banana nutella eggrolls

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Surprises can be sweet.  I've talked a bit about surprises before -- about how I'm kind of in the middle, loving to surprise other people but enjoy being "in the know" myself.

I realized that the reason I had this outlook was because I had never really, truly been surprised before. When I was little, I would always plan my little birthday parties down to the napkins.  I peeked behind the teacher's desk on the last day of 2nd grade, so I knew that she had bought us all popsicles for the last day of school.  And, as I told you before, I have a different ringtone for all of my contacts so I know who's calling me before I pick up the phone.
 

Well, it's that time of year again -- prom season.  After Spring break, I look forward for my entire school going on hold for all of the brief interruptions that break up the otherwise monotonous day.

For a girl with a limited attention span, having marshmallows, posters, and an ever-growing number of rose petals littering the floor of the forum is a wonderful thing.  A Cappella groups bursting into song in the middle of a math quiz? Yes.  Boys flying in the air holding prom posters? Double yes.

A lot has changed since my mom was in high school.  Most boys don't just call a girl up and ask her to prom like they used to.  It has grown into a big production, and as the years go by it gets harder and harder to think of something that hasn't been done before.  Some boys will even go so far as to wear gold sparkly booty shorts and twerk on their high school crush until she says yes.   For those of you who need a refresher on what "twerking" is, look no further than the link above.

Anyways, I'm somewhat glad that I'm not a boy who has to worry about thinking of something clever, funny, entertaining, and original every year.  As much as I love planning surprises for other people (remember when I planned Erin's surprise birthday dinner?), it was really nice to be surprised myself and it reminded how much I love surprises.

So how did he do it?   Well, on Monday, I had a homemade tiramisu with the letters "PR" written in ladyfingers delivered to me by the dean of students at the beginning of history class.  It was physically impossible to focus on a lecture about the colonization of Africa with that tiramisu staring at me.  After waiting an excruciating 40 minutes, the principal came to the door with a "package" for me.  I opened a huge box to find the other half of the cake, a bouquet of 18 beautiful roses, and my awesome, tiramisu-baking boyfriend.  I did a pretty horrible job explaining this (the video is here), but it was the absolute perfect way to ask this coffee-addicted, chocoholic girl to prom.  Did I say yes?  Obviously.  The best part was that I had no idea it was coming. The second best part was that I ate an entire tiramisu for lunch.

Sometimes, it's nice to let yourself be surprised.  Which brings me to this recipe.  Banana Nutella Eggrolls.  Deep-fried Asian cuisine on the outside, and sweet, classic crepe fillings on the inside.  You think you're in for some shredded cabbage, pork, and eggs (classic egg roll fillings), but then BAM, you bite through the crunchy deep-fried crust to discover nothing but caramelized banana covered with oozing, melty Nutella.  Mindblown.  This is what happens when I'm at home alone for too long with leftover wonton wrappers.  Maybe that should happen more often.

With love,
Erica

Ingredients 

1 package refrigerated spring roll/egg roll wrappers

6 bananas, halved

1 cup Nutella

Oil for frying

Slice all of the bananas in half.

Lay out a wonton wrapper like a diamond.  Spread a spoonful of Nutella lengthwise (see image).  Place a banana half on top.  Roll burrito-style.  Seal with water. 

Heat 2″ of oil to 375 degrees and place about 3 egg rolls into the oil at a time, cooking for about 2 minutes or until they are nice and golden.

Carefully, use tongs or a slotted spoon to remove the egg rolls from the oil. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.  Dust with powdered sugar.  Serve warm with ice cream!

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creamy roasted tomato basil pasta

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I apologize for not posting for a while, but I have a legitimate excuse this time, so please hear me out.  See I have this medical condition...

It's called spring fever.

Let me elaborate.  It's something between a head cold and a rash.  Just like a head cold, I feel lazy as ever.  Book report? Heck no.  Clean my desk? Yeah right. Like a rash, I can't stop itching.  Itching to go outside.

In the winter time, I have nothing better to do than make fifty blueberry muffins and photograph them from different angles.   Now that it's 80-degrees, with sunbeams and clear skies, it's been a real struggle to get my butt in the kitchen.  (Let alone whip out my DSLR).  It's nothing personal, I swear, my history book feels neglected as well, my elliptical machine could use some love, and my hair could really use some deep conditioning.

Alas, all I want to do is slip on my shorts, run out the door with nothing but my house key, and go exploring.  That being said, at this time of year there's nothing less appealing than slaving over the stove for hours preparing dinner.  I've officially kissed all of my roux, stews, and marinades good-bye until the October boredom sets in. 

Lately, I've been coming home late, opening the windows, turning on some breezy music, and whipping up some sinfully easy (and delicious dinners).  The goal is for me to be in and out of the kitchen before the sun sets.  There's really nothing quite like flopping over in the sun after eating a gigantic bowl of cheesy pasta.

This pasta is on the table in less than 30 minutes.  Using roasted tomatoes adds an extra smoky touch (that just gets me even more psyched for BBQ season).  Cheese. Ease. A gentle summer breeze... Talk about instant gratification.  Who said a girl can't have it all.

This is classic, good, old comfort food, that doesn't require arugula.

With love,
Erica

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 white onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp flour
• 3/4 cup half & half
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup basil, minced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 10-12 ounces fusilli pasta (or any good pasta shape for holding this rich sauce)

Directions

1. Bring large pot of water to boil for the pasta.
2. While waiting for water to boil, start the sauce.
3. In large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and and saute until translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
4. Add garlic and cook one more minute.
5. Add flour to onion mixture and stir to combine. Let cook another 1-2 minutes.
6. Slowly add half and half and then the milk, stirring continuously.
7. Add tomatoes then cook another 7-10, stirring often, to let sauce thicken.
8. While the sauce cooking, add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package instructions.
9. With an immersion blender, puree sauce until your desired consistency. I left a few chunks, but wanted my sauce pretty smooth.
10. Add basil and Parmesan and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper, to your liking
11. If sauce is too thick, add about 1/3 cup of the pasta water to thin it out, if you feel that is needed.
12. Add pasta to sauce and stir to combine.
13. Serve topped with additional Parmesan cheese. Enjoy! 

Adapted from Greens N' Chocolate

© Cannella Vita. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission/linking back to Cannella Vita. If you want to republish this recipe, please link back to this post.

s'mores bars

Pin It I love online personality tests.

Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about.  The ones that tell you what flavor of ice cream you are and which Friday Night Lights character you're most like.

Making s'mores is a lot like taking one of those online quizzes. I can tell a heck of a lot about you by the way you make your s'mores.  Let me elaborate.

1. You shove your marshmallow into the fire and burn it to a crisp.  You are a strong believer that marshmallows are one of the few foods that tastes better burnt.  You hate waiting in lines, enjoy Chinese take-out food, and tend to be argumentative.
2. You think you've mastered the s'more technique.  You're Lord of the S'mores.  You might be a dad and/or a camp counselor.  You can be found whittling your perfect "s'more stick," or trying to assist a less capable s'more maker with this delicate art.  People may call you a "busy-body."  You enjoy team sports and activities, as long as you're the captain.  You're secretly a horrible dancer.
3. You like to sit on the edge of the fire and slowly turn your marshmallow -- waiting for that perfect, golden-brown glow.  You play a musical instrument, enjoy crafts, and like long walks on the beach.  You keep an agenda and your socks always match.
4. You're a weirdo (and I say that in the best sense of that word.  You do something wacky like catch the marshmallow on fire, and squish it (still ablaze) between the chocolate and graham crackers.  You're a bit of a badass, but you secretly love to play Scrabble.

See? Didn't I describe your personality to a T? ;)

Ok, so maybe I should leave online quiz making to the professionals.  But no matter how you toast your marshmallows, the classic s'more will always be an All-American crowd-pleaser. 

Everyone from the varsity baseball team to Carly's dog walker couldn't get enough of these s'more bars.  They're super easy, don't require an open fire and they don't burn your tongue.  My favorite way to eat these bad-boys is to pop one in the microwave until the marshmallow puffs up and the chocolate gets all melty.  I close my eyes, and eat it with a spoon.  I can smell the campfire and pine trees of summer already...

How do you roast your marshmallow?

With love,
Erica

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.
Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan.  Spread the crust with marshmallow creme.  Sprinkle chocolate chips into a single even layer over the creme.  Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

From Lovin' From The Oven

© Cannella Vita. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission/linking back to Cannella Vita. If you want to republish this recipe, please link back to this post.

everyday vita: my i yelp you?

Pin It "STOP DAD. Don't eat that yet. I need to take a picture!!!"
My poor dad had his burger raised in mid-air, eyes closed -- but before he could sink his teeth into that perfect, first bite, I stopped him, rustled up his fries to make them look more "natural," and proceeded to take pictures of every angle of the burger.  The poor man was hungry. Sorry dad, but I couldn't let that perfectly-toasted sesame bun pass me by...
I have a problem.

me, modeling a cupcake in front of Magnolia Bakery

My parents sigh in relief when I leave my DSLR on the kitchen table when we go out to eat.  In my defense, I'm not the only one.  Thousands of other people love to get snap-happy with their soup course.  The New York Times even wrote an article about how some restaurants are banning people from taking pictures of their meal.

i like big buns and i cannot lie

Also in my defense, I am not nearly as annoying as (some) of the people mentioned in that article (although my dining companions may disagree).  I can proudly say I have never used flash, never stood on a chair, and never used a "gorillapod" in a restaurant to get a good shot of my dish.  Heck, I don't even know what a gorillapod is.

every bread basket in the world is modeling for me

Alas, I'm a food photographer.  What can I do?  I can't walk past a perfectly-puffed popover without taking a shot.  I feel like every bread basket in the world is modeling for me.  Cupcakes just look so damn good through Instagram's Amaro filter.  Temptation is everywhere.

why hello there perfect macaron crust

Same goes for writing.  I write about food.  I like to talk about things like the lengths of noodles, the consistency of sauces and the oatmeal-to-raisin ratio in a cookie.  How many words do I need to describe the astringent taste of wasabi?  How can I transform the first, luscious spoonful of homemade dulce de leche into a sentence?

with a sugar-coating like that, how can i not take your picture?!

This leads me to my ultimate point.  I can't go through a meal without analyzing it from top-to-bottom.  It's not romantic, it's just what I do. I like to compare and contrast the flavors, talk about the plating, and snap a few shots.  Sometimes, people insist that I put my camera down and enjoy the damn meal.  But I look at each meal as inspiration -- I want to remember it. How would I ever find my favorite cream-puff place if I hadn't snapped a picture?  How can I recreate my favorite fried rice if I don't know whether it had leeks or onions?

"big apple" pie

there's nothing like NY cheesecake

 

 I am always on the search for new inspiration.  In fact, I just got back from New York City -- and had an awesome time eating 4-meals a day at restaurants recommended to me by friends, locals, and my foodie friends on Yelp!.  For those of you who don't know what Yelp is, it's a user-based review site for everything from brunch places to mechanics.  To check out my detailed, sassy, and brutally honest restaurant reviews and more mouthwatering pictures like these, hop on over to cannellavita.yelp.com to check them out -- I always travel with my infamous notepad and a camera in hand. ;)

Do you have a Yelp! account? If so, leave it in the comments so I can friend you!

With love,
Erica

© Cannella Vita. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission/linking back to Cannella Vita. If you want to republish this recipe, please link back to this post.

julia's banana bread

Pin It I just woke up from one of the best dreams I've ever had.  At the moment, I am sitting on Amtrak -- rolling through miles of factory towns and burnt out buildings on my way to New York City.  As much as I love the city that never sleeps, I seriously needed some sleep. Thank the Lord it's spring break and I can finally log out of my school e-mail account, hang up my backpack, and get some serious shut eye.  About an hour ago, the bumpiness of the train lulled me to sleep, and I was transported far, far away from the hustle and bustle of the city...

It's a bit of a pet peeve of mine when people tell me about their dreams.  Not their dreams as in aspirations, but their nonsensical, rambling, nighttime dreams about purple cows and police chases.  Please forgive me, but I need to share this awesome dream with you guys.  It's nothing crazy or complicated  -- just a small tree house, a winding road, and some really good banana bread.

I had my noise cancelling headphones on, listening to Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's soothing voice and soon, I drifted off into the sunny beaches of Hawaii...

My mind wandered to an article about banana bread that I had read about in Bon Appetit a while back.  I dreamed that I was in an old, rickety Jeep, driving on a one-lane road along the shoreline.  I drove for about 20 miles, and although I'm usually pretty impatient, the drive didn't bother me one bit. With a view like that, I really couldn't complain.  Finally, I drove up to a treacherous twist in the path, and I saw a quirky, lime-green tree house perched among the shady palm trees.  The weather was warm and beautiful, and the kind, old woman behind the counter's smile was even warmer and more beautiful.  I walked up to the counter and she handed me a warm slice of banana bread.  The end.

When I made Julia's famous banana bread for myself, it was like something out of a dream.  I don't know how to describe it -- just trust the thousands of people who swear that it's the best on the planet.  The recipe is perplexingly simple --  bananas, oil, and flour.  But there's something very unique about it -- a special island touch if you will.  It has significantly more speckles and freckles than any other banana bread I've ever made -- just like the freckles we all get at the beach.

One day, my dream will come true and I will actually make the trek up to Julia's banana bread stand.  But for now, I'll just cut myself another slice (or three) when I get home.

With love,
Erica

Ingredients

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large)
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk eggs, sugar, bananas, and oil in a large bowl until smooth. Add dry ingredients to banana mixture and stir just until combined. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top.

Bake until a tester inserted into the center of bread comes out clean, 60-70 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let bread cool in pan for 15 minutes. Run a knife around inside of pan to release the bread. Turn out onto rack and let cool completely.

From Bon Appetit

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grilled guacamole with parmesan and basil

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Looks can be deceiving.

When I was little, I avoided guacamole like the plague. My reasons for hating guac?  It was mushy, and it was green.  One day, when I was feeling a tad bit adventurous, I dipped my chip into the creamy, dip and I've been seriously obssessed ever since.

I must confess that I feel guilty about my former hatred of the wonderful dip, especailly since my two reasons for avoiding it (green and mushy) were not good reasons at all to miss out on all of guacamole's magic for the first decade of my life.  To make up for this, I came up with three very good reasons to love guacamole.

avocados chillin' on the grill

1.  Guacamole gets you friends.  Eating guacamole is a communal event.  Nothing says "be my friend" like a big bowl of chips and an even bigger bowl of guacamole.  Whip some of this out and you'll be one of the most popular kids in town. 

Add caption

2. Guacamole is like nature's form of butter.  It's creamy, spreadable, and buttery.  And we all know how awesome butter is...

3. Guacamole is healthy.  It's full of healthy fats, omega-threes, fiber and all that jazz. Did you know avocados are the most nutritionally complete food? Humans could theoretically survive on avocados alone. Pass the chips.  

Still skeptical?  This "guacamole" isn't traditional at all.  First, it's full of garlic, basil, and Parmesan cheese instead of cilantro, lime and red onions -- adding an Italian twist to the Mexican favorite.  Second, I grilled my avocados on the panini press, adding a whole new warm, crispy flavor to them (it's proven that everything tastes better with grill marks...).  Third, I threw in some super savory ingredients like white truffle salt and a robust (somewhat pricey) extra virgin olive oil -- these luxurious ingredients sure paid off.   It's warm, herby, and cheesy -- and it'll make you look at this delicious dip in a whole new light.  Looks can be deceiving, but taste speaks for itself. 

Did you ever hate a food because of the way it looked?

With love,
Erica

Ingredients
3 firm-ripe avocados
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for grilling (the fruiter and richer, the better)
juice and zest of 1 lemon
salt and freshly ground pepper  (I used truffle salt for extra savory flavor)
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup loosely packed basil leaves, roughly chopped
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more to taste

Heat your panini press to the highest setting (alternatively, you could use a gas or charcoal grill).  Halve and pit the avocados.  Drizzle generously with olive oil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

 

Place the avocado halves cut side down on the grill.  Cook for about 4 minutes, or until you can see crispy, golden-brown grill marks on them (check frequently to make sure they're not burning).  Scoop the flesh out of the avocados and mash gently with a fork (I like to leave mine quite chunky). Stir in the rest of the olive oil, lemon zest, garlic, basil and Parmesan.  Serve immediately.

Adapted from Food 52

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dark chocolate lava cakes

Pin It All my life, I've had a really hard time picking favorites.  When I was little, people always asked me about my favorite color, favorite food, favorite book etc.  All of the other kids seemed to have an immediate response to these questions, while I would just stand there dumbfounded for a few minutes weighing the pros and cons of each choice.  Even to this day these questions stress me out. Do I have to pick just one?! I can be a little indecisive.

But this past summer, I discovered my favorite chocolate.  This was a pretty huge deal, now that you know that I don't take favorites lightly.  When I took my first bite of Recchiuti at the San Fransisco Ferry Market, I was in love.  I've had my share of different chocolates -- but this was nothing like anything I've tasted before.  It was smooth, with a bold, fruity chocolate flavor as well as smoky, subtle cocoa flavor.  It was perfect. I brought home a few bars, and although the first few didn't last long, I had enough self control to save two bars for baking.

I knew I had to bake them into something special.  I didn't want to drown something that was already so perfect in marshmallow fluff or caramel sauce, nor did I want to bake them into something boring like brownies.  I needed a recipe simple enough to let their flavors shine through.  After waiting six months, I finally found the perfect recipe to use them in.  My good friend's mom who is an amazing cook made dark chocolate lava cakes for dessert (served with homemade vanilla gelato).   The combination of cool, creamy gelato and warm molten chocolate was absolutely perfect,  and I knew that I had to learn to make these myself.   She let me copy the recipe, and of course, I made them the next day.

Because I only had two bars of Recchiuti, I couldn't screw this recipe up (talk about pressure!), so I did some research. Here are a few pieces of advice for perfect lava cakes.  Remember to grease your ramekins generously -- you want the cakes to slide right out.  If they stick, you will end up with a (delicious) pile of goo.  Also, keep an eye on them in the oven, they cook insanely quickly.  You’re looking for cooked outside & soft inside (soft does not mean jiggly). Start checking at around 10 minutes, 12 minutes worked perfectly for me but every oven is different.

In the end, I breathed a sigh of relief when didn't screw the recipe up -- and my special chocolate bars melted perfectly into these simple, gorgeous little cakes.  I couldn't have asked for a better recipe to use my favorite chocolate in the world in. The great thing about these cakes that they are so exciting to serve -- they look plain, like a boring chocolate muffin... and then all of a sudden simmering chocolate sauce comes oozing out of the center.  Talk about presentation!  All they need is a little dusting of powdered sugar -- but if you're the type to make your own homemade gelato, be my guest. :)

With love,
Erica

Ingredients
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 450°. Butter and lightly flour four 6-ounce ramekins. Tap out the excess flour. Set the ramekins on a baking sheet.

In a double boiler, over simmering water, melt the butter with the chocolate. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the egg yolks, sugar and salt at high speed until thickened and pale.

Whisk the chocolate until smooth. Quickly fold it into the egg mixture along with the flour. Spoon the batter into the prepared ramekins and bake for 12 minutes, or until the sides of the cakes are firm but the centers are soft. Let the cakes cool in the ramekins for 1 minute, then cover each with an inverted dessert plate. Carefully turn each one over, let stand for 10 seconds and then unmold. Serve immediately. Make Ahead:  The batter can be refrigerated for several hours; bring to room temperature before baking.

Recipe by  Jean-Georges Vongerichten

© Cannella Vita. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission/linking back to Cannella Vita. If you want to republish this recipe, please link back to this post.