Two Days in France

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Well, not exactly but the next best thing. Denise of Chez spent the past weekend cooking, eating and tasting wine at Tante Marie .

I took a French Food and Wine Course over the weekend - which I highly recommend. The school is small, intimate and very professional with a casual and laid back feeling all rolled into one fantastic program. Mary Risley, the founder of Tante Marie is very personable and welcoming - as if we all just came to her home! Everyone taking the course was interesting (from all over the country as well as Bay Area) and we all enjoyed the same passion - COOKING and FOOD! The instructors, Jessica Lasky (food) and Shelley Lindgren (wine) are knowledgeable, fun and very personable. I can not say enough pleasant things about my experience - I will definitely go back!

We spent the entire weekend learning about the different regions of France with regards to food and wine as well as getting our hands dirty in the kitchen. We made everything from Pepper Gougeres (can you say super YUM), Salade Lyonnaise, Classic Bouillabaise, Beef Daube, Duck Cassoulet, Quail with Grapes, Celeryroot and Endive Salade, Fig Clafouti, Crepe Suzette, and the list goes on and one!

We tasted and drank wines from Champagne, Alace, Bordeaux, the Rhone and may other wonderful areas in France.

I wish I could give you all a nibble; but, I can't. You can entice your taste buds here! This is simply a wonderful way to spend a weekend!

We are so lucky to have great friends

The Purple Box does to me, what the Blue Box does for most women I know!

Our friends E & W just got back from Paris .... when they asked what we wanted all I could think of was a new copy of my beloved Plan de Paris par Arrondissement and French Macaroons.

Much to our surprise we got just that as well as extract goodies! Let me just say this ... Salted Caramel, is to die for! Not to mention we were able to relive our holiday thru their memories!

When is the next plane leaving??!!!

Roasted Spaghetti Squash

I remember my mom making this once before, when I was very small. I thought it was funny that you could get spaghetti out of squash. I do not remember ever having since. We were enticed at the grocery last week, so it came home with us and sat on the counter, where we stared each other down until last night.

I roasted it - after I dulled my knifes trying to cut it in half - covered with Spanish Olive oil and salt and pepper. Then I tossed together a sauce of browned butter with sweet Italian peppers, shallots, garlic and capers - sprinkled lightly with Parmesan cheese just before serving!

We are in love with Blue Organic Strawberries - if you can find them, BUY them! We are pretty sure these are the best strawberries in the Bay Area right now. I am so crazy over them, I always buy two boxes ... we eat one and I roast the others! For dessert tonight I used the leftover Tapioca and drizzled some Roasted Strawberries over the top - YUM! The orange flavoring in the pudding with Roasted Strawberries is wonderful!

Simple

We both have been exhausted the past couple weeks. Look at the stove, let the ideas float in and out of our heads and just plop down. Have been craving radishes so I made a simple green salad with radishes, kidney beans and ultra creamy blue cheese, served it with warm crusty bread for dinner. As well, a little comfort food for dessert - Tapioca flavored with orange and cardamom, not quit like grandma made but still comfortable!

Ratatouille ...

Finally got a chance to check out the movie Ratatouille & let me say, I was inspired by that Rat, to make his favorite dish for dinner tonight! I made a roasted layered Ratatouille which was fantastic! Served it with a simple green salad with radishes and pomergrantes and lightly drizzled with simple french vinaigrette. Last week I was inspired by Jaden over at the Steamy Kitchen, to make her perfect coconut rice - which is easy & fantastic. Tonight, I took it to another level ... made the rice and then turned it into Coconut/Cardamom Rice Pudding - YUMMY!

End of a long week ...

Friday night found us both exhausted. I tried to come up with something good for dinner but did not have it in me, we were two tired souls for dinner. All I could come up with was Eggplant Masala (into Indian food lately) and a caramelized shallot Quinoa. Simple and good!

Not Cooking ...

I have not had a chance to get behind the stove all week, hence the reason for no new stuff! L. is traveling (which is not the excuse) and I have been working over-time! I have some great ideas brewing, though, and can not wait to WOW my man when he gets back with some great meals. Hoping to hit the kitchen, again, tomorrow. So please keep checking in & dine with us soon ......

I can not wait ..

to know what the October Challenge is! I was hoping it would be announced before I start my day. I am an addict now - an addict to the DB group! Someone, Help Me!

The 3 Ps' for Dinner

Plums, Pizza & Pinot Noir and some Lamb (yes, I know, more meat); but, we did cut down portions! We have been waiting to open up this bottle of Pinot Noir, that our friend I. and company (Dept. C) are making but we needed the right dish.

Recently, there was an article in the SF Chronicle on Pinot Noir and what to serve ... there it was Lamb, Plum & Smoked Mozzarella Pizza , so we whipped up a mini, tossed together a simple mixed green salad with radishes (just like grandma use to make) and popped up the Dept. C. Point Noir - the meal was great, the pizza was interesting (I will make again but add more spices to it) and the Pinot was smooth and definitely complimented everything in the pizza. As well, this was the last meal for our Eat Local Challenge - everything was local this time!!!

Hot Buns on a Sunday Morning ...

When The Daring Bakers were presented with our September challenge by Marce from Pip in the City, I kind of cringed ….. I do not consider myself a baker at all. L. & I were chatting it up early one morning and he asked me why? My response was that the technical parts and the amount of time I have to put into it kind of irks me, I want instant gratification. So, I got myself out of bed, made some espresso and started Cinnamon (mine are Cardamon) & Sticky Buns.

WOW – half way through the challenge I was having a blast. My dough was silky, smooth and rising to the occasion. My cardamom sugar was sweet & spicy and my pecans and dried California (to add some local into this challenge) Apricots were chopped and my caramel/bergamot glaze was so tasty that I was afraid I was going to eat it all before actually glazing. Overall, it was a pretty good time so far and I was feeling damn good! Next came the part of baking I always hate … putting it all together. I usually do it so quickly, because I want to see what it is going to be like, that it does not come out the way the picture shows – I like to call it “natural looking”, to make myself feel better about it. This time around, I took my time, kneading, rolling, measuring, sprinkling, rolling, cutting and putting these sweet little buns into the right spots! I then covered them up and put them into the fridge to spend the night. I thought about them all night! I got up at 4am, put them next to the nice warm stove, covered them with some warm cheesecloth & let them rise until 8am, at which time I put them in the oven and …… They did just what they were supposed to do – I was so excited!

I could not wait for L. to see them! I set the table, and made the espresso. L. woke up to fresh cardamom & bergamot smells mixed with Italian Roast espresso … sleepy eyed he made it into the kitchen and all he could say was “Jesus Christ, this is great!” I gave some to our neighbors as well; E.’s response was that Sticky Buns were “OUTRAGEOUS” with the nut/fruit combo and Bergamot caramel glaze!

I faced my fears & I conquered this challenge and I can honestly say I am pleased, excited and can not wait until the next one …. Bring it on!!!

Didn't We say NO MEAT ..

L. rode 100+ miles today & NEEDED a sausage or two (shouldn't that be my line (wink wink)) with his veggie dinner I had planned. Since we are on the tail end of our Eat Local Challenge, we did a quick run to pick up some wonderful Niman Ranch HOT Italian Sausage (once again, I am a sucker for the packaging). Earlier in the evening I had roasted some zucchini, dry-farmed tomatoes, shallots, garlic and fresh pimento (which was picked up at Farmers Market today). Tossed together some HOT pasta with some fresh and local Ricotta, I found, and spooned the roasted veggies over the top. Nice Italian comfort food.

Friday Night

I am a bit behind on posting.... was beat last night and swamped today! I am all caught up now & we are excited to have you back over to dine with us! As I mentioned previously we are trying to push away from the table - We don't believe in diets or cutting out the things we love so I am doing portion control and upping the old exercise program for us. As well we are trying to eat more veggies and less meat - we'll see how that goes - maybe once a week meat, chicks or fish? WE are in love with these mini eggplants, so I scooped up a few more last week. They are almost too cute to cook but when you do cook them up, they taste great. Tonight I sautéed them with some yellow onion & red peppers I had on hand and then I simmered them in a nice bath of Malaysian Rendang Curry, which I found at Wholefoods. We wanted rice to eat with this dish but did not want ordinary boring rice, so I searched high & low. Thanks to Jaden, over at the Steamy Kitchen , I found this great recipe for Coconut Rice. Let me tell you a little secret - I can cook a 5 course meal but when it comes to rice, I suck! I usually use a rice cooker!! Since her recipe said I would not need one, I gave it a whirl. Guess what?! It was super easy and the rice was perfect! Back to our meal ... it was fantastic, the eggplants were all warm and spicy in the Rendang Curry sauce and the coconut in the rice complimented the curry very nicely! Great way to end a long week.... As well the eggplants, peppers and onions were local but everything else was only organic - we are trying!

Risotto Relay!

Sathya & Liz of The Baker & The Curry Maker are hosting the Risotto Relay this month and since we love Risotto and make it very often we decided we HAD to do it! We made Abalone Mushroom Risotto for dinner last night. Abalone Mushrooms, you ask yourself, what is that? We had no idea until we hit the grocery store last weekend (they sell them at Wholefoods) & we still really did not have an idea even after bringing our prize home. Here is a description that I found online: "Abalone mushroom is a delicate white sphere with soft spines and no stem. It has a mild, sweet taste and pleasant texture that has been compared to lobster or very tender veal. It's appearance has earned it many interesting common names including Monkey's head, Lion's Mane, Bear's Head, Old Man's Beard, and Satyr's Beard. Among its other medicinal benefits pom pom is best known for its traditional use in treating ailments of the stomach and digestive tract, as well as nervous system disorders." I love abalone, L. has never had it and this mushroom was very much like the real thing. Same texture and the same flavor. The risotto was creamy (and I do not use cheese) and bursting full of flavor!

49 Days! 57 Days!

until we will be doing some serious beach time in Costa Rica. Serious beach time means serious swimsuit time, which in turns means some serious pushing back from the kitchen table! L. will be heading down before me for a big bike race - coast to coast and then I will join him a week later for some much needed R & R. Now a girl and guy can not live on carrots alone, so we are cutting back to smaller portions and many more veggies! I loaded up the old veggie bin with some great local things and will we will be hitting the stove big time! You can expect some new easy veggie recipes to be seen in the next few weeks! We got pretty excited about an Abalone mushroom we found, so we got it. Now, it pretty much smells, looks and even tastes like Abalone - weird! Sauteed it with some shallots, garlic, white wine, Meyer Lemon juice and made Risotto, served roasted asparagus on the side. I am a sucker for food packaged in interesting ways. I found, this Bubalus Bubalis Mozzarella and had to get it for two reasons: 1. I liked how it looked and 2. have heard how great it is! So, to finish off our meal, we had a mozzarella and tomato (these were from our garden - how much more local can you get) salad. Now, this Mozzarella, is outstanding - ultra creamy, smooth taste, mouth-watering goodness - would be fantastic on a grilled pizza as well!

We are crying .....

L. is crying for home-cooked food and I am crying as I want to get my hands dirty in the kitchen again .... this has been a loonnnggg couple of weeks of entertaining. The last of our company left today. We had a great meal planned for tonight but are beat! All we are going to do is pour a couple big glasses of wine, turn on the new James Blunt (super moving), put our feet up & turn off this computer! Come back tomorrow night - we'd love to have you for dinner!

She put de lime in de coconut ...

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I love cupcakes for many reasons: they are super cute, easier on the diet, they seem to always make people smile and maybe, probably a little, because my grandfather use to call me cupcake. Anyhow, it became my thing a few years ago after scoring the recipe from Magnolia Bakery, to make cupcakes for those I love (who do not live near us)on their birthdays and to send off a surprise package! Anyhow, once I saw that Laurie of the Quirky Cupcake was hosting an event I had to participate. I made a Coconut Cupcake which was frosted with a Lime Cream Cheese Frosting. Before frosting them, I did lightly brush the tops with more of the Lime simple syrup. The lime is suspect in these. You only expect coconut and then you bite into it and WOW, you are suddenly on a white sandy beach sipping a tropical drink!

Cute Eggplants

These were the cutest eggplants I have ever seen, I just had to buy them! I found them at the new Wholefoods Market near our neighborhood. Okay, so they are cute and you ask yourself, "but, were they good?" They were delicious! We sauteed them with a little oil, chili peppers from our garden, lemon zest from our neighbors Meyer lemon tree, and basil from our garden. Served with brown rice - not local rice, don't think I can get local rice - but it was organic - all of it was!

Veggie Lasagna

We are back on the local train. While it was great having L.'s mother cook Portuguese food for us for a week we are both happy to be eating Local & Organic again! Made one of our favorite dishes today ... Grilled Veggie Lasagna sitting in a pool of Basil Oil, the recipe is one of Emeril's and it is - YUMMY!

The Last Supper .....

this is how it felt tonight and how sad it was. I always hate long sad good-byes and I wish there was a way to make it all better! Why, let's eat, everything feels better with food! L.'s mother made a few more of his favorites tonight, sweet peas with chorizo, salted cod fish croquettes with peppers and of course wine! I love the salted cod fish croquettes as much as L. does, a definite must learn to make for our home! ps.... was not local but we will be hitting the local trail more faithfully starting tomorrow!

Portuguese Comfort Food

L. loves this dish called "favish" - I am sure I have spelled it wrong - and can not wait until he is back home to have his mother make it for him, I make it but not like Moms! I have to admit, hers is very good - old country style. Reminds me of a dish my great grandmother, grandmother and great aunts use to make, a basque bean dish that they made using red beans. Lucky, for us both we have had it while she is visiting, got to love moms!