Baked Leeks in Béchamel Sauce

July 24, 2011 by Monica in Appletizers & Snacks, Baking, Dinner, Entertaining, Savory, Sides, Vegetable, Vegetarian

A couple of weeks back when I was planning our Paella party – that never happened, I had round up a couple of tapas recipes to served while our paella was cooking on the open flame.

This dish was one in the list. Today, as I opened the refrigerator to get some cheese to make myself and Tom a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches, I notice the leeks and remember this recipe. After a bit more of investigating, realized that I had everything I needed to make it and off I went to test my memory bank. I did this on the fly, because after looking for over 10 minutes ALL OVER MY HOUSE could not find the original printed/marked recipe in any of my print outs or books.

I’m happy to say my memory is just fine, thank-you-very-much.

Frittelle Di Semolino Dolce - Sweet Fried Semolina Snack

July 01, 2011 by Monica in Appletizers & Snacks, Desserts, Family, Family Cookbook, Sweets

Today, I started to clean my home office and came across a box and inside I stumbled unto my old recipe notebook that I started when I was twelve years old during one of my visits to my paternal grandparent’s home. When we moved to the states, my sister and I would travel during the summer months to visit them in Venezuela. And during one of those visits, I decided that I would start writing my Nonna’s recipes, so I could bring them back and make them.

As I opened the old falling apart yellow notebook, memories rushed back at me

Kiwi Boat topped with Lobster and Scallion Mayonnaise Amuse Bouche

June 06, 2011 by Monica in Appletizers & Snacks, Entertaining, Seafood

When I received the invitation to participate in the Progressive Party that Kitchen Play is hosting I jumped at the change. Who would not? It’s pretty simple; six bloggers take to the stage with a challenge of incorporating a sponsor product into a blog post. Each of us is assigned a course, and we are all given the green light to experiment and create a recipe that will showcase the host product and/or kitchen tool.

Our progressive party is being sponsored by ZESPRI® Kiwifruit. ZESPRI international is the world largest marketer of Kiwifruit, selling this fruit into more than 60 countries. When I read about what this company stands for, I was excited to work along side them to showcase their product. Who would not want to align themselves to a corporation that strives to use the best practices in all of their processes in order to become a sustainable business and a market leader in the industry? You can read more about their vision and history here.

My assigned course was to incorporate this superfruit into an Amuse Bouche.