I have seen so many people on Instagram making this simple Feta & Tomato Baked Pasta recipe, featured on TikTok, all over the world. It has become so popular that Finland ran out of feta cheese. The ENTIRE COUNTRY ran out!!!! The prep time is only a few minutes and within less than an hour you have a pretty good family meal. I have not made it yet but my friend blogger, Lemon Stripes made it yesterday and totally inspired me. Plus I read that it is totally worth the hype. Here you go, let me know in the comments below if you make it.
Baked Tomato and Feta Pasta:
(adapted from www.lemonstripes.com & The Washington Post)
Ingredients:
–2 pints (17 1/2 ounces / 500 grams) cherry or grape tomatoes
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Kosher salt
1 block Greek feta cheese
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Freshly ground black pepper
12 ounces medium-length dried pasta, such as campanelle, rigatoni or rotini
Fresh basil leaves, for serving
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Place tomatoes and garlic in a baking pan and toss with 1/4 cup of olive oil and sea salt.
3. Place the block of feta in the middle of the tomatoes and top the whole thing with crushed red pepper flakes, parsley, oregano, and black pepper.
4. Bake for 40 minutes or until the feta is slightly browned and the tomatoes are totally blistered.
5. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to box instructions. Be sure to save 1 cup of the pasta water before you drain it!
6. Mix up the tomatoes, feta, and garlic with a fork (I also broke up the garlic with a garlic press) to form a sauce.
7. Stir the pasta into the sauce and add pasta water, a little at a time, as needed.
8. Top with torn basil and serve.
9. Enjoy!
I am so happy to introduce you to my newest blog sponsor, the aroma design studio, ScentFluence. ScentFluence has a library of delicious custom-designed scents for your home or business or any other space that you choose. They have cool air diffusers, room sprays, and candles that will spark your senses. There are two ways to shop with Scent Fluence. You can visit their flagship studio at 22 Harwood Court in Scarsdale or on their new website www.Scentfluence.com.
Here is their beautiful shop in Scarsdale. They have the entire scent library in-store and are happy to provide samples of any fragrance to match your own space.
Here is only one part of the scent library!!
Lavender Sage is one of the most popular scents and one that I am planning on using for my own bedroom, it is supposed to help you sleep!!!!
Here is one of the adorable plug in diffusers with the mint focus oil
ScentFluence can wrap their products for any gifting occasion…
Here are the plug in diffusers. I want one for every room.
The Sea Salt Sage fragrance has become so popular.
Here is another diffuser with some of the best-selling oils, Amber Woods, By The Fire, Moroccan Mint Tea, and Deep Blue.
There is a guide to help you choose which scent to try:
ScentFluence provides signature scents for many fabulous destinations including the Auberge Resorts, Baccarat Hotels, and the 1 Hotels:
I have been obsessed with Bill Cunningham for years. I worked at 57th and 5th and loved seeing Bill in action on the “Bergdorf Corner” where he would photograph fashionistas, for the New York Time’s Style Section. His book, Bill Cunningham: On the Street, Five Decades of Iconic Photography by The New York Times is this week’s Book Club choice.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The first published collection of photographs by the icon of street style, bringing together favorites published in The New York Times alongside never-before-seen work across five decades.
“A dazzling kaleidoscope from the gaze of an artist who saw beauty at every turn.”—André Leon Talley
Bill Cunningham’s photography captured the evolution of style, of trends, and of the everyday, both in New York City and in Paris. But his work also shows that street style is not only about fashion; it’s about the people and the changing culture.
These photographs—many never before seen, others having originally appeared in The New York Times and elsewhere—move from decade to decade, beginning in the 1970s and continuing until Cunningham’s death in 2016. Here you’ll find Cunningham’s distinctive chronicling of the 1980s transit strike, the rise of 1990s casual Fridays, the sadness that fell over the city following 9/11, Inauguration Day 2009, the onset of selfies, and many other significant moments.
This enduring portfolio is enriched by essays that provide a revealing portrait of Cunningham and a few of his many fascinations and influences, contributed by Cathy Horyn, Tiina Loite, Vanessa Friedman, Ruth La Ferla, Guy Trebay, Penelope Green, Jacob Bernstein, and a much favored subject, Anna Wintour. More than anything, On the Street is a timeless representation of Cunningham’s commitment to capturing the here and now.
For more information or to purchase this book click HERE on the Pittsburgh Mercantile site…
Tonight my husband was given a gift to do an online cooking class with Guy Fieri. During the class, there were other celebrity chef speakers and sport’s commentators talking about their all time favorite Super Bowl dishes. This Buffalo Chicken Dip came up as the winner, unanimously. I started writing down the recipe ferociously. Since I just was given this tonight, I have not had a chance to make it but my son and I are going to try over the weekend. If you do too, will you write in and let me know!!! Bon Appetit!
4 cups shredded cooked chicken
2 bricks cream cheese
1 cup ranch dressing
2 packages shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
3/4 cup hot sauce (less if you do not like too hot and more if you do!!!)
Combine the chicken, cream cheese, dressing, shredded cheese (set aside about 1/4 of the bag), and hot sauce in the crockpot
Let cook on high for 1-2 hours or until all of the cream cheese melts. Right before serving sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and put the lid back on just long enough so the cheese topping melts.
They recommend serving this dip with a bunch of vegetables of your choice and tortilla chips!
Every New Year, I decide to really do a good closet cleanout. I take the time to go through all the clothes that do not fit well or have not worn in a while. It’s so much easier for me to do it over a few weeks than all at once. I also keep a bag in my closet for donations. When I try something on and it’s just not right, in the bag it goes. When I have a pretty good accumulation, I contact Pick Up Please. It is so convenient. You go online and pick your date and then leave your donations outside on the morning of the pickup. I also send many things to the Real Real. I find it to be such a great resource for selling things with designer labels in good condition. I am so impressed with how fast things sell on the Real Real. Once I started getting rid of and organizing things in my closet, I start dreaming of what my perfect closet would look like. Here are some of my favorite closet/clothing storage ideas:
Jennifer Eisenstadt
Krystine Edwards
Lauren Conrad
This week’s book club choice is a Reece Witherspoon pick and an instant New York Times bestseller. And I know how much you all love thrillers so The Guest List by Lucy Foley is my pick.
On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.
But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.
And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why? – Amazon.com
For more information or to purchase this book, click HERE.
