Make this.

This would be a good recipe for the big giant football game coming up... it's delicious, cheesy, oozy, melty and spicy. And completely customizable. Behold. Pizza Dip. (A recipe I got from a friend.)

I should warn you that the person I got this from makes this with ricotta cheese, which I'm not a huge fan of. So I switched a few things, and Bob's your Uncle, it turned out delicious.

First mix a brick of neufchatel cheese (that's the cream cheese that's 1/3 less fat.) with about 1/2 a cup of mascarpone cheese and a few hefty spoonfuls of sour cream (Also reduced fat. If you want to go full fat, please by all means don't let me stop you.) Put it in a bowl and mix with your mixer... also add in a few shakes of garlic salt and also some oregano or other italian seasoning and some pepper. Smooth this all into a small baking dish (like 8x8 perhaps.) and then top with half a jar of your favorite tomato sauce. I like Barilla or DeCecco, but seriously, whatever's on sale will work just fine. Smooth the sauce evenly on top of the first layer. Then top with some Italian blend shredded cheese... and then whatever pizza toppings you like the best. Mister and I are pepperoni-onion pizza lovers, so I sauteed some onions in a little olive oil and put them on here with diced pepperoni slices and black olives. I would have put bell peppers on here but Mister's not a fan. Maybe next time. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or so until it's bubbly and brown in spots, like pizza. Take it out of the oven, but for heaven's sake don't eat it right away or else you will singe off the roof of your mouth and then you won't want to be my friend anymore. Serve it with whatever scoopers you like best, Scoop Tostitos are good, but Scoop Fritos taste exceptional as well, and I think really bring the party feel. Heck, you could go all fancy and find some cool crispy flatbread or something, too.

Anyway, bring this to the next party you go to. Or whip some up for Super Bowl. You'll knock their socks off. This gets 5 stars for ridiculous.


P.S. If you want to make the ricotta version, kick out the mascarpone cheese and sour cream and sub in half a cup or so of ricotta. Blehck!

I'm so over Turkey right now.

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving... our family came over and we cooked a big bird in the oven. Which yielded lots of leftovers. Even after one extra go-round of turkey, stuffing, potatoes and cranberries, I was pretty much over turkey today. But we still had two Gladwares' worth. What to do? I thought about making Turkey Tettrazini from Elise's recipes.... but the thought of more creaminess and thickness, I wasn't ready. So how about Meseidy again... I had seen her Chicken Chilaquiles recipe last week or so and thought that would be good to do with the leftover turkey. It's hard to find real, good Mexican food here and I haven't had good chilaquiles in a looong time, so here's how it all went down.


First, get some onion and garlic going. If your recipe starts this way, it's pretty much going to be a winner. Just saying. Then shred up your leftovers, so they are nice and stringy. Toss the skin. It's gross when it's cold, huh?
Add the turkey to the softened onions and add in your seasonings... I used cumin, cayenne and chili powder... a few shakes of each. Also salt and pepper. Heat the turkey through and start chopping some roma tomatoes. Add those in and let them get all melty and groovy. Then... add in a jar of tomato salsa. I'm partial to Whole Foods brand... but use whatever. And then add half a jar of green salsa. Then, add some hot sauce to your taste... We love Cholula and lots of it! Also, squeeze a lime in there and add a handful of chopped fresh cilantro.
I think at this point, you could cover all of it with turkey stock or chicken stock, heat through and call it a delicious soup. But no... keep going. Make sure to taste it right here... does it need more salt or spices or hot sauce? Good? Yes? Okay.


Then, in a small casserole, spray with with Pam and layer the bottom with tortilla chips. You could use taco shells, or tostada shells, or fry up your own chips if you want. I think this is the best way to use day old chips that you left open that have that stale chew to them. But whatever you think is best. They just have to be crunchy. On top of the layer, add half of the turkey mixture, then a layer of cheese I had half of one of those Mexican blend pre-shredded cheese bags on hand, so I used that and shredded up some aged Australian white cheddar too. Mmmm. You could use Queso Fresco or Cotija like Meseidy did, too, but you need something cheddary to glue everything together. Layer again with chips, turkey and cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or so until it's bubbly and melty and you can hear it making that bubble sound. Behold....

See look... some of the corners will be kind of burnt and good. So delicious. Cut yourself a piece and serve it with some beans or rice or both... I made seasoned black beans with mine. I served it with cilantro, sour cream and chopped avocado. (I'm a California girl, I could eat avocado on a shoe and call it good.)

This is a yummy, hearty meal... it will cure your turkey leftover blues in a hurry, and it will warm you up from the inside out. It also makes great leftovers... it's spicier the next day. Easily giving this 5 stars and a dannnnnng for good measure. Enjoy!

Elvis would approve.

Legend has it that Elvis loved him some banana and peanut butter sandwiches. In honor of October being Midwestern Chic month here at Let's Get Together, I'm taking the banana and peanut butter combo and turning it upside down.

I like my banana cake like I like my men. Smooth and rich, with some naughty, naughty frosting on top.

Here's the Banana Cake recipe (I skipped the caramel sauce in favor of Nutella. I would probably skip most things in favor of Nutella). It's good. Really, really good.

Nutella Frosting
4 Tbs. butter, softened
2 Tbs. Nutella
3 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbs. milk

Blend the butter and Nutella together until creamy. Alternately add the powdered sugar and milk until well blended. If you like a stiffer frosting, decrease the amount of milk. If you like your frosting to be on the softer side (which I do), increase the amount of milk.

Probably the Best Cupcakes I've ever made.

And believe me, I've made an obscene amount of cupcakes in my lifetime. These, however... a masterpiece. I don't know if I can top them.

They are Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache. And before you squish your nose all on me at the thought of "Banana" I'm about to school you. If you think you don't like banana, then I urge you, please try these cupcakes. The banana in them merely acts as a sweet, hint of flavor that 1. enhances the chocolate and espresso, 2. Makes these cupcakes so moist and dense you would think they sopped up something tasty, and 3. doesn't really overly taste like banana, more like a underlying note of sweetness... almost like a honey flavor. The come out the most beautiful golden brown... like a chocolate chip cookie. And the ganache totally sends it over the edge.

For you normal people that enjoy a nice slice of fresh baked banana bread, these cupcakes will take that flavor payoff and RAISE you about a hundred. I mean. Seriously. Look at the inside... there's hunks of banana in these squishy pockets and those funky black flecks that show up when you bake banana (what are those anyway, like banana seeds?) Lest we forget to mention the chocolate. The CHOCOLATE that sets everything off perfectly. Ahhhh... I can't say enough.The Recipe:

4 medium sized ripe bananas, mashed but not all the way (1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar packed
1/2 cup melted butter (unsalted)
1/4 cup milk
1 egg

Stir all of these together with your best wooden spoon... NO MIXER, please.

Then, the dry stuff:
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1 tsp. instant espresso (I used just over)
1 tsp. salt (I used just under.)
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (don't use Milk Chocolate ones. Trust me.)

Make a well in the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ones. Again, please no mixer. You want this to be soft and mooshy. Not all beaten up and bruised.

This makes about 12 cupcakes, bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let them cool for a few minutes in the pan and then move them to a rack.

When they have cooled, make the ganache: ( I made this recipe doubled, and ended up with tons of ganache leftover, so I'm giving you the half recipe. If you want to make the whole thing and have ganache for something else, knock yourself out and double the recipe.)

1/2 cup cream
4-5 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips

Heat the cream juuuuuust to a boil, stirring gently the whole time to avoid that nasty dairy skin thing. Pour the cream over the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and stir until smooth. Even whisk, maybe. Then dip the top of each precious cupcake in the ganache and let dry on a cooling rack to catch any drips.

It's actually a super easy and quick recipe. Easily, 5 Stars... no doubt. The recipe I read called for a peanut butter frosting, but I think that it wouldn't be right to add another flavor in there... I will have to try it to be sure. I'm glad I went with my instincts on this one.

Recipe for the cake courtesy of The Noshery and the Ganache Recipe is one I remembered from something I made of Martha Stewart's, but I don't have a link. But thanks, Martha.

Happy Cupcake eating! Make these for your sweetie and I'm sure you'll get a little PG-13 action at the very least.

Because it's summer and slushies from Sonic don't count as fruit.

Here's a salad that I made for a get together this weekend... I made it with baby spinach leaves, reeeaaallly thinly sliced golden delicious apples, and goat cheese rolled in roasted unsalted chopped pistachios and sliced on top. The dressing was a Meyer lemon vinaigrette that I made by whisking a little Meyer Lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon zest. I have this thing about Meyer Lemons lately. Anyway... summer light and refreshing, and the creaminess of the goat cheese goes really nicely with the pistachios. I think that's a peanut butter and jelly type flavor marriage there. Freeze the goat cheese, before you roll it, it is much easier to slice that way. You could easily add grilled chicken, or grilled salmon to this salad and make it a meal.

Other hits:


This yummy Avocado-y salad from Aida on the Food Network who amazes me with her GIANT smile... she's kind of like the Julia Roberts of the Food Network with that facial grill of hers. Click here! The only thing I really don't care for is fresh mozzarella. Maybe I just haven't ever found one that I really like, but to me it just tastes kind of flavorless. I like adding a different type of cheese, even using a regular mozzarella. You need a little bit more of a salty bite, in my opinion. One more thing, too... this recipe has wayyyyy too much oil in it. You could half it, and you'd probably be fine.

And, because cupcakes are my thang, I vote for this recipe, hands down. I want to marry it. It's Sprinkles recipe for Strawberry cupcakes. Holy. I mean. Shoot. Right? Click here!

Happy, happy. That's what you'll be.

The Pie that was made out of INSANITY.

A long time ago, Alison and I were up late chatting on Facebook and probably debating which Depeche Mode album yielded the greatest number of Twilight related songs or something like that when all of a sudden, she sends me the link to a pie she saw on a blog called Alpine Berry. I bookmarked the recipe in the hopes that someday I would make it. A few weeks ago we went to dinner at our dear friend's house, and I made the pie and brought it to them. It was such a hit, that we sent a few pieces home to her mom and dad and brother, who incidentally happen to also be their neighbors, and moments later, the three of them called and via speakerphone in unison declared this pie the best dessert ever.

People, I'm here to tell you that this pie is insane. It's the pie of insanity. If you ever saw the movie Waitress starring Keri Russell, she would make up all these new pies and give them funny names. This is so one of those pies. My friend Lo and I make pie references when asking each other how are days are going... and we say things like "Today, I'm Moody Needing Chocolate Pie with peanut butter graham cracker crust." Or "Today I'm key lime wish it was Friday pie." This is one of those pies.

At any rate... this pie could solve the budget crisis. They should make this pie into currency. They should send this pie to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This pie might even evoke a Hands Across America type of movement. It's that good.

Enough of me yammering on... go make it! Here's the link----> Insanity Pie. Please, please, I beg you... do not use a pre made graham cracker crust. Do the heavy lifting and make one from scratch. It really makes a huge difference. Plus those pans are so dinky, you'll need room in an actual 9 inch pie pan to get the job sufficiently done.

Here is a pic of the inside, too... you know, as if you needed more encouragement.

What are you still doing here?? GO!

"If you're feeling sad and lonely...

There's a service I can render...


Tell the one who loves you only...


I can be so warm and tender...

Call me. Don't be afraid. You can call me. Maybe it's late but just call me. Tell me and I'll be around."

The potstickers have landed.

You know how you see something, like a recipe or a picture or project, that gets stuck in your head and you can't get it out until you actually sit down and do it for yourself? That's what happened to me.

Ever since Ivonne at Cream Puffs in Venice posted this recipe, I haven't been able to get it out of my head. Sure, I like potstickers, but the idea to actually sit down and make them myself had never occurred to me. But the photo haunted me. Until potstickers were the only thing I could think about. So I went to the store.


And I made some dough.

And I pinched some seams.


And I took a bad picture that can't possibly accurately represent the heaven on earth that these are because I was in too much of a hurry to eat.


Heaven.

You can find an excellent recipe with super detailed instructions here (it's also linked at Cream Puffs in Venice). I used ground turkey instead of pork, and because it came in a 1.25 lb. package, I doubled the dough recipe and used the whole filling recipe. It made about 50 potstickers. I cooked off about 12 and froze the rest.

If it sounds gross, change it.

Okay, so this past weekend on Giada's show, she made these sandwiches and none of them sounded all that fantastic. One of them was an egg salad sandwich, but she put gorgonzola in the egg salad. Along with chives. And while all of those things individually taste great, the concept of all of them being together didn't quite sell me. (Plus I couldn't stop thinking about how bad your breath would be after. Eeesh.)

Next she made a sandwich (ahem, PANEENO with an Italian accent) that really pissed Alison off (we texted about it at great length) because Giada went on and on about how her mom never baked her cookies but instead she made her this PANEENO with cheese, rosemary, jam, and brown sugar. You know what Giada? My mom made cookies, okay? Sometimes she even used store bought dough. So don't come at me with your gourmet sand- Errr... PANEENO and tell me that your mom never once made you cookies. I'm sure she just strolled you on down for freshly made Italian Gelato on the daily as well. Giada, I have nothing but love for you, but really. Sometimes I find myself saying things out loud like "Oh, spare me" when I watch your show.

Anyway... I thought the jam in the sandwich YEAH, I SAID SANDWICH reminded me of a Monte Cristo, which I normally love, except that they usually have vile ham on it... plus the whole batter and powdered sugar thing is a mess. I think the last time I had a Monte Cristo was at the restaurant inside Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland. Without ham, of course. I decided to make my own version, and it turned out so delicious, and it was so easy. I used my grill pan, too... since I don't have a Paneeno maker, And P.S. I thought it was Panini anyway? Her version was buttered/olive oiled bread, with fresh mozzarella, rosemary and raspberry jam. Eh... not so much with the rosemary. Ask Alison about the time she made something with rosemary and it took over her whole house. It's a funny story.

My version was buttered bread, with provolone and asiago cheese, then a few slices of oven roasted turkey and a spoonful of raspberry jam and the other slice of bread... Grill until crispy and serve with jam on the side a la the above photo. Giada and I do seemingly prefer the same brand of jam... I don't know what it is called but it's the one with the red and white gingham top that has some kind of French writing on it. What does that say Bonne Mama? Mamman? HEH? Incidentally, my other favorite jams are my friend Chucky's homemade strawberry jam and also the kind you can buy at Ikea. Unfortunately, they don't come around that often. But the mystery French Jam is great. It's like the French woman on Lost. Try the apricot, too.

To make a long story short, I have found that with most recipes, if it's gross, change it. You might end up making a new signature dish! This gets our top rating. 5 Stars for Ridiculous.

Click here for links:
Giada's My Mom Made this instead of cookies recipe
Monte Cristo Sandwich Recipe

Lemony Goodness.

Since she is my culinary hero and everything, I thought it was about time I included a review of an Ina Garten: Barefoot Contessa recipe. Honestly, every one of her recipes I've tried has turned out amazing, just like she promises on her show. There's nothing worse than watching someone prepare a recipe or seeing photos of some yummy food, and then attempting it yourself and finding out that you would have been better off with a $1 hamburger from Wendy's or a bowl of cold cereal. So when I want to make something delicious, I turn to Ina. Consistency is so important, don't you think?

Here's just one example of her greatness, her fabulous Lemon Bars.


I don't have her team of handsome gents on hand to make my presentation look flawless, but you get the idea. Every once in a while I get a craving for something lemony and buttery and this is the perfect antidote. I cut the recipe in half and bake it in an 8" x 8" pan, and it works just fine. Try it, you won't be disappointed.

How I roll.

Every once in a while I have a distinct and un-ignorable craving for Cinnamon Rolls. I can't tell you why, but it has resulted in much experimentation. I've tried several yeast doughs, but this recipe has to be hands down the best ever. It's puffy and light and super easy to put together. The only thing I change about this recipe is I double the filling, because I like to taste lots of cinnamon.

Behold. King Arthur Flour's recipe for Cinnamon Rolls. If I can do it, so can you.