good morning! i hope your candy hangover finds you well. 

now, most of the time for breakfast i am a standard eggs and bacon girl. sure, it could be some
combo of sandwich, or scramble, or poached eggs with candied bacon. you get it. but every once in a while, i get a real serious craving for pancakes. it always hits me out of nowhere. and they can't be any pancakes. i'm looking for a fluffy, flavorful cake. bonus points for some sort of delicious creamy cheese or fruit preserves. hell, even throw some berries in there. 

and the other day i got a MAJOR pancake craving. it was perfectly timed with a morning wes had off and my brother just happened to stop by. 

next thing i knew, this craving crushing beauty was born. 

blood orange + ricotta pancakes
serves: 4
prep time: 5 minutes
active time: 20 minutes
total time: 25 minutes

ingredients: 1 cup ricotta cheese. 1 cup all purpose flour. .5 tsp baking powder. 1.5 tbs sugar. .25 tsp fine salt. .75 c whole milk. 2 eggs, separated. zest of 1 blood orange. juice of .5 blood orange. .5 blood orange roughly chopped. extra sliced blood orange for serving. .5 vanilla extract. 2 tablespoons butter for cooking. maple syrup for serving. 

start by whipping your egg white in with a hand beater or in a stand mixer till they have stiff peaks. 

in a large bowl combine the milk, egg yolks, vanilla and ricotta. whisk together till smooth. add in your blood orange zest, juice and segments and mix to combine. 

mix your dry ingredients into the ricotta and milk mixture. 

add a large spoon full of your eggs and mix till combined.

add in the remaining eggs. fold them into the batter till completely combined. 

heat your pan to a medium high heat or heat your electric skillet to 350 f. 

when hot, add in your butter and lightly push it around to cover your cooking surface. 

use a 1/3 measuring cup to pour equal serving of batter onto the skillet or pan. 

cook until bubbles form and start to pop. 

when many of the bubbles have popped, flip your cake. about 3 to 5 minutes. flip and continue to cook till cooked through. and additional 3-5 minutes. 

stack, top with blood orange slices, drizzle with syrup and serve. 

xo, a

blood orange + ricotta pancakes
serves: 4
prep time: 5 minutes
active time: 20 minutes
total time: 25 minutes
ingredients: 1 cup ricotta cheese. 1 cup all purpose flour. .5 tsp baking powder. 1.5 tbs sugar. .25 tsp fine salt. .75 c whole milk. 2 eggs, separated. zest of 1 blood orange. juice of .5 blood orange. .5 blood orange roughly chopped. extra sliced blood orange for serving. .5 vanilla extract. 2 tablespoons butter for cooking. maple syrup for serving.
start by whipping your egg white in with a hand beater or in a stand mixer till they have stiff peaks.
in a large bowl combine the milk, egg yolks, vanilla and ricotta. whisk together till smooth.
add in your blood orange zest, juice and segments and mix to combine. in a smaller bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
mix your dry ingredients into the ricotta and milk mixture.
add a large spoon full of your eggs and mix till combined.
add in the remaining eggs. fold them into the batter till combined.
heat your pan to a medium high heat or heat your electric skillet to 350 f.
when hot, add in your butter and lightly push it around to cover your cooking surface.
use a 1/3 measuring cup to pour equal serving of batter onto the skillet or pan. cook until bubbles form and start to pop.
when many of the bubbles have popped, flip your cake. about 3 to 5 minutes. flip and continue to cook till cooked through. and additional 3-5 minutes.
stack, top with blood orange slices, drizzle with syrup and serve. 

the last couple days in socal have been raining and i freaking love it. LOVE IT. the last two days were spent at home, fireplace blazing and lots of action in the kitchen. 

wes had to work all weekend, so i asked him what he wanted for dinner. no surprise, i got the same answer i usually get from my VERY italian husband. bolognese of course. 

since the rain was coming down, there was no way i was leaving the house for additional ingredients so i decided to adjust for what i had in the house. and thank goodness i did. this version is much lighter in fat, but is very full in flavor. perfect for a rainy day, or a just because we want to day. 

turkey bolognese
serves: 6
prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 1 hour
total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
ingredients: 1 lb ground turkey. 2 slices thick cut bacon, chopped. 1 onion, diced. 2 celery stalks, diced. 2 carrots, diced. 5 garlic cloves, minced. 1 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped. 2 tbs + 1 tsp basil, finely chopped. 1 tsp dried thyme. 1 c white wine. .25 c tomato paste. 32 oz can crushed tomatoes (if you only have whole, you can crush them yourself). 1.5 c milk. 1 tbs salt. .5 tbs pepper. 1 lb your favorite pasta. grated parmesan for serving.

start by crisping your bacon pieces in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. about 15 minutes. stir occasionally to break the pieces away from one another and all sides brown. 

when the bacon is crispy and browned, add in the onion, carrots and celery. season with a few pinches of salt and a bit of pepper and cook over medium heat until onions are translucent. stir every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes. 

push all your veggies to the sides of the pot. pat the turkey dry, season with half your remaining salt and pepper and add to the pot. cook until browned, breaking it up and stirring every couple minutes. about 7-10 minutes. as the turkey browns, work your veggies back into the mixture. 

stir in the thyme, oregano, 1 tsp of the basil and the garlic. cook until the garlic is fragrant. about 1 minute. 

when the garlic is fragrant, pour in the wine. cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated, stirring every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes. 

stir in the tomato paste until everything is lightly coated. season with remaining salt and pepper and pour in the tomatoes. stir well to combine. 

simmer until the liquid from the tomatoes has reduced slightly. about 10-15 minutes.

while your tomatoes are simmering, heat a large pot of salted water over high heat until boiling. when your tomatoes have simmered, pour in the milk. stir well to combine and bring the bolognese back up to a simmer. once the sauce simmers, reduce the heat to low just to keep it warm. 

cook your pasta per the instructions. when your pasta is al dente, strain and pour right into your sauce. stir well to coat the noodles.
serve pasta topped with fresh parmesan and basil.

xo, a

turkey bolognese
serves: 6
prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 1 hour
total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
ingredients: 1 lb ground turkey. 2 slices thick cut bacon, chopped. 1 onion, diced. 2 celery stalks, diced. 2 carrots, diced. 5 garlic cloves, minced. 1 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped. 2 tbs + 1 tsp basil, finely chopped. 1 tsp dried thyme. 1 c white wine. .25 c tomato paste. 32 oz can crushed tomatoes (if you only have whole, you can crush them yourself). 1.5 c milk. 1 tbs salt. .5 tbs pepper. 1 lb your favorite pasta. grated parmesan for serving.

tart by crisping your bacon pieces in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. about 15 minutes. stir occasionally to break the pieces away from one another and all sides brown.
when the bacon is crispy and browned, add in the onion, carrots and celery. season with a few pinches of salt and a bit of pepper and cook over medium heat until onions are translucent. stir every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes. 
push all your veggies to the sides of the pot. pat the turkey dry, season with half your remaining salt and pepper and add to the pot. cook until browned, breaking it up and stirring every couple minutes. about 7-10 minutes. as the turkey browns, work your veggies back into the mixture. stir in the thyme, oregano, 1 tsp of the basil and the garlic. cook until the garlic is fragrant. about 1 minute.

when the garlic is fragrant, pour in the wine. cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated, stirring every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes.

stir in the tomato paste until everything is lightly coated. season with remaining salt and pepper and pour in the tomatoes. stir well to combine. simmer until the liquid from the tomatoes has reduced slightly. about 10-15 minutes.
while your tomatoes are simmering, heat a large pot of salted water over high heat until boiling.
when your tomatoes have simmered, pour in the milk. stir well to combine and bring the bolognese back up to a simmer. once the sauce simmers, reduce the heat to low just to keep it warm.
cook your pasta per the instructions. when your pasta is al dente, strain and pour right into your sauce. stir well to coat the noodles.
serve pasta topped with fresh parmesan and basil.