Daily Notes

Cantaloupe, Avocado and Mozzarella Plate With Honey-Lemon Dressing
By Anne Dessens

We've previously established that cantaloupe or melon goes very well with savory ham slices. But have we discussed added slices of ripe avocado? Here is a lovely summer plate that just comes together when you've got a few ripe fruits and some bits and pieces lingering in the fridge.
Avocados go well with savory items like ham or tortilla chips. They add 'meatiness' to Californian-style vegetarian sandwiches but they also match up perfectly with fruits, such as banana and peaches. I love avocado for this versatility. Drizzle soft, ripe avocado slices with a bit of honey and add a dash of sea salt. Hmm! So why not add it to my starter course salad plate with the remaining slices of cantaloupe?
I will say that this plate was born of one of those almost panicky moments where I realize I don't have enough of one item for the entire family's first course. Three small slices of melon for 4 ravenous, cantaloupe-craving family members could well start WW III. And what about that single leftover slice of ham that the dog's secretly hoping that no one will discover in the back of the fridge?
So that is how this dish came together: a bit of ham, a few slices of melon and to fill in, a very ripe avocado and some mozzarella cheese for texture and color. Drizzle with a lovely sweet and tangy olive oil, honey and fresh lemon juice dressing, sprinkle with Fleur de sel sea salt and dust with freshly cracked 5-peppercorn peppers. Chill the plates for 15 minutes before serving when the heat is sweltering and table attendants are looking slightly wilted at the edges.
You could bump up the portions of this salad and add some bread plus a slice of peach or blackberry pie for dessert and call it a cool summer lunch.
Cantaloupe, Avocado and Mozzarella salad plate with lemon-honey dressing
4 slices of melon or cantaloupe

1 avocado, ripened

4 slices of ham, any type

2 ounces fresh mozzarella packed in water

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

juice from 1/2 a lemon
Slice avocado and mozzarella; arrange on individual plates. Garnish with melon and ham slices. Whisk together olive oil, honey, lemon juice until frothy and creamy in color. Drizzle over each plate. Dust and sprinkle each plate with fleur de sel sea salt and freshly cracked pepper. Serve.
"Anne Dessens is the founder of AnneDessens.com - your one-link to everything 'self-improvement': diet, recipes, running & walking, deep breathing, success, journaling, energy and universal laws.
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Azya Wine and Chocolate Bar NYC

Wine Bars of New York

Author: annamark367

New York City is the best place to rock on at any time. The people who are addicted to drink It is food hub and a paradise for them. Wine, brew and all other types all these things are available for them at any time. It is very difficult to count number of bars in NY City. World's best collections of wine are provided by NY City. You find out if you try one of them. They are serving their customers 27/4 like the some of the airports, tunnels subways because people does not sleep much in this city so it's not confirm when they want to drink so the tavern are opened every single hour of the day.

Ayza Wine & Chocolate Bar provides you something more than drink. They serve a heady boost with addictive chocolate. For NY City it is the best place for dating. If you want amazing food mixed with fabulous drinking experience Metro Café & Wine Bar is the perfect answer for you. Over 100 lilac and 21 flights this place has a large collection of mauve for you to choose.
WineBar is another excellent hot spot for mauve. Customers who have exquisite plum tastes this place has plethora of mauves comfortable and friendly environment for them. If you visit that place that they have something that is miss place for the other places in these day, rare peace and stillness. If you want drown your worries in peace than it is the best place. Another stunning lavender place of New York City that has an incredible outdoor seating with fresh air to breathe in and take heady sips of amethyst is Cavatappo.
For the extra taste of pleasure this place serves hot grill in additions as compared to the other places.
Morrell Wine Bar & Café is no doubt most elegant amethyst tavern of New York City. With 50 violet glass options and 2000additional mauve flavors the place has extensive lilac selections for you.
Felice Wine Bar is one of the many bars in NYC that that serve pure and finest collection of Italian lilac. They served that best violet in very stylish surrounded cozy. Uncorked mauve , Roses, Terroir, and Pudding Stones are one of the Other places to visit in New York City, if you want to have a sip of violet and knowledge complete heaven.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-tips-articles/wine-bars-of-new-york-4774628.html
About the Author

Anna Lily is the resource writer for Newyork-Luxuryhotels.US. A website dedicated to provide you information about the Best New York Hotels and Attractions.

A Complete Olive Garden Dinner You Can Make at Home - Salad, Chicken Scampi and Tiramisu

Author: KathyMerca

OLIVE GARDEN SALAD
Ingredients

1 bag American Blend Dole Salad
4 - 5 slices Red Onion
4 - 6 Black Olives
2 - 4 Banana Peppers
1/2 cup Croutons
1 small Tomato Quartered
Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions

Chill one salad bowl in freezer for at least 30 minutes.
Place bag of salad in bowl.
On top of the lettuce put red onion, black olives, banana peppers, tomatoes, and croutons.
Add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese if you like.
Add plenty of Olive Garden Salad Dressing.

DRESSING
Ingredients

1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1/3 cup White Vinegar
1 teaspoon Vegetable Oil
2 tablespoons Corn Syrup
2 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese
2 tablespoon Romano Cheese
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Salt - or one clove garlic minced
1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Parsley Flakes
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a blender until well mixed.

OLIVE GARDEN CHICKEN SCAMPI
White Sauce Base:
First you need to make the WHITE SAUCE BASE:
Ingredients

1 Tablespoon Butter
2 Tablespoons Flour
Milk

Directions

Melt Butter in nonstick skillet.
Add Flour and cook for 2 minutes on medium heat.
Slowly pour in milk, stirring constantly to get rid of lumps. When you have added the right amount of milk, you should have like a white gravy consistency.
Set aside.

SCAMPI SAUCE:
Ingredients

2 sticks Butter
2 tablespoons crushed Garlic
2 tablespoons Chicken Stock
3/4 cup Chablis or other Dry White Wine
1 cup Water
1/4 cup White Sauce
1 teaspoon crushed Red Pepper
2 tablespoons Italian Seasoning
Salt & Black Pepper to taste

Directions

Melt butter over a slow heat.
Add garlic, italian seasoning and crushed red pepper.
Saute for about 2 minutes on low heat.
Add wine, water and chicken base. Stir well.
Add the white sauce and stir until slightly thickened.

THE FIXIN'S
Ingredients

1/2 package of Angel Hair Pasta, Cooked
3 Bell Peppers, thinly sliced (Make it pretty -- use one each of red, green and yellow)
1 thinly sliced Red Onion
10 whole Garlic Cloves
Enough Chicken to feed you and your guests. The amount, pieces and style here is up to you. Use what ever you like.

Directions

Put the garlic cloves in a small nonstick skillet with some oil and saute them on low for about 20 minutes. Just put the lid on the skillet and let them cook. They should be golden and creamy when they are done.
Saute the peppers and onions for about 5 minutes.
Cook the chicken to your preference.
Add Chicken to skillet with peppers.
Add Sauce and mix until the sauce is reheated.
Throw in garlic cloves.

TIRAMISU
Ingredients

1 Sponge Cake (10-12 inch) -- about 3" tall
3 ounces strong Black Coffee
3 ounces Brandy or Rum
1 1/2 pounds Cream Cheese or Mascarpone -- room temperature
1 1/2 cups superfine/powdered Sugar
unsweetened Cocoa Powder (for dusting)

Directions

Cut across middle of sponge cake forming two layers, each about 1 1/2 inches high.
Blend coffee and brandy.
Sprinkle enough of mixture over bottom half of cake to flavor it strongly. Don't moisten cake too much or it may collapse on serving.
Beat room- temperature cheese and 1 cup sugar until sugar is completely dissolved and cheese is light and spreadable. Test for sweetness during beating, adding more sugar if needed.
Spread cut surface of bottom layer with half of the cheese mixture.
Replace second layer and top this with remaining cheese mixture.
Sprinkle top liberally with sifted cocoa.
Refrigerate cake for at least 2 hours before cutting and serving.

Mark Hester runs the http://bestcopycatrestaurantrecipes.blogspot.com/ where this recipe was featured along with the make-at-home recipes from all your favorite restaurants including Applebees, KFC, Olive Garden, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and Macaroni Grill.

If you love the eat check out his other food sites http://www.weekendgrillers.com/ where the weekend griller in all of us can learn the tricks and techniques from the Master of BBQ and Grilling and http://roadfoodblog.blogspot.com/ for the best choices when you are traveling around the USA.

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About the Author

Explore the Delicious World of Italian Desserts

Author: Paolo Donati

Everyone loves dessert, and that is especially true when it comes to Italian desserts. Italy is known for its delicious delicacies and dishes, and their desserts are no different. As a people, the Italians are known for creating rich and beautiful creations. If you are not familiar with Italian desserts, you are in for quite a sweet treat.
The truth is that there are a plethora of different dessert varieties that come from Italy. In fact, the options are so numerous that it is really impossible to list all of them. However, there are a few favorites that nearly everyone has at least heard of, even if they haven't had the pleasure of tasting yet.
Perhaps the most commonly sampled Italian dessert is gelato. You've heard the old saying "you scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream." Well, if people scream for ice cream then they must be standing up and cheering when it comes to gelato. Gelato is the ice cream of Italy. It is a cool frozen treat that is smooth, creamy and infused with mouthwatering flavors. These flavors can be somewhat traditional like chocolate and vanilla, but they can also be rather obscure like pistachio, walnut, and tiramisù. What makes gelato really unique is that it is made by true Italian food artisans, using fresh ingredients from fruit to milk.
Speaking of tiramisù, it is another one of the delicious desserts that Italy has created. The name tiramisù translates to mean "lift me up," and the taste of this dish certainly does. It consists of delicate ladyfingers that have been soaked in coffee that are carefully layered with a Mascarpone cheese mixture that has been mixed with a coffee flavored liqueur. Finally, it is sprinkled with a flavor rich cocoa powder.
During the holiday season you may have seen Panettone, but if you haven't you are really missing out. Panettone typically adorns an Italian Christmas table. It is a cake filled with candied fruits and raisins. The dough itself needs to rise for about 20 hours before you can put it into the oven to bake. Typically, you place it into a dome shaped pan so that it will form that same type of shape making it a festive and beautiful addition to any holiday table.
Another fantastically famous Italian dessert is a Cannoli (or Cannolo in singular form). Basically, this is a tube form of pastry dough that is then fried to a golden brown. The pastry tube is then filled with a delicious cream made of sweet ricotta cheese. The ends of the cheese mixture are dressed with candied fruit or with small chocolate chips.
These are just a few examples of why Italian desserts have become so popular. With the tantalizing flavors, textures, and appearances it is no wonder that people flock to these dishes. The most exciting, thought, is that these are just a few of the delicious dishes waiting for you to discover in the world of Italian desserts. As per many Italian dishes, the regional variety and diversity of Italian desserts is often unknown abroad.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/desserts-articles/explore-the-delicious-world-of-italian-desserts-4682521.html
About the Author

Paolo Donati is an expert in authenic Italian gourmet food products. He shares information and writes about his passion for Italian cuisine and local Italian food producers at DiscoverItalianFood.com. Learn more about authentic Italian desserts at his Web site.

Special Event Planning Tip: CupcakesBy Daniel Gans

When you think of cupcakes, you might envision what I do. Cheap frosting piled upon dry cake that was placed on your table during the holidays while the adults got pumpkin pie and delicious desserts. Who would even bother serving them? They just wind up in the garbage can along with your wasted money. Not anymore!
In the past few years, cupcakes have earned their place at the adult table, making the transition from child's birthday parties to weddings and corporate events. Why you ask? Simply put: they allow freedom of choice and they are less inexpensive than their towering counterparts. Plus, who doesn't look good eating a cupcake?
These days, more and more brides are opting for cupcake displays instead of the traditional wedding cake. They allow the guests easier access to the sweet treats while providing more variety. It's hard for a cake to house six different flavors, but cupcakes can pack a wallop of flavors, especially if done right. Gone are the days of waxy frosting and sandy cake creations and in are the gourmet cupcake: premium ingredients (such as Madagascar Vanilla and high quality dark chocolate), fresh baked and portable. Cupcakes also allow you to cater to individuals who have food allergies or preferences; many bakeries offer dairy free, vegan options. Brides are even using them as party favors, placing them in inexpensive gift boxes to send home with guests.
Cupcakes are really simple and cheap to make. If you are cost conscious, like many people are these days, cupcakes offer pint size sugar fixes without sacrificing. On average, cupcakes can cost up to 50% less than a cake. Some other benefits that are often overlooked? They are much easier to transport, making delivery costs less in some places and they are great on short notice. Friends dropping by for dessert or coffee tonight? No problem. Everyone loves a great cupcake!
So the next time you are planning a get together, try looking up a local bakery that offers these treats in foodie pleasing flavors. In Orange County, my personal favorites are the ever-popular Sprinkles in Newport Beach, Casey's Cupcakes in Laguna Beach and Riverside (inside The Mission Inn), and The Perfect Circle Cupcakery in Old Towne Orange. Each one even has seasonal flavors, including pumpkin and candy cane, plus a few unexpected ones like banana and orange flavors. Perfect for those last minute holiday get-togethers!!
Daniel Gans is a part time event planning consultant for Big Day in Style events in Orange County California.

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The history of Sorrento lemon

Author: simona

Undisputed king of the typical products of Sorrento is without doubt the lemon of Sorrento that represents the Sorrento peninsula since 1500 when a community of Jesuits began to cultivate the lands of a monastery located between Sorrento and Massa Lubrense. Hence the name of the two main varieties of lemons: Oval of Sorrento and Massese.
Testimony of these early crops of lemons are some mosaics and paintings found in Pompeii an Herculaneum that represent lemons with the same characteristics, the same shape and same color of lemons cultivated today in the surrentine citrus groves.
Even the lemon tree represented in the House of the Orchard at Pompeii attests to the presence of these crops in the Sorrento peninsula already in the I a.c century.
It is in 1800, however, that the cultivation of lemons starts to expand and begin shipments worldwide, so that the lemons of Sorrento are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. This is thanks to the tenacity and ability of agricultural producers, but also the quality and goodness of product.
The Mediterranean climate of the Amalfi-Sorrento Coast, the conformation of the land and soil type make it possible to produce a unique product of its kind. Moreover, the quality of lemons Sorrento is further enhanced by the production techniques used for cultivation, the famous "pagliarelle", straw mats supported to wooden poles to cover the foliage of trees and protect them by the cold and by the wind.
The Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) "Limone di Sorrento" was approved in 2000 and must be cultivated in all municipalities of the Sorrento peninsula: Massa Lubrense, Meta, Piano di Sorrento, Sant'Agnello, Sorrento, Vico Equense, as well as the island of Capri, with the two common Capri and Anacapri. The Lemon of Sorrento PGI is elliptical and symmetric and of medium-large size, has a skin of medium thickness and of the citrine yellow colour, straw yellow pulpe with juice high acidity.
Among the specialties of Sorrento lemons we suggest to taste lemon olive oil, limoncello, the lemon marmalade. Lemon and orange olive oil, oil flavored with products of Sorrento can also be purchased online thanks to e-commerce specialized in the sale of olive oil of sorrento.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/food-and-beverage-articles/the-history-of-sorrento-lemon-4692562.html
About the Author

simona

Shesdaily's Favorite Easter Wines

When it comes to wine and choosing the appropriate bottle it isn't always easy. There is much to consider: taste, quality, color, style. Most importantly you must ask yourself : " what you am I serving for dinner".?

We' ve paired one of our favorite bottles of wine for each main course that is commonly served for an Easter dinner.

If you are serving Ham we suggest Hahn Winery Pinot Noir 2009. A ruby red wine with distinctive aromas of balck cherry, cola and sweet oat. Enhanced by rich flavors of ripe berries, vanilla and spice. It's smooth and silky! This wine can also be paired with a variety of dishes such as: wild mushroom risotto, roasted shallots, duck or rack of lamb.

If you are serving Lamb Roast we suggest Trivent Eolo Ultra Preminum Reserve Malbec 2007.

It's purple vintage red tones unfolds layers of aromas including ripe cherry, smoky coconut and a touch of blueberry jam. This particular wine is bold and sweet due to it's richness of fruit flavors.

Finally if you are serving BBQ Chicken we would love to suggest Seven Hills Winery Malbec 2007. Another vintage with a deep purple, magenta color and a scent of passion fruit, blueberry pie and hints of floral and spice. It is bright and silky. This particular wine is barrel aged in fine Hungarian oaks which allows to enhance the wine's silky mouth feel.

Happy Easter!!

ShesDaily.com