Cooking Single in the City

This week got off to the perfect start by watching last week's episode of Next Food Network Star , only to be followed by this week's (gotta love TiVo) ! However this time, the experience was a tad bit different--unlike my night on the town at the NFNS Los Angeles Viewing Party with the actual contestants at South in Santa Monica, I was at The Bates watching " Sweet to Savory Carnival " with my girlfriend and her kids. They were an easy sell--all it took was the first few minutes of the second episode and they were hooked. So off we were to a great beginning...kids-n-all! Giada had already proven herself kid-worthy to watch with Gracie, who is not-yet six years old. With Joshua, 10, jumping in feet first into our food network telie feast, he decided that not only does he love to eat food, but that it looked easy enough to make, asking us if we could make crepes the next day. "Can we make crepes tomorrow?" is the question that continued on and on for the...

...was a LOT of fun! Singles drizzled in from a long week's work, only to find themselves with the likes of others, who, like them, were ready to take on the challenge of home-made pasta, along with some staple Italian dishes, of course. The verdict? Delicioso! Please note: I only including the recipes for Panna Cotta, Sicilian Meatballs and our 15-Minute Tomato Sauce (simply amazing); however, ify ou'd like to give our Caprese Salad or homemade pasta-making a shot, email me at cookingsingleinthecity@gmail.com for the recipe--we're more than glad to oblige. Recipes - Cooking Under the Tuscan Sun Sicilian Meatballs (Courtesy of Bon Appetit) Ingredients: 2/3 cup breadcrumbs 3 tablespoons milk 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1/4 cup finely chopped onion 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil 1 large egg 1 garlic clove, minced 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 pound sweet Italian sausages, casings removed 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted 2 tablespoons dried currants or...