Happy Valentine's Day: Strawberry Pina Colada Shortcake

Why do I do this to myself? Why do I make an entire decadent cake when the only people around to eat it are myself and my husband? My thighs and hind quarters were pleading with me throughout the whole baking process and the subsequent multiple tastings of the pineapple cream cheese frosting....WHY????????
Well I'll tell you why. Because when you are 9-months pregnant you shove aside the nagging guilt and give yourself a break. I was craving strawberry shortcake and Valentine's Day was conveniently around the corner. So I surfed the interwebs and found these two delicious recipes, Strawberry Shortcake Cake from The Pioneer Woman's blog, and Pina Colada Cake from Annie's Eats blog. I combined elements from both to satisfy my sweet tooth.

I used Pioneer Woman's cake recipe, which includes macerated fresh strawberries, and added coconut extract and shredded coconut from Annie's Pina Colada Cake . I topped it with the sinfully delicious Pineapple Cream Cheese frosting from Annie's cake recipe. That stuff is a dessert within itself. It would be wonderful as a dip for fresh fruit. I seriously had to stop myself from eating spoonfuls of it while I iced the cake. My gluttony at 10 a.m. was utterly disgusting. I am pretty sure I had a cream cheese frosting mustache from trying to lick the bottom of the bowl when I was done. Shameful indeed.

On top of the cake, my sweet sweet husband came home yesterday with a half-dozen chocolate covered strawberries from Godiva. Lord help my cellulite! At least the flowers he had sent were calorie-free and almost as enjoyable as the chocolate and this cake. Happy Valentine's Day!! Enjoy it, without feeling any guilt. Pregnant or not!

Strawberry Pina Colada Shortcake
adapted from Pioneer Woman and Annie's Eats


For the cake:
1-1/2 cup Flour
3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
2/3 cup shredded sweetened coconut
9 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Softened
1-1/2 cup Sugar
3 whole Large Eggs
1/2 cup Sour Cream, Room Temperature
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

For the strawberry filling:
1 pound strawberries, hulled
2 tablespoons sugar

For the frosting:
3/4 cup crushed pineapple, drained
12 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
18 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 2/3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Shredded sweetened coconut for decorating
More strawberries for decorating

IMPORTANT: Be sure to use a cake pan that’s at least 2 inches deep! Before baking, the batter should not fill the pan more than halfway.
Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and corn starch.
Cream 9 tablespoons butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well each time. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until combined. Add sifted dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just barely combined.
Pour into greased and floured 8-inch cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until set. Remove from cake pan as soon as you pull it out of the oven, and place on a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely.
Slice your strawberries and place into a bowl and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar. Mash with a fork or muddler and set aside for 30 minutes while cake cools.
To make the frosting, puree pineapple in the food processor until smooth. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter on high speed until smooth and fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add pureed pineapple. If frosting is too liquid, allow to chill in the refrigerator 30 minutes before using to set up.
Now it's time to assemble your cake. Cut your cooled cake in half lengthwise with a serrated knife. Divide your strawberries in half and then top each cut side of your cake with one half of the strawberry mixture. Next frost the top of one of your halves until the strawberries are covered. Once complete, top with your other cake half and now you can begin to frost the entire cake. Once frosted generously, you can pat on your shredded coconut.
Refrigerate your cake to set the icing. Slice and serve.

Mushroom Pesto Pizza

Ever since I was a little girl, Friday night has been pizza night. My mom used to make batches of homemade pizza dough, freeze them and have enough for a month's worth of "pizza Fridays". When I was younger, the pizzas were pretty traditional. Cheese, pepperoni or simple veggies with tomato sauce. Nowadays though, I like to shake it up. I've made countless different varieties of pizza. Sometimes I really think I should open a gourmet pizzeria. One day perhaps....
Anyway, I digress. Before I open up that pizzeria I would probably need to perfect a pizza dough recipe. Details!!
Currently, I buy the balls of pizza dough available in my local grocery store. All I have to do is let them rise for a few hours before baking so it makes the process of homemade pizza that much faster and easier. On top of that, the store-made dough makes a very good, crunchy tasty crust.

I always use the same technique for my pizzas. I grill the pizza dough over the grill. I start it out on a well-oiled jelly roll pan and then once it has been stretched thin and its shape has set I transfer it directly onto the grill grates. Once my dough has baked up to a nice, golden brown with beautiful grill marks, I remove it and place all my prepared toppings on. Then I put it under the broiler to melt the cheese and bring everything to an ooey gooey finish. I find this method ensures that I'll get a crunchy, crispy crust. I hate soggy or limp pizza crust so I crisp it up first and then place my toppings on. Works every time!

This past Friday I took my inspiration from a recent post on Annie's Eats for a Fontina Mushroom Pizza. A mushroom pesto is used as a base and topped with fontina, Parmesan and sliced mushrooms. I added a few twists for our pizza and it turned out delicious. The mushroom pesto really makes this pizza combo unique. The result is a hearty and savory pie. Here is my version. Enjoy!!

Mushroom Pesto Pizza
Adapted from Annie's Eats


1 recipe for pizza dough, or 1 ball of pizza dough

Bake or grill your dough in a well-oiled pan or hot oven. Once baked, set aside until your toppings are ready.

For the Pesto:
I package of baby bella mushrooms, sliced and sauteed till tender
1/3 cup dried porcini mushrooms, reconstituted in warm water
1-2 tb fresh thyme
2 tb fresh chopped Italian parsley
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tb grated pecorino romano
1/2 cup olive oil

Place all the ingredients, except for the olive oil, into the bowl of your food processor. Pulse to chop. Once slightly combined, stream in your olive oil to create a thick pate-like mixture. Once fully combined, remove the mixture to a bowl and set aside.

Pizza Toppings:
1 sweet onion, sliced thin
3 tb olive oil
1 tb balsamic vinegar
1 package of baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 bag of fresh baby spinach
2 cups fontina cheese, grated
6 thin slices of prosciutto

Preheat oven to 350. Arrange your thinly sliced prosciutto on a baking sheet in a single layer. Place in your hot oven and cook until crispy, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, and when it is cool, crumble your prosciutto and set aside.
Over a medium flame, add your thinly sliced onion to a pan with 2 tb of your olive oil. Saute until the onions are caramelized, about 20 minutes. Once softened, add in your balsamic vinegar and cook another 3-5 minutes until the vinegar has thickened and coated the onions. Remove from the heat and set aside. Wipe our your pan, and you can add your sliced mushrooms and the rest of your olive oil. Saute until tender and remove from the pan. Be sure to drain any excess liquid that may result from sauteing the mushrooms. You don't want to add that to your pizza because it will make it soggy.
Finally, steam your spinach until wilted slightly. Once cooked, squeeze out the excess water over a colander and set aside. Now you are ready to top your prepared pizza crust.
Preheat your broiler.
Lay your crust on the original pan you used to cook it in (I use a jelly roll pan so my pizzas always come out rectangular).
First- spread a nice layer of your mushroom pesto down over your crust.
Next - top with your sauteed balsamic onions.
Then place your steamed spinach evenly over the onions.
Now top with your crumbled crispy prosciutto.
Then evenly top with your grated fontina cheese.
Finally, add your sauteed mushrooms to the very top of the pizza.
Place in your broiler to melt the cheese and bring all your toppings together - about 5 minutes, depending on how hot your broiler is. Keep an eye on it because you don't want your pizza to burn!! Remove and serve with crushed red pepper and your favorite grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.

Salmon Livornese

Over the last 9 months, I've eaten a lot of salmon. When you're pregnant, there aren't many fish that you can eat that I actually like. I love swordfish and tuna, but they are off limits. I'm not a big fan of flounder, tilapia, cod or haddock, which you can readily find in the grocery store, so I usually go for salmon. Fortunately, like chicken, salmon is quite a versatile fish that can hold up to a ton of different recipes. Most of the time, I keep it pretty simple - roasted salmon, grilled salmon, or sauteed salmon. Tonight however, I wanted something different. Something tasty. I had enjoyed Salmon Livornese at a local Italian restaurant in the past, so I googled it up and found an absolutely beautiful picture of a prepared Salmon Livornese on Chef Benny Doro's blog.

It's a pretty simple preparation, very healthful and light and perfect for an easy dinner that looks fancier than it is. He doesn't give measurements for the recipe on his blog, so I've modified the recipe to include my measurements. My technique was a little different as well so while I've linked to his exact version above, I've posted my method below. I served this with steamed haricot verts (the thinner green beans) and a nice field greens salad topped with candied walnuts, gorgonzola, sliced pears and red pepper. If you're tired of the same old salmon dish, give this a try! You could also easily substitute tuna or swordfish for salmon, even fresh rockfish would probably hold up well in this dish. Enjoy!

Salmon Livornese
adapted from Chef Benny Doro

Serves 4 people

4 6 oz portions of salmon
1/2 lemon

For the Tomato Sauce:
1 shallot
3 cloves garlic
2 carrots
2 celery sticks
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tb tomato paste
1 28-oz can diced or crushed tomatoes (depending on if you want a chunky or smooth sauce)
15 kalamata olives, chopped
2 tb capers, drained
1/2 tsp red chili pepper flakes (or more if you like more heat)
salt and pepper for seasoning
chopped Italian parsley for garnish
grated parmiggiano reggiano or pecorino romano for serving

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare your salmon fillets by spritzing them with fresh lemon juice. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a food processor mince your shallot, garlic, carrots and celery. Add to a large skillet along with your olive oil and cook until vegetables are soft and fragrant. Once softened, add in your tomato paste. Allow to cook for another 2 minutes and combine. Now add your tomatoes with the juice and allow to cook until slightly thickened. Finally add your olives, capers and red chili flakes and let simmer another 3 minutes to allow the flavors to combine. Nestle your fish portions down in the sauce and cover your skillet with lid or foil. Place in your preheated oven. Cook for 25 minutes, or until flesh is firm. Remove dish and uncover before returning to the oven to cook for an additional 5 minutes. Serve hot and top with parsley and cheese.

I'm back!! After an extremely long hiatus, I plan to hopefully pick up my spatula and get back to blogging. Life has been busy with a toddler in the family, and when I'm not with my daughter (mainly because she's napping or sleeping) I'm trying to finish other chores and things around the house. But I have truly missed blogging my food adventures so I'm going to try my best to get back to steady updates. However, there may be a slight wrench thrown into this plan come the end of February. We are expecting baby girl #2 on Feb. 25!! We're so blessed and excited, though I'm sure that will slow down blogging again for a little while. I may turn this blog into a family and food blog with baby updates and stories. We shall see.
Anyway, to the task at hand - SOUP! While it is January and officially winter here on the east coast, the temps have been pretty mild as of late. Just these past two weeks we had more than one 55-60 degree day! Quite unusual for January. But I'm not complaining!! Despite the balmy temps, I still crave wintertime comfort foods and there is nothing better than homemade soup.

I had catered a Christmas luncheon for 60 people before the holidays and they ordered two spiral cut brown-sugar glazed hams as part of their menu. I kept the large bones from both hams and froze them to use for future use as soup - the unknown profits of catering.
This recipe is truly a family recipe. My grandmother used to make this soup and my mother after here. I still remember coming home from school in January - it was something we usually had after the holiday ham had been long gone - to warm, hearty bowls of ham and bean soup.

Who knew some meaty ham bones could make such a glorious pot of soup? This soup is cheap to make and chock full of good vegetables and tender beans. It's the perfect thing to warm you up on a cold winter night...that is if you are having those where you live. Enjoy!!

Old School Ham and Navy Bean Soup

2 lbs of dried navy beans
8-10 cups of hot water
2 ham bones with meat on them from spiral cut hams, smoked or brown sugar glazed will work (1 ham bone would be sufficient as long as it has a good amount of meat on it. If you don't have ham bones from an actual ham, then you may be able to ask the butcher for them.)
4 bay leaves
1 12oz bag of frozen cut carrots
1 onion, diced
6 stalks of celery, sliced
2 tb tomato paste
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes with the juice
1 Parmesan rind, whole, for flavor (this is the hard part of the back of the block of cheese that doesn't grate well. If you don't have it, then just leave it out. You can always top the finished soup with grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano.)
1 -2 tsp cayenne pepper, depending on how much heat you want
freshly ground black pepper to taste

To begin, you will need to cook and soak your beans. Rinse the beans and then put them in a large, heavy bottom stock pot and cover with the water. Bring the beans to a boil, boil for 3 minutes and then turn the heat off, cover and allow the beans to soak for one hour.
Once the beans have soaked, add in your ham bones with the meat and the bay leaves to the pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and allow to simmer for 2 1/2 hours. At the end of the time, check your beans to make sure they are tender. If so, remove the ham bones and using a pair of disposable gloves (because the bones will be hot), remove the meat from the bones and shred it into the soup. Once your bones have been picked of meat, you can add the large ones back to the pot along with your vegetables, tomato paste, tomatoes and Parmesan rind. Allow the soup to simmer until the vegetables are tender, about another 1/2 hour should do it. Add in your cayenne and black pepper. Taste for seasoning (you shouldn't have to add any salt because the ham meat and bones should add enough but taste to make sure).
Serve soup hot. Top with grated Romano cheese if desired.
(Leftovers of this soup may solidify a bit because of the starch from the beans and the fat from the ham. When reheating just add a little bit of water to help liquefy the soup.)

Authentic Thai Cooking with Rasamee!

My mom's friend Rasamee, or Ras as we call her, is from Thailand and she makes some of the most delicious Thai food I've ever tasted. I've been to several Thai restaurants and nothing compares to her Pad Thai and her Tom Kha Gai - or Coconut Chicken Soup. So I begged her to teach me how to make these Thai favorites and much to my delight, she agreed!
She generously prepared each dish as I watched, asked tons of questions and scribbled down notes all while snapping photos here and there and trying to keep my 1-year-old daughter out of her cabinets! It was a lightening round cooking class, but tons of fun. Most of all it resulted in some tasty authentic Thai food.
Her Shrimp Pad Thai is, in a word, awesome! I could have literally eaten two plates full. The spice is just right and she has the perfect combination of fresh taste and rich flavor.

The Coconut Chicken Soup is so good I eat it until I explode. Literally! Every time I get this soup in a restaurant it tastes like it's been loaded down with sugar. Ras doesn't use sugar at all and it makes all the difference. The coconut flavor shines through and it's savory and has a natural sweetness from the onions.

One word of warning though - the Thai red hot chili is HOT! I mean like FRIGGIN HOT! Like I just swallowed a flame thrower HOT! I had to walk around the house for a few minutes, panting like a dog to get my mind off the pain. So, the moral of this story is - the peppers are super hot. You have been warned!

On the other hand, Fish Sauce is your friend! It sounds awful, it smells funny and the picture on this particular bottle of a baby holding a bottle of fish sauce is a bit disturbing, but it makes all the difference in Thai food. There is no substitute for Fish Sauce. If you can't find it....keep looking!

Anyway, despite Ras's thick accent, which is one of her many charms, and the fact that she doesn't measure anything, I think I was amazingly able to piece together a semblance of a recipe for each dish. Hopefully they do Ras's food justice!! I'm happy to be able to share them on my blog. So until Ras opens her own Thai restaurant, try out these recipes that have been in her family for years. Enjoy!

Tom Kha Gai or Coconut Chicken Soup

1 package of chicken breast or tenderloins, cut until chunks
2 kaffir lime leaves
1/4 cup of thickly sliced galanga root (if you can't find this, you can substitute ginger. Galanga tastes like a cross between ginger and licorice root. You can wrap this bouquet garni style and plunge it into the soup that way, making it easy to fish out before serving. Otherwise, you will want to pick the galanga root out before serving, as it is very fibrous and hard to eat.)
1 whole lemongrass stalk, cut into thirds
1 can coconut milk
2 cups water
1/2 large onion sliced
1 tomato, cut into chunks
1 pint of mushrooms, sliced
juice of 4 limes
1/2 cup fish sauce
3 red Thai peppers, minced
handful of cilantro
handful of scallions

In a large stockpot, add your kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, galanga, 1/2 can of coconut milk and water. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 5 minutes. Next add your chopped chicken. Allow to cook on a simmer. Once chicken has cooked, add the onion, tomato and mushrooms. Once the vegetables have cooked down, add the rest of the coconut milk, along with your fish sauce and lime juice. Bring to a simmer and add the peppers, cilantro and scallions. Stir to combine. Taste for flavor. If it feels a bit flat, add a little more fish sauce. It will punch up the flavors. Serve warm and enjoy! You can serve it over white rice if you prefer, but I like the soup just as it is.

Shrimp Pad Thai


For the Sauce: (this makes a large amount of sauce - you can keep it in the freezer for future use. You will only use about 1-2 cups of it for one batch of Pad Thai)
1 16 oz jar of concentrate cooking tamarind
1 lb jar of palm sugar
1/2 cup salt

Make the sauce first. Combine the ingredients in a large wok until well combined and saucy and until all the sugar has dissolved. Sauce will keep in the fridge for a month or up to 6 months in the freezer.

For the Noodles:
1 package of Banh Pho Rice Noodles
6 eggs, beaten
1 cup vegetable oil plus 4 tablespoons
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lbs of shrimp, peeled and deveined and soaked in cold saltwater
1 cup of sugar water (this is equal parts sugar and water, heated until the sugar dissolves)
1/2 to 3/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 to 1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tsp cayenne pepper
a handful of shredded carrots
1 1/2 cups chopped peanuts
2 cups bean sprouts
handful of cilantro
handful of scallions
limes for garnish and juice

Soak the rice noodles in cold water overnight if possible. Set aside.
Drain your shrimp, which have been soaking in cold saltwater for about 30 minutes. Set aside.
Heat a large wok over high heat until hot. Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and using some hot pots, lift the wok and swirl the oil around so that it covers all sides of the pan as good as possible.
Add half of your egg mixture and continue to swirl the wok as the eggs cook. This allows the eggs to cook in a thin layer. They will cook in about a minute or so. Once cooked, remove to a cutting board, add two more tablespoons of oil to the wok and then add the rest of your egg mixture. Swirl until the egg is cooked.
See Ras swirl.

Good Ras. Good swirl!
Remove to a cutting board. Once cool, chop egg with a knife.
Scrape egg bits out of the wok, wipe with a clean papertowel if necessary, and then add in about a cup of oil to your wok. Get the oil hot and then add in your minced garlic. Don't let the garlic burn, but cook until softened. Add in your shrimp and stir to coat with the oil and garlic. While the shrimp cooks, add your egg back into the pan.

At this point you will need the sauce you made beforehand. Add about 1 1/2 cups of your tamarind sauce, your sugar water, fish sauce and vinegar. I suggest adding the smaller measurements of fish sauce and vinegar because you can always add more later as you need it but you can't take it away. Stir to combine. Once combined, add in your cayenne pepper, carrots and chopped peanuts. Add more vegetable oil if it seems dry and finally add in your bean sprouts.
Taste a spoonful of noodles. If the flavor is flat, add more fish sauce, sugar water and vinegar to taste. Add slowly so you don't overpower it with any flavor in particular. It's a delicate science!

Finally, once you have the flavor where you want it, top with chopped cilantro, chopped scallions and a squeeze of lime juice. Garnish with fresh lime slices and serve hot.

Spaghetti Birds' Nests

These adorable, elegant little appetizers made a great addition to the birthday party we threw for our daughter. Not only are they fairly inexpensive to make - one box of spaghetti yields nearly 45 little birds' nests - they have widespread appeal and keep well on a buffet. I found this recipe when Proud Italian Cook posted about appetizers she served at a party. The original can be found at , Foodalogue .

I followed the original recipe but made a few changes. Here is my version of the recipe below. I omitted the bacon and peas in the original, and instead added chopped fresh basil and topped each nest with a roasted tomato half. I thought it just looked prettier than slopping tomato sauce on top. These were a hit at the party and I will definitely be making them again for future gatherings! Enjoy!


Tomato-Basil Spaghetti Birds' Nests


3 cloves garlic minced
1 1/2 lbs. mozzarella shredded
8 eggs beaten
1/2c parmigiano reggiano (or locatelli, whatever you use)
1/2c provolone
freshly chopped basil
1 large crate of grape tomatoes
olive oil
s+p
nonstick cooking spray
1 lb. spaghetti

Saute garlic in olive oil until soft. Reserve to side.
Preheat oven to 350. Cut each of your grape tomatoes in half and then place in a small baking dish. Toss with olive oil to coat and season with salt and pepper. Roast until they begin to soften and the skins blister, about 25 minutes. Remove and let cool.
Crack spaghetti in thirds, boil to al dente and drain.
Mix beaten eggs with cheeses, s+p, and fold in garlic and chopped basil.
Add drained spaghetti and mix.
Fill greased mini muffin tins with the spaghetti mixture and top each one with a tomato half.
Bake in 350-375 oven for 10 minutes or until egg has cooked and the cheese has melted. Remove and serve warm. These can be made a day in advance and then reheated to room temperature or warmer for serving. Makes about 45 pieces.

Birthday Cupcakes with Pineapple Flowers

Our darling little baby turned 1 on Sunday! And what a celebration we had.

It was a pinwheel themed party and so my mom and I made a ton of pinwheels in various sizes out of craft paper. We used them to make centerpieces for the tables.



On top of that we made a homemade birthday banner for the birthday girl, since her name is hard to find in pre-fab banners. We spray-painted doilies and used cupcake wrappers for color and then found punch-out letters at Staples that we sponge-painted. It turned out beautifully!! And then we clipped the finished product to a rope with clothes pins.


Favor bags were filled with a pinwheel, customized M&Ms and a bottle of bubbles with a wrap that I designed to match the invites.


It was a lot of DIY work, but so worth it! It was very satisfying to throw such a pretty party for such a beautiful little girl. My husband and I were so thrilled to see her enjoy the day.
Now...on to the food!! This is a food blog after all. Well...The menu was vast! Here's what we had:
Deviled Eggs
Honey Mustard Chicken on Skewers
Taco Dip
Smoked Salmon Dip
Homemade Pigs in Blankets
Store-bought Spanakopita (Yes I cheated here and got some help from the store)
Tomato and Mozzarella Birds Nests (Post to come on these cute little apps!)
Strawberries Stuffed with Cinnamon-Sugar Marscapone Cheese (post to come on these too - they were so yummy!)
Assorted Fruit Tray
Crudite
Assorted Cheese and Crackers
Shrimp Cocktail

And then for dessert we made boxed chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with homemade cream cheese icing and topped them off with these beautiful pineapple flowers!

They are time-intensive to make. Not hard to make, but they do take a long time. I couldn't get the pineapples cut extremely thin since I don't have a mandolin, so that might be why it took me twice as long as this post from Annie's Eats blog on how to make Pineapple Flowers. Her step by step instructions are great and the flowers looks so cute and make a nice organic decorative touch to the cupcakes.

Unfortunately, it was very humid the day of my daughter's party so many of them started to loose their shape after sitting out for a few hours on the cupcake stand. But people were still impressed nonetheless.

So if you have some time, try these out! They are much more unique than jarred sprinkles :) Enjoy!