Time for a Little Taste of Spring!

I spotted this recipe "Asparagus Soup with Perfect Sea Scallops" from Alex's Kitchen in House Beautiful last week.  I showed it to Hubby and he agreed it looked good and pretty easy to make!  Also, Alex suggested for lunch to serve it with croque-monsieur, which sounds pretty good after all the tomato soup and plain old grilled cheese sandwiches we've had this winter!  The only thing that I need to do now is pick up the scallops!

Have a great weekend!

Finding French Macarons in the South!

 

 

As I type this post, I'm staring at a dog-eared image of French macarons and a LADUREE business card that is sitting on my desk.  I don't know why but I have an obsession with LADUREE and their famous French Macarons.  Perhaps, it's those  beautiful colors of the macarons or that pretty green box that there packaged in...I don't know!  My friend Catherine went to Paris a few years back. I had mentioned to her my obsession with LADUREE (the very famous French tea saloon who perfected the macaron) and one place that I have never been to while in Paris. That afternoon,while chatting with Catherine, I do hope that I did not hint too much to her about my obsession because, later when she arrived back to the States, she called me the next day with excitement and mentioned that she had a perishable from Paris that she needed to give me right away! 

 

 

Catherine went way beyond the call of duty and I'm still grateful, especially when she told me about the long line that she waited in to get them!  Later that evening Hubby and I devoured every single one of them.  And yes, beyond that pretty green box and the actual beautiful looking macarons themselves, there really very good!  Take my word!  My empty box sits in a bowl where I keep my keys and sunglasses, and it reminds me of my friend Catherine. 

 

 

 

While reading the March issue of Living, Martha shows us how to make French macarons.  However, I know my culinary skills and this would not end will!  With spring comes lots of showers and hostess gifts, and if your anything like me, you just want to arrive at your destination with a beautiful package.  Or if your a hostess, like me, better yet, you just want to pick something fancy up and set it on a platter.  Guess what? If you don't have a trip to Paris lined up or even New York - I found a few places here in the South...here you go! 

 

 

 

    

Sucre' - Located in New Orleans, my brother-in-law's neck of the woods. And my friend Coleen is heading there this weekend, who was asking me for suggestions and I couldn't give her anything, until now. And no that is not a hint Coleen! Gluten free too mind you!  I love the box - Perfect hostess gift and they ship. 

 

Alons - For all my Dunwoody friends!

 

Douceur de France - Better yet! Located in Roswell my neck of the woods and just around the corner from my house.

 

Star Provisions - For all my inside of the perimeter friends.   

 

 

 

 

But if you're anything like me, you just enjoy looking at them! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crazy Week!

 

 

 

Monday - Beautiful weather here in the South.  Spent a little time browsing my new favorite store, Terrain, and found loads of stuff I want!  Later that day spotted this Barbour jacket--thought about ordering, though still on austerity. Plus, probably won't need it!

 

Tuesday -  Had lunch with my good friend Ann.  Discussed her upcoming trip to London and Paris.  Forgot to mention to her about this site for some cool travel essentials...love the maps!

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday - So much for spring - back to Arctic temperatures!  Glad I did not go crazy at the nursery Sunday.  Wished I would have ordered the jacket in green, of course!  Read this article (hairdresser needs more chic magazine)  while trying to decompress having hair done...felt better!

 

Thursday - This morning felt like the "Michelin Man" while out walking Ellie. Dash out of the house to retake picture for passport renewal. What to wear? Still cold!  Perhaps will order jacket tonight!  Later while at Trader Joe's, saw a woman wearing cute rain jacket. Then  Lemon - Ricotta Cupcakes, found in Food and Wine popped in my mind.  Must add them to my Lemon repertoire from last week.

 

 

 

 

 

 Friday - Not there yet...fingers crossed!

Lemons...on my mind!

Since January I've had nothing but lemon dessert recipes on my mind.  Perhaps it's that beautiful lemony color, I don't know.  But first there was the February issues of House & Home...here I found this delicious looking lemon tart that you see above. The food editor, Eric Vellend said that he puts "extra yolks in the curd to boost the color".  Something else that was a little different about this particular lemon tart that I have never seen, he used cornmeal as well.  He even added a guilt free version which I did indeed take note of.

Then last week, I found these Skinny Lemon Bars from my new favorite go-to food site, The Skinny Fork.  I just love that name--so cute!   Here's one more lemon dessert for you, this Saturday while browsing through the April issue of Country Living I came upon this Meyer-Lemon Tart with Gingersnap Crust...sold!  I'm a pretty easy sale when it comes to gingersnaps.  Over the holidays I had Hubby whipping up all kinds of  cheesecakes with a gingersnap crust.  But if you happen to be watching your weight like I should be doing, then you can always do a big bowl of lemons and call it a day!  Happy weekend!

Discovering...The Skinny Fork!

Remember when I wrote this and then this! Well look what I discovered from The Skinny Fork and Guess what?  No brown sugar required!  How do you like that? "Healthy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies"  I really need another snow day or two to read through all the recipes they have because those lemon bars are catching my eye as well.

A Simple Valentine's Dinner for the Snowed in!

Boy...being snowed in these last couple of days got me thinking.   I had a  delicious  looking risotto that I wanted to try, but after being snowed in I discovered that I was missing  white truffle oil..  How would I ever pull that off?  I even went to go make oatmeal cookies and discovered I was out of one of the main ingredients - brown sugar.  Who runs out of brown sugar?

Note to self - Pick up brown sugar to have on hand for next snow day a couple years from now!

Note to self - Pick up the best quality white truffle oil I can afford!

As I was searching our pantry...here's what came to mind.  White Bean Puree from my favorite book - Great Settings.  With ingredients most of us should have on hand. Perhaps, I better check for sage, Hubby been messing around with my spices!

White Bean Puree

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Garlic Clove, minced
3 sage leaves, chopped
1 can cannellini beans - Drained
Chicken Stock
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Extra - Virgin Olive Oil for Garnish
Sage Leaves For Garnish

Place the oil and garlic in a skillet and cook over medium heat until the garlic is fragrant.  Add the chopped sage and cook for a minute.  Add the beans and enough stock to barely cover, season to taste with salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer.  Cook for about 10 minutes.  Place in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth.  Spoon the puree out onto a platter, drizzle with olive oil, and garnish with sage leaves.  From "Great Settings"

Now the only thing  you have to do is pop open a bottle of wine--the one thing I make sure we never run out of--and get out your candelabra! 

Happy Valentines!!!

Embracing Our Brrry Snow Days.

Here in Atlanta we are under major storm warnings. Hence my remarks about grocery shopping the other day.  This morning Hubby brought me up my usually cup of coffee and said he was heading into work, which I'll add he does have the flexibility to work from home  (He wanted to go in).  I on the other hand, knowing how hard-headed he is, said "be careful". Just two weeks ago when we got hit by a snow storm Hubby was suppose to work from home but insisted on going into work to save his work-from-home so that we could go to a Led Zeppelin cover band that Friday night. 

Fifteen minutes after Hubby left the house, he was back. I told him to just embrace the days, because we have a ways to go as we sit here waiting to get hit with ice.  I just hope he doesn't turn into the guy from the Shining...eeee. Now as I look out the window no rain, no snow, just yet and I can't even get him to out with me to get a cup of hot chocolate.

Five ways to embrace our Brrry Snow Days!

1.  Watch the Olympics - I saw the Russia Policemen choir on The Today Show the other morning.  Love them...Check them out here.  Also, I'm into the ice skating...it's my favorite!  Speaking of  the Olympics - why is it 60 degrees in Sochi and 30 here in Atlanta?  Hmmmm!

2.  Make Cookies - When I got home durning our last snow storm at 12:05 in the afternoon", I'm like, what do I do now".  Memories of childhood and making chocolate chip cookies popped into my mind.  But guess what?  No chocolate chips... go figure.   Yesterday while at the store I picked up some oatmeal to perhaps make a few cookies.  I read once oatmeal cookies are a little better for you.  Here's the good old fashion recipes from Quaker Oats with ingredients that most of us keep on hand.

3.  Read a good book - With a good cup of hot chocolate.  I  picked up the "Book Thief"  a few weeks ago and have yet to start it.  I would like to read the book before I see the movie.

4.  Make out your Valentine's Cards - I have a whole pile that I need to address and should pop in the mail ASAP.

5.  Getting Organized - I know it's boring but it is a good time to go through files, closets etc. Doing things that I normally don't have time during my regular cleaning day.

Later!

Southern Living's Figgy Focaccia

 

Fig time!!  Here's a recipe that I recalled seeing in last year's August issue of Southern Living. This Figgy Focaccia recipe - that they point out  you can turn it  into a pizza by adding grated fontina cheese and dry salami.  Sounds good to me!   It reminds me of a pizza that Hubby and I used to order (unfortunately, the Italian restaurant closed so now we'll have to make our own).  You know, funny thing is, I even have a fig tree outside my kitchen door, but the figs are reserved for all my many woodland creatures...more on that later!  I have to get back to picking out paint colors for Hubby's office..he's a picky client!

 

 

 

Country Living's Caramelized Leek and Bacon Pizza!

The weather here in the south is dreadful… rain, rain and more rain. The upside my Hunter Ballet flats have turned out to be a good investment (see “I Need Shooz”). The downside is I’m never going to get my house painted!   The weather here is more like fall than the sticky hot dogs days of summer that we all know. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but, yes, I miss those dog days! A few people that I know, such as hubby, don't seem to mind, because it’s not nearly as hot as it could be. When I complain, he quickly reminds me of when we lived in Nashville and they had record breaking Bagdad-style heat waves. For me, I want a little heat, a few bugs but, most importantly, I want my sun! Another downer with all the rain is the poor fruit harvest. I wanted to talk about peaches, blackberries, tomatoes--you name it!

Yesterday evening, I was watching the nightly news and the reporter held up two peaches and one looked like it came from a lab experiment because of all the rain. My yard has been nicknamed Jurassic Park...but enough about all the rain…Pizza Time!

My friend Colleen and her hubby do pizza every Friday night, and she has yet to share one of her fabulous recipes--that's a hint, Colleen!  Hubby and I don’t do pizza every Friday night because I have him on South beach from time to time. Though, I found this Caramelized – Leek and Bacon pizza recipe in Country Living and love it! It’s a little different because of the caramelized leeks and the mascarpone. P.S. I buy Trader Joes whole wheat dough.

A Taste of Summer!

Last week, while on my way out the door I caught the tail end of NPR's contest... A Taste of Summer.  The contest was for everyone to send in their favorite summer recipes.  I did not have a chance to hear all the recipes but I was thinking  to myself how fun! And this is what came to my mind...Black Bean Salad.  A few years ago a good friend of mine made this and I had to have the recipe.  Since then, I've made it several times and it is always a big hit.  Here you go! 

Black Bean Salad

Serves: 12  

Ingredients:

 

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 (15 ounce) cans whole kernel corn, drained

8 green onions, chopped

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 avocado - peeled, pitted, and diced

1 (4 ounce) jar pimentos

3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 lime, juiced

1/2 cup Italian salad dressing

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Directions:

 

1. In a large bowl, combine the black beans, corn, green onions, jalapeno peppers, bell pepper, avocado, pimentos, tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, and Italian dressing. Season with garlic salt. Toss, and chill until serving.

 

So come on tell me... what are a few of your Tastes of Summer?

Found it...Ree Drummond's Restaurant Style Salsa

I just bought my last jar of salsa thanks to Ree Drummond - See"Easy Rotisserie Chicken Enchiladas" .  I was surfing around her website and stumbled across her version of restaurant style salsa.  She uses cans of tomatoes which I always try to keep in stock.  For Ree's recipe click here!  I try to watch The Pioneer Women every Saturday and Sunday and it's not always just to see that cute little basset hound Charlie.  He does bring back memories though!

Easy rotisserie chicken enchiladas!

Friday "Entertaining and Simply Delicious Recipes"

I thought Friday would never get here. I'm just sitting here at home waiting for the electrician to come so I can have some lighting in my bedroom. I should be organizing or cleaning something, but, oh well.  So  I have a few minutes to write about these easy rotisserie chicken enchiladas that I just recently discovered.

A few weeks ago my friend Carol from work had me and my friend  Colleen over to her house for a little ladies' lunch.  As soon as I arrived, Carol asked me while sipping her  Margarita (alcohol free mind you)  "that I hope you don't mind but I'm  doing chicken enchiladas".  My response, "Mind...are you kidding?"  I had been looking here and there, but not too hard, for an easy chicken enchiladas recipe. Also, in the summer months I like to do more Mexican dishes.

So I  immediately told Carol that I had been looking for an easy chicken enchiladas recip,e but I don't think she believed me.   I was very excited to hear what she had cooked up.  Carol pulled out this recipe card that she said she picked up at Publix.  Wait a minute...Publix that's where I do my grocery shopping every Monday.  Then she added, you basically just pick up a rotisserie chicken.  Wait a another minute here...Guess who picks up a rotisserie chicken every Monday?  And then, she said, the rest of  the ingredients were are on the recipe card that you can pick up when you walk into the store.  "It doesn't get much easier then that!" And I complete agree!!

 

    
Now I need to find an easy salsa recipe. A few weeks ago,  I picked up Paul Newman's which is good; I buy alot of  his products, but with tomato season here upon us, oh, there is just something so dreadfully wrong about that!  Don't you agree? 

Easy, Easy, Easy...Coconut Macaroons!

 

Easy, Easy, and quite yummy coconut Macaroons!  Hubby had to contribute to a bake sale this past Spring and called me the day before to asked what I thought he should take. Asking me is fine, but asking me the day before...who does he think he's married to!?  "How about chocolate chip cookies" I rattled off.  He was not even remotely interested (which I couldn't believe)!  After the chocolate chip cookies idea failed, then I remembered seeing the Coconut Macaroons recipe in Real Simple. 

 

The day after the bake sale, he called me at work to gloat...he was so proud.  If you are in need of  a very easy and delicious bake sale item this summer, I highly recommend this recipe here.  

 

Funny thing is, Hubby likes likes coconut all of a sudden! See Craving Ina's Coconut Cupcakes!

 

 

 

Gotta Have 'em...Mini Cast Iron Skillets!

I can’t believe Memorial Day is just around the corner!  And then Father’s Day will be here before you know it!  I still don’t know what we’re doing this year but last year for father’s day I bought these adorable cast iron skillets that I had spied in Southern Living.   Even did the berry cobbler recipe shown below with it.  Hubby actually whipped it up but I gave him the recipe and bought the skillets for him! 

 

 

I love these mini cast iron skillets…sky is the limit with them.  While on vacation in Santa Fe we went to a restaurant called Graham’s (actually it was in Taos) and they served anything in the cast iron skillets: from my Mac & cheese with green chilies to my blue corn enchiladas with green chilies.  Though I did not have the dessert with green chilies, I did spot the waitress carrying out a few desserts in my cast iron skillets.

Just this past Sat, on my way out for my jog (always have the Food Network on),  Ina was doing a delicious slooking brownie in yet again my adorable cast iron skillets.  Love them!!!

Craving Ina's Coconut Cupcakes!

barefoot contessa coconut cupcakes (click here for recipe))

OK, raise your hands, who likes coconut? I love it, but Hubby on the other hand does not! And that is probably the reason why I've never attempted to make Ina's famous Coconut Cupcakes. I even have the cookbook with the recipe. I've had Ina's Coconut Cupcakes on my mind for years, which is obviously why I'm blogging about them now. Over Mother's Day, I did bring up the subject with Hubby of of doing Ina's Coconut Cupcakes, but Helen's chocolate mousse won out! Hubby and his mother are big chocolate fans, but his father loves coconut. And you know which holiday is around the corner? Question is--should I attempt to do them from scratch or from the box...oh, what to do?

barefoot contessa coconut cupcake mix (click here for the box)

A Perfect Picnic!

A few weeks ago, I asked my buddy Helen if she would like to go see Shakespeare's A Comedy Of Errors, and attempt to do a nice festive picnic before the outdoor performance. Early morning the following day, after asking Helen about the picnic, I spotted an e-mail from her, asking me if Hubby and I liked turkey roll-ups. My response, "Love them!" An hour later, the same day, she sends me another e-mail, "How about black bean salad?" My response, "Sounds great!" Before I sent my response back to her, I had remembered when she offered to bring a spinach artichoke dip to my New Years Day party and I turned her down. Big mistake, because when a trained, experienced, foodie culinary-type person offers to bring food, you accept, especially if your just into pretty presentation!

Crate & Barrel

Later on, as I was getting ready to shut down my computer, I spotted another e-mail, "How about homemade chocolate chip cookies?" My response, " Are you kidding, of course!" The day before the picnic, I started to think what Hubby and I could contribute since Helen already had a perfect menu lined up. As I'm thinking to myself, why can't I ever come up with different things to take on a picnic other then fried chicken and slaw. So I signed up for the wine, cheese, fruit, plates, napkins, utensils, candles, salt & pepper--I know, easy stuff!The plates and napkins were really easy because I had my eye on some Caspari ones that I had been dying to go get at the Fresh Market!

Napkins from Caspari

Saturday morning rolled around (the day of the play & picnic), and Hubby and I are out on the deck drinking coffee and reading the paper without a care in the world. I decided to call Helen to make arrangements with her for Hubby to pick up the chocolate mousse (our Mother's day dessert) that Helen was making (more on that later). As she was rolling up the turkey wraps, she told me that she had been up since seven that morning, the cookies were baking, and she just had a few more finishing touches to do. I felt slightly guilty as I sipped on my third cup of coffee of the morning!

A few years ago, a friend gave me a set of these, I love them because they're small and easy to throw in your picnic basket. From Crate & Barrel

This summer, I plan on doing lots of picnics, so I asked Helen for her black bean salad recipe click here for Black Bean Salad. Helen also noted that she omits the green peppers and pimentoes and instead does two jalapeno peppers and two avocados. So if your looking for something different other then pasta, potato, and slaw for your picnic, trust me you won't go wrong here! Here's to a great summer full of perfect picnics...Ha!!!

What Will You Be Doing for Valentine's Day?

Drinking wine, eating cheese with candles aglow while sitting by a roaring fire?

Or having a nice private dinner for two?
Image here & above from Victoria Magazine




or

Admiring your beautiful roses that your sweetheart got you?
Images from Martha Stewart

Or making a nice chocolate fondue... like this one, from Carolyne Roehm.

I'm dying to try this recipe!

.

For me, this coming Sunday the Hubby and I will be having pizza at our favorite pizzeria. In Charleston it was Andolini's. In Nashville it was Mafiosa's. Here in Atlanta it's Felini's.
.

Please don't get me wrong about Hubby. He's really not that mean. He would buy me a piece of jewelry or even take me to a nice restaurant of my choice. However, a couple of glasses of red wine, a nice pizza, perhaps a box of chocolate that we can pick over and I'm pretty happy. I know, I'm one of the few women, just not into jewelry and as for the roses well.. I did scream at him one time for bringing me long stem roses. Needless to say, he has not came home with them ever since. Why, would I scream at such at such a nice gesture, you ask? Let's just say it had to do with my old job description of selling rose bowls and chopping up roses to display them...see The Quintessential English Rose Bowl .

FYI - Hubby did make the Red Velvet cupcakes using the Country Living Magazine recipe, I'm taking them to work in the morning...fingers crossed! In case you're in the mood, it's not too late I did find another recipe for Red Velvet cupcakes with Pinch My Salt. Also, Pinch My Salt pointed out a nice article on Red Velvet Cupcakes from the New York Times just in case your interested. WHO knew?

Your turn!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Searching For A Red Velvet Cupcake Receipe

Red Velvet Cupcakes from Martha

Last year, for Valentines Day, Hubby and I made Red Velvet cupcakes to gobble and to give to his parents (his dad loves cookies, cakes etc. so this is always a good way to stay on his good side). The cupcake mix came from a fancy box that I picked up at the Fresh Market. Everyone seemed to like them (especially Hubby's dad), although I thought that this year we would step it up a notch and actually try a real recipe from scratch. I do have a little time before Valentines day to find a great recipe so that I take them in to work to pass out (just like I use to do in grade school). Back then, it was always sugar cookies, and one of my classmates' mother was always a better icing decorator then my own mother. I seemed to acquire her same talents in that department. When I googled Red Velvet cupcakes, no doubt Paula's name popped right up, and then, of course, Martha. But then, I found Country Living's recipe on my own because I always like their recipes. So I've printed all three recipes but I can't really tell which one is the best--if Hubby and I test all three recipes this weekend, we'll be in trouble!!!

Red Velvet Cupcakes from Country Living

Ms.Paula Deen's Red Velvet Cupcakes

Any Suggestions?

What's Your Favorite Comfort Food?

As promised, it's Friday, "Recipe & Entertaining day". Hmmm. I don't know how I get myself in these messes! I'm just ready to get off work, run a few errands (like getting my hair done--that's important), and get home so I can listen to The Skirted Roundtable over a glass of vino. Usually, on Friday's evenings I'm so dead from the week before that Hubby and I usually order in, or I'll send him out to go get something while I'm soaking in my tub. Hey, it's the only time I can do that! Anyway, I can already sense that we will be ordering take out tonight. And the thing is we can't order pizza because we did that last night when my friend Helen was over. I did whip a nice Pecorino cheese Baked with Honey & Walnuts from Carolyne Roehm and Helen liked it. Next time I'll try her pizza!

Image from Carolyne Roehm

But anyway, tonight we are going to order from Swallow at the Hollow. It's basically a notorious Southern style BBQ place here in the Atlanta area and very close to our house, I might add. Mac & Cheese please and corn muffins for Ellie... she loves them!

So what's your favorite comfort food? Is it mashed potatoes, pizza, grilled cheese & tomato soup, chicken 'n dumplings, chocolate cake?

Experimenting with Candy Cane Bark!

Have you've ever noticed just how expensive peppermint bark can be? You know the bark that I'm talking about. The kind that comes in the nice decorative tins! I'm always very tempted to buy it myself, but, somehow, I always think that hubby and I will plow into it before it gets to the actual person I intended to give it to. Now, I love to bake around the holidays, and last year I was not able to do much of that. However, the year before, while in Nashville the hubby made me do a bill of sale just for all of our baking needs. We went through two mixers during that baking event. Maybe, one day, I'll have the Kitchen Aid one. Who knows? But anyway, this year, I want to do some different things other then my old standby cookies. I have several small gifts to give at work, and to me the homemade kind are the best. So this year one of the things that I'm going to attempt is this Candy cane bark. I found the recipe from Publix and it does not call for a lot of fancy ingredients.

Candy Cane Bark (recipe from Publix)
6 Ounces chocolate - flavor candy coating, chopped
1 3-ounce milk chocolate bar chopped
6 Ounces vanilla-flavor candy coating
3 ounces white baking chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup crushed peppermint candy canes

Line a large baking sheet with foil. In a small heavy saucepan melt chocolate-flavor candy coating and milk chocolate bar, stirring over low heat until smooth. Pour onto prepared baking sheet and spread into a 10X8 - inch rectangle: set aside.

In another small heavy saucepan, melt vanilla-flavor candy coating and white baking chocolate, stirring over low heat until smooth.

Slowly pour white mixture over chocolate mixture on baking sheet. With a thin spatula, swirl white mixture into chocolate mixture. Shake baking sheet gently for even thickness.

Sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Chill about 30 minutes or until firm. Use foil to lift candy from baking sheet - break candy into pieces. Makes 1 1/4 pounds

To package - I'm leaning towards either white or silver rounds tins which can be found at The Container Store with either pink or white tissue.