Summer Martini

A few weeks back I was contacted by a person from POM Wonderful. He wanted to send me a case of 100% pure pomegranate juice. I said yes right away like it was going out of style, and before I knew it the case was at my door. I'm not a huge juice person but I always liked the tart juices. Plus the health benefits found in pomegranate juice like improving cardiovascular, decrease risk in prostate cancer, improvement in erectile function (Really? lol), and the high potency of antioxidants were all positives. I'm all about improving and staying healthy.


The first thing that came to my mind when I received my case of pomegranate juice was a Pom-tini! I can have a drink and still get my antioxidants in. Perfect! I'm not no bartender, so I took on a little Internet search till I found the perfect drink for my POM juice. It is called a Summer Martini. It's very refreshing from the tartness of the limoncello and sweetness from the vanilla. It all pairs well with the pomegranate juice for one refreshing cocktail these hot nights we have to deal with.

Shake, shake, shake!

Summer Martini:
Serves 1 (From mixdrinx.com)

Ingredients
1 ounce vanilla flavored vodka
1/2 ounce Limoncello
1 1/2 ounce of pomegranate juice
Squeeze of lime

Combine all ingredients into a martini shaker with ice. Shake well. Strain and serve. Garnish with a lemon twist of lime.

Hello yoga frog!

This martini didn't come at a better time to celebrate my offer for a marketing internship! I've been rather busy preparing for that. It is an exciting time for me and I'm still shocked that I was actually chosen. Go me!! 


Have a Happy 4th of July! If you can shake up one of these martinis, I promise they won't disappoint. I also liked to thank POM Wonderful for sending some juice to me. It is honestly delicious, and I would only purchase this brand of pomegranate juice. Thanks again!

Always, Fallon

Dessert: Cannoli

Now what is an Italian meal without dessert, let alone a cannoli! This is by far one of the best desserts to have after an Italian meal. I like my tiramisu, but a cannoli definitely has been in the top so far. Just something about the sweet, creamy ricotta filling, paired with pistachios and chocolate chips is like heaven. What makes a great cannoli is the shell. You can have a good filling but if the shell isn't good then the cannoli is lifeless. I've tried a ton of cannoli shells, and I find the ones with the bubbles, are flaky, slightly sweet, hit of cinnamon and the perfect crunch to the creamy middle. One day I will try a cannoli in New York, one day!

Delicious shells. 

Apparently these were my best cannoli as of late. My boyfriend even said mine tasted better then the one we tried at Villa Nova in Newport,CA.

Cannoli from Villa Nova.

I think I found the perfect recipe after doing research, comparing methods, ingredients, amounts etc. As for the shells if you have a bakery that makes awesome shells buy them! As long as the bakery I use is still around, I will continue to buy their shells. The process is very long and the dough is very tricky. It definitely saves A LOT of time. The ricotta filling takes 3 minutes flat. At least for me it does. ;)  

Cannoli By Fallon  
Ingredients
8 large cannoli shells
16 oz whole milk ricotta, strained ( I like Trader Joe's ricotta, although Polly-O is amazing!)
80g powdered sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Mini chocolate chips
Chopped pistachios

In a strainer covered in cheese cloth, let the ricotta sit overnight in the fridge to drain. Usually the ricotta I buy isn't liquidity enough, but if I push a spoon against it, some liquid does appear. Once ricotta is drained add to the food processor and blend away. Stop every often to scrape the sides. After processing 3-4 times, add the sugar a little at a time. Next add the cinnamon and vanilla. Blend till the ricotta becomes smooth and fluffy. Add to a metal mixing bowl. Mix in chocolate chips and pistachios. I just eyeball this, make sure not to over add because it will take away from the creamy ricotta. Set in the fridge covered for 3 hours or until really chill. You want the ricotta to be like a thick paste.

Smooth and creamy. This is how it should look.

In a freezer bag or piping bag add the ricotta filling. Cut a small tip off that will fit into the cannoli shell. Fill up both sides all the way. Then decorate the sides by dipping into chocolate chips and/or pistachios. Top with a dusting of powdered sugar and serve.

Mix-ins

You can easily double this recipe if you are making a lot of cannoli.

This is the last of the dinner posts. Now it time to get back to a normal schedule! I have some good posts coming soon.

Buon Appetito,
Fallon

Main Course: Eggplant Parmigiana and Spaghetti

Eggplant Parmesan is my boyfriend's favorite meal. Over the last Christmas his grandma had made eggplant Parmesan, and he said it was his favorite. I was excited to try it out and couldn't believe how good it was! Nothing like a home cooked meal especially when it made by grandma. Her eggplant was very different from the usual eggplant fare you will eat. When he through out the idea he'd want me to make eggplant Parmesan I warned him it won't be like grandmas so don't compare. LOL. I did my own spin on the eggplant Parmesan like usual and it turned out to be really good. I made sure to make it extra special for my boyfriend. Eggplant Parmesan is definitely a process if you want to make it the right way. I spent almost 3 hours draining the liquid out of my eggplant. You do this by setting slices in a colander and sprinkling with sea salt. Every 15 or so minutes I would press more liquid out by pushing it against the colander and shaking it around. Once this process is complete, rinse the eggplant off with water and let set to dry.  

Usually if I make eggplant for myself I skip this step and just get to cooking! In Italian cooking the sauce is very important. I've made many red sauces, but mine aren't the kind I will spend all day cooking. Which I need to start practicing FYI. If you remember a few months ago I discovered the best jarred marinara sauce EVER! I was not ashamed to use this at all because it honestly taste like a sauce that been cooking all day. Definitely saved me a lot of time in the kitchen. I took a little help from my new favorite cookbook, The Joy of Cooking to help guide me. This cookbook is very helpful and I'm starting to use it for everything. Definitely one of the best gifts someone could ever give me. Cooking I rarely measure out ingredients. My goal when I cook for my boyfriend is to basically cook for an army. LOL. I want to make sure there is plenty to eat, and leftovers are always a bonus. So my estimates may sound like big numbers but you can cut the recipe in half or estimate your own measurements as well. It's only cooking!! 

 
Eggplant Parmigiana #2 (Adapted from The Joy of Cooking)   
Ingredients
4-5 eggplants, sliced slightly thick (My eggplants varied in size, some were large and some quite small.)
3 large eggs
All-purpose flour
Salt and pepper
Italian style panko bread crumbs (Fresh bread crumbs would be amazing!)
Olive oil
Favorite red sauce (Make sure to make a lot.)
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Grated parmesan cheese
Fresh basil
Spaghetti  

Baking the eggplant: You can either fry or bake the eggplant. I baked my eggplant with an oven preheated at425 degrees and 2 baking sheets with a healthy coating of olive oil to crisp up the eggplant. Once you have drained all water from the eggplant (you could skip that draining process if you don't have time) it is time to get the breading station ready. I don't normally measure out my flour or bread crumbs because when I do I always end up needing more anyways. For the breading station in this order season the flour with salt a pepper, whisk the eggs with a drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and pepper, and the seasoned Italian bread crumbs all in breading dishes. First, dredge the eggplant into the flour, and shake off the excess flour. Next dip into the egg mixture and letting excess egg drip off. Then finally into the bread crumbs making sure to coat the entire surface of your eggplant slices. Line up onto the pre-olive oiled baking sheets. Bake the eggplant for at least 30 minutes or until both sides are crisped up and lightly brown. At this time you will want to start boiling water in a large pot for the spaghetti. Season the water with salt and bring to a boil. Once water boil add spaghetti and cooked till al dente. About 7-8 minutes depending on the pasta.  

Preparing the eggplant parmigiana: While the eggplant is baking I like to get my sauce heated up, and make sure my cheeses are ready for layering. I used a huge lasagna pan to bake my eggplant up. You can use a casserole dish if you prefer it layered instead. I opted to have the slices to be lightly layer, and for a nice presentation. When the eggplant has cooled off from the oven it it time to layer. I always start with sauce on the bottom, then eggplant, cheese and repeat. Pop back into the oven on the top rack till the cheese melts and lightly browns. I changed the oven setting to 450 degrees. Garnish with basil and serve along side spaghetti. I also had roasted cauliflower and cheesy garlic bread as additional sides!

My boyfriend's plate!

Next up.. DESSERT! Fallon

Appetizer: Caprese Salad

I am so excited to be back to share some new recipes, and show what I've been up to in the kitchen! I hoped you enjoyed my fun eats while on vacation. I'm sure am glad to be back home, and getting back on my normal food eating routine. Just now I need to cut back on the beer consumption and eating out! Today I bring to you part of a special dinner I made for my boyfriend the day he came in for his month leave. I promised him over Christmas I'd make him a dinner with whatever he wanted, but I was knowledgeable on cooking. He threw some ideas around for me. Well time was short and he was sent back to Iraq. So I decided the day he came in on his month leave I would present to him a delicious Italian dinner. Boy was it good!


I served with dinner this beautiful Caprese Salad. I love the simplicity, lightness and deliciousness this salad brings. It paired well with the main course. Many places put their own spin on Caprese salad by adding balsamic, garlic or their own house made vinaigrette. I kept it simple with seasoning and used a good extra virgin olive oil. Which is key and helped bring the freshness out from the tomato and basil. You'll notice "fresh" is a key word!  

Fresh Caprese Salad  
Ingredients
1 16oz log of fresh mozzarella (I used this brand)
3-4 fresh Roma tomatoes
Fresh basil leaves, rinsed
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

I like to prep all ingredients first by slicing the mozzarella and tomato. On a nice platter start with a slice of tomato, mozzarella and then a basil leaf. Continue laying the tomato, mozzarella and basil until all ingredients are used up. You can line them up and down, or in a circle like I have done. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then lightly drizzle olive oil over the top. 


Come back to see the next part of my boyfriend's Italian meal!
Fallon

Famous Apple Pancake

Breakfast if you don't already know is my favorite meal. I love a quick breakfast or a decadent breakfast. It all just depends on what mood I'm in. Eating breakfast out is definitely a treat, and something I always look forward to. Our last day of our vacation was leaving San Diego to head back to Vegas. I noticed a diner called Ricky's near our hotel with, "World Famous Apple Pancake" on their front windows. I've had tried many varieties of an apple pancake or dutch baby. Most good but never had I tried a world famous apple pancake! I'm glad we didn't drive around to find a breakfast place because this family restaurant was a great find, and a place I'd have breakfast at again. My boyfriend and I decided we'd split 2 dishes. I wanted some eggs with the pancake. He doesn't have a big sweet tooth like me, so it was a good idea to split since he still wanted to try it. He ordered an omelet with spinach and mushrooms. They came with hash browns (really good) and toast. As you all know I ordered the apple pancake! Our waitress warned us of the 20 minute wait for the pancake but that didn't bother us. We were too busy playing on my iPhone to realize how long it was taking. Plus he was showing me how to try to "read" a map. Good times! LOL This was by far the best apple pancake ever. I knew it would be huge. It was pretty sweet but nothing I couldn't handle. The pancake part was light and fluffy like a souffle. I loved that they used real apples and not that canned stuff. I had chunks of red apples, I'm thinking they were fiji, with their skin on. Delicious! The topping was covered with brown sugar and cinnamon that melted from baking in the oven to form a delicious crust on top. I'm not ashamed to admit that I left about 1/8 of the pancake. My boyfriend had 1/4 of it. I made sure not an apple was left behind. If anything I have something to look forward to when I visit San Diego again! It just causes me to have to workout twice as hard. ;) I tried to see if they had a website, but they do not. So I found this awesome link instead that you can click HERE to see. Have a great weekend! Fallon

AHOY!

Hey Bloggers!! I'm still around. Just enjoying my time with my boyfriend while he is visiting. We just came back from a get-away vacation to California and had a wonderful time. I'm SO behind in blogging, and I have so much catching up to do. I can't wait to share it all though. I'm just slowly editing pictures from vacation, and had to share with you this frozen banana I had. I love frozen bananas dipped in chocolate. It is the best treat ever! Disneyland has good frozen bananas, and sometimes I just make my own at home. I usually dip my frozen banana in peanut butter, or I blend it in a food processor to make banana soft serve. Well my favorite place is all over the Huntington Beach area called Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. I usually get some fancy apple dipped in chocolate which is another favorite treat of mine. Although this time around I noticed they started selling bananas freshly dipped in chocolate! I had to have one, duh! Little did I know it was going to be a banana on steroids. Let's just say we had a fun time making fun of my frozen banana. None the less it tasted fantastic! Their chocolate is so creamy. It also had a nice, thick coating of chocolate. Definitely decadent but at least I was able to get a serving or so of fruit! That is a good excuse to eat chocolate in my opinion when fruit is involved. ;) See you soon, Fallon

It finally arrived!

I don't think I've announced this on the blog yet, but I was lucky enough to win a Bullet To Go. I simply just commented on a recent smoothie I've been enjoying and was selected as one of the winners. This was a HUGE prize. Thanks to Monica at Run Eat Repeat for hosting such an awesome giveaway!


I've actually been in the market for a new blender. I really want the queen of them all, the Vitamix but that will have to wait! I was so excited to finally receive my bullet. I could not believe how many parts came with the bullet. You can do anything in the bullet besides making smoothies. It good for salsa, grinding nuts or coffee, and even margaritas (hello!). It came with a nifty little recipe book, and really opened up what you can do with the Bullet To Go. Bring it to a campsite, on the beach, hotel room etc. I thought that was pretty cool. First thing first, I had to charge this bad boy up. 


Once charged I couldn't wait to try it out. I choose a smoothie out of the book called Refreshingly Groovy Fruit Smoothie to try first. It was definitely groovy and oh so delicious! I did use almond milk in in place of cow's milk, and only 1 scoop of chocolate protein powder. 

Yum Yum to my groovy smoothie!

Next smoothie I made was a recipe of my own. I find smoothies are easy to get in extra greens into your diet. You can't taste them either which is a huge plus in my book. I wanted to get creative with my smoothie and decided I'd call it:  

Green Cocoa Bana-Berry Shake By Fallon  
Ingredients:
1/2 cup almond milk
Handful ice cubes
1 scoop of chocolate protein powder
1 scoop of Green Superfood
1/2 cup strawberries
1/2 a frozen banana
1 tsp raw cocoa nubs

Add ingredients added in order to blender and blend till smooth and creamy!

Love the cocoa nib bites through the straw!

I wasn't told to post and review about the blender. I decided I wanted to share about it on my own terms. I don't believe the Bullet To Go has been released in stores yet. What is my final verdict about this blender? Well it is definitely not powerful at all! It tells you that it can be used up to 50 times before needing a charge. After the 3rd time using it, I had to charge it again. Sometimes my smoothies are too liquid like. I believe it is because I'm use to adding 1 cup of liquid to my smoothies, but in the bullet 1/2 cup seems to be plenty for the consistency I'm looking for. Also the blades aren't very strong. I find I have chunks of ice or frozen fruit that wasn't blended. My old blender may be on it last leg but it still makes a hell of a smoothie! The Bullet To Go has potential, but I just don't think it is quite there yet.

Fallon