Eve's Greek Salad

copied from a new favorite cooking blog

1 seedless cucumber, cubed
300g of cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
125g of feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 of a red onion, diced
1/4 cup of sliced, pitted black olives (or more to taste)

for the vinaigrette:
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 small garlic clove, finely minced
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large bowl, mix all of the salad ingredients together. Set aside while you make the vinaigrette.

In another bowl, mix everything but the olive oil. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle the olive oil into the other ingredients until everything is mixed well.

Mix some of the vinaigrette into the vegetables, to taste. Serve with a baguette or some pita bread.

Note: You might not need to use all of the vinaigrette, it all depends on how you like your salad. You can keep any leftover vinaigrette in the refrigerator for a few days and use it for other salads or simply drizzle it on slices of tomatoes.

credit: And then I do the dishes...

'Mama' Cialfi's Almond Cookies

This appeared in the Hartford Courant:
Several months ago, we wrote about the Easter traditions of Italian-born Lina Cialfi, an expert baker whose grown children own and operate two of the region's acclaimed Italian restaurants — Peppercorns Grill in Hartford and Piccolo Arancio in Farmington.

Countless readers have since requested the recipe, and we're delighted to say "Mama" Cialfi obliged

1 pound almond paste
1 cup sugar
2 egg whites
Zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon Tia Maria (or liqueur of choice)
About 30 whole almonds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In the bowl of a food processor, combine almond paste and sugar, blending well. Add egg whites, lemon zest and Tia Maria, and process until combined.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls (you should get about 30). Space them 2 inches apart on a baking sheet, and press them slightly flat. Insert a single whole almond into the middle of each cookie. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Makes about 30 cookies.

Ultimate Ginger Cookie

Barefoot Contessa comes through again!

Prep Time: 20 min
Inactive Prep Time: 2 min
Cook Time: 13 min
Serves: 16 cookies




Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
1 extra-large egg, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups chopped crystallized ginger (6 ounces)
Granulated sugar, for rolling the cookies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and salt and then combine the mixture with your hands. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the brown sugar, oil, and molasses on medium speed for 5 minutes. Turn the mixer to low speed, add the egg, and beat for 1 minute. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat for 1 more minute. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the crystallized ginger and mix until combined.

Scoop the dough with 2 spoons or a small ice cream scoop. With your hands, roll each cookie into a 1 3/4-inch ball and then flatten them lightly with your fingers. Press both sides of each cookie in granulated sugar and place them on the sheet pans. Bake for exactly 13 minutes. The cookies will be crackled on the top and soft inside. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 1 to 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Makaela Kingsley's Sangria Recipe

Serves 100!

Ingredients:

• 2 gallons Zinfandel
• 1 cup brandy
• 1/2 cup Cointreau
• 2 quarts orange juice
• 2 cups lemon juice
• 1 cup superfine sugar
• 12 to 16 ice cubes
• 2 quarts chilled club soda
• 3 oranges, thinly sliced
• 3 lemons, thinly sliced

Preparation:

Thoroughly chill all ingredients. Pour the wine, brandy and Cointreau into a large punch bowl. Stir orange and lemon juice with the sugar until sugar has dissolved. Then add to bowl and stir to blend. Add ice cubes and soda and garnish with fruit slices. Serve in 4-ounce punch glasses or wineglasses.

Makaela's note: I cut the whole recipe in half (or even divide by 4), use really cheap Burgundy wine (in a jug), use Triple Sec in stead of Cointreau, and add much more ice and fruit than they recommend.  Apples, peaches, pears, oranges and lemons work great.  Don’t use grapes because they sink to the bottom (all the others float)