WHERE IN THE WORLD IS FABIO??

Do you see the delicious Caesar salad, mushroom and sausage risotto, and Linguini Vongola...do you see my sister Lisa, my daughter Ali and I, smiling at the camera? Something is missing from this lovely evening - it's Fabio Viviani, Season 5 Italian contestant who stole our hearts on Top Chef....The restaurant is Cafe Firenze in Moorpark, Ca.....I planned this little excursion over a month ago...very excited to try his cuisine and of course, maybe get a glimpse of him....

Not gonna happen...half way through the salad course we discovered that Fabio sold his portion of the restaurant and is no longer associated with this establishment...He has opened a new place in North Hollywood, Firenze Osteria, telephone number (818) 760-7081.

To say I was disappointed, well, yes I was a little...but the food was great...we had a free wine tasting of three delicious wines, and the service was outstanding. but for those of you who want to see what Fabio is creating over at the new place...make sure you call the above number!

Happy New Year!

WHITE CHRISTMAS VS. WARM CHRISTMAS

Same day...different coast -the middle photos is my cousin's car almost covered up on Long Island....For all of my east coast (and midwest) friends and family, I wish you you a very Merry Christmas..and for the rest of you California folks...

I'm dreamin' of a warm Christmas

Unlike the one's I used to know

Where the palms trees wave

And flip-flops are still the rave

Even on December 25th

I'm dreamin' of a warm Christmas

With every beach I walk along

May your days be merry and warm

And may all your Christmases have no storm!

Happy Holidays!

NUTELLA PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICHES...OH MY!!!

After baking lemon ricotta cookies, chocolate chocolate chip peppermint cookies, orange spiced oatmeal raisin cookies, Mexican wedding cakes and cranberry coconut chews, I realized something was missing.....

Peanut Butter, and what might a little more yumminess to that basic cookie.....NUTELLA!!

Just find your favorite peanut butter cookie recipe, double it and smother nutella between two layers!

Perfection-----add a nice cappuccino, put on some Christmas tunes and you are a happy camper!

No brainer!

THE BIRDS!!!

It may be possible that you were alive when Alfred Hitchcock made the movie "The Birds"with Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor. I was 10 years old and it scared the.......out of me! I spent a lovely afternoon in the town last Wednesday with my daughter Ali and husband Steve. I am sure Bodega Bay was just another sleepy fishing village before "The Birds" filming made it quite famous. It is a scenic drive to Bodega Bay,and we passed many dairy farms, and quaint small towns. On the way back we vowed that on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving we would walk across the Golden Gate Bridge...Lucky for us, it was raining Friday morning...so ALL those calories consumed on Thursday are going to have to hang around a few more days...

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday and now on to Christmas decorating!

NIGELLA'S LEMON RISOTTO

You all know Nigella Lawson, the beautiful British cook, who we (or I should say men) love to watch as she so sensuously cooks and enjoys her food - especially when she is raiding the refrigerator in the middle of the night in her robe or pj's!

I decided to make risotto the other night along with grilled salmon and asparagus...and came across this recipe of hers:

LEMON RISOTTO

2 shallots

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 T. olive oil

1-1/2 c. risotto rice

1 quart of vegetable stock (I used chicken)

1/2 lemon, zested and juiced

a few small sprigs of fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1 egg yolk

4 T. grated Parmesan, plus more, for garnish

4 T. heavy cream

White grating pepper

Sea Salt to taste

Put the shallots in a mini food processor and blitz until they are finely chopped. Heat half the butter, the oil and the shallot mixture in a wide saucepan, and cook to soften the mixture for about 5 minutes, making sure it doesn't stick. Mix in the rice, stirring to give it a good coating of oil and butter. Meanwhile, heat the stock in another saucepan and keep it at the simmering point.

Put a ladleful of the stock into the rice and keep stirring until the stock is absorbed. Then add another ladleful and stir again. Continue doing this until the rice is al dente. You may not need all of the stock, equally, you may need to add hot water from the kettle.

Mix in the lemon zest and the rosemary into the risotto, and in a small bowl, beat the egg yolk, lemon juice, Parmesan, cream and pepper.

When the risotto is ready, take it off the heat and add the bowl of eggy, lemony mixture, and the remaining butter and salt to taste. Serve with more Parmesan.

All I can say is this is the best risotto I have EVER tasted, except for the Saffron Shrimp Risotto I ate in Rome! At first my husband, said, too much lemon, then he couldn't stop eating it!

Or maybe he was just fantasizing he was having dinner with Nigella!!!

HELLO SUSTAINABLE...GOODBYE STAINED OAK

I love a good deal, and recently my friend Janie at Panini Girl let me in on a deal that I couldn't pass up....a beautiful mango wood table for only $75.00...it has a few minor scratches, but other than that it is perfect!......Mind you I had my previous dining room table - a reproduction oak pedestal table - for 22 years, and was more than happy to get rid of it. The economy being what it is today and not having an extra $1,000.00 to buy the table of my dreams, I wrote the check! I was happy to donate my lovingly worn table to the Salvation Army...I call that a win win situation! Thanks again Janie....

Courtney meets Martha

Martha Stewart is a very nice person! Courtney waited in line 3 hours, and when it was time to get the book signed, we quickly shared her story, and showed Martha the photo she had sent Courtney 15 years ago...she was very interested, and asked Courtney if she was "well" now, and put Best Wishes Courtney on the book!

Martha is a Good Thing, and it's all good in Courtney's world! Who knows what's next...maybe her own Food Network show!

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!!!

I should be ashamed of myself for not blogging for a LONG time, I guess life gets in the way, or I don't feel inspired, but anyway...so the big news this week is I got a seasonal job at SUR LA TABLE, the cooking and foodie store which is a 5 minute drive from my house....I am very excited to be spending all of my earnings on Christmas gifts and items for me this year at this amazing store.

I made a killer paella the other night and when I get my cut and paste to work on this program I will be excited to share the recipe with you.... I did learn that I need to buy a new paella pan when I my get 40% discount, because it was overflowing.

I hope everyone is enjoying our beautiful fall weather, because I could not take those hot flashes I was experiencing anymore with summer weather. If by chance you are you menopausal ,you understand summer needs to be a shorter season, or you have to live in air conditioning ALL the time.!

One more thing, Martha Stewart will be signing her new book at our local COSTCO this coming Sunday. My daughter Courtney wants to go and get her very own copy. You may recall in one of my earlier posts that when Courtney was recovering from leukemia I sent her a letter and a photo of Courtney holding two Martha video's in her hand. I shared how Courtney loved watching those videos over and over. Martha sent back an 8 X 10 glossy of herself...".To Courtney....You're a good thing! "

I don't know if we are going to stand in that line for at least 2 hours like I did when I met Ina, but perhaps Martha might be a little touched by this young lady, who has survived this terrible disease, is passionate about food, and wants to meet an ICON!

To be continued....

BETTER THAN A SANDY P.B. & J!

It has been sooo hot here lately, and I demanded that we have a little picnic at the beach last night. My daughter Courtney is one for always finding great recipes, so I took her suggestion and made these delicious chicken salad sandwiches on ciabatta bread, with a side of Maui onion chips and watermelon slices, and a beautiful sunset....life is good!

ROSEMARY CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICHES

3 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 3/4 lb)

1/3 cup chopped green onions

1/4 cup chopped or slivered almonds

1/4 cup plain fat free yogurt

1/4 cup light mayonnaise

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/8 t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

Combine ingredients, stirring well. Spread chicken mixture over 5 bread slices(if using whole grain sliced bread).

FAMILY...GOTTA LOVE EM!

Do you know what happens when you get 14 Italian family members together in one room - it gets really loud really quick! Why? Because Italians tend to talk loud and argue, and use their hands and then things start getting knocked over...Do you know how many glasses of wine I have spilled in my life???



My poor husband was a little intimidated by all the commotion.....4 generations of Lo Cicero's(that's my mother's maiden name) eating Mexican food, drinking wine and margaritas!. When there was a lull, I got the crazy idea to put on the old family videos...that was quite the spectacle...watching my 9 year old self do the charlston in a dress I made out of a blue pillow case and glued on red fringe-all of the haircuts my father attempted on his three daughters with super short bangs...the matching outfits we were forced to wear during the holidays back in the 60s, and of course, the many birthday parties held in our finished basement where we played musical chairs and pin the tail on the donkey.....Yes, life was so much simpler then. I usually watch those old home movies about once a year and get a could cry out of it.

Of course, there was another celebration of sorts this past weekend....the 40th anniversary of Woodstock...I could have actually gone - being 16 at the time with my 18 year old boyfriend, but that old fashioned Italian dad of mine said NO WAY.....come to think of it, I wouldn't let my 16 year old daughter go either...

Enjoy your families!

Thank you Laura!

Laura, at Ciao Amalfi! presented me with this lovely award....She has an amazing blog about living in Amalfi, Italy....see link on side... In one of her recent posts, she was visiting Capri, and did some window shopping in Anacapri...I commented that Capri and the Amalfi Coast were our most favorite places in Italy during our trip in 2007...and while we admired the views, the expensive shops, ate incredible pastries, we also had a star sighting- the one and only Barbra Streisand! She was cruising around with her dogs, a floppy hat, some kind of a mumu and a few friends...not the glamorous star that we are used to seeing! We certainly didn't expect her to belt out in song, but I think she caught the eye of many tourists that day!

In ignoring the rules, I send this out to all the blogs that inspire me --you are all lovely!

JULIE & JULIA....

Instead of blogging...I'm reading...Just finished this book, which is a hoot, and very educational, in a Julia Child kind of way. I am really looking forward to the movie coming out on August 7th. and to see how well Meryl Streep does her Julia Child imitation.

I am sure you have heard the premise.... Julie, a young New York secretary decides to start a blog which involves cooking every single recipe in Julia Child's The Art of French Cooking and blogging about it--now I don't know about you, but I don't think I would even attempt any of her recipes....Now Ina Garten - I have 6 of your cookbooks, how long do you think it would take me to cook my way through all of those....

With the way the hot summer weather has made me - lazy, I don't think it would happen in this lifetime.

Hope you are all enjoying summer! And if you have a few hours, read the book, you will get a kick out of it!

INTOXICATING!

DEFINITION: EXCITING, THRILLING, STIMULATING, HEADY, EXHILARATING.

I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED ROSES, AND HAVE A FEW BUSHES GROWING IN MY YARD THAT ARE DESPERATELY TRYING TO SURVIVE UNDER THE CARE OF MY BLACK THUMB..WHEN I DO GET A FEW BLOOMS I ENJOY CUTTING THEM TO MAKE FRAGRANT ARRANGEMENTS......I ALSO HAVE A MAGNOLIA TREE IN MY YARD...THE OTHER DAY I DECIDED TO CUT ONE OF THE HUGE BLOOMS AND PUT IT IN A SHALLOW BOWL....WOW, WHAT AN AMAZING SCENT, SWEET, EXOTIC, LEMONY...INTOXICATING!

SPEAKING OF FLOWERS HERE ARE SOME MORE PHOTOS OF THE BUCHART GARDENS IN VICTORIA, B.C. AS A FRIEND OF MINE SAID AFTER HER VISIT, IT FEELS SURREAL THERE...LIKE YOU ARE IN HEAVEN...LET'S HOPE HEAVEN LOOKS JUST LIKE THIS!

GREAT TO GET AWAY....GOOD TO BE HOME!

Back from a very long 11 days on vacation...we visited Seattle, Bainbridge Island, Gig Harbor, Sequim, Port Angeles, Port Townsend and Victoria B.C.

In no specific order we:

Saw the amazing Buchart Gardens, took 3 ferry rides, found my dream home in Gig Harbor (PHOTO 5) , got a bird's eye view of Seattle from the Space Needle, shopped at Pike's Market, ate some great seafood, saw The Proposal (cute film!) stayed at a charming B & B, walked through beautiful lavender fields, rented a turn of the century house in Sequim, and ate way too much ice cream!!

We stopped in San Francisco first and celebrated my daugher's 21st birthday and my mother-in- law's 75th...

It was great to see the Pacific Northwest...beautiful, green, and so different from where I live. Back to reality, back to enjoying summer and to my computer so I can catch up on all of your blogs!!

Happy 4th to all!

WHERE HAVE I BEEN???

Have you noticed I haven't blogged much lately? I feel bad - my laptop crashed about a month ago and, and for some reason, I haven't been as inspired working on the desktop in the office. I am stuck at home today with no car, and have done all the cleaning I want to do, which is not much.

I was looking through the pantry for something easy to bake, and with the limited ingredients on hand, and a little web searching, I found this easy Lemon Polenta cake on the Cooking Light website--and for all you Ina fans, NO BUTTER!!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients:

Cooking Spray
1-1/4 c. All Purpose Flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 t. baking soda
1.4 t. salt
2/3 cup reduced fat buttermilk
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
2 large eggs
2 t. grated lemon zest


To prepare cake, coat an 8 inch round pan with cooking spray, line bottom of pan with parchment paper, coat paper with cooking spray and set aside.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 4 dry ingredients (through salt) in a bowl, stirring well with a wisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine buttermilk, oil, eggs and zest, stirring well with a wisk. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring until moist. Pour batter into prepared pan, bake for 40 minutes or until wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes on wire rack. Remove cake from pan, and cool completely on wire rack.

The recipe calls for a fruit compote. I just made a lemon glaze out of confectioner's sugar and lemon juice. I think fresh raspberries or strawberries would also be great.

BOXERS OR BRIEFS??

You have probably been to a Tupperware party, maybe even a Pampered Chef party, and of course around the holidays we have the candle parties-but do you know what a boxer party is?

I didn't either until I was invited to the 1st Annual Boxer Party at a friend's house. Only requirement.... wear a pair of your husband's boxers or as I did, go to Ross and get a cute pair for CHEAP. Other requirements are bring a salad - I can do that, couscous salad which is super easy to make - see recipe below.

Well, it was a really fun day....my friend Katie "the artist" brought some clay and we all got creative and made some interesting pieces...Grace has a beautiful home, a great garden and a pool, and the weather was warm, so we all jumped in with our boxers...

One more thing....the wine was flowing....that just made it a little more fun...I look forward to the 2nd annual boxer party.

Who knows what we will create next year?

Here's the recipe for the Couscous, Chicken and Artichoke Salad

2 6 ounce jars marinated artichoke hearts
4 c. cooked and cooled couscous, orzo or other small pasta
2 c. coarsely chopped cooked chicken (I omitted it yesterday)
2 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup minced fresh Italian parsley
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
salt and ground black pepper
3 T. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Cherry or grape tomatoes-as many or as little as you like
Drain artichoke hearts, reserving marinade
Coarsely chop artichoke hearts
In a large bowl, stir together couscous, artichoke hearts, marinade, chicken, green onions, parsley, pine nuts and salt and pepper to taste.
Stir gently and then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and garnish with tomatoes.