Octopiggy !!!! Land sea and some Farfalle!!!!

You're probably thinking, “this is one weird recipe”. No - calamari and sausage go great together. This recipe is actually one of the most requested dishes at my restaurant, especially in winter. It is very filling and tends to be a whole meal. Me, you, this pasta, some crusty bread ….. Hello! Can you say heaven??

Bring 1 gallon of water to a boil and cook 1 pound farfalle. Drain from water and run under cold water to stop cooking. Hold the pasta on the side.

Farfalle, Sausage and Calamari

Cooked farfalle – 1 pound

Sweet Italian sausage – 6 links

Calamari cleaned and cut

into ½ inch rings – 1 pound

Extra virgin olive oil – 1 ½ cup

Garlic cloves – 20

Crushed red pepper flakes – ½ teaspoon

Parmigiano cheese – 1 cup

Heavy cream – 1 cup

Cut the garlic into thin slices. Remove the sausage meat from its casing. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil then the garlic. Sauté for 1 minute then add the sausage. With a wooden spoon, break up the sausage while you cook it. When the sausage is cooked turn the heat up to high. Add the calamari and quickly sauté until cooked. Toss in the pasta. Sauté for one minute, then add the heavy cream and cook for 2 more minutes. Season with the red pepper flakes. Serve with warm Italian bread, your favorite wine and love.

Simple things for simple people

There is nothing better then some home style cooking. One of my favorite dishes (and the food i crave most) is a simple roast chicken. There is one requirements to being a great roast bird... first.. the skin has got to be crispy!!!!! this is so very important. The way to get a good crisp skin is to first wash your bird then dry it off very well (ohh i cut my bird in 1/2.. it cuts the cooking time down) I then let the bird sit in the fridge for an hour or 2 uncovered to dry a little more. I then make a mixture of olive oil and herbs. I mix about 1/2 a cup of olive oil, garlic, parsley, sage, rosemary, salt and pepper together and rub the bird down with it. OK heres the best part. I then cut up potatoes, carrots, parsnips, sweet potato and onions and whole cloves of garlic. Now i season the vegetables then lay the vegetables on the bottom of the pan and place my 1/2 chicken (skin side up) on top of them. The fat and flavor from the chicken helps to flavor and marinade the vegetables. OMG just thinking about this makes me hungry... There is nothing on this earth that says Fall better then the smell of roasted chicken. Well i hope i have inspired you to do some cooking TTY

MVP

:)

Snow White's Poison Apple

Hey just wanted to put up some pictures of the carmel apples made. I came up with some fun packaging for them!!! I put them in plastic party bags and label them"snow White's poison apple" i also burn the card to give it a vintage look.... hope u like them its easy and it a great party idea!!

I also made some other cool little thing... I mad a jar of "DIRT" its ground oreo cookies that i grind in a foodroses and mix with gummy worms... i then put it in a jar and top it off with coconut that i color with green food coloring... IT LOOKS LIKE THE REAL THING!!! and the kids (big and small... love it) i attache a pic of that too. Well i hope i gave you some fun Halloween ideas ......XOXOX

M V P

Carmel Apples

So i spend my evening making carmel apples and i cant believe how easy it is. Well at first it took me some time to find a recipe that gave a recipe for carmel... most of the recipes out there tell you to buy carmel squares and melt them (lame) So after i located the recipe i set off to make these sinful delights. I grew up on carmel apples (with nuts.... HELLO!!!!) i have made them before but always out of a package never from scratch...

This is the recipe i found and LOVE!!!!!! here is the link....

I did change it around a little bit!!!!!! I added almond extract and only added 2/3 cup butter

i make 3 batches one had pepper and cinnamon added to the recipe (they where so good) the second had kosher salt on the outside of the carmel (just a sprinkle... yum sweet and salty) and the third was plain.

This is not my recipe but i will post a new one (i think this recipe could use a tweak or two)

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter (no substitutes)
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup

• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 8-10 wooden sticks
• 8-10 medium tart apples

Directions

1. 1

   Insert 1 wooden stick into each apple.

2. 2

   In a heavy saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and milk; bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

3. 3

   Cook and stir until a candy thermometer reads 248 degrees (firm ball stage) about 30-40 minutes and for a softer caramel cook just to a few less degrees.

4. 4

   Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.

5. 5

   Dip each apple into hot caramel mixture; turn to coat.

6. 6

   Holding by the stick, sprinkle with nuts or whatever you desire while the caramel is still warm.

7. 7

   Set on generously buttered wax paper to cool (make certain to generously butter the paper).

8. 8

   Note: if making a double recipe make two recipes in two separate pots.

Feast on This!!!!!

So on Monday afternoon i got in my car with one of my friends and we started our venture into the city. Our destination was Mulberry street in the center of NYC little Italy. If your a New Yorker you know September in little Italy is the Feast Of San Gennaro!!!!! Ohhhh how i love the feast. ( pssss only go early in the day, evenings are way to crazy)Ok so i go with one thing in mind... ummm FOOD!!!!!! Thats what feasts are about, forget the games and the music its all about the food!!!!! Some people go for the sausage and peppers and some for the zeppole but not me.... no no no i got for the torrone candy!! Oh god, i love this stuff. Torrone is a candy made of egg whites and sugar and its filled with roasted almonds. They make this candy in large bricks. The bricks are then taken to festivals ad sold off in smaller pieces. The way they brake it is with a hammer. Not only is the candy great but i love the "show" or "drama" involved in the whole thing. Some crazy ZIP swinging around a hammer to give you some weird looking candy. FUN. So now that i went to the feast i am still craving more torrone and i am to crazy this week to head back to the city to get some more. So i find myself looking for recipes online. I'm going to make it!!!! i found some cool recipes and will give you updates on it.. any thoughts from you guys?? and have you gone to the feast??? NO??? GO!!!! The Feast Of San Gennaro

Carrot cake like no other!!!!

This is one of the recipes i submitted to The Food Network when i was auditioning for the NFNSS5. I like to pull this recipe out because as it gets cooler and september rolls in there is no other dessert like carrot cake. Ok so maybe apple pie screams fall but so does this great carrot cake. I added my own twis to this recipe and i hope you enjoy it

East Meets West Five Spice Carrot Cake

This is putting an Asian twist on an American classic. Five spice is made up of equal parts cinnamon, cloves, fennel, star anise and Szechuan peppercorns. Most carrot cakes have cinnamon as the main flavoring ingredient. The five spice gives this recipe a new crisp and almost spicy twist that you will love. The frosting on this recipe is also a little lighter in sugar then most cheese cake frostings. This helps to complement the fresh flavor of the cake and not mask it with unneeded sweetness.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cake Batter

Whole eggs– 4

Vegetable oil – 1 ¼ cup

White sugar – 2 cups

Vanilla extract – 2 teaspoons

All purpose flour – 2 cups

Baking soda – 2 teaspoons

Baking powder – 2 teaspoons

Five spice powder – 2 teaspoons

Ground cinnamon – ½ teaspoon

Carrots grated – 4 cups

Walnuts chopped – 1 cup

In a bowl beat the eggs, oil, white sugar and vanilla extract. Slowly mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and five spice. Fold in the carrots and nuts until evenly incorporated. Grease and flour a 9 inch round pan. Pour the batter in the pan and bake for approximately 45 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 20 minutes and then turn out onto a rack. Let cool for 3 hours in the refrigerator.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Butter softened – 1 cup

Cream cheese – 16 ounces

Confectioner's sugar – 4 cups

Vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon

Combine all the ingredients and beat until creamy. Frost the cake and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

And the end of summer

So summer is at over and i must say i'm happy to be coming upon my favorite time of yea.... FALL Halloween, thanksgiving, my b-day, and the cold crisp air of October. OHHH i can t wait and i have some great recipes to share with you folks. So hang out and check out some new recipes to come your way

MVP