Snowflake Gingerbread Cookies

I've been meaning to make these little beauties for a while now, and finally I found the time! The warm fragrant notes of cinnamon, ginger, cloves and molasses lingered in the home for 2 days after! I took a spin on the icing and added ground almonds to the icing sugar. They are so pretty to look at my family is having a hard time eating them. They make wonderful gifts from the heart. Recipe below. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
3/4    cup softened unsalted butter
3/4    cup brown sugar
1/4    cup cooking molasses OR unsulphured molasses
1       egg (lightly beaten)
2 1/2 cups pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4    tsp salt
3       tsp ground cinnamon
3       tsp ground ginger
2       tsp ground cloves

Icing:
1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
1/3 cup Ground Almonds
1    tablespoon softened butter
2    tablespoons Milk
Cream all ingredients together, add more milk if you want to use icing for flooding technique

Method:
Cream together butter, sugar, molasses and egg. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves, once sifted together add to creamed mixture of butter and sugars and mix well. Cover in saran wrap and refrigerate for one hour. It can also be frozen for future use. Roll out on slightly floured cutting board to 1/8 (3mm) in thickness, cut out desired shapes. Place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake in preheated oven at 375F (190C) for five to six minutes until tan. Cool on rack. Makes 7 dozen 2 inch cookies.

Christmas Broccoli - Romanesco

With the help of my friend this neat vegetable has been identified as romanesco broccoli, also known as Roman cauliflower. When I came across the beautiful vegetable flower I knew I had to share it with you. It dates back to 16th C Italy. It's absolutely visually striking, and it makes me happy to know that this is not a genetically modified food, but rather mother natures touch.

Greens, Beets and Goat Cheese Salad in Raspberry Vinaigrette

This is a delish and quick salad, that will satisfy many health conscious divas, not to mention it's fit for kings and queens. It's my favorite salad to make, whether it's for myself or company. The raspberry vinaigrette is the perfect compliment to the sweet beets and cranberries.

Ingredients:

Mixed Greens and/or Spinach and/or Arugula
Canned, Baby or sliced Beets
Goat Cheese or Blue Cheese
Cranberries
Roasted Pecans (leave on middle rack in pre-heated oven @150deg C for 10minutes)
- can substitute with Walnuts
Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing
S&P to taste

Oven baked Phili Smoked Salmon Pita with Capers and Red Onions

If you're a pizza lover you'll surely appreciate my spin on this quick gourmet pizza! Use pita or naan bread of your choice, I chose to go with whole wheat pita as it's calorie and fat content was significantly less than the others. Proceed to coat the bread with either philadelphia or goat cheese, layer with smoked salmon, finally topping off with capers and red onions. If you have fresh dill, feel free to sprinkle on top. Bake in pre-heated oven at 200 degrees celsius for 20 minutes or until pita has browned at the edges. Serve immediately after taking out of oven. Enjoy!

Unique Christmas Wreaths

One of my fondest memories from childhood was marveling over all the neat Christmas decorations my sister and I were going to put up on the tree, while claiming ownership year after year over our favorite ones. The best part of every year, was the family rushing around the tree, from my father securing it into a water filled bucket, the top tied to the wall. My mother helping us open up all the boxes that had retired from the basement. Oh what joy! There is something about that fresh pine smell that fills the house during the holidays! Post holidays was a sad time, the tree was left undressed and looked very sad having lost nearly all it's needles. While living in Bremen, Germany, on the fourth floor of an apartment building, we soon found it was customary to throw the used tree out the window, to prevent a mess in the stairwell!  Eventually our family found it both more environmentally sound and more affordable to invest in a beautiful faux tree, not to mention less mess!  And so with the faux tree, died the fresh forest smell that we so relished year after year. I've taken it upon myself to bring that scent back into the home in a much smaller, more manageable way; CHRISTMAS WREATHS! Not only are they environmentally sound and simple enough to make, you can put your personal touch on them! They are simply beautiful. I wanted to share with you this years creations!

Materials: 
Industrial Quality Wire - Home Depot
Green Twine, for securing branches around wire
Garden Sheers
Decorations

Photographer Ellen Von Unwerth

These stunning photographs by Ellen Von Unwerth appeared in the LULA MAGAZINE, spring/summer 2008. Ellen Von Unwerth is a German born photographer, who started her career in fashion as a model which lasted for over ten years before she moved behind the camera. She now works on fashion editorials for moguls such as Vogue, Vanity Fair and Interview. Her photographs are best known for encompassing female eroticism. The Crown of love editorial shoot features clothes of the likes of Christian Dior, Emilio Cavallini, Anna Molinari, D&G, Sergio Rossi, Miu Miu, Moschino, Sonia Rykiel, Gina, Paul&Joe, and Louis Vuitton. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did.

Eataly Market

Dreamed up by Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich, Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Eataly founder Oscar Farinetti, the Eataly Market brings Little Italy into New York City. At 50,000 square feet it hosts multiple restaurants including Manzo a high-end steakhouse, Neapolitan pizzeria, Lavazza coffe bar specializing in paninis, venchi chocolates and house made gelato, and a rooftop beer garden and microbrewery just to name a few.

 Eataly Market Produce offers seasonally and locally grown fruits and vegetables.

The bakery features a wood fired oven where loaves, buns and the likes of focaccia are baked daily.

The Butcher stations offer both American and Italian cuts of meat, including roasted and smoked meats. You can sample prosciutto and artisan cheeses with a fine glass of white or red in the adjacent standing only bar station. If you're not into red meat, head over to the fresh fish station, where you'll find all sorts of fruit of the ocean to delight yourself with.  I couldn't resist the fresh oysters that were divinely smooth and delicate.

Pastry Chef Luca Montersino delivers excellence for every palette, you can find everything from mini dolci to tarts, tiramisu shots. One thing is for certain, everything looks delightful!

The Marketplace offers Italian specialty items such as jarred jams, olives, olive oils, tomato sauces, antipasti,  Italian refreshments, and assorted sweets to name a few.

Adjacent to the market is the Eataly Vino Store which offers fine Italian wines for any occasion, if you're not a wine connoisseur the friendly staff will surely pair up the right wine with whatever you're serving that evening.