I bottle red wine
1 cup Brandy
2 cinnamon sticks
2 limes
1 lemon
1 orange
3 tablespoons sugar
3 cups club soda

Sangria might be one of my favorite things in the entire world. It’s so delicious. When in Spain last year all I would do is drink this! I’m not trying to toot my own horn here… but I think this Sangria is just as good as when I was in Barcelona. To make this delicious drink mix together the red wine, brandy, cinnamon sticks, juice of two limes, one lemon, and one orange. I like to put the fruit in there after I juice them because the zest has just as much flavor as the juice! I muddle that with a wooden spoon and then add the sugar and top off with club soda. Mix together and let sit. The longer you let it sit the more flavorful it becomes, but in my house it doesn’t last long. Delicioso!

1 baguette (15 inches long)
5 large eggs
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 slices thinly sliced prosciutto (about 2 ounces)

My favorite meal of the day is definitely breakfast. Unfortunately who has time in the morning to whip up bacon, eggs, potatoes, pancakes, and fruit in the morning? Not me! Everyday eating the same old cereal really chaps my butt and thats why I came up with this. It’s so easy to make and you can eat it on the go! First thing you want to do is preheat your oven to 350*F. With a serrated knife slice 1/4 inch off the top and hallow out the bottom. Throw away the soft bread in the middle, keeping the top. Cut the top up and set aside. In a bowl mix together the eggs, lemon zest, milk, parsley, and parmesan. Season lightly with salt and pepper and stir in the bread pieces. Put your hallowed out baguette on a lined sheet pan. Line the inside of your bread with the prosciutto and pour your egg mixture into it. Put into the oven and let cook until the eggs are puffed and the egg is cooked through, about 35 minutes. Let cool for about a minute and slice into 2 inch pieces and serve! Yummy!! Take that cheerios…

8 slices White Cheddar Cheese
8 slices Gruyere Cheese
1/10 lb of proscuitto, sliced thin
1 Granny Smith apple, sliced thin
8 slices country bread
butter, for griddle pan

This grilled cheese is so delicious and so different than just using plain white bread with American cheese. Yuck. You have the sharpness of the cheddar, the smokiness of the gruyere, salty from the proscuitto, and sweetness from the apple slice. Preheat your griddle pan or saute pan on medium low. The first thing you want to do to make this delicious sandwich is put a layer of the cheddar, then some proscuitto, a couple slices of green apple, and some gruyere cheese. Top with another piece of bread. Put a little butter on the griddle and put the sandwich on. Let cook on each side about 4-5 minutes or until the bread is starting to turn golden brown and the cheese is melted. Take off the griddle and serve! That easy! Take that Krafts cheese..

Tomato Soup:

2 1/2 pound ripe tomatoes on the vine
4 large ripe tomatoes ( I like to use ugly and/or yellow)
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
5 cloves garlic
bunch of fresh basil
Extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
salt
pepper
creme fraiche, for serving

Chunky Croutons:

half loaf day old french bread, cut in cubes
olive oil
salt
pepper

One of my favorite things is the world is tomato soup. Unfortunately I’m a soup snob and Campbell’s “tomato soup” just doesn’t quite do it for me. I like a real tomato-y flavor that is fresh and actually tastes like tomatoes. One day I was at the farmers market and saw the most gorgeous tomatoes… ever since then I’ve been dying to make a good soup. It’s finally starting to cool down here in South Florida and I instantly was craving tomato soup so I came up with this recipe. Different tomatoes have different flavors so I like using as many different kinds as I can. This recipe is easy and perfect for a cold day. First thing you want to do is preheat your oven to 425*F. Chop the large tomatoes in quarters and the small tomatoes in half. Put the tomatoes in a large bowl along with the red pepper flakes, the basil (no need to chop it!), garlic that you smashed with your knife, salt, pepper, and give it a big drizzle of olive oil. Toss to mix everything together and place on a roasting pan or baking sheet. Set your timer for 15 minutes. While that is cooking make your croutons. Chunk your bread up by cutting or tearing and put into a bowl. Add salt and pepper and another big drizzle of olive oil. Toss to mix and put on a baking sheet. When you see you have about 8 minutes left on the time put the croutons in the oven. While those are cooking preheat a pot to medium high. Add some olive oil in the bottom and add the roughly chopped onion along with the balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt. Cook the onions, stirring, until they begin to caramelize. Once the tomatoes and croutons are done cooking take them out of the oven. Add the tomatoes to your pot and stir to combine. Working in batches ladle the tomatoes to a blender and blend until your desired consistency. I don’t like mine completely smooth so I just pulse it a bit. Once everything is blended check once more for seasoning. When you’re ready to serve put a few croutons in your bowl and ladle the soup on top and finish with a little dollop of creme fraiche! How easy is that? Delicious, healthy, homemade, andway better than Campbell’s. Enjoy!

Apples:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups peeled, cored, and sliced apples

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/14 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup vegetable shortening

vanilla ice cream

Ok, I wish I could take the credit for this delicious recipe but I can’t. It’s actually my best friend mom’s recipe! She is an amazing baker so when she told me she had a great recipe for me… I jumped on it. Well… she was right. This recipe is unreal. SO good and so easy. First thing you want to do is preheat your oven to 375*F. Mix together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and apples until all the apples are coated evenly. Put the apples into a butter 9×9 pan. Now for the topping. Combine brown sugar, flour, oats, and salt together. To that cut in, with your fingers, the butter and shortening until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over the apples and pop in the oven. Let cook for 35-40 minutes until the the topping is starting to get brown and the apples are cooked through. Once it’s ready let cool for a couple of minutes. Spoon the onto the plate and top with vanilla ice cream!! Delicious!!!! Hope you like it!

Balsamic Reduction:
1 cup balsamic vinaigrette
1/4 cup light brown sugar

Stuffed Plums:
20 dried plums (commonly known as prunes)
2 oz chevre (soft goat cheese)
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
salt
pepper
1/8 pound prosciutto, sliced thin
toothpicks

This is such a great recipe. So easy and so flavorful! This is a great appetizer to make if you’re having people over or going over to someone’s house. It’s a real show stopper! The first thing you want to do is make your balsamic reduction. In a small saucepan over medium heat cook your balsamic vinegar for 20 minutes. The balsamic will reduce by about half. After 20 minutes add the brown sugar and mix together. Let cook another 5 minutes and then turn off the heat. It will thicken as it cools. While that is cooling make your plums! Preheat your oven to 375*F. In a small bowl mix together your goat cheese, fresh thyme, salt, and pepper. Plums when they are dried naturally form a dent in the middle. Stuff the indent with the goats cheese mixture. Taking a slice of prosciutto, cut it in half, and wrap the stuff plum up like a little present. A delicious little present. Secure the prosciutto with a toothpick. Wrap them all up and put on a baking sheet. Pop them into the oven. Let them cook about 5 minutes or until the prosciutto is starting to crisp and the plum is getting warm inside. Once they are cooked put on a serving platter and with a spoon drizzle the delicious balsamic reduction over the delicious plum packages. That’s it!! Serve them while they’re warm. You might want to double or triple this recipe…. they’ll go fast. Hope you like it!

1 1/2 cups eggnog
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 loaf french bread, cut in 1 inch slices
Butter
Powdered Sugar (optional)

Eggnog. Quite possibly one of the most delicious parts of the Holiday season. Unfortunately most of the time it just sits in the refrigerator… but not anymore people! It’s time for this delicious drink to shine. I love breakfast. I love breakfast so much I literally could eat it for every meal of the day! Around the holidays everyone is trying to be festive and this is just another way to make breakfast special for yourself or for guests. Its so easy to make you won’t even believe it! The first thing you want to do is preheat your griddle or skillet to medium. In a bowl whisk together the eggnog, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg until all combined. Put in a shallow baking dish for easier dipping. Take your sliced bread of choice and put in the egg mixture. Let soak for about 2 minutes on each side to really get that eggnog flavor. Once both sides have soaked you need to butter up your griddle, or saute pan, so your french toast won’t stick. Put the bread on the griddle and let cook on each side for about 2 minutes. Once it’s ready I like to put a little bit of butter and some powdered sugar and you’re ready to go!! A very holiday delicious breakfast. I hope you like it!

Spiced Pecan Maple Syrup:
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups maple syrup
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoons Nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pumpkin Pancakes:
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch ground clove
pinch salt
1 cup milk
6 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg
Butter for griddle

This is the best pancake recipe. One thing I love about fall and winter so much is that I don’t have to have an excuse to put pumpkin in basically everything. Tis the season! I know that boxed pancake mixes are so easy but these are just as easy! You can do it!! First thing you want to do is make your syrup. In a small saucepan melt the butter. Add the maple syrup along with the spices, chopped pecans, and vanilla. Mix together and turn off while you’re getting your pancakes ready. You don’t want it to burn! Now its time for the pancakes. In a small bowl mix together all the wet ingredients like the milk, pumpkin puree, melted butter, and egg. In another bowl mix together the dry ingredients like the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, and salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix all together until the batter is smooth. Preheat your griddle or large skillet to medium heat. Melt a little butter on the griddle or saucepan and ladle the batter on. Let cook on each side for about 3 minutes. Once your ready to eat heat up the syrup and pour over the pancakes!! Now you’re ready to eat! The most delicious pumpkin pancakes with a spiced pecan maple syrup you’ve ever had! Enjoy!

1/2 oz Ambarula liquor
1/2 oz Kahula
1/2 oz Patron XO ( or any other coffee flavored alcohol)
1/2 oz Grand Marnier (or any other Orange Flavored Liquor)
1/2 oz Brandy
Fresh brewed coffee
Whipped Cream (optional)

My mom use to love making this for people when we entertained. It looks like just an innocent cup of coffee… but its dangerous. Dangerously good. What you want to do is in a large coffee mug put the Ambarula, Kahula, Patron XO, Grand Marnier, and Brandy. Fill to the top with hot fresh coffee. Stir to mix all together. Add some whipped cream on the top and you have on hell of a coffee drink! Enjoy!!

Thats what I’m thankful for. What are you thankful for? I hope everyone has a happy, delicious, and safe Thanksgiving!!