Fried Artichoke Hearts

One of my favorite Christmas Eve appetizers was my Grandma Rose's Fried Artichoke Hearts. I made these this year and they were a hit. No one can it just one, trust me. If you are gluten-free then utilizing gluten-free breadcrumbs, or making your own bread crumbs by toasting gluten-free bread and pulverizing into crumbs, my bread crumb mixture was the Italian Style bread crumbs that already has the garlic and other herbs and spices in the mixture. 

Fried Artichoke Hearts

4-6  Artichoke hearts (1 jar of Cara Mia artichoke hearts marinated in oil.

4    Whole artichokes (cooked, with hearts removed from center of choke)

4-6 Artichoke hearts (1 can of artichoke hearts in water)

Juice of a lemon

Olive oil

½ Cup of flour

1  Egg

Bread crumb mixture

Bread Crumb Mixture Recipe:

½ Cup of bread crumbs

¼  Cup of grated parmesan

Salt and pepper to taste

1 Teaspoon parsley

1 Teaspoon minced garlic

Directions: There are three types of artichoke hearts that you can use, a whole artichoke, cooked and cleaned, artichoke hearts marinated in olive oil, or artichoke hearts from a can packed in water.  To remove excess oil from the marinated artichoke hearts, simply place on a paper towel. The paper towel will absorb some of the oil from the artichoke hearts. You can also cook whole artichokes and remove the hearts making sure to clean out the choke. Cutting the hearts into ½ and then into 3rds. Put artichoke heart pieces into a bowl with enough water to cover and add the juice of one whole lemon. Cover bowl and soak for five minutes. Drain the artichokes and dry on absorbent paper towels, make sure the artichoke hearts are completely dry.

Halloween Caramel Corn, by cookbook author, Gina Meyers

Halloween Caramel Corn



½ cup of dark caro syrup
1 cup of light or dark brown sugar
1 cube of butter
½ teaspoon of baking soda
1 Tablespoon of Torani Flavored Pumpkin Pie Spice
½ teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2  quarts or 8 cups  of popped popcorn

Optional: nuts and candy corns candies

Directions in a large pot, melt, butter, add salt, brown sugar and caro syrup, pumpkin pie spice (liquid) and stir till it bowls, stir. Turn off heat and add baking soda and vanilla extract, stir again. Next, add popcorn to the large pot and coat the popcorn. Next, have a cookie sheet sprayed with butter flavored spray and add the popcorn to the cookie sheet and press flat. Bake in a 250 degree oven, stirring occasionally, every ten minutes for thirty minutes. Allow to cool, and walla, Halloween Caramel Corn. Enjoy!

Mushroom Ravioli Recipe (EASY) with Papagni Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Pairing

Mushroom Ravioli

10 ounces mushroom ravioli or cheese-filled ravioli
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced
4 ounces button (table) mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup brandy
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions: Prepare ravioli according to package directions; drain. Next, over medium heat, pour olive oil in a skillet and cook mushrooms until tender. Add garlic and brandy, and cook for 2 minutes. Slowly stir in heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. When cream has thickened, stir in 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese. Then, stir in cooked ravioli, and gently simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with parmesan, garlic bread, and salad. Makes 2 servings.
Excerpt from Love at First Bite, The Unofficial Twilight Cookbook, by, Gina Meyers

http://www.ginameyers.com

http://unofficialtwilightcookbook.blogspot.com/

Pairs well with Papagni Cabernet Sauvignon, 2013, buy here: https://papagniwines.com/buy-wine/2013-cabernet-sauvignon/

Our 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon is produced from grapes grown at the idyllic Olive Hill Vineyard in Sonoma. The cool ocean breezes that travel from the northwest through the vineyard combined with the gravelly loam soils creates a wine of amazing elegance and character showcasing lavish flavors of dark berry, sweet spice, cedar and tobacco followed by finely tuned tannins.

This hand crafted wine was bottled unfined & unfiltered after aging for 18 months exclusively in French oak.

750 ML

Valuable Lessons Learned from Les Brown

By, Gina Meyers


I'll never be broke again!

#1 Control over your life!
#2 Options
#3 Live a life of contribution

Accumulate wealth

You must be willing to do the things today that others won't do in order to have the things tomorrow that others won't have.

#1 Discipline
#2 Anything worth doing is worth doing badly until you get it right. You don't have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great!

Roaming Through Rome, but not too far from the beaten path, by, Gina Meyers

I'm on my way to Roma for the first time. Even the taxi driver, Jamie was warm to me, giving me a big hug and warning me about my purse, etc. "Be cautious with all of your belongings in Rome." I won't let anyone get too close, I assured him. I appreciated the sage advice and the trip to the SFO Airport. I gave him a $5.00 tip, he was so surprised. "Are you sure?" "Yes", I said. I'm looking at this awesome exhibit called Caticons. It's all about the fascination the world has with cats. Reminds me of how my cat actually sat, well laid in my suitcase as I was packing for Rome. It also reminded me of what my daughter said while I was packing, she was cuddling with our cat Salami. "Are you sure you give the cat enough attention?" "Ummm". Well I couldn't tell her the truth. Cat's don't need us, we need them, it's pretty simple. But of course, I didn't tell her that.

I just read at The Cat Art Exhibit how the Chinese created stories, lore about the cats ruling the world. But it didn't last, because the cats didn't care, much too busy chasing sun beams.

I also learned that in 1871 was the first cat show in London, England wow!

My gate A1 to Paris, Charles de Galle Airport is next to the Cathay Pacific Airline to Hong Kong. It amazes me how many non-Asians, I mean Caucasians are going to Hong Kong.

On the airplane

The boy in front of me has curly, wavy, hair, exactly like my son Lucas. They treat people so well on Air France, already a "moist toliette/real washcloth, face mask, pillow, blanket." I figured out how to watch the nose camera and see us take off from San Francisco, totally awesome, what made it even more special is this is the pilots' last day, he is retiring. Everyone was so complimentary, the flight attendants announcing in French and in English what a stellar career and pilot he is.

I'm a firm believer that you need to make time for yourself. If the people in your life discourage or don't allow this personal self-exploration, you need a "new person" (new term made popular by the TV Show, The Bachelorette), that's what happened to me about six years ago. I had to get a few new people on the team.

The applause for the retiring pilot was awesome. I had a cold chocolate fudgecicle on the airplane, good food on Air France. The boy in front of me looked like Lucas from the back, his hair all wavy and messy. I feel très  fatigue.


There is Guitar music player at The Charles De Galle Airport, and next to the young man playing is a child in a portable body pillow, it inflates into a bed, totally awesome, I took a picture.

Raining hard in Italy, at the FCO airport, on the Leonardo Express Train, debating how difficult it would be to get out my umbrella.

Spring Allegro playing at The Piazza del Papilo. Man dressed as a roman soldier said to me, "Shakira, are you ready?" He puts his hand out and he's wearing a red roman soldier outfit. I read about these guys in the Rick Steves Guidebook on Italy that my daughter gave me for my birthday this year. They charge a lot of euros to take photos with them, beware.

Lake Bolsera Vertova. Magarita Pizza for lunch, coconut pistachio gelato for desserts. Wonderful cheeses, bacon, olive oil, deli meats, pigs ass and two wines, San Giovese with 17% merlot, Arthea Franklin died today. Yes, Edwardo our Air B N B Experience at the Italian Deli showed us a picture of the pig's ass and had no shame in saying "Pig's Ass", after the white Italian glass of wine, I was repeating his tome and giggling.

Roaming in Rome, but not too far from the beaten path, with me, myself, and I. That’s plenty of people given I’m a gemini, LOL.

Colosseum
Framinia/Fracassini
2 toward Flaminio
Flaminio Stop Line A
M MEA towards Anagnina

Termini
MEB towards Laurentina
Colosseo

The street sellers sell water when it’s hot, when, it’s raining, they sell umbrellas and rain slickers, it’s as if at 3pm everyday, God cues in the rain!

Thoughts written on my Hotel Villa Glori four star hotel business card.

If you don’t like yourself, and you don’t like people, what’s the point?

Another random thought:
I loved the water spouts in Rome, no need to buy bottled water, simply I took my one bottle of water and replenished it whenever I needed more water, some days I just put a little water on the back of my neck, when it was getting a little warm, before God cued in the rain.

Cookbook Author Gina Meyers

Sicilian Style Sautéed Spinach

1 bag of whole leaf spinach, washed and dried
1 lime (juice of one lime)
1/16th of a cup of chopped pistachios
1 Tablespoon of olive oil
1/4 cup of chopped red onion
salt and pepper to taste

Directions: In a sauté pan, drizzle about 1 Tablespoon of  Olive Oil and place chopped red onion and cook for a few minutes while the onion sweat about three minutes on medium-low heat. Next, toss in   washed spinach leaves on top of the onions  and then drizzle a little bit more of the Olive Oil and squeeze the juice of one lime into mixture. With your spoon, continue to saute the spinach until the leaves wilt and add a dash of salt and pepper to taste. Finish the dish off with chopped pistachio or almonds.

For more recipes: http://www.ginameyers.com

Dream

Some people dream about how they want to live.
And some people live the dream. 

Photos by, KP Phagnasay, http://madproductionsentertainment.com/