More is Better

We had been trying no to do starches with our evening meals to be slim and trim for the wedding - this Salmon Pot Pie recipe has always been a favorite of ours but instead of topping it with mashed potatoes we topped it with cauliflower mash. It was great. To find the recipes for both just search my blog for Salmon pot pie and cauliflower mash!

I came across this recipe in a magazine while waiting for appt. I apologize as I don't even know what magazine it is from! I usually make my mash from "I can't believe its not butter" spray and fat free half & half. This is herb infused olive oil based and was very good. I halved the recipe. There was enough EVOO even with halved recipe to save (refrigerated) and use for future use. FOR Herb infused EVOO 2 c EVOO 2 sprigs rosemary 1/2 c sage leaves 5 sprigs of thyme 6 cloves garlic peeled and smashed 1 jalepeno sliced (didn't have on hand so omitted) 1 lime sliced (I used a lemon) Combine above and heat over low heat for 15 minutes to infuse. 1 large head of cauliflower ( cut into florets & steamed ) 1/2 cup grated parmesan I pureed with my hand immersion blender my cauliflower with about 1/2 c of EVOO mixture and parmesan until I liked the consistency. Salt and pepper to taste

Our daughter was married on October 18th and since they aren't huge cake fans BUT the groom is a HUGE CHEESE fan we decided to have the Wedding Cake of Cheese. Her wedding colors were deep purple and she wanted it kept very simple. Her wonderful and talented Auntie Andrea created this masterpiece -- we loved it. A huge Thank You again Andrea!! The cheeses were from Wegmans and from top to bottom were... Truffle Cheese Creamy Blue Cheese French Milky Brie Ubriaco del Piave Semi-Hard Cheese** (purple wine fermented Italian cheese) Simple garnish of concord grapes, halved fresh figs and blackberries. The greens were strawberry leaves, rosemary and oregano all from my herb garden. ** This delicious cow’s milk cheese was created by farmers in the Piave region of Veneto, who preserved their cheese by immersing it in fermenting wine must during the grape harvest. Ubriaco, which means drunk in Italian, honors these pioneers. Sergio bathes the cheese for 40 hours in his personal...

Made this one up as we love eggplant and didn't want it fried. It is a TRIPLE eggplant dinner and was really delicious and felt so healthy as it wasn't fried!  In Italy it is called  Melanzane alla Parmigiana 1 very large eggplant-peeled and sliced into rings flour -I used Wegmans Dusting flour (like wondra) egg whites Panko breadcrumbs mixed with grated parmesan large can san marzano tomatoes I used 5 large eggplant rings --dredged in flour then egg whites then bread crumb mixture- then placed onto stone pan into oven at 450 for about 20 minutes until browned as above. The remainder of the eggplant was cubed --tossed with olive oil and salt/pepper placed onto stoneware bar pan and in same oven --after 15-20 minutes it was soft and golden. Then in meantime a large can of whole san marzano tomatoes is simmering on pot on stove. I added in  half of the cooked cubed eggplant and with immersion blender --blend until smooth THEN add in the second half of cooke...

Another great recipe from Michael Symon - we made it with the hard chorizo but it would have been better with the spicy italian sausage --next time....also you can see I had orange and yellow peppers on hand. 1 pound   Hot Italian Sausage (Casing Removed) 1  Red Bell Pepper (Sliced) 1  Clove Garlic (Sliced) 1  pint Cherry Tomatoes (Halved) 2 1/2 pounds   Manila Clams (Cleaned) 8 ounces   White Wine 2 tablespoons   Unsalted Butter Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Kosher Salt Freshly Ground Black Pepper Parsley (Whole Leaves) 1  Baguette (Sliced on a bias) 1  Clove Garlic Place a large sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot add a film of Olive Oil followed by the Italian Sausage. Begin to brown the Sausage, breaking it up with a potato masher as it cooks. Next, add the Peppers and sliced Garlic with a good pinch of Salt and some Freshly Ground Black Pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetab...

From Linda  Here goes, based on a Tyler Florence  recipe  with our own twist...definitely put in the whole cut cob it makes a difference! 4 TBL butter EVOO 1 onion diced 2 carrots diced 2 stalks celery diced 3 garlic cloves 8 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only 1/4 cup all purpose flour 8 cups vegetable stock 2 cups heavy cream (to taste) more or less 4 Idaho potatoes, peeled and diced 10 ears of corn Salt and freshly friend black pepper 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves Directions: Heat butter and 1 TBL EVOO in soup pot over medium heat.  Add onion, garlic, carrots, celery and thyme and cook until vegetables are soft, 8-10 minutes.  Dust the vegetables with flour and stir to coat everything well.  Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil.  Add the cream and potatoes, bring to a boil for 7 minutes, until the potatoes break down (this will help to thicken the soup and give it good texture). Cut the corn kernels off the cob a...