Cracking Eggs, Breaking Glass

I risked life and limb to bring you this perfect breakfast sandwich.

Ok, not life but definitely limb. This morning I'm in my teeny tiny galley kitchen cooking up one of my faves, the prosciutto and egg muffin. Since my kitchen is so small everything is in arms reach, which is good for multi tasking: toast the muffin, crack the egg, open the fridge for prosciutto, close fridge with foot while pouring coffee...knock bloody mary spice mix of fridge shelf, crashing onto floor, glass breaking and contents gushing out, leap over carnage just barely missing large shard of glass while flipping egg in the pan one handed...phew, that was a close one! Perfect sandwich and no blood! (this time)
Prosciutto & Egg Sandwich
Egg
Slice of prosciutto
English muffin
Mixed greens for garnish

Toast the muffin. Preheat a small frying pan with a bit of butter. Crack the egg into a separate bowl. Carefully place the egg into the pan. Cook until desired doneness, flip and repeat. Assemble your sandwich with egg, prosciutto and greens.

Torte Reform

Birthdays have never been a very big deal to me. Since mine falls just before Christmas, my birthday parties have always been more like seasonal celebrations. People on winter vacation taking time off work and school to enjoy dinners with family and friends were always happy to tack on my happy birthday to their regularly scheduled holiday party. I never minded blending in with all of the other festivities as long as one tradition remained solidly intact- my Carvel ice cream cake. Layers of chocolate and vanilla ice cream and those awesome crunchies...just for me...non-negotiable. Sadly, since moving to the west coast real Carvel ice cream cakes (not just the random ones laying around in your grocery store's freezer) have been harder to come by. I was beginning to give up hope when TWD's Chocolate Banded Ice Cream Torte came to my rescue.Could I really make an ice cream cake to rival those of my youth? Without an ice cream maker no less? You bet your Cookiepuss (random Carvel reference) I can!


This torte was easy and so awesome. While millions of flavor combinations danced in my head, I stuck to Dorie's original recipe for my maiden voyage into ice cream cake making. I was not disappointed. I don't have an 8inch springform so I used a pyrex loaf pan lined with aluminum foil. That made unmolding this baby a cinch and slicing it up was a breeze. All that was missing was the cookie crunchies- I toyed with the idea of adding crushed up chocolate wafers but in the end left them out. Sooo, of course I'm going to have to make this again. That's too bad (hee hee).

What's A Pizza?

On June 4th 1953, grocer Vic Cassano and his mother-in-law opened the first Cassano's Pizza in Kettering, Ohio. When Vic, a grocer, was trying to find investors for his new restaurant, he called on old friend and local businessman Jack Keyes. He came over to Jack's house, made him a pizza and said," You put up a thousand and I'll put up a thousand and we'll go into the pizza business." Jack's response was, "What's a pizza?"
After trying this strange new dish, Jack turned Vic down. Little did he know that soon Vick Cassano would open the first Cassano's Pizza King. Today there are over 33 locations in the Dayton, Ohio area along with a thriving frozen dough franchise.

I guess it's no use to mourn what could've been. You see Jack is Grandpa Jack, my husband's grandfather. If only he could have forseen that these thin slices of sauce, cheese, meat and vegetable would be the golden ticket to the prosperity of his family for generations to come!

So every Sunday, when I recreate Cassano's pizza at home, I think about what could have been. I won't be the wife to the heir of pizza empire after all but at least I have a wonderful grandpa by the name of Jack Keyes, the greatest non-pizza mogul grandpa a girl could ever ask for.
And this great recipe for pizza sauce.

Cassano's Style Pizza Sauce
1 6oz can of tomato paste
1 8oz can of tomato sauce
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tsp red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Allow to sit at least 30 minutes before using.

Zucchini Relief Initiative 2.0 - Yellow Squash Soup

Yellow squash cupcakes anyone? Ok, maybe not but I still had 2 huge squash leftover from my friends pre-Olympic trip garden harvest. Since the zucchini soup worked so well, I thought I'd try this recipe from Epicurious. I substituted vegetable stock and added cayenne pepper, honey, a splash of balsamic vinegar and lots of paprika. Next time I make this I plan to either saute the squash longer or oven roast it first to create a smoother texture because the skin of the squash didn't puree well so the soup was a bit gritty at first. All in all though, a great summer lunch and another answer to your squash surplus dilemmas.

No Spoon Required

I love it when health food and junk food collide, as in this this week's TWD- Granola Grabbers. They are chock full of whole grains and fiber but come in a fabulous and convenient cookie form!


I used almond coconut granola, whole wheat flour, and less sugar than the recipe called for- that's the healthy part. But then... I added semisweet chocolate chips and sweetened flaked coconut to bring out their "cookie-ness." They came out great, the perfect combination of crunchy and gooey, sweet and salty, good taste and good for you!