Dinner, Pasta

Cheesy Stuffed Shells with Meatballs and Cherry Tomatoes

January is made for comfort food. It’s chilly and snowing just a bit which made it the perfect time to make these Cheesy Shells with Meatballs. Full disclosure: this is one of those times that you can bought store bought parts of this meal. I included directions on how to make meatballs, but you can also go buy some pre-cooked frozen meatballs. And I didn’t make the marinara or pesto sauces either — store bought is just fine. While people have this perception that it is hard to stuff shells (or manicotti, for that matter), if you cook the pasta al dente, it isn’t much of an issue. Enjoy!
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Breads

Sun-dried Tomato and Asiago Artisan Bread

More bread; more experiments. The Fig and Pine Nut bread from the other day actually ended up too sweet for a savory dipping bread, so I decided to make this Sun-dried Tomato and Asiago Cheese, which is decidedly not sweet. Really good with olive oil and sprinkle of salt. Line me up for snacking!
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Breads

Rosemary, Fig and Toasted Pine Nut Rustic Loaf

More experimenting with artisan non-knead breads baked in my Le Creuset Dutch Ovens. I am still not 100% with the texture of this Rosemary, Fig and Toasted Pine Nut Rustic Loaf — a little too dense — but I actual fear that I added too many figgy bits. Serves me right as I love figs, but too much of a good thing can hinder the rise. nevertheless, a decent attempt, flavor is good and the crusty outside from the dutch oven is amazing.
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Breakfast/Brunch, Sweet Snacks

Apple Almond Granola Bars

I thought that I would go healthy this week and make some granola bars. This is my go-to recipe — not too hard that you will break your teeth, but a little soft and definitely flavorful. If you search the site, you’ll see a bunch of variations; this time I decided to go ith apples and almond slices, with a bit of cinnamon and vanilla. Great pick me up afternoon snack!
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Desserts, Sweet Snacks

Winter Magic Torte:
Chocolate Rosemary Almond Cake, with Sugared Cranberries

Once a year, I make a cake, on Annual Cake Day. It’s not that I don’t like cake, but there are things that I like more, and I am not great at decorating. I know, I say this every year. On Annual Cake Day. Well, that day is today, so here it is: a Winter Magic Torte: Chocolate Rosemary Almond Cake, with Sugared Cranberries. It’s a chocolate cake with rosemary buttercream on the inside, deep rich ganache, toasted almonds and sugared cranberries on the outside. And it came out better than I expected, so at least Annual Cake Day 2021 turned out ok. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.
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