Ricotta Yellow Cake!

My boyfriend's favorite cake is Ricotta Yellow Cake. I've made it for him three times, and he always requests it for his birthday. The recipe is very simple, and I always use the same one from Allrecipes. This year I decided to make it in two tiers and decorate with a simple whipped cream frosting and blueberries. Happy 26th my love!

Lemon Ricotta Cookies!

Giada De Laurentiis is one of my favorite Food Network chefs. Her dishes are very Italian, yet elegant and simple. One of my favorite recipes of hers is her Lemon Ricotta cookies (recipe link). I've made them once before, and they came out great, but this time I made them a big bigger and flatter. The result is fabulous - the cookies are like little light pillows of lemony goodness. The ricotta doesn't really flavor the cookie, but it gives it a nice chewy texture and ensures that the lemon does not dominate the taste. These are perfect for tea-time, or to wrap up in a neat little package for a co-worker, which is how I used them, this time around!

Ricotta Tarts!

I am in the middle of reading Tamar Adler's An Everlasting Meal, which I first heard of from Joy the Baker. I really love it; it's a combination between a cookbook and a novel about food, it's incredibly refreshing and makes for a fun read. After reading chapter after chapter about vegetables and the proper ways to treat them, I was anxious to try my hand at roasting some. There are quite a few recipes in the book, and the first one that really caught my attention were savory tarts made with ricotta cheese and roasted veggies. The recipe for the crust was good, it made the crust seem more like a cracker versus the type of crust you would find on a quiche. The dough was a little hard to work with initially, but it came through in the end. The ricotta filling tasted like an olive oil cream - it was so yummy!

Roasting zucchini and yellow squash rounds...

Rolling out the dough...

Ricotta filling ....

Topping with roasted veggies...

The final product! More of a rustic-looking tart.

They tasted even better the next morning with my latte ;)

What I have made thus far .... Giada De Laurentiis Edition!

Chocolate Espresso Cookies!
Made on 12/07/11.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies!
Made on 12/04/11.

Parmesan Frico (Wafers)!
Made on 12/03/11.

Mini Frittatas!
Made on 11/01/11.

Raspberry Ricotta Mousse!
Made on 09/17/11.

Mango Cheesecake with Basil Lemon Syrup!
Made on 06/01/11.

Pea Pesto Crostini!
Made on 12/31/11.

Italian Kebabs!
Made on 12/31/11.

Zucchini Flatbread!
Made on 12/31/11.

Thanks to Giada De Laurentiis! :)