Gingerbread Dam

Ok, so it’s apparently a lot harder to make a gingerbread house from scratch than I thought.  Probably didn’t help that the icing I was trying to used was too thick and I didn’t measure any of my house pieces.

As a result, the house got torn down by ginger-beavers and converted into a dam.

Gingerbread Dam

What wine to serve with Thanksgiving?

• Turkey Breast / No Gravy – A light Chardonnay
  • with Stuffing and Gravy – A bigger Chardonnay

• Breast / Dark Meat / Mushroom Stuffing / Gravy / Cranberries – Pinot Noir

• Breast / Dark Meat / Hot Italian Sausage Stuffing / Gravy and the works – Red Zinfandel or Australian Shiraz or for a great contrast Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Rose or Beaujolais

• “Traditional Italian” (Turkey / Lasagna / Stuffed Pasta, something Parmesan) – Red Zinfandel, Primivito, or Chianti

How to eat a chicken wing

In case you didn’t already know, there is a proper (and clean) way to eat a chicken wing.

Enjoy!

Lunch at O.I.P.

Today I had lunch at Original Italian Pizza.  If you have never had the privilege of munching down some char-grilled chicken wings before, I highly recommend you give them a try! Also, their white garlic pizza is phenomenal!  It’s very thin and not tough to bite through.  Aniello’s used to be my favorite, but they’ve been very disappointing lately.  Anyhoo…  Nom nom!

Char-grilled wings

White garlic pizza

Miller Lite Pints

9 16oz bottles instead of 12 12oz ones.  Glug glug!

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9 16oz bottles instead of 12 12oz ones. cute

Miller Lite Pints

Crystal City Bakery

The BEST donuts and baked goods in all of Corning are at Crystal City Bakery! NOM NOM NOM!

Crystal City Donuts

Koch’s Golden Anniversary Beer

As part of my bachelor party last year, my buddy and future brother-in-law decided to pick up some brews to sip on at the hotel room.  These bad boys cost $2 each (40 oz) and definitely left their mark in my brain as the worst beer ever.  If you ever have an opportunity to try some, I recommend you don’t.  I’ve had skunk beer taste better than this stuff.  Negatory noms on this one.

Koch's Golden Anniversary Beer

Hillbilly birthday cake

I was in Seffner, Florida (a small town near Tampa) back in July and saw my first hillbilly birthday cake.  Enjoy!

Hillbilly cake

Meat Lasagna

I made two large meat lasagnas for my mother-in-law’s birthday a couple weeks ago.  They were a major hit the night of the party and I thoroughly enjoyed the leftovers for the following few days.

INGREDIENTS (1 lasagna):

• 1 lb. ground turkey (I prefer ground turkey over ground beef because of how lean it can be – I use 93/7)
• 15 oz. Ricotta cheese
• Sauce (I prefer to make my own using crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, water, garlic, onion powder, basil, oregano, and parsley)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 box lasagna noodles
• Mozzarella cheese (at least 2 cups worth)
• Parmesan/Romano (sprinkle) cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. If making your own sauce, start simmering the sauce a few hours ahead of time for the flavors to blend
   1. If using sauce from the grocery store, you can wait to cook the sauce until after the ground turkey is cooked
2. Brown the ground turkey in a large sauce pan/skillet
   1. There is hardly any grease/oil in the pan after cooking 93/7 turkey, so I choose not to drain
3. Add spaghetti sauce to the meat
4. Let it simmer
   1. Flavor with oregano, parsley, garlic, and onion powder as needed
5. In a medium size bowl, combine the 15 oz. ricotta cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 tsp of salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper
   1. Mixture should be fluffy
6. In a 9×13″ pan, spread 1 1/2 cups sauce across the bottom of the dish
7. Line 1 layer of lasagna noodles over the sauce
8. Add all of the ricotta mixture on top of the uncooked noodles
   1. I like to add parsley flakes on top of the ricotta cheese for a little more color
9. Cover the ricotta mixture with 1 cup mozzarella cheese
10. Cover the mozzarella with 1/2 cup Parmesan/Romano (sprinkle) cheese
11. Add 1 1/2 cups sauce
12. Line another layer of lasagna noodles over the sauce
13. Top with remaining sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan/Romano cheeses (use your own discretion – I prefer a bunch of cheese)

BAKE:

• Bake at 350 covered with foil for 45 minutes.  I usually leave the sides open and just close it on the ends.
• Take off foil and bake for 15 more minutes or until cheese is completely melted/golden.

ENJOY!

Meat sauce application

Lasagna Prep

Finished lasagnas

Pumpkin Risotto

Pumpkin Risotto

Very tasty seasonal dish from The Cellar in Corning, NY.  It’s served as an appetizer, but, because of the maple syrup, I think it would make a fantastic desert. (http://www.corningwinebar.com)

Description:
Pumpkin risotto with goat cheese, caramelized chai tea poached bosc pear & prosciutto.  Garnished with toasted pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of maple syrup.  Nom nom nom!