Italian Bread

I was so inspired by the pizza and bread photo from Eataly.. I made my Italian loaf last night to enjoy with some friends at an Italian food themed evening. Here are my photos. The recipe can be found on our blog. Italian bread. I made a couple of little rolls as a test. They came out great. About half the cooking time on them and would be excellent for meatball sandwiches.

Eataly in New York

My friend Andrea Andi Palombo-Carpenter just visited New York and stopped by Eataly, the new grocery and restaurant by Mario Batali and Lydia Bastianich. Two of my favorite chefs.

She tried the "quattro stagioni" pizza and said it was so delicious.. and sent me a couple of photos! Thanks Andrea! Now I want to go.. why can't we have something like this here in California?

I made some Meatballs the other day....

I made these meatballs the other day and they were amazing. They just don't get any better than this.

It took me about 1 hour to make everything and I let them slow cook for about 3 hours. The house smelled so good that I had to make something else to eat while it cooked.

I followed our own blog recipes to make everything.

Sauce: http://theresaanddrew.blogspot.com/2010/09/theresas-tomato-and-basil-sauce.html

Meatballs: http://theresaanddrew.blogspot.com/2010/08/basic-meatball-recipe-1-lb.html

I doubled the meatballs and made 2 pounds. I took a shortcut and added the meatballs raw into the already cooking sauce. We ate it with pasta two nights and had meatball sandwiches two other nights. (And I few a meatballs here and there between meals.) Each day it seemed to taste better than the last.

It's really easy and it's the best damn meatball I've ever had. You have to try it.

Edit:  Theresa got hungry after reading this post and made some meatballs.  Here is a picture she sent to me.

Backyard Tomato Plants

Every Italian I know loves to grow their own tomatoes in their garden and I am no exception. I live in Aliso Viejo, CA so we have a long growing season here. I planted my first one back in April and put the rest in sometime in late May.

Here is a video of what I have so far.

Whole wheat penne with peppers and goat cheese

Here is another quick and easy dish. Saute your peppers with some garlic and olive oil, or pre roast them.. add some fresh mushrooms and saute till cooked. Toss your al dente wheat pasta into the skillet and add a couple of nice pieces of goat cheese to melt in. Add hot pepper seeds and garnish with some fresh basil and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Delicious!

The best part of waking up

Always trying to make some fun designs.

Christmas Sprinkles

Smooth and delicious double espresso

Morning Latte

Is there anything better than a great cup of coffee in the morning?
I love Illy espresso and milk for my morning latte.