Best of 2011: Dinners, Desserts & Side Dishes...

Hey everyone...hope you enjoyed my top travel list yesterday.  Today brings my favorite recipes countdown...although I JUST couldn't narrow down my main dishes to 10...so you get 20!  I also tacked on my top 5 favorite desserts & side dishes for good measure.  Get your shopping lists ready and try out some new dishes in the New YearJ

TOP 20 DISHES:

#20:  Pulled Chicken Chili



#19:  Sweet Potato Tamale with Peanut Butter & Roasted Garlic Shrimp

#18:  Very Veggie Pesto Pizza

#17:  Rice Ball Casserole

#16:  Spring Pappardelle

#15:  Crispy Gnocchi with Pesto & Goat Cheese

#14:  Red Pepper "Chicken Parm"

#13:  Stuffed Waffles (Pumpkin, Pina Colada & Blueberry)

#12:  Spinach Gnudi

#11:  Sliders

#10:  Tortellini with Roasted Butternut Squash & Pear Sauce

#9:  Smoked Cheese Pizza

#8:  Pad Thai Noodles

#7:  Pasta with Cheese & Black Pepper

#6:  Grilled Veggie & Polenta

#5:  Gnocchi with Squash & Kale

#4:  Enchilada Casserole

#3:  Grilled Onion & Fontina Grilled Cheese

#2:  Bucatini with Bacon Sauce

#1:  Caprese Salad Bake

TOP 5 DESSERTS:

#5:  Pumpkin Donut Muffins

#4:  Bacon Peanut Butter Pie

#3:  Roasted Garlic Ice Cream

#2:  White Chocolate & Coconut Stuffed Pretzels

#1:  Salted "Kick Ass" Carrot Cake

And finally:  TOP 5 SIDE DISHES:

#5:  Low Cal Flavored Rice

#4:  Sweet Potato Panko Fries

#3:  Crispy Roasted Garlic Potatoes

#2:  Smashed Potatoes

#1:  Guilt Free Spinach & Artichoke Dip

OK...so hope you enjoyed & tomorrow I'll be back to our 'regularly scheduled program.'  And as a tribute to both a "healthy start to New Years" AND the fact that the mercury dropped about 10 degrees in NJ lately, the theme of the next few days is going to be LOW CAL COMFORT FOOD.  It should be tasty...stay tuned!

Best of 2011: Travel Edition

Hey everyone!  Long time, no chat...again.  Sorry about that.  After surveying our 11 day break together this week, Scott & I quickly realized it would probably be our last 'stretch of days' with just the 2 of us for...awhileJ  So we spent them doing all the things we know we won't be doing in the near future:  leisurely days, long 'mini road trip' lunches, NAPSJ hahahhahhahahahhaa  We have one more day together, but I wanted to get this post up for you today before it was mid-January...hahahahhahahahahaJ  The lover of lists in me has 2 days worth of "Tops" for you (like last year) and up first is the one that helps me conjure up some of my favorite memories of the year: Top 10's: Traveling/Eating Out EditionJ

TOP 10 DISHES OF 2011:

#10- Cheesesteak Grilled Cheese: Pop Shop, Collingswood

#9-  Scott's first "In & Out" burgerJ:  In & Out, west coast locations
(you MUST get the Double Double with fried onions!)

#8- Spaghetti & Tuna Fish:  Buenos Aires, Sant' Agata, Italy

#7- Stuffed Peppers:  Lo Stuzzichino, Sant' Agata, Italy

#6- Sundried tomatoes & buffalo mozzarella: Inn Bufalito, Sorrento, Italy

#5-  "Jim Rome":  Ike's, San Francisco

#4-  Roasted Garlic Guacamole: El Vez, Philadelphia

#3-  Seafood Risotto:  Ristorante Delfino, Sorrento, Italy

#2-  Dungeness Crab Roll:  Fish, Saulsolito, California

#1 Dish of 2011:  Pasta e Patate con Provolone: Lo Stuzzichino, Sant' Agata, Italy

Here's the 'don't mess around' category! 

Top 10 Desserts

#10-  Nutella Calzone: Dar Poeta, Rome

#9- Coconut Cream Donut: Donut Plant, NYC

#8-  Ricotta Pear Cake: Ristorante Delfino, Sorrento, Italy

#7- Orange Ricotta Cheesecake: Der Pallaro, Rome

#6- Red Velvet Cupcake: Sweet Eats Bakery, Voorhees, NJ

#5-  Gelato...ANY of it in Italy!!!: particularly San Crispino, Rome

#4:  Chocolate cream & hazelnut milkshake: Max Brenner's, NYC & Philadelphia

#3- Nutella Gelato: Giolitti, Rome

#2- Morning Buns: Tartine Bakery, San Francisco

#1- Triple Coconut Cream Pie: Ritz Seafood, Voorhees, NJ

And I have two more categories I had to sneak in!

Top 5 "Best Atmosphere"
My favorite unique dining experiences while out & aboutJ

#5:  The lovely lounge deck: Treno, Westmont, NJ


#4:  Cookies in an alley??:  Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, Chinatown, San Francisco


#3:  One of the most gorgeous bars I ever set foot in:  Cafe Lacatedral, Madrid, Spain


#2:  "Cart" Dim Sum: Yank Sing, San Francisco


#1:  "No menus, you'll have what we give you":  Der Pallaro, Rome


And here's just 3 things that needed their own category:

The best 'they just don't make it the same over here' of Italy:  The Olive Oil!


Best Coffee EVER:  Blue Bottle Coffee Company, San Francisco


And finally:
"I've been to Italy & back and can STILL say THIS IS THE BEST"
My beloved Delorenzo's Tomato Pies
(which is sadly closing on January 15th...sigh)

Hope you guys have a VERY Happy & Safe New Years!!! I'll be back tomorrow with my Top dinner & dessert recipes.  Hope you like lists as much as I do!J 

The last 48 hours...

Hi everyone!  Anyone else feel like they just got spun out of a hurricane??  Albeit, a wonderful one filled with tinsel, holly, family & good eatsJ hehehehehehehe....

However, what was the one thing our holiday was lacking in???  Photos! hahahhahaa....I didn't even realize how few I took until it was all over.  So I only have a quick recap of our Christmas for youJ

We started our day with a breakfast as equally decadent as the day itself:  Cinnamon roll monkey bread.  Yes, as in ooey gooey monkey bread made WITH CINNAMON ROLL DOUGH!!! 

I think after toying with the idea of a few recipes this year, that monkey bread may be our traditional breakfast from here on out.  It's SOOOO easy to make ahead of time, bake in the morning and I LOVEEEEE a 'shared' breakfast on Christmas morningJ 

And, of course, we finished up our day with our traditional dinner...homemade raviolis, meatball, fresh 'wreath' holiday bread and salad with olive oil & olives.  Wonderful, as alwaysJ 

It was a wonderful couple days filled with family, good eats, sweet moments and LOTTTSSSS of anticipation for the futureJ 

I'll have a few more interesting things to show you this week, but for NOW...we're all still in lounge mode! hahahahaha...hope you guys are resting up too!  Have a great nightJ

Santa Claus comes TONIGHT...so leave him this:)

Morning everyone and Merry Christmas Eve!  Can you even believe it??  I feel like I blinked and it was LAST Christmas Eve!  (even if those awful summer months drag endlesslyJ)  Even I, who had quite a bit of 'extra time' this year, still managed to see this month skyrocket by and found myself going "Christmas crazy" at the last second.  Seesh!  Hope you guys are 'surviving' OKJ

Well, one thing my month hasn't been lacking in is CHRISTMAS BREAKFASTS!  Between my gingerbread, eggnog almond & cookie butter oats, I've been pretty well stocked in sugar & spice this season.  But dear friends, I have yet another creation for you and this one may be my most favorite yet: 

EGGNOG OATMEAL PUDDING!

So this was the first Christmas is YEARRRRRRRRRRRS that I allowed myself to have eggnog in the house.  (I usually whip up Hungry Girl's version, which is pretty tasty I might add!!)  I LOVEEEEEE it, but Scott's not a fan (aka-the whole container is MINE!) and those *SCARY* stats always made me turn my 'not worth it' back on the festive treat.  This year though?  I caved. (and GOD, is it GOOD!  So very, very good)

Soooo....this left me with finding a way to NOT just stick a staw in the carton & finish it off in one session.  And as with all of my decadent ingredients this year, I decided oatmeal was my 'flavor savour!'

And to help balance it out a bit, I enlisted a little help from my favorite "LESS" milk substitute:  Unsweetened vanilla almond milk!

I mean, really, these stats couldn't be on the FURTHER end of the spectrum from one another!!!

Soooo...back to the oats.  What I first did was add to my pan a serving of COOKED oats.  (1/4 cup of steel cut oats cooked in 1 cup of water)....

Next into the pan...the angel & the devil. 

• 1/2 cup of almond milk
• 1/2 cup of eggnog. 

This is still BEYOND decadent...buttttttt at least the 1/2 cup of almond milk only adds 20 calories to the mix and saves you from adding a full cup (aka-360 calories!) to the oats!

I will admit, I even tried making this with 3/4 cups almond milk & 1/4 cup eggnog and it just wasn't the same.  The 1/2 a cup of each REALLY made the flavor BURST!  But you can try it out for yourself and see what you like!

Bring the milk & oats to a boil, before turning down to simmer for 20 minutes...

Stirring occasionally to make a pudding-like consistency...

About 3 minutes before the oats were done, I tossed in:

• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar

...and a small handful of craisins...just cause they're so darn prettyJ

So I thought the REGULAR oatmeal pudding was good, but this one TAKES. THE. OATS CAKE!  It was suppppppppppppper creamy and you could taste the eggnog throughout the entire bowl.  Christmas bliss...let me tell ya!  (And let's not forget the "extra volume" from the longer cooking time!)

Hey, why not leaving some of this out for Santa Claus tonight??  I'm sure he's had his fill of milk & cookies...hehehehehheeJ

Well, I'm off to prep our "Christmas morning breakfast" (think CINNAMON!) & WORKOUT (did I mention the 'eggnog stats??') before heading to my in-laws for dinner and then trying to keep myself awake during midnight mass. Hahahahhahaa...hope you guys ENJOY all that the holidays have in store for you!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!J