Food Quotes: Mariska Hargitay

"Chocolate is the first luxury. It has so many things wrapped up in it: deliciousness in the moment, childhood memories, and that grin-inducing feeling of getting a reward for being good."

"But there does seem to be a magical component to a good plate of mac and cheese that can cure whatever my current ailment might be."

"Survivors have had to experience some of the worst that life has to offer. In contrast, we have seen so often on our Joyful Heart Foundation retreats how powerfully healing a meal can be when it is prepared with love and shared in a community. The experience of being cared for is profound, and it nourishes the soul as much as the food does the body. The act of gathering together to eat doesn't make wounds disappear, but it does create a safe space where those wounds can be tended with love."

“I’m just grateful that my body is healthy. I want to be on this planet for a long time, so I try to eat things that make me feel good and make me strong. But I also love food and I love life: Some days having that extra bowl of pasta and a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup means more to me than being thin.”

"I was nursing, so I tried to focus on how everything I was eating was going into August's body. But as soon as I stopped, it was Gummi Bears by the mouthful!" 

"Eating. Especially if it's not my turn to do the dishes."

"I was on the Amalfi Coast one summer, and a friend ordered a caprese salad at a restaurant on the beach called La Conca del Sogno. I took a bite of a tomato, and suddenly I was eating Italy—the sunshine, the ocean, Rome, Tuscany, the cliffs in Sicily, and all the rest of it—in a single bite. The meal couldn't have been simpler, but it was sublime."

"I'm not good with no. You say I can't have a steak? Watch me eat this steak." 

"We share [the cooking]. My husband makes the best salads ever. And I cook Italian. We went to Italy and ate at the same place every night; their pasta with tomato sauce was crazy good. I hammered the restaurant guys down. I said, "What part 'I'm not leaving until you teach me to make this pasta' do you not understand?" 

"I try to eat well, but sometimes I run out of energy and eat anything. I want my Nacho Cheesier Doritos. Isn't that the cheesiest? Oh and dark chocolate. I love Scharffenberger."

"It's about a balance diet. And for me, it's also about a little extra dark chocolate. They call it 'the healthy chocolate'. No seriously. A girl's gotta leave the room for chocolate, right?"

"I drink a lot of water. I try to breathe, I hold my breath when I'm stressed, and I do everything in moderation. I know I'm somebody who needs Dark Chocolate in my life, as much as I try to give up sugar." 

Favorite ice cream: chocolate
Favorite junk food: 70% dark chocolate

My Ultimate Caprese Pasta

There are several recipes and variety of this dish- it's classic Italian flavors: tomatoes, basil, mozzarella with pasta. However I decided to kinda twist it up to make it my own. 

I made the classic basil pesto with some twists to the ingredients without changing the recipe: 
-about 2 cups of basil
-instead of about 2 cloves of garlic, I used two heads of garlic (it sounds A LOT, doesn't it?) and roasted it in a 425 degree oven for 40 minutes in wrapped foil. That helps mellow that sharp bitter (yet yummy- I love garlic but it can be very strong and overpowering). Let cool before handling it for the pesto.
-toasted 1/3 of pine nuts
-salt & pepper
-blend everything well in a blender or Cuisinart while streaming in about 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil.
-stop blending to add 1/3 cup of grated Parmesan cheese before blending again until mixed in well

As for the tomatoes
-10 (you can do 12) of plum tomatoes, ends cut off, cut in half and seeded and scoop out the pulp. In a bowl, salt and pepper the tomatoes with EVOO and mix around with your hands so coated evenly. Set in a single layer on a baking sheet (lined with aluminium foil) cut side up and roast in the 425 degree oven (after you roast the garlic) for 35 minutes. After out of the oven, cut the tomatoes in quaters before adding to the bowl for the pasta dish
*while the tomatoes are roasting, that's when I make the pesto together

Mini mozzarella balls
option to cut in half. If you can't find mini mozzarella balls, you can buy a ball and cut it to bite size pieces

Penne pasta
reserve about a cup of pasta water to help thin out the basil pesto if necessary if too thick

In a serving bowl, mix together the penne pasta, basil pesto and roasted tomatoes. Add the mini mozzarella to stir it in the last minute before serving

(explanation regarding the below tags of this post- tomato is technically a fruit, which is why fruit is listed instead of being under vegetables)

Fig & Cheese Crostini

I had quite a lot of homemade fig jam left when I made Giada De Laurentiis' breakfast panini and was wondering what to do with it when it suddenly hit me: a crostini! Lately, The Cheese Course has been my favorite restaurant to go to where they sell lots of cheese (as well as salads, sandwiches, soups). I had tasted this cheese called cambozola- which is like brie and gorgonzola had a baby together- it's very tangy with a punch in a gut with a sweet buttery comforting taste. They also had baguettes available so I helped myself to one. I drizzled honey on the top. Delicious!

Turkey-Loaf with Mash Potatoes

There was ground turkey in the refrigerator and I was wondering what to do with it? Make burgers? Been there done that. I wanted to do something different and the idea of meatloaf came to mind. I did some internet research and found some ideas of what to do with it.

1 small onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
saute in little EVOO (you don't want it TOO wet) and S&P for 5-7 minutes
let cool

1 lb of ground turkey
about a cup of bread crumbs (I had Italian style on hand)
1 egg
S&P
ground dried sage

preheat oven at 425 degrees
combine everything in the bowl and on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and shape the turkey mixture into a loaf. Bake for 50-55 minutes

I made mash potatoes to go alongside with it.

My Kind Of Salad

Honestly I rarely make salads. Don't get me wrong, I do love salads but I usually go for the ones that are already made. The salad I really like to make is simply tomatoes, cucumbers, garlic and EVOO- yummy! But last night my household wanted a salad so I gave them a salad!

Salad:
-Lettuce (Romaine)
- 1 Tomato
-3 Carrots
-Red Pepper
-Chick peas (drained)
-Dried cranberries (a handful or two)
-3 celery

Dressing:
-2 spoonfuls of dijon mustard
-2 tablespoons of honey
-a little sprinkle of garlic powder
-lemon juice from 1 lemon
-balsamic vinegar (eyeball- about a shot or two)
-EVOO (eyeballing while whisking it in)
-S&P

Roasted Veggie Pasta

1 can of corn
1 yellow bell pepper chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped
2-3 carrots diced
basil, sliced

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees
Arrange veggies on baking sheet lined with aluminum foil with salt, pepper, garlic powder and EVOO
roast them for about 20-30 minutes until golden brown at the edges

I made Parmesan sauce (heavy/whipping cream, butter and cheese) to mix in with the pasta and veggies

Cut basil in thin strips to mix in at the last minute/garnish

Any short pasta would do

Soup & Sandwich Dinner

Lately I've been welcoming the idea of soup and sandwich for dinner quite often. Both recipes are from Giada De Laurentiis's cookbook, Weeknights with Giada
Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Bacon
Ham, Cheese & Apple Panini

Giada's Official Website