Pinterest love

I have a new lover in my life. We spend long hours together alone from sunset until late into the night. We wake up together early in the morning and sometimes sneak a quicky in during work hours. I haven't told my parents yet, but I think it's almost time to introduce them to the one who I'm spending all my time with: Pinterest. That's right folks, I'm in love with Pinterest. When we were first introduced, I actually ignored Pinterest. I cast it aside like yesterday's garbage, but one day a reminder e-mail piqued my interest and we've been inseparable ever since.

If you haven't hear about Pinterest (it is a fairly new addition to the worldwide web) it is a Web site where people can post (or pin) pictures that connect to Web sites from blogs, to clothing sites, to home furnishings and DIY projects. You then follow friends, companies or even perfect strangers' pins and add them to your own categorized boards. I've pinned recipes, furniture, shoes, jewelery, DIY projects and even entered a contest where I pinned items for a dream bedroom. You can follow my pins at Pinterest.com/LeslieAllyse

And thanks to my love of Pinterest, I was introduced to a fabulous recipe for a Nutella Swirl Coffee Cake from the Sugar Crafter blog. I woke up early this morning and set out to make a freshly baked breakfast and boy, oh boy was that a great decision.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 sticks butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 12 ounces plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup nutella

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a bundt pan. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. This took about 8 minutes to do after slicing in the cold butter. Add in the vanilla and eggs, beating for about two minutes.

 In a smaller bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients alternately with the yogurt until well-blended. Layer 1/2 of the batter in the pan, and then drizzle 1/2 of the nutella on top. (Put Nutella in the microwave for about 20 seconds to make pouring easier) Swirl with a knife. Repeat until both are gone.

Bake 45 minutes to an hour or until a knife inserted in the cake comes out clean. Let cool before removing from the pan. Store at room temperature in an airtight container or wrapped in aluminum foil.

The coffee cake is great for breakfast, but is just as good served as dessert. This morning I chose to have my slice with a cup of tea and some naval orange from Farmer's Market. Yum!

Now that my Cooking board on Pinterest is loaded with all sorts of new recipes, hopefully I will be back to blogging more often. Fingers crossed.

Fresh, light meal

A co-worker of mine just recently had a baby and at her baby shower someone made a delicious, light salad made with orzo and various Mediterranean vegetables. I immediately went home and found the recipe and now, only three months later, I have finally found the time to make the salad.

The recipe only asks for a handful of ingredients and it took me about 20 minutes (including 9 minutes to cook the orzo) to make the whole thing.

Here's the recipe. Enjoy.


Mediterranean Orzo Salad with Feta Vinaigrette

Ingredients
1 cup uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta; about 8 ounces)
2 cups bagged prewashed baby spinach, chopped
1/2 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomato halves
3 tablespoons chopped red onion
3 tablespoons chopped pitted kalamata olives
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (6-ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, undrained
3/4 cup (3 ounces) feta cheese, crumbled and divided


Preparation
Cook the orzo according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain; rinse with cold water. Combine orzo, spinach, and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl.

Drain artichokes, reserving marinade. Coarsely chop artichokes, and add artichokes, reserved marinade, and 1/2 cup feta cheese to orzo mixture, tossing gently to coat. Sprinkle each serving with remaining feta cheese.

I would also like to mention that this will probably be the last blog I write from this kitchen. I am currently in the process of packing boxes and will be moving at the end of the month. It is sad to pack up after five years, but I'm looking forward to breaking in my new kitchen that comes with gorgeous granite counter tops. Look for another post after I get settled at the beginning of June. Cheers!

César Chávez bacon day

Working in the newspaper industry, I am rarely offered major holidays off let alone lesser holidays such as President's Day or Cesar Chavez Day. I guess it's a good thing I don't work until 2:30p.m. so that I can enjoy the first part of the day with those who actually get the whole day off from work.

Today, I capitalized on having someone to share my morning with and decided to go out to brunch at a place I don't often go to, Hash House A Go-Go. A while back I saw a show on the Travel Channel called Bacon Paradise where they highlighted places where bacon was a main attraction. The Hash House was one of these places. The restaurant features a few bacon-rich dishes including "O'Hare of the Dog" - a 24oz Budweiser in a brown bag with a side of bacon, "BBBLT" - with obviously more than one slice of bacon, and their "Bacon Waffles" - with 6 pieces of bacon actually baked into a vanilla waffle.

On the show the waffle looked amazing and once I realized I'd be going to brunch, I couldn't get it out of my head. To my sad surprise when I looked over the menu I did not see the waffles listed anywhere. Were we too late? Did they only cook them in the morning and not for the late breakfast menu? Before my hopes could be dashed completely I asked our server if I just missed them on the menu or if they really weren't serving the dish. Much to my jubilation he informed me that indeed I could order the waffles.

This is serious. 6 slices of bacon baked right into the waffle!

Simply stated: heaven. Yet another enjoyable combination of savory and sweet. It was a perfectly crisp on the outside, soft on the inside vanilla waffle and then a delightful burst of smoky, meaty bacon. Well, what are you doing still reading this?! Quick, get thee to the Hash House and order this amazing bit of breakfast heaven.

Not quite bacon, but close enough

I went shopping at Trader Joe's yesterday with a few friends and was contemplating what to make for dinner for my boyfriend, when low and behold I walked by a gorgeous package of pancetta. I immediately thought about making Spaghetti alla Carbonara. I knew that I would need the pancetta, eggs and of course some spaghetti, but I had never made this dish before so had no idea what else I would need.

Just when I was saying how I didn't want a smart phone where I had to pay extra for a data plan, I found myself in the middle of the store needing internet access to recipes. Thank goodness my friend Traci was there. In less than 5-minutes we looked up a recipe on Food Network and I knew exactly what I'd need to buy.

The other reason pasta was on my mind was because I watched the movie "Eat, Pray, Love" in the morning. I have to say that I really didn't enjoy the book when I read it. In fact, I don't even think I finished reading it. The author just went on and on in this "whoa is me" manner that got on my nerves. It's a very rare occasion when a movie is better than the book, but in this case, the movie was WAY better than the book. Partly, I'm sure, because I love Julia Roberts, but also because the whining was kept to a minimum.

But enough about movies and grocery shopping. Here's the main attraction, the recipe.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara by Emeril Lagasse

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 yellow onion, minced

4 ounces pancetta, diced

1 pound fresh linguine

3 large egg yolks, at room temperature

½ cup heavy cream, at room temperature

¾ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, at room temperature

Freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil and butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and pancetta and cook until the onions are translucent and the pancetta is beginning to crisp. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the linguine according to package directions until al dente, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain pasta in a colander (reserve a small amount of the cooking liquid in a small bowl) and return pasta to the pot. Return the pot to the heat and add the reserved pancetta and onion mixture. Stir over high heat until pasta is coated with the pancetta mixture.

In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and heavy cream and add to the pasta, along with the Parmesan. Remove the pot from the heat and toss the pasta until it is well-coated. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. If needed, add a bit of the reserved pasta cooking liquid to help toss the pasta if it is dry. Serve immediately.

The finished product with some garlic & cheese bread. I added a little fresh, chopped parsley to the top of the pasta.