Not Barefoot in the Kitchen -- Salami Roll-Ups

I am excited to share with you a new part of my blog: my Not Barefoot in the Kitchen section!

As we have all discovered, I have learned to love to cook within the last couple of years.  That would be evident by this blog, right?  But another thing I have learned to love is fashion.  It was not too long ago that a friend told, in love of course, "Tiffany, you need to spice it up.  You always look like the girl next door."  (This was before the movie The Girl Next Door, btw, so no, not that one.)  My reply?  "But I am the girl next door!"  Which for me meant cute, sweet, and that was it.  I would admire the girls in college who were bold enough to try a new look from the safety of my shirts, jeans, flip-flops, and ponytail.  Maybeeee some make-up.  Maybe.  But that was it.  I would admire them, think something along the lines of, "Wow, they look nice..." and then be on my way.  Because I couldn't do that, right?

Well, along with growing up and learning that I actually could cook, I grew up and learned that I actually could try something fun and new.  I am definitely no fashionista, but I am not the girl next door anymore.  Not that there was anything wrong with that...

So this new column or whatever it is called will be a place where I can put these two together: my new found love for cooking and my new found love for style -- affordable style.

I would like to give a shout-out to Britt at The Magnolia Pair for being bold enough to start a style column on her page.  Her confidence gave me confidence.  (And, FYI Britt, yes our outfits are strikingly similar... I think we were inspired by the same Pinterest pin originally, and then you helped me find out where to get the pants I wanted :)  Man, first What I Love Wednesday and now this... this lady has been an inspiration to me!

Today my recipe is for salami roll-ups.  You know how much I love Trader Joe's, right?  Well, this was a sample one day.  Fell in love.  Immediately.  And the good thing about Trader Joe's is that there are all kinds of salami there, not just pork... you can get beef or veggie, whatever you prefer.  Love that place.  And you have to admit, when you look at these pants you think "salami".  At least I do, anyway.

Three basic steps and you are there:  Spread cream cheese over lavash bread.  Place your toppings.  Roll and cut.  Ta-da!

We like to put it in the fridge when we are done.  They taste good room temperature, but they taste amazing when the cream cheese is cold. 

As you can tell from above, most of this outfit is from Forever 21.  Sometimes I see their stuff and want to gag myself.  But this Spring collection is incredible.  I had to practice some real self-restraint.  The pants were $24.80 and the top was a whopping $11.80.  The shoes I found at Payless (yes, Payless -- I have found their high heels to be really decent and cute) for $29.99.  And since nude can go with anything, I will definitely be sporting these a lot!

Salami Roll-Ups

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pack lavash bread
• 1 tub cream cheese
• 1 pack salami
• fresh basil leaves

Cost: $9.27                   Cost Per Piece (24) $0.39

Pears with Bleu Cheese and Arugula

My oh my. 

You will DEFINITELY want to make these little bad boys for your next get together.

These are quite possibly the tastiest and easiest h'orderves I have ever tried.  They take no special technique, which makes someone like myself (AKA someone who abhors anything requiring fine motor skills) able to do these.

Shoot, if you can finger paint you can make these -- they are that simple.

First, you need four ingredients:

Three pears, creamy bleu cheese, prosciutto, and arugula.  Turkey bacon works, too, if you don't like prosciutto.  You just need to cook it first, but the rest of the instructions are the same.

Cut the pears into eight wedges.  Smear cheese on top.  Layer two to three pieces of arugula.  Wrap in your meat. 

Ta-da! 

I told you it was simple ;)

**If you are making them in advance, toss the sliced pears in fresh lemon juice before hand so they don't brown.

I found another great thing about Christmas break: the fact that I can take pictures when their is sunshine outside!  Finally I can do real pictures.  Sure, I may have looked like a fool walking to the park carrying a plate of h'orderves, a bowl of arugula, a pear, and a camera slung over my shoulder... not to mention my beautiful outfit of sweaty gym clothes and a post-Zumba hair-do.  Whatever.  I walked with my head held high knowing I would get some good pictures that my little apartment could not provide -- and I offered an h'orderve to anybody staring at me.  That shut it down real quick ;)

Recipe from Real Simple, January 2008

COST: $9.70                 COST per piece (24): 41 cents