It’s that time of year. The time to make Christmas Cookies. I am sharing my Decorated Sugar Cookie Recipe. I love this time of year because I love the whole process of making the cookies and decorating them with royal icing. It’s a fun thing to do especially with family and friends. Enjoy!
Thanksgiving Day is just around the corner and it’s time to start thinking about what desserts you will be serving at your Thanksgiving Feast. Here are a few of my favorite desserts. Everyone of these deliciously delectable treats can be made a day or two in advance. Or you can ask each of your guests to bring one of these desserts.
Click on the title of the recipe or photo and it will bring you to the recipe page.
Here is another Pumpkin Recipe that is a favorite of mine. I topped my Pumpkin Pie with Italian Meringue but if you want whipped cream instead I suggest taking it up a notch and top your pie with White Chocolate Whipped Cream. Yum! Yum!
Click the links below and it will take you to the recipes.
Enjoy!
Serves 4 to 6 as an Entrée
1½ Pounds Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Halves
½ Cup Flour for Dredging Chicken
1 Pound Sweet or Hot Italian Sausage Links
4 Tablespoons XVOO
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
6 Garlic Cloves, Finely Minced
1 Medium Onion, Thinly Sliced Lengthwise
6 Large Carrots, Sliced ¼” On the Diagonal
3 Red, Yellow or Orange Sweet Peppers, Thinly Sliced (Use 1 Of Each Color If You Like)
1½ Pounds Small Redskin Potatoes or Yukon Gold Potatoes, Cut into Quarters
1 Cup Marinara Sauce (Homemade or Good Quality Store Bought)
1 Cups Fresh or Frozen Peas (Thaw if Frozen)
2 Teaspoons Coarse Sea Salt
1 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
¼ Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
Preheat oven to 425ºF.
Sprinkle the chicken breasts with a bit of the salt and pepper and dredge in the flour to coat.
In a skillet large enough to hold all of the ingredients heat the XVOO and butter over medium heat. Once the butter stops sizzling add the chicken breasts and sauté the chicken until nicely browned on both sides, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. (You want the chicken almost cooked but not quite.) Remove the chicken from the pan and add the Italian sausage and brown the sausage on all sides. Remove the sausage from the pan and add the garlic, onion, carrots, peppers and potatoes. Sauté the vegetables for 10 minutes or until the onions begin to look transparent. Add the marinara, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Toss everything together to combine. Lay the chicken breasts and sausage links on top of the vegetables and place pan in the preheated oven. Cook for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes remove the chicken and sausage from the pan and set aside. (Let the chicken and sausage rest for 20 minutes then cut each chicken breast into 3 pieces and the sausage links in half.)
Continue cooking the vegetables in the oven for 30 minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are cooked through. Add the peas, the cut-up chicken and the Italian sausage to the pan and toss to combine with the vegetables. Return the pan to the oven with the peas, chicken and sausage and cook for 15 minutes.
Transfer the Scarparielli to a serving dish and serve immediately.
Hints and Tips: I like to serve this with a side dish of Pasta tossed with XVOO and Roasted Garlic.
camille@camillecooksforyou.com
What could be more wonderful than summer fruit? I am talking about the organic summer fruit grown in the United States, not fruit shipped in from South American or Mexico. Right now the fruit is spectacular; peaches, nectarines, blueberries, strawberries, plums. I can’t seem to get enough of these sweet, delicious, juicy delicacies. When I go to the market and see all of the fruit beauty in front of me, my eyes become bigger than my stomach. I can’t resist because I know as fast as the fruit arrives, the season will be gone even faster. So I buy a lot and make as many wonderful fruit concoctions as possible. I have a refrigerator full of preserves, a freezer full of fruit gelato and containers of blueberries (I am a blueberry squirrel, saving some for the non-blueberry months). On my counter sits a bowl full of peaches, nectarines and plums some of which will be turned into a Summer Fruit Crostata.
What I like the best about this Summer Fruit Crostata recipe is that it cooks for just enough time to get the crust brown and super crispy but the fruit is still firm and holds its shape. The time in the oven lets the fruit produce just enough juice to keep it from being mushy and runny. I love that I can feel the texture of the fruit between my teeth. I also love the rustic look of this tart. It is a perfect dessert to end a light lunch on the veranda or a casual dinner such as a BBQ.
Hints and Tips: Let the tart cool the whole time recommended in the recipe and use two wide off-set metal spatulas to move it from the pan to your serving dish. If you try to lift it without the help of the spatulas it will break and you really don’t want that to happen. If you are not going to serve this to company, it is purely for your pleasure and you don’t have the spatulas to help you move it don’t bother. Just leave it on the baking pan.
When I make a tart such as this I use my pizza pan with holes on the bottom. This type of pan helps the bottom of the Crostata cook and become crispy. The parchment paper will catch any juices that may drip from the Crostata.
As you can see by the picture, the Crostata looks beautiful. I am doing all I can to keep from diving into it before it cools. But I will wait and have a great dessert tonight.
Enjoy!
(Click on Summer Fruit Crostata or the photo for the recipe.)
For me there is no better day to show off my barbequing skills than on the most important American Holiday of all- The 4th of July. Since barbequing is an all American summer pastime on the all American Holiday I’m going to fire up the “Q” to get the party started. Not only is 4th of July the all American Holiday for barbequing it is the all American Holiday for an outdoor party.
This is my menu for a great 4th of July BBQ. Click on the links below for the recipes.
Cedar Plank Grilled Shrimp with Tzatziki
Black Bean Salas and Tortilla Chips
Southwest Spice Rubbed BBQ Ribs with Homemade BBQ Sauce
Marinated and Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri
Key Lime Tart with Italian Meringue
Both the Key Lime Tart and the S’Mores Tart are topped with Italian Meringue, but to not be redundant I would top the Key Lime Tart with White Chocolate Whipped Cream.
Happy 4th of July. Stay safe and have a great time.
Summer Fruits are at their peak just in time for the July 4th BBQ and summer family picnics.
Here are some of my favorite summer fruit desserts. These desserts will be the hit of the party.
I’ve thrown in a couple of non-fruit desserts just for fun. You can serve a lot of these desserts with Whipped Creme Fraiche, Whipped Cream, White Chocolate Whipped Cream, Creme Fraiche Semi-Freddo, or buy a good quality Vanilla Ice Cream. Just don’t use any fake whipped cream products.
Crostada Just Out Of The Oven
Happy Summer!
Memorial Day is just around the corner. This is the weekend when Swimming Pools open and Barbecues are fired up for the first time after many months of inclement weather. This menu is a crowd pleaser. There are a lot of different flavors that go well together and choices that will make everyone happy. Besides what’s better than Surf and Turf cooked on the grill?
Marinated and Grilled Flank Steak
Roasted Moroccan Potato and Olive Salad
camille@camillecooksforyou.com
Have a great holiday!!!
