Matt's 24 BDay: Ziti & Tiramisu

For Matt's birthday on Tuesday (4/20) I made him his favorite Baked Ziti from the Sopranos cookbook. It's awesome but it takes A LOT of effort so we don't make it often. He actually admitted afterward that he was wanting it but didn't want to ask me to do it since it takes so long - good thing I surprised him with it.

This was also the first time I made tiramisu and it turned out great and was even better the next day! I'll have to post that recipe when I have more time because it was YUMMY and I definitely recommend it.

Grilled Pizza

Friday night we grilled pizzas... that's right, we GRILLED them. Now that spring has sprung we've apparently decided that grilling is the only way to go!

We topped the grilled crusts with a roasted tomato sauce and gooey cheese; grilled italian sausage, thinly sliced red onion, white cheddar, crushed red pepper, and roasted tomato sauce (a true favorite since it packs in the flavor!); and our last pizza had all the ingredients of our new favorite dish - the upscale fajitas. It had red chili and citrus marinated chicken, roasted poblano peppers, pepperjack cheese, and the fresh tomatillo avocado sauce spread on top. It was AWESOME! Tim and DeaLona (Matt's dad and stepmom) were here with the girls and the 4 adults definitely agree the fajita turned pizza was the best this time. If you've never grilled pizzas, I highly suggest it.

Want the recipe? Let me know.

Relay for Life

I'm running a team and on the board for my local Relay for Life this year. I'm trying to hit a personal goal as well as a team goal for fundraising and would really appreciate any help - even if it's just $10! PLEASE visit this site: http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY10National?px=15455340&pg=personal&fr_id=22723 so we can reach the goal and help fight cancer!
Thank you ahead of time!!! - Anne

Souffle, Grilled Pork, and Intriguing Mash

The night Matt proposed to me we were on a cruise and eating at a super upscale restaurant on the ship. For an appetizer I had the best goat cheese souffle. Turns out that the chef on the ship created the recipe and doesn't share it with anyone - not even chef's on the same cruise line. It was awesome.

Tonight, I found a recipe for a goat cheese souffle - so we tried it. It was quite tasty: incredibly light and airy (like nothing I remember having before). Plus, the Boursin cheese was actually more noticeable of a taste than the goat cheese so for those of you who don't care for goat cheese very much - this is still worth trying.

We also had pork tenderloin that dad sliced into thick slices, wrapped in bacon, and grilled on skewers while basting with a chimichurri sauce (a parsley style pesto with lots of garlic). Most intriguing for the night was the sweet potato, pineapple, and banana mash. I was skeptical but man it was good. YOU HAVE TO TRY THIS. Let me know and I'll get you the recipe.

Repeat Meal

Friday night I made the creamy polenta and Italian grilled steak again (well... dad grilled the steak but I got it ready) with grilled bread. Both were great. I also made a heart of palm, heart of artichokes, and romaine lettuce salad with a dressing made of orange marmelade, dijon, olive oil, etc. Not my favorite. It was really light which is sometimes nice but I thought that it wasn't nearly flavorful enough to be worth the effort.

Perfect Weather + New Patio Furniture = Grilled Dinner

Tonight we used the leftover rub and homemade BBQ sauce on pork chops. I like it even better on pork than steak. Plus, the grilled squash, zucchini, and artichokes - yum. We fried up the left over chilled polenta but that was now so awesome. It was definitely better fresh, hot, and creamy.

It you want some grilled veggies, I definitely suggest brushing them with olive oil and then sprinkling with Lowry's seasoned pepper and a little Kosher salt.
Not grilling? One of my favorite sides is simply slicing zucchini and/or squash into rounds and sauteing in some butter with Lowry's seasoned pepper.

Steak Florentina and Creamy Polenta

Although I do enjoy a simple steak grilled to a nice medium pinkness, tonight really showed me how lucky Matt and I are that we like to cook. We ate the exact same piece of meat grilled the same way two nights in a row. But they tasted completely different ... it's amazing what different seasonings and people can do to a similar ingredient by just putting their own style on it.

We had steak florentina - New York Strip covered in Italian seasonings and good olive oil then grilled to perfection! (Matt seriously grilled them perfectly)

Also, I made a creamy polenta with a little spice in it, which was excellent (the word Matt used). It was definitely a keeper - now if I can only remember how I made it...

Want the recipe? Let me know.