Aztec Salad: Repentance Never Tasted So Good

Pin It I thought that after my last HORRIBLY NAUGHTY post, the one on Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake with Raspberry Sauce, that a season of contrition was in order. Fortunately for you, I've never been very good at eating to punish myself. If I'm going to ingest calories, they'd better be good ones.

Aztec Salad: the goodness of summer on a plate.

Aztec Salad more than qualifies.

Although some of the recipes I post are decadent, they truly are not the norm, chez moi. (They're just the ones I get most excited about! :-D ) We generally eat vegetarian a couple of nights a week, and try to keep it to lean meats and lots of good veggies, most other nights.

Lots of good veggies are what this salad is all about.

This salad SINGS summer, in fact. I could eat this all day long and twice on Sunday. No lie.

I honestly can't remember when I first had this dish: maybe ten years ago? Maybe more? I was looking for no-fat dishes, and stumbled across this one. I remember taking it to a church potluck picnic once, and my friend the non-salad eater going nuts over it. It goes really nicely all on its own, or with tortilla chips, or as a wonderful side dish. It's perfect to take to a picnic/grill out, because there is no mayo, so it won't go bad.

The dish is beautiful to look at, and it keeps in the fridge for several days, so it's perfect if you're trying to shed a few pounds, and you want something delicious and healthy to eat for lunch. Just make up a batch and store it in the fridge. And do your best to keep your family vultures out of it. Good luck with that, by the way. Mine tend to swarm around it, no matter how diligently I try to keep them waved off. (Note to my friend, Pearl: you could take THIS in your lunch all week long, and it'd be a lot better than oatmeal.)

The recipe originally came from a cookbook called The Peaceful Palate, by Jennifer Raymond. I found the recipe somewhere on the internet, and have adapted it slightly to the groceries and produce that I had on hand.

Here are my recipe notes, on how I altered the recipe:

The original recipe called for Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar. Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar is just rice wine vinegar with some sugar and salt thrown in. Since I only had regular rice wine vinegar, that's what I used. I mixed it all up, and decided that with the overall sweetness of the roasted corn that I used, adding sugar was unnecessary. Nor did I add salt. I could have...but, to my taste, it didn't need it, so I didn't.

 The original recipe also called for one green pepper, and a red or yellow pepper. I find green peppers to be less sweet, and so I omitted that, and since I thought an orange pepper would be really pretty with the red of the tomato and the purple of the onion, that's what I used. You can use whatever colors float your boat, or whatever are available most cheaply.

The original recipe called for 1 15 oz. can of corn kernels, drained, or 1 10 oz. bag of frozen corn, thawed, or 2 c. fresh corn. I STRONGLY  endorse fresh corn. I had a leftover ear of grilled corn from the night before, and so that's what I used. It was so incredibly sweet and yummy! If you must use canned corn, it will work, but "the fresher, the better" should be words that you live by.

I used lemon juice rather than lime juice, but either will do.

Here's the recipe, then, with my adaptations in place.

If the Mayans brought a curse, the Aztecs brought a blessing.

Aztec Salad
(makes about 8 c.)

Ingredients for Salad:

2 15 oz. cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 c. finely chopped red onion
1 orange bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 ear roasted corn kernels, cut off the cob
2 c. cherry tomatoes, diced
3/4 c. chopped cilantro (optional if you're a cilantro hater; you could substitute parsley)

Dressing:

2 T. rice wine vinegar
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1 lemon, juiced
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 t. ground coriander
1/4 t. red pepper flakes


Directions:


In a large bowl, combine first salad ingredients.
In a small bowl, combine dressing ingredients.
Pour over salad and toss gently to mix.

I'm trying to think of a caption for this, but it's hard, because my mouth is pooling with saliva.

You should totally pin this on Pinterest. Take it to the picnic for the 4th of July. Write me a thank you note later. No rush.

Please share your thoughts or questions: you know I love hearing from you.

Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake with Raspberry Sauce

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I have no justification for this post whatsoever other than RASPBERRIES ARE IN SEASON. If you are health conscious, as we all should be, stick them in a lovely cup of yogurt, and enjoy. Read no further. Seriously. I mean it. You'll be really, really sorry if you carry on reading.

You're about to be tempted.

Turn back.


There be dragons here.

OK. Enough with the warnings. You're an adult. You've made your choice.

Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake with Raspberry Sauce
(Look closely and you can see the pitcher of raspberry sauce in the background: the color of a jewel.)

My husband LOVES chocolate pound cake.

Even though, and I quote him directly, "I'm not much on sweets".

(Oh, puh-LEEZE. How do you think he came by the name Hoovie???)

We went to a picnic recently, where, ignoring my Barefoot Contessa brownies, he went ape over a simple chocolate pound cake. Back when we were engaged, I got the recipe for a chocolate pound cake that he loved almost more than he loved me, from one of our friends. That recipe was old, and it had things in it like "oleo" and shortening, and I thought, "Surely I can find something without shortening. Butter ought to be better than margarine and shortening".

So I went to  Paula Deen, the source of all recipes containing butter, and found Paula's recipe for Sour Cream Chocolate Pound Cake. And, then, since I was making this as a special treat for my man, I thought about one of the other things that my Hoovie loves so much: raspberries. And I thought that it ought to be a piece of cake (ar, ar, ar) to find an easy Raspberry Sauce that was delicious. And it was. The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, had a lovely, very easy recipe.

In the interests of truth in food blogging, let me tell you a thing or two I learned in the course of making this, and the slight changes I made to each recipe.

In regard to the Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake: my husband used to jump up and down in front of the oven to get pound cakes to fall, when he was a lad. He likes them dense. I followed the Southern Living Cookbook's instructions in regard to pound cake, which is to beat the sugar and fat for 5 minutes in an electric mixer to get them nice and fluffy to give your pound cake a lighter texture. My pound cake was light and tender, and I think it was due to all that mixing. (Paula's recipe doesn't ask you to do that. I did it, because I remembered the Southern Living instructions.) I LIKED the texture of my cake, very much. I thought it was perfect. But my husband wishes he had been around to jump in front of the oven and make the cake fall. So...you must decide for yourself. Either don't beat the sugar and fat for 5 minutes, like I'm going to recommend that you do, or under-bake your cake, or jump up and down in front of the oven to make it fall, IF you like your cake dense and heavy, the way my husband does.

In regard to the Raspberry Sauce: the Barefoot Contessa calls for Framboise, which is a raspberry liqueur. I didn't have any, so I used kirsch, which is a cherry liqueur. That worked fine, and I'd do it again. I thought, honestly, that her sauce was a little sweet, and that's why I'm going to give you a recipe that cuts the sugar a bit. Her recipe calls for 1/2 c. sugar. I think you could easily get by with only 1/4 c, sugar, and so that's what I'm going to recommend.

Closer.

We topped our slightly warm cake with ice cream, just because, really? Why not? It makes the raspberry sauce look that much more jewel like in appearance. This is a lovely, as well as an extraordinarily delicious, dessert. And it's quite easy, too. You get a LOT of bang for your effort buck. It would be a GREAT 4th of July dessert, too.

Here are my adaptations of Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake and Raspberry Sauce:

Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake

Ingredients:

2 sticks of butter, softened
8 oz. sour cream
3 c. sugar
6 eggs
1 t. pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 c. cake flour
1 t. baking powder
3/4 c. Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325º, Grease and flour a 10" Bundt pan. (I used an an Angel Food tube pan, and that worked fine.)

Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sour cream and sugar until light and fluffy. (I creamed mine for a full 5 minutes.) Add the eggs, 2 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla.

In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and cocoa. Add 1/2 the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, beat well, add the remaining 1/2 flour mixture, and continue to beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Continue to bake for an additional 15 minutes if necessary, but do not open the oven to check the cake for at least 1 hour. (Heads up: My cake actually needed an additional 30 minutes for the wooden skewer to come out clean, although that might have been the fault of my oven.)



Raspberry Sauce

Ingredients:

1 half pint fresh raspberries
1/4 c. sugar
1 c. raspberry jam
1 T. kirsch

Directions:

Combine the raspberries, sugar and 1/4 c. water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 4 minutes. Pour the cooked raspberries, jam, and kirsch into the bowl of a food processor and process until very smooth. Chill.

Ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille. So close you can see the tiny whiskers on the raspberry.

You should maybe Pin this post on Pinterest, don't you think? Or share it?

What's your significant other's favorite dessert?

Slap Yo' Mama Butt Rubb

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Slap Yo' Mama Butt Rub

Wrapping up Grill Week here in the Boonies with a recipe for a spice rub to go on whatever meat you're going to grill. I did not name this rub, but fully endorse its deliciousness, despite the fact that I would NEVER, EVER slap my Mama, God rest her soul. The first time I ever heard that phrase was, I think, from one of my sisters, who said she had been riding a bus and had heard a girl on the bus say, in reference to a guy she found to be particularly handsome, "Giiiiiiiirrrrrrl, he be lookin' so fiiiiiiiiiiiine, he make me want to turn around and smack my Mama!".

(That must have been SOME kind of good lookin' guy, I'm here to tell you.)

My husband found this recipe for rub on the Virtual Weber Bulletin Board, a forum for grillers, shared by a member named Ronnie Hale, who got it from "someplace else" unnamed, and that's as close as I can come to a proper attribution. The original recipe called for garlic pepper. We didn't have any of that, so my recipe omits it. The original recipe also called for 1/2 c. Spanish paprika. I really don't like straight paprika. But for some reason I can't get enough of SMOKED paprika, so we substituted that and I think that makes all the difference: this rub is dah bomb!!! Therefore, the recipe I'll be sharing with you today is not Ronnie Hale's, but my own adaptation.



It makes a veritable Butt Load of Butt Rubb, and that's why we have several of the lovely pictures that we have today. We make it up and then store the remainder in a Mason jar, and use it with a liberal hand, until it's gone. I'm really not sure how many different recipes we've gotten out of one batch. The first few times we used it we used it on a pork butt (hence the name Butt Rubb) but we've also used it on chicken as well.

This is a pretty good shot of the Vertical Roaster. He/she's sitting on the fluid container, which has beer and a bit of rub mixed into it.

We found it to be particularly tasty when used in conjunction with a vertical roaster for a chicken. Do you remember the infamous "Beer Can Chicken" that everyone was doing for a while? A vertical roaster (ours is made by Weber) has a little compartment in the center where you can pour the liquid (you can use beer or apple juice or whatever liquid that you like) that will steam the chicken on the inside while it's grilling, helping to keep it moist. You perch the chicken vertically, so that the compartment is between the chicken's legs (how rude). The rest of the vertical roaster is like a big dish that surrounds the fluid holder, to catch the chicken drippings. It's a GREAT way to roast a chicken. We apply the rub to the chicken in the morning, and refrigerate the chicken with the rub on it all day. That way the salt in the rub has time to penetrate the chicken throughout the day, giving it flavor and adding to the juiciness. I explained the science of this back in this post on salting a chicken, if you're interested in learning more.

Don't you think he kind of looks like Rocky, the prize fighting chicken?
 "Feelin' strong now....won't be long now...gonna fry....fry...."

So here's my adaptation for:

Slap Yo' Mama Butt Rubb

1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. kosher salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 c. garlic salt (I'm partial to Lawry's)
1 t. coriander
1/2 c. smoked paprika
1 T. cayenne pepper (go easy on this if you're a spice weenie)
1 T. chili powder
1 T. freshly ground black pepper

 Hope you've enjoyed my salad, side dish recipes, wine recommendations, and rub recipes for Grill Week.
Since it's the weekend, do you have any grilling plans?

Pioneer Woman's Spicy Pasta Salad with Smoked Gouda, Tomatoes and Basil

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Spicy Pasta Salad with Smoked Gouda, Tomatoes and Basil.
See the little nuggets of cheese?

 Welcome back to Grill Week in the Boonies. I have another fantastic side dish that I've discovered this summer, that I think you are REALLY going to love.

I have gained a newfound admiration for The Pioneer Woman's recipes, ever since I tried her Roasted Corn Guacamole. So around Memorial Day, I was reading her blog, and saw that she was planning to serve this Spicy Pasta Salad with her Memorial Day picnic, along with the Roasted Corn Guacamole, because she considered them to be some of the best of the best of her picnic recipes. This perked my ears up, and I called my husband who was in town, and asked him to pick up some Smoked Gouda at the store: the rest of the ingredients, I already had.

The secret to this recipe, in my opinion, the thing that makes it so stinking good, is the smoky flavor that comes from the chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, and the smoky creaminess that comes from the Smoked Gouda. DO NOT CHEAT ON THESE INGREDIENTS by substituting other things. But let me give you a tip, or two, (or four) from my experience, after making this recipe (to rave reviews!)  a couple of times.

Tip One: Buy some pre-sliced Smoked Gouda from Trader Joe's, if you have a TJ's  near you. It will save you a little slicing time. I tried it both ways: from a chunk (this was Boar's Head Smoked Gouda, purchased from the deli at Kroger), and from the package of pre-sliced Smoked Gouda, purchased from Trader Joe's). I expected to like the chunk of Boar's Head cheese that I diced myself, better. But, surprisingly to me, the Trader Joe's cheese had a better flavor AND was more convenient. Win-Win!

Trivia: did you know that Gouda, which is a Dutch cheese, is actually pronounced "Howda" - with the "H" being kind of a guttural "H", in the back of the throat? True! I learned that in the Netherlands! Don't expect many people in the US to know that, however, especially not the guy working at the Kroger Deli.


Tip Two: Creamy is better. Don't skimp on the dressing. My first batch had more dressing on it per noodle, because I measured 12 ounces of macaroni. It was "wetter",  and we liked it better. My second batch, I went ahead and cooked the whole box of elbow macaroni (a box usually has 1 pound, or 16 oz. of pasta: that's 1/3 again as much pasta). There was a noticeable difference. The salad was much dryer, and that wasn't deemed a good thing, by any of us. So pay attention to how much pasta you're using.

Tip Three: if you buy a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (they're usually found in the Mexican food section of grocery stores), you can spread out a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet, lay the peppers you WON'T be using in this recipe on the parchment paper so that they don't touch, and freeze the pan for an hour or two, and then pop the frozen peppers in a Ziplock in the freezer, and you will always have that wonderful smoky flavor available to you to pop in a soup or whatever recipe needs a little smoky heat. They're easy to chop up, too, when they're mostly frozen, so you don't really need to thaw them, either.

Tip Four: the more seeds in your chipotle pepper, the more heat will be in your dish. So, if you are a heat weenie, you might want to scrape out a few of the chipotle pepper's seeds when you are chopping it up. Our second batch of pasta salad had a little too much heat, because the pepper I chopped up for that batch was really large. So think about that as you're preparing the dressing. You can always add in more heat if there's not enough, but it's harder to take out the heat once it's in there. You'd have to add a lot more mayo and milk to compensate.

Here's the recipe, I've modified it only slightly. The Pioneer Woman's recipe called for Mostaccioli, which is a pasta that looks like little penne noodles. I didn't have any, so I used elbow macaroni. You really can use whatever type you have, as long as you keep the weight of the pasta proportionate.

I did make  a vow to myself to keep this recipe close at hand, for grilling out all summer long, because it is a WINNER of a recipe!

Smoky, Creamy, Cool Goodness

The Pioneer Woman's
Spicy Pasta Salad with Smoked Gouda, Tomatoes, and Basil

Ingredients:

12 ounces of elbow macaroni
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/4 c. milk
4 T. white vinegar
1 minced chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
1/2 t. salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
10 oz. grape tomatoes
1/2 c. diced Smoked Gouda cheese
24 whole basil leaves, chiffonaded (stacked on top of each other, rolled up, and sliced thinly)

Preparation:

Cook pasta in a big kettle of boiling, salted water (salty like the ocean) for the minutes specified on the package. Drain and rinse in cold water until no longer hot. Set aside

Mix mayonnaise, milk, vinegar, salt, pepper, and chopped adobo in a small bowl. In a large bowl, stir together pata, dressing, halved tomatoes, and cubed Gouda. Taste for seasoning, and adjust. Stir in the basil at the end. Refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.

Bon appétit!

Bon appétit!

What do you like to serve as a side when you grill out?

Great Wines for Summer Grill Nights

Pin It Since I've declared this week, "Grill Week" here in the Boonies, I realized quite a few of us might enjoy a recommendation for a nice wine to sip with the lovely recipes I'll be serving up. I went to my friend and local wine guru, Denny Jiosa, and asked him to turn us on to a few nice bottles. Here is Denny's wonderful contribution to "Grill Week".

Welcome to the next installment of Jammin' Jiosa's Wine Notes. My good friend and food aficionado, Susan Williams, from Wild Life in the Woods, has invited me to share wine tips for pairing great and affordable wines with her tasty recipes. 

 Summertime and the living is easy…..and so is the wine. I know friends who say, "I only drink red wine". I used to be that way until I discovered the beauty of a well made white. There are definitely some interesting white wines available.

Today I offer you a choice of 3 wines to complement summertime recipes, or just to sip and enjoy. All three wines are under $13.00 each! 

Let's start with an Italian white called Cavalchina Bianco di Custoza, from Veneto, Italy. Only $9.99, however it taste twice the price!! This wine is a blend of a four grape varietal including Garganega 40%, Fernanda 30% (Custoza clone), Trebbiano 15%, Trebbianello 15%. It is light and refreshing with bright zip on the palate and delightful hints of lemon citrus characters,honeysuckle,and apple fruit. This is a simple yet elegant wine. Try it with baked or grilled fish or a four cheese pizza with fresh tomato and basil!

Now let's move from Italy to Chile. This awesome white wine is from Junta winery and is their Viognier / Sauvignon Blanc / Chardonnay blend. This wine is exceptional. Often times Sauv Blanc can be grassy and somewhat tart from grapefruit overtones. Not this one, it is smooth and silky on the palate. Great flavors of floral hints, citrus, and tropical fruits. Chill it, open it and sip it or serve it with seafood or a cold salad! Delightful and refreshing. A must try for $12.99!

I confess, my favorite summertime evening meal is a grilled burger! Nothing is better than a great red wine with red meat. 

Picture by Adrianna Jiosa

Remember, red wines can actually have a slight chill on them ( they will warm up fast anyway due to the weather), best to  serve them at around 55 degrees which truly "room temp". I just tried Evodia from Spain. This is 100% Old Vine Grenache and was rated 90 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. It has dark berries on the nose, blueberry and black pepper along with smoke and mocha. This is a "hot" wine at 15% alcohol so it would not hurt to open it and let it breath for 20-30 minutes before serving. AWESOME value for  $9.99!

If you are in the Nashville area be sure and stop by the great new wine store RED Spirits and Wine, located in Bellevue,TN. All of the wines mentioned here are available at RED!

If you have comments or questions, either ask them here, or feel free to contact me at denny@jiosa.com. Also, please stop by and check out my music at http://jiosa.com/albums/   and friend me at https://www.facebook.com/dennyjiosa

 Nothing like jazz and wine!

Salute!

Watermelon Arugula and Pancetta Salad

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Watermelon Arugula Salad with Pancetta in the foreground. We served it with grilled chicken and a Quinoa Salad with Tomatoes and Avocados.

Welcome to grilling week!

We've been eating pretty well around here since grilling season started. I've been trying some new recipes that sounded delicious to me, and changing them up a bit, just to put my own spin on them, and I've found some winners that I'd like to share with you: couple of side dishes, and a glorious rub that is a KEEPER.

And, to make things extra nice, my friend Denny Jiosa,  musician extraordinaire, and my special local wine guru, will be sharing some information on some lovely bottles of wine that will make your next cookout extra special!

Should be lots of fun and some great recipes, too, so let's get started!

Today's recipe I stumbled across one afternoon while watching the Barefoot Contessa. A watermelon salad with greens, it seemed like the perfect recipe to accompany something on the grill: so easy and delicious that it sounded  like a must-try! And then, I remembered I had some leftover Spicy Honey Mustard-Glazed Pancetta in my refrigerator.

Just the usual type leftover one has in one's fridge, right? (Kidding!) I had tried this Giada De Laurentiis recipe a day or two earlier, but it wasn't quite as perfect as I'd hoped it would be,  just because it was too salty  thick and chewy for my family. But, I thought to myself, "Salty, crunchy, spicy.. .could be kinda treated like crumbled bacon! What a great foil that would be for the sweet refreshing coolness of the watermelon!


So...I guess...to be fair...I'd better give you both recipes. Here are my thoughts, even though I haven't tried it this way. Since this is Grill Week, and I'm talking about dishes specifically for a cookout, I really think you COULD (although I haven't done) do the pancetta on the grill. I hope someone tries it and gets back with me. Simply crisp up the pancetta on the grill, quickly brush with the glaze, and give it a quick finish on the grill. The slices of pancetta that I used in these pictures, I had already prepared in the oven, according to Giada's recipe, and they were leftover, so I just chopped them up and threw them on the salad. So, you could do it either way, I think.

One more note about Giada's recipe: It called for the pancetta to be sliced 1/8 to 1/4" thick. I asked the deli to slice mine 1/4" thick. Next time I do this recipe, I'm going to have them cut it thinner. The saltiness was too intense, and the meat got too chewy. I think I'd rather have thin and crisp on these than thick and chewy, because thick and chewy became more like jerky. And, the recipe that I'm going to give you for this is half her original recipe in quantity, because in this salad, the pancetta is more of a condiment than a key dish component.

Here's my adaptation of Giada's recipe  for:

Spicy Honey Mustard-Glazed Pancetta

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. pancetta, sliced 1/8" thick
3 T. honey
1 T. Dijon mustard
1/8 t. cayenne pepper

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 450º. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. (Alternatively, you can do this on the grill.)

Arrange the pancetta in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake/grill until crisp, 16 to 18 minutes in the oven. Remove the pancetta from the oven and heat the broiler. (Or remove from grill)

In a small bowl, mix together the honey, mustard and cayenne pepper until smooth. Brush the pancetta with the honey mixture, and then broil until browned, 2 - 4 minutes. (For the grill directions? You're on your own, since I haven't done it, but I would guess it would be easy to judge from appearance.)

So...this is the good stuff that was leftover in my fridge that I put on the Barefoot Contessa's salad. Oh, my, was it all divine together!

Cutting up the Spicy Honey Mustard Glazed Pancetta. I treated it in this salad like it was a bacon condiment. But what a bacon it was!!! Mmmmm....

The Barefoot Contessa's original recipe called for 1/2 lb. of arugula, but all I had was a baby spinach arugula blend. It was perfect, and I'd do that all over again, so that's what I'm going to put in my adaptation. The arugula adds a nice bitterness against the watermelon, but I'm sure you could substitute another nice blend of salad greens, if you have one you prefer, or if you don't care for arugula.


Here's my adaptation of the Barefoot Contessa's recipe for Watermelon and Arugula Salad (that I dolled up with my pancetta):

Watermelon, Arugula and Pancetta Salad

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. baby arugula and baby spinach blend of salad greens
2 lbs. of seedless watermelon, cut into bite-sized chunks
1/3 c. olive oil
1/4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 t. sea salt
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 lb. chunk Parmesan cheese, off of which you are going to shave long strips of Parmesan, with a vegetable peeler
Spicy Honey Mustard-Glazed Pancetta Slices, cut up into bite-sized pieces

Directions:

Place the arugula and watermelon in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Pour enough dressing on the salad to moisten. Toss well and divide onto salad plates.

With a sharp knife or a vegetable peeler, shave the Parmesan into large strips, and sprinkle them, and the pancetta bits on top of the arugula and watermelon.

I'm hungry now, all over again.

I think this would be a good one to pin on Pinterest, don't you?

"The Talk"

Pin It How did you learn about the facts of life?
Do you remember?
I'll bet you do!

And, if you're a woman, who explained to you the wonderful way your body functions?

Was it your Mom? Did someone explain it to you in a class at school? Or did a girlfriend give you the lowdown on the down-low?

Every generation is different, am I right?

While our physiological makeup remains the same, each generation develops its own comfort level with the things they are comfortable talking about. The things we talk about in public today might have made my Mom blush. But I'm all for having frank, open discussions with both my kids about the facts of life, and that's how my husband and I decided we would handle things.

I figure my kids are DEFINITELY going to hear about it some place, and frankly, I'd prefer they hear the facts from me, and not pick up some whacked-out misconception from one of their friends. While I handled talking about the basics with my son up until the time he turned 10 or so, I let my husband take the wheel when Puberty reared its moody head. And with my daughter, when Puberty came knocking on her door a couple of years ago, I decided I'd not do to her what my Mom did to me.

Are you curious WHAT my Mom did to me? I was the youngest of four. She never talked to me about sex, or my period. I sneaked and read the book in my sisters' chest of drawers that was titled, "You're A Young Lady Now", talked about it with my girlfriends and used my older sisters' supplies. When, at age 22, I mentioned to my Mom that she'd never talked to me about the facts of life, her response was a quizzical furrowing of the brow and a tilt of the head, followed by a slightly puzzled, "I didn't?". Poor woman was plum tired out from the other three who came before me! I hold her guiltless.

Today's generation is a lot more open,  a lot more forthcoming, and a lot more comfortable discussing these things than the way things were done back in the day.

Check out this great video with Aimee Teagarden about having "the talk" with your daughter. I recognized her (despite her darker hair color) as being one of the stars of one of my favorite TV shows, Friday Night Lights. Aimee's perspective is worth hearing by any Mom of a 'tween or teenaged girl:



I wholeheartedly agree with Amy's suggestions on how to have "the talk". My daughter and I have had "the talk", but it didn't just happen once. In an age appropriate way, I've been leading up to it for years, as we talked about human growth, and as I answered any questions she might have. In order to explain a woman's monthly cycle,  because my sweet girl is very private with her heart, I decided to plan a very special overnight trip for us in honor of her twelfth birthday. I booked a room for just the two of us at a local hotel that I knew she would love because it had a swimming pool,  and during part of our time there, we read a great book together on the topic, called "The Care and Keeping of You". We went to a really nice gourmet market, and picked out her favorite foods for an in-room picnic, and chose her favorite movie to watch there in the room that night. I still cherish that memory. She felt special, and I loved having that one on one time with her.

Kotex has some great information available for both you and your teen. Their site is a great reference to help you prepare for your talk with your daughter It has helpful tools, such as a calendar with facts about puberty, questions your daughter may ask, ways to start the conversation, and more. Check it out!:  www.kotex.com/tween

The U by Kotex page for period questions might be helpful for tweens and teens themselves:  www.ubykotex.com/helloperiod

I have some news that I'm pretty excited about to share with you. I was selected to participate as an Ambassador Mom in the U by KotexTween Ambassador Program. What this means is that from time to time over the next 6 months, I'll be sharing my own thoughts and feelings, as well as helpful information in regard to this topic that affects women worldwide.

I wrote this review while participating in a Brand Ambassador Campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of U by KotexTween and received products to facilitate my post and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.


So what about you? Have you had "the talk" with your daughter, or is that yet to come for you? What are your thoughts on this subject?

Sonos Wireless HiFi System: Turning Father's Day Into Mother's Day

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I have a dream, and I admit it: it's a selfish dream. I want to listen to recorded books, in my kitchen, while I cook, without having either annoying earbuds in my ears, or needing to run to the living room to pause the family's CD player when someone wants to talk to me.

And then, I got a letter telling me about this wonderful little gizmo that I could give to my husband for Father's Day.

And all of a sudden: Father's Day was starting to sound remarkably like it could turn out to be Mama's Day as well.

It all began when I watched this video about the great coolness that is the Sonos Wireless HiFi System.

(You should watch it for the music alone. Very, very cool.)

Behold, the wind that fanned the flame of my selfish desires:


This looks like the coolest sound system for your home, and I admit it. I want one.

In short, here's what it does: With Sonos, you can stream all the music on earth (or recorded books!) wirelessly, in any room, via a touch of your iPad, iPhone, or Android.
(Score! Our family has two out of three!)

My husband is the IT guy at our house. He keeps the computers, and entertainment systems up and running in our home. So he cares about the details that I'm about to share with you. Here's the stuff he'd want to know:


Things to Love About Sonos

• The Play:3 ($299.00) is a compact all-in-one Sonos player. It comes with 3 integrated speakers, and 3 digital amps. It may be small, but it is mighty! The Play:5 model ($399.00) comes with 5 integrated speakers and 5 digital amps. They both have a sleek modern design, can be placed horizontally or vertically, and come in your color choice of black or white.
• You can add a bridge ($49.00) that connects to your router for instant wireless setup of your Sonos wireless network, so that your players can go anywhere and work, wirelessly.
• You can search for songs, browse music and control the volume from anywhere in your home with their free apps for your smartphone or tablet. 
• Other products offered by Sonos: Connect ($349.00), which turns your stereo, or home theater speakers into a music streaming Sonos system; Connect:Amp, which is an amplified Sonos player for your speakers with built-in 55W per channel digital amplifier; and Dock, which plays any song from your iPhone or iPod on your Sonos players.

So basically, you can hear every song you already have, plus discover more, with access to over 100,000 free radio stations and shows worldwide. Sonos connects you directly to the internet, so that means I could listen to my beloved MOG, or Pandora.

Or even my audio books!!! HOORAY!!! I could have them in my kitchen with me!!! And I can control them from anywhere with my iPad. Booyah!

This isn't my kitchen, but, a girl can dream.

Target has a deal going right now: Through June 16th at Target, there is a free $30.00 Target Gift Card with the purchase of a Play:3 unit, and a free $40.00 Gift Card with the purchase of a Play:5 unit.

So if you think the father in your house would like an awesome sumpin'-sumpin' for Daddy's day, and you think the mama in your house could benefit like I'm wantin' to benefit, this is the time to jump on this deal.

I participated in this campaign as a member of One2One Network and I'm eligible for a prize drawing.  All opinions stated in the post are, however, STRICTLY my own.

Mangia Nashville: Interview with Nick Pellegrino

Pin It In part one of this series,  I told y'all I had the time of my life, twice, at Mangia Nashville, that Italian restaurant named Best Weekly Food Event in Nashville, where you, too, can experience your very own Big Night.

We ate, we sang, we danced, we celebrated life!

Perhaps some of you are wondering about the chef, this Nick Pellegrino fellow, who hosts such awesome evenings for his guests. What's this guy like? What makes him do what he does?

I've got all the answers you need, since Nick was kind enough to take a moment away from making all that good food to talk with me about who he is, what he does, and the hopes and dreams he has for Mangia Nashville.

Here's the interview:

Susan: I had such a fabulous visit, both times I  visited Mangia Nashville! Tell my readers a little bit about your background as a musician, and then about your culinary background, and how Mangia came to be.

Nick: I actualy have a degree in Classical Guitar Performance. I've been performing professionally since the age of 14 when I started playing guitar in clubs on the weekends. Fortunately all the other guys in the band were much older and nobody ever asked me for ID. Since then I have toured with artists as a bass player or guitar player. I've done studio work as a session player and from there started to produce. I wrote and produced Paula Deen's wedding song and even performed it on her Wedding Special for the Food Network. I've also sung a bunch of Jingles over the years. Many for TV and radio stations, car dealerships, the Tennessee Lottery and many more. If you are a video game fan and happen to have Madden 10' all of the crowd chants at the games are me. My younger nephews thought that was the coolest thing ever. Obviously there was no time for Culinary School but after coming off the road from  a long tour one summer I reconnected with a friend from High School that happend to have a degree from The Culinary Institute Of America in Hyde Park, NY. He was a huge music fan and wanted to learn how to play guitar. We would get together in the afternoons and I would teach him to play and he taught me to cook. He was pretty hard on me and made learn things the right way, the way he was taught. He gave me a great understanding for how and why things work in the kitchen and what to do if they go wrong. So I always tell people I got a second hand CIA education and it didn't cost me a dime! From there we actually went on to open a small catering business together and did that for 3 years. That's were I really got my hands on experience and feel like I realy learned how to be a chef.

After that I decided to get back to my music career and made the move to Nashville. Before I secured my first staff writer position with a publisher here I worked for Tom Kats Catering. I worked as a chef back stage at Starwood Amphitheatre and from there went on to be the chef on the Broadway Dinner Train. I did all that for about 2 years till I was able to support myself from music alone which I did for the last 16 years here in Nashville.

Mangia Nashville was just an idea that I threw out at a New Years Eve dinner 2 years ago at some very close friends' home. I said I didn't really want a restaurant but wouldn't it be fun if we had a place where I would cook maybe once a month and people would come like they were coming to my home. There would be great food, music and maybe even dancing. They all thought it was a great idea but how do you make something like that work? A week later I went to see a good friend that I had worked with years back at another caterer here in town. Tim Ness had a very successful Meat and Three, the Cool Cafe in Franklin. When I told him my idea his response was, "I'm closed on Saturday nights let's just try it here."  Two weeks later we did a test run for about 20 friends and they all agreed we needed to do this. We opened for business 3 weeks after that and the rest has  been magic. The press started rolling in and we went from selling 40 seats every Saturday to 75 then we added every other Friday and ultimately every Friday as well. Now we stay sold out both nights 2-3 months out. The response has been just incredible and has all been by word of mouth, Facebook and Twitter.  We are always trying to make what we do better each time you come back. We've added more singing and dancing and people really get to participate in the fun. Yes, it get's loud but have you ever had dinner with a big Italian family? Trust me Mangia is not nearly as loud!

Susan: What's one thing about yourself that nobody ever asks about, but that you wish more people knew?

Nick: I think most people know my story since I get to tell it every night when I visit each table. I don't think everyobody knows that I am a singer and a musician although many think I am a drummer when they see me play the spoons on the prep table. I am also learning to ballroom dance which has been a lot of fun for me. A few of our wait staff are actualy professional dancers and instructors. We are in the midst of expanding our space to add more tables and of coruse a bigger area to dance! I've got a Mambo number worked out that may surprise a lot of people. Have they had a chef on Dancing With The Stars yet? Hmmmm...

This chef can cut a rug, as well as a beef tenderloin. 

Susan: YOU make it such a special place: it really is the Nick Pellegrino Show, and you make it a party worth going to. Can't imagine it being near as much fun without you. Any plans for the future?

Nick: I think that a great party needs a catalyst to get things going. At Mangia I am that guy. I love to have a good time and encourage others to do the same.  I have a wonderful staff that helps make it happen. My goal is to get more and more talented peopled to work with us so that it's not only one person leading the festivities every night. Maybe we can open a chain of Mangia Nashvilles and just have me on a big screen live leading the sing alongs and dances. There's a thought. 

I've also got some TV ideas in the works that I think would be a lot of fun.The possibillities are all endless right now. It's just about choosing the right ones that make sense for us and won't take anything away from the experience that we have built here.

"I can mash potato. I can do the twist. Tell me bay-bay. Do you like it like this?"
I haven't squatted that low since I gave birth out in the fields.

Susan: Tell us about the products you have for sale. Where can someone purchase them?

Nick: The first product that we have for sale is our Mangia Mayo. Mangia Mayo is an all natural, low fat, low sodium, gluten free roasted garlic fresh basil ailoi. We usually serve with our Lemon Risotto cakes as an appetizer each night but you can and should put it on anything. I think people will quickly get hooked once they realize all of it's different uses. It's available only at Cool Cafe right now but we are working on Whole Foods locally and then who knows where it can take us. We also have plans to start jarring a few of our pasta sauces as well. Right now the focus is on Mangia Mayo. I am a firm believer in doing one thing very well first before you move on to the next. I never want quality to suffer for growth.

Mangia Mayo

Susan: What new items are you planning for your summer menu?

 Nick: A few things you will see on our Summer menu will be. Sausage and Peppers ( we make our own sweet fennell Italian sausage), Filet of Flounder Rolatini, Fresh Mozzarella (also made in house) and Local Tomato Caprese Salad. I'm really excited about one of our desserts for Summer. Watermelon and Basil Granita. I just made a batch for the staff to sample this past week and we all went nuts over it. I will be posting the full menu on facebook this week!

(Here endeth the interview. Amen.)

My thanks to Nick for sharing his love of life and food with the good people of Nashville as well as with our visiting friends from around the world. Especially, I'd like to thank him for sharing his thoughts here on this blog, with my readers. 

Livin' large, at Mangia Nashville.

I received absolutely no compensation for either of my posts on Mangia Nashville, unless you count the awesome experiences we had there, which were...well...they were priceless, right?

Hope you enjoyed learning more about Mangia Nashville. You should follow the link here to contact Nick for reservations, or to read the new summer menu, once it goes up.

Do you have something coming up in your life that is worthy of celebrating at Mangia Nashville? Tell me in the comments what you'd like to celebrate at a place like Mangia.

My Big Night(s) Out at Mangia Nashville

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Experience your own Big Night with Chef Nick Pellegrino at Mangia Nashville.

Mangia Nashville has been named Nashville's Best Weekly Food Event by the The Nashville Scene. I'm going to pass over the fact that it might well be the ONLY Weekly Food Event in Nashville, in order to tell you that in my opinion, it's an honor well-deserved! Mangia Nashville is spectacular!

What is Mangia Nashville? On its Facebook page, Mangia Nashville describes itself as "an authentic, New York family-style Italian dining experience". In the words of chef Nick Pellegrino, Mangia Nashville is like a big, joyous Italian wedding, without all the annoying relatives! There is great food, and a real communal spirit: it's like going to the best party you've ever been to. I felt like one of my favorite movies of all time, The Big Night, had come to life, and I was one of the very blessed participants.

Nick directing his "ballerinas": aka his talented servers.

And here's the thing: Mangia Nashville does no advertising! It's been going strong for over a year now, strictly through word of mouth, and a Facebook page. But once you've been there, you will completely understand why advertising hasn't been necessary. With Nick acting as both chef and fun-loving emcee, it's the kind of celebratory evening you're going to want to repeat again, and again.

Dinner and Dancing: Mama Loves Mambo
Not only can Nick cook and sing, he's a mighty fine dancer, too.
That's me "mambo"-ing on the left, Nick dancing with one his beautiful servers on the right.

Here's the catch, though (but I think it's a GOOD catch): Nick and Mangia Nashville are only serving on Friday and Saturday nights. Seatings are at 8:00 on Friday and 6:00 on Saturday. Both times my husband I went on a Friday night, and since dinner is not served until 8:00, it was challenging to not snack beforehand. Nevertheless, and I'll say this loudly, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU ARRIVE HUNGRY. You will be served enough food to feed an entire starving Third World Nation. So, wear your eatin' clothes, if you know what I mean. No tight pants, or you'll be sorry, and you'll only have yourself to blame, because I warned you! We arrived at 8:00, and we didn't leave until 11:30, both Fridays, so three and a half hours would be a good ballpark figure for the amount of time you should plan to be there.

Why such a long evening?

The menu is changed seasonally and is prix fixe ($45.00): one fee for all 5 courses. There are appetizers (antipasti), salads (insalata),  pastas, entrées (entrata), and desserts (dolce): and yes, all those words were plural), and this spring, those 5 courses contained fourteen separate dishes. Each dish, down to the zucchini, was absolutely delicious. PACE YOURSELF! ASK FOR TO-GO BOXES, as you go, throughout the evening. You'll thank me later for telling you this.

My favorite appetizer: Fried Green Olives Stuffed with Fresh Mozzarella.

A closeup on those fried stuffed olives: crisp, briny, creamy. Oh, yeah.

A second appetizer: Bruschetta With Housemade Ricotta, Spring Peas and Fresh Mint

You want to be able to taste and ENJOY each and every delicious course.

Shell Pasta with Beef Rib Bolognese

No wine can be purchased on the premises, but you can bring your own bottle, for a $5.00 corkage fee.

Here's a link to the spring menu, and a few more photos of dessert as well. For directions and reservations, check out the link to the Facebook page. Be advised that they'll be changing over to the summer menu very soon. Also be advised that reservations can be hard to come by: they tend to fill up a month or two in advance, due to doing only two seatings a week.

One of my upcoming posts will be an interview with Nick, so, stay tuned.

So Addictive!  Zeppole: a lot like beignets, or Italian doughnut holes. Served fresh and hot: they're meltingly delicious! And they come in a "to go" bag, if you're too full.

Nick presents the Dolce: a platter of Ricotta Cheesecakes.

I didn't receive one blessed thing as compensation for writing this article (apart from having two great dining/partying experiences - but we paid for those ourselves). We just feel that strongly about this wonderful restaurant.

All comments are doted on. Especially if you're local: let Nick and me know you saw this! And feel free to share on Facebook and Twitter, if you'd like to do Nick a favor. It's an offer you can't refuse, after all.

Good Angel/Bad Angel

Pin It I'm telling this one on myself, just because I think I should.

And the story reminds me of the good angel, and the bad angel, who used to sit on Fred Flintstone's shoulders.  Remember those?

Last year in June, I was in Richmond, VA, with my dear friend Anne. She took me to the crème de la crème of Goodwill stores, and immediately upon setting foot into the store, I saw this gorgeous little frock. What else are you going to call a dress that is way out of your league, and covered in sequins?

I saw this dress hanging on the door of an armoire that was in the store, and loved it at first glance. I ambled over, checked the size, and low and behold, the size was MINE! At Anne's insistence, I took it back to the dressing room to try on. I would never in a million years have a use for a dress like this one, but Anne insisted that I try it on, à la Field of Dreams: "If you buy it, the occasion will come."

I tried it on. While not exactly "my color", it looked pretty dang bueno.

Anne kept insisting. I kept resisting. I just couldn't imagine an occasion where I could possibly wear this dress...

Then, this sweet elderly lady, probably in her late '80s walked to the back of the store where we were, and asked me, "Who designed that?" (It honestly was THAT kind of Goodwill, and that kind of dress.) I said I wasn't sure. Turned out, it wasn't anyone I'd ever heard of...but...still... So she starts telling me how she'd admired the dress, but was so sad it wasn't her size. And how great it looked on me. And how I should just go ahead and buy the durn dress. At the price they were asking, it was a steal! Somehow this lady was like a little couture angel, sent from above, to encourage me to buy. that. dress.

I did.

And Anne was right: the occasion DID come.

But I've never forgotten that sweet little old lady, my Good Angel of Couture.

Here's me and my pal Chloe at the Blissdom blogging conference in Nashville, with me sporting that Goodwill dress:

Although they're both great dresses, mine is on the left.

Flash forward to last week.

I was out of the Boonies, driving around, with a half an hour to blow before I picked up my sister at the airport. What do I rarely take the time to do, because I rarely have the money?

Go clothes shopping!

I had a half an hour to run into T.J. Maxx, all by myself, to see what they might have on hand. I have a couple of parties I will be attending this summer, and so I thought I'd have a look-see if they might have something stylish and affordable for my parties. Not that I had much money to spend. But...you never know. T.J. Maxx? There might be something cute enough and cheap enough that I might get lucky.

So...as I was looking around, I found the most adorable top. And then a second one. Both really cute, and both in the color of green that really brings out the green in my eyes. I was kind of excited.

I walked to the dressing room, and there, hanging up clothes on the dressing room rack was a sweet looking little old lady in her late 80's. She had a dowager's hump, and was well-coiffed, with lovely white hair. She was as cute as a bug. And, what's more, she reminded me of my sweet Mama, who also used to work in a department store when she was alive, and who cared very much about how I dressed.

So...I go back in the dressing room, past the cute little changing room lady, into a booth, and I try on the first top.

Ba-da-bing. Ba-da-boom. If it doesn't make me look like a hot little tamale! Score!!!
So then, I try on the second one: Holy Cow! Two in a row! I am looking so fine, I can't decide between the two. I just love how they fit me, and the color? Wow! My eyes are sparking! What a find!!! But how to decide which one to choose?

So, I go out and ask the 80-something year old lady:

"I have two tops, and I'm having a hard time deciding. Could you help me?"

"Well," she says, "I'll give you my honest opinion."

"Excellent!" I say. That's exactly what I want. Your honest opinion. I'm trying to decide between two tops, and I'm wearing the first one."

"OK" she says.

"Now, I'll go try on the second one."

One minute later, I'm back, sporting the equally fetching second top. I do a little spin, so she can admire the way this one falls.

"To tell you the truth, honey, those are really NOT your color. At ALL. I just don't think they look good on you AT ALL."

(That rushing flatulent-like sound you hear is the wind escaping from my style-conscious sails.)

Wah-wah-wah-waaaah.

So much for green making my eyes sparkle. The  Bad Fashion Angel has delivered her tidings of doom.

What could I do, but shuffle off, deflated, and somewhat dejected? And what's worse, questioning my own fashion sense.

~sigh~

The truth hurts, I guess. (If it WAS the truth. And honestly? Now, I don't really know!)

I took it as a sign, at least that day, to keep my money in my pocket!

May you never, ever, in a thousand years, receive a visit from the Bad Fashion Angel.

Dog Duties, #2

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Yesterday I told you about Deacon D. Dawg's Morning Dog Duties. And, of course, because I'm inwardly 13 years old when it comes to my sense of humor, I was irresistibly drawn to the thought that "duties" sounds like "doodies". :-D

Well, today, I'd like to talk about Dog Duties, #2. :-D

Although, as irony would have it, the Dog Duties, #2, actually belong to Pilgrim Pee Dog. (Who, you might have expected, would actually be more likely to do #1. But such are the ironic twists and turns of the digestive tract, and, of fate.)

Unlike Deacon D. Dawg, who only does his job on weekends, Pilgrim Pee Dog fulfills her Morning Mission each and every morning. Because each and every day, we drink coffee. And Pilgrim Pee Dog's self-appointed job (heavens, no, we did NOT train her to do this) is to join in with the coffee grinder, and greet the new day with the Morning Howl. The best part of waking up is NOT, as you may have been led to believe, Folgers in your cup. Oh, no. Perish the thought. The BEST part of waking up is enjoying Pilgrim's Morning Howl. And we hope you will!

OK, I know you're dying to:

Tell me what weird things YOUR dog does. I'd love to hear about them!

And if you like this post, feel free to share it on Facebook or Twitter or wherever your little old generous heart desires to share it.