Mother's day weekend!

Here I am, writing my first blog.  Can't believe it!!  Hope I am doing the right thing by sharing my passion for food with everybody and not embarrassing myself. I always wondered how easily a new cookbook shows up on a book store shelf and why it is so hard for me to even put a few thoughts in writing about something that I cooked so passionately or ate at some place.Well, after years of dreaming about myself doing this,pushed by friends, inspired by my husband, I finally found this Mother's day weekend to be a good start.

This year, Mother's day happened to be very different from the previous years.  Instead of going out with my family to get my cravings fulfilled, I wanted to fulfill my cravings at home.This is a real shock for somebody who knows me very well because I hardly cook during the weekends, unless we have some guests or I am in the mood to cook.So this happens to be the weekend in which I had a few recipes in my mind and I finally put it to test.

May 6th 2011

It all started on Friday afternoon while I was flipping through TV channels and suddenly caught a glimpse of  David Rocco sampling some cheese in Sicily and  preparing a pasta dish using Pecorino cheese on the Cooking Channel.  I have little knowledge about different kinds of cheese.  If a recipe calls for a particular cheese for that dish, I just follow that.

For example, that afternoon, I was at the Subway sandwich store and lady at the counter asked me what kind of cheese I wanted for my Tuna sandwich and I didn't know which one to choose.  I replied "The one in the front".  That's the extent of my knowledge about cheese.  I know the names but I am not sure where to use which one.

So here is reason I wanted to try this particular recipe that David Rocco was showing on the Cooking channel.  He was mentioning how well the sweetness of the cherry tomatoes goes well with the Pecorino cheese almost like a marriage.  Well, now he literally got me salivating.  I couldn't wait to get all the ingredients for this recipe and satisfy my craving.  The other thing that really pushed me to try this one is its simplicity.  I did not have to write down or print the recipe to remember the ingredients.  Just amazing how you throw in a few things and you have this beautiful dish and your taste buds are satisfied.

Spaghetti con Pomodorini e Pecorino: Spaghetti with Cherry Tomatoes and Pecorino

I can't even describe to you how we enjoyed, for a change, being at home on a Friday evening and licking our pasta bowls clean.
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 May 7th 2011

Well, it didn't stop right there..the next day(i.e., Saturday), I wanted to surprise my foodie family with my first Frittata for brunch.  This time it was Kelsey Nixon's veggie Frittata which inspired me.  I had all the ingredients ready.The oven was pre-heated to 375degrees and everything else was going on so well, when I realized that my skillet did not have a metal handle. I got all flustered and being a pessimist at times, I thought that my time for making Frittata had not arrived yet.  So, I started changing my plans to make an omelette instead.  So everything was in the skillet cooking just like a Frittata and here I was, still wanting to see my first Frittata instead of an omelette.  I did not give up...I gathered all my courage, slid the whole thing onto a plate slowly with my heart beating rapidly and put  it back on the skillet for the other side to cook.  Whoa...what a relief.  With the help of a lid, I got my Frittata all done.  Success with my first Frittata! 

Enjoyed the brunch thoroughly with my kids and my hubby.  Actually I was liking the way we were enjoying our weekend brunch instead of ordering Frittata at some restaurant.

Garden Vegetable Frittata

As you know, Frittata is a dish where you can add anything that is available in your fridge.  So these were the ingredients that I used for my Frittata.
Eggs - 8
Bacon - 3 to 4 strips (got them crisped)
Green onions - 2-3 sprigs
Cherry tomatoes - 1 cup
Green bell pepper - 1/2(chopped)
Green peas - handful
Red potatoes - 2-3(sliced thinly with skin)
Parmesan cheese- 1/2 a cup(mixed it with the eggs)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper for taste


May 8th 2011(Mother's day)
Even after celebrating Mother's day with few of our friends and dining out at Buca di Beppo which also happens to be an Italian restaurant and having a late night last night, I was still back in the kitchen on Sunday morning to try out another Italian dish.  Wow! I am really surprising myself.  By now, my husband was also beginning to wonder if something was seriously wrong with me.  Normally, I would have blamed him for not planning ahead of time to take me to some nice place for brunch or lunch.  Well,this was very unusual of me.I am really having some big time Italian food craving.  Also, I must say some cooking shows capture you so much that you feel the urge to have that dish right away.  I couldn't postpone making this dish any further.

Again, this was a Sicilian dish from one of David Rocco's show.Very simple,very yummy and a sumptuous meal.  I have never watched David Rocco's shows with so much interest but this episode really captured me.  It featured all these wonderful dishes that were so easy to make and by just watching the show you could tell that it would turn out just the way it was featured on the show.

Salsiccie e Fagioli: Pork and Beans

I know...you must be thinking that the name sounds so simple.Well, believe me, it is very very simple.
The only change I made to this recipe was to use Sicilian chicken sausages instead of pork.

I must say that this is definitely a  real comfort food and now I know even though the name sounds so simple why the people of Sicily enjoy this hearty dish so much.My daughter being a big sausage fan enjoyed this dish to her heart's content.

By now, I was so done with Italian food that my taste buds were all going numb.  I was now craving a good Bento box to boost my taste buds.  So we ended up at Miyake and enjoyed some sushi and tempura in a Bento box.  It was indeed a very nice way to celebrate Mother's day finally.