Welcome to Sunday at the Giacometti's

Sharing in the joys of tradtional italian food.  Welcome to our table.

Buon Appetito!!
Barbara Giacometti

It's Ice Cream Friday! Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake Ice Cream

Did you know that July is National Ice Cream Month?  I sure didn't, but I'm so excited to find out because it makes the timing of this recipe perfecto, in fact I think I will use this National Ice Cream Month as the reason to post a new ice cream recipe every Friday for the rest of the month and maybe, just maybe, we will have ice cream for dinner as a sweet surprise. My family will be be so happy!



I made this delicious ice cream last week with Br2.  She is my sidekick in the kitchen and has been requesting that we pull out the ice cream maker that Santa brought her (isn't he a smart guy to think of bringing her a real ice cream maker?), and make some delicious homemade ice cream.  Now that the temperatures have reached appropriate ice cream eating weather I couldn't say no. 

Now, onto the ice cream.  If you like cheesecake and don't feel like heating up your kitchen, this is the dessert for you!  It is rich and sweet and creamy just like a baked cheesecake.  The strawberry swirl is divine as it mingles with the creaminess of this frozen treat.  I implore you to whip up a batch, and surprise your family with ice cream for dinner one hot evening.  ENJOY!

I'm linking up again, go check out all the great recipes others are posting!

Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake Ice Cream
Recipe Source: The ice cream maker recipe book modified slightly by A Cook's Quest

Ice Cream Base
1/2 pint heavy cream
8 oz sour cream
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 Tbl. fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

In a mixing bowl with and electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Add the sour cream, mix until well combined. Add the heavy cream, lemon juice and vanilla mixing until it is very thick.  Cover and chill 2-3 hours or over night.

Make the strawberry sauce while the base is chilling.  This will allow the sauce to cool enough.

Take the chilled mixture and beat until creamy.  Pour into your ice cream mixer and follow the manufacturer's instructions. 

When the ice cream is set, scoop out some of the ice cream into a bowl.  Pour on some of the strawberry sauce.  Add more ice cream and repeat the strawberry sauce.  Once you have all the ice cream in the bowl with the desired amount of strawberries uses a offset spatula or butter knife to kind of swirl the strawberry throughout.  Place in the freezer to hard set the ice cream or eat immediately if you like a soft serve. 

Strawberry Sauce
2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled
2 Tbl. sugar
2 tsp. water

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pot over medium heat.  Stir frequently.  When the strawberries begin to break down begin mashing them with a large fork or potato masher.  Continue cooking over medium to low heat stirring frequently until reduced into a thick sauce.  Keep an eye on this you don't want burnt strawberries with your ice cream!  When it is thick, remove from the heat and allow to cool completely before adding it to the ice cream.

Will Work for Ice Cream

Quote of the Day:  Music can lift us out of depression or move us to tears - it is a remedy, a tonic, orange juice for the ear. But for many of my neurological patients, music is even more - it can provide access, even when no medication can, to movement, to speech, to life. For them, music is not a luxury, but a necessity.

— Oliver Sacks, author of Awakenings 

(apologies for the dark picture - my settings were off)

Three of my piano students and I played and sang at an assisted living center this week. Besides being a great way to keep their skills up over the summer months and provide a place to share their gifts, this was an opportunity for them to lift up the residents.  We helped them feel connected to the present and hopeful about tomorrow, as well as evoking memories of the past.

When the youngest of the three, barely playing piano for a year, played Twinkle, Twinkle, Litte Star, the residents couldn't help but sing along.  They tapped their toes to the peppy tunes, and got dreamy during the classical pieces.  When I played some good, old patriotic hymns, they all sang along, nearly every word to every verse.

Then, we walked down to the memory care unit. I explained why the door needed to be locked, that the residents have memory loss, and that there might be added distractions.  We entered the commons room where a tv was on that no one was watching.  We moved in towards the keyboard and shut off the tv.  My young student played Twinkle, Twinkle again, and I saw eyes light up, lips move, and words coming out of smiling mouths.  They clapped after every song the girls played, and sang out strong during the patriotic hymns.  They seemed the most jubilant for Onward Christian Soldiers, and I had visions of them as young women, linking elbows during the war years, working in factories, writing letters to sweethearts, dancing at the halls with soldiers so young they'd barely graduated high school.  Were any of them in the American Army Corps, or Red Cross workers?  Perhaps an army nurse was in residence or even a pilot.  Who knows?  I don't know their stories, but I do know that they came alive to Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war. With the cross of Jesus going on before.

We enjoyed a well-earned ice cream treat afterwards.

We're making memories of our own as we share these experiences.

Thanks, Girls, for sharing your gifts and accompanying me!

Journaling Prompt:  Write about a song that brings up a strong memory in your life.

Baked Penne with Chicken, Broccoli and Cream Sauce

I don't think I can ever get tired of pasta with cream sauce.  Even on a hot summer day, I can devour a warm, saucy, creamy, cheesy, bowl of pasta.  It is comfort food for me and love trying different variations.  This recipe is ideal, I think anyway, because it can be made ahead and the end result is still the same--a delicious pasta nestled in cheesy cream sauce with bites of tender chicken, crisp broccoli and sweet tomatoes from my garden. Definitely go try this soon, and I would recommend doubling the recipe so you have one for the freezer too.  Enjoy!

I'm linking this recipe go check out all the other great recipes people are posting!

Baked Penne with Chicken, Broccoli, and  Mozzarella

Recipe Source: Modified slightly from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

*Note from Mel: See the asterisk below the recipe for make-ahead directions.

Serves 6-8

Topping:
3/4 cup bread crumbs (store-bought or make your own)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Filling:
1 bunch broccoli (about 1 ½ pounds), stalks cut off, florets trimmed into 1-inch pieces
12 ounces penne pasta or small pasta of your choice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
6 medium garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 3), trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
3 ounces mozzarella, shredded
8 ounces oven roasted tomatoes chopped or jarred sun dried tomatoes drained and chopped
In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and butter and set aside. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and make sure the oven rack is placed in the middle of the oven. In a large pot, bring the water for the pasta to a boil. Stir in one tablespoon salt and the broccoli.  Cook the broccoli for 1 minute, until it is bright green but not longer or it will end up mushy in the end. Remove the broccoli with a slotted spoon to a plate. Return the water to a boil and add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 1-2 minutes less than how you would eat it normally (it will cook a bit more in the oven while baking). Drain the pasta in a colander and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Leave it in the colander and set it aside.

While the pasta is cooking, add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and return to medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook until softened and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and thyme; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the flour, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring constantly, until golden, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the broth, cream and milk; bring to a simmer, whisking often. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, about 6-7 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and  mozzarella.

Add the cooked pasta and broccoli to the sauce; stir to combine. Transfer the pasta mixture to the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with the bread crumb topping. Bake until the casserole is bubbling and the crumbs are lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

*The casserole can be prepared in advance with the following steps: after the broccoli is removed from the boiling water, plunge it into a bowl of ice water and cool completely. Assemble the casserole following the directions in the recipe. After the casserole is spread in the prepared baking pan, let it cool for 5-10 minutes before covering with plastic wrap and refrigerating for up to 8 hours. To bake, preheat the oven to 375 and bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Treehouse

Quote of the Day: This is what you shall do by Walt Whitman
"This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body."

"This is what you shall do..." by Walt Whitman, from the preface of Leaves of Grass. Public domain. Found on the Writer's Almanac on July 4, 2011.

Treehouses - not just for children, anymore!

I spent my holiday weekend with friends in their treehouse in the Northwoods. What a sweet hideaway it is! You couldn't find it without detailed directions.

Wouldn't you like to hang your hat here for a few days?

Part of my creative spirit searches for themes wherever I go. (Must be the drama girl inside me.) So, the hat you see in this photo and another more "manly" one gave us our theme song. When Dan put his hat on, I said it looked like a small sombrero, which prompted him, or Lisa, to do the "Mexican Hat Dance" tune - dadadadada-da, dadadadadada-da, and our theme song was born. This triggered the funny word for the weekend, "Yar." Which seemed to be a blend of cowboy and pirate. We were adventurers afterall.

A Girl

A pink and camo four-wheeler

And trails through the woods

Including the path to the outhouse.

Do you ever find yourself reading a book and the story seems to fit with your own experiences?  I've been reading the Abercrombie Trail series, by local author Candace Simar.  I was channeling my pioneer roots as I read about the settlers trying to make a go of it here in Minnesota in the 1800's with the harsh conditions, the bad blood and mistrust between the native tribes of the Sioux and Ojibwe, and the isolation that was felt especially strong by the women.

This is a land of rich soil and opportunity, clear, blue waters, and wildlife abundant.

Today, you have to travel far and remote to find unaltered shoreline and thriving wildlife.

The original People didn't understand why the Wasichu men came to the Leaf Country like a white blizzard from the East to chop up their land.

If only we had learned to share the bounty of this Earth, the beauty of God's creation, and respect each other's way of life.

The view from my treehouse nest.

Go. Create. Inspire! And, respect Mother Earth.

Journaling Prompt:  Go to the most natural environment near your home, take a walk, soak in what Mother Nature has given you, and write out all the sensory details and whatever inspiration you experience. Peace be with you.



Spelt Scones with Dried Tropical Fruit . . . Taking Spelt for a Spin!

I wasn't sure just how I was going to feel about these scones, never having used spelt before, but I'm  pleased to report that they exceeded all of my expectations. Strange word, spelt. What the heck is it anyway? Sounds like something you'd find piled on the ground in a greenhouse, doesn't it? "Just dump that load of spelt over there, right next to the cedar mulch."

The first thing one tends to hear about spelt flour, it seems to me, is that it's an ancient grain dating back to the 5th millennium BC and, secondly, that it's quite nutritious. Made from the whole grain, spelt flour is uniquely mild and subtly sweet. It works well in recipes mixed with some white flour, and it doesn't add nearly the same heaviness as typical whole-grain wheat flour.

Spelt's flavor doesn't come on strong. If regular whole wheat flour struts up to your taste buds like a muddy paratrooper, spelt flour saunters up slowly, like a waiter in a white jacket who doesn't want to interrupt the conversation.

I actually made two slightly different batches of scones using this recipe. First, the wedge-shaped scones that are pictured with chopped, dried, tropical fruits (kiwi, mango, papaya, and pineapple; I didn't end up liking the taste of the dried star-fruit, so I left that one out).

And then, pictured below, I made a  softer dough (I added in a bit more cream) to make drop scones; for those I used only dried, sweet, Michigan (of course!) cherries. I brushed cream on the top of all the unbaked scones and sprinkled them with sanding sugar. Both varieties were very good. All of my males (that would be the hubby, the almost-15-year-old, and the 18-year-old) liked them a lot.

Like all scones--well, all the scones I've ever had the pleasure to meet--these are definitely best the first day, as they tend to dry out quickly. Second day, they benefit from being warmed before serving. Warmth revives them.

About this recipe . . .

From the 2010 book, Good to the Grain, by Kim Boyce, this recipe is one of many from that source I'd love to try. Cleverly organized by flour type, it recently won the James Beard Award in the baking and dessert book category. I changed the recipe slightly (it originally included only currants, and wasn't patted out and baked in wedges, among other things), and reworded it to reflect exactly what I did.


Spelt Scones with Dried Tropical Fruit (Kiwi, Mango, Papaya, and Pineapple)

(For a printable version of this recipe, click here!)

Yield: 8 or more good-sized pieces, formed either as wedges (cut pie-style) or as drop scones

1 and 1/4 cups spelt flour (I used Bob's Red Mill brand.) 
1 cup all-purpose flour, unbleached
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar (Doesn't sound like much, but the sugar on the dried fruit, along with the fruit itself, lends sweetness as well.) 
1/2 tsp. coarse kosher salt

2 oz. cold unsalted butter (1/2 of one stick), cut into 1/2" chunks
1/2 cup (Or add a little more if you like!) mixture of chopped, dried, tropical fruits (I used chopped, dried kiwi, mango, papaya, and pineapple; or, try sweet dried cherries instead.)
1 and 1/2 cups heavy cream, plus a couple extra tablespoons for brushing on the unbaked scones

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, sift together the first five ingredients, putting back into the bowl anything that didn't sift through (like, perhaps, some of the kosher salt).

Toss the cold butter chunks into the bowl, and begin pinching the butter into the dry mix with your fingertips. Keep doing this until it's the texture of fine cornmeal (Or, if you're squeamish, do this with a hand-held pastry blender, or even an old-fashioned potato masher. I've done it all three ways for scones, and it always works!) 

Pour in all of the dried fruit and stir it in evenly. Make a well in the center and, if you want your dough to be quite moist for drop scones pour in all of the cream.

If you want your dough to be slightly firmer in order to pat out a circle and make wedges, hold back 3 to 4 Tbsp. of the heavy cream.

Stir just until the dry mixture is more or less evenly moistened.

For drop scones, simply drop 8 large spoonfuls onto your parchment covered baking sheet, being sure to leave adequate space between each one. (No need to tidy up each "drop" but you certainly can if you wish. Might want to flour your fingers first.) For wedge scones, first dust a sheet of parchment lightly with flour. Plop the entire amount of thick, doughy batter onto the center of the parchment, and flour your hands well. Pat the dough into a circle about 10" in diameter.

Using a sharp pizza/pastry wheel (or a very sharp chef's knife) dipped first in flour, quickly cut the circle into 8 wedges, pie fashion.

Using a thin metal spatula if needed, gently lift each wedge and place it evenly on the parchment lined baking sheet.

Using a pastry brush, lightly brush heavy cream onto the tops of the scones and then sprinkle them with coarse/sanding sugar (granulated sugar will do fine as well, but the coarser sugars look more sparkly once baked). 

Bake the scones at 400 degrees for approximately 20 minutes or so, until the scones are golden on top and bottom.

Let them cool a few minutes on a rack before diving in. (Excellent served warm with butter--you heard it from me.) Best eaten the day they're made.

(If you'd like to comment on this post, or to read any existing comments, click on the purple COMMENTS below!)

Stained Glass Jello and more 4th of July Recipes

Oh what can be better than a BBQ with great friends and family for the 4th of July?  Not much in book! 

This year I decided to make stained glass jello for the 4th of July.  SO MUCH FUN!  My kiddos loved the look and it was really easy.  Also don't forget to try out some of the other recipes below that I found while I was looking through other sites!

I'm linking this post, go check out all the other cool recipes!

Stained Glass Jello
Recipe Source: I have no idea, this stuff is all over the Internet!

4 small boxes (3 oz. each) of Jell-O or store brand "gelatin dessert" in different colors. (I used two boxes of raspberry and two boxes of blue berry flavor)

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin (that Knox stuff)

For each flavor, dissolve one box of jello in one cup of boiling water. Pour into a container and chill
until firm.  Don't do anything with the sweetened condensed milk and unflavored gelatin yet.

After chilling the jello cut it into small blocks. Carefully mix the blocks in a 9 x 13 pan.

In a separate bowl, sprinkle 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin into 1/2 cup cold water. After the gelatin blooms, add 1 1/2 cup boiling water and dissolve. Add the can of condensed milk. Stir and cool. Pour cooled milk mixture over jello and chill overnight.


Cut into blocks or shapes and serve!

4th of July Cupcakes by A Cook's Quest

 4th of July Cookie Cake by Plum Pudding

Flag Cake by Crafty Mama

4th of July Fruit Salad by Chico and Jo

Firecracker Whoopie Pies by Annies Eats

Summer Berry Trifle by Family Fun Go