Our apologizes ...

for leaving you stranded in our kitchen for so long! We have had a terrible time, trying to find time to stay home - too busy, since coming back from the Costa Rica. Definitely, dying to get some quality time hunkering down at home - maybe 2008!

We did get a chance to toast the holidays with some friends of ours over the weekend - D., JT, & S. (who is in from Boston). I have been dying to cook a Cassoulet since taking my classes at Tante Marie - what better time than now!

Started the evening with a nice bottle of bubbly wine and Gougere Puffs - I did not have Gruyère cheese so I compromised and added what I had on hand - goat cheese! They came out a little heavier than usual but very tasty, especially with a glass of bubbly! We then moved on to the star attraction, Cassoulet! I was quite happy - the duck fell off the bones, and the flavor was fantastic. Could use a touch more salt but otherwise, very good. For dessert I whipped up a Chocolate Souffle. I had some extra pistachios so I crushed them with sugar in the old food processor and coated the sides of dish before adding the sinful part of the souffle. Not the same as I usually make, more like pudding with a crunchy topping, very rich and sinful. We highly recommend!

Overall, a fantastic evening. Great Friends and good food - the best way to ring in the holidays!

Tribute to Julia

I have to say I have never used a Julia Child recipe until tonight. We were craving something easy & French and I stumbled upon this recipe by the master herself.

Served it with a simple watercress salad with Tartelette's vinaigrette recipe. Wonderful!

Bon Voyage

L. left for the La Ruta de los Conquistadores, last night. We have been living and breathing biking for the past 11 months. This was our first Saturday in so long that we could lounge around the house on a Saturday, drink coffee, watch a movie and just enjoy each other company! In honor all of his hard work & to give a guy a decent meal before his trip, I used my skills learned at Tante Marie and made an outstanding dinner!

We started with a mixed green salad with a light French Vinaigrette. I picked up some outrageous Roquefort and forgot the bread, so I crumbled it over the salad. The cheese was fantastic and while good on a salad would had been better with a baguette - live and learn. Despite the raining day and night, we picked up some of these steaks we found a couple weeks ago - by far the best we have had, ever - and tossed them on the grill. Lightly seasoned with salt and pepper. The star attraction with our steak was my new favorite potato - potatoes fried in duck fat and sprinkled with sea salt. OH MY GOD! These morsels with a nice grilled steak and a full bodied red wine are to die for!

We kicked it up a notch for dessert and made crepe Suzette.

The entire evening was fantastic - the food, wine and most of all my hot guy, I am so proud of him!

Thursday Night

another late night spinning. Luckily, I had a few minutes before we left to toss together a gratin. So all we had to do was pop it into the oven and Voila, lovely french food for dinner! This was an endive and prosciutto gratin that I learned to make in my French Cooking classes a couple weeks ago. When I started putting it together, I had a feeling L. was going to give it a BIG VETO like he did to the Leek Soup; but, he did not! It was too tasty with all that smokiness of the Prosciutto and cheesy sauce!

As good as Chez Panisse (almost)

Well ... the next best thing! Poached Egg with Curly Endive Salad, courtesy of Alice Waters and the Art of Simple Food. The salad was delicious - simply delicious! I love this style of salad and always forget just how much until I have it. This recipe will or has become a staple in our house!

Dessert was the last of the Mascarpone Ice Cream with the last of the season Blue Organic Strawberries which I roasted and we will have for another couple months - slurpy yummy!