Still going through Giada’s cookbook. All her recipes are pretty similar. Tomatoes. Olive oil. Etc. But salmon, which doesn’t seem so Italian, is amazingly tasty. It’s gotta be the shallots. I love me some shallots.

ingredients:
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Fresh lemon juice from half a lemon
3/4 tsp dried oregano
3/4 tsp. dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 black pepper
4 salmon filets

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl stir together everything but the salmon.

Ready 4 large sheets of aluminum foil. Spoon another 1/2 tsp oil into the center of each sheet. Place the samlon filet on top and turn to coat in the oil.

Spoon the tomato mixture on top of each filet. Fold the sides of the foil over the fish and tomatoes, covering and sealing completely.

Place the packets on a baking sheet – I put a silpat underneath, just in case there is leakage.

Bake until the salmon is just cooked through, about 25 minutes. Transfer packets to plates – be careful when you open them, the steam is hot!

Great dish for a light and healthy dinner.

This is a recipe from Giada’s Everday Italian cookbook. I changed it up a bit, according to what ingredients I had on hand. The kids LOVED this. Who can’t resist prosciutto and mozzarella, anyway??

ingredients:
salt
1 package (12-16 oz) tubular pasta
1-1/2 pounds asparagus
2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
6 ounces diced mozzarella cheese
6 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into small pieces

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. While the water is boiling, prep your ingredients. Trim the asparagus and cut diagonally into 1 inch pieces. Dice your mozzarella and cut up the prosciutto.

Add the pasta and cook for 5 minutes stirring often. (Giada suggests ziti, I used fusilli.) Add the asparagus and cook until the pasta is tender but firm and the asparagus is crip-tender, about 3-4 minutes. Drain the pasta and the asparagus, reserving 1-1/2 cups of the cooking liquid.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant (DO NOT BURN). Only about 20 seconds. Add the pasta and asparagus, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and the 1-1/2 cups of reserved cooking liquid. Why the pasta water? It keeps the pasta from sticking, due to the starch that is in the water.

Toss to coat. Remove from the heat and add the mozzarella and prosciutto. Toss to combine. Transfer to a platter and serve.

I’m sure you can change this up with broccoli instead of asparagus, ham instead of prosciutto, but the flavors of the base recipe are so good, I think I’d leave it the way it is. This is a very simple recipe and was a big hit with the whole family.

I make this every year for my Uncle’s 4th of July party. It’s light and refreshing and people get a kick out of it when you cut it open. It doesn’t taste like watermelon, but it looks like one!
ingredients:
1 half gallon of lime sherbet
1 half gallon of vanilla ice cream
3 pints of Haagen Daaz raspberry sorbet
1-1/2 cups of mini chocolate chips

Line a metal bowl with plastic wrap, put it in the freezer to chill.

Mix Lime sherbet until soft, then pack around the entire bowl about 1/2″ thick all around the sides and the bottom, completely lining the bowl. Put back into freezer. You can do this in stages, just as long as it’s set. As little as 30 minutes or as long as a few hours, up to you on the timing.

Take HALF of the half gallon of vanilla and add a layer on top of the lime, about 1/4″ thick. Place in freezer to set.

Thaw and soften 3 pints (or make your own) of any kind of red sorbet, raspberry is pretty tasty. Put in a small bowl and stir it up til it’s slightly melty.

Stir with MINI chocolate chips so they look like watermelon “seeds”.

Now take the bomb out of the freezer and fill the center with the raspberry and chocolate chip combo. Isn’t it starting to look like a watermelon? Cover the top with the remaining half of the vanilla ice cream – so the inside is a SURPRISE! Cover in plastic wrap and place back in the freezer until you are ready to serve.

To thaw – leave on the counter for a few minutes and wrap the bottom of the bowl in warm wet towels. (You can set the base in warm water but be CAREFUL, one slip and the bomb will be drowned. I wouldn’t recommend it.) Use the lining that you made with the plastic wrap to lift out the bomb.

Set flat side up on a plate and slice.

Cut, and VOILA! A slice of faux “watermelon!”

Jello with a little extra something. Kids love it.
ingredients:
1 small package Jello (any flavor)
1 cup boiling water
1 cup Sprite

Put Jello mix in a bowl, add the boiling water and stir well until dissolved. Add the 1 cup of Sprite and again, mix well.

Pour into 4 dessert glasses. Refridgerate until set, about 3 hours. Serve with whipped cream.

**Note: Sometimes the top layer of the jello gets a little…hard. Kinda ew. I suggest scraping it off for a nice clean look and taste, but hey, that’s just me.