Cool Summer Appetizer {Prosciutto w/cantaloupe/honey dew melon and fresh mozzarella cheese}

Summer is almost here and with summer comes entertaining to include backyard BBQs.  My kids and I went to the library recently to sign up for their summer book club reading.  I picked two books both by Williams-Sonoma.  One was Outdoor Entertaining and the other one was Essentials of Mediterranean Cooking.  I love looking at different cookbooks and trying new recipes.  I am especially drawn to books and magazines that include pictures of the recipe.   When we have guest over, I want to entertain them.  I don’t want to be in the kitchen all day long, which takes away from entertaining.  A cool yet flavorful dish you can whip up in no time is prosciutto with cantaloupe/honey dew melon and fresh mozzarella cheese.  While staying in Italy we were always served family style but these can easily be put on skewers and served individually.  All you need is:

Cantaloupe/Honeydew melon

Prosciutto

Mozzarella (the pearl mozzarella balls work great with this recipe if you can find them)

Olive oil

Basil (I love to experiment with different herbs so try some thyme also)

Salt

Pepper

If you have a melon baller start by scooping the cantaloupe into balls, take the prosciutto and randomly place around the cantaloupe balls.  (I am a big believer in you eat with your eyes so presentation is a big thing for me).  Next randomly place the mozzarella balls around the serving tray.  Once you have these ingredients in place sprinkle olive oil and finish up by sprinkling with kosher or sea salt, fresh ground pepper and basil (you can either tear or chiffonade the basil).

This is such a great appetizer that is perfect for summer entertaining and I know your guest will love them too.

 Buon Appetito

{Kitchen} Freezer Cooking

Once upon a time I would make a weekly menu for the family and this is how I planned my grocery shopping.  Those were the best days because we knew exactly what we were having each day no questions ask.  Somehow I have fallen by the wayside but I will get back on track soon.  For the last few days, I have been waiting until the afternoon and asking myself, “what are we going to eat tonight?”  I start looking through the hundreds of cookbooks and magazines that I have and nothing is really popping out at me.  Then I look on the internet for quick meals, and different recipes and nothing there is really popping out.  I know that I have so many under 30 minute meals but I will tell you from start to finish all of them are OVER 30 minutes.  Most of the times if I do see a recipe that I want to make, there are so many ingredients involved and most of them I do not have on hand and.... another trip to the grocery store.

Tired of going through the same situation every day, today I did a little “freezer cooking.”   In the February edition of Martha Stewart’s Living magazine she has a great recipe for a Ground-Meat Mix.  I took the base of the recipe added some Italian spices and parmesan reggiano cheese and made Italian meatballs.  I bought a cute little meat baller scoop years ago (but I added the same meat baller scoop that I have to my Amazon widget below just in case you are looking for one) so I had 62 cute meatballs. 

I put them on a baking tray in a big Ziploc bag so that they would not lose shape and once frozen, I took them off of the baking sheet and into the bag.  When I can’t think of what to have for dinner, I can easily make spaghetti with meatballs or use them as an appetizer .

The next recipe, I have been making for about a year on a regular basis because it is that good.  It is another Martha Stewart recipe.  It is Baked Penne with Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes.  This recipe makes enough for two batches.  Now, Martha Stewart states that you can cook one now and save the other for later.  The first one that I make never tastes as good as the one that I freeze.  I think that it is because the flavors have time to “marry” when you freeze them as opposed to when you first make the dish.  I use Martha’s recipe as a base but I always have to go a step further.  For example, I use more chicken breast, and instead of using just salt and pepper, I also use Italian seasonings which really wakes the chicken up.  I also use a provolone/mozzarella mix because while staying in Italy the provolone by itself was very pungent to me.  

 This dish is perfect with a salad and garlic bread.  I have popped this dish when we had friends over and they think that I have been in the kitchen for hours.  Here is the finished product once it goes into the freezer:

 I wish that I could have made more “freezer meals” but my freezer is only so big but this is a good start for those days when I just can’t figure out…what our family will eat.