Lasagna Roll-ups

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas, celebrating with friends and family! Matt and I had a quiet Christmas, just the two of us, and it was perfect. We cooked a delicious meal on Christmas Eve - glazed ham, brussel sprouts with a balsamic glaze, mashed sweet potatoes, and chocolate pudding pie. On Christmas day, I was given an amazing present from my love - a new camera! I can't wait to learn the ins and outs of it and I really really can't wait to start taking awesome pictures for my blog!

Matt was craving lasagna right before the holidays so I decided to try a spin on traditional lasagna by making lasagna roll-ups! They were really fun to put together and even better to eat!

After cooking the ground beef/onion/garlic mixture and the lasagna noodles, it was time to layer each roll-up! This was the really fun part, being so hands on while cooking. Sometimes I forget the fun you can have with cooking and then a recipe like this comes along - such a great refresher to just slow down and get your hands dirty! The first layer was ricotta cheese, topped with pasta sauce, a sprinkling of parsley, and finished with the ground beef. Are they ready yet? I was so ready to eat at this point!

They were really easy to roll up, without all of the ingredients popping out the side, and twelve roll-ups fit perfectly in a 9 x 13 casserole dish. When I was getting to the last batch of three, I was a little worried they wouldn't fit in very easily, but it was perfect fit!

My favorite part was the ease in removing each roll-up when they had finished cooking. It's always really hard to get a nice piece of lasagna out of the pan without the cheese and sauce melting all over the place, making for an unattractive presentation. This was perfect - each portion stayed intact and looked really pretty from the side. I hope you enjoy!

Dried Cherry and Orange Peel Bark

Wow, it has been such a whirlwind during the last few weeks! Our two week vacation started with a week in North Carolina, a wedding in Tampa, and a week lounging on the beach and drinking out of coconuts in the Dominican Republic - it was just what we needed. It felt like we had been gone for a month, with all of our flight hopping to new places. After all the traveling, we were happy to come back to New York and get in the holiday spirit!

Hello DR!

We bought our Christmas tree the day after we got back to jump right in! Decorating the tree, listening to Christmas music, and having a Home Alone night (large cheese pizza and Coca Cola are a must!) kicked us right into holiday mode - especially with some snow last Sunday evening!

I got even more into the Christmas spirit during my book club. We decided to have a favorite things gift exchange, where you bring three of your favorite thing (all the same item), draw names, and hand out your gifts to your friends while explaining why they are your favorite thing. My favorite thing was a hand painted mug and a box of English Breakfast tea! We had a great time, complete with wine, prosecco, and of course, a holiday spread of delicious goodies!

I had a busy week so I knew I wanted to make an easy, but delicious sweet treat. And what's easier or better than holiday bark?! There are limitless combinations of chocolate and toppings to make any type of holiday bark you fancy. 

Bark before going in the fridge to harden

I knew I didn't want to go with the classic white chocolate and peppermint, so I looked for a recipe with dark chocolate and pops of flavor. I found a great recipe for dried cherry and orange peel bark that was beyond easy to make.

After I melted a pound of semisweet chocolate, I poured it into a 9 x 13 casserole dish covered in parchment paper (a baking sheet of the same size would also work - I just didn't have one that size). I then added zest from one orange and 1/4 cup of chopped dried cherries evenly on top. I wanted to add a little extra crunch element so I toasted some slivered almonds, chopped them up a little, and sprinkled them on top too.

After firming up the bark in the fridge for at least an hour (I did mine for about 1.5 to 2 hours), you can break it apart into random shapes. The flavor is really great - the chocolate is sweet and a little bitter, the almonds add a nice crunch and nuttiness, and the dried cherries add a chewy element and sweetness. The best ingredient by far was the orange zest. The touch of citrus and acidity really made all of the elements of the bark really come together. I highly recommend bringing this to your next holiday get together - it will definitely be a hit!

Happy (Almost) Thanksgiving!

I know I've been a bit neglectful to my blog, but it's for a very good reason! I'm currently back home in NC for the week of Thanksgiving, followed by a lovely week lounging with my husband in the Dominican Republic. Once I return from my two weeks of rest and relaxation, I'll be back at it! Especially with Christmas right around the corner, I have plenty of homemade dishes and gifts for friends and family to make! I'll be posting a list of some of the holiday food gifts that are catching my attention.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and stuff yourselves full of turkey, stuffing, and sweet potato casserole!

Tea Time: Andrews & Dunham Caravan Resurrected Tea

I recently tried a tea that I had purchased at the NYC Coffee and Tea Festival earlier this year. I have no idea why it took me over six months to try it for the first time, but at least it was kept fresh in its sealed canister!

Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea, started by a duo of quirky but very friendly guys that I met at the festival, started their company in 2008. Due to their company's high tea standards, they only offer a few teas for purchase on their website (currently there are four available). Luckily, I was able to try all four and my personal favorite, the one I purchased, was their Caravan Resurrected tea. 

It is a delicious smoky black tea from China, not for the faint of heart who don't appreciate bold flavors. I started with the recommended brewing time of 4 minutes since I have the tendency of leaving my tea bag/infuser in the cup the entire time I'm drinking it, but had a feeling this one could make a turn for the worse if it's brewed too long. I definitely enjoyed the flavor, but since I generally like a strong black tea, I brewed for 5 minutes the next time. 

This was a good brewing time for me (I may even push it to 5.5 minutes!) - great smoky flavor without being too overpowering to make it difficult to enjoy a full cup. I don't know why it took me so long to try this tea again, but I'm so happy I have! It'll definitely be in my regular tea rotation now!

Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

I really don't think I'm ready for the effects of daylight savings ending and the onset of late fall into winter. Do these sound fun to you? 

• Heading to work in the morning in mid 30 degree weather
• Leaving work at 5pm when it's already really dark out
• No longer being able to comfortably wear flats (although I'll continue to do that as long as I can stand it)

I don't think so! Despite my whining, I'm always looking on the bright side and that means I can look forward to making really comforting soups to warm myself and the hubby up! I bought a butternut squash at the farmers market this weekend so I knew I wanted to make butternut squash soup.

There are so many butternut squash soup recipes out there that I didn't know where to begin! Luckily, I remembered a recipe I found in the Meatless cookbook that I recently checked out from the library that sounded delicious - spiced butternut squash soup. I was able to find the same recipe online since it's a Martha Stewart recipe, which made me very happy since I really didn't want to type it all out.

That's going to be my soup very soon!

This soup has a lot of very satisfying, warm spices - turmeric, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. I didn't have any ground cardamom so I added some extra cloves and put in a bit of ground coriander. The combination of these spices smelled unbelievably good when I mixed them in with onions, garlic and ginger so I knew the flavors would be delicious once everything cooked down.

The soup turned out beautifully after puréeing everything together with my immersion blender. It was a great consistency, the perfect thickness. The spices are definitely assertive and pack a punch in every bite, which I really like. There's a little tartness from the apple and the subtle sweetness from the squash and carrot.

This is just the first of many cold weather soups to come! I love the feeling of warmth coming over my body with each spoonful. What's better than that? Let me know your favorite fall soup recipes so I can build up my soup reservoir!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

As fall continues to set in and the weather cools down by the day, all I want to do is make comforting fall dishes and satisfying baked goods. With my constant craving for sweet treats, I decided to knock another dish off my pumpkin list - chocolate chip pumpkin bread! The combination of sweet and spice makes for a perfect fall treat, especially with a cup of tea to start your morning.

This recipe makes two loaves of bread, but unfortunately I only own one loaf pan, so this turned into a long baking endeavor. Lucky for me, I had twice the time to enjoy the great smells coming from my oven. Once the first loaf was baked to wonderful golden brown perfection, I couldn't wait to try a slice!

The pumpkin and mix of fall spices balances really well with the sweet, melting chocolate embedded throughout the bread. I was a little worried that the chocolate would overwhelm the bread, but it was just the right amount to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Although Matt and I definitely could have eaten a whole loaf between the two of us, I tried to practice some self control and brought almost a loaf and a half to work to share with my coworkers. I love sharing baked goods with my friends and coworkers, especially as it's getting closer to the holidays. Who doesn't love an unexpected sweet treat to make it through the work day? Let me know some of your favorite baked goods to make during the fall so I can try them too!

NYC Wine and Food Festival!

I had an amazing weekend volunteering at the New York City Wine and Food Festival with my friend Aleiya! Despite being completely exhausted today after volunteering at four events in three days, I had a great time seeing so many of my favorite celebrity chefs in person and tasting so much delicious food!

We started the weekend volunteering at Morimoto's Rockin' Dumplings and Rollin' Sushi event. I was so starstruck with the number of celebrity chefs I saw - Robert Irvine, Guy Fieri, Andrew Zimmern, Jacques Torres, and, of course, Masaharu Morimoto! There were also several chefs from Food Network Star - Damaris Phillips, Justin Warner, and the Sandwich King himself, Jeff Mauro! I tried my best to contain my smile and excitement every time I saw one only a few feet away. One of the best moments (other than Justin Warner singing 99 Problems during karaoke) was getting a picture with Morimoto, a foodie's dream come true! We were able to sample all of the dishes as well and the food was fantastic. I was so stuffed as we only had a limited time before going back to volunteering so we made the most of our time.

Masaharu Morimoto, Andrew Zimmern, Jacques Torres and Ming Tsai (pardon the phone photo quality)!

Aleiya and I with Morimoto - amazing!

On Saturday, we volunteered at the Four and Twenty Blackbirds pie making class. This was a quick two hours of our time, registering and guiding attendees to the event itself within the International Culinary Center. Later that night, we volunteered at Bobby Flay's Tacos and Tequila. This event was fantastic, with so many delicious dishes and tequila cocktails. I ate so much that I physically could not fit any more food in my stomach. If only I had more self control!

The Sandwich King! Such a nice guy :)

My final event, which I did on my own, was Dale Talde's Dim Sum Party at Buddakan. There were two floors of dim sum style dishes to try, and although I was only able to try a smaller selection of dishes since it was closer to the end, they were still delicious. My favorite dish was a kabocha squash dumpling with lobster bubble tea - I had three!

It was an amazing and very tiring weekend, but I definitely can't wait to volunteer again next year! I know I'll be sleeping well tonight!