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No Bake Cannoli Cheesecake
I love any dessert that I can “chef bake”. We use this term in the industry when we are stating that we are a savory chef, but can still bake a little. Yet are by no means a pastry chef. This is the exact recipe that I would say is a “chef bake” kind of dessert. This is a dessert that looks and tastes amazing. Everyone will be wow’d and think it took you hours. Yet, it comes together so quickly and easily. It is simple and simply delicious. Do you need to use gelatin in a no bake cheesecake? A lot of times a no bake cheesecake will call for gelatin. This…
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Spring Vegetable Pasta
I cannot get enough of the fresh veggies of Spring. Let’s be honest, I also cannot get enough of pasta, any pasta… any sauce… any time. So, this dish is absolutely perfect for me. This pasta dish incorporates the best of the Spring veggies with a thick and luscious Parmesan cream sauce, garlic and fresh herbs. It is a flavor boom in every bite. I know that something is really good when I literally crave it when I am not even cooking it. When I try and think of weeknight dinner ideas and this just pops into my head because it is so good I cannot stop thinking about it from the last…
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Spring Desserts
I made these two desserts for Easter and they were a huge hit. I made lemon meringue pie and olive oil cake that I served with amarena cherries. The hint of orange with the cherries was incredible. I feel like lemon meringue pie is one of those desserts that people are intimidated to make. Really it is not hard, it is just a little time consuming. I like to break it up to make it easier to get it done. We usually make the pie crust and par bake it and then make the curd and then assemble and bake everything together. It makes it easier to manage, especially when you are doing…
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Cadbury Mini Egg Cookies
These are the best Easter Candy cookies EVER!!!! I have always been a Cadbury creme egg fan. I know they are not everyone’s jam, because they are very sweet and the inside can be a lot to get through. Yet, I have always said that the chocolate on them is not like any other. Then when they came out with the Mini eggs… I flipped out! They are AMAZING! The candy coating on the outside of the Mini eggs is not like any other candy coating. So, darn good! With all of that said, when it was time to come up with Easter themed desserts, I could not skip over the amazing…
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Focaccia Pugliese (focaccia with potato flakes)
Focaccia bread is one of those things that everyone loves, but not many people know where to start on how to make it. To be completely honest, I got my first focaccia bread recipe from my Italian mother in law. I went to her house and made it with her so that I could measure. Because like any good Italian Nonna, there are not measurements with the recipes. I have been working on making it my own for the past 10 years. Truly. That is how long it has taken me to get the recipe that I call my focaccia recipe. In the beginning, I made it exactly how she showed me. It…
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Strawberry Cream Cookies
I don’t think I have ever made cookies with fresh fruit before. Then my husband came home from the store, so excited that strawberries were on sale 4/$5!!! Whoo hoo… what the hell am I going to do with 4lbs of strawberries before they go bad! LOL Then I thought, well, my middle daughter, Gabriella loves strawberries, and she is not big on sweets. Yet maybe if I put strawberries in the sweets, she would like them? Plus, we all love cookies… I mean, I don’t think we can be friends if you don’t like cookies! Just saying. So, that is how this all came about. The Strawberry and cream cookie! What is…
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Homemade Paczki
In honor of Fat Tuesday this week, I thought I would post this recipe for homemade Paczki! These amazing Polish donuts are so delicious and come in a variety of flavors. My favorite Paczki is filled with raspberry jam. Yet, you can fill it with any jam or even custard that you prefer. How is a Paczki different than a jelly donut? Well, they are very similar, yet the traditional Paczki is made with an additional amount of enriching ingredients such as yeast, eggs. even higher gluten flours or even grain alcohol. This helps create a richer than brioche dough with a chewier bite and little to no crumbs. What flavor is a…
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Homemade Gnocchi with Tomato Basil Cream Sauce
I really love homemade gnocchi and I think people don’t realize how simple they really are to make. Honestly, what I do is make extra baked potatoes when I am making them for dinner another night. Then I rice them up and boom, gnocchi comes together quickly and easily. Gnocchi is a super versatile dumpling and can be made with so many different sauces. In this recipe I make it with a delicious tomato basil cream sauce, but you can also add in some vodka for vodka sauce if you’d like. You can also toss them with pesto sauces, marinara and pesto on top. That is one of my other favorite ways. Gnocchi…
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Ricotta Gnudi with Walnut Pesto
I am so in love with ricotta gnudi. I actually have another recipe on here for ricotta gnudi as well. It is slightly different and that one is made with breadcrumb. I will link it below. This one is slightly different and uses butter. I cannot get over the light as air dumplings though that taste like the inside of a ravioli! I mean seriously, isn’t that the best part! Now you get to enjoy the best part of a ravioli with all different sauces. What??? It is a dream come true. Homemade Ricotta Gnudi What is a ricotta gnudi? Gnudi in Italian means naked. So, really it is just like saying it…
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Valentine’s Day Dinner at Home
Are you looking for a way to spend a romantic Valentine’s Day at home? Maybe you order that heart shaped pizza for the kiddos and then have dinner with your loved one when they go to bed at night? Sounds like a plan to me. I will even include a fun recipe to make heart shaped pizzas at home for the kiddos! If you are over the reservations and finding a sitter… then do a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner at home this year. I have you covered. These recipes make dinner romantic, delicious, simple and fun! I hope you have an incredible Valentine’s Day dinner in this year! Get the kiddos fed first…
