When I logged on to write this post today, I was feeling like it had been forever since I published something new. And guess what? It has been forever! Clearly my mind has been elsewhere, and I can’t say that today that sentiment is much different. In addition to planning a wedding (which is fast approaching), Kevin and I have decided to tackle the task of buying our first home… before our lease runs out August 1st. Add in typical spring/summer activities, a smattering of wedding events (mine and others), baby events (including the birth of my maid of honor’s first little girl!), and the regular 9-5, and it’s all I can do to sleep 6 hours every night and not lose my head when I’m awake. I’m happy, and there are a lot of big, exciting, life-altering events coming up, but this blog? It’s taking a backseat again.

I’ve found that as my personal life goes through busy times, my blogging dedication wanes. This is of course a normal part of the blogging process, it happens to every one of us (except those lucky few who get to do this for a living!), so I try not to worry when a week or two goes by without any new photos and recipes. I miss it when I’m away – especially getting into the kitchen to bake up some new content! – but I know that I will always return.

Today I’m just sharing some photos and a recipe link – it’s not much, but it’s all I’ve got. That, and a promise to come back with bigger and better things very soon! There are some great, delicious, and fun posts in my blogging queue – it’s just a matter of getting to them!

As usual, I hope you bear with through this bit of silence, and come back to join me again when things have quieted down a smidge. Until then – happy baking! I hope you’re all having a wonderful spring, and if you’re in New England – enjoying the positively gorgeous weather!

The recipe for these cookies comes from My Baking Addiction. I followed her recipe for Monster Cookies to a T, adding in UNREAL Chocolate Candies in place of M&M’s. UNREAL products are delicious, if you haven’t tried them yet, you should. And besides that, these cookies are GOOD STUFF! Go make them.

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I’ve said it before  but I’ll say it again – I love springtime desserts. They’re so bright and zesty, and they usher in a certain hopefulness that we didn’t allow ourselves to feel through those bitterly cold months when it seemed like  the warmth would never return. Lemon is a prominent flavor and ingredient in many of those recipes that I love so much, so it was no wonder that I settled on a lemony recipe for Easter (again) this year. No need to remind me that Easter was a month ago now… I’m playing some serious catch-up around here! As usual, I hope you’ll bear with me. This recipe is worth it! Now that Kevin and I have just 5 months until our wedding, we use every trip back to visit our parents as a wedding planning trip as well. We’re getting married right near where I grew up, so it’s only natural to try to pack in appointments with the caterer, venue, DJ and everyone else on the few weekends we’re home. Easter weekend was no different, we had plans all day Saturday and church Sunday morning, so I put little thought into making these.

Unfortunately when you don’t plan, you often come to find that when you walk into the pantry, a handful of necessary ingredients are not there. That’s what happens when you don’t shop before hand! I had picked out a few recipes that looked appealing, so when I found we had no means of making a crust – no ginger snaps, no graham crackers – I decided to make up something on my own.

I opted for a shortbread crust, which I paired with a basic lemon cheesecake, and then I bruleed the tops for a fun twist. Generally I’m used to making and eating cheesecake with some sort of cookie crust, so this was an interesting and well-received change. The shortbread got pleasingly crispy on the bottom, and the creamy cheesecake was the perfect compliment. I was so stuffed from the rest of dinner that I didn’t finish my cheesecake square, but you better believe I enjoyed the leftovers immensely!

You could easily make these without the bruleed tops, and they’d be just as wonderful, but I like to play with recipes and dress things up from time to time, and I actually really enjoyed the crunchy top that the caramelized sugar created! It gives them a subtle air of sophistication, even though they’re really not to sophisticated at all.

 What’s your favorite lemon recipe?

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I bet if you went out and polled 100 people you’d be hard pressed to find more than a handful that don’t love grilled cheese. It’s something many of us fell in love with as children, and still indulge in from time to time as adults. If you’re like me, your grilled cheese tastes have evolved over time – now a basic white bread grilled cheese sandwich isn’t as exciting as a more gourmet creation, featuring specialty cheeses and exciting add-ins. I don’t make grilled cheeses on a regular basis, but from time to time I get a hankering for one, and it can’t be satisfied by anything less.

When I was given the opportunity to pair up with Land O’Lakes for 30 days of Grilled Cheese, you can imagine my excitement. I’ve worked with Land O’Lakes before for a couple of other cheese-y events, and they are always so delicious – not to mention really fun!

This time the challenge was to create an original recipe using their American Cheese or 4 Cheese Italian Blend – both slicing cheeses you can find in the deli section at your local supermarket. Having worked with their 4 cheese blend before, I opted for that – it’s tasty stuff!

I thought through different ideas for days before settling on my recipes – two very different sandwiches built from the same core ingredients. For both sandwiches I used multigrain bread, pancetta and arugula. The first rendition was a play on sweet and salty – homemade fig jam, Land O Lakes^® 4 Cheese Italian Blend, pancetta and arugula. This sandwich was my favorite – the absolute perfect balance of flavors and textures, and perfectly paired sweet and salty notes. I made it on a wheat boule, which has a wonderfully tender texture that toasted up nice and golden and crispy, and held all of the sandwich components together. Kevin and I polished these off in an alarmingly short amount of time.

Next, I made a breakfast grilled cheese of sorts. I started with a multigrain wheat bread, added a swipe of whole grain dijonaise, and then layered oven-roasted tomatoes, pancetta, arugula, an over-easy egg and a few slices of Land O Lakes^® 4 Cheese Italian Blend. It was a monster of a sandwich with so many flavors and textures going on. My personal favorite was the perfectly cooked over-easy egg that oozed golden yellow yolk all over the sandwich, giving it a luxurious “sauce”. So. Good.

The beauty of a grilled cheese, besides the delicious taste and wide array of options, is that you can always make it personal to you – add some extra cheese if you feel like it, or an additional slice of pancetta. As such, I’ve provided a guideline recipe below to help you get started – but feel free to play around with it to make it your own!

Sweet and Salty Pancetta Fig Grilled Cheese (serves 2)
Ingredients
4 slices of wheat or multigrain bread
4 slices Land O Lakes^® 4 Cheese Italian Blend
2 thick-cut slices of pancetta
2 tablespoons fig jam, homemade or store-bought
Handful of arugula

Directions
Before you begin, make sure to have all of your ingredients ready, as this recipe moves along swiftly.

Line a plate with paper towels, and heat a nonstick pan over medium. Once pan is hot, add pancetta slices and cook until crispy. Transfer to paper-lined plate when cooked, and set aside until ready to use.

Lay out all four slices of bread. Divide cheese evenly onto two slices of bread, and divide the fig jam evenly onto the other two slices of bread.

You’ll use the same pan to make your grilled cheese sandwiches that you used to cook your pancetta. Drain off some of the pancetta fat, until there is just a small amount left – enough to lightly coat the exterior of your bread. Keeping the pan over medium heat, carefully transfer the prepared slices of bread to the pan, and cook over medium until the cheese begins to melt, and the undersides of each piece of bread are golden.

Once the cheese is starting to melt, add one piece of pancetta to the slices of bread with cheese on them, and then add a handful of arugula on top of that. Carefully place the jam-covered slice of bread on top of the arugula, and gently press together.

Slice, and serve warm!

Breakfast Grilled Cheese (serves 2)
Ingredients
4 slices of wheat or multigrain bread
4 slices Land O Lakes^® 4 Cheese Italian Blend
2 thick-cut slices of pancetta
4 oven-roasted tomato halves
2 eggs
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons dijonaise (store bought, or 1 tbsp Dijon mixed with 1 tbsp mayo)
Handful of arugula

Directions
Line a plate with paper towels, and heat a nonstick pan over medium. Once pan is hot, add pancetta slices and cook until crispy. Transfer to paper-lined plate when cooked, and set aside until ready to use.

Lay out all four slices of bread. Divide cheese evenly onto two slices of bread, and divide the dijonaise onto the other two slices of bread.

In the same pan that you cooked the pancetta, you’ll cook your eggs.  Drain a bit of the pancetta fat so just a small coating remains in the pan. Over medium heat, crack the eggs into the pan, and cook for 3-4 minutes on one side before flipping. You can cook your egg however you like it, but I cooked mine until just over easy – about a minute or two on the second side. Once your eggs are cooked, remove from a pan and set aside until ready to use.

You’ll use the same pan to make your grilled cheese sandwiches that you used to cook your pancetta. Add a tablespoon of butter and swirl to coat the bottom. Keeping the pan over medium heat, carefully transfer the prepared slices of bread to the pan, and cook over medium until the cheese begins to melt, and the undersides of each piece of bread are golden.

Once the cheese starts to melt, add one piece of pancetta and two tomato halves to the slices of bread with cheese on them, and then add a handful of arugula on top of that.  The over-easy egg goes on last, followed by the dijonaise-covered slice of bread on top. Press together gently so that the ingredients can meld together.

Slice, and serve warm!

A bit more information from Land O’Lakes:

Land O Lakes® 4 Cheese Italian Blend is the best combination of the most flavorful Italian cheeses—Asiago, Parmesan and Romano—blended with the creamy goodness of Land O Lakes® Deli American Cheese. Add this delicious cheese to everything from favorite dishes to sandwiches or burgers hot off the grill. The creamy taste truly makes each dish an everyday masterpiece.

Land O’Lakes has produced a variety of top-quality cheese products, from farm to table, for over 90 years. Land O’Lakes is a farmer-owned cooperative, consisting of independent farms, large and small. These farmers take pride in providing the best ingredients to go into all Land O’Lakes cheese products.

Pin a Meal. Give a Meal. Throughout April until May 1, Land O’Lakes will donate $1 to Feeding America every time someone pins or repins a Land O’Lakes recipe on Pinterest. That’s eight meals for a hungry family when you pin a recipe—and eight more every time anyone else repins it. Giving goes viral. Find your favorite Grilled Cheese recipe to pin on landolakes.com.

*Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Land O’Lakes as part of the Kitchen Sidecar series. As always, all opinions expressed here are my own.

The post Land O’Lakes Grilled Cheese, Two Ways appeared first on {Sweetly} Serendipity.

This past week was a tough one. I haven’t posted since early in the morning on Marathon Monday, I haven’t been able to gather thoughts in an appropriate manner, and it wasn’t the time for fun new recipe posts anyway. For those of you also in the Boston area, I hope you made it through the week safe and sound, and that you are gradually getting back into the swing of things. I can definitely say it’s a relief to be returning to normal, though I wish we’d never had to endure that week and those horrific events in the first place.

This recipe was the first I’ve made in quite some time. I’m back on a very restrictive diet – coming up on 3 years of feeling sick nearly every day means I have a renewed energy for trying to find what ails me. This diet means no gluten and no dairy, among other things, so baking is obviously the first thing to go. However, with the Secret Recipe Club reveal looming, I had to find a recipe to make that I could enjoy while sticking within the strict guidelines of my diet.

For this month, I was assigned Denise’s blog From Brazil to You , which features a collection of Brazilian-inspired recipes, and a lot of new-to-me dishes. I had a blast pouring over her recipes, finding things that I bookmarked for the future, and then narrowing down a few options to finally settle on these corn muffins I ended up making. My second choice, and almost the subject of this blog post, was her Banana Coffee Chai Smoothie – something that fits (mostly) within the confines of my diet, and sounded really delicious! I just didn’t make it because we had no chai tea bags around…

So. Muffins. Believe it or not I don’t think I’ve ever made corn muffins before. Cornbread, yes, but never corn muffins. Kind of hard to believe right?! I think in my mind I see corn muffins as bland and boring, so they’re never something I even consider when I’m looking for a new recipe to try, but fortunately these caught my eye, and with a few tweaks became diet friendly! The great thing about this recipe is that it’s very easily made for gluten-lovers or gluten-free. I even did mine mostly dairy free, with the exception of butter which I am (thankfully!) allowed to eat.

Many recipes won’t come out the same if you substitute gluten-free flour for all-purpose flour, but this recipe actually worked out perfectly. I have not tried them with regular all-purpose flour, but that’s how Denise made her recipe, and she had nothing but good things to say. I feel the same about my muffins – they were great! Very moist with a wonderful texture, and rather sweet. I think if I made them again I would reduce the sugar a touch, though a good corn muffin to me always airs on the sweeter side, even if only just a bit.

Denise made her muffins with guava paste, but since I had a fresh batch of fig jam in the fridge, I used that instead. I really loved the flavor combo, especially smeared with a bit of salted butter. Mmmm! She added her guava paste to the batter and to the slightly hollowed-out muffins tops post-baking, but I only added my fig jam to the muffins pre-baking, so that the muffins came out with a warm figgy center. It was a lovely touch!

All in all, another great month with the SRC, and I was thrilled to sneak something baked and delicious into my diet. Also a comforting recipe after a long, exhausting and frightening week. Here’s to looking ahead, and to being grateful every day for the things that we have. This incident reminded me how fragile life is and how lucky we are for each day that we can wake up, bake muffins, and otherwise enjoy our lives. Here’s to whatever makes you happy!

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**UPDATE:  Thanks to all of your votes, I am moving on to round 2 of the Lamb Pro Am competition! I’ll pair up with Chef Dante de Magistris of Restaurant dante , and together we’ll serve my flatbread recipe to Lamb Pro am event attendees on May 19th! If you’re free and in the Boston area, please come and check it out!!! You can get tickets here. **

I think it’s only fair if I get this off my chest up front: I don’t like lamb. That’s probably an awful admission to make when I’m about to tell you all about the 9-pound leg of lamb I battled to create this recipe, or the reason I did it. But it’s the truth – and I always tell you exactly how it is here!

So now that you know that terrible, awful, horrible fact, I’ll tell you about how this lamb adventure started. I was invited by Boston Chefs to participate in the Lamb Pro-Am Blogger Competition (sponsored by The American Lamb Board), which challenges a select group of bloggers from the Boston area to create a recipe with a pre-determined cut of lamb. This year’s cut of meat was a boneless leg – a nearly 9-pound boneless leg that landed in my uncertain hands looking very large and completely daunting.

I eagerly agreed to participate in this opportunity because I love a good challenge. To me, the idea of creating a lamb recipe I found desirable sounded like quite a task, and I wanted to see if I could make it happen. I just knew I’d have to get very creative in order to make it work – but to still keep the integrity of the meat and the flavor that many people really love.

The idea of roasting this massive piece of meat did not sound appealing, nor did it sound like something I could ever make palatable for myself, so early on I realized I’d need to think of other options. I considered making a lamb burger, though worried that could be a bit plain, but the idea of grinding the meat did appeal so I tried to think of what other things I could do with the ground meat. About the same time as I signed on board with Boston Chefs, I saw a recipe for lamb pizza with ground lamb, that looked quite delicious, and that seemed like a great way to go.

Butcher Will from Savenors, kindly (and expertly) grinding up my massive leg of lamb

As soon as I’d decided on making a pizza recipe, I got to thinking about what toppings I’d want to use to compliment the lamb. I immediately thought of mint because it’s such a traditional pairing, but I’m not a big fan of things that have a really strong mint taste.  To keep the fresh mint flavor but tone it down so it was more to my taste, I made a mint basil pesto that I planned to use as the sauce.

From there, the ideas just flowed. I wanted to use tomatoes for their color, texture and taste, so I roasted some in the oven with loads of herbs to give them a really rich, full flavor. I also decided to add crumbled feta, for a bit of a take on Meditteranean fare. Pulling tastes from different cuisines seemed a bit risky at first, but the more I thought about it, the more the flavors seemed like they’d be delightful together.

Somewhere along the line, it occurred to me that making meatballs would be a lot more exciting than just using ground lamb, so I searched around online for some meatball ideas. The only thing left to do? Make some crust!

After thinking about the components of the pizza, I knew I wanted a base that would nicely complement all of those big flavors. I knew I didn’t want a plain white crust, because that didn’t seem like it would do justice to the other flavors, so I opted for a multigrain flatbread recipe featuring rolled oats, flax seed and whole wheat flour. The hearty, earthy crust acted as the perfect base for the deliciousness that adorned the top, and had a really fantastic taste and texture.

This pizza required many components, all of which were homemade, so it was definitely a bit of a time investment – but well worth it and a lot of fun. I started with the crust, which is exceedingly easy and only took about 10 minutes to assemble. I did that first so it could rest for a good hour or two while I made the rest of the components.

Next up were the pesto and the roasted tomatoes, which both came together easily. The pesto had a 2:1 mint:basil ratio, which produced a really wonderful balance of minty pesto that wasn’t too overwhelming. For the tomatoes, I tossed them in a 325-degree oven for an hour with garlic, olive oil, thyme and rosemary. They made the kitchen smell absolutely incredible, always my second favorite by-product of cooking (the first, of course, is the FOOD!).

The last component was the lamb meatballs, which was definitely the most involved part by far. The reason? My 9-pound leg of lamb needed to run through a meat grinder before it could be made into these glorious lamb meatballs. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a meat grinder in my tiny kitchen! So that left me with only one option: find someone who does, and beg tem to let me use it.

The first couple of places I called, I felt like a complete weirdo – who calls a meat shop/restaurant/butcher and asks if they have a meat grinder for borrow? Probably not that many people, right? But by the time I finally found someone up to the task, they didn’t seem to think I was crazy at all!

I ended up lugging my lamb leg to Savenors on Charles street, where a friendly and accommodating butcher named Will expertly broke down and ground about 7 pounds of my lamb – leaving the other two as steaks that I plan to distribute to someone who will appreciate them. I was so excited that he was willing to help me out, and I really couldn’t have done this without him. Thanks, Will!

Once home with my ground meat, I got to work on the meatballs, which are also easy and so mightily delicious. Did you hear that? My lamb meatballs were delicious!!!! Whether you’re a lamb-lover or lamb-averse, this meatball recipe is a real keeper.

When it came time for assembly, I got all of the components together and got to grilling my flatbread crust. A few minutes on one side give it a nice cross-hatch and crispy exterior, which I topped liberally with mint-basil pesto, roasted plum tomato halves, lamb meatballs and feta crumbles. I grilled it a few minutes longer on the other side, and then wa-la – it was done! To draw it all together, I gave it a quick drizzle of greek yogurt, for the nice aesthetic and a bit more Mediterranean flair. This pizza was downright delicious.

As this is a competition, I would love your support!!! You can vote for my recipe here: http://bit.ly/YxDJXm, and see what the other participants have cooked up!

Oven Roasted Tomatoes
Ingredients
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
a handful of fresh thyme sprigs
a few springs of fresh rosemary
salt and pepper
1 pound plum tomatoes

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare a shallow baking dish with tin foil.

Pour the olive oil into prepared baking dish and add the garlic, thyme and rosemary.

Remove the stems from the tomatoes, then cut them in half horizontally. Toss the tomatoes with the olive oil and herbs to coat, then arrange them cut side down, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake for about an hour, until the tomatoes are completely softened and wrinkled.

Basil Mint Pesto
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups lightly packed fresh mint leaves
3/4 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper, plus more to taste
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
Place the mint, basil, walnuts, cheese, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper in a food processor, and pulse until the herbs are finely chopped. With the machine running, gradually pour in 1/3 cup olive oil until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Lamb Meatballs
Ingredients
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
1 large shallot, minced
1 pound ground lamb
4 ounces salt bacon, finely minced
2 tablespoons mint, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Directions
In a small pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Once heated, add shallot, jalapeno and garlic, and cook for 1-2 minutes just to soften. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

While the shallot mixture is cooling, prepare the rest of the meatball mixture. Combine lamb, bacon, mint, salt and pepper, and mix with hands to thoroughly combine.

Line a sheet pan with tin foil or parchment paper. Using your hands, form mixture into small meatballs about an inch in diameter, and place onto prepared pan.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Brown half of the meatballs, turning a couple of times so all sides are cooked, about 8-10 minutes. Drain finished meatballs on a paper-towel lined plate. Repeat with second half, adding an extra tablespoon of olive oil to the pan if necessary.

Multigrain Flatbread
Ingredients
3/4 cup warm water, 100-110 degrees
1 package active dry yeast (about 2 1/2 teaspoons)
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons uncooked old fashioned oats
1 tablespoon ground flax seed meal
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions
In a small bowl, sprinkle yeast and sugar over warm water, and stir once to combine. Set aside for 5 minutes. The mixture will foam up and bubble, which is how you’ll know it’s active and ready to use.

In a medium bowl, whisk together both types of flour, oats, ground flax, salt and pepper. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour the yeast mixture into it. Using a fork, start to incorporate flour into the yeast mixture, stirring continuously until all of the flour is moistened. The dough will be shaggy and clumpy. Dump the flour yeast mixture out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead for about a minute to bring the mixture together into a cohesive ball.

Spray that same medium bowl with nonstick cooking spray or a teaspoon of olive oil, and place the dough ball into the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place for at least an hour, until doubled in size.

When dough has doubled in bulk, remove from bowl and place on a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll into a large circle, about 1/4″ thick (or thicker if you prefer chewier crust). Transfer to a sheet pan or pizza board, and prepare as desired (either grill, about 3-5 minutes per side, or cook in a hot oven).

Preparation
Make each of your pizza components (pesto, tomatoes, meatballs), and have them at the ready with 1/2 cup crumbled feta.

To make your pizza crust, preheat the grill while the dough is rising, and make sure the grates are clean. Once your dough ia rolled out and ready to use, coat your grill grates lightly with olive oil, to prevent sticking. You can do this by putting olive oil onto a paper towel, and with tongs rubbing the oiled towels across the grates.

Once the grill is ready, place your pizza crust onto it and and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the crust is bubbling on top, and golden brown with grill marks on the bottom. Remove from grill, flip over, and add toppings. Start with a generous layer of mint basil pesto, and then layer oven roasted tomatoes, meatballs, and crumbled feta on top. Return to grill for 3-5 more minutes, and you’re done! Serve with a drizzle of greek yogurt after the pizza has come off the grill, if desired.

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Brunch is easily my favorite meal. I don’t often indulge in it, but when I do, it’s such a treat! I love being a part of the Boston Brunchers group because new restaurants are often brought before me, and I have a chance to try a place I’ve never been and sometimes never even considered. When I was offered a chance to visit John Harvard’s to try their Brewers brunch, I was psyched!

I tried John Harvard’s in the fall when they held  a re-opening event, and debuted a new menu. The evening I went, the place was packed – service was slow, food was just okay, beer was good – so I was curious to give it another go. If I try a place once and hate it, I probably won’t go back, but if I try a place and it has both hits and misses, I’m always game to try again. Especially if the second trial run is for a brunch outing!

I brought Kevin along as my date, and after much trouble finding a parking spot in Harvard Square, we were treated to a leisurely brunch. On the day that we went, a Sunday morning at 11:30am, it was empty. Literally empty. We were actually the first, and only, diners there for a solid 20 minutes. I’ve never had that experience before, and it certainly felt a bit odd, but as soon as a few more parties showed up I felt more comfortable. And the bonus of being the only diners in the restaurant? Super speedy service.

We both started with cocktails, a mimosa for me, and a boozy drink off the regular cocktail menu for Kevin (wish I could remember what it was). I disliked the mimosa very much, which was a surprise because I generally love them. It didn’t taste like a mimosa at all. It was watered down, somewhat flavorless, and nearer to clear than a vibrant orange which tells you that proportions were off somewhere. I didn’t drink it except for a couple of sips, and instead enjoyed sharing Kevin’s which was much more on point.

We also enjoyed some bread from the bread basket, which was a focaccia served with seasoned olive oil. I found the bread to be a tad bit dry, but very well seasoned, and Kevin seemed to really enjoy it. He does tend to have a rather shocking appetite when it comes to brunch…

For main dishes, we ordered two to share – the french toast and the huevos rancheros. The huevos had a smokey flavor, though lacked sufficient spice and seasoning. I think it also could have used more salsa, some avocado and something with a little bit of heat because the rest of the dish was a bit flat. That said, the flavors were good, homey and comforting. I liked the combination of smokey sausage, black beans, a perfectly executed over-easy egg. Not the best I’ve had, but they were passable.

The accompanying home fries, however, were incredible. Expertly seasoned, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. I could have made a whole meal out of them!

We also shared the french toast, which came in a gigantic stack with Nutella, bananas and strawberries. The flavor of the french toast was awesome – the perfect balance of eggy pan-seared bread, Nutella, and caramelized banana. Definitely a dish for all you sugar fiends out there! The unfortunate part was that the center of the stack was completely raw. This didn’t stop us from eating quite a bit of the exterior because it tasted so darn good, but the mushy texture was not appealing, and honestly grossed me out a bit. Serving egg-based dishes that aren’t fully cooked is definitely not a good thing.

Overall, it was an okay breakfast. The service was efficient and friendly, the food flavors decent even though execution wasn’t quite right, and the prices pretty reasonable. I don’t think I’ll go back, but I wouldn’t entirely rule it out if you’re just going to grab a beer and a quick snack.

Disclaimer: This brunch was provided to me free of charge through my association with Boston Brunchers. As always, the opinions expressed here are my own.

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A few weekends ago, Kevin and I were craving something delicious for dinner, but we also wanted to stay in and watch a movie… in our PJ’s. We cook almost every night, and we make some great dinners, but sometimes it’s just so much more fun to eat food prepared by someone else – no dishes, and you get to indulge! So we went in search of great take-out.

Because we don’t often order food to-go, we really had no idea where to look. The Southie take-out options as I understand them are limited, so we expanded our search to neighboring areas. We’d seen a segment on Rino’s Place in East Boston on Phantom Gourmet, and I remembered reading Colleen’s recap of her trip there, so we decided to give it a go.

A quick glance over the menu had us feeling completely overwhelmed – so many options, what to choose?! I’d heard the lobster ravioli was amazing, so we knew we should get that, and then we narrowed down our other choice to the gnocchi bolognese (not on their online menu, but just ask and they’ll do it!).

More than an hour later (if you’re ordering take-out on a weekend evening, plan to order well in advance), we made our way out to “Eastie”, picked up our goods, and drooled the entire ride back with the wonderful smells that filled the car. When we unpacked out food, we were shocked at the portions – each platter felt like it weighed 5lbs! We polished off the included salads first (pretty standard – iceberg, tomato, onion, cucumber), and then dug into the good stuff.

I tried the lobster ravioli first, and fell in love at first bite. The heavy, creamy tomato sauce was exploding with flavor, and there were generous chunks of lobster throughout. Each ravioli was surprisingly huge, and stuffed with a well-seasoned ricotta lobster filling. I was pleasantly surprised to find there was so much lobster meat in this dish.

The gnocchi was tender and pillowy, which is exactly how I like it. It didn’t feel overly heavy or doughy, just fluffy and wonderful to eat. The bolognese sauce wasn’t the best I’ve had – I found the tomato flavor to be on the blander side, but there was plenty of tasty meat, and when we reheated leftovers the second day, I definitely enjoyed it more.

Overall, we were really pleased with this meal, and will definitely go back. Their prices are reasonable especially given the portion size, and the the dishes are soul-satisfyingly delicious. Highly recommend!

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While the weather outside certainly doesn’t show it, spring is just 2 days away! And with the arrival of spring comes a whole slew of new recipes. As each season comes and goes, I always get excited for the recipes that I’ll make, but spring recipes just might be my favorite. We’re all coming out of hibernation and looking forward to a warmer, brighter and cheerier season. As such, for this month’s Secret Recipe Club, I opted for a lighter lemon recipe, but one with a twist.

I’ve had a little jar of culinary lavender in my pantry for longer than I’d like to admit, and I’ve never once used it. I absolutely love the smell of lavender, and have always been intrigued by baking with it, but it’s just never come to fruition. Fortunately, Julie had this recipe for Honey Lemon Lavender Cupcakes on her blog White Lights on Wednesday, and I finally had the chance to give my lavender a purpose!

I did a bit of fiddling with this recipe, primarily cutting it in half so we wouldn’t have too many tempting cupcakes sitting around (hey, bathing suit season is coming up!), but ended up keeping the full amount of lavender in the recipe. I’m glad I did, because the flavor is very subtle. I was actually nervous about having too much of an herbal flavor from the lavender, but I think it hits just the right balance.

While I started out only planning to make a half batch, I ended up making TWO half batches – the first batch at 350 degrees, before I noticed that these were supposed to go in at 325. I only baked them for 18 minutes (recommended time was 20-25), but it was enough time to leave me with brown edges and a pretty dry texture throughout. Not wanting to throw them away, I repurposed those cupcakes and made them into lemon lavender cake pops – recipe coming soon The second batch I was more careful with – baked at 325 degrees, and for only 15 minutes initially, adding an extra 3 to finish them (18 total), but they still came out darker than they appeared in Julie’s photos. Not sure what caused such a big difference in appearance, but fortunately – they tasted great!

This recipe yields a very dense cupcake – if I made them again I may try to remedy that – but fortunately, they are loaded with flavor. They have a really wonderfully buttery undertone, with pleasant notes of lemon, and a subtle touch of lavender. The frosting makes for a wonderful contrast. It’s super smooth and silky, and not particularly sweet. I added in some extra lemon zest to really make the lemon flavor pop, and also doubled the honey. It was really happy with how these cupcakes came out – they’re beautiful little things, but also kind of like taking a bite of spring. And since we can’t have spring outside, at least I can recreate it in my kitchen.

Thanks, Julie, for a great recipe. I also flagged a couple extra recipes from your blog (Chocolate Black Bottom Pie and Sweet and Salty Cookie Cups) for the next time I need a serious sweets fix!

**Just to be clear with the recipe, I included instructions for a WHOLE batch (12 cupcakes). That said, it’s super easy to cut in half.

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It feels like it’s been forever since I attended a Boston Brunchers event, so I was excited to get a chance to see the group a couple weekends ago for a brunch at Ball Square Cafe. If you’re from the area, you might have heard of the Ball Square Cafe vs. Sound Bites rivalry, which was really the only thing I knew about Ball Square Cafe before visiting… that and the fact that you can almost NEVER get in without standing in line. That usually means good things for a brunch place, so I was really looking forward to this meal.

When I arrived, there was already a decently long line outside. I felt a bit guilty side-stepping those patiently waiting patrons, but so very grateful for a spot inside! The owner Mike, a warm and inviting man with a loud voice and a knack for hospitality, greeted me and a couple of other bloggers as we arrived. We waited for a few minutes for our seats to open up, during which time Mike brought over mini hot chocolate shooters. Certainly a nice way to kick off the morning.

After we were seated, the waitress came over almost immediately to take our order. After a short deliberation and WAY too many enticing options, I settled on two kinds of eggs benedict. One neat thing about the Ball Square menu is that you can get a half order of eggs benedict, a traditionally heavy dish that is still filling served in a half portion. Feeling ambitious, I chose to try a half order of both the tomato avocado eggs benedict and the lobster eggs benedict. I also helped myself to a big mug of french vanilla coffee. Their coffee is self-serve, which I loved!

After we placed our individual orders, Mike brought out a few sweet dishes for the table to share, as well as a few overflowing bowls of fruit. This was easily my favorite part of the meal – and the caramelized banana and strawberry french toast my favorite dish. We also got to try a belgian waffle with fresh fruit and whipped cream, and a corn muffin that Kerrie ordered, but kindly passed around the table.  The french toast was perfectly cooked – thick, doughy slices of bread were fried to a golden brown, and covered with perfectly caramlized bananas and strawberries. I wish I had ordered an entire plate of it for myself!

The food we ordered came out lightening fast – I’d say within 5 minutes of us putting in our order. Usually when food is served so fast, I’m a bit apprehensive, because how can real food be good if it only takes 5 minutes to make? For the most part, however, it seemed like our food was all warm and freshly made. For my portion of the meal, I was pleased to find that the lobster eggs benedict had an incredible amount of lobster involved, and a perfectly poached egg. There’s little better than cutting into a poached egg and watching the golden yolk stream out. So delicious! The tomato avocado eggs benedict also had a perfect egg, and loads of ripe, creamy avocado. I loved the flavor combo. The hollandaise unfortunately wasn’t my favorite – it was a bit lumpy and not particularly flavorful, which was a bummer because I seldom indulge in it. The english muffin base was also on the soggy side. That said, the home fries were well seasoned and expertly cooked, and I enjoyed them a lot!

Overall, brunch was a nice experience, and I’m glad I got to give Ball Square Cafe a try. Our visit was a quick one, I think because the waitresses were trying to rush us out to clear up all the valuable real estate we were occupying, but we certainly got to try a lot within a short period of time. If I were to go back, I’d definitely stick to the sweeter items – or perhaps give an omelet a try.

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Is it just me, or is time absolutely FLYING right now? I’m really glad it’s spring and all, but seriously?! SLOW DOWN! When I got engaged, we had a whole year until the wedding, and now it’s only 6 months away – and I feel like I just got engaged yesterday. Perhaps I can blame the fact that I am extremely backed up with blog posts on the hyper-speed of time? Let’s just go with it…

Ages ago, I received some Tuttorosso canned tomato samples. I used up most of them right away, in soups and stews and over polenta. They made great sauces and added loads of flavor to dishes, but I somehow managed not to snap ANY photos of those applications. Recently, when I realized I just had one can left, and needed to craft up a delicious recipe with it, I got to thinking what I might do. I an effort to sooth a very food-sensitive body, we’ve been cooking with a lot of whole foods, and trying to stay away from processed things. so when I came up with this recipe, that was top of mind.

I’d recently seen a recipe for Shepard’s Pie, something my Dad made all the time growing up, that I really, really loved. But in our household now we don’t eat many plain potatoes or peas, never mind cream of mushroom soup or any of that stuff you use to thicken it. So I decided to use my last cane of tomatoes to make a dish somewhat reminiscent of Shepard’s Pie, but with some “healthified” components. The resulting dish wasn’t so much Shepard’s Pie as it was a turkey, veggie and sweet potato concoction, but it was delicious and I named it to pay homage to the dish that it was inspired by.

This dish comes together easily, incorporating frozen veggies (which I never use, but they are so handy!), ground turkey, Tuttorosso tomatoes and plenty of velvety mashed sweet potato. Because we were lazy the evening we enjoyed this for dinner, I didn’t bake it casserole style, and instead we served a heafty portion of the veggie and turkey mixture, with a large dollop of sweet potato on top. If I were to make it again and give myself some extra time, I’d definitely put it into the oven, to give the flavors some extra to meld. I found that the day after I made this, the flavors were so much bigger and stronger – not to say it wasn’t delicious the first night we had it, but it got even better.

Disclaimer: The Tuttorosso canned tomatoes I used in this recipe were complimentary. As always, opinions expressed here are my own.

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