Ciabatta Garlic Bread

Garlic bread has become a food that I make quite often as my boyfriend really loves it. He now asks if I'll make garlic bread every time I make pasta, which is pretty frequently.

Side bar on pasta. I LOVE pasta. When deciding where to study abroad in college, a huge factor for me was food. I asked myself, "what European cultures' food would I be ok with eating everyday?" The answer was a no brainer, Italian. I am obsessed with Italy, I think in a past life I was Italian.

Anyway, back to garlic bread. On this particular occasion, I had not planned to make garlic bread when I had gone shopping for the ingredients for Spaghetti. I got creative and took inspiration from my restaurant owning family's resourcefulness and looked though my cupboards and refrigerator for ingredients that I could use to make garlic bread. I sliced the rest of a loaf of ciabatta, mixed together fresh garlic and olive oil and spread it generously over the bread. My boyfriend and I are both garlic lovers so I'm never shy using garlic in my cooking. I stayed away from using butter because I'm trying stay on the healthier side (I used ground turkey instead of beef in the spaghetti). I am a believer that you don't need large amounts of butter or fatty oils if you season food properly. That goes for salt as well-herbs and spices add a huge amount of flavor and you can reduce the salt! For cheese, I only had pecorino cheese so I grated it on my bread. Pecorino is a pretty powerful flavor, similar to parmesan and is a bit salty. Because of the salty flavor, I did not add any salt to my olive oil and garlic mix, as I would have had I used mozzarella cheese. I baked the bread in the oven at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes.

I loved how this garlic bread turned out, great flavor and crunch from the baked ciabatta. I also liked that it wasn't so bread heavy like many garlic bread recipes that call for a sourdough roll. I've made this same garlic bread again since; the second time I added a little of my favorite seasoning I got in Florence. It's called arrabbiata, it has close to the same blend as a traditional italian spice blend, but with some spicy pepper flakes mixed in as well. We both love our food with a little spice so a sprinkle of the arrabbiata seasoning before baking the garlic bread really added some flavor and kick.

Homework: Have some fun trying out garlic bread creations, please share any success stories, as I'm always looking for new ways to cook favorite dishes!

Leopard Print Flats

Hi everyone, I just bought these Material Girl flats from Macys over the weekend and I wanted to share! I love little pops of leopard print, they can really make an outfit.

These will be great to wear to work, not too flashy but will give my outfits some personality. I am fortunate to work in an office with a pretty relaxed and casual atmosphere; I typically wear nice dark boot cut, straight leg or trouser jeans a few times a week. I also think these loafer type flats will look really cute with a dress as well, once the weather gets a little warmer.

I love having something new to wear to work, it makes facing a busy week easier :)

End Table Refinishing

A few weeks ago, my mom and I decided we needed a project. On a sunny Saturday we decided to go garage sale hunting to find some small furniture pieces to refinish. I am slowly starting to think about a furniture look I'd like for my next apartment, trying to keep the cost as low as possible without sacrificing a cute and sophisticated decor.

Here is an oak end table/night stand we found for $10. This photo was taken after its light finish was completely sanded away and the knob removed. The grain of the wood was so beautiful as this is a very solid, and at one time expensive piece, it would be a waste to paint the entire table. I really wanted to do something more interesting than just restaining, I was looking for a pop of color. To get the best of both worlds, I decided I wanted to paint some parts of the table and stain the rest. Here's how it turned out.

My dad had this stain called "chestnut red" in his work shed so that cost me nothing for this project. For the paint, my mom and I went to Lowe's to look at colors. I picked "a day at the jewelers" by Valspar. For $3 they mixed up a 7.2 oz sample, which was more than enough paint for this project (I actually have about half left to use on other DIY projects-yay!) The knob I also picked out at Lowe's for $4. My dad had the polyurithane as well; we applied 2 coats to give it a protective layer and that wonderful shine. $17 for a unique and beautiful end table. I'm a fan!

Make-Over

Hi Everyone,

As you may have noticed, I haven't been posting very often. The main reason is that going out to eat frequently is just too expensive! I've started to really watch my spending and learning how to live on a realistic budget. During this time of financial maturity I've started getting into DIY home projects after realizing store prices can be obsurd for the quality you get. In addition to my crafting adventures, I'll also share some of my cooking experiences, restaurant reviews, my favorite beauty, style and household products, my ever evolving fitness routine for a happy and reduced stress life, and of course my biggest passion of all: TRAVEL. I'll be posting my first DIY project later tonight so check back later!

Bagatelle

115 Duval St
Key West, FL 33040

For my birthday this year, my boyfriend and I went on a Carnival cruise to the Caribbean! I am a huge fan of cruising (well any vacation really lol) and this was his first time. We had an awesome, although unpredictable time with weather, which resulted in some port changes. We went to Key West, Montego Bay, Jamaica, and back to Key West (couldn't stop in Grand Cayman as planned). Our first time around in Key West it was raining most of the day, so we decided to splurge a little more than planned and find a nice restaurant to eat and have a drink.

Bagatelle is in the heart of Key West, on Duval Street where all the action is. Lots of shops and bars around, which were all over crowded due to the rain. The restaurant is a converted house, with all of its original charm intact. We were lucky enough to get a table on the wrap around porch. Although it was raining, it was a muggy 86 degrees, so sitting in an outside covered spot was perfect.

Bagatelle serves Caribbean food with French influences. I ordered the mojo pork tacos with marinated pork, grilled pineapple, tomatillo salsa, onions & cilantro on a soft flour tortilla, served with plantain chips. I really liked this dish, it was flavorful and a different combination of ingredients in tacos than you would typically find. Although the tortillas are somewhat small, the meal overall is very filling.



My boyfriend ordered the kobe burger with a half pound of greg norman australian wagyu, served with plantain chips. He inhaled the burger, so I'm guessing he liked it. We both had the rum punch to wash down our food. The drinks were delicious and had a good amount of alcohol, not too strong but got our money's worth. Overall I really liked Bagatelle and would go again if I ever come back to Key West. For our second time in Key West that week we had gorgeous sunny weather and went snorkling! We had a blast and after we walked around the town again, wanting to properly experience Key West. Mallory Square and and surrounding streets are very charming with great souvenier shops. I would love to return and stay for a few days in the not too distant future.

Osteria dell'Agnolo

Borgo S. Lorenzo, 24r,
50032 Florence, Italy

For Christmas 2010 my family and I went on a trip to back to Italy (my friend came along with and she and I went to Belfast and Dublin as well). My aunt and her husband live in Florance and took us to Osteria dell'Agnolo for out Christmas Day celebration. The restaurant is near the Duomo, a very busy piazza in Florance but this has not made it lose its value as a true Italian eatery. Sure they get tourists, but it is still a favorite of local Florentines. This restaurant has a lot of history, they claim to be the oldest restaurant in the world, although it is not officially recognized. It has been recorded that Leonardo da Vinci and his friends would meet there frequently, very well making this the oldest restaurant in the world!



The outside of the restaurant

Now on to what's really important, THE FOOD! The service here is great, the wait staff are very friendly and helpful with questions about the dishes. We started off with antipasto of assorted salami's. The portion was huge!


Antipasto

The menu has a lot of variety including salads, pizzas, pasta, gnocci and traditional entrees like Osso Bucco. Everything is flavored wonderfully with fresh ingredients and just the right amount of seasoning. And no Italian dining expereince would be complete without WINE! Tuscany produces some of the smoothest red wines, I don't think I've disliked any that I've tried from the region. The great thing about eating out in Italy, is most of the time the house wine served is fabulous and very afordable. You really don't need to know much about Italian wine types to order a glass (or bottle!).

Our visit to Florance during Christmas was beautiful, although cold, I am so glad we experienced the holidays there.


Christmas Day

Paladar Cafe Cubano

329 Kearny St
(between Bush St & Pine St)
San Francisco, CA 94108

One of my favorite lunch stops is Paladar Cafe Cubano, 2 blocks from my office in the Financial District (and next door neighbors to my dad's restaurant). We are friendly with the owners Vicki and Rita, two of the nicest restaurant owners I have ever met. They love what they do and have such passion for their food that it shows in the quality and presentation. The cafe is small but they make the best of their space and function as a full service restaurant (difficult to do in this area of SF because most eateries can only fit a few tables).

One of my favorite dishes there is the ensalada de la casa (mixed greens with veggies) and add grilled steak. The meat is marinaded perfectly, it's so delicious. The salad has a light tasting lemon-shallotvinagerette dressing that is very refreshing and compliments the meat wonderfully. You also have the option to add chicken or shrimp as well as steak to any salad on the menu. I'm also a fan of the shrimp and sometimes order it on the 5 greens salad which has arugula, watercress, avocado & cucumber with mint vinaigrette dressing.

The cubano sandwich is probably one of their most popular lunch items which has Niman roast pork, ham, swiss, pickles, mayo & mustard and is served warm with a small mixed greens salad on the side. I love getting some of their homemade chipotle aioli to dip my sandwich in, gives it a little kick of spice! If you're in the mood for a treat as a side to that sandwich, then I recommend adding the fried yuca (listed on the menu as an appetizer) which is served with the chipotle aioli for dipping. The fried yuca has a similar consistency to a french fry, crispy outside, soft and potato-like (but sweeter) inside.


Fried Yuca