We love gyros…lamb, chicken, beef, or veggie…doesn’t matter. I’ll take one of each please!

Kemal made us some incredibly tasty lamb and beef gyros a few weeks ago.

They totally hit the spot!

Here’s the recipe he used:

Alton Brown at www.foodnetwork.com

He followed that recipe exactly except he also added some extra spices… some fenugreek, ... [read more]]]> We love gyros…lamb, chicken, beef, or veggie…doesn’t matter. I’ll take one of each please!

Kemal made us some incredibly tasty lamb and beef gyros a few weeks ago.

They totally hit the spot!

Here’s the recipe he used:

Alton Brown at www.foodnetwork.com

He followed that recipe exactly except he also added some extra spices… some fenugreek, sumac, and cumin…about a teaspoon of each.

We served them on homemade lejinje (Bosnian pita bread) that I had made earlier in the day and topped them with tzatziki sauce, yellow tomatoes, fresh mint, and some dried mint as well. We were in total heaven!

We also enjoyed some lamb and beef gyros at It’s All Greek to Me, which is a little family owned Greek restaurant here in town. We ordered a chicken gyro as well, and it was awesome!

Not only did we enjoy the food, but we also enjoy some nice conversation with Chef Maria.

Here’s a couple of pictures of us a few weeks ago on our anniversary at the Greek restaurant.

While we certainly love making our own gyros, we do plan to go back to the restaurant and enjoy some there from time to time as well too.

What kind of gyro is your favorite? Chicken, lamb, beef, a lamb/beef combo, or a veggie one?

Hello everyone When Katie from What Katie’s Baking asked me if I would be a guest blogger for her while she was on vacation, I was honored! I love all her tempting and mouth-watering recipes, and I always look forward to seeing the next thing she’s baking.

Anyway, I had a hard time deciding what to ... [read more]]]> Hello everyone When Katie from What Katie’s Baking asked me if I would be a guest blogger for her while she was on vacation, I was honored! I love all her tempting and mouth-watering recipes, and I always look forward to seeing the next thing she’s baking.

Anyway, I had a hard time deciding what to post for her, but I finally decided on something that I think not only looks beautiful on your plate but also tastes great!

It’s a spinach and cheese mixture that’s stuffed inside a cored out tomato and baked with an egg on top.

Every bite is packed with flavor, and it’s a meal we certainly plan to enjoy again and again.

To get the recipe for spinach and eggs baked in tomato cups

(recipe adapted from:  Recipes from my Mom),  head over to What Katie’s Baking, and find out how to make this scrumptious meal for yourself. Hope y’all have a great day!

You can use any kind of pasta you want. I’d ... [read more]]]>

You can use any kind of pasta you want. I’d probably use fettuccine noodles  if I didn’t have any ho fan.

Anyway, Kemal and I will be making this pasta salad a lot this summer. We loved it so much and were disappointed when we finished the leftovers on the second day. I could have easily eaten it four or five days in a row.

Oh by the way, this sesame pasta salad goes great with Sapporo beer. This Japanese beer is so smooth and has such a wonderful flavor that it’s our favorite beer. We also love Heineken Dark, and Goose Island India Pale Ale.

What about you? What’s your favorite beer?

Easy Sesame Pasta Salad

Recipe Adapted from: eat me, delicious who adapted her recipe from Aggie’s Kitchen via Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. ho fan (vermicelli noodles)
• 1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1/2 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 green onions, diced
• 5 garlic cloves, diced
• 16 baby carrots, finely grated
• 5 tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. minced ginger
• 1 tsp. sesame seeds
• 1 tsp. red chili flakes
• 1 tbsp. red wine vinaigrette
• 1 tbsp. mushroom soy sauce
• black pepper to taste

Instructions:

Step One:  Make the Pasta

• On high heat, boil about 3 quarts of water in a large pot.
• When the water comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium high, and then add the pasta, 1 tsp. of salt and 1 tsp. olive oil, stirring occasionally.
• Cook the pasta until it’s tender but firm.
• Drain the hot water off the pasta.
• Run cold water over the pasta to cool it off; drain the water again.

Step Two:  Wash and Cut the Vegetables

• While the pasta is cooking, peel and dice the garlic.
• Then wash the green onions, zucchini, and red bell pepper.
• Dice the green onions, and then thinly slice the zucchini and pepper.
• Finely grate the carrots.

Step Three:  Make the Dressing

• Mix together the sesame oil, sesame seeds, red wine vinaigrette, soy sauce, red chili flakes, and the minced ginger.
• Set aside on the counter until needed.

Step Four:  Assemble the Pasta Salad

• Put the drained pasta in a large bowl.
• Add the vegetables.
• Pour the dressing over the pasta and veggies and stir until all the noodles and vegetables are coated.
• Sprinkle with a little bit of black pepper.
• Serve.

Kemal and I love making pizza, and last night we a pesto pizza with a whole wheat crust. It turned out fabulous!

The pizza dough recipe came from Simply Life. I love that the crust has flax seeds to provide added fiber, and besides that it just tastes great!

Then instead of using tomato or marinara sauce ... [read more]]]> Kemal and I love making pizza, and last night we a pesto pizza with a whole wheat crust. It turned out fabulous!

The pizza dough recipe came from Simply Life. I love that the crust has flax seeds to provide added fiber, and besides that it just tastes great!

Then instead of using tomato or marinara sauce on the pizza, I made some pesto sauce from scratch. I saw a pesto pizza in Whole Foods about a month ago, and that’s where I got the idea to make a pesto pizza to begin with.

Normally, I make pesto in the blender, but after coming across this article at New Italian Recipes, I decided to try making my pesto by using my mortar and pestle to grind one bunch of basil and about 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds. (I know pine nuts are supposed to be used, but I didn’t have any so I figured sunflower seeds would work out just fine, and sure enough…they did!)

I enjoyed grinding the basil and sunflower seeds, and when I was done, I stirred in one minced garlic clove, some olive oil and some freshly grated Parmesan cheese. The pesto wasn’t as smooth made this way, but it tasted wonderful nonetheless.

The pesto sauce was so good I ate a spoon of it by itself. Yum!!!

Anyway, after I shaped the pizza dough in the pan, I spread some pesto sauce on the unbaked dough. Then Kemal sliced some tomatoes and onions and added them on top of the pesto sauce. Then he topped the pizza with some goat cheese and Bulgarian feta cheese, and we baked it on 400 degrees Fahrenheit until the dough was done. It was so good!

And we’re enjoying leftovers tonight!

It’s a pizza I’ll definitely make again!

So what’s your favorite kind of pizza? My is classic margherita pizza.

As much as Kemal and I love Mediterranean food, we also have a passion for Indian cuisine. We’re getting better and better at cooking our favorite Indian meals, and one meal I couldn’t wait to try to make myself is masala dosa which is basically crepes (made with rice and lentils) that are stuffed with ... [read more]]]> As much as Kemal and I love Mediterranean food, we also have a passion for Indian cuisine. We’re getting better and better at cooking our favorite Indian meals, and one meal I couldn’t wait to try to make myself is masala dosa which is basically crepes (made with rice and lentils) that are stuffed with soft potatoes and onions that have been cooked in warm spices.

When I tried masala dosa at our favorite Indian restaurant (Little India Cafe), I fell in love with them. The crepes were light, airy, fluffy…with a bit of a tangy taste. The Indian spiced potatoes inside the crepes were just heavenly! They were served with a coconut chutney, but honestly, I hardly touched the chutney because I thought they were perfect without any kind of dipping sauce.

Anyway, after enjoying them at the restaurant, I was inspired to try to make them myself. So I did!

The crepes are made with rice and lentils (I used red lentils) that are soaked in water for about four hours. Then after they’re softened, you drain some of the water off them and puree them to make a paste. Then you let the mixture ferment for 8-24 hours.

The potatoes can be made on the day you’re letting the pureed rice and lentil batter ferment; that way the filling will be ready when you ready to start making your dosas. Here’s a picture Kemal took of my potato stuffing which is spiced with curry, cumin, chili powder, mustard seeds, turmeric, salt, and pepper.

I had no problems making the batter or the potatoes or the crepes; however, I did have a bit of trouble in the presentation department. Let me explain.

I made them on a counter top electric grill/griddle that I have, and while they cooked just fine, the outside of the dosa wasn’t at all pretty when I rolled it up. So what I did was make sure I put the filling on the side of the crepe that is “ugly” in texture so when you roll it, the outside looks pretty. Easy fix!

So how did they taste? Mmmmmmmmmm….they were wonderful!!! I dipped a few of them in a tamarind chutney, and the sweetness of the tamarind made a lovely contrast with the slight tang of the dosas and the spiciness of the potatoes.

One word of caution though. These dosas don’t do well if you microwave the leftovers the next day. Next time I make them, I’ll let my leftovers warm up in the oven. Hopefully it’ll work better that way.

Now I just need to learn to make own tamarind chutney.

Masala Dosa (Rice Lentil Crepes with a Potato Stuffing)

Recipe Sources:

1. Recipe found at www.epicurious.com. Their recipe came from Gourmet, January 2006; originally published 1985
2. Tutorial, recipe, and step-by-step instructions submitted by Bhavna from superveggiedelight.com on www.youtube.com (This link is for part 1.)
3. Tutorial, recipe, and step-by-step instructions submitted by Bhavna from superveggiedelight.com on www.youtube.com (This link is for part 2.)

I adore Mediterranean food and cooking, and Kemal, who’s from the Mediterranean, naturally loves it as well.  We don’t follow any particular diet in that we eat whatever we want; however, our eating patterns and lifestyle basically follows the Mediterranean diet pyramid.

Most of our meals are centered around vegetables, beans, bread, fruits, and whole grains. ... [read more]]]> I adore Mediterranean food and cooking, and Kemal, who’s from the Mediterranean, naturally loves it as well.  We don’t follow any particular diet in that we eat whatever we want; however, our eating patterns and lifestyle basically follows the Mediterranean diet pyramid.

Most of our meals are centered around vegetables, beans, bread, fruits, and whole grains. Legumes, nuts, spices, and olive oil, as dairy products centering around cheese, yogurt, and eggs, are also an integral part of our meals.

Fish and meat make up the smallest part of our diet, and that suits us fine because we both prefer more plant-based foods versus animal-based.

Neither one of us can get enough veggies. We both constantly crave them and enjoy preparing (and of course eating!) meals centered around vegetables.

One such meal is a Greek dish called dolmades which are grape leaves stuffed with rice, veggies, fruit, and nuts. The dolmades I made were were stuffed with arborio rice, fresh mint, fresh parsley, raisins, sunflower seeds, onions, and spices.

Dolmades are extremely easy to make, but they do take just a bit of time to stuff and roll all the grape leaves. Then after they’re rolled and stuffed, they’re simmered in a pan with either vegetable or chicken broth for about 45 minutes. Then they’re chilled and eaten cold.

They’re great both plain or dipped in tzatziki sauce. I also enjoy eating them served on top of a Greek salad. They’re excellent that way!

If you’ve never tried them before, I highly encourage you to make them sometime and see for yourself just how wonderful they are. They can be eaten as an appetizer or for the main course.

There are many recipes out there on the web, but I found mine in a cookbook I have here at home called “Tastes of the Mediterranean“; the recipe for Dolmades is on page 37.

Making a Greek salad is also very easy. Just toss together some spring mix, sliced cherry tomatoes, sliced green olives, crumbled feta cheese, crumbled goat cheese, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and some salted sunflowers. I also sometimes toss in some raisins, diced green onions, and fresh mint.

My mom found a recipe online for a Greek salad dressing that’s out-of-this-world delicious. It’s so easy to make, and to learn how to make it, just go to allrecipes.com (recipe submitted by Danielle M.

Instead of using Dijon mustard which is called for in the Greek salad dressing, I just used my mortar and pestle to grind up some mustard seeds to make mustard powder. Worked great!

Anyway, after you make the salad and drizzle on the dressing, just place some dolmades on top of the salad, and there ya go!

Couldn’t be easier!

Since I have a hard time digesting mushrooms, he also made some stuffed peppers and zucchinis with the same filling ... [read more]]]>

Since I have a hard time digesting mushrooms, he also made some stuffed peppers and zucchinis with the same filling and sauce. They all turned out incredibly delicious. I had one mushroom (one small mushroom won’t hurt my stomach), and I thought they were even better than the ones we had at Buca di Beppo.

Here’s what the veggies looked like before we covered them with the creamy pesto sauce:

They’re good plain, but the sauce not only dresses ‘em up, but it also adds a whole lot of flavor.

The prosciutto is great in these stuffed veggies, but I’ll bet they’d be just as good using some cooked, crumbled turkey bacon in them.

Speaking of bacon, what do you think about turkey and beef bacon compared to pork bacon? We both love turkey bacon and find it to be every bit as good as pork bacon. We’ve only tried beef bacon once. The meat department at Whole Foods had some so we tried it, and it seemed really dry and not nearly as flavorful as turkey and pork bacon. What kind of bacon do you buy?

Prosciutto and Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms, Peppers, and Zucchini with a Creamy Pesto Sauce

Inspired by: Buca di Beppo’s Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients for the Stuffed Vegetables:

• 3 small zucchinis
• 1 orange bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 6 baby portabello mushrooms
• 6 slices Prosciutto, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup Panko breading
• 2 green onions, finely sliced
• 1 egg, beaten
• handful of Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value Veggie Chips
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup goat cheese
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup salted butter, melted
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• parsley to taste

Ingredients for the Creamy Pesto Sauce:

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 8 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• prepared pesto to taste
• 2% milk
• salt to taste

Instructions for Making the Prosciutto Stuffed Vegetables with a Creamy Pesto Sauce

Step One:  Prep all the Veggies

• Wash all the vegetables.
• Cut the zucchinis lengthwise in half, and then core out some of the inside of the zucchini slices so you have a place to put your stuffing.
• Finely chop the cored part of the zucchini, and then place it in a medium sized bowl because you’re going to use that in your filling.
• Cut the peppers in half, and remove the stem and seeds.
• Remove the stems from the mushrooms.
• Finely slice the green onions, and then place them in the bowl with cored out part of the zucchini.

Step Two:  Make the Filling

• Grate the Parmesan cheese; set aside.
• Beat an egg in a small bowl, and then add the egg to the bowl with the cored out part of the zucchini.
• Crush the veggie chips, and then add them and Panko bread crumbs to the bowl with the egg, green onions, etc.
• Finely chop the prosciutto and then add it to the bowl with the other ingredients.
• In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, goat cheese, and feta cheese over low to medium heat, stirring frequently.
• After the butter/cheese mixture becomes creamy, add the stuffing mixture (bread crumbs, egg, prosciutto, etc) which is in the bowl to the butter/cheese mixture.
• Add olive oil until you get the desired consistency (so it can be easily shaped and/or molded).
• Add salt and pepper to taste, as well as 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Mix well.

Step Three:  Stuff the Veggies

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Grease a baking pan with olive oil.
• Stuff the vegetables with the filling and place them in the pan.
• Brush a little olive oil on the top of all the stuffed vegetables, and then sprinkle everything with a little black pepper and parsley.

Step Four:  Bake the Stuffed Veggies and Make the Creamy Pesto Sauce

• Bake uncovered until the stuffing is golden brown.
• While the stuffed veggies are baking, make the creamy pesto sauce.
• In a large frying pan, heat about 1/2 cup of canola oil on medium high heat.
• When the oil gets hot, stir in the flour with a wooden spoon.
• Stir constantly until the flour has blended nicely with oil and there are no lumps.
• Slowly add about 1 cup of milk  and some prepared pesto to the flour/oil mixture. (How much you use depends on how strong of a pesto flavor you want.)
• Stir constantly on a very low heat to combine all the ingredients.
• Continue adding more milk until you get the sauce the consistency you want. I made mine the consistency of a thin gravy.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Keep stirring until the sauce has thickened to your liking, and then remove it from the heat.
• After the stuffed veggies have turned golden brown, remove them from the oven and transfer to a serving dish.
• Cover the them with the creamy pesto sauce, and enjoy!
• Optional: Sprinkle a little freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top.

I love minestrone.

It tastes wonderful and it’s also easy to make. The other nice thing about minestrone is that it’s full all kinds of good veggies and beans. The recipe is also quite flexible. If you have spinach on-hand, you can add some in. You can use any kind of pasta you want, and if ... [read more]]]> I love minestrone.

It tastes wonderful and it’s also easy to make. The other nice thing about minestrone is that it’s full all kinds of good veggies and beans. The recipe is also quite flexible. If you have spinach on-hand, you can add some in. You can use any kind of pasta you want, and if you’re watching your carbs, you can decrease the amount of pasta or just not use any.

So what does minestrone have to do with Pilates and yoga? Well…nothing. But I wanted to know if y’all have ever done Yoga or Pilates, and if so, did you find that you worked a lot of muscles you didn’t ordinarily work? I ask this because I’ve found that to be the case with me.

I bought this Pilates DVD…decided to try it and see what it was all about. I kind of figured it wouldn’t be much of a workout because I work out four to five times a week already, and I feel pretty fit.

Let me tell you that I was shocked at just how challenging and difficult a Pilates work-out is (I do about a 1-hour workout.) Some of those exercises were really hard, and I felt the burn immediately. I was surprised again when my body started hurting me several hours after the work-out. My muscles really ached. The job I do is very physical, and I’m a very active person, so this really surprised me.  Just goes to show I’m not as fit as I thought.

I’m just curious if any of y’all have had a similar experience with Pilates. If so, how long did it take before you could do the work-out without your muscles aching for hours afterward? I’ve done my Pilates work-out three times now, and the third time has been my best experience. I didn’t hurt nearly as bad as the other two times. So I’m gonna keep at it for a while, and we’ll see how it goes.

As for yoga…I tried it once and never again. I don’t know how y’all do it. It hurt me me a whole lot worse than Pilates. I don’t know why it would hurt so much since I work out and am active. Maybe I’m doing it wrong? What has been your experience with yoga?

Anyway, I’m gonna do my regular workout tonight and then I’m skippin’ my Pilates workout tomorrow morning. I need a little break.

In the meantime,  here’s how I make my minestrone.

Minestrone

Inspired by: the minestrone I’ve purchased at Whole Foods and Olive Garden.  I don’t know either of their recipes, but I just tried to use similar ingredients that they use.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry red lentils
• 1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans
• 1 cup dry pasta (I used fusilli)
• 1 6 oz. can tomato paste
• 40 baby carrots
• 1 medium zucchini
• 5 green onions
• 1/2 medium yellow onion
• 12 garlic cloves
• 5 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 1/2 qts. water
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 vegetable bouillon cube
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• basil to taste
• oregano to taste
• black pepper to taste
• salt to taste
• Optional: freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Step One: Peel and slice garlic and yellow onions. Wash and finely chop carrots and green onions. Wash and slice zucchini.

Step Two: Fry garlic, onions,zucchini, carrots in 4 tbsp of olive oil.

Step Three: Cook lentils and pasta together in a large pot with about  2 1/2  quarts of water. Stir in the oil, salt, bouillon cube. Stir occasionally.

Step Four: When the pasta is cooked but still firm (al dente), reduce the heat to simmer, and then add the garbanzo beans, and tomato paste to the pasta. Do not drain the water.

Step Five: Stir in the fried vegetables, garlic powder, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper to taste. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Serve warm. Garnish with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese if you like.

If you ask me, you can’t get much better than fresh fish caught in local streams, creeks, rivers, ponds, and lakes. The fresh caught fish has an amazing flavor, and when it’s fried to perfection and served with all the fixin’s…well…there seriously ain’t anything that can top it!

My Dad and Uncle Boyd have been doing ... [read more]]]> If you ask me, you can’t get much better than fresh fish caught in local streams, creeks, rivers, ponds, and lakes. The fresh caught fish has an amazing flavor, and when it’s fried to perfection and served with all the fixin’s…well…there seriously ain’t anything that can top it!

My Dad and Uncle Boyd have been doing a lot of trout fishin’ these days with me and Kemal in mind. They caught a big ole mess of fish so we could have a nice family fish fry! Ain’t we the lucky ones! Thanks so much you two!!!

Me and Dad also spent a few hours one night fishin’ for bass and bluegill while Kemal walked around the pond taking photos of us and the property.  I caught a couple of small fish, and Dad caught several as well. Here are a few of the pictures Kemal took. Here’s Dad  and me at the pond.

And here’s my niece, Jessica, with her daughter, Isabella.

And here’s a picture Kemal took of the fishin’ pole I was usin’. I just love this photo!

Anyway, I came close to nabbin’ a huge bass in this very spot, but before you think I’m exaggeratin’, I want to let you know this isn’t one of those fish tales. Seriously…it was a big ‘un!!! I got it on the hook, but as I was reelin’ it in it got loose. I sure do wish I hadn’t let it get away ’cause I’m sure it was mighty tasty! Here’s one I did catch, but it’s so small you can barely see it. But hey…a small fish is better than no fish!

Here’s one that Dad caught.

But almost all the fish was the trout that Dad and Uncle Boyd caught, and let me tell you it’s the best trout I ever had! Seriously! The trout you get in a restaurant doesn’t even compare. These were small trout, and the meat was white and flaky. I’ve had the trout with the pinkish/orange meat, but it’s not as good. Kemal also said it was the best trout he ever had. He said he mostly has been disappointed with the trout he’s tried, but not the trout that Dad and Boyd caught.

Anyway, we had a huge fish fry for the family (there was nine of us there) and let me tell you the food was plentiful! Dad and Kemal were in charge of the frying and grilling. Here they are hard at work.

And here’s a few more pics of Dad fryin’ the hush puppies and fish.

Besides a mess of fried fish and Dad’s incredibly delicious hush puppies, we also enjoyed some fried pickles that I made for the first time. Here’s a few pictures showing you all three. I think the fried pickles look deceptively like potato wedges.

We also had veggie and chicken kabobs made by Kemal, Greek salad and coleslaw made by Mom, and a beautiful vanilla cake made by brother’s fiance’s aunt. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to photograph all that, but here’s a photo veggie and chicken kabobs, as well as a Greek salad made by my friend, Vesna, that I took last summer when we grilled out at our friends’ house.

All the food was wonderful, and Kemal and I totally stuffed ourselves to the gills!

Kemal said his favorite thing was the hush puppies.

He had seven of them! I’m not sure what my favorite thing was ’cause it was all so good!

Dad’s recipe for the hush puppies, as well as his breading recipe for the fish are listed below. The fried fish doesn’t have added seasonings, and in my opinion, it doesn’t need anything. It’s perfect just the way it is. You’ll notice in the photo below the plate is on the empty side. These are the first three fish that came out of the fryer. I wanted to photograph the big platter of fish when it was done, but there just wasn’t time. I’m sure you can imagine though.

As for the fried pickles…if you haven’t tasted them before, you really have to give them a try!

They’re so good you wouldn’t believe it! They’re great just the way they are but even better when you dip them in ranch dressing. Yum!!!

Everyone loved them except my brother. You should have seen the look on his face when he bit into one! Well…they look like fried potato wedges, and I reckon I forgot to tell him I was making fried pickles. Ooops!

Anyway, we sure did enjoy everything, and the leftovers were just as good! I sure was spoiled with all that good food! Thanks so much to everyone in my family for their contributions! It was a mighty fine meal!!

Easy Fried Dill Pickles

Recipe Source:  www.cooks.com (Recipe submitted by Dan Man)

Dad’s Hush Puppies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Martha White Buttermilk Cornmeal Mix
• diced yellow onions (however much you want)
• 2-3 tbsp. sugar
• buttermilk (or you can use milk or water instead)
• vegetable oil

Instructions:

• Place the buttermilk cornmeal mix in a large bowl.
• Add the sugar and diced onions.
• Stir enough buttermilk until your batter is the consistency of cornbread.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a deep fryer (how much you use depends on how large your deep fryer is).
• When the oil gets hot, use a tablespoon to drop the batter into the fryer. You should be able to fry several hush puppies at one time.
• Fry the hush puppies until they’re golden brown.
• Use a slotted spoon to remove the hush puppies from the hot oil, and drain them on a plate with several paper towels on it.

Dad’s Fish Breading for Fried Fish

Ingredients:

• Martha White Buttermilk Cornmeal Mix

Instructions:

• Press the uncooked fish into the buttermilk cornmeal mix. Make sure it’s covered on both sides evenly with the mix.
• When you get ready to fry the fish, heat some vegetable oil in a deep fryer (how much you use depends on how larger your fryer is).
• After the oil is hot, drop the breaded fish into the deep fryer.
• Cook until the fish is golden brown.

About a month ago, we went to a lovely pizza place, Coal’s Artisan Pizza, here in Louisville and enjoyed a wonderful dinner! Their appetizers and pizzas are fantastic, the beer selection is great, and we can’t wait to go back!

Their pizza dough which is baked in a 1,000 degree coal-fired oven, is perfect! And their ... [read more]]]> About a month ago, we went to a lovely pizza place, Coal’s Artisan Pizza, here in Louisville and enjoyed a wonderful dinner! Their appetizers and pizzas are fantastic, the beer selection is great, and we can’t wait to go back!

Their pizza dough which is baked in a 1,000 degree coal-fired oven, is perfect! And their most interesting pizza, in my opinion, was made with prosciutto, fig jam, a balsamic vinegar reduction, mozzarella cheese and Gorgonzola cheese. While Kemal and I highly recommend their pizza and will be their loyal customers, we wanted to create our own prosciutto fig jam pizza at home…one with a different spin. Why?

Well, first of all, Kemal and I both prefer our pizzas made with goat and/or sheep cheese because he’s lactose intolerant and I’m allergic to casein which is the protein found in cow cheese. We do eat pizzas cow cheese, but we always pay the price after doing so. No fun! So we decided to try their prosciutto fig jam pizza with cheeses that wouldn’t upset our tummies, although we did thrown on a little bit of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. It was such a small amount though that it didn’t bother us.

The other reason we wanted to make this at home was because we love hot and spicy foods, and Kemal wanted to see how this pizza would taste with a hot chipotle garlic taco sauce mixed with the fig jam.

And finally, the third reason is because we wanted some veggies on the pizza. We chose green onions and sliced Kumatos…a very sweet type of tomato which is brownish-green in color.

Anyway, we made two pizzas because we wanted one leftover for the next day, and oh my gosh…you wouldn’t believe how incredibly delicious the pizzas were!!

The fig jam and taco sauce combination was perfect! The sweet combined with the hot and spicy was perfect, and we’ll definitely be making this pizza again!!

We made our own crust, but certainly if you’re in a hurry, you can just add the toppings to a pre-made crust. Give a try sometime and see what you think. I’ll bet you’ll love it!

Before I give you the recipe, I just wanted to thank Katie at What Katie’s Baking for nominating me for the Stylish Blogger Award. I always look forward to reading Katie’s blog because she features such great recipes and content. Actually, both times she’s nominated me for awards, I’ve wanted to nominate her blog. Can you nominate person who nominated you? I’m not sure, but she certainly deserves the awards.

Anyway, I’m honored to accept the stylish blogger award, and in doing so, I need to tell you seven things about myself. Here we go.

Seven things about myself:

1. I don’t believe I’ve ever cooked with sweetened condensed milk. (Or at least if I have, I don’t remember doing so.) I don’t have anything against sweetened condensed milk so that’s weird that I haven’t cooked with it, right?
2. I guess I’m old-fashioned in some ways because I’m not into text messaging. I’d much rather talk with someone over the phone or shoot them an e-mail.
3. I love hanging out at the swimming pool in the summer. It’s like my favorite thing!
4. I’ve never been to a tanning bed before. I’d much rather get my tan at the pool.
5. I really enjoy mowing the grass…but only with a push mower. I don’t like riding lawn mowers. Something about pushin’ that mower is fun for me, and since I live in an apartment, I don’t get to mow grass anymore. *wah*
6. I love carrots, and I once at so many of them for months at a time that my skin turned orange.
7. I don’t pluck my eyebrows.

I’m passing the Stylish Blogger Award on to:

1. Megan @ When Harry Met Salad
2. Carol @ There’s Always Thyme to Cook
3. Heather @ The Culinary Chase
4. Katie @ Chocolate-Covered Katie
5. Melita @ Cafe Chocolada

I hope you’ll check out their blogs and see what great content they have consistently.

Anyway, thanks so much again, Katie! I really appreciate it!!

Prosciutto and Fig Jam Pizza

Adapted from: Coal’s Artisan Pizza