the Kitchen!

I had a REAL treat this weekend.
My son came home to cook for us. He has been working at Boondocks in Pell City and is a seafood expert! He's on a first name basis with the seafood guys at whole foods. He decided on the freshest salmon which was a wild caught Atlantic Salmon. He got a huge fillet and cut it himself.

It was fun to sit back and let him take over the kitchen. He made a Teriyaki Glazed Salmon with Grilled Pineapple and Orange Zested Asparagus on a bed of creamy polenta.

This guy can cook! ~The sad part is that his knives look better than mine.

I wonder if he'll notice if that Henckel knife ends up in my drawer? ;-)

I was the 'Lou' Chef~ which means I get to sit back with a glass of wine. . . and enjoy every moment!

Isn't life just precious?

Don't forget to check in at Smiling Sally for more Monday blues.
y'all enjoy~
Sandi

Pomodori e Vino ~ Cauliflower with Parmigiano

The star in Fried Cauliflower with Parmesan Cheese Batter is the tender and flavorful crust. Real Parmigiano- Reggiano cheese makes the perfect batter because it melts without the stringyness of most cheeses. The flavor is so unique~ and of course brings a smile to my face as I remember our tour at the cheese factory last may near Bologna. Here's the link to that favorite trip! We stood between the walls of maturing Parmigiano-Reggiano, as the wheels wait for the day to crack them open. This is a beautiful cheese with a nutty, salty flavor all it's own... that I must say, bears NO resemblance to the stuff in the green shaker!
The batter for these fried cauliflower is a mixture of water and beaten egg with grated parmigiano and flour. The cauliflower is first cooked in a large pot of water and cooled. Once cooled, break the cauliflower in to bite-sized florets. These are dipped in the egg batter and fried in vegetable oil until golden brown. Sprinkle with salt and serve at once.
These are wonderful little bite-sized pieces that are filled with the flavor of fresh Parmigiano.
Remember to follow us along daily on Facebook or on the Pomodori e Vino Blog ...
Ciao Y'all,
Sandi