Bellini's, Biscotti and Burgers!

Hope everyone spent Memorial Day with family, friends and of course, good food! What's a drink you can feel pretty drinking all day and not worry (too much) about calories? My new cooking hero, Teresa Giudice, has an awesome recipe for Bellini's (From her book, Skinny Italian) Ever had one? If not, you're missing out. Go make them today for some good girl time and great conversation!


2 ripe white peaches, peeled, pitted and coarsely chopped
1/4 C fresh or thawed frozen raspberries
One 750-ml bottle Italian sparkling wine, like Prosecco or Spumante, chilled

1. Puree the peaches in a blender. you should have 1/2 cup of peach puree. Pour into a small bowl. Rinse out blender.
2. Puree the raspberries in the blender. Strain the raspberries through a wire sieve to remove the seeds. You should have at least 2 TBSP of raspberry puree. pour into a small bowl. Chill.
3. For each serving, spoon a heaping tablespoon of each pure into the bottom of a champagne flute. Top with about 1 TSP of raspberry puree. Slowly fill the glass with the sparkling wine. To keep the foaming at a minimum, fill the glass halfway, let the fizzing subside, then finish with a second pour. Serve immediately.
Bellissimo!



Sometimes there's nothing better than sitting with a friend over a steaming cup of coffee and having a good talk. Well, if you're going to the trouble of waking up early, fixing your hair and meeting your friend at a coffee shop ... why not have them over and serve homemade Biscotti? To me, nothing says I love you more than food. I can't wait to invite someone over to taste the double chocolate Biscotti I just made. Picky Pants has started to drink coffee, so I guess we'll give it a try tomorrow, but don't worry, I won't make him have girl talk with me!
Again, this recipe is Teresa's (From her book, Skinny Italian) (I know! I have an obsession!)

Double Chocolate Biscotti
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 Cup granulated sugar
1 TSP vanilla extract
1/4 TSP almond extract
2 1/2 Cups All purpose flour
1/4 Cup unsweetened cocoa
3/4 TSP baking powder
1/8 TSP salt
1 C Unsweetened Chocolate Chips
1/4 Cup confectioners' sugar, for kneading.

1. Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whip the eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla and almond extract in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until thick and pale yellow, about 3 minutes.
In another bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together,. Stir into the egg mixture to make a stiff, sticky dough. Stir in the chocolates.
3. Sprinkle the confectioners' sugar over the work surface. Transfer the dough to the work surface, and knead gently until the dough is cohesive and loses its' stickiness. shape into a thick 8-inch long log and transfer to the baking sheet. Shape the dough on the sheet into a log about 12 inches long and 2 inches wide.
** So, this is where I felt like the recipe gets ... well, "sticky." This dough is very moist and sticky! Next time I make it, I'll remember to pat the dough with confectioner's sugar quickly and transfer to pan. The longer you have it in your hands, the stickier it gets. Make the log and move on, it's Biscotti, it will be pretty no matter what ... and if you're sharing it with a friend, they won't care ;)
4. Bake until the dough is lightly browned and cracked, and feels set when pressed on the top, about 30 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 30 minutes.
5. Reduce the oven temperature to 325. Carefully transfer the log to a chopping board. Using a serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2 inch thick slices. Arrange the slices, flat sides down, on the baking sheet. Bake until the surfaces begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Flip the Biscotti over, and bake for another 10 minutes. The Biscotti will become crisper when cooled. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.

Dunk in milk, cocoa and coffee and most importantly: Mangia! Mangia!




Turkey Burgers

I've had an interest in Turkey Burgers since our trip to Vegas a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, I'll always remember the day the Turkey Burger caught my eye ... it
happened after Picky Pants and I learned of the flooding in our basement, suddenly, drinking wine and going to dinner with the crew didn't seem as enticing as laying by ourselves in our hotel room overlooking The Strip. Yes, I know we sound like a barrel of fun. Normally we are, this was abnormal. Anyway, Picky Pants swore he was "too sick about the basement" to eat dinner that night. Me? Well, we know that answer! I picked up the phone and ordered two Turkey Burgers from room service.
Me + Food = Happy. And to my surprise, Picky Pants ate every bite of his burger!

So, yesterday I made some of my sister's best salsa recipe ever. It makes a ton, so I had a lot left over and knew I wouldn't be snacking on chips and dip this week. This, friends, is a great way to sneak in some veggies to those ... PICKY eaters. ;)
I mixed some salsa with the ground turkey, rolled into 6 patties and grilled on my cooktop. YUM! What kind of Turkey Burgers do you make? And, more importantly, what kind of creative things can you make out of what's in your refrigerator? I'm a big fan of "throwing things together" and today, it was a hit!

If you haven't had the opportunity to try the homemade salsa I make ... it's my sister's recipe. (Why doesn't she have a blog?!) It's awesome and very versatile, hello - turkey burgers! You can stick it in chili, tacos, Queso Dip, serve with tortillas and hide in burgers!

Turkey Burgers:
1 lb Ground Turkey
Lindsay's Salsa

Lindsay's Salsa
4 large tomatoes, diced
2 yellow Spanish onions, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
1 can black beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
Hand full Cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Salt
Hot sauce
Chili Powder

Fresh is best with all these ingredients:fresh garlic, onion, jalapeno and tomato. However, if you get into a pinch, buy low sodium diced tomatoes and add the salt yourself. A can of Rotel will do as well.

Mangia! Mangia! XXXOOO!