It’s been a strange week. Dave was out of town on business Friday – Friday. I was in California that first weekend for a wedding (gorgeous wedding). Then Marissa went down to Tucson for her boyfriend’s birthday (Happy birthday, Alberto!).  And on Thursday, I took Connor up to Flagstaff to begin his sophomore year at NAU (Have a great first day today, Con! Missing you!).

The four of us were never home at the same time, and now we won’t be again until … Thanksgiving, probably (insert sad face here). After all that disruption, what we need is breakfast for dinner. There aren’t too many things that feel more cozy than having traditional morning food in the evening.

These sandwiches are delicious with or without the addition of a poached egg. I did four with and four without. Use any cheese you like, but I’m using pepper Jack to go with the jalapeno sausage I purchased at The Pork Shop… so darn good!

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If you have a food processor, then this is one of the quickest and easiest dips possible. Serve it with the toasted pita wedges as I suggest or go an even easier route and serve with purchased pita chips, tortilla chips, or crudités. It’s fast, it’s yummy, and it’s pretty. What more can you ask from a dip?!

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Another recipe from our “carb heavy” Bread and Sandwich class last week. This is my basic biscuit recipe that has been jazzed up in a very savory way with the addition of basil and Parmesan. To make regular flakey biscuits, just omit those two ingredients. It is important to not twist the biscuit cutter when cutting out your biscuits. When you do that, you’re sealing the outside edges and preventing them from becoming as flakey as they can be. And be sure to roll (or in this case, pat) them out on a surface that has been “floured” with powdered sugar instead of flour… that little subtle difference is what makes them extra special.

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It is just now beginning to warm up here in “The Valley of the Sun”.  That means if we’re going to have soup, hot soup anyhow, it better be now!  I was inspired to make this after assisting for a class last night at Barbara Fenzl’s Les Gourmettes Cooking School. Paula Lambert, of the Mozzarella Company, was the instructor and she made a Pea Soup with Minted Mascarpone. This mascarpone will be flavored with basil and orange in the place of mint, with a base of  tomatoes instead of peas for the soup… just goes to show how versatile soup is.

Paula founded the Mozzarella Company in Dallas, Texas in 1982 and believe me, she is one talented bundle of energy and a laugh a minute!  Her delicious cheeses are available by mail order, check them out at this LINK, I promise, you won’t be disappointed!

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My darling daughter, Marissa, requested I post some yummy and easy sides. How about an outline – sort of a guide on how to make quick improvisational sides anytime you want? I made this dish with what I had on hand in my produce drawers. You begin by gathering your hard vegetables together; such as onion, carrots, celery, bell peppers, fennel, parsnips, squash, etc. Clean and chop.

Next pull out your soft vegetables; things like spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, leftover cooked potatoes, etc. and prep them. Sauté the hard vegetables together until soft, add in the soft veggies and season, that’s all there is to it! You can add in other items too, such as canned drained beans, chickpeas, frozen corn, chopped olives or artichoke hearts…getting the idea?

Once you have the vegetables cooked, use them in pastas, salads, quesadillas, wraps, or on their own as a nutritious, colorful side dish.  I like to keep a small bowl on hand to add into scrambled eggs for a quick, satisfying, and ”no-brainer” breakfast. (because who wants to think too hard in the morning?)

Here, I am adding them to some brown rice as a side. Instead of the rice, mix it up by serving on top of couscous or quinoa. Also pictured at the bottom, I’ve chilled the rice and veggie mixture, formed it into a patties (mix in a tablespoon or two of sour cream, mayonnaise, beaten egg, crème fraîche, or soft cream cheese to help bind the mixture, if needed). Bread the patty with a mixture of Parmesan cheese and panko, chill the breaded rice cakes for a couple hours, then cook in a little olive oil, to brown and crisp them, and serve on their own or with a little bit of hot marinara sauce. Versatile, right?

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Happy New Year, wishing you and yours a happy, healthy, prosperous 2010! To start the year out on a yummy note, why not combine two Italian favorites? This is a quick and easy lasagna, no boiling of noodles or making of a time-consuming homemade sauce. Just purchase the various items for the layers and go to town assembling a big old pan of goodness. To change to a vegetarian dish, substitute diced or sliced zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, and/or bell peppers for the sausage. Sauté the veggies in an additional tablespoon olive oil and proceed as directed.

When it comes to nutmeg, there is no comparison between freshly ground and the already ground stuff you’ll find in the spice aisle. Purchase the whole nutmegs and use any of the tools above to grind it fresh whenever you need it.

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Peggy and I went to lunch today at our amazing mall, Scottsdale Fashion Square.  We ate at the new Fox Restaurant Concepts place called Modern Steak. Lunch was perfectly delish but what really stayed with me was a cocktail Peggy ordered called “Retail Therapy” (that name is just too cute!)  Once I tasted it, I wished I had ordered it too!  So, I came home, worked on it for awhile, and believe I have come close to duplicating it.  I’m calling my version, “Summer in a Glass” for obvious reasons.  It calls for simple syrup and for muddling, just as my Cucumber Martini did, so click here to go to that previous post if you need help with either the muddling technique or the simple syrup recipe. Thank you dear Peggy for lunch and my beautiful gift, but most of all, thank you for the gift of your friendship! xoxo
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It’s a great Sunday at the Hopkins’ house – the Cardinals win! And it’s finally cooling off outside so I was able to garden this morning, I don’t think it even hit 100 degrees today!  Plus my Dad is over for dinner and after a few hands of cards it’s time to give my husband and dad what they really want – meat and potatoes! Hope you enjoyed your weekend as too. :)

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It’s Football Season! Today is opening day and our Arizona Cardinals are at home vs. San Francisco. All I can say is, “GO CARDS!!!” Here are three quick and simple hors d’œuvres using buffalo mozzarella. Cow’s milk fresh mozzarella balls may be substituted. The Stacks can be served hot, cold or at room temperature. If serving cold or at room temperature, use Belgium endive spears to serve the stacks on. If heating, the stacks will be placed on toasted baguette slices. An important thing to pay attention to when preparing this recipe, try to buy zucchini and eggplant that are of similar in size when cut into rounds. Instead of cutting a large ball of mozzarella, brocconcini (tiny little mozzarella balls) may be used. You’ll notice that the baguette, eggplant, and zucchini are all sliced on a diagonal. This gives you a much large piece and better shape to work with, rather than cutting straight down into rounds.

The Prosciutto Picks couldn’t be easier or more convenient. They also may be served cold or at room temperature. Finally, the Meatballs are simply delicious! I like to roll half of them Parmesan cheese before baking and leave half plain, it makes for a more interesting presentation on the platter. You may dollop with purchased Marinara or with the same yummy tomato-pesto sauce used on the Parmesan Chicken recipe from the September 9 post from a couple days ago.

buffalo mozzarella hor d'oeuvre platter

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