Night Market Challenge: Peanut Butter Bacon Cannoli Cupcakes

What happens when you're out with a fellow dessert-loving blogger and you eat a sweet treat that just doesn't deliver? You go home and remake it, but better!

Blogger buddy Alyssa of Suitcases and Sweets and I were out trolling the Food Trust's Night Market, our favorite, and by far most gluttonous, activity together. It's blocks and blocks of diverse food truck offering a wide range of unique comforts. The scene is hopping and the demand (ahem, lines) can be intense. 

We are strategic in what we select to eat. 

We divide and conquer.

We share like siblings. 

And we critique like a nightmare.

 

After trolling hard-core and assessing our options, we committed to the most interesting savory foods and, as stated above, tasted, indulged, commented, considered strengths and weaknesses, and carried on.

Then came time for a sweet bite. Cupcake trucks? Meh. Alyssa bakes a mean cupcake and it wouldn't have been fair. Avante garde chocolates? Sigh. Mini key-lime pies? Sold out.

My eyes settled upon a distant chalkboard. Down at the bottom was scribbled a sugary offering of interest: bacon peanut butter cannolis. Now that was new! Bacon? Peanut Butter? In a cannoli? We were mildly concerned, maybe even a little scared, but we threw inhibition into the wind.

And it didn't deliver! The flavors were muted, the peanut butter was meek, the bacon was bland... the cannoli shell delivered, but hey, there had to be a saving grace to the thing! Sad and disappointed, we vowed to recreate those crazy flavors but better. 

Hello!

These cupcakes are full of bright, bold flavors -- a moist, fluffy cannoli flavored cupcake is filled with thick chocolate bacon ganache and then topped with a creamy peanut butter cream cheese frosting. 

It's a nutty flavor combination that combines the absolute best of sweet and savory. Bacon? Peanut Butter? Cream Cheese? Chocolate? Vanilla and Almond? 

All are front and center in this delightful remake of the Night Market original. I'm so glad that Alyssa and I were able to collaborate on something new and improved! And the best part about it was the lack of food truck to sell these out of... which meant we had every last crumb for ourselves (and a few lucky friends)!

Peanut Butter Cannoli Cupcakes: makes 24
Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 cups sugar
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup milk

For the Filling:
4 ounces semisweet chocolate morsels
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
3 strips crispy bacon, crumbled

For the Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
1 strip crispy bacon for garnish, optional

Directions:
Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake trays with 24 liners. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in bowl and set aside. With an electric or standing mixer, cream the sugar and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping after each addition. Add vanilla and almond extracts. On low speed, add the flour mixture and milk in alternating parts, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until smooth.

Fill each cupcake liner about 3/4 full with batter. Bake about 15 minutes or until golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack about 5 minutes, then remove onto the wire rack to cool completely. Meantime, make the ganache and frosting, below.

Chocolate-Bacon Ganache Filling:
Pour chocolate chips into a medium bowl. In a small pot on the stove, add the cream and butter and heat until just simmering (do not boil). Pour cream mixture over the chocolate and stir until smooth.Add the 3 strips of crumbled bacon.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting: 
With an electric mixer beat together the butter, cream cheese, and peanut butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Switch stand mixer to high and beat for another 2-3 minutes until fluffy.

Assembly:
Use an apple corer to remove the center of each cupcake, then spoon or pipe the ganache into the holes to fill. Use a piping bag to pipe the frosting onto each cupcake, then top with a small crumble of crispy bacon. Serve, or refrigerate the extras (there won't be any!).

Fresh Egg Pasta

This is my go-to recipe for fresh egg pasta. I roll this pasta out with my Kitchen-Aid Pasta Roller Attachment. It's a wonderful way to produce big, beautiful sheets of lasagna noodles and supple tagliatelle and spaghetti. This recipe produces fresh noodles that are light and airy, but rich in flavor.

Fresh Egg Pasta: makes about 1 1/4 lbs pasta
Ingredients:
2.5 cups all purpose flour, plus extra as needed
1/2 t. fine sea salt
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons olive oil
Optional: 4 T. fresh, finely chopped basil, parsley or spinach

In a food processor, add 2.5 cups of the flour and sea salt. Pulse to incorporate. Crack the eggs into a measuring cup to prevent shells from getting into your flour. Add the oil to the eggs, then pour this into the food processor. Process until the flour is evenly moistened and becomes crumb-like in texture. Add extra flour 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough is no longer sticky, processing between additions. The dough should form a ball around the blade of the processor. When you pinch it between two fingers it should not stick, but should not be dry.

Next, flour a clean work surface and set the dough down in the center of it. Knead the dough by pushing the dough away from you with the base of your palms, then folding it back on top of itself. Rotate the dough and repeat this motion. Knead for about 10 minutes, then shape the dough into a ball and allow it to rest for 15 minutes underneath a bowl. Do not allow it to rest longer than 15 minutes or it will dry out.

Cut the dough into four equal pieces, removing one and covering the rest once more. Set the pasta roller attachment set to the widest setting. Flatten your piece of dough and dust it with flour. Feed it through the rollers. Fold it into thirds like a piece of paper, dust with more flour, then feed it through the roller again. Repeat this twice. Start again with the next piece of dough, continuing with this same process until you have even sheets of pasta. Narrow the rollers to a thinner notch and repeat the process again. Continue with this process until you have reached the desired thinness.  The second to thinnest notch can be used for spaghetti or linguine. If desired, roll the pasta out to the thinnest notch to make tagliatelle or lasagna noodles.

For noodles, either add the appropriate attachment and cut the noodles, or cut them by hand with a knife.
Cook the fresh noodles in boiling salted water for approximately 5-8 minutes depending on the thickness of the noodle.

Pasta Carbonara: A Beautiful Indulgence

While traveling in Italy we ate as many different bowls of Pasta Carbonara as places we visited. Carbonara refers to pasta traditionally tossed in the pan with egg yolks, parmesan cheese, and bacon or ham. Is there anything to complain about with that combination?

Here are two of my absolute favorites... these are the two carbonaras that made my heart truly skip a beat with every bite. Interestingly, they are both very different from each other.

The first is a creamy, utterly indulgent carbonara from enjoyed on Ischia:

Oh how wonderful it was! Each perfectly al-dente noodle of linguine was thickly coated with parmesan cream and speckled with fresh parsley. Each bite hid huge hunks of smoky, savory guanciale. Yes, this portion was pretty much family-sized, and yes, I did eat the entire plate myself. 

Then, my other favorite carbonara was vastly different and yet still almost caused me to cry out in declaration that it was, indeed, the ultimate and best carbonara. But, I still felt I could not forget the carbonara I had enjoyed in Ischa. And so they ended in a tie.

This carbonara was eaten at Hosteria Romana, our last meal in Rome. The restaurant is praised here in the New York Times, and now praised here again on Pumpkin Prose. Everything from our quirky waiter (who had enough antics up his sleeve to star in his own Broadway show) to the Italian locals enjoying a Friday night dinner made it a meal to remember. The carbonara came piping hot, and as the Times suggested, "originale". That is, served in the bowl the pasta is tossed in. 

The deep orange yellow sauce was strikingly beautiful (but not too beautiful to eat). Tiny chunks of crisp and crunchy, almost burnt, and intensely salty bacon had Matt and I rolling our eyes to heaven in disbelief and wonder. I was delighted when the bowl "originale" was served to me. I even made the ultimate sacrifice and generously shared the end of the bowl with Matt (that is love!)

It was clear that this carbonara focused on a yolk-heavy sauce base while the carbonara in Ischia focused on the parmesan and may have even used cream. I did discover that while I loved both, I do enjoy carbonara best when it is served with a flat and wider noodle such as lingine or fettucine rather than spaghetti. This way, the sauce is able to cling to the surface of every noodle, which truly is the ultimate goal of this Italian dream dish.

Basic Pasta Carbonara: (adapt as you like)

1/2 lb. fresh fettucine or linguine (store bought or home-made)

8 oz. pancetta or guanciale, cut into 1/4 inch slices

2 whole eggs or 4 egg yolks, room temp.

6 tablespoons or more Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese

1 t. freshly ground pepper

2 t. salt

2 t. butter

2 t. olive oil

Fresh parsley, chopped

Heat a pot of salted water over high heat. When the water boils, add the pasta and cook until barely al-dente. Meanwhile, melt the butter and olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan, then add the pancetta and cook until it is barely crisped. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, cheese, and pepper. Keep the bowl near the stove to keep the eggs warm. When the pasta is just al-dente, reserve a small amount of cooking liquid and drain the rest. Add the pasta into the saute pan with the pancetta, then pour the egg mixture in at once, tossing very quickly to combine. The sauce should be thick and creamy. Add more cheese and pepper, and some reserved cooking liquid if necessary, to thin the sauce. Top with parsley. Eat immediately.

A Pizza A Day

While M and I were honeymooning in Italy we ate at least one pizza a day. Here, I highlight our favorite pies. Perhaps it's partly the hunger brought on by the activity and excitement of travel, but this pizza tasted fresher, lighter, crisper, and far more delicious than any I've ever had in the states (no offense to Pepe's or Modern in New Haven or Colony in Stamford).

Perhaps these pies will give you ideas for your own homemade creations! One thing they are sure to do is bring on major cravings....

A popular pizza, offered almost everywhere and which we enjoyed in multiple cites and restaurants has red sauce, mozzarella and fresh prosciutto:

The above pie was enjoyed in a quiet but beautiful restaurant on the Island of Ischia, where we sat along a huge wall of sliding glass windows and looked out over the ocean while having pizza and pasta carbonara. We happened upon the restaurant on our way to the beach. We were starving, and it was open. It ended up being one of our best meals in Italy. It was unexpected and perfect.

Next I'll share the most delicious pizza we ate in Italy. It was at Da Bafetto in Rome, a pizzeria made famous by its thin, crisp, and inexpensive pies. It's a favorite for both locals and tourists alike. It's certainly a no-frills place. They usher you in, demand your order, and throw your pie at you as fast as possible. Don't expect to linger, and you may have to share your table with other diners, as we did. At least our dining companions were able to take this photo of us:

We had our pie with red sauce, mozzarella, and slices of spicy salami. It was everything I had hoped it would be and more. We stopped at Da Bafetto on our last night in Rome, right before heading to another restaurant where we actually had dinner reservations... after all, we had to try this pizza before leaving Rome! I am so glad that we did.

 

The final pies I felt were worth sharing are those we enjoyed in Ravello, a tiny town on the top of the hillside overlooking the Amalfi coast. I was feeling absolutely nauseous from having been driven from Positano on the famous cliffside "Amalfi Drive." I needed to eat, and fast. I ordered a white pie with mozzarella, potatoes and mushrooms:

The mushrooms were juicy, the potatoes tender, and the cheese plentiful and oozing. I didn't come up for air until I had finished the entire pizza.

But it was M who ordered the most amazing pizza of all. His pie had red sauce, mozzarella, and was completely covered in FRENCH FRIES.

Every single fry was perfectly crisped on the outside and soft-savory potato on the inside... It was unbelievable. I didn't know it was possible to pull of something that satisfied the American and Italian palates at the exact same moment. I simply could not keep my fork out of M's plate. It was too irresistible.

 

Now that I've shown you enough carbs to last you a few days, I'll be back to share some of the favorite pasta dishes I ate. The pizzas we ate on our travels in Italy were all unique and every restaurant made theirs in a slightly different way than the last, but each pie tasted wonderfully fresh, the way a pizza should. 

On occasion, I find my mind wandering mid-workday to what it tasted like to take a piping hot, smothery bite of pizza in Italy. Particularly, these favorite pizzas I've shared with you here. While I am not sure I'll be as adventurous as topping my pizzas with french fries in the future, I am glad I have enough delicious memories to last me a lifetime.

Back from Italy and Dreaming in Pasta

Don't you just want to devour every last strand of this carbonara, then scrape up all of that lovely sauce from the bowl with a big piece of crusty bread?

Me, too.

All over again.

I'm back from the honeymoon, and have lots of great eating to report! In the next few posts I'll detail my favorite dishes from Italy. We dined our way through Rome, Ischia, Capri, Positano, Ravello, and Amalfi. I'll be dishing which spaghetti carbonara reined supreme and why, and divulging the eclectic pizzas toppings we encountered, from french fries to prosciutto and everything in between. I'll share how we made homemade gnocchi and ravioli, my new love for lemon cream sauce, and why I am not a huge fan of dining on scary looking fish. 

Stay tuned. I can't wait to relive every last bite as I share these delicious travels with you!

Kisses for Lauren and Matt: A Party Focused Post

I am sorry for the brief hiatus. I am back now, but I was gone for a little while. Within four days my family had a funeral, a bridal shower, and a 90th birthday party. I can finally write now because my exhaustion has lifted just enough so I can see through the tired haze of roller coaster days.

I'd like to share with you my bridal shower, hosted by my vibrant and loving bridal party.

After all, this blog is about cooking and so much of how we enjoy food has to do with for whom and why we are preparing it. Food can taste better simply based on the design of the bowl it's eaten from, the company it's enjoyed in, or the festive ambiance of a gathering. In a bridal shower, it's amazing to see how the details of entertaining can make a huge difference.

The little wine glasses were decorated with our initials and lined up, ready to be filled!

Of course, I had my own drink ready:

Guests were handed a fizzy pomegranate, blueberry, and prosecco cocktail the moment they arrived.

Everyone received a necklace with a word having to do with our wedding on it. If a guest was caught saying that word in conversation, her necklace would be taken from her. The person with the most necklaces at the end won a prize!

Meanwhile, we munched on an array of wraps catered by my favorite high school deli (nostalgic!), an amazing pesto and mozzarella pasta salad, foccacia, and two of my favorite green salads: spinach with strawberries, feta, and sliced almonds with poppy dressing, and caesar with shaved parmesan. YUM. I am one lucky bride.

Little things make an impact at a party, such as color coordinated wrapped utensils, plates, and coffee cups.  I am sure my food tasted better because of those fun square plates!

Finally, guests went home with little baggies of dark and milk chocolate kisses. The kisses were wrapped in purple and silver, and so they matched the shower colors, along with the stickers on these adorable favors.

My shower was so memorable and special because of the great women who surround me every day and on that day! I can't believe there are less than two months until our wedding, but I have a lot to look forward to knowing that I'll be spending it with the great ladies who planned this event. Feel free to contact me if you want any of the recipes above, or if you'd like to share your own favorite tips for food presentation and hosting parties!

Kimball is Sharing Recipes!

This isn't a post about something I made. Instead, it's a post about something I ate.... years ago. You see, eating at Holy Cross wasn't just a daily part of my college life, it was integral to my entire experience. My roommate sat in the same two seats in the giant, beautiful dining hall for breakfast lunch and dinner for four straight years. Our time there, leaning over the big dark wood tables, was as much about food as it was about friendship, conversation, people watching, and relaxation. Hours upon end were spent in Kimball and its no surprise that many of my favorite college memories took place there.

Needless to say, I was ecstatic to read the latest Holy Cross newsletter and see a link to Kimball's new recipe release. Evidently there is a cookbook in the works! Finally, my beloved dining hall is sharing the recipes to the treats that made us linger over our plates, return for seconds, and finally wrap a morsel or two in a napkin for later.

Kimball's first recipe is for hermit cookies. These moist, aromatic and wonderfully spiced hermit cookies were a consistent part of my Holy Cross experience. The hermits were served almost every Sunday night, two generous slabs of cookie to a plate. We'd spend the last few extra minutes of dinner slowly breaking off pieces of the soft, chewy treats with their plump raisins, then hurry to join the droves of students leaving to attend the 7PM Community Mass. The hermits were more than a food, they were a distinct memory -- a piece of comfort that made Holy Cross a home away from home. 

Kimball's Hermit Cookies: recipe courtesy of Holy Cross via website

1 ¼ TEASPOON SALT
1 ¼ CUP GRANULATED SUGAR
1 TEASPOON BAKING SODA
¾ TEASPOON GROUND CINNAMON
1 ¼ TEASPOON GROUND GINGER
½ TEASPOON GROUND ALLSPICE
½ CUP 1 ½ TEASPOON CRISCO SHORTENING
1 LARGE EGG
5 TABLESPOONS MOLASSES
¼ CUP ¾ TEASPOONS MILK (OPTIONAL SKIM, 1%, 2%, WHOLE)
3 1/2 CUPS PASTRY FLOUR
6 ¼ OUNCES RAISINS

1. Measure raisins and soak in warm water while making the cookie dough.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
3. Grease a baking sheet with a thin layer of shortening or cooking spray.
4. In a mixing bowl with a paddle, combine salt, sugar, soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, shortening, egg and molasses.
5. Mix on low speed for 2 minutes.
6. Add milk and scrape down the bowl.
7. Mix on low speed for 1 minute, then mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.
8. Add pastry flour and mix on low speed for 1 minute, then mix on medium speed for 1 minute.
9. Drain raisins and add to the cookie dough, mix only long enough to incorporate.
10. Roll pieces of dough the width of the greased pan approximately into a ¾” log.
11. Bake at 375 degrees for 14 to 16 minutes.
12. Remove cookies from the oven and cool for 2 minutes.
13. Using a pizza wheel, cut into desired size.
14. Cool completely on pan, after cookie is cooled loosen from pan with a spatula.

Tiny Turkey Day 2010

Tiny Turkey Day is holiday that M and I began as a way to celebrate Thanksgiving twice. It started four Thanksgivings ago, when M lived in Philly and I in Manhattan, and we decided to have our own Thanksgiving dinner for two before parting ways to spend the holiday with our families. It had been a tumultuous Fall and we had a lot that to give thanks for... especially that somehow we were still together.

On the first Tiny Turkey Day, M and I roasted a tiny turkey for two (this is how the day got it's name). We spent the entire day cooking in his big, barely equipped brownstone kitchen. While the turkey was in the oven, we made every dish from scratch: stuffing, gravy, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, and cranberry sauce.

That night, after the dinner feast, we bundled up and took a walk. It began to snow. When we got to Fitler Square Park, we found a bench and sat in the darkness talking for two hours as snow fell on us. I still wonder how neither of us felt the cold, but we both could have sat there all night. Fitler Square is where I found M's proposal two years later, written in sidewalk chalk.

I said:

Back to 2007. It got late, so we returned home and finished off three small pies. We were stuffed and happy. Our first Tiny Turkey Day left us with memories that M and I still look back on with much love. It's definitely a day that solidified our love, despite all the difficult changes that surrounded us.

When I moved to Philadelphia, M and I decided that our Tiny Turkey Day would be even more wonderful if we spread the love around and shared it with friends. After all, it began as a day to give thanks for and share the holiday with people in life who make it all worthwhile.

Tiny Turkey Day is in its fourth year, and as M and I say, "the turkey isn't so tiny anymore!" We have a 17 lb. bird and friends coming in from far and wide. We couldn't be any happier to share the day with them, and all of the recipes with you!

 

Tiny Turkey Day 2010 Recipes: recipes will be posted as they are made.

Cranberry Apple Chutney

Traditional Cranberry Sauce

Nonna's Sausage Stuffing 

Caramelized Pearl Onions

Chocolate Nut Pie

Pumpkin Pie with Shortbread Crust 

Pumpkin Snowballs

Rock N' Roll Peanut Butter & Banana Panini

At 8:00 this morning I was up, sneakers laced and ready to hit the trail. The dog had woken me with his usual morning antics of rolling uncontrollably and dragging himself all over the carpet. A pleasure that clearly only he understands.

But this morning wasn't a morning to stay in bed. It was a sunny, crisp Philadelphia Sunday, and I was out for the pleasure that I understand: a swift, powered up and quiet run on a clear morning. My morning runs are my time where I get lost in my thoughts,where yesterday's should-haves tangle with today's to-do's and scatter as my sub-conscious mind somehow focuses without my own awareness, the sun rising higher and shining more brightly with each step.

This morning I got all of the above, yes, I did. But this morning, my six miles were juiced up by something more, something a little different, something that completely rocked.  The Philadelphia Rock N' Roll Marathon.

The twang of electric guitars riveted off the rocks by the river. The bump of the bass resounded beneath my sneaker's rubbery soles. Multiple bands were grooving along the course, still moments too early for signs of the first competitors, and so I felt like they were playing just for me. Well, they kind of were, since I was one of the only souls out there. I was practically dance-running.

Then I saw them: the top runners rounding the corner of Kelly Drive and striding past Boathouse Row at ungodly speeds. Their bodies were all bone and sinewy muscle, arms and legs a lanky blur. I suddenly felt as if I were moving backward. To say the least, I was glad to be an observer of their activity and not a part of it. I rooted for them in my head as they flew by in small groups of two and three, too fast to be a part of the packs and throngs that would come along later.

The inspiration of watching them race and the seriously funky groove of the music had put a bounce in my step all the way home, and without realizing it had shaved minutes off of my usual finishing time. Afterward I stretched in the sunshine, I thought about the runners and wondered, of course, what post-race meal they'd celebrate with.

One of the joys of running is the eating that goes with it, and just looking at how fit those top finishers were had made me hungry. I knew what my post-race meal would be: a Rockin' and Rollin' peanut butter and banana sandwich hot off the griddle. It's a nutty, fun, powered-up meal fit for both Elvis and marathoners alike.

And since the King of Rock's favorite meal was indeed a peanut butter and banana sandwich, I think he'd agree that finishing off the Philadelphia Rock n' Roll Marathon with this delicious sandwich is the equivalent of a one-way ticket to Graceland.

Peanut Butter & Banana Panini:
Preheat eat a griddle pan to medium heat. Meanwhile, spread 1.5 T of smooth peanut butter on each side of two slices of Health Nut bread or other multigrain soft sandwich variety. Slice a slightly overripe banana into 3/4 inch slices and evenly place them over the peanut butter on the bread, then close the sandwich (banana slices should be in between two layers of peanut butter).

Place the sandwich carefully on the griddle and weigh down gently with a press or a couple of cans on top of a pan lid. Then, in a small container, combine 1 T. Earth Balance or other soft butter with 1/2 T. honey.

When the first side of the sandwich is lightly toasted with visible griddle marks, spread the honey butter onto the top of the sandwich and flip it over to finish on the final side.

When the peanut butter is just melted, the bananas soft and warm, and the honey butter crisped on the bread, you're ready to Rock n' Roll with your sweet, salty, and smothery creation!

(Napkin and/or race bib optional).

Weekends are for Omelettes

Hmm. Okay. Until I just now typed  the word "omelet" I realized that I had never before in my life written the word down. What a strange word. It keeps getting stranger the longer that I look at it, and I initially left out the first "e" when titling this post.

I'm done now. That's enough morning confessions for me.

Indeed, weekends are for omelettes. Weekends are for all those wonderful, slow and methodical foods that Monday through Friday simply don't make time for. That said, an omelette isn't complicated or time consuming, and that's part of what makes it so great. But, this breakfast is a bit special for a weekday...

When I was a child I had an omelet every single morning before school. I realized only after leaving home for college just how special I actually was to receive this daily gift of hot, cheesy goodness atop a crunchy buttered bagel. You see, my father was the man behind the breakfast, and though life as an empty-nester has led him to long put away his whisk and pan, what he gave me was a childhood full of morning thankfulness.

Each morning, my father would rise at 4:00am. I'd drift from sleep as I heard his steps slowly creaking down our staircase in the dark. Then, I'd wake again, this time for good, to the return of his creaking steps coming up the back deck at 6:00am. He'd go straight to it, dropping his gym bag in the laundry room, and soon I'd hear the sound of eggs being whisked in the bowl and smell the toasted crumbs of the cheddar cheese bagels he loved to pick out for us from the store's bakery.

When I finally stumbled downstairs, dressed and ready at 6:30, he'd present me with my plate: a golden yellow omelet oozing with sharp and creamy dark orange cheddar cheese, and a lovely butter-yellow bagel on the side, toasted to perfection and marbled with deep cheddar swirls. 

Simply remembering these mornings now makes me want to exclaim, "how lucky was I!?" But truly, I wasn't lucky because of the food. The food was secondary. I was lucky because the food was love in its most pure, caring, parental form. Thanks, Dad.

Now, I make myself my own omelettes, such as this feta, mozzarella, and spinach creation below.... and now that I'm on my own there are no weekday omelettes: weekends are for omelettes.

It was savory and filling, lovely in every way. I've learned that to make a good omelet it's best if the eggs are brought to room temperature for a while before making, and that the pan be thoroughly pre-heated over low heat for an even crust.

Whether my dad did all these things or not, I don't know. What I do know is that what he did for twelve years was absolutely perfect.

Lauren's Omelet for One:
Ingredients:
2 fresh large eggs
1 T. water
1/2 t. sea salt
1 t. hot sauce
Fillings of choice: cheeses, meats, vegetables.
Pepper to taste

Directions: Coat a 6" pan with cooking spray or butter. Bring to medium heat, then reduce to low. Meanwhite, whisk the eggs, water, salt, and hot sauce in a bowl until light and fluffy. Pour the eggs into the pan. When a crust begins to form, pick up the pan and gently swirl the uncooked egg around the sides to distribute it outward, then add your toppings evenly. Be careful not to add too much weight to break the eggs when it's flipped over. When you're able to gently lift up one side of the omelet with a spatula, you're ready to flip it. Work the spatula underneath half of the omelet, then quickly fold in half. Serve immediately, with buttered toast or bagel.

It's Labor Day Weekend! Roll Out the Dough and Fire Up the Grill.

It's a Labor Day post: a post both yummy and fun enough to get me through the long weekend. It's a party in a post.

Summer is coming to end end, and rather than cry about it, I say "fire up the grill!" Nothing says summer than food off the BBQ, eaten outdoors, citronella candles lit and dusk settling in.

In this case, we fired up the coals for a very special round of grilled pizza. My Aunt Judy, Uncle Jack, and cousin Jamie threw a little grilled pizza party when we were all out on Martha's Vineryard together (Judy and Jack's other three kids, Jon, Jennie, and Jason had unfortunately already gone home... to be with the dogs Jada, Josie, and Juno)....

Anyway, where were we? Yes, grilled pizzas.

Not just pizzas, plural, but thirty grilled pizzas were made that night. They just kept on churning them out.

This was my Aunt Judy's lineup of dough:

It's like a little pizza army, ready and waiting.

This dough carries secrets with it: It is bread dough. Simple, frozen store bought bread dough. Perhaps that secret what makes every little pizza pie so extraordinarily fluffy and chewy in the inside, and perfectly golden and toasty on the outside (grill marks included).
 

Aunt Judy lets the dough thaw a bit, then slices each dough loaf into two. She places them on floured cookie sheets to raise and reach room temperature, tucking them in with love underneath clean dish towels. While this is happening, she uses the time to prepare many delicious toppings (see below).

When she's ready to grill she cranks it to its highest setting and when it's piping hot turns it back down to low and sprays with a bit of grill spray. She then stretches out the dough, one by one until fairly thin and about 9" - 10" in diameter, then places each on the grill in turn. When the bottom of the dough is golden-brown it gets flipped over, drizzled with olive oil, then a handful of Parmesan cheese, and then whatever topping combination is next on the list.

Then, her toppings get topped: with fresh garlic, a bit of salt, more mozzarella and parmesan. Each pie then gets moved over to the right side of the grill so she can start making the next pizza. The pizza gets taken off the grill once it appears that the cheese has entirely melted.

But let's back up a minute to that mention of "toppings." I'll share a few with you here:

These are action shots, for sure. These pizza slices were flying off the pan and into our mouths as soon as the cutter lifted a centimeter from the dough... our family knows how to have a real pizza party!

Crisp broccoli and juicy grilled chicken with creamy alfredo sauce:

Fiery and saucy Franks Red Hot buffalo chicken smothered in a blend of Mexican and Mozzarella cheeses:

Crisp, salty bacon and fresh clams (surf & turf pizza!):

Grilled eggplant picked straight from the garden, with delicious red sauce:

My favorite: sweet, soft caramelized onions with sausage and bacon. A total dream...

The Margarita pizza is a classic, with huge, thick slices of fluffy buffalo mozzarella warmed over sliced fresh tomatoes:

And meaty, succulent slices of grilled steak with juicy sauteed mushrooms and savory onions. Life could truly not get any better:

Some of the topping combinations that were cranked out didn't make it into the photo shoot. We simply eat way too fast for that in this family.

At her Connecticut home, Aunt Judy grills pizzas every Friday, and usually it's for a crowd. As she notes, "many of my kid's friends just happen to show up at dinnertime..." If I lived any closer, I would, too. Aunt Judy is my wonderful godmother, and indeed, her pizzas are a gift from God.

Judy has a reputation for being adventurous with her pizzas and has been known to top her pies with anything from mashed potatoes, to every single scrap left in her toppings bowls, to whatever is left over in the refrigerator on that given Friday night (potato salad, squid, and cut up meatballs have all made the list).

Regardless of the toppings, each of these pies is intensely delicious. There's something magical that happens when fluffy bread dough meets piping hot grill... and there's something even more magical that happens when extended family is lucky enough to be together in one place, from the West Coast to the East, to share it all... Down to the very last bite.