SCORE one for the kids!!!

I awoke last Friday morning to the sound of the cold wind rattling the glass in my bedroom windows. What happened; yesterday was 70 degrees?!! Today posed quite a challenge for me… I had opened my mouth and volunteered to cater the tailgating portion of a charity soccer event that my company was sponsoring with an organization called America SCORES... 60 kids and about 20 adults and it was absolutely freezing outside!!! This organization focuses on empowering students in urban communities by using soccer, writing, creative expression and service-learning… they help to inspire youth to lead healthy lifestyles, be engaged students and become agents of change in their communities. In keeping with the theme “healthy” yet needing the food to be cold, I settled on a Chicken Fajita Bar as the menu. I had already cleaned and cooked 40 lbs. of chicken breast and my partner & I had already purchased all of the food so I HAD to do it now… even if it was only 35 degrees outside!

I can now honestly tell you that neither a hurricane nor a monsoon could ever keep me from doing this again and by the time the event was over I had dozens of new friends and had helped put smiles on the faces of these extraordinary children that live in a place where life challenges them daily. I work with other charities, however, this one allowed me to actually interact with these children. They made some really cute comments to me about the food and were extremely grateful for all of the efforts… they figured we’d bring chips & soda and never dreamed it would be fresh chicken breast with all the fixins’ for make-your-own fajitas. One little girl with “low fat” pudding all over her face came to me and said, “Toni, I’ve just GOT to thank you… I just had a party in my tummy!”  I think I laughed & cried at the same time.

When all was said and done I was relieved to find out that we will have many opportunities to work with these kids in the future. I met my husband for dinner that evening and he even noticed that I was flying high! I feel sorry for people who have so much and don’t give anything back… they’ll never experience the sheer joy of actually making a difference.

I returned home with about 30 red & green peppers, a bag of onions that Danielle just could not get through after slicing the first bag, salsa, sour cream and a big bag of shredded cheddar cheese. First I thought, “Bonus!” But then I started to feel guilty; this food did not belong to me, it was purchased by funds provided by my company. What to do, what to do??? Finally, it came to me… I just added a couple of extra ingredients and came up with a new recipe; Spicy Stuffed Sombreros!  I brought them into work and fed some of my coworkers and co-volunteers. Feedback was great and I could finally feel good about having the leftover ingredients and a new recipe for the book! This is one of those things that you kind of just throw together; no measuring! With all of these tasty ingredients there is no way they could come out bad!!! So… in honor of those special kids from “Eastie”… give this recipe a try, close your eyes and feel the joy of knowing that YOU can make a difference!

Spicy Stuffed Sombreros

Red and/or Green Bell Peppers

Brown Rice (cooked & cooled)

Canned Black Beans

Italian Hot Sausage (removed from casings, cooked and crumbled)

Ground Beef (browned & drained)

Bread Crumbs

Shredded Cheddar Cheese (don’t be stingy)

Salsa

Sour Cream

Slice off top of peppers and remove core.

Combine the next 6 ingredients in a bowl and generously stuff it into the peppers. Carefully place in a baking dish and top each pepper with more cheddar cheese.

Cover with foil and bake in a 375° oven for 1 hour. Turn oven off, uncover peppers and leave in oven for 15 minutes.

Serve with lots of salsa and sour cream! Soooooooo yummy!

A couple of shots from the day:

This one’s for you, Renee!

At the end of August, my husband & I traveled back to my hometown for the wedding of one of the sweetest girls I have ever known, Renee. As expected, it was quite a joyful celebration on a day only God could have created and the bride and groom were jubilant. I spent a lot of time that day noticing how much Renee had changed; how she had flourished into a gorgeous young woman. The skinny, freckle-faced kid with the braces and frizzy hair who I had always thought was so cute was now tall and poised; scarlet locks framing a flawless face with the smile of an angel… she was stunning! When had this happened?  Here I was, standing there the entire evening trying to balance myself on my new "skinny heeled" shoes... I tipped a couple of times but never managed to hit the floor, thank goodness!  Where was MY youth?!!! Time passes much too swiftly for this old girl and I’m pooped just thinking about it.

Anyway, Renee and her handsome hubby, Paul both work hard and have extremely busy lives. As a new bride, she is fairly green around the kitchen (though she sure knows where to find the hooch in the fridge) and I promised to post some quick & easy recipes for her to try out on the mister. Well Renee… I hope you’re reading… this one is great for a quick weeknight meal. It boasts of being so quick & delicious that it will not only tickle his tongue, it will also tickle his fancy and leave plenty of time for you to reap its rewards… if you know what I mean!

Fiesta Chicken & Rice


6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 pkg. Taco Seasoning Mix
Non-Stick Cooking Spray
1 jar Chunky Salsa
1 8oz. pkg. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 pkg. Yellow Rice Mix (Follow package   directions to prepare)
1 Lime
Sour Cream
2 handfuls Chopped Fresh Cilantro

Rub chicken with the taco seasoning on both sides. Place in re-sealable plastic bag and refrigerate overnight.

The next day after work, coat an oven safe frying pan that has a lid with the cooking spray and heat on medium heat until pan is nice and hot. Arrange chicken slices in the pan and cook, turning once, until lightly browned on both sides. Pour in the salsa, cover and turn heat off. Transfer to a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Top with the cheddar cheese and place uncovered dish back in the oven for 5 additional minutes.

Divide yellow rice onto plates. Top with chicken breast.

Slice the lime into wedges and squeeze 1 wedge onto each chicken breast. Top each with a dollop of sour cream and lots of cilantro!

*You can top with sliced jalapeno peppers to add extra spice.
**Serve with fresh spinach and re-fried beans for a well rounded meal.

And now for the two of you, my 5 simple rules for happiness...

(1) Free your heart from hatred.
(2) Free your mind from worries.
(3) Live simply.
(4) Give more.
(5) Expect less.

If you had to sum up the rules to live a happy healthy life these five would most likely come up on top. So keep them with you. You can drop them in a jacket pocket, string them on a necklace, and even place them under a pillow. Anyway you chose to keep them close to you will benefit you and your soul and the many lives and souls you chose to share them with.

I love you guys!!!

♪ Happy Birthday Dear Neicey, Happy Birthday to YOU!!! ♪

Today my cousin, Denise celebrates her 44th birthday… we call her Neicey and she looks like she’s 24!!! She informed me last week that Chicken Marsala is her all-time favorite meal and asked me if I would share my recipe with her boyfriend, Chris who was planning on making it for her birthday dinner. Most of my recipes are either in my head or jotted down on one of the 500 yellow stickies that I have splattered everywhere and this one was no exception. Because I love her so much and I wasn’t there to make it for her myself, I needed to insure that Chris would be able to make it PERFECT! I spent extra time rummaging around in my brain to make certain to include every step until I was confident that he would be able to easily reproduce this mouthwatering symphony of flavors… it had to be PERFECT!!!

Last night, Chris and Neicey’s children prepared Triple Mushroom Chicken Marsala using my recipe. After the meal, she sent me a text telling me how great it tasted. I thought that I’d feel a sense of pride somehow because it was MY recipe but that’s not what I felt at all… I read her words and all I could feel was the warmth, caring, tenderness and love that her family put into the entire evening; they could have served her corn flakes and she would have been just as happy. It wasn’t the food… it was the people and the love that they share; the food was just the one ingredient that gathered them together. I am a happy girl! May God bless you and may this recipe bring you all together…

Triple Mushroom Chicken Marsala


8 or 10 Boneless Chicken Breasts (pounded or thin fillets)
Flour (enough to coat chicken)
4 Large Eggs
1/3 Cup Milk
Vegetable Oil for frying
2 Pkgs. Brown Gravy Mix (dry)
1 Cup Cold Water
1 of Stick Butter
2 Cans Beef Broth
1/3 Bottle (or more to taste) Marsala Wine
Dash or two of Worcestershire Sauce
White Mushrooms (sliced)
Cremini Mushrooms (sliced)
Shitake Mushrooms (sliced)
Salt & pepper
Large handful of Parsley

Make sure that chicken breast cutlets are pretty thin. Pour flour onto a plate; adding more as needed. Dredge chicken cutlets in the flour making sure to coat each piece completely. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs & the milk together. Pour enough oil in a frying pan to amount to 1 inch. Heat oil over medium high heat. When the oil is very hot, take a floured piece of chicken, dip it in the egg mixture and place it in the hot oil. You will only need to cook each piece for about 1 minute; turning once until the batter starts to brown (first piece sometimes does not brown). Repeat this process until all chicken pieces have been battered. Drain onto a paper towel lined baking dish.

Place the water into a medium saucepan; turn on heat to medium low. Whisk in the packages of gravy mix and stir until all lumps are gone and gravy starts to thicken. Add the stick of butter & stir until melted. When butter is melted, add the broth, Marsala wine and the Worcestershire sauce. Continue to stir until mixture starts to bubble then turn off the heat.

Remove paper towels from the baking pan and stack the chicken at an angle like a row of dominos that has been tipped over. Pour all sliced mushrooms on top of the chicken. Pour the gravy mixture over the chicken & mushrooms. Sprinkle lots of parsley on the top. Cover with foil and bake at 375° for 40-45 minutes (sauce should be simmering). Remove foil and serve immediately. This chicken will melt in your mouth... ENJOY!

Spiders & Measuring Cups; my two biggest phobias…

SPIDER
Pronunciation: \ˈspī-dər\

Dictionary Definition: any of an order (Araneae syn. Araneida) of arachnids having the abdomen usually un-segmented and constricted at the base, chelicerae modified into poison fangs, and two or more pairs of abdominal spinnerets for spinning threads of silk for various uses, as in making cocoons for their eggs or webs to catch prey.

Toni Taverna’s Definition: A huge, hairy, volatile & venomous insect that is on this earth for the sole purpose of terrifying me and eventually leading to my demise.

When my brothers and I were kids we lived in a nice house on the top of a hill in Middletown, NY. One summer, the town decided to replace the broken down slabs of slate on our street with shiny new concrete sidewalks. We were aware that it would take some time to complete the project but we also knew it would lessen the number of daily bumps & bruises we sustained from bike riding on the existing ruins and we were very excited. Before we knew it, there were crews of large, burly men, backhoes, dump trucks, concrete mixers and plenty of dust right outside our window… but it was what emerged on the inside of our house that was terrifying to me… SPIDERS… BIG, HAIRY SPIDERS!!!

Apparently, these horrific creatures liked the peace & quiet of our house as much as we did. They were everywhere; in the cellar, on the walls in our bedrooms, in the corners of the living room and the ceiling of the kitchen. Now my mom said that I exaggerated the size of these creatures, or at least she did until the day when she frantically called my dad to come home and kill the “tarantula” by the washer & dryer in the basement! Just like NEVER swimming in the ocean after seeing “JAWS”, that summer planted a life long fear into me that has done nothing but escalate through the years! To this day, if I see a spider I wrap my arms around myself and freeze in my tracks; those treacherous beasts will be the death of me yet!

MEASURE
Pronunciation: \ˈme-zhər

Dictionary Definition: A fixed or suitable limit.

Toni Taverna’s Definition: A confinement of personal expression.

I think my mom’s despise for cooking and her love for baking all stem from the (what I call) mind-numbing undertaking of measurement. When you cook “real food”, there is almost always room for modification; with baking… just about every ingredient must be measured exactly or you will run the risk of your final creation falling, clumping, burning or not tasting like it should.

Why would I rather create an exquisite work of art satiated with flubs, flaws and feelings when I could simply paint by numbers and express someone else’s vision? It’s personal… the love of cooking & entertaining is very personal to me and each individual dish comes from my hands and my heart. Like a snowflake… no two are alike.

Okay, okay… enough of the fluff! Below is an example of a recipe which needs no measurements; just your fingers to lick and taste, allowing you to create… not re-create…

Hot & Bubbly Spinach Artichoke Dip

Thawed, frozen chopped spinach
Marinated artichoke hearts chopped
Cream cheese
Sour cream
Mayonnaise
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Salt
Garlic powder
Paprika for sprinkling


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Squeeze all water out of spinach then combine all ingredients in a bowl; mix together thoroughly. Pour mixture into a glass baking dish. Sprinkle Paprika on top so dip turns golden brown. Bake for approximately 45 minutes or until dip is bubbly and heated through. Serve with assorted crackers and tortilla chips.

So if you’re feeling a little blue today, go into the kitchen and express yourself then join me for dessert… chocolate cake with chocolate frosting baked by someone else… hey, I never said I didn’t like to eat it!!! Cioccolato è amore!

All Loafed Up with My Family!!!

For anyone who knows the maternal side of my family, you know that they (especially you Uncle Bill) will use ANY excuse to have a party… ANY! We have hosted events such as “Mother’s Day Happy Hour”, numerous “Baked Bean Tosses”, the christening of the “Chickie-Pooh”, “General Montgomery Day Bashes”, “Happy Halloweenie” barbeques and “Crazy Hat Parties” for Easter Sunday. Our most recent excuse for a party was historic though…


One evening, I was talking to my uncle on the phone and it appeared to me… shockingly… that he was a little tipsy; it was a Saturday and that’s the only day of the week that he allows himself to indulge. He puts on no airs about himself and he has a distinct “rural sophistication” like none I’ve ever known before… the man drinks the best Merlot and top shelf Single Malt Scotch out of a mason jar!!! He asked what I was doing that evening and I told him that I had a meatloaf baking in the oven. “Meatloaf? Meatloaf? I LOVE meatloaf!” he exclaimed, and before anyone knew what had hit them, “THE 2009 HUDD FAMILY MEATLOAF COOK-OFF” was born!

There were big meatloaves, small meatloaves, meatloaves with ketchup, meatloaves with BBQ sauce, beef meatloaves, turkey meatloaves, road kill meatloaves; one loaf in particular looked like a shriveled up old dinosaur’s pee-pee (didn’t touch that one) but hey… everyone gave it their best shot! Meatloaf isn’t my specialty but mine was baked with roasted garlic, peppers, onions and sour cream and I won 2nd prize… which was nothing.

My cousin’s husband, Todd took home 1st prize… which was nothing… but the title was well deserved as his loaf had a huge log of cheddar cheese oozing out of the middle of it… can you say Yummmmmeeeee?

My other cousin’s husband, Tom was the big competitor though… he antagonized my aunt & uncle for days before. Unfortunately for him, he was sick that day and by the time my cousin brought it over for him we were all “meatloafed out”. Therefore, Tom won the Boobie prize which was something! It was a key chain that moaned certain sexual sounds when you pushed a button which I had recycled from a previous gift given to me by a hot women’s underwear model… you know who you are, Joe! I don’t think Tom appreciated being sick that day or the wonderful prize that he won but I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that the key chain will be showing up again somewhere soon!

Moral of the story… food & family are the best reasons to celebrate; even if they do look like a dinosaur’s pee-pee!!!

It's Thursday and today... we celebrate life!!!

I am fortunate enough to work with a great group of people here in Boston. One of my coworkers, who I am proud to call “friend”, hosts a “Big Fall Bash” on her property in Wayland, MA on the first Saturday in October every year. The guest list for this little gathering can easily be compared to the prominence of the ET Emmy Party this year… she surrounds herself with family, friends and all those dear to her heart. This coming Saturday is when the 6th annual BFB was scheduled to take place but, unfortunately, we’re supposed to get a nasty storm this weekend so my friend was forced to cancel the festivities. She had previously told me that she had never had to cancel and that it was always a great day.


She announced the postponement today (‘til October 2nd, 2010)… her signature smile unfaltering, yet we all knew there was nothing insignificant about her decision. She is a breast cancer survivor; she started this joyous celebration 6 years ago when she learned that she has a LONG life ahead of her. No amount of wind or rain could ever change that fact but still, the cancellation of her celebration of life was unquestionably disheartening. That’s where my coworkers & I came in! We have deemed today, Thursday, October 1st, the “Celebration of Life Day” and today… we celebrate with her! So… what comes to my mind first??? FOOD of course!!! What could I prepare for her that was delicious, healthy and festive??? Got it!!! Thai Vegetable Rolls w/Spicy Peanut Sauce… these little gems would definitely send a ray of sunshine her way...

Thai Vegetable Rolls w/Spicy Peanut Sauce

Vegetable Rolls:

Large Flour Tortillas

Fresh Spinach

Snow Peas

Red Bell Peppers

Zucchini

Carrots

Scallions

Do not cook spinach; simply soak in hot water or microwave. Julienne peppers, zucchini and carrots into match sticks. Microwave all veggies except spinach and scallions for 3-5 minutes (they should still be crunchy). Fill first third of tortilla with the veggies. Grab veggies and tortilla and roll as tight as you can. Seal edge with warm water or peanut butter. Wrap each roll very tightly in plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining tortillas and veggies. Refrigerate for a few hours or as long as overnight or freeze for just an hour. Remove rolls from plastic wrap and cut slices about two inches wide on a slight angle. Arrange rolls on a platter on their sides so the colorful veggies show. Serve with peanut sauce.

Spicy Peanut Sauce:

Store Purchased Asian Marinade and/or Dressing

Creamy Peanut Butter

Brown Sugar (to taste)

Tabasco or Red Hot (to taste)

Chili Powder

Combine dressing and peanut butter in blender. Blend on medium speed for a few minutes. Mixture should have the consistency of a smooth cake batter. Add a generous amount of brown sugar and hot sauce and continue to blend for a few more minutes. Just keep tasting until it’s to your liking. Pour in bowl and place in center of platter. Sprinkle the Peanut Sauce with chili powder and garnish platter with some sliced scallions. If you want to serve with two sauces, ranch dressing makes a decent second choice.

The perfect nibble to remind us all of the bright colors & vast flavors of life! We love you Sue!!!