Butternut Squash Naan Pizza

Aka “brain food”, or so I hope. Why? Because I need to stay focused enough to make it through at least one lecture tonight. And take notes. All the while hoping that my mind doesn’t wander too much or I nod off. Or I get too distracted by this guy:

On to the pizza…

or should I call it, Naan-za? Or Pi-naan? You decide.

  Ingredients:

• 1 piece of whole wheat naan
• 1 cup of chopped butternut squash
• 1/4 red onion, sliced
• 1/4 cup feta
• olive oil, for brushing
• dried parsley, for garnish

I roasted the butternut squash first @425 for about 20 mins. I reduced the oven temperature to 375 and brushed the naan with olive oil. I put the onions on first, then the squash and finally the feta and a sprinkle of parsley. I left it in the oven for about 12 mins (checking every couple of minutes after 8 mins had passed).

Study time!

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Phew, we’ve made it through Monday Tuesday.

And Tuesday wasn’t half bad. Yes, it was a two cup of coffee start to my morning but they were from the Keurig at work and those seem smaller than the cups I bring from home.

And there was sun. Despite the threat of rain, there was sun and a breeze coming in through my window at work. Ahhh.

When I got home, I found good mail waiting for me.

The Good

A coupon to Jordan’s Furniture for almost $250! Why? Well when I was buying my living room & mattress sets back in April, they were running a promotion. If a Red Sox player hit the ball on a certain spot on their billboard at Fenway, everyone who purchased during the specific contest dates got their furniture free! If it didn’t happen (which sadly, it did not) you got a coupon in the amount of 20% of your purchase! Hmmm… now I just have to decide what I want need.

Too bad they don’t sell automatic laundry folders…

The Bad

I need to fold all of this. Yes, those are two heaping baskets of clean laundry. Doing my laundry is one thing, folding it is another. It doesn’t help that puppy likes to roll around and mess up my sorted piles either…

Fortunately, I just had some pre-folding fuel. In the form of:

The Ugly

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. It was one of the ugliest things I’ve pulled out of my oven. No joke. But it is damn good. I’m sorry I didn’t snap a picture of it in all of it’s ugly glory (and I mean that in the most adoring way). It’s also super heavy. Like smack-an-intruder-in-the-head-and-he’ll-be-out-for-hours heavy. But I wouldn’t want to do that because like I said, it’s delicious. Super-moist and full of flavor delicious. Spoil-your-dinner delicious. And, sure, I’ll go there… makes-everything-seem-a-little-bit-better delicious.

Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

What is there not to love about a delicious frozen dessert that can be easily made with only three ingredients?

All you need:

• one box of ice cream sandwiches (I used a box of 12)
• one container frozen non-dairy topping (thawed)
• chocolate bar for shavings

Assembly:

• Place four ice cream sandwiches side by side
• Smooth layer of non-dairy topping on sandwiches
• Grate chocolate on top of layer
• Repeat
• Repeat again
• Cover entire “cake” with more non-dairy topping
• Grate more chocolate on top
• Keep frozen until ready to serve

Bring it to a gathering, people just may be impressed. Next time I’ll put peanut butter in there somewhere because peanut butter and chocolate just go together.

Giacomo’s, Boston – Back Bay

Last night we were celebrating a birthday so I planned a *surprise* dinner at Giacomo’s in Boston’s Back Bay. I’ve been to Giacomo’s location in the North End on Hanover Street several times but wanted to check this other location out and was pleased to find out they take reservations unlike the North End spot.

We arrived at 8:30 and were seated immediately… the place was full and there were parties waiting outside, so the reservations were a great call. Immediately a basket of bread was plopped down on our table.

It was a loaf of delicious sourdough and there was olive oil on the table for dipping. The oil was SO tasty. It was the good stuff… it reminded me of the olive oil I had when living in Italy.

For starters we ordered the Antipasto plate and the caprese salad. The antipasto plate had smoked meats, cheeses, grilled squid, roasted red peppers and was fantastic. The cheese was so rich and the squid was unlike any other I’ve had before. The caprese was also good… the mozzarella was of very high quality and melted in my mouth. With our dinner we ordered a bottle of this…

A bottle of Farnese Montepulciano. Such a delicious complement. I visited the area in Tuscany where this wine comes from and when I saw it on the menu, I knew it’s what we needed to have. Plus, all of the bottles of wine at Giacomo’s are $16!

For our entrees we ordered: the mussels and clams over a bed of linguine with Giacomo’s sauce (it’s the house red sauce made with lobster essence and Bechamel) and the butternut squash ravioli with asparagus in a cream sauce.

I literally cleaned the plate. The ravioli was soft and fluffy and full of flavor. But the sauce… the sauce was OUT OF THIS WORLD. It was seriously one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. Yes, it really was that good. Even though I was super full, I dipped my bread in it. No drip of great sauce should go to waste IMO.

A slice of pumpkin cheesecake (one of the best I’ve had) and an espresso completed our night as did a nice walk to the Prudential Center after dinner.

Giacomo’s Back Bay is located at 431 Columbus Ave. It’s a short walk from the Pru. It’s cash only but this location takes reservations, so call ahead!

Starbucks Via Flavored

Happy Friday!!!

Though it’s only in the 50’s here right now… it’s supposed to reach 70 today! A chilly morning called for hot coffee. And you know what I’ve been loving this week? Starbucks Via!

If you don’t know what it is… it’s little packets of instant coffee. The regular Via has been out for awhile now but the flavored packets just came out this week.

My roommate picked up a package of the Vanilla Via at Starbucks the other day for us to try. It’s great when you are in a hurry in the morning (as I almost always am) and don’t have time to put on a pot of coffee or just want to make one cup.

The vanilla flavor is subtle, not too sweet or artificial tasting. Which is good because I’m not a HUGE vanilla coffee fan… more of a hazelnut or almond girl.

All you do is pour the packet of Via into a mug and then add about 8 oz of hot water, stir and add milk or whatever you like to add to your coffee. Note: it’s already sweetened so you don’t have to add sugar. I will say that it’s not overly sweet though, but it’s good enough for me.

I’m not sure how much it costs but they do come in boxes of six. I think it amounts to about $1 a cup of coffee which is less expensive than stopping for a coffee but more expensive than brewing a pot. Oh well, sometimes you gotta pay for convenience.

Bonus: right now Starbucks is giving a free tall beverage with any purchase of flavored Via!

Bonus Bonus: it’s a long weekend!!! Have any good plans?

Nature’s Pride

It was another wet, gross day here. The perfect day to lounge on the couch in my comfies and watch movies. But that didn’t happen. Instead, I went to work… hot coffee in hand. Yes, I’ve gone and done it. I’ve made the switch.

After the gym tonight, I didn’t want to make an involved dinner. So I didn’t. A simple sandwich on bread sufficed. But after, I realized I did want something warm. Then I remembered that I still hadn’t shared a recipe using my bread from Nature’s Pride. Ding ding ding! <--- bell signifying a great idea

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a coupon for a free loaf of Nature’s Pride bread! Nature’s Pride is a sponsor at the Foodbuzz Festival in November and a recipe contest using their product. Though I think I’ve missed the contest deadline, I still wanted to incorporate it into something great.

The great idea was born, Apple Bread Pudding!

First, I preheated the oven to 350. Then I cubed my bread (toasted lightly first since it was still nice and soft). Four slices of bread ended up being about 3 cups cubed… 1/2 to 1-inch cubes will do. Then I chopped up one medium apple (whatever kind you like to bake with!) into small pieces. In a large bowl, I added the bread cubes, apple pieces, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and at the end 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk and about 1/4 cup of Starbucks Cinnamon Dulce Syrup. I used this syrup because it’s amazing but also has a bit of sugar, of course, so it added a bit of sweetness. You can use sugar, brown sugar, agave, etc.

Gently mix it all up with a wooden spoon. Let sit for about 10 minutes so bread can fully absorb the almond milk. Then spoon into greased 6 ounce ramekins. The mixture will fill about four of them. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden. Then, if you want, turn the oven to broil and leave them under the broiler for about 3 minutes until tops brown up just a bit.

These were amazing. Simply perfect. So much flavor and the texture was great. The bread held up so well… I’ll admit now that I feared a soggy mess, but no such thing happened here! You’ll love this so much, you will want to eat two ramekins full. Okay, maybe that’s just me.

Quick Chili and Pumpkin Cornbread

Oh, hey there fall!

A brief recap of this very fallish past weekend:

• yummy Indian grub (Tikka Masala, Lamb Vindaloo and Naan)
• Sam Adam’s Pumpkin Beer (Pumpkin, I know… it’s available as part of the multi-packs)
• Birthday cake
• A PIG Roast!
• Dogfish Head Punkin Beer
• A sluggish, sick-feeling Sunday… boo

And then last night, the rain came. I could hear it pattering down on my air conditioner all night long. It was chilly too, at least by my standards. So what does one do when there is a chill in the air?

MAKE CHILI!

And, PUMPKIN CORNBREAD!

For the chili, I started by cooking about 1 lb of 95% lean ground beef in a saute pan. I added about a half of a chopped onion, some roasted red peppers and a quarter of a green pepper (chopped)… if you couldn’t guess, those were the contents of my veggie drawer. In a larger pot, I put one 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes and 2 15 oz cans of beans – one of Great Northern beans and one of small red beans. I added cayenne pepper, cumin, chili pepper, chopped garlic and salt and pepper (I didn’t measure the quantities). I brought it to a simmer, added my meat/onions/peppers and let it all simmer, covered for about 20 minutes. I topped it with cheddar cheese and had a piece of pumpkin cornbread on the side.

For the Pumpkin Cornbread, I followed a recipe.

adapted from RecipeGirl

½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground pumpkin pie spice
1 cup cornmeal
2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
2/3 cup brown sugar
¼ cup canola oil
1 Tbs honey

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease 9-inch square baking pan.

2. Sift flours, baking powder, salt and spices in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in cornmeal.

3. In separate bowl, beat eggs lightly. Whisk in pumpkin, brown sugar, oil and honey.

4. Make a well in the dry mixture. Add pumpkin mixture and blend batter.

5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until cornbread is browned and the surface has a slightly springy feel.