It's World Nutella Day!

Five years ago, Sara Rossi, of Ms. Adventures in Italy baked up the idea of World Nutella Day and since then countless recipes have been shared for using Nutella in recipes.  I absolutely loved the idea of celebrating this day with fellow Nutella addicts the world over and have faithfully celebrated. 

For my recipe this year, I wanted to make something that took me back to Gelatoria Mario's in Bologna, a regular stop for my cohort of International "crime", Holly, and I.  I'm sure that there were many fabulous things to try at Mario's, but on my first visit there on a warm August day in 1988, I ordered a frappe' of gianduja e coco (chocolate hazelnut and coconut milkshake) and I never ordered anything but that again.  I even brought Keith there 6 years later and made him order one, too. 

And because I wanted to kick off my day with Nutella, I decided to make these:

Coco Loco Nutella  Rolls
1 loaf frozen bread dough - thawed overnight in the frig (or make your own if you have time prefer)
About 1 cup Nutella (or more to your liking)
1/2 cup coconut
2 Tablespoons milk

Roll out the the dough on a well-floured surface into a 12x9 rectangle.  Spread with Nutella, but leave about an inch uncovered on one of the long sides. 

Sprinkle the coconut on top.

Roll up starting from the long side that has filling spread to the edge.  Pinch the dough to seal the seam.  Slice into 9 pieces.  Arrange on a GREASED baking sheet and cover. 

Let rise until almost double in size (about 45 minutes).

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Bake them for 15-20 minutes or until golden.  Mine were apparently having a little party in the oven while I was cleaning up...

While they cool, make the icing:
1/3 - 1/2 cup nutella and 2 Tablespoons milk mixed together.  Add more milk if needed for drizzling consistency.

Drizzle the rolls with the icing and serve warm.

Buon Appetito!



Want to join in the fun?  Check out Ms. Adventures In Italy, Bleeding Expresso, and World Nutella Day!

Throwin' Off My Mitts (oven mitts, that is)

And Throwin' out the scale!




The LONG-awaited Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Throwdown has finally begun!

While we await the judges' final decisions please enjoy this little interlude from Wednesday night's Spring Concert:

Well, well... look here. There are only 7 boys in the school chorus (6 in the picture)...

They are so precious....

And I could eat 'em all up!

Good thing I've got about 800 chocolate chip cookies on my counter!

Three in a Row!

What an unexpectedly wonderful week for me! Time spent with friends not often seen on 3 separate occasions:

Breakfast with Kim on Tuesday - almost turned into lunch as well...so much to catch up on! So nice to laugh together again!

Dinner with Stacy on Wednesday - and although this is a picture of the dessert tray, we did NOT order dessert, for the sake of my Mii. We just had tea & sympathy for dessert.

Impromptu wine tasting and "event planning" evening with Ched and Tara on Thursday. We didn't get far in the "event planning" so we'll have to sacrifice and do this again soon!

These are parmesan crackers that I made following (well, I use that term loosely) a recipe in my new cookbook (yes, I needed ANOTHER one) Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites. The recipe calls for Pecorino cheese and all purpose flour, but I only had parmesan cheese and white whole wheat flour, hence the darker color of these crackers. But they were soooo easy to make, and my kitchen smelled like a Cheez-It tastes while they baked in my oven. Just the right amount of cayenne pepper for a spicy after taste in your mouth (yes the cayenne actually WAS part of the recipe). I will definitely be making my own crackers again. I didn't think it could be so easy!

Also on the menu:

Toasted Ciabatta bread with goat cheese, fig jam and walnuts (really, it's a staple here)

Warm Artichoke, spinach and garlic dip

The three went really well with our conversation and the 2 bottles of red wine that we sampled...

So blessed with friends that can just pick up right where we left off, despite how much time has passed, and who obviously love to gather around food like Keith and I do!

Time to Bake the Cookies!

No matter how hard I try each year, the cookie baking always seems to fall behind. Time to get back on track, and since it's Saturday - I'm sure to have helpers...
This year's Cookie Menu includes:

Orange Almond Biscotti (dipped in chocolate, of course)

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Simple Fudge Tarts

Almond Sweets

Cherry Coconut Drops

Pastry Pillows

Chocolate Dipped Meringues

Giant Ginger Cookies

Triple Chocolate Truffles

Mantecados

Cracker Candy

and...

already made these with my sister-in-laws the other night
(a yearly tradition...)

Russian Tea Cookies

Peanut Blossoms

M&M Chocolate Chips

Lemon Krinkles

Now, we don't actually get to eat ALL of the cookies. Most will be hand delivered to my neighbors on Christmas Eve - which adds a bit to the self-induced stress! Off to the oven...