Lobster Tails!

As seen in my previous Valentine's Day Dinner post, my house is home to a rather large box of delicious lobster tails, thanks to my boyfriend and his fabulous work-vendor connections. It was a lovely surprise to have them for dinner on V-Day and again for our date night dinner this past Thursday. We served them with spinach, mashed sweet and yukon potatoes, and breadcrumb-crusted steaks. A superb full-bodied red accompanied our surf and turf meal!

Vino!

Friday night, the man and I checked out a new (new for us) little wine bar here in Boca, called Vino! It is a small, adorable, and very romantically-lit bar full of wines and great Italian food, served tapas-style. We ordered grilled calamari and meatballs with whipped ricotta, to go along with our wine. If you live in the area, I highly recommend visiting Vino for a little vino :)

Crispy Chocolate Cookies!

Yesterday I was in a cookie-baking mood. I'd previously made two cookie recipes from Joy the Baker, her Cappuccino Cookies and her Dark Choc & Pistachio Cookies, both fabulous, but I decided to try a mash-up version of both recipes, and add a special ingredient. Instead of simple espresso powder, I ground up dark chocolate-covered espresso beans into powder, and used that instead. The power of espresso bean and chocolate really brought home those flavors. I used a little more sugar, and baked the cookies for a bit longer so that they really flattened and crisped up. Beforehand, I made sure to stop at Homegoods to stock up on vanilla extract and a cute new spatula!

What goes great with deeply chocolatey and coffee-flavored cookies? A full-bodied red of course! The man and I tried a new one, The Velvet Devil, from Washington State! Love the name and loved the taste :)

Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen: Manic Monday Party #13

Savory Cupcakes, Part Une!

Last night I made my first attempt at a savory cupcake. I had seen a great corn muffin recipe (I would add more salt) on Smitten Kitchen the other day, but I wanted to jazz it up a little. Being a cupcake-lover, it's hard for me to make muffins because they look so naked on top! I bought some Boursin (creamy herb/garlic cheese spread), so I thought that would make the perfect 'frosting' for my cornbread 'cupcakes'. I garnished them with some corn 'sprinkles' and voilà!

Afterwards the man and I went out for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, J. Alexander's, and had some lovely wine, interestingly named "The Prisoner"! It has spices and a hint of blackberries - I love the complex flavor and smell! It was the perfect wine for cozying up in a dark restaurant with a rainstorm outside :)

Buona Festa Della Mamma!

Happy Mother's Day! I am so lucky to have such a wonderful, supportive, and loving mommy. This pic was taken in Portugal (more specifically, at Bom Jesus do Monte) back in February.

I finalized my mother's day brunch menu a week ago so I was anxious to get to the kitchen bright and early this morning!

First I made peach sangria. I had peach sangria at Carraba's a few weeks ago, and knew I wanted to re-create it at home. I loosely adapted a recipe from Epicurious. I used 3 peaches (sliced into wedges), half an orange (sliced into wedges), peach schnapps, a bottle of Chardonnay (of the Cupcake variety, of course), a split (about 1/4 of a regular bottle) of Martini Asti (Italian champagne), white sugar, and a can of pineapple juice. I mixed it all together and let it chill in the fridge, and then served with peach wedges on the rim of the wine glass.

And my new chalkboard makes it's blog debut :)

Next, I made individual baked french toast (served in ramekins), a recipe I adapted from the lovely Annie's Eats. The only additions I made were to add orange zest and a bit of orange liqueur!

Topped with diced strawberries, blueberries, powdered sugar, and a drizzle of maple syrup!

The final part of brunch were omelets with shredded cheese, cherry tomatoes and avocado! This was my first attempt at omelet making so they didn't turn out perfectly but they did taste delicious!

The complete meal....

For our late lunch I decided to keep it healthy and simple, and made oven-roasted salmon filets with roasted broccoli florets and asparagus spears. The fish, I roasted simply in olive oil, lemon juice, lemon slices, salt, and pepper. I then made a sauce to go along with the salmon, which I got from Test My Recipes. I loved the lemon creaminess of the sauce, it is very rich since it contains mayo, sour cream, and heavy cream (which I substituted for milk). I don't care for dill, so I used fresh parsley instead, which helped cut down on the richness of the sauce.

This was a simple yet refreshing, light yet hearty lunch - perfect for any lazy Sunday afternoon! I highly recommend it. 

I had picked up some delectable French pastries over at Bakery of France and they became our post-lunch time dessert.

Baby Peanut Butter Pretzel Brownie Cupcakes!

Awhile back, when I first discovered lovely Joy the Baker, I bookmarked a brownie recipe of hers - these heavenly-looking Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Brownies. The combination of sweet n' salty, always a winner in my book, grabbed my attention right away. I'm not a big brownie maker so I decided to convert this recipe to mini cupcakes. I also didn't feel the need to make the peanut butter into a sauce by adding sugar and vanilla extract, so I simply swirled creamy peanut butter onto the brownie cupcakes once cooled, and topped with a pretzel. I had to spray the mini cupcake liners to death with Pam, or else the brownie batter would've stuck like glue (and it still did, a teeny bit). The end effect is lovely, perfectly sized chocolatey, peanuty, pretzely (yes, these are all words) bites!

Note the adorable mini cupcake spatula, courtesy of Crate & Barrel!

My dinner consisted of an alarming amount of the above brownie cupcake minis, half a bottle of Merlot, and a plate of raspberries, cheese rounds, and olive crackers! :)

Spain & Portugal ... a Food Diary!

Fresh off a 10-day road trip through Spain and Portugal, I have now sufficiently recovered from both the jetlag I picked up and the nasty cold I brought back with me. Ten days of tinto de verano, Rioja, tapas, tiny pastries, puddings, fish, potatoes, and warm bread have left me happy and sated, with renewed love for the cusine of two incredibly unique countries. Here are some of the best bites from my trip:

Tapas....

Tortilla Española (potato omelet)

Croquetas de Jamón (ham croquettes) 

Huevos Estrellados con Jamón Ibérico (fried eggs with Iberian ham)

Pastries!

Macarons in Madrid...

Mini treats...

Gorgeous spread...

Pasteis de nata (egg tart pastries)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! The man and I celebrated with a little midnight dessert (is there a better time to eat dessert?!)...

And I love this :)

Words of Wisdom....

Dinner Photography....

I am lucky enough to have a lovely man who also happens to be an amazing chef. We love to cook together and we've made some amazing meals thus far...or sometimes he cooks while I watch and drink wine :)

11/17/2011 
Scallops with maple-glazed bacon with roasted asparagus, zucchini, and squash platter.

12/01/2011 
Garlic bread, lobster tails, breaded veal cutlets, mussels, creamed spinach, crab ragu.

12/15/2011 
Garlic bread, breaded shrimp, flounder française, portabella mushrooms in marsala wine.

01/30/2012 
Filet mignon, roasted asparagus, steamed mussels, breaded shrimp, garlic bread, portabella mushrooms with creamy spinach.

Sparkling wine and strawberries for the birthday boy :)

02/02/2012 
Roasted bell peppers and asparagus, breaded flounder filets, garlic rice, crab mix shells, shrimp with peach, orange, and wine sauce.
 

Yay!

Chickpea Burgers!

Chickpea Burgers!

Made on 02/01/12.

Variations: I added 1/4 tsp lemon juice, 2 tsp lemon zest, half a small yellow onion, 1/4 tsp curry powder, and 1/4 tsp paprika (in place of chili powder and cayenne).

I used whole grain sandwich thins as the "buns" and topped the patty with shredded cheddar, mozzarella cheese and iceberg lettuce.

Serving suggestion: serve with a side of Cupcake Red Velvet wine! :)

Homemade Tagliatelle al Ragù (Bolognese)!

My biggest challenge yet: handmade pasta! Made on 01/23/12.

First off: 6 large eggs, 5 cups of all-purpose flour, and 1 teaspoon of olive oil.

Make a well 6 inches across inside the mounds of flour and crack the eggs into it, along with the olive oil.

Whisk together the eggs with a fork, slowly incorporating the flour.

The mixture slowly forms a paste.

Keep whisking away.....

Eventually it forms a ball of dough, so set it aside to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough, reflouring the surface often, until it is very thin.

Using a pizza cutter, slice off the edges to form a perfect square.

Slice thin strips.

Put all the tagliatelle together on a floured tray and leave to dry for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Yay!

Drying out a little...

Bring a pot of salted water to boil and drop the pasta in for 2-5 minutes. (My boyfriend does a good job) :)

Dropping it in!

All done! Serve with Ragu alla Bolognese! and a bottle of merlot ;)

The finished plate!

Thanks to Joy The Baker! :)

Happy Anniversary!

Last night it was my parents 27th wedding anniversary. In honor of this, my boyfriend and I made dinner and here is the result: :)

Lobster tails in butter and white wine, garlic cheddar biscuits, garlic bread, green beans in olive oil, sea salt, and balsamic vinegar, portabella mushrooms in marsala wine, rib eye steaks, grilled oregano eggplant slices, and of course a lovely Italian red!

And dessert (of course!) - Mini fruit tarts and brownies.

And some Italian cakes ...

Congrats Mom & Dad!