Godendo Aperitivo Prima di Cena #ItalianFWT

I received samples for the creation of this post.  All content, ideas and opinions are strictly my own.  I received no monetary compensation for this writing.

Today we are discussing Italian Wine Cooperatives with our Italian Food Wine and Travel Group.

Join me for Apertivo as we talk.......

Cinnamon Sugar Muffins #MuffinMonday

These delicious, light  muffins are made special with a dip in melted butter and a swirl in cinnamon sugar.

It's time for Muffin Monday......

Celebrating Chinese New Year 2020

Chinese New Year 2020

The Year of the Rat Menu

Pork Dumplings

Fried Spring Rolls

Long Life Noodles

Steamed Whole Fish

Stir Fry Vegetables

 Steamed Buns

We celebrated Chinese New Year yesterday........So much fun!!

Happy Chinese New Year and The Weekly Menu

Today is the start of the Spring Festival.  Better known as Chinese New Year.  Just like Christmas is an entire season, so it Chinese New Year.  It starts with 8 days of Little Year followed by 11 days of Spring Festival and finishes with 4 days of Lantern Festival.

This year we are celebrating the Year of the Rat.  Thirteen years ago we were blessed with an exchange student from China.  She has gone back to China a few times for visits with her birth family but she has made us her family here in the United States.  If you are a regular visitor to this blog you know her as Tingting or Jessica, as she now calls herself.  She is our daughter and the mother of my Angel Face.

Creamy Mac and Cheese with Corn #NationalSlowCookerMonth

I received Sponsor Gifts to use in the creation of recipes for #NationalSlowCookerMonth.  I received no monetary compensation.  All opinions and writings are strictly my own. I used no sponsor products in this post but prizes were provided for the giveaway.

This creamy mac and cheese made the perfect side dish to one of my holiday meals.  Using the slow cooker allowed me to use my hands on time for the rest of the meal.

Today is the final day of a week long celebration for #NationalSlowCookerMonth........

Crock Pot Pork Stew and a #Giveaway

I received Sponsor Gifts to use in the creation of recipes for #NationalSlowCookerMonth.  I received no monetary compensation.  All opinions and writings are strictly my own. I did not use any sponsor ingredients in this post.

Tender chunks of pork in a savory gravy with potatoes, carrots and peas cooks away all day long while you are at work or out running errands.

Welcome to Thursday's edition of a week long event celebrating #NationalSlowCookerMonth......

Southwest Slow Cooker Pasta and a #Giveaway

I received Sponsor Gifts to use in the creation of recipes for #NationalSlowCookerMonth.  I received no monetary compensation.  All opinions and writings are strictly my own.

This delicious and easy meal takes only minutes to put together with ingredients you probably have on hand.  When you get home, dinner will be on the table in the time it takes to boil pasta.

Today is Day 3 of #NationalSlowCookerWeek........

Pinto Beans with Ham and a #Giveaway

I received Sponsor Gifts to use in the creation of recipes for #NationalSlowCookerMonth.  I received no monetary compensation.  All opinions and writings are strictly my own.

If there is anything more comforting than a bowl of tender, smooth beans with chunks of ham, I don't know what it is.  This recipe, made in your slow cooker is the perfect way to put this homey, delcious meal on your table even during busy weekdays.

Welcome to Day 2 of #NationalSlowCookerMonth........

Clementine and Olive Oil Upside Down Cake #CakeSliceBakers

This lovely cake is a perfect ending to your next dinner party yet easy enough to make for a quick weeknight treat.  Made with ingredients you probably have on hand, one bowl and one pan it is ready in less than an hour.

The Cake Slice Bakers are opening up a new cookbook for the New Year........

Slow Cooker Dinner Rolls and a #Giveaway

I received Sponsor Gifts to use in the creation of recipes for #NationalSlowCookerMonth.  I received no monetary compensation.  All opinions and writings are strictly my own.

These gorgeous dinner rolls were made from frozen to beautiful golden brown in about 3 hrs.  Stunning and delicious.

Today is the first day of a week long event celebrating Slow Cookers.......

Chocolate Coconut Dream and The Weekly Menu #OurFamilyTable

This amazing cocktail makes the perfect after dinner drink in lieu of dessert.  Made with Coconut Vodka and Chocolate Wine and garnished with chocolate syrup and chocolate coconut, your Valentine is sure to agree.

We are sharing Sweet Valentine's Day Desserts with the From Our Dinner Table Group......

Green Pork Chili #SoupSaturdaySwappers

This Green Pork Chili starts off by roasting the vegetables, searing the pork and then braising it until the meat is amazingly tender and flavorful.

Serve it up with some warmed tortillas and you have a complete, hearty meal........

Mediterranean Shrimp with a Corsican Wine #FishFridayFoodies #Winophiles

Tender, plump shrimp tossed in Mediterranean spices and then sauteed up with vegetables in a lovely tomato sauce and served over pasta.  A perfect match for an acidic and dry white wine from Corsica, France that has heavy Italian influences.

Today I am linking up Fish Friday Foodies with the French Winophiles and are you in for a treat.......

5 Ingredient Almond Butter Mini Bundts #BundtBakers

These adorable little mini bundts take only 5 ingredients and minutes to put together.  Baked up in little cupcake size little bundt pans they are ready to enjoy in less than half an hour and is completely gluten free.

We are serving up cakes that only take 5 ingredients this month over at Bundt Bakers.......

Baked Ham and Cheese Omelet #FantasticalFoodFight

When serving up omelets for more than one person, a great way to save time and all be able to eat together is to bake your chosen ingredients in a pie pan and then serve it up in hot slices all at the same time.

We are sharing Omelet recipes today in our Fantastical Food Fight......

Sprouted Wheat Waffles #BreadBakers

Add extra nutrition, fiber and flavor to your breakfast with these waffles made from 100% sprouted wheat.

It is time for Bread Bakers........

Hawaiian Sweet Rolls #BakingBloggers

These rolls do not taste like the ones you buy in the grocers, they are waaaaay better in my humble opinion.  It must be the love that is baked in with them.

Flavored and sweetened with pineapple juice, these yeasty rolls are incredibly soft and very fluffy.  They are this month's contribution to Baking Bloggers.......

Mandu and Korean Meatballs and the Weekly Menu #FoodnFlix

Every culture has it's own version of dumplings.  In Korea dumplings are called Mandu.  I used wonton wrappers instead of making the dough and filled them with a pork/beef mixture filled with veggies.  Easy and delicious.

I was inspired to make these Korean dumplings after watching the film, Always Be My Maybe, on Netflix.

Godforsaken Grapes; The Book, The Wine, The Pairing #WinePW

This month our friend Cam of Culinary Adventures with Camilla invited us to do something different to kick off the New Year edition of Wine Pairing Weekend.

She asked us to focus on grape varieties that are not as popular as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, etc.   You know all those grapes that are normally in the wine we drink especially if you live here in the USA.

Trinidadian Stir Fry Shrimp #EattheWorld

 Plump, tender shrimp are "washed" in lime juice as is customary in Trinadian cooking the stir fried with crisp vegetables and covered with a rum based sauce.  A quick and delicious weeknight dinner.

We are exploring the foods of Trinidad and Tobago this month as we Eat the World......

Broccoli Cheese Casserole #ImprovCookingChallenge

Tender broccoli florets blanched and tossed with melted cheese and buttery crackers then topped with more crackers and butter and baked to a beautiful golden brown.  This recipe makes enough for a crowd and there won't be any leftovers.

We are cooking up Cheese and Crackers for this month's Improv Cooking Challenge......

Sauteed Ribbons of Brussels Sprouts #OurFamilyTable

This quick and easy side dish is a wonderful, nutritious addition to your menus in the coming New Year.

We're sharing Healthier Recipes for the New Year with our From the Dinner Table Group........

Ringing in the New Year with Loved Ones and Prosecco #ItalianFWT

Happy 2020 everyone.  I hope you had a safe and joyful NYE and that the year is starting off lovely for you and yours.

We were fortunate enough to spend our New Year's Eve and the first couple of days of the year in Northern Michigan with our Niece and her family.  We ordered in pizza and played games.  The older kids left to go to parties with friends as Midnight approached.

The Teen and her friend nodded out in front of the television until our shouts of Happy New Year awakened them and they toasted in the New Year with a Sparkling Grape Juice.

I had brought along this bottle of Santa Margherita Prosecco Superiore to ring in the New Year.  I did not bring any Champagne flutes so we made do with what we had.

This sparkling wine poured clear, bright, crisp and cold just like the first day of the New Year here in Michigan.  Made of 100% Glera grapes in the hills of Valdobbiadene this wine, like all Prosecco wines, is meant to be enjoyed young.  It is grown in morainic soil which is perfect as the area we were in when enjoying it was also formed during the ice age.

Michigan was once ocean and during the ice age land was formed by the glaciers. When the ice age ended our water was now fresh and potable.  However you can still see remnants of the ocean in our State stone, the Petoskey stone, which is fossilized coral and in the salt mines that used to be in operation.

At a price point of about $20 it was a wonderful wine to ring in 2020.  My friends in the Italian FWT group are going to be meeting up for Twitter Chat tomorrow, January 3, at 11 AM ET to talk about the Italian Wines they introduced to their family and friends at the urging of  Jeff of Food Wine Click.  You can learn more at his invitation post.

I hope you are able to join us for chat tomorrow morning.  We love welcoming and introducing new people into our group.  Here are the topics we will be discussing......

• Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares "Sips and Eats Around the Boot: A Primer to Italian Wines and Pairings"
• Lynn at Savor the Harvest shares "Introducing the Diversity of Italian Wine"
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm shares "Ringing in the New Year with Loved Ones and Prosecco"
• Pinny at Chinese Food and Wine Pairings shares "Sharing Lugana DOC - Winter Whites With Friends"
• Marcia at Joy of Wine shares "The World of Italian Wine: Where Do I Begin?"
• Gwen at Wine Predator shares "4 To Try in 2020: Italy's Franciacorta, Fruili, Chianti, Mt. Etna"
• Cindy at Grape Experiences shares “Why the Wines and Food of Custoza DOC are Some of Veneto’s Many Pleasures”
• Susannah at Avvinare shares “Three Noble Red Grapes that Help to Navigate the Italian Peninsula”
• Linda at My Full Wine Glass shares "What exactly IS this Italian grape?"
• Jen at Vino Travels shares “The Beginnings to Understanding Italian Wine”
• Kevin at Snarky Wine shares "Cutting Your Teeth on Italian Wines"
• Katarina at Grapevine Adventures shares "3 Grapes to Get a Beginner's Taste of Italian Wine"
• Nicole at Somm's Table shares "Italian Wine 101 Cheat Sheet"
• Jeff at Food Wine Click! shares "Italian Wine 101 - Start Your Journey Here"

Chinese Chicken Curry #FoodieExtravaganza

This Chicken Curry is not only absolutely delicious, it is ready in well less than half an hour.  You will never order take out again.

Welcome to the first Foodie Extravaganza of the New Year......