One Ingredient Ice Cream

Okay so who knew you could make ice cream with one ingredient? I guess the whole food blogging community did except me. But now I do!!

There's no cream so technically it isn't "ice cream" but whatever. What's the secret ingredient? 

BANANAS!

All you have to do is slice the bananas and freeze for at least an hour or so. Then remove from the bag and pulse until creamy and light.

Ingredients:

4 bananas

any additions:
honey
cocoa powder
nutella (highly recommend)
walnuts
peanut butter
maple syrup

Directions:

Peel bananas and cut into slices. Place in a plastic bag and freeze for up to 1 1/2 hours.

Remove from the bag and place the bananas into a food processor. Pulse until creamy and light. If using honey, add while pulsing or drizzle on top.

Once creamed, place in the freezer to harden. This makes it easier to scoop into ice cream balls.

Enjoy this one ingredient ice cream all summer long!

Sea Salt & Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Imagine...a bite of decadent, ooooozing chocolate, that's surrounded by brown sugar and a kick of sea salt.

What's better than a chocolate chip cookie? After searching online and reading about whether or not to make brown butter chocolate chip cookies, sea salt or just stick the with original, I decided to go with a dark chocolate chunk sea salt cookie. What a mouthful right? Well the name is fitting for this outrageous recipe because these cookies are so good I don't know if I will ever stray from these. How had I been so naive to only use chocolate chips instead of chunks before?

After visiting Seattle, where they sell a wonderful treat that consists of dark chocolate with sea salt on top, this ultimate combination has haunted my mind daily. It's invaded my life more than you could imagine. The other day I went to Trader Joe's and bought salted almonds and a dark chocolate bar just to could get my fix. Not a bad on-the-go snack! Salty & sweet. You just can't go wrong, which is why these cookies are seriously, THE BEST. I made a double batch but they still seemed to vanish once they came out of the oven...sad.

This recipe is so simple, you never have to use a hand-mixer. Just by combining the butter, egg and brown sugar in a food processor, the mixture is so smooth you can stir it directly into the flour, baking soda and powder. You're not supposed to over-mix the cookie dough, just combine enough to evenly distribute the chocolate chunks which will allow for a wonderfully homemade, fluffy cookie.

Butter has to be the best ingredient on earth.

Combine the wet ingredients with the dry. Don't over-mix, just stir enough to evenly distribute.

I used 70% dark chocolate that I chopped into small pieces. Mix a little to maintain that rustic cookie feel. Afterward, place the cookie dough in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Roll into a 1 to 1 1/2 tbs. ball and place on a baking sheet with lined parchment paper. This will allow you to easily remove the baked cookies. Sprinkle sea salt on top of the cookie. Using a generous amount really does bring out the rich flavor of the dark chocolate so don't be shy!

 

 Ingredients:

10 1/2 tbsp of unsalted butter

1 4/5 cup of all purpose flour

1 egg

1 cup of brown sugar

1/4 cup of granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda

1 1/2 to 2 cups of chocolate (70% cocoa), chopped into chunks

sea salt

Directions:

Combine the butter and sugars in a food processor. Mix thoroughly until you reach a smooth consistency. Afterward, add one egg and pulse until mixed completely.

In a medium-sized bowl toss the dry ingredients together such as the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Then, with a spatula, scoop the mixture in the food processor out into the dry ingredient bowl to combine. Do not over-mix.

Finally, toss in the chopped dark chocolate into the cookie dough. Then take plastic wrap and cover the dough to place in the fridge for around 15 minutes. 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and form the cookies into 1 to 1 1/2 tbsp. balls. Don't overcrowd. Sprinkle the sea salt generously on top.

In a 350 degree preheated oven, let the cookies bake for 10-15 minutes. Remove from the hot pan and place on a rack to cool.  

Don't forget the milk!

Avocado, Orange & Corn Summer Salad

For the past year, I've been ordering the spicy shrimp house salad at Cafe Habana in Malibu. It has to be one of my favorite salads, especially in the summer when corn is a burst of natural sugar. 

I've always wanted to make my own rendition of this summer salad, so I finally got around to it on Father's Day.

I know this post is a little late but again, I went to Cafe Habana with one of my closest friends, Lina Bardovi who actually hostesses there during the summer. Last night I was lucky enough to grab her after her work shift to unwind and have some girl time. Halfway through our meal, Cindy Crawford and her hubby Rande Gerber (owners of the restaurant) were seated right by us and recognized Lina. After a delicious dinner and a few cocktails, we asked for the bill. Randy and Cindy told their waitress that they were planning to pay our entire tab. Obviously Lina and I were speechless and so grateful, so we went up and thanked them for their generosity. Kind deeds go a long way in my book. I now will forever be a loyal customer who will consume their spicy shrimp house salad weekly!

Anyhooo, that was awesome. But let's get back to the salad. It's not the eeexxacct salad they serve there, but it's pretty darn close. For Father's Day, I prepared steak so I omitted the spicy shrimp, but either source of protein works wonderfully with this summer salad.

The buttery texture of the avocado mixed with the sweet corn kernels and a pop of orange zest/juice is the ultimate combo. Ever since summer arrived, my diet has become a little more healthy causing me to resort to a wide variety of salads. I've started to really appreciate a good salad and plan to share some more with you very soon!

Ingredients:

One 10 ounce bag of spinach or mixed greens

1/2 red onion

3 large ears of corn

2 avocados, peeled and sliced
3 oranges

6 tablespoons of freshly squeezed orange juice

4 tablespoons of white wine vinegar

4 tablespoons of freshly chopped chives

1 tablespoon of orange zest

1/4 cup of olive oil

salt & pepper

Directions:

Whisk together orange juice, white wine vinegar, chives, and orange zest. Gradually add the olive oil; salt and pepper. This dressing can be prepared in advance.

Prepare barbecue on medium heat while coating the corn with olive oil. Grill onions for about 5 minutes or until cooked through. Once done, remove and let sit for 5 minutes. Once cooled, shave off the corn kernels with a sharp knife.

Toss together salad with orange slices, avocado, red onion and corn kernels. When ready to serve, drizzle salad dressing over and season with salt and pepper.

Pumpkin Bread

 

Okay so it's summer and I chose to make pumpkin bread. Whatever. We all know it's delicious so why not? I sent my step dad on a wild goose chase around the store to find canned pumpkin and someone told him it wasn't sold during the summer months. Ya right. Sure enough he found it and I'm so glad he did.

This recipe is from my bestfriend, Laurel. Her mother has made it every year and sent it in a care package to her while at school. Little does she know, I usually consume half of the loaf, which Laurel probably isn't that happy about. When I asked for the recipe, Laurel said I should call it Laurel's Lovely Loaf. So there you go! This pumpkin bread is Laurel's and Laurel's only. But I've mastered it so I can finally make it on my own and stuff my face without eating her mother's.

This recipe makes a heck of a lot of pumpkin bread. If you want a scrumptious treat for your family and need to bake something for a party, I'd choose this recipe so you can have both! It also lasts for a ridiculously long time if you wrap it in plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge. It's by far the most moist pumpkin bread I have ever eaten. It's so good I will never stray from the recipe. Thanks Gayle and Laurel!

Combine the dry and wet ingredients. I'd recommend grating your own nutmeg because the flavor is very noticeable. 

If you aren't craving pumpkin yet, save this for the winter months.

Just do it.

 

This recipe can yield either 1 large loaf, 2 medium loaves, 3 small loaves or 2 mini muffin pans.

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups of sugar

1 1/2 cups of oil

6 eggs

3 tbps. of baking soda with 1 cup of water

28 oz. can of pumpkin

5 cups of flour

1 tbsp. each of clove, nutmeg, and allspice

1 1/2 tbsp. each of cinnamon and salt

3/4 tbsp. of baking powder

Directions:

In a medium size bowl, combine 4 1/2 cups of sugar, 1 1/2 cups of oil and 6 eggs. Mix well and then add 3 tbsp. of baking soda with 1 cup of water. Then add 28 ounces of canned pumpkin. Mix well.

In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients, flour, clove, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, salt and baking powder. Afterward, add the dry mixed ingredients to the wet and mix well. 

Cook at 350 degrees. 15 minutes for the mini-muffin pans and 45-60 minutes for the other loaves. I checked mine every ten minutes because this bread cooks quickly towards the end.

Enjoy!

Crostini Appetizers

 

Party planning? Then I've found the perfect thing for you. 4th of July is approaching, so try these awesome appetizers! Very simple and such a wonderful presentation for guests. I made this after flipping through the new Bon Appetit magazine, where they featured a section called Toast With The Most. There were plenty options, but I chose the Peas, Mint & Parmesan along with the Pickled Fig, Robiola & Pistachio. I love the contrast they supplied because the fig was a little rich and the peas very light. I highly recommend making these! If those don't appeal to your taste buds, check out the others creations at Bon Appetit.

If you can't find Robiola cheese, substitute some triple creme, french, soft cheese. This goes really well with the sweet, pickled flavor of the figs. The Pistachio added some crunch, along with the toasted bread.

 

Pickle the figs in red wine vinegar, sugar and a little water for about 30 minutes to an hour.

 

 From Bon Appetit

 Smash Hit

Peas, Mint & Parmesan on Baguette

You can sub in fresh favas or edamame for the peas. Grill 12 slices bread and rub with 1/2 garlic clove. Blanch 1 cup fresh or frozen peas, thawed, in large saucepan of boiling salted water until just tender, about 2 minutes for fresh peas and 1 minute for frozen. Drain peas; transfer to a bowl. Season with kosher salt and 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil and mash with the back of a fork. Spread about 1 tbsp. mixture over each toast. Garnish with shaved parmesan, torn mint, and a few drops of balsamic vinegar. Makes 12.

Fig Love

Pickled Fig, Robiola & Pistachio Oil on Ciabatta

Quick pickled figs add a sweet-tartness to this bruschetta. Combine 1/2 cup red wine vinegar, 2 tbsp. sugar, and 6 dried figs with 1/4 cup water in saucepan; bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and let sit until figs soften, about 30 minutes. Halve figs lengthwise. (Alternatively, use 6 fresh figs and halve lengthwise.) Finely crush 2 tbsp. toasted, shelled pistachios and combine 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil. Grill 12 sliced bread. Smear room-temperature Robiola cheese onto warm toasts. Top with halved figs. Drizzle with pistachio oil. Makes 12.

Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash is quite simple! For those of you who are health conscious or just want to try something different than your typical spaghetti dish, this is a wonderful light meal that is shockingly similar in flavor to any pasta under meat sauce. 

Truthfully, I had been reading about spaghetti squash on a lot of blogs recently, and for some reason I wrote it off as being one of those substitute dishes that wouldn't even compare to the original, but I was totally wrong. Even my step dad, Greg, who keep in mind LOVES pasta, said he actually preferred it. WHAT?! Yes that's right. My step dad prefers spaghetti squash to pasta. If that isn't an incentive to test it out, then I don't know what is.

Spaghetti squash can be prepared in a multitude of ways, such as baked, sauteed, boiled or even microwaved. If you want you can even add extra veggies like mushrooms, squash, zuchinni, or asparagus etc. to add substance. 

I chose to microwave the spaghetti squash for about 8-10 minutes until the outside skin started to become soft. Once the squash cools down, cut in half and discard the center section with the seeds. Then begin to fork the inside edges of the vegetable and you will see how easy the strands really do fall off!

Place the squash strands in a bowl and set aside while you begin the turkey meat sauce.

Over medium-high heat, saute the ground lean turkey meat (or any meat you prefer) and cook until it turns brown.

Pour the marinara sauce into the pan with the ground Turkey (I used Trader Joe's Basil Marinara Sauce) and reduce to medium heat. Add a little water to the mixture because over time the sauce with reduce. Season to your liking with salt, pepper, garlic powder etc. I didn't because the marinara sauce I used was already pretty flavorful.

While the Turkey is absorbing the marinara sauce ingredients, place the spaghetti squash in a medium sized pan and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the squash has released it's water and become more tender.

Once the spaghetti squash is finished, remove from the stove and serve on plates. Top with the ground turkey and marinara sauce to complete!

 

 Serves 4

 Ingredients:

2 Spaghetti Squash

Pepper

 Salt

 Lean Ground Turkey

2 tbs. Parmesan Cheese

Marinara Sauce

Directions:

Microwave the spaghetti squash for 8-10 minutes. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes. Slice in half. Then discard the seeds and center of the vegetable. Begin to fork the sides, releasing the strands. Place the spaghetti squash in a side bowl; set aside.

Saute the ground turkey in a medium-sixed pan over medium-high heat. Toss regularly. Once the meat browns, add the marinara sauce. Reduce to medium-low and let the meat sit to absorb all the flavors or the tomato sauce. Depending on what brand of sauce you use, season to your liking.

Spray a non-stick skillet with cooking spray. Add the spaghetti squash noodles and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the moisture releases and the strands become tender.

Finally, serve the strands on a plate and top with warm turkey marinara sauce. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top to complete!

Bon Appetit!

Snickerdoodle Cookies

Cinnamon and sugar. Fluffy, soft and wonderful. Snickerdoodles are fabulous. Maybe not all snickerdoodles, but mine were definitely special.

You guys should see my list of recipes that I intend to make. Staring at food blogs and reading cookbooks all day adds to my collection. Thank god for computers though. Without technology, my entire kitchen would be filled with thousands of papers. Usually, when I come across a recipe I like, I place it at the bottom of the list. Well that wasn't the case with these Snickerdoodles. Maybe it was because I was running low on ingredients and Snickerdoodles are such a staple, but everyone in my family wanted the sweet morsels, so I did it. I made lots.

These are Martha Stewart's perfected cookies, so I highly doubt anything would go wrong if you attempted baking these.

Mmmmmm. Cinnamon and sugar. What's better than tossing cookie dough in this?

Roll the batter into 1 tablespoon size balls. Toss in the cinnamon sugar bowl to coat.

And now you are read to bake! How easy was that?

 

 There you have it! Vooilaaaaa!

Snickerdoodles from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup pure vegetable shortening

1 3/4 cups sugar, plus more if needed

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, plus more if needed

2 large eggs

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, with one rack in top third and one rack in bottom third of oven. Line baking sheets with Silpat baking mats or parchment paper; set aside. Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter, shortening, and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs, and beat to combine. Add dry ingredients, and beat to combine.

 In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the ground cinnamon. Use a small (1 1/4-ounce) ice-cream scoop to form balls of the dough, and roll in cinnamon sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are set in center and begin to crack (they will not brown), about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets after 5 minutes. Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool about 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to the rack. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Whole Wheat Honey Banana Bread

I'm just gonna say it. This is the first bread I've ever made. For 21 years, I've never made anything like banana, pumpkin or zuchinni bread. I admit, the idea of baking sweet bread was slightly overwhelming to me. Why? I don't know. Although now I see how simple it really is. Like way too easy. For how delicious it turned out, people must have thought I slaved away in the kitchen when in actuality the hardest part was hovering over the oven, checking the bread every ten minutes. Was it worth it? I'd say so. I mean the loaf seemed to vanish in one day.

My favorite part of making this whole wheat honey banana bread? Mashing the bananas! I added a little more banana than the recipe asked for cause I need lots of banana in every bite, and that's what I got.

Mashed bananas...yum. I think the best compliment I received was from my boyfriend, Dalton telling me that I am not able to make this bread again because he literally can't stop himself from eating the entire thing

Combine the whole wheat flour, wheat germ, cinnamon and other dry ingredients.

Add the bananas and honey (the best ingredients by far). Combine but don't over mix.

 

Fill your loaf pan with the mixture. Just because I always need to go overboard, I sprinkled brown sugar on top (definitely recommended) seeing as how this sweet bread is relatively healthy. Then top with your choice of nuts! I chose walnuts, but I also had candied pecans in the pantry that would have been quite scrumptious.

 I finally mastered my first sweet bread. What next? Pumpkin Bread? Mmmmhhhm.

Ingredients:

2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 Cup Wheat Germ

2 teaspoons baking powder

heaping 1 teaspoon cinnamon

generous pinch of salt

1/2 cup of honey

1/2 cup of canola oil

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

3 bananas, mashed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease loaf pan.

Mix flour, wheat germ, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together (dry ingredients), and set aside. Whisk honey and oil very well to combine. Whisk in vanilla extract. Whisk in eggs one at a time and mix up very well. Then whisk in mashed banana quite well. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, but be careful to not over-mix. Pour into loaf pan (and top with walnuts, pecans, sliced almonds etc.). I topped with brown sugar since the bread is only sweetened by the honey. Then I sprinkled walnuts which were just wonderful!

Bake for 40-45 minute or so rotating the pan in the middle of the bake-time.

Burrata & Prosciutto Pizza

Trader Joe's pizza dough. Go buy it. I always pass by it while shopping there thinking I don't really need it and it would probably be a disappointment, but oooooooh was I wrong. So wrong. I definintely need this in my life. I can't believe it took me this long to purchase the stuff. You are going to be blown away. Now after trying this, I'm taking a vow that I will never have pizza delivered to my house again. Why would I when this is so easy and sooooooooooooo oh.my.god. GOOD.

Just a few simple, easy steps.

Take the dough out of the packaging and flour your surface. Let the dough rise for 20 minutes.

Now it's time to test your pizza making skills. Toss the dough in the air to round it out. When finished, place on a baking sheet. What's awesome is the pizza doesn't have to be a perfect circle! It's homemade, so why not make it rustic? Mine turned out a little bit rectangular but the flavors all the same!

Spread the Trader Joe's pizza sauce (usually placed right by the dough in the store) on top of the dough.

I chose to use Burrata instead of regular Mozzarella because it's my favorite. I was a little worried that after heating, the burrata would fall apart and release a lot of water, but it worked out wonderfully. If you like goat cheese, blue cheese or any type of cheese, go ccrraaazzzyy. Next time I am going to try out a chicken, pear, candied walnut and gorgonzola pizza.

 

And after 12-15 minutes of baking in the oven, the crispy prosciutto, soft and fluffy burrata cheese ooze together and create a bomb ass pizza. The next day, I found some more Trader Joe's pizza dough in the fridge. I guess it's time to test out that gorgonzola, chicken pizza I was discussing earlier :)

Ingredients:

1 bag of Trader Joe's Pizza Dough

1 container of Trader Joe's Pizza Sauce

Burrata or Mozzarella Cheese

Prosciutto slices

Any topping your heart desires!

Directions:

1. Take the dough out of the bag and let rise for 20 minutes. After, carefully toss the dough in order to stretch it out. I like my crust thin and crispy so I basically covered the entire baking sheet.

2. Rub pizza sauce on top. I used the whole container even though it looked like a lot, but once cooked, it was just right. Slice burrata or mozzarella and disperse over the pizza sauce. Piece apart prosciutto and place on top of cheese. (If your one of those people who likes a lot of toppings, go crazy!).

3. Bake in a preheated oven at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and crispy.

Nutella Cookies

When figuring out what I should make for my little sister, Claire, for her 14th birthday celebration, I was struck by the idea of Nutella. Yes, that is a hint of what is to come (possibly a cake with nutella filling? who knows?!) Seeing as how Nutella was my primary source of nutrition while living in Italy, and slowly but surely became an everyday food item when I moved back to the States, Nutella spread on saltines is and forever will be a staple in my life. I can't describe how much I love the oooey goooey chocolate & hazelnut spread, but just trust me, it's an unhealthy amount. Whatever. It makes me happy and that's all that matters right? On occasion though, I will eat too much of the stuff and my tongue won't have working taste buds because of the acid. Hmmm, I should probably monitor myself...

 

 So it just so happens, I had a jar of nutella at home. Why not make a recipe that uses the yummy stuff? I really wanted cookies to dip in milk so I settled on chocolate cookies made with cocoa powder and nutella spread combined, leaving me with a wonderfully delicious, chewy midnight snack. You won't be disappointed if you make this. I know I wasn't. I think the recipe yielded around 3 dozen cookies and they were all gone by the next day. No exaggeration here. Oooops!

 How can anyone resist this stuff? I sort of hate Europe for bringing this into my life.

 Is anyone else noticing their chocolate craving increasing with age? At this rate, I'll be eating a whole bag of chocolate every night.

Oh, fun fact! I just came across a new item while shopping at Trader Joe's. Buy the dark chocolate almonds with rock salt because they are the best thing since sliced bread! I run to them if I am in dire need of some good chocolate and don't have these wonderful chewy nutella cookies on hand. I wish I made a double batch!

oooooh la la. chocolate and milk. the ultimate combo.

 Yep, we all know what that looks like! My sister could not let it go...

 

 After refrigerating the cookie dough for 15 minutes, scoop 1 tbsp. and roll into a ball, placing on lined parchment paper. Press down in the middle of the cookie because these cookies don't really rise when they bake.

 Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Recipe slightly adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup of all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of baking powder

2/3 cup of cocoa powder

1/2 cup of unsalted butter

1/2 cup of granulated sugar

1/2 cup of dark brown sugar

2 tsp. of vanilla extract

1/2 cup of Nutella

1/3 cup of milk

Directions:

Whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder, and cocoa powder) and set aside. With a stand mixer, combine unsalted butter with both types of sugar. Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about two minutes. Add the vanilla extract, and if you want for a little more punch add some hazelnut extract (I did not have this one hand). Add the nutella until completely mixed together.

Into the creamed mixture, add the dry ingredients in increments, alternating with the milk in one batch, mixing well. Chill dough for at least 15 minutes because the cookie dough is very sticky and hard to deal with. You can even make the dough a few days in advance! Just wrap in plastic and place in the refrigerator. 

When ready to bake the cookies, take the batter out from the fridge and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and begin scooping 1 tbs. balls, rolling the dough to be placed on the sheets. Gently press down on the cookie dough balls to flatten slightly (like shown above in the last picture). Continue making dough balls until you fill the cooking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between cookies.

Bake cookies for 10-11 minutes, or until soft and chewy. Remove cookies from the oven and let sit for 2 minutes to set. Transfer to cooling rack and let cool completely. Go grab a glass of milk cause you are DONE and ready to eat!