For National Pistachio Day, I share my Super Simple Cannoli Cups recipe.
Super Simple Cannoli Cups
The magic of cannoli pastries has as much to do with the Ricotta Impastata filling as it does with the delectable pastry rolls. However, we can also enjoy the yumminess without making the pastries.
2 c (16 oz) whole milk ricotta cheese
½ heaping cup powdered sugar (Confectioners’ sugar)
1/2 tsp 100% pure vanilla extract (or spiced rum or brandy)
¼ – ½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp dried orange peel (or 1 tsp fresh orange zest), optional
Garnishes: coarsely chopped pistachios and mini chocolate chips
Place drained ricotta in a large mixing bowl; stir in sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and orange peel thoroughly. Spoon (or pipe) into your individual serving dishes. Garnish and chill till serving time.
KISS Notes: Powdered, not granular sugar, is needed for this recipe, as regular sugar will leave an undesirable, slightly grainy texture. It’s best to let ricotta drain in a cheesecloth-lined fine-mesh sieve over a bowl in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight. While this is especially important when filling cannoli pastry tubes, it is an optional step for this recipe. (When making cannoli pastries, double this recipe for the filling.)
Family Friendly Margarita Punch
KISS Tips: Try paper umbrellas with long stems as the garnish skewers. For other variations, blend in fresh or frozen strawberries or include berries in the ice cubes. You could also add muddled fresh jalapeno slices (no seeds) for a crazy bit of kick. This would also be delightful served in a carved-out watermelon.
Celebrate National Crab Stuffed Flounder Day with another Super Simple recipe. Rolled or served open-faced, this easy dish can look fancy, but it’s not complicated at all.
shrimp and/or scallops to the seasoned onion-pepper mixture. ½ tsp dry mustard or 1 tsp to 1 T spicy mustard is also a yummy twist. Flounder is a sweet, white fish, so you could also consider using fillets of tilapia, sole, cod, haddock, or orange roughy. For a lovely presentation, prepare each filet in individual au gratin dishes.
“A committee is a cul-de-sac down which ideas are lured and then quietly strangled.”
On National Peppermint Patty Day we celebrate the peppermint-filled chocolate goodies. The oldest is credited to the Quiggins family on the Isle of Man in the middle of the northern Irish Sea in 1840. Perhaps the best known, the York Peppermint Patties, joined us 100 years later. Treat yourself to your favorite peppermint patty today!
“The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others.”
May the best (Patriots) team (Patriots) win (Patriots)!
On National Feed the Birds Day, let’s remember to help our feathered friends a bit. Typically, I don’t suggest feeding the birds unless you can do it all through the winter season. But this has been a particularly harsh winter, so on this day of days, go for it! Sunflower seeds or a chunk of suet with lots of seeds attached helps give them the fat they need to make up for no insects to gobble up.
For National Groundhog Day, we all got the news we did not want…. Winter is not ending early. This past weekend, North Carolina set a record, getting snow in all 100 counties with 17” in much of the southeastern coast, including a whopping 19.5” in Peletier. (We got lucky…. Just 6 or 7”.) Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi, has only gotten 11” of snow for this entire season. Crazy.
So, will Punxsutawney Phil be correct? Another 6 weeks of winter? We usually only get a total of 6 weeks of winter, so I think we emerge within the next 2. Friends up north AND in Florida repeatedly say they have had more than enough of this winter already. Happy Hour on the deck, anyone? Come on, Spring!
“Before you give up 
“‘History repeats itself’ and ‘History never repeats itself’ are about equally true… We never know enough about the infinitely complex circumstances of any past event to prophesy the future by analogy.”
Celebrate National Southern Food Day. This is a cuisine smothered in YUM! Go for fried chicken, barbecue, catfish, grits, biscuits, gumbo, peach cobbler, jambalaya, fish dip, and soooo much more!
Zesty Gumbo Kebabs
On 12 metal or warm water-soaked bamboo skewers, threat proteins, veggies, & fruit, alternating for color (or cooking each type all together, as you prefer). Mix remaining ingredients together and drizzle or brush over prepared kebabs in dish with sides. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour. Grill 5 min per side on cooking oil sprayed med-hot grill, basting with marinade. Serve over hot rice. Makes 6 entrée servings of 2 skewers or 12 tapas kebabs.
“It is better to light a candle than to curse at the darkness.”
