A Recipe for Adventure with Giada

Yes. My dream did come true. I met Giada.

She's as poised and kind as I envisioned; she loved the title of my blog; I happened to be wearing the same dress she is wearing in her advertisement at the book signing...

...Basically, we hit it off!

Besides being a fabulous chef and TV star, Giada is a writer too. I mean, what more could a food blogger adore? Her new children's series, A Recipe for Adventure, illustrates her passions for food and family. I'm a fan, even if I'm not a ten year old. Plus, my copy has Giada's signature so it's automatically a prized possession!

In honor of Giada, here is one of my favorite recipes from her Everyday Italian show. Let me know what you think of this classy Italian app!

photo credit

artichoke gratinata

Makes 4 servings

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 pound frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup Marsala wine
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Warm the olive oil in a heavy bottom skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the artichoke hearts, parsley, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and cook until the artichoke hearts are starting to brown at the edges, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth and wine and simmer for 3 minutes. Transfer the artichoke mixture to a 2-quart baking dish.

2. Melt the butter in the same skillet used to cook the artichokes. In a small bowl mix the melted butter with the bread crumbs. Stir in the Parmesan and top the artichokes with the bread crumbs. Bake until the top is golden, about 10 minutes.

Press

After being featured on In.gredients and Southward Fare & Libations today, I made a new update: a press page was born. Click on the box below or the upper-right tab to see where Caramelized has been spotted these days!

If you have a press inquiry, feel free to email me at cara.greenstein@gmail.com.

Oh, and the Facebook page is live. Thanks to all who have "liked" it...if you haven't, do it RIGHT NOW! And then go cook or buy yourself a nice dinner.

Happy hump day.

Gary's Garden

"Grow where you're planted."

Since age seven, my home away from home has been nestled in good 'ole Utica, Mississippi. For thirteen summers, I grew up at Henry S. Jacobs Camp, where I learned the core of my friendships, passions and Southern Judaism. This past Friday, my family and Alex drove four hours to the camp gates for a weekend of outdoor fun at a "southern pace," as the camp slogan reads.

Assistant Director Gary Brandt, who lives on camp property 365 days of the year, took his creative and outdoorsy skills to practice with his very own garden. He now grows herbs, fruits and vegetables where he, too, was planted: at Jacobs Camp. Every summer night during free time, campers join Gary to harvest vegetables, weed plants, and tend to the garden (and play with chickens!). What a remarkable lesson to teach kids at camp.

Before we headed back to Memphis, Gary took me garden pickin'. The greenness of his backyard was unreal. His garden is full of flavors, from swiss chard and eggplant to six types of mint and watermelon! We quickly filled tupperware with heaps of ingredients for future recipes.

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting dishes and drinks with basil, mint, eggplant, chard and other greens. I am still crafting recipes, so if you have any suggestions, comment below.

Thank you, Gary, for sharing your garden with me!

A Mother's Day Pizza Party

We celebrated my momma with the usual festivities: giving her a beautiful DebraJill necklace, eating bagels and shmear for breakfast and doing whatever my mom wished...even if that meant cleaning out the garage and her event planning storage office.

Since mom is always the one grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning for the family, I figured I would volunteer to do so on Mother's Day. I decided on flatbread pizza.  The store-bought whole wheat dough did not require any prep, and the individual pies allowed every member of my high maintenance family to pick his or her own toppings.

The four pizzas were a hit. And, might I add, this pizza party would be appropriate for any gathering, not just Mother's Day. The meal screams summer and sunshine!

THE MICAH:

My dad likes the fully loaded pie...always. A generous red base with just a sprinkle of shredded mozzarella (he always orders "light cheese") created the foundation for a vegetarian delight. I caramelized a sweet onion with baby bella mushrooms.  Artichoke hearts and black olives sat on top. Yum-o.

THE JAKE:

Basically...a margarita pizza. I sliced roma tomatoes and layered them on top of fresh mozzarella slices and a base of extra virgin olive oil. Freshly ground black pepper and a drizzle of truffle oil added the punch of flavor after this baby popped out of the oven.

THE JULIA:

Julia likes it simple too (surprisingly!). A red base with extra shredded mozzarella and caramelized baby bella mushrooms. A drizzle of truffle oil after cooking.

THE SHERIL:

My favorite momma called for my favorite kind of pizza. A base of extra virgin olive oil held a sprinkle of mozzarella, caramelized onions and baby bellas and artichokes. After the pizza cooked entirely through, I added a handful of arugula and a fried egg, which I cooked on the stove beforehand. Oh, and you cannot forget the truffle oil.

A Skype Seder

Being an event planner's and a rabbi's daughter, Jewish holidays are a pretty big deal in my family. This especially applies to Passover, during which our Memphis home furniture clears out and over fifty guests enter with food, wine, family and spirit galore.

I have to admit that while I do love Austin, I haven't been able to find a replacement for those family-filled gatherings.  There's just something about the unmatched warmth of home and Southern Jewish hospitality.

So my brother, friends and I came up with a solution.  We bought the matzah and seder plate items, made the charoset (a sweetened apple dish) and hard boiled the eggs.  We cooked salmon with roasted brussel sprouts and cauliflower (see the recipes here) for our main course, along with matzah ball soup from our campus' Hillel kitchen.

Since I guess I have some spirituality and party plannin' in my blood, I had to make the individual seder plates for the five of us as we sat around the laptop for our one-of-a-kind seder.  We held them in our laps on the couch and felt like we were right there in my living room!

The charoset was absolutely delicious, addicting and SUPER easy to make.  All you need is a spoon to keep taste-testing throughout the process!

passover charoset

6 red apples, peeled and diced

Manischevitz

Cinnamon

1 small package of pecans, diced

1. Mix in a bowl.

2. Taste.

3. Add any ingredient needed for full flavor.

4. Repeat.

5. Refrigerate.

Our first night of Seder was quite the success.  While I wish I could've been in Memphis, this felt just right.  Now I just need a piece of matzah toffee crunch.  Happy Passover, y'all!

Icon Launch Party

Being a public relations student in Austin, Texas couldn't be more perfect. The scene is innovative, thrilling and creative - a flawless forum for applying my studies.

I was lucky enough to begin working for Icon in early November, when McGarrah Jessee posted an available marketing intern position for their "start up friends."  Little did I realize that I would quickly be thrown into a whirlwind of social media strategies, press outreach and party planning.

To say the least, I've loved the ride and constant spontaneity of being the PR specialist of a start up company.  Icon, a digital business card that aggregates your social media content in one place (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, your blog...), is off to an unbelievable start since its public launch on Feb. 20.

Here are some photos from the launch event (thank you Alison Narro!) that I pulled off, with the help of my professional event planner mother and the incredible Icon team.

Check out http://icon.me and claim your Icon now! It takes only minutes to create a sleek and professional profile.  You'll love.

peached tortilla catering