How was everyone’s weekend? It’s weird to think that today is actually Halloween because I feel like it was the last 2 days instead. My weekend was filled with trying new recipes and of course going to a costume party, I dressed up as Edie Sedgwick naturally. Above is a recipe from my new favorite show on Cooking Channel called Simply Baking with Lorraine Pascale. Lorraine is a model turned cook which I found out after I started watching her show, but gives her extra credit in my book. This recipe is ridiculously easy and perfect for when you have unexpected guests. I used Brie instead of Camembert because I couldn’t find it and it worked equally as well. Here is the recipe.

Here are some photos of my costume on Saturday, they are both from a cell phone so bare with me. I also didn’t plan on doing the same pose twice…it just happened. I looked up on YouTube how to do 60′s makeup, added a mole, pinned up my hair so it appeared it was short and put on some huge earrings…..Edie Sedgwick. I semi want to dress like her every day now and might start doing so…..that or just applying 60′s make-up daily because CLEARLY I was born in the wrong era. Tonight I’m trying out another new recipe for dinner (which I will post about) and going trick-or-treating with my friend Joey which has been a tradition for us for 11 years now. Have a safe and fun Halloween!

I went to my aunts on Saturday night for a dinner that my good friend/cousin’s wife made. She had told me that she had learned how to make homemade ricotta, that it was bombies and that I needed to come over asap to try it. Saturday was THE night and not only was it truly scrumptious but it is the easiest thing since cereal..(not really but you get it). She followed this recipe, except she used vinegar instead of lemon juice, and put it on multi grain toast with some rad Ratatouille. We could not stop talking about how we couldn’t believe how easy it was to make ricotta….FREAKING RICOTTA! I always thought it was a secret kept in Italy but I was damn wrong. Anyway I will definitely be trying to make this myself and I strongly encourage you to, too. Happy Monday.

Another food post…

On Friday night me and the bf hosted a dinner party with 4 of my closest girl friends and their boyfriends. Each of them brought something different as we hosted and I made the main course. I made a chicken carbonara (using this recipe) which turned out really yummy and also my favorite salad which I wrote about here. My friend Laura brought cheese to snack on and homemade whoopie pies for dessert, Jamie brought a delicious pomegranate, apple and cranberry martini and Amanda brought garlic bread and veggies. We ate, laughed, sipped on our drinks, played games and enjoyed each others company. 

In the carbonara recipe it called for 8 egg yolks ( I had 16 because I doubled the recipe) therefore I saved the egg whites and made mini frittatas for breakfast this morning. You can add whatever fillings you want to these such as ham, cheddar, bacon etc. Here’s the recipe…

Mini Frittatas

(makes 12 mini frittatas)

cooking spray

16 egg whites (if you want to add one egg with a yolk in there to give it some density you may)

1/4 cup of milk

1/2 cup parmasean cheese

1 zucchini minced

3 fresh basil leaves minced

2 green onions minced

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon oregano 

Salt + Pepper

Preheat oven to 400°

Get out one muffin pan and spray inside with cooking spray.

Put egg whites in a bowl and whisk until a little bubbly (this will make the eggs more fluffy). Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Use a ladle and scoop egg mixture into the muffin pans filling 3/4 of the way. Put in the oven for about 15 minutes until slightly brown on top. Scoop out and drizzle with garlic olive oil or hot sauce (any sauce of your choice really). Enjoy! 

I spent my new years day relaxing, watching Scottt Pilgram Vs. The World, taking care of my sick boyfriend and cooking. First of all, Scott Pilgram Vs. The World was AWESOME. I completely dismissed the movie when I saw the previews because I thought it was some dumb indie movie with Michael Cera just like the other 5 he did. (don’t get me wrong I like indie movies). The graphics were intrigueing, the story was entertaining and the cinematography and directing was unique and fun.

Now onto the cooking portion. If you know me, you know I LOVE COOKING. I work full time so it’s hard sometimes but today I got to relax and enjoy it. I started off with making blueberry sour cream pancakes and eggs with goat cheese and green onions. My mom got me these awesome books (pictured above) and I’ve been wanting to use them so I dug into the Easy Breakfast and Brunch and got the recipe for the pancakes in there. They turned out thick, light, fluffy, creamy, a little tangy and sweet. Super yums. I left the recipe below for you fellow cooks to try out.

As for the eggs I beat them then added goat cheese, onion powder, green onions, salt and pepper then added it to the pan. Simple but delicious.

After we watched the movie and laid down for a while I made homemade minestrone with a few little twists of my own. I used this recipe from Giada (my fave). I added tortellini and zucchini which made it yums, I omitted the panchetta because I didn’t have any on hand, and I also used chicken broth instead of the beef broth it said to use. It was super hearty and perfect for the cold weather we’ve been having out here (which I love!) I forgot to take a picture of the soup so instead I thought I would capture how good it was by taking a picture of my empty bowl (almost licked clean). I hope you guys enjoyed your New Years day! xo

Blueberry Sour Cream Pacakes

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup refined sugar

2 eggs, seperated

1 cup sour cream

2/3 cup milk

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

8 oz. blueberries, fresh or frozen

Vanilla ice cream

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a bowl. Put the egg yoks, sour cream, milk, and butter into a second bowl and beat well, then add the flour mixture all at once and beat until smooth. Put the egg whites into a clean bowl and beat until soft peaks form. Fold them gently into the batter, then fold in the blueberries. (Do not overmix-a few lumps of flour and egg white don’t matter)

Lightly grease a skillet and preheat over medium heat. Reduce the heat. Pour 3 tablespoons of batter into the pan and cook in batches of3-4 for 1-2 mintues over very low heat to avoid burning the blueberries, until the bubbles begin to appear on top and the underside is golden brown. Turn them over and cook the other side for 1 minute. Transer for a plate ad keep them warm in a low oven while you cook the remainder.

Serve with maple syrup and/or vanilla ice cream.