It’s the time of the year to jazz up everything we love for the holidays! If you’re serving salad for the family or a festive gathering, this is a spectacular and delicious way to serve it up! These parmesan cups (also called Frico cups) are so incredibly easy to make. All you need is a sheet pan and two types of cheeses. (The parmesan is for flavor and the jack cheese is what glues or holds the cheese together.) The tricky part is the short window of time you have in lifting the parmesan rounds from the sheet pan to the muffin tin. Once you drape the cheese over the bottom of the tin, it will set up and harden pretty quickly. You want the cheese rounds to be golden and bubbly in the oven, but take care not to burn the cheese. Once you’ve mastered the technique, you will have created a gorgeous edible cup for any salad you like. Let the holidays begin!
fresh ground pepper
Classic Lasagne with Bechamel
Want to really elevate your lasagne? Adding an additional layer of Béchamel Sauce will make this dinner favorite much creamier, richer and so very satisfying. It’s simply a melt in your mouth meal! If you make it with my Momma’s meat sauce, you are guaranteed to serve the best-tasting lasagne ever. Might I suggest you make two? One for now and one to freeze for later. You’ll thank me!
Easter Deviled Eggs
They should be called “Angel” eggs because it seems as though just about everyone loves them. In fact, Deviled eggs are generally the first things to be gobbled up at a gathering like Easter Brunch. There are hundreds of variations on the popular party food that Julia Child simply called Stuffed Eggs. Can you just hear her, reading a line from her own book, Julia Child’s Menu Cookbook?
“I do think eggs look most attractive and professional when filled with a pastry bag and cannelated tube!”
Once I found out what the heck “cannelated” meant (fluted or grooved) I agreed with her! So, just in case you have some extra hard boiled eggs in the refrigerator after Easter egg dyeing this week, or you are hosting a get-together tomorrow, let me share one of my favorite recipes for Deviled Eggs. I found it in one of my oldest cookbooks called Quantity Cookery from 1922. I didn’t think you’d appreciate a recipe, however, that calls for 96 halves (or 6 pounds) of hard boiled eggs. I got the recipe down to a manageable size and started with an egg yolk and mayonnaise base. Softened butter and cream cheese add a rich, smooth texture while spicy mustard, prepared horseradish and Worcestershire sauce all add the kick. In fact, many Deviled eggs recipes I came across had dashes and splashes of flavor like lemon juice and hot sauces added to the base, which just goes to show that when it comes to Stuffed Eggs, the Deviling is in the details. Happy Easter and happy brunching!
Eggplant Pattie Casserole
Today is a fun day for Italians and those who love Italian cuisine and culture! The Italian Association of Arizona is hosting the first-ever Italian Pizza & Wine Festival at Scottsdale City Hall. Even though I wrote my own Italian cookbook, I decided on a recipe for Eggplant Pattie Casserole from an extraordinary cookbook to mark this fun foodie festival! The Modern Family Cookbook is a 900 page compilation of three daily menus for a family of five for an entire year. It was written by a woman named Meta Given who began writing recipes at age 10. As a famed home economist, and food editor for the Chicago Tribune, Given made certain that with each recipe, your family would be well-nourished since all dishes were built around a nutritious dietary plan. But the recipe I really loved is the Eggplant Pattie Casserole. Make or buy your favorite meat or marinara sauce, cook up some pasta and try it for a hearty family meal. Thanks, Italian Association for make today delizioso!
Chicken Scaloppine ala Marsalis
Chicken Scaloppine ala Marsalis
We’re always looking for fool-proof dishes that we can count on for a delicious and memorable meal. Have I got just the dish for you! It’s my Momma’s recipe for a very quick and easy Chicken Scaloppine. This is the dish that put her famous restaurant in Lake Tahoe on the map and once you taste it you’ll see why. At that time, back in 1955, she was preparing this dish with veal, but we have found that slices of chicken breast pounded into tender medallions are as flavorful as the veal. I’m so excited to share Momma’s Scaloppine with you because this is one of the gourmet dishes that you pay a lot of money for at Italian restaurants, and now you can make it at home anytime you want! It really only takes about five minutes to make once you have all of your items prepped, which is an absolute must for this recipe because it will sauté up so quickly. This was the first recipe we chose when creating our first cookbook, Momma & Me & You, and it was the first time Momma ever shared her recipe from D’Atri’s Italian Restaurant in Lake Tahoe. Buon Appetito!
Watch my How To Video for Chicken Scaloppine here!
