Waffle Ice Cream Sandwiches

I made Waffles for Sunday Brunch again, but just a few too many.  That’s alright, I simply freeze the leftovers for later, as in later that night for dessert.

My DH grew up eating Waffle Ice Cream Sandwiches at various locations back East.  They use Neapolitan Ice Cream in a brick.  Remember those square blocks of Ice Cream in cardboard containers?  Yup, cut those into slices and place between 2 toasted Waffles, dust with Powdered Sugar and you’ve got a childhood memory in your hand.

Oops, I forgot the Powdered Sugar

I have a heck of a time finding that kind of Ice Cream any more, but we do love Tillamook, any flavor will do really.  This fine Sunday evening, it was Marionberry Pie, oh my gravy all over my two scoops rice (that’s OMG! in my world).

DELICIOUS!!

What I’ve Been Up To

SO, I’ll tell you, the reason that I’ve not been around is that DH and I have been so very busy moving into our new home.  We sold our home and purchased a new-build home, very exciting. While our home was being built, we rented an apartment, fully furnished, but I didn’t have all of my kitchen toys, though we got by 😉  So here is a small portion of meals.

ENJOY!

Oven BBQ Chicken

Chicken with 40, yes I said fourty cloves of garlic

Beef Stew and Rice

Butternut Squash soup

Portuguese Sausage Stuffing topped with a basted Egg

My own blend of Dry Rub over some boneless Pork Chops, on the grill with a side of Trader Joe’s Hatch Chile Mac `n Cheese

Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry over steamed White Rice

Grilled Cheese Burgers with the works, French Fries and BEER!

Another Sunday Brunch, Fresh Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes, BACON and dices Asian Pear

Fresh Blueberry Crumb Cake ala Martha Stewart

Frittata with the leftover Italian Sausage mixture

Celleantani with Sweet Italian Sausage, Red Bell Peppers, Onion, Olive Oil and LOADS of Garlic

Sunday Brunch Shared

You know that we love our Sunday Brunch, well, today’s meal was provided by Mrs. Landlord and Mrs. Dear Friend.

Our new landlord was telling me about these awesome Blue Corn Meal Pancakes that she makes and looky what appeared in the dumb waiter for us this morning!  DH takes a bite and says, “What’s this called again?  That’s pretty good.”

To round out our repast, Mrs. DF had sent over some of her organic Chicken Eggs, always a winner.  Throw in some REAL Maple Syrup, a cuppa Joe, a few Turkey Sausages and a bowl of diced Cantaloupe.  As Mrs. Landlord says, we share with each other our bounty; life is good.

Mahalo, thanks ladies.

Sunday Brunch Bumped WAY UP!

I’m pretty sure I’ve shared with everyone that my husband and I love our Sunday Brunch.  99.9% of the time it’s at home with me cooking.  One of the food forums that I participate in has a challenge each month with a different theme.  I racked my brain for something to enter when one Sunday I found myself making this:

Scratch made Buttermilk Pancakes stuffed with homemade Chunky Apple Sauce, topped with Caramel Sauce, chopped Pecans and a dollop of whipped Cream.

Turkey Piggys in a Blanket, with a drizzle of warmed homemade Blackberry Jam.

I make Chunky Apple Sauce all the time for my Mom … and the jam, well, the last time we went to see my  Mother, we brought back a MESS of fresh Blackberries … Oh my gravy all over my two scoops rice (that’s OMG! In my world), they’re both so good!

What an amazing Sunday Brunch.  Did I mention that we shared these two plates …

Discovering New Places To Eat Out, Olde World Bagels and Market

Part of living in a new place is discovering new eateries.  Our new landlord had pointed us in the direction of a terrific bagel shop in town, Olde World Bagels and Market.  It’s a bit off the path, but we found it, twice!

The first visit was kinda of like a meet and greet for us, we bought 3 plain bagels; that should tell the tale.  YES IN DEED!  Very good!  So we returned for a full blown meal.  An early breakfast was in order a few days later, in which we ordered each a Bacon Egg and Cheese Bagel, mine on the Herbs de Provence bagel with Cheddar and DH had his on a plain Bagel with Swiss Cheese. Sorry, but I didn’t snap a photo, next time, because there will be a next time.

BUT WAIT!

We also took home a baker’s dozen of assorted flavored bagels for later.

AW, Come On MAN!

The following morning it was a plain bagel, toasted, with fried Taylor’s Pork Roll if you’re from New jersey or Taylor’s Ham if you’re from Pennsylvania… but I digress … I added a slice of Swiss Cheese melted it on top.

BOY HOWDY!  Them’s some good eats!

Easter Grindz

About three days before Easter, my husband asked me, “Are you making Easter Bread like my Dad did?”

Uh, no.  I don’t have that recipe, unfortunately I never got to meet my Mother or Father-in-law; they both had passed away before my husband and I found each other later in life.

Yeah sure, I could look the recipe up on the WWW, but that wouldn’t be the same as what my FIL would have made.  So instead, I made Frittata in the “style of my in-laws”.

It’s not really a recipe, but something that I throw together.

My Frittata

8 Eggs

2 Tbsp. Cream or Half and Half, whatever you put in your coffee

2 pinches of Kosher Salt

Freshly ground Black Pepper to taste

3 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese, grated and divided

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

2 Tbsp. Ricotta Cheese

2 Tbsp. Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

Preheat the oven to 350⁰.

In a bowl, beat together the first 5 ingredients.

Heat an 8 inch non-stick oven proof pan with Olive Oil over medium low heat.

Add in your choice of goodies:

Italian Sausage

Breakfast Sausage

Bacon

Ham

Pancetta

Sweet Bell Peppers

Onions

… you get the idea.

I used Pancetta, Sweet Bell Peppers and Onions in our Easter Frittata.

Sauté your goodies to the desired doneness.

Drain off any excess oil.

Pour in your egg mixture; dollop in small pieces of Ricotta cheese, followed by the Mozzarella cheese and a tablespoon of reserved grated Parm.  Let the mixture cook, undisturbed, just until the edges set.  Bake for 15 minutes.  The center should still be a little loose when you carefully remove the pan.  Let it rest for about 5 minutes, leaving a towel or hot pad draped over that screaming hot handle.

This dish is nice hot or at room temperature, perfect for a crowd at brunch.  This recipe would easily serve 4.

Very yummy!

Ya know… I’ve never had a Peeps® before, really!

Can you see that I bit the head off first?

… and I don’t think I will again, ACK!

We skipped lunch, I guess because we ate too much candy!

Now, dinner was a whole different ballgame.

I’m pretty sure we’ve had this before, but it makes for an excellent holiday meal.

Boar’s Head® Sweet Slice Ham, just warmed through in a very hot pan, roasted fresh Asparagus with Olive Oil, granulated Garlic and S&P; then let’s not forget my husband’s favorite holiday bread, Pillsbury® Pop and Fresh Crescent Rolls.  Pretty easy-peasy meal actually.

Enjoy!

Start Your Day Right With Breakfast

Oh my gravy all over my two scoop rice (that’s OMG! in my world) !! THIS my friends, is how we do breakfast in Hawaii, oh yeah.  SPAM!!

Now, there is a way to doing this, believe it or not.  I like to slice our Spam® on the thick side, so I cut that beautiful hunk-o-goodness into 6 pieces.  Next, a touch of oil in a non-stick pan heated to about medium-high.  Sear each side to a lovely golden-brown crispiness, we like crisp, and serve with steamed white (or brown if you must) “stick rice” along side eggs done to your own preference.  For the added local-style, sprinkle some furikake over your rice (and eggs if you wish) with a drizzle of shoyu, Aloha brand low sodium, please.  Oh and don’t forget the Guava Juice too…

MMM!

This is the way to my home-sick-Island-gal’s heart, baby… and can you see what’s in the background of this photo?  Yupper, that’s Diamond Head.

A hui hou, until we meet, ALOHA