 I've fished my entire life and I'm thankful for a mom and dad who taught me how to fish as soon as I could hold a pole. (Unfortunately, despite their best efforts I never did agreed to bait my own hook though.🎣😅) I grew up on an island in Lake Erie so boating and fishing so was just a part of our summer rhythm. I have very fond memories of family fishing days when I was a kid. Oh, and as you can clearly see - I always sported the most stylish of fishing outfits too.😂 
I love the little Georgia town where I live now but if it's missing one thing, it would be a great fishing hole!🐟😅 I miss being able to spend an afternoon on the lake with a fishing pole in my hand and then having fresh fish for dinner. My dad took care of all the fish cleaning back then and my mom did the cooking so as far as I knew, I caught the fish and a few hours later, they showed up on my plate. What's not to like?🐟 It seems that the fishing gene has been passed on to both of my kids. When we visit my parents at the lake - it's only a matter of minutes before they will grab a fishing pole and sit on the dock waiting for their first bite.  I feel like I'm fairly knowledgable about fresh water fish but the world of salt water fish is all unchartered territory for me. I've recently been trying new salt water fish though and finding new ways to prepare it thanks to a very kind fisherman from Savannah who graciously shares his fish with me. (@phillipmay 😉) It's only recently that I learned about Sheepshead.🐠 I had been given some to try so I did a little research on recipes for this firm white fish. Most fish recipes are interchangeable but since this was my first time to prepare sheepshead - I wanted to find a recipe dedicated to that species. But just know that if you don't have fresh sheepshead available - you can use this recipe on other firm white fish too. 😅  Garlic Parmesan Sheepshead Garlic Parmesan Crumble 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped 1/2 cup parmesan cheese 1 clove garlic, minced 4 Tablespoons olive oil Salt and cracked black pepper, to season Fish 4 sheepshead fillets – skinless and boneless 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise Salt and cracked black pepper 2 teaspoons garlic powder
 Bake filets 12 minutes at 400. Put under the broiler until browned.  This sheepshead did not disappoint. It was delicious.
Ciao!
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 I struggle with party food. When I decide to host a party, the first thing I do is plan the menu. Before the guest list, the decorations or I even nail down the time and place - I make an itemized grocery list for the food that I plan to serve.😂 But as the party get nearer, I start second guessing my food choices and I worry that I've chosen foods that people won't like or even worse, something that they might be allergic to.🫤 I'm the queen of getting in my head about this and then overcompensating by serving waaaay too much food.  I've hosted a LOT of parties and I've stressed over the menu for every single one of them. It's only been recently that I've discovered the joy of nacho parties and now I'm wondering why it took me so long to figure that out. Serving a dish like Beef Nachos at a party is genius menu planning. Take it from me.😂 Guests can make their nachos vegan, spicy, loaded or simple. I love the fact that self serve nacho bars are completely customizable. My guests can choose to add their own toppings or even swap out the chips with lettuce for a healthier option. And for my friends who insist on bringing something to the party - I respond to thier request with "bring your favorite nacho topping".  Beef Nachos Spiced Ground Beef 2 Tablespoons water 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 2 pounds ground beef (90% lean) 1 Tablespoon canola oil 1 onion, chopped 3 Tablespoons chili powder 2 Tablespoons paprika 1 Tablespoon cumin 1 Tablespoon garlic powder 2 teaspoons salt 1/4 cup tomato paste Cheese Sauce 3 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese 6 Tablespoons shredded Swiss cheese 2 cups + 2/3 cup water 2 Tablespoons sodium citrate Toppings Jalapeños Refried Beans Limes Crema Guacamole Salsa Tortilla Chips Cilantro
  This recipe is from one of my favorite resources: Cooks Illustrated.
Ciao!  It's probably obvious that I love food.😂 I kind of have to be to keep this food blog going for so long.😅 (Can you believe that I've been doing this for 13 years?) When I’m not buying food, I'm preparing it in my kitchen or savoring the taste of it, I’m thinking about it or writing about it here. We plan our vacations around where or what we’d like to eat and our family get-togethers almost always revolve around food. Big family dinners and meals shared around the table are super important.
One thing that my Italian family loves is biscotti and I've made enough biscotti to know that there is no one right way to make it. As a matter of fact, including this one, I have 63 recipes for biscotti on my blog and each one is uniquely different. Some are made with butter, some oil and some have no fat in them at all. Most contain an egg, but not all. One of them is even baked in a loaf pan and then sliced. Just know that if you want to make a batch of homemade biscotti - google some recipes and keep in mind that they will vary greatly. I invite you to jump in and give it a shot though and if you need a recommendation, I just so happen to think this one is pretty great.😉 😅  Marble Biscotti 1/2 cup butter, room temperature 2 cups sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 6 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 4 1/2 cups flour 1/2 cup cocoa Egg Wash 1 egg 1 Tablespoon water
 Bake 10 minutes. Flip. Bake 10 more minutes.  Ciao!
 Our trip to Mexico last month reminded me just how much I enjoy Mexican food. Or since we were in Mexico - I guess I can just call it "food."😅🇲🇽 Anyhoo... we took a cooking class, we went on a food tour and basically ate our way through the whole Oaxaca region and I don't regret a single delicious bite. These are some pictures from our cooking class.
These pictures are from our walking food tour.
 I make my own versions of our favorite Mexican meals at home even though I know that they will never taste quite the same as the dishes that I tasted in Mexico. I will say though, these White Chicken Enchiladas were VERY good - I mean, for a non-hispanic, half Italian girl who lives in the South.😆 The sauce is creamy and flavorful but the yogurt and chicken broth keeps it light too. I think you're going to like these enchiladas - they're the next best thing to eating them in Mexico!🇲🇽  White Chicken Enchiladas 3 Tablespoons butter 1 small onion, sliced 1 clove garlic, minced 3 Tablespoons flour 2 cups chicken broth 1 cup plain Greek yogurt 1 4-ounce can mild diced green chilies 1 Tablespoon lime juice 1/2 teaspoon cumin 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 3 cups cooked shredded chicken 3 cups shredded Monterey Jack Cheese, divided 8 to 10 flour tortillas, 8-inch size
 Cover dish with foil. Bake 25 minutes at 350. Remove foil and bake 5 minutes longer.  Top with chopped fresh cilantro and diced avocado.
Ciao! 
Even if you're not interested in Snoops recipes - the colorful commentary is this book is worth the read. Seriously - it's hilarious.🤪 The book is super entertaining, but I'll admit that I had questions: Will Snoop Dogg recipes be any good? And is there a recipe for "special" brownies?😂 Turns out, the cookbook actually had so many delicious sounding recipes that it was hard to choose which one to make first. After some debate, I decided to put Snoops Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe to the test. Spoiler alert: They did not dissapoint.  Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies 1 1/2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup butter, room temperature 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 cups chocolate chips
 Scoop batter onto silpat lined baking sheets.  Bake 8-10 minutes at 375.  My husband actually declared that these were his new favorite cookies. So there you have it - Snoop's cookbook is both a hilarious read and (so far) a decent source of recipes.
Ciao! |
