Monday, March 17, 2014

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Italian Night with the Young Women-Delizioso!

My daughter and I were invited to an "Italian Night with the young women".  We had so much fun and ate so much food!  Let me tell you why...
Every young woman was invited  to bring her favorite Italian dish to share.  We have a sizeable group of young women so there were many Italian dishes to EAT!  And wow, these girls went above and beyond.  Some spent hours creating their dishes.  All were delizioso!


The hostess of the evening is a lot of fun and equally talented in throwing great parties.  She used her kitchen table as a base for a HUGE round piece of wood and covered it with a big beautiful piece of Italian looking cloth.  There were at least 20 people around this small (enlarged by wood) kitchen table.  In the middle of the table she had constructed a large lazy-susan type turn table.  Brilliant!  After each young woman introduced and explained how she created her dish she would place it on the turn table and spin it carefully around the table for all to taste.  

You'll also notice part of the decor included an Italian looking statue with other assorted greenery and bottled oils.  The statue...found at a garage sale for $5.    


Italian sodas were first on the menu.  This happened to be one of the young women's favorite Italian dishes.  Raspberry, Vanilla or a mix.  A huge hit.  


She shared her recipe...
For each serving:
2 oz half and half
2 oz Italian syrup flavor
4 oz club soda
2 oz crushed ice
Use a tall glass with straight sides.  Put in the ice first, then slowly add the soda, then the syrup and then the creme.  With a long spoon stir until smooth.  We used straws.

Loved these Italian syrup flavors


Next on the menu were several different antipastis (appetizers).  Bruschetta, salami and mozzarella cheese, fruit, etc.  Our main courses included lots of pasta!  My daughter chose to share her favorite, Fettuccine Alfredo.  We call it (cousin) Ben's Famous Fettuccine.  The entire dish of fettuccine was gone in about 2 minutes...seriously.  I'll plan on posting the fettuccine recipe for this coming MMMmmm Monday.  


We also brought our favorite Parmesan Cheese Toasts.  Disappeared rather quickly as well.  Find recipe here.



As we ate we learned a bit about the Italian culture.

After our scrumptious dinner (and that pasta bloat coming on...) our hostess brought out the desserts!  Several moms had lived in Italy for a time so they were pretty authentic dessert choices.  Biscotti, cannoli, cheesecake,fruits and cheeses.

I think I could live quite comfortably (or at least have a nice visit) in Italy.  The food is fabulous!

Ciao!

 photo Kelliesign.jpg

Monday, March 3, 2014

Pork Chops with Apples and Stuffing-MMMmmm Monday

I love to flip through the food/recipe magazines while waiting in line at the grocery store.  Once in awhile I even find a recipe that sounds delicious.  This was one of those recipes.  A delicious meal that was very easy to whip together.  My entire family loved it...even the child that doesn't like meat or fruit. 

Pork Chops with Apples and Stuffing











1 pkg. (6 oz) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1 can (21 oz) apple pie filling
6 boneless pork loin chops ( 1 1/2 lb) 3/4 inch thick
(chicken can be substituted for pork) 

HEAT oven to 375 deg.

PREPARE stuffing as directed on package.

SPREAD pie filling onto bottom of 13X9 inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with chops and stuffing. Cover with foil.

BAKE 40 min. or until chops are done (145 deg), removing foil after 30 min.

Recipe came from Kraft Stove Top Recipes.  Thanks Kraft Foods!

 photo Kelliesign.jpg