Best Italian Flatbread

Sometimes I get annoyed when people say they made the BEST chocolate cake or the BEST short ribs or even the BEST soup.  Soup?  Seriously people?  There are so many small nuances in most recipes (especially soup) that no two people will ever make it the same way twice.  Take bread for instance.  Even precisely measured flour, exact rising times, and a perfectly calibrated oven will not ensure my Best Italian Flatbread is the BEST for you.  Everyone cooks differently and personally, and especially with bread you have to feel the dough in a very personal way (and no I am not trying to dirty here).   Yet, all these things considered, I am willing to go out a limb for this bread and say it is the best for me and I hope it will be the best for you.


Let me tell you why.  

1.) A few simple ingredients combine in a way that is so much more than the sum of their parts.  And when I say 'simple' ingredients, I am really not kidding: flour, salt, italian herbs, and olive oil.  And of course, yeast.  With the exception of yeast, I am quite certain you already have these ingredients in your pantry.  (At least I hope you do.)  

Peppermint (and Cocoa) Meringue Kisses, and Giveaway Winner!

Did everyone have a lovely holiday?  I hope so, and I also hope that many of you are still enjoying a relaxing vacation before heading back to work!  My Christmas with family and friends was everything I hoped it would be and was surprisingly stress-free...with the exception of my flight to Norway.  

The east coast winter storm basically closed most airports and left thousands stranded after the holidays; though my travels were interrupted, I count myself lucky that my delay meant more time with family and not more time sleeping on the floor of Newark Airport.  I finally arrived in Oslo today after having TWO cancelled flights on Sunday and Monday this week (if you follow me on twitter you heard all about it!) and this Norwegian Cilantropist is looking forward to a week and a half of bliss.      

So for today, I am going to tell you about the peppermint meringue kisses that I made before the holidays.  I know that Christmas is officially over, but as a good friend reassured me, peppermint flavors can be enjoyed throughout winter and should not be limited to the holidays.

The recipe comes from Desserts 4 Today by Abigail Dodge; earlier this year, I was the lucky winner of a copy of Desserts 4 Today through a giveaway on VinoLuci's site.  This book has loads of fabulous recipes that all use only four ingredients.  (Get it, Desserts "4" Today?)  Oh yes, you heard me right.  You can whip up a quick and easy dessert with four things that you already have in your pantry, or can easily pick up from your local grocer.      

Created by Diane's Iced Italian Cookies!

Are you on holiday vacation time yet??!  Well, if you aren't free from the ball and chain of work yet, I hope I won't make you too jealous when I tell you I will be off of work for a full two and a half weeks!  YAY!  I just arrived in Ohio this morning, and after a week and change here, I will head to Norway for another week.  I am fully ready for last minute Christmas festivities, catching up with family, and quality time with my honey.  Even in vacation mode I will still be updating with new posts over the next two weeks so be sure to keep up!  


To kick off the holiday vacation season, I am excited to share a guest post from Diane of Created by Diane.  I met her earlier this year, and I immediately liked her friendly personality and infectious smile.  I was also extremely impressed by the simple perfection of her Italian Iced Cookies: they are delicious and they look beautiful.  (I was lucky enough to get one of her signature red hearts that is the trademark of her blog!)  Come Christmastime, I knew I wanted to feature her fantastic recipe, but I also wanted to learn the techniques she uses to decorate her cookies.  What better way than to share a guest post so you can learn her techniques as well!  I hope you enjoy, and be sure to swing by her blog and check out the rest of her great recipes and other Christmas treats like snowflake cookies and Christmas tree Santas.      

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I want to thank Amanda for letting me share my love of cookies with you today!

I'm Diane and I blog at Created by Diane.

Cookies are especially nice at Christmas time, but these cookies can be adapted to meet any occasion. This is my favorite cookie recipe. I bake an Italian Cookie, the type you'd find in an Italian bakery. They aren't as sweet as sugar cookies and rise up nicely, hold their shape and have a cake like quality to them that is irresistible. They have a lovely vanilla taste with a sweet icing on top.

** Cookie and Icing Recipe for Created by Diane's Italian Cookies **

Follow the recipe to bake the cookies, and then these directions for icing:


To start decorating, begin with a cooled cookie and prepare icing according to the recipe. Place icing in a piping bag with a #2 tip for outlining your design.





Outline your cookie. Leave just a little cookie showing so the icing won't fall off the edge when you fill it.  When you do this, hold the tip slightly off the surface of the cookie and just let the icing fall down onto the cookie for a smooth line. Don't stretch the icing.

My Mom's Cranberry Relish

Last month, I had planned to make my pocket pies with cranberry pear filling and I wanted to use fresh cranberries.  Imagine my dismay when I realized that I was one whole month too early for the arrival of these beautiful red beauties at my local grocery store.  I put on my best pouty face, grabbed some dried cranberries, and made damn good pocket pies anyway.  (And might I add, these pies would be the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving dinner table!) 


But now, Thanksgiving is finally upon us and the season for fresh cranberries is officially here.  For me, seeing these cranberries means it is really the holidays.  They smile at me with their bright crimson faces and give me the red light to fully immerse myself in Thanksgiving and Christmas preparations.  So prepare yourselves.  I might get a little crazy.

This is the best nutmeg grater ever.  It is the same one that my grandma uses, and she got me mine from Amish country in Ohio; this nutmeg grater from Norpro looks exactly the same (and is less than $5), and also has the small compartment on top for storing the nutmeg like mine does.  LOVE it.   

Seeing cranberries also makes me think of my mom.  No, she isn't small, red, and round, but she makes me happy too.  Mostly I think of my mom because I grew up eating her cranberry relish every year at Thanksgiving and I loved it.  Excuse me, saying I 'loved' it makes it sound past tense - I love it, as in I swoon over it each time I make it.  When I still lived at home, we would fight over it and eat it on/with everything, or just by itself.  It is cranberry greatness.

And really, the recipe couldn't be more simple.  In my book, the perfect way to worship cranberries is to marry them with a heady mix of spices and just the right amount of sugar; not too much sweetness as to disguise the cranberry, but just enough to dull the sharp tart taste.  One of my other favorite components of this recipe are the big golden raisins and the crunch of the chopped pecans.  I like my applesauce chunky, and my cranberry relish even chunkier; it lets me know there are real ingredients in there and it is not over-processed.  If you like your relish smooth, I would normally just tell you to go ahead and throw in a blender or food processor, but frankly, that is blasphemy in my eyes so we will just pretend I didn't even mention it. 

Instead, I will just leave you with this lovely, crimson, traditional Thanksgiving recipe, and tell you that I hope you love it as much as I do.  And you can thank my mom for the recipe, I make sure to thank her each year when I make it myself.     

My Mom's Cranberry Relish

3/4 cup apple juice
1/2-3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
3 cups fresh cranberries (12 oz.)
1/2-3/4 cup light or golden raisins
1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans






Combine the first four ingredients in a medium saucepan and stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.  Add the cranberries, raisins and cloves, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat.  Cook until the cranberries pop, then add pecans and stir to mix.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly before serving.  Keep refrigerated in an airtight container for 1 week.