The Hugo Spritz - Recipe

I remember the first time I ever savored a Hugo Spritz. It was on a warm summer afternoon while at a lavender festival in Venzone, Italy. I had run into a friend at a local bar. Saw she was drinking something which clearly involved mint and lime. Mojitos are my absolute favorite cocktail so I had to ask. She replied, "This? This is a Hugo Spritz." Thus my new love was born. I asked the bartender how I could make one at home and he shared the

Hugo Spritz Recipe.

  It's simple and delicious and contains a combination of elderflower syrup or liqueur and Prosecco.In Italy the phrase "bar" most often refers to a place you can get an espresso, usually consumed quickly, standing at the bar, or quick meal and a glass of wine, it's not like the bars here in the States. Kids are often seen enjoying gelato or sandwich while their parents enjoy a spritz, as did I on this special day when I sipped my first Hugo Spritz, and then my second. It was pretty hot as I recall. Making this the perfect simple recipe for a refreshing drink you can savor all summer long.

Alas, I am no longer in Italy and though I miss it every single day, there are still ways to bring Italy home to America. One of those ways is the wonderful aperitifs... Like this lovely and very pretty Hugo Spritz.

Authentic Italian Hugo Spritz Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 ozSt. Germain or other Elderflower Liqueur (or syrup). 

• 3-4freshMint Leaves

• 1small slicelime (optional)

• 2 oz unflavored sparkling water

• 4-5ouncesprosecco*, chilled

• ice

To prepare:

1. Fill a wine glass with ice. If you want to serve it as it is served in Italy only add two ice cubes, three at the most. If your guests ask you for more give them the side eye and huff, "No!".

2. Pour one ounce of St. Germain directly over the ice and then add a few mint leaves and a slice of lime.

3. Top off the glass with 4-5 ounces of chilled prosecco.

4. Stir briskly for a moment and enjoy pronto!

*For a non-alcoholic version, swap out the wine for ginger ale or lemon/lime soda and use Elderflower syrup. 

How do I have a fifteen-year-old son? & How to make a box cake taste like you made it from scratch.

Where has the time gone? It's so true what the say when you're the parent of really young children and you think you'll never sleep again.The adage goes something like, "The days and nights are long, but the years are short." Never have true words been spoken when it comes to raising children. Some days are so, so, so very long. Others are wonderful days spent making beautiful messes and chasing purple dragons. I've been writing about my son on this (or some version of it) blog since he was two or three. Now, granted, as he got older, and I got busier raising my other kids, and writing elsewhere, I haven't been as consistent with my blogging as I had been when I first began way back in... what was it..? Two-thousand and six. Yet, here I am, reflecting on the fact that my sweet baby boy is a young man and asking myself, how do I have a fifteen-year-old son?He's growing into himself more and more and is becoming quite the human being. I'm so proud to be his mom and I'm so looking forward to watching him go out and live his life all the while being terrified of him growing up even more quickly and getting to that part where he's off on his own. Anyway, before I get a little too purple in my prose here, I'm just going to share some photos from his birthday. We had a simple birthday celebration, at home with just us. He requested a red velvet cake (his favorite) and so I made one for him from "scratch", really I doctored up a box cake mix and it is fabulous. Read on and I'll share my tips for making a box cake taste like homemade or you got it from the absolute best bakery. The decorations are from Target. I have one of those helium tanks you can buy at the store. It's the best thing ever! I can have helium balloons whenever I want some! Balloons are like bubbles, they mean instant happiness to me.So many candles. His cake was so bright!To doctor up your box cake to make it taste like it is homemade from scratch or from the bakery...Substitute the water for milk. The oil for melted butter. Add in a box of instant pudding mix (I recommend the Godiva or Ghiradelli kind), bake as normal. The end result will be a dense, super moist and rich cake.

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Authentic Tres Leche Cake

This weekend my husband celebrated his birthday and I baked him a tres leches (three milks) cake which is one of his all-time favorites. I've tried several recipes and I've found this recipe most closely resembles an authentic Tres Leche Cake you'd enjoy for dessert in many Cuban restaurants in Miami (our home town). Even though Tres Leche is traditionally a Nicaraguan desert, many Cubans and other Hispanic or Latin American cuisines have adopted this delicious dessert and you can too!While I was preparing this cake, I wasn't thinking about sharing the recipe here on my blog, so I have no photos of the prepping stages to share with you, as it was only after I received a few requests via an Instagram post about the cake I decided to share this recipe. I think the recipe is pretty easy to follow, it just has lots of steps. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. This is a delicious cake, but it does require some patience to prepare.I rarely bake. I think the last time I baked anything besides chocolate chip cookies (using pre-made dough) was in June for Ellena's baptism. I do enjoy baking but really only bake when it's meant for someone I love. Since he's my absolute favorite person I was happy to make this for him.

INGREDIENTS:

Cake Batter:

2 cups cake flour2 teaspoons baking powder1/2 teaspoon salt6 large eggs, separated2 cups sugar2 teaspoons vanilla extract1/2 cup whole milk

Milk Syrup:

1  can sweetened condensed milk1 and 1/4 cups whole milk1  can evaporated milk3 tablespoons light rum

Frosting:

4 egg whites1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar1/2 cup water1 cup light corn syrup1 and 1/2 cups sugar

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour a 9 x 13 baking dish and set aside. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. Separate the egg yolks from the whites into a medium-sized bowl. Then beat the whites until very foamy and frothy and aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream the sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer. Continue mixing and slowly add the milk to the egg yolk mixture. Next add the flour mixture to the egg yolk mixture a little bit at a time, until the flour is incorporated and the batter is smooth. Finally, use a spatula to fold in the beaten egg whites until they are mixed.Pour batter into your baking dish. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow cake to cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes.

I like to bake this in a dish that is decorative so I don't have to transfer it. You can transfer it onto a pretty dish after it bakes and is completely cooled by flippig it over as you would a regular cake and then follow the "milk syrup" step as I explained.

For the milk syrup:

Whisk the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, whole milk, and rum in a mixing bowl, until well blended. Pour syrup over the cake a little at a time, until it soaks through. This is a cake that demands patience! Pour the milk syrup slowly and let it soak in. Use your fork to help it along a bit, piercing here and there through the syrup until it soaks in. Keep doing this until most of the milk syrup is absorbed. Don't worry if there is still a pool of syrup around the bottom of the cake, it will gradually soak in. Cover the now syrup-drenched cake in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least three hours before frosting.

Frosting

Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar in a large bowl until they form stiff peaks. Set aside. In a separate pan, mix the water, sugar, and corn syrup. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly until it boils. Allow it to continue to boil for a few more moments. Remove from heat. While beating the egg whites with an electric mixer, immediately pour the hot syrup (SLOWLY) into the egg whites while continuing to beat the batter for an additional five minutes or until stiff peaks are formed it takes me about 7 minutes.  Let frosting cool in refrigerator or freezer if you're in a hurry. Using a wet spatula, spread a generous layer of the frosting on to the cake.

Serve the cake cut individual squares topped with a red maraschino cherry.

This cake must remain refrigerated and served cold.

As I mentioned earlier I have tried several tres leches cake recipes. I adapted this recipe from one I found via the Three Guys from Miami website. You can find their recipe for Three Milks Cake -- Cuban Tres Leches By Three Guys From Miami

Boho Themed Baptism

Ellena was baptized into the Catholic Church on a lovely Sunday morning, on the feast day of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, at our little military chapel.  The day blossomed into a perfect warm summer day, full of sunshine and blue skies. After we came home for a boho themed baptism luncheon.

Scroll down to the bottom of this post, for links and things...

After her baptism, we came home for a lovely and simple bohemian themed lunch. You know I love a theme, so I decorated our dining area with dream catchers I made using doilies and ribbon.All the ladies wore flower crowns I made and after lunch, we dined on a delicious homemade (from scratch) vanilla bean cake "naked" cake I made. I'm so not a baker, but I do try.The cake recipe I used can be found here: Vanilla Naked Cake. Do add the fresh raspberries... it's sooo good. I decorated the cake with fresh roses and peonies.Directions on how to make a flower crown can be found here, or you can always buy a flower crown. This is a cake stand similar to my rustic live edge serving platter I really like these dream catchers. Had I seen these prior to making my own, I totally would've bought these instead. This one has gold dipped feathers just like the ones I made. These come in a four pack! Seriously! I could've saved some cash! I purchased this rustic cake topper from the Etsy shop, Seaside Sass. These glitter ones are cool too and they come in a bunch of different colors!

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How to Make a Cappuccino Without a Machine

Do you wake up excited because it means you get to have coffee? I know I do. I love coffee. One of the things I miss about living in Italy is a really good cappuccino. Not having a cappuccino or a milk frother doohickey to make a cappuccino I had to get creative. You know what they say, “necessity is the mother of invention”, we’ll I needed a cappuccino one morning last winter and this was how  I discovered I could make a cappuccino without a machine.Mind blown right?All you need to make a cappuccino simply and easily without a machine or other contraption is a blender. Heck, you could probably even use a bottle for safe for warm beverages and then shake it REALLY HARD!

Here’s how to make a cappuccino without a machine:

 1. Make your espresso. I use a moka pot.2. Warm your milk (microwave or stove top is fine). I like to use 1/2 2% milk and 1/2 whole milk for a cappuccino, but you can use whatever milk you like.3. Put warm milk in blender for 30 seconds to no more than a minute. The Vitamix is great for this sort of thing because it actually creates heat when it's on high, so I don't need to worry about my milk getting too cold.4. Pour espresso into bottom of your mug. (FYI... It's really hard to take a picture of yourself pouring coffee, while simultaneously trying not to burn yourself.)5. Pour milk. Use a spatula a to gently scoop the froth into your mug.6. Sprinkle your cappuccino with cocoa powder (optional)7. Sweeten to taste and enjoy.Note - You can mix your coffee and sugar and then froth but the level of frothiness won’t be the same.

Back to School Photos

It's hard to believe, we're at the inception of another school year. My eldest son Michael is in eighth grade and younger son is in fourth. They're both such beautiful bright boys. I'm sure this year will be met with many challenges for them both, but with each one they successfully get through, I know their confidence will build and they'll get better and better and overcoming any obstacle they may face.

I Miss Italy - Balsamic Strawberries Over Ice Cream Recipe

I pretty much fell in love with Italy from day one, and lately I've really been missing my life there. In a place that changes little with the decades, each time I would go out, it often felt like a new experience because there was so much to see; even in the small little town I lived in.I thought I'd share a super easy desert I enjoyed that is so quintessentially Italian, and yet isn't a tiramisu or cannoli. Fragole all'aceto balsamico or balsamic vinegar and strawberries pair beautifully;  you'll see this pairing in their cuisine frequently. A strawberry balsamic vinegar reduction as a sauce over steak was a popular dish at a local restaurant, near where I lived. My favorite is a simple combination of the two. You could easily serve these strawberries over a white cake or perhaps even a chocolate cake, but since it's the summer lets do ice cream and be merry.This is the easiest thing in the world to prepare and it only takes a few minutes.Ingredients:1 qt fresh strawberries (defrosted frozen strawberries should work in a pinch).3 tablespoons of sugar (or to taste)4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar2 tablespoons orange juice (optional)dark chocolate chips (optional)Vanilla ice cream or gelato.When it comes to choosing your balsamic vinegar try to use the best vinegar you can find and afford. For this recipe I used Colavita Aged Balsamic Vinegar  because it's pretty good and it is made in Modena which is located in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy where you can easily find this dish.To prepare the strawberries:Rinse and hull the strawberries, then slice them into quarters. Place strawberries into a bowl. Add in the sugar and balsamic vinegar (and orange juice if you're using it) stir until well combined.Serve over ice cream or a white cake (sponge, angel food, or a butter loaf would be nice...) Sprinkle with dark chocolate chips like I did or don't.  Honestly, these strawberries are perfect on their own if you're looking for a refreshing light Springtime or Summer desert.Buon appetito!