Monthly Archives: July 2019

Favorite Summer Sandwich

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Photo Jul 27, 2 07 28 PM CAPRESE SANDWICH

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Hi Everyone,

I hope you are well.

The other day in the 100 degree heat, it was too hot to cook so I made a classic Italian sandwich for lunch that my mother made for us all the time during the hot summer months. I posted it on my personal Facebook page and received so many comments that it brought back childhood memories for so many.

I wanted to share this recipe so you too, can enjoy this sandwich and possibly have it bring back some memories or just need an easy no cook option- best part, very few ingredients.

My mother would make her own bread and grow her own vegetables for this sandwich. She was the best!

This year I wasn’t allowed (doctors orders) to have a garden and it was too hot to bake bread so all ingredients came from Whole Foods.

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Heirloom Tomatoes with Fresh Mozzarella on Grilled Ciabatta Bread

Ingredients:

ciabatta bread – (the best is when it is grilled lightly)

2-3 Heirloom tomatoes (I try and mix the colors)

slice of mozzarella cheese

dash of good Italian oregano

fresh basil leaf (optional)

Choice of either : extra virgin olive oil for the bread or pesto.

  • I prefer pesto for this sandwich and I always keep small bags of homemade pesto in the freezer. You can buy pesto in a jar and keep it in your refrigerator if you don’t make your own.
  • Whenever I find gorgeous basil leaves I make pesto, so I have it for sandwiches, pasta and breads. Recipe at the end of the post.

Directions:

The directions for this sandwich are beyond simple. Grill the bread, spread the pesto on the bread slices and a little on the mozzarella slice, layer the tomatoes, dash of oregano, basil leaf and you are done- Enjoy!

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Pesto Recipe

Using a food processor is the best way to make pesto unless you have a mortar and pestle and a lot of time.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups fresh basil leaves
  • 2 cloves of peeled garlic (you can add more if you prefer a strong garlic taste)
  • 1/3 cup pine nuts (can be substituted with walnuts or almonds if you prefer)
  • 1/2 cup grated cheese (I use locatelli)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 cup olive oil

Directions:

  • Remove the basil leaves from the stem, and wash and dry the basil. 

Cooks Note: Since my transplant I follow doctors orders to wash all produce in a bowl of cold water with 1 tbsp of baking soda and let it soak for 10 minutes, then rinse with cold water and dry. This has been know to take off the most pesticides).

  • Add the basil to the food processor bowl along with 2 peeled garlic cloves, pine nuts, cheese, salt & pepper and give it a few pulses.
  • While the food processor is running, stream the olive oil into the basil mixture.
  • I usually taste for seasoning and if all is to your liking your pesto is ready.

Cooks Note: If you are not using the pesto immediately, you can store the pesto in a bowl with plastic wrap in the refrigerator but make sure the plastic touches the pesto to prevent it from turning brown. Also, you can add pesto to plastic freezer bags, squeeze the air out and store in the freezer 

Pesto will last 1 week stored in the refrigerator and 3-4 months stored in the freezer.

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Until my next post, make every day a celebration!

Stay well,

Diane

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Ask your family and friends to share, like, comment and join DishingwithDiane.com and become part of the family!

Once you become a member, you’ll never miss a post.

Also, continue to send me your comments and emails, I Love hearing from you. 

 All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my photos without prior written permission. Thank you!

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Chicken and Waffles, Diane’s way…

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Photo May 05, 8 12 50 PM CHICKEN AND WAFFLES 2

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Hi Everyone, 

Hope this post finds you well.

I promised more recipes during my recovery and I have another recipe to share that I posted a few weeks back on Facebook. I think you will like this one. Ciao!

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I am getting around a little bit more, so Bob and I have been taking it slow and cleaning the garage and preparing donation boxes. When I get tired, Bob continues on his own. You could say I am a little late on my Spring cleaning….

Bob was cleaning the garage mezzanine and came in the house with a box and said, “Look what I found?” These four words always get me excited because I have collected so much stuff over 31 years of marriage, that I never know what I might stumble upon and most definitely I forgot about it tucked away in the attic or basement or garage. 

Well, this was the case with the mystery box. I peaked inside and a flood of memories came back to me.

It was a waffle boat maker.

I know that doesn’t sound that memorable, but when my son was little we would eat ice cream in waffle boats with sprinkles and whipped cream on the patio after soccer practice and just talk about anything and everything.

It was a great one on one time with my son.

Bob asked if we should keep the waffle maker or donate it and then the bell in my head went off with an idea.

One of my favorite meals to order at brunch is “Chicken and Waffles”.  

What if I prepared fried chicken wings in waffle boats? And at that moment, I knew what we were having for dinner. Bob went out to Whole Foods to buy waffle mix and a few packages of chicken wings and when he got back, I got to work.

My favorite recipe for fried chicken is a recipe from Ina Garten for oven fried chicken – easy preparation and it starts off in the frying pan for three minutes and finishes baking in the oven. Of course I had to tweak the recipe a bit– see cooks notes.

Very easy, and the chicken is always crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Her recipe calls for marinating the chicken overnight in buttermilk, but in this case I only marinated the chicken for two hours because I couldn’t wait.

Cooks Note: To the buttermilk, I added  1- 1/2 tsps. of dried tarragon and a splash of sriracha sauce.

(I will share the recipe at the end of the post).

Now, what to serve with this and the first request Bob had was French fries so that was an easy decision. Cole slaw or mashed potatoes with gravy would be nice also.

I am serving the chicken with three condiments- maple syrup, honey and hot sauce. (I love Mike’s Hot Honey on chicken- unfortunately for me, I can no longer have raw honey so I have to settle for the pasteurized “honey in the plastic bear bottle”. 

Making the waffle boats were a snap with the mix and dinner was ready in no time. For the full experience with this meal, Bob and I had ice cream for dessert.

BTW– this is the waffle boat maker that I used. I have had it so long it is considered a “collectible” online. How is that for making someone feel old? A collectible appliance.

It can be found on Amazon from various sellers- price varies from $147 to $300.

VillaWare 2007 UNO Series Waffle Boat Maker

VillaWare 2007 UNO Series Waffle Boat Maker

It was a great dinner with lots of memories and one I am sure any child (that is children of all ages) would love to have fried chicken wings in a waffle boat. 

Photo May 05, 8 11 47 PM WAFFLE BOATS

Oven- Fried Chicken

recipe courtesy of Ina Garten and Food Network

Ingredients:

  • 2 chickens (3 pounds each), cut in eight serving pieces
  • 1 quart buttermilk
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
  • Vegetable oil or vegetable shortening

COOKS NOTES:

FOR  MY ADD ON… tarragon & hot sauce

Adjust the buttermilk amount according to chicken quantity…

Directions:

Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl and pour the buttermilk over them. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Take the chicken out of the buttermilk and coat each piece thoroughly with the flour mixture. Pour the oil into a large heavy-bottomed stockpot to a depth of 1 inch and heat to 360 degrees on a thermometer.

Working in batches, carefully place several pieces of chicken in the oil and fry for about 3 minutes on each side until the coating is a light golden brown (it will continue to brown in the oven). Don’t crowd the pieces. Remove the chicken from the oil and place each piece on a metal baking rack set on a sheet pan. Allow the oil to return to 360 degrees before frying the next batch. When all the chicken is fried, bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink inside. Serve hot.

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I hope you have a chance to try this recipe.

Until my next post, make every day a celebration!

Stay well,

Diane

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Ask your family and friends to share, like, comment and join DishingwithDiane.com and become part of the family!

Once you become a member, you’ll never miss a post.

Also, continue to send me your comments and emails, I Love hearing from you.

 

 

 

My 4th of July Favorites-pizza & potato salad…

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Hi Everyone,

I can’t believe that the 4th of July is this Thursday- Wow!

I am not having a big get together this year, it will be just me and Bob. I am still not allowed to have visitors. I am keeping it very mellow and Bob will be grilling for the two of us and I will be making my traditional 4th of July potato salad.

I am re-posting two of my recipes that I made last year to give you some ideas for this 4th of July.

My Flag pizza (big hit) and my most requested potato salad. Enjoy!

Have a safe and Happy 4th of July with family and friends and be mindful of your pets and fireworks.

Click on the photo to enlarge, and the back arrow to return to original size.

Flag Pizza

Photo Jul 04, 12 48 00 PM FLAG PIZZA

I saw this recipe on one of Giada’s shows and I just had to make some pizzas, they were too cute.

I brought them to a friends house last 4th of July, along with my potato salad- big hit.

This year I have added a few substitutions for some of the ingredients if you want to change things up a bit….

Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients:

FOR THE SPINACH

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

5 ounces baby spinach, chopped *

1-2 teaspoon kosher salt

TO ASSEMBLE

2 tablespoons flour

1-pound pizza dough

1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3-4 cup pizza sauce

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 tablespoon ricotta cheese**

28 slices pepperoni***

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 500°F. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven.

Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and the garlic and cook until fragrant and lightly browned. Add the spinach and the salt and cook, stirring often, until the spinach is wilted, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain the spinach in a fine mesh strainer. Set aside.

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of flour on a clean work surface. Place the dough on top and sprinkle it with the remaining tablespoon of flour. Roll the dough out to a 15 X 10-inch rectangle. Drizzle the oil on a rimmed baking sheet and spread it evenly using a pastry brush. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet.

Spread the sauce over the entire crust. Sprinkle with the mozzarella, creating a 5 X 4-inch rectangle in the upper left corner with slightly less cheese. Squeeze the liquid from the spinach and spread evenly over the upper left corner. Dot small clumps of ricotta cheese over the spinach to form the “stars. ” Arrange the pepperoni over the remaining surface of the pizza in horizontal rows, slightly overlapping the slices to form the stripes.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and cooked through and the cheese is bubbly.

* you can substitute 4 small purple potatoes for the spinach- sliced thin with a mandolin and sautéed in olive oil until crispy- approx. 7 minutes

**- you can substitute mozzarella pearls for the ricotta

*** – you can substitute grape tomatoes cut in half OR strips of bacon for the pepperoni

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Now for the potato salad…

Photo Jul 22, 12 44 32 PM potato salad

 Whenever I am invited to a barbecue, everyone asks me to bring the same thing- my potato salad.

This has to be the easiest recipe around and it is always a crowd pleaser, so I wanted to share this with all of my members.

I have been making this potato salad over 20 years and I don’t remember where I got the original recipe from. Of course, I have tweaked it a little here and there over the years (I couldn’t help myself).

In my house, we have made it a tradition that this potato salad does not make an appearance until the 4th of July. After that, I make it the rest of the summer.

The recipe calls for 1 dz. hard boiled eggs, so make sure you check your eggs for freshness.

Check your eggs for signs of cracks. Since fresh eggs are harder to peel it is best if you purchase your eggs a week prior to boiling.

You can test the freshness of the eggs by placing them into a glass of water. The freshest eggs will lie on the bottom of the water on its side. As an egg ages the air pocket inside grows so your egg will start to stand up on end. An egg that floats to the top should be discarded.

If you try this recipe, PLEASE let me know what you think.

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DIANE’S POTATO SALAD

PREP TIME : approx. 2 hours

Ingredients:

5 lb. bag of red potatoes -NOT PEELED -boil whole until fork can pierce skin but not mushy/ DRAIN

2 ½ C         Hellmanns mayo –not light

5 TBSP      Red Wine Vinegar

3 ¾ tsp       Kosher salt

2 ½ tsp       Sugar

¾ tsp          Pepper

2 ½ C         Celery (chopped)

1 ½ C         Red onion (diced)

1 dz            Hard boiled eggs

Directions:

Mix mayo and vinegar together—Add salt, pepper, and sugar and mix thoroughly.

Add celery and onions—Next add potatoes WARM  (cut into bite size pieces)

Add eggs (sliced) and fold all ingredients together.

(Best when chilled in the refrigerator for a few hours).

ENJOY!

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Until my next post, make every day a celebration!

Stay well, 

Diane

Thank you for visiting my blog.

If you enjoy the posts, please spread the word and ask your family and friends to become members of DishingwithDiane.

Once you become a member, you’ll never miss a post.

Also, continue to send me your comments and emails, I LOVE hearing from you.