Through Christmas Failure Comes Inner Peace...kinda

It seemed like a great idea.  My brother's girlfriend suggested we have a gingerbread house making contest.  Then we decided to have my aunt judge it when the extended family got together.  We'd make them Christmas Day while we were all together.  P and I decided a lighthouse would be a great idea.  We had thoughts about the decoration and everything.  Sounds like fun, huh?  I thought so until the logistics started coming together in my mind. 

Side Note: I really hope this in no way offends my brother's girlfriend.  I really wish I had her baking acumen.  She is one of those amazing people that can wake up at 4am and then bake amazing stuff after work and graduate school classes.  Love her!

I was already stressed beyond belief for a hundred reasons other than the Christmas season but that is for another post.  Even though I quit Lottery Yarn and was looking forward to my first holiday in six years without a retail schedule in addition to a regular day job to worry about, it seemed like there was still no time to finish everything (being away for Thanksgiving and then being diagnosed with walking pneumonia probably didn't help).  My wrapping sucked, my gift ideas were not as creative as usual and my cooking was suffering.  So with Christmas day fast approaching, I was feeling the additional stress of making a gingerbread house.  I ended up making gingerbread dough at 11pm on Christmas Eve - two batches.  I woke up bleary eyed and exhausted at 8am to begin our day.

When I checked in with my Mom's house, my brother informed me that they were going to do theirs on the 26th since technically it was not due until the 27th.  I felt a wave of relief wash over me.  I had another day!  The dough could chill in the fridge for another day, no problem.  We could do it on my day off and I could enjoy Christmas with my family and relax a little bit - never an easy task for me.

The gingerbread dough mocked me from inside the fridge the next morning as I grabbed the cream for my coffee.  It sat there, two mean lumps of flour, sugar and molasses.  I finally pulled it out to soften before rolling it out.  I gave it a good 20 minutes and began trying to roll it into the requisite quarter inch round.  I have never worked with such and unfriendly mound of dough.  It was hard, it cracked, it tore at the parchment paper, taking me another 20 minuets to roll it out so that I would have an area large enough to cut out one of the 4 sides of the lighthouse.  P even tried to help and declared it a nightmare.  I continued rolling and cutting most of the afternoon.  When I finally had the 4 pieces rolled, cut and baked, I checked them to see if they were true enough to stand together.  They were awful.  There wasn't enough royal icing in the world to help us.  I finally had the meltdown that I could see coming from before Christmas Day.

In between retching sobs I asked, "Why can't I do this?! Other people can bake and shop and wrap and get everything done.  Why is it impossible for me to do this?  Every year it just seems like I am falling on my face."  I felt like such a failure.  I think I had less to do this year but felt like it was double because of everything else that had been going on in my life this month.  I sobbed and rubbed my eyes  till I saw stars.  I finally made the call to my Mom's house and told them that the blobs of dough had beaten me.  I could not make a gingerbread house in time.  No one was upset (except me) no one judged me (except me) and no one thought I was a complete slacker failure (except me).

As soon as I got off the phone I cried a little more and then stopped.  After a few minutes I sighed with relief.  P and I put away all the candy we bought to decorate the gingerbread house (on a high shelf so I would be less tempted to eat it).  I sighed a couple more times to let it sink in that there was  something off my plate.  Finally my shoulders came down from around my ears and I stopped wringing my fingers.  I stopped wondering how strange it would look for me to be the only one without a gingerbread house to present (ok, I am still worried about that).  I  still worried that I was just being a lazy, slacker but then it hit me -  I am not a gingerbread house person and that is OK.

The realization was life affirming.  I am not a gingerbread house person!  I am a tie things with pretty bows and wrap presents Lottery Yarn style and make food that can be eaten person!  Damn the gingerbread house dough and bring on the decadent cheese plate, artfully presented by yours truly.  Bring on the recipes for apps and main courses and sides for me to do and then reinvent.  That is ME and right now it is about all I can handle.

I hope you all are cool with that because I am trying REALLY hard to be. 

New candy shelf.

Yum! Veggie Meal On My Own

I had the house to myself last night.  That means drop the a/c a couple notches, both doggies on the bed with no grumbling from M-dog and a veggie meal for me. 

Sabrina over at Rhodygirl Tests wrote about Zucchini Pasta a little while back and I was dying to try it for all the same reasons she wanted to do it.

1.  I love a big bowl of pasta but do not love the cals that come with a big bowl
2.  I love zucchini and there is plenty of it right now

This is what I was working with

The recipe for the zucchini pasta is very simple. 

Zucchini Pasta
-Use a veggie peeler to peel ribbons of zucchini. 
I was trying to figure out the best way to do this as I wanted to have some of the skin left on the zucchini pasta both for nutrition (fiber) and for looks.  The green stripe along either side of the ribbon looked pretty.  I found that if I stripped off the skin on 4 sides of the zucchini length-wise and then started peeling for the actual pasta after that, I got exactly what I was looking for.  The ribbons were about an inch wide.    I peeled only until I started seeing seeds.  At that point, the zucchini looked like a square block.  What I should have done was grate it and toss it in the freezer for adding to other things later but I already had a ton so it went to the compost pile.
- Steam the ribbons over salted water for 2-3 minutes.
- Toss the zucchini with your favorite sauce or simple topping

Sabrina used pesto which looked amazing.  She also suggested marinara or even just some garlic and olive oil. I had a bunch or really good looking tomatoes from my CSA that were begging to be put to good use so I made a quick sauce with tomatoes, cipollini onions, garlic and white wine. Other than the chopping/seeding of the tomatoes, this recipe is very quick and easy.

Tomato Sauce
- Seed and chop tomatoes (I used 4 large), chop onions (3 small cipollini but you can use any type you like), chop garlic
-Heat a little olive oil in a pan over medium heat and add onions.  Allow to soften at least, you can caramelize too if you like the flavor, add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds (I am TERRIBLE at letting garlic burn so I always add it when there are other things in the pan already), add the tomatoes and a little salt.  The tomatoes will give off a good deal of liquid, allow it to cook down to concentrate the flavors.  Once most of the liquid is gone, add some white wine (I poured anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 cup I think, just out the bottle) and allow that to cook down.
-When you are satisfied with the consistency of the sauce, remove from heat and add zucchini ribbons, toss gently.
-Plate and add your fave cheese to the top.  I used a pecorino romano. 
-Something I did not do which I will next time is allow the sauce and the zucchini to sit for a few minutes to let the flavors meld.  I realized that I needed to do this when the dish kept getting better the more I ate.  :)

This is what I ended up with

You'll notice I had an ear of corn in the first pic.  I ate that as an app, raw over the sink...OMG so good!  If you live in the Philly area, Maple Acres Farm in Plymouth Meeting has the BEST CORN EVER!

This dish was wonderful.  I will make it again and again.  I think next time I will make less sauce and allow the texture of the zucchini to be highlighted more.  It was similar to pasta and I found that the ribbons with a little green skin were firmer (in a good way) than the ones without skin.  This could be a great side as well especially if you have a significant other or other dinner partner that must have their meat at every meal.

Funny - I had a green stain on my hand from holding the zucchini and peeling.  I have zucchini all the time and this was the first time that happened.  Took a little scrubbing to get off too.

Let me know if you give it a try!

Hooked! Overnight Oats

I know my posting has been very bad but I am trying not to pressure myself too much with it. I also know I feel better when I do it so I will try to do it more often.

I HAVE however been reading lots of other blogs, many are health and fitness blogs. What is great about them is that they don't make me feel bad about where I am in my health and fitness goals but they DO have great ideas that I can use just about every day.

Just about every single one talks about Overnight Oats. Now this is not the steel cut variety, it is the rolled variety and it requires no cooking. No cooking is a good thing in the steamy summer where your a/c limps along. I do love me some oats though. I had no been putting off trying it...I just kept forgetting to make them the night before.

Many of the recipes (and I use the term recipe lightly b/c there are sooooo many variations on it) call for a protein powder but I left it out as I don't do quite as much exercising at these ladies do and a bowl of hot oats usually keeps me going till lunch time. I went very basic.

1/2 cup rolled oats (not the quick ones)
1/2 cup Vanilla Almond Milk
cinnamon
pinch of salt

I used a fork to mix together the milk, cinnamon and salt before adding the oats. I was worried the cinnamon would clump on one section of the oats if I didn't do that step. I then added the oats and stirred to combine. This was all in a 2 cup plastic Ziploc container with lid.

When I pulled it out of the fridge this morning. And gave is a whiff, it smelled really good. The sweetness of the Vanilla Almond Milk and the cinnamon made it smell a little like rice pudding.

Then I tasted it. YUM! Even without additional fixin's it was great! I did add blueberries and a little yogurt. Very good but really didn't even need the yogurt! I am thinking a little cocoa powder would be excellent as well. Might try that next. The consistency was really pretty much like oatmeal but not as saturated. I really liked the texture.

If you are looking for a new quick breakfast, I HIGHLY recommend it! Wish I had pics but I ate it too quickly. ;)

Much thanks to Jenna at Eat, Live, Run and Sabrina at Rhodeygirl Tests for the inspiration!

Whole Foods Sells Crack

Just sayin'...

Foodie Post Yay!

Without pics - Booo! Ok, one pic thanks to the restaurant's website.

I am sorry but my stupid Blackberry will only hold a couple pics these days for some reason. Yet another reason to get an iPhone.

Anyway...this was an INSANE foodie weekend for me. I tried a new place and was at an old favorite for brunch.

On Saturday evening we went to L'Oca in Philadelphia. It is an Italian bistro right smack dab next to Eastern State Penitentiary. I love this section of Philly. I lived there for a year and just fell in love. It was fitting that we had this dinner with my old roomies who are now married with kids and living in Fairmount.

L'Oca is a BYO and we brought a lovely Malbec and our friends brought two reds as well. They were perfect for the windy, chilly evening. For starters P and I had the Gnocchetti Armenville -

Baked croquettes of semolina flour, Parmesan & Asiago cheeses, red peppers, mushrooms, asparagus and speck (smoked prosciutto), topped with brown butter & sage. There were six croquettes so it was a good one to split...and they suggest you do so. Each was a perfect pillow with the stuffing placed inside. The flavors were amazing together. For my main course I had the Trofie Con Funghi e Patate - Artisanal pasta braised with potatoes, arugula, exotic mushrooms and tossed with Toma cheese. I am a huge mushroom lover and this dish was absolutely amazing and perfect for someone that could live on mushrooms. The cheese and the mushrooms and the arugula were a simple combination but their layered flavors were heavenly. P had the Braised Goose with Pappardelle. It was named 'Best of Philly' for pasta in 2007 for this dish. P was going to get the steak but I convinced him that his love of duck made this a better choice. I was wrong that goose and duck were so similar but this dish was even better than mine and that was saying a lot. The ragu was succulent, rich and had a background sweetness that enhanced the overall flavor. The only place that fell a bit short was the dessert we had. We both chose a chocolate flourless cake that was described as 'close to a brownie consistency.' It was too dry for both of us but since we got nicely made cappuccinos we did a little dipping and it was quite nice. :) One of our friends got the lemon tart described as 'lemon meringue without the meringue.' It was quite tart but I noticed it was gone rather quickly as well. :)

What I found interesting was that what we chose went along excellently with the windy chilly day. It was as if it was a part of the meal. The restaurant became loud as it got more crowded but it still felt warm and cozy as we drank our wine, chatted, laughed and watched the trees get tossed in the wind. The large windows which can all be thrown open wide in nicer weather is just one of reasons I want to go back soon. The food will keep me going back in any season.

Next: Mother's Day Brunch review. I know what they say about brunch but this place is an exception...trust me.

Martini's and the Salad Bar...A Flexitarian's Dinner

So, before my hiatus...that is what I am officially calling it now ("Just being lazy" doesn't sound as cool) I was really getting into the whole food thing. I am still right there and although some rules I have relaxed a bit (I will buy bananas and clementines because I need them) there are others I have increased. I rarely eat red meat anymore. If I know there is an event where I will eat it (if my Aunt and Uncle, wonderful cooks that they are, prepare lamb on Easter, I am going to have a little), I prepare for it by eating veg as much as possible beforehand. Why? In my crazy head it balances out. I will not eat any type of meat at a restaurant (or at home) unless I know where it came from and what conditions are of that place it came from (grass fed beef, free range chicken, sustainable fish, etc). That is pretty easy considering the pro-local restaurants, farmers markets, etc. around here. It gets hard when you have very good friends that you have not hung out with in a long time and they want to go to a red meat Mecca. Do you know of what I speak? It is called the Brazilian Steakhouse.

Meat item after meat item is brought around to your tables. If your coaster is on the green side, they put meat on your plate until you turn it to the red side. It is CRAZY! I went to one for my brother's birthday before I started making all these rules for myself and I couldn't keep up then. Now, I am not sure what to do. I have been researching my options. I could just go for the salad bar which is ANYTHING but just salad. I could find out more about where the meat comes from but...at those prices...I am going to bet it is not a pretty pasture with lots of nice green grass and babbling brooks for the cows. My last option and it seems like a good one, eat before and drink my weight in martini's. Ok, no, with my track record, not a good idea.

Hopefully, I'll figure it out before we go. I'll get good natured teasing about my eating habits from good friends whose company will more than make up for the fact that I will probably be eating from the salad bar...

...and possibly still drinking at least a small child's weight in martini's

...oh and dessert.

Brownie

Since I don't have a list of things to blog about I am going to have to blog about what it plaguing my mind right at this moment. Right at this very moment, I am having a nice cup of coffee and there is a RAGING battle going on in my head. You see, the deli downstairs has these brownies. These are not just ANY brownies. These brownies are dark chocolate with chocolate pieces AND, the BEST part...a thick peanut butter swirl. I am almost dizzy thinking about it. I WANT ONE.

Commercial Interruption: I lost 40lbs this year on WW. I have about 10 more to go. I am SCARED to FREAKING death that I will gain it back like I did the last time when I lost 30lbs. I am better prepared this time as I did not nor do I eat fake food. I ate regular food, no fat free cheese or Lean Cuisines or fat free cookies. I did eat cookies and brownies now and again. I am human after all no matter what my husband tells you. Back to the post with you.

My brain is amazing at playing both sides of this. On one side, it will say "You are working tonight. You'll be on your feet for hours at Lottery Yarn. You'll probably burn most of it off." The other side says things like, "Did you see that scale this morning?" or "So how was that run you flaked on this morning? Hmmm?" GAAAA! It's a wonder I don't have a split personality. They will go back and forth on this for the next hour and fifteen minutes (the deli closes in an hour and 15 minutes).

My brain will then try to make deals with the other half in that if we go get said brownie, it will be the only one this week, you'll run in the morning, you'll not buy anymore Florentine (Crack) Confections from Whole Foods (it is crack by the way, in the manner of sunflower seed brittle) to put on your Stonyfield fat-free frozen yogurt.

Sometimes they strike a deal and have me walk down to the deli in a daze where I will paw at the basket of brownies, looking for the:

1. One with the most PB
2. Softest
3. Largest

in that order. I will take it back upstairs, warm it in the microwave for 10 seconds then drink my coffee with said brownie. I will be in chocolate/peanut butter heaven...for about 20 minutes and then it will hit me.

WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST EAT!?

That part of my brain must have been sleeping while the deal went down because then it gets all guilt-trippy on me, "What about how hard you've worked this year?" and "Do you know how long it will take to get that out of your system?" I'll hang my head and feel down for about 24 hours...about the same time the next day when some part of my brain will pipe up:

"Hey, you think there are brownies down there today?"


Update: Deli is closed for the day...no brownies were consumed. One battle won. :)

A Green Bean Spit at Me

Seriously. I don't think it was all to happy to be in that boiling water. I bet it liked it even less when after the blanching it got thrown into a sautee pan.

I wrote a phrase today that made me think a little bit the rest of the day. "It's so great when my love of food works with me instead of against me."

Yesterday I picked up my farm share and went into 'what is this and what do I do with it' mode. Yesterday it all clicked. We had turkey burgers with green beans and almonds and a big salad. The lettuce in the salad was crazy fresh and tasted of spring. All it needed was some craisins and a little vinaigrette. I also got some rainbow chard and beets. I promptly chopped up the chard and the greens from the beats and sauteed that in olive oil and garlic and then added left over brown rice, saving it for this evening's feast.

Last night I prepared a Chicken Tikka marinade, using homemade yogurt no less. It is in the fridge waiting for the grill. I still have garlic scapes that are new to me but dying to use and a few small beats and potatoes that I want to roast so badly I don't think I'd even mind the heat of the oven in the humid weather.

Usually my love of food gets me into trouble. I like my cheese. I also like butter and a heavy handed olive oil pour. It just sees like the fresher the food, the less I have to do to it. I am grateful for the veggies every week. I am grateful for the leafy greens that are turning me into a rabbit because as soon I get used to these wonderful things, they will be gone. Replaced by tomatoes and zucchini. Bittersweet.

The Rarest Reservation: Talula's Table

Conde Nast: Portfolio "The country's hardest-to-get reservation isn't in New York or Los Angeles. Call Talula's Table, in Pennsylvania horse country, to dine in 2009." It's a great article go ahead and read it.

Ok, I am seriously not bragging. I am just trying to drive home how amazing this place is. I was there when they first opened and were not yet serving dinner. I was there when they were in Philly in their restaurant Django. Now I finally was able to see what everyone was talking about when it came to their new dinner style.

What Talula's Table (owned by married couple Brian Sikora and Aimee Olexy) does is create 2 meals a night one for a table of up to 12 and one for a table of 4, 6 days a week. The table for 12 is called "The Farmhouse Table" It is out in the main part of what during the day is their gourmet market. The table for 4 is in the inner sanctum, the kitchen, hence, The Kitchen Table. Someday I'd love to have a big party of 12 but Friday night, I was in heaven in the kitchen.

We were greeted by Aimee when we arrived as if we were coming for dinner in a friend's home. She led us back to the kitchen and our table. The four of us had half the large butcher block table that is usually used for making what you see in the market. Brian is the head chef and had a little prep area going on his end of the table and was able to talk with us between courses and also during the meal. He, Aimee and the other staff explained each course and kept up with our wine selections (that is to say, made sure nary a glass was empty). Now if you are not a foodie and you are bored with food descriptions, skip to the end (I'll start in bold so you can see it). We had eight courses and sitting to my left is the menu for the evening which I am going to transcribe here. I apologize for not getting more pics. We were so focused on the food we forgot. :(

First Course

Eastern Shore Scallop in the Shell, Scallop and Coral Emulsion and Caviar - If a gun was put to my head to pick my favorite course this might have been it. The scallops were unbelievably fresh, perfectly seared. The Coral emulsion was prepared with the coral from the scallops and the seawater they still had in the shell. It gave an unbelievable depth to the flavor. He also added fresh enoki mushrooms (the restaurant is located in the heart of the mushroom capital of the country). Any other mushroom would have over powered the flavor but the enoki was so delicate, it just added to the layers.

Second Course

Summersweet Corn and Crab Souffle, Annalees Herbs and Cherokee Tomato Syrup - We still have fresh corn here believe it or not, and you could tell in this course. I am a fan of interesting sweet corn dishes since another restaurant introduced me to all the possibilities. This was the best souffle I have ever had. I literally watched them pull it out of the oven, piping hot. The smell was your first indication that it was going to be amazing. The 'syrup' had the consistency of homemade catsup but was sweeter and richer. We took the little spoon the syrup was placed in and put it into the heart of the souffle, unleashing more of the heavenly aroma. The combination of fresh crab, corn, paprika and tomatoes was truly an incredible experience.

Third Course

Handmade Orecchiette, Birchrun Veal Meatballs, Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Blanquette, Veal Glazed Sweetbreads - Before anyone gets on my case about the veal. I already know. I would not have eaten is but it is from a local farm that does none of the inhumane things we all know happen to baby cows. I am not promoting veal. I am glad to say that the owners of this establishment pride themselves on using organic and humanely harvested meats and produce. We spoke extensively about it at our meal. So, this dish I actually have a picture of as well. Anyway, the meatballs were presented on the plate along with the tiniest and most tasty brussel sprouts you have ever had in your life. Their flavor coupled with the veal and sweet breads (not going into that either, bring on the mad cow) were an inspired choice. Also included were Parmesan crisps that did something wonderful to the veal sauce that accompanied the meat. An interesting addition was the handmade orecchette. This was the perfect pasta to add to this dish. They had a heft somewhere between gnocchi and shells but had more flavor than I have ever tasted in any pasta. It was a good thing there were only a few to the plate because that was all that was needed.

Fourth Course

Alaskan Halibut, Our Chard, Pomme de Terre, Braised Smoked Bacon and Sherry Red Pepper Essence - I am ruined for halibut. I don't think I can have it anywhere else. The texture was perfect and it was the perfect vehicle for the pomme de terre and the red pepper. Now that I am doing a CSA I am looking forward to the chard I am sure to get as long as I can cook it the way they did. It had the familiar texture of spinach but more so if that makes sense. The bacon was this tiny piece but because of the braising and smoking process the flavor that it lended the dish floated over all the parts, enhancing the whole experience rather than taking over.

Fifth Course Tender Guinea Hen, Dr. Martin Lima Bean Terrine, Natural Hen Sauce - This was the first time I had the experience of having anything cooked sous vide (the practice of cooking food at low temperatures in vacuum-packed plastic bags). I had read about it but had not come across it. Now, I want to learn it. It imparted a flavor and a tenderness that you can get nowhere else. The natural hen sauce was essentially drippings from a roasted hen. The Terrine was like nothing I'd had before. Ham and diced lima beans absolutely wonderful. The 'Doc Martin' limas were local and now I need to find them. I hated lima beans as kid (the kind from cans). My association is much different now.

Sixth Course

Chester County Lamb Finished Three Ways and Vegetables Provencal - Lamb is one of my favorite things. I wrote a post about being torn about seeing their cute fuzzy faces on a daily basis and imagining them with rosemary and lemon. This blew me away. The three ways were, tenderloin, rolled shank and (you must pardon me, I had several glasses of wine and although in my memory I can still taste the third way, I cannot remember the name. Feel free to snap my butt with a wet napkin). The vegetables were presented inside a cup made from the end of a zucchini. Again, these were local sheep, grass finished. There is a difference.

Seventh Course
Little Stinkers, Fig Toast, Apple Fennel Jam and Goldenrod Honey - Again, presented with much wine I cannot remember the names of the cheeses. I have an email out to the owners to find out. If you are interested, email me. What I can tell you is that they were all deliciously smelly and paired with the items you see above. I loved each and every one.

Eighth Course

Chocolate Torte, Cashew butter, Roasted Apricots, Coulis and Salted Cashews - Now I have mentioned before on this blog that I do not believe in chocolate and fruit together. I make one exception, the roasted apricot coulis that accompanied this tort. It truly added a wonderful flavor to the dish. The cashew butter was actually more of a brittle and was in the middle of the torte. It was perfect for this though because it broke as soon as your fork hit that layer, allowing you to get all the layers in one bite without ruining the layers that were left.

We had coffee and they brought out truffles for us as well. Along with the check, they gave each of us pretzel bread. This was truly an amazing evening. Although I mentioned at the top that I look forward to someday sitting at The Farmhouse Table, I am torn. With my love of cooking and chefs (and Brian was not hard to look at, let me tell you) being in the kitchen and being able to chat with them about the food we were eating and their position on the local food movement and raising a family in the restaurant business was truly part of what made that meal so memorable. We left, full, happy and feeling like we'd had a meal at a friend's home...an uber professional chef-friend's home but their home none the less.

36 + 1 day = Wonderful Monday!

Except for a certain doggie being a bit of a pain in the rear this AM.... ahem

Yea! My b-day was so nice! I woke up, had coffee and blogged while listening to jazz (yes, jazz, I like it on Sunday mornings and when I cook). Then I headed out to get a mani/pedi (pedi looks great, mani, not the best I ever had so you only get this pic

will avoid that nail tech in the future) and to Barnes and Noble as I received a gift card from my aunt.

Here is what I got:

Dinner was WONDERFUL! We had a nice time and the food was great. For apps we had gnocchi (to die for) and calamari. I had seared tuna with wasabi mashed potatoes and snap peas. I normally would not go for fish on a Sunday but they didn't have info on where the steak came from exactly so I went for the fish and was not disappointed. For dessert, I split a Bananas Foster with my Mom. I also FINALLY had a pom martini.

We went back to my Mom's and I opened their gifts. Mom got me a fall decoration that I saw when we were at the Cape this year and a replacement of a seagull ceramic object that P broke at some point during one of our moves. I'll take a pic of the decoration b/c my fellow nesters will LOVE it! T got me a book about cheese (YUM), asiago crackers and cocktail napkins. My sister remembered that I complained about taking G-dog out when the grass was wet out back so she sent me these:

I have wanted them for some time.

All in all, a wonderful birthday thanks to my wonderful family.

Also a BIG GIANT THANK YOU to all who wished me a happy day. I could feel the well wishes across the blogosphere. :)

Insanely Wonderful Dinner: La Campagne

La Campagne in Cherry Hill, NJ is a must for any Philly/NJ area foodie. It is a BYO serving "Continental Cuisine" in the style of Northern Italy and France.

This is where P's parents took us for dinner for his birthday. I trust their judgement when it comes to restaurants because they enjoy food just as much as we do. They had been there before and were very happy to be able to share it with us. All I can say is I am EXTREMELY glad they did. This is now my 2nd favorite restaurant...and that is saying a lot. Trust me. Everything from the ambiance in the dining rooms (it was in what appeared to be an old farmhouse so a few small rooms) to the service (very knowledgeable and polite) to the AMAZING food was wonderful.

P's parents brought the wine, Paraduxx which is always excellent and a Rosenblum Shiraz which is unusual b/c Rosenblum is a CA wine. For a couple years they had a partnership with an Australian winery to produce this particular Shiraz. Sadly, they do not do it anymore and it is a shame because it was so tasty.

We started off with Rome Point RI Oysters on the half shell with a mignonette sauce. The oysters were delightfully salty and buttery by themselves. The mignonette sauce cut the saltiness just enough to enhance the buttery flavor.

Next we sampled the 'cheese table' they had a wonderful assortment of local and imported cheeses. We ended up picking Carameaway; a soft cheese with caraway seeds, October Kaas; another soft cheese made with sheep's milk and a bit of raw cow milk. Both of those cheese were from a NJ farm called Valley Shepherd (I highly recommend a visit to their website if you are a cheese nut like me). The last one we picked was a huge hit, Blacksticks Blue from England. The cheeses were served with honeyed dates, fresh figs, balsamic strawberry sauce, sliced pear, apple and strawberries and little croutes. I already looked up the farm site so I can get the NJ cheeses. I will search high and low for the Blacksticks.

For an entree I had rack of lamb with potatoes Colcannon style and a pea and mint puree. It was heavenly. The lamb was so perfectly cooked and you could taste the greenness of the pea puree. The potatoes, you just cannot go wrong with them. :) My FIL ordered the same thing. P had the Magret Duck Breast. I heard it was good. ;) I didn't get a taste. My MIL had Salmon that came with a lemon risotto custard. I had a hard time passing that up. I also heard it was very good.

We wrapped up dinner with a trio of creme brulee (raspberry, coffee and vanilla bean) and for P a chocolate mousse cake. Also as mentioned earlier we were given house made limoncello.

It was a wonderful dinner and we had a lovely time. Anytime I can play a meal over in my head, wondering about how they came up with the combinations and wishing I could do the same, I know my whole body enjoyed the experience. I will definitely be going back. :)

Happy Mothers Day!

So now I am in the down stage after entertaining. It's when my body goes, "Ok, your done, here's a nice headache and unexplained nausea." The nausea is kind of funny because it used make me wonder if I cooked something wrong. I know now that it's because I work myself into a tizzy to get everything together and PERFECT. Have I mentioned I am a control freak? Anyway, after a nap I feel better and can tell you about our day.

I made the pics small so you may have to click on them to see better.

So, everything went very well and was very much enjoyed by all. I did not take this picture. If I had everyone would be looking at the camera.

From left to right, my Mom (she has the scorpion pic and will be sending it to me for your enjoyment. She got back from Honduras yesterday.), P's G-mom (she waitresses for fun and 'mad money' at 82) and P's Mom (incredible cook and I've learned a lot from her. . She speaks like 4 languages and is leaning more).

I only had one issue and it was that my pie crust fell in the oven while prebaking it. Luckily, I bought a frozen one at TJ's for just this emergency. It was quite good. I patted myself on the back for not freaking out when it happened. I'll still try the crust again but not in a straight sided mold.

These are pinwheels. The only thing left of the pie dough I made. :( When I was little and my Mom would bake a pie we would make pinwheels with the leftover dough. I used to ask her to make pie dough just for pinwheels. Each person had one on their coffee cup plate. Her mother taught her how to do it.

The triangle-like pastries are the tyropitas. They are a Greek pastry made with mostly feta and eggs, folded into phyllo. P's G-mom is Greek 100%, as it his Mom (yes, Peter is usually pasty white b/c he is also German). The other puffed things are something I threw together with the extra filling I had from the tyropitas. It's just puff pastry with tyropita filling.

The plate on the bottom are the cheddar-dill scones. No story here, they are just GOOD, a recipe given to my by a friend who is a fabulous cook. I also had banana bread b/c I didn't have anything for the top tier but you don't really need to see that.

This was an idea I had at the last minute. I didn't want to do anything big food-wise before the brunch but knew I would need a little time to finish up in the kitchen once everyone got there. So I made a toast and jam plate. The little toasts are just very thin white bread cut into small squares and triangles with a little brushed on melted butter, toasted in the oven. Then there is jam.

I don't have pics of the sausages or the quiche as all the pics were taken during the feast (with the exception of the toast and jam) and the quiche went fast as did the fruit salad. We also had fresh squeezed OJ, sparkling lemonade and coffee (could not have make it thru without).

That's about it. I am still tired and the Flyers are on. I am told there has already been a puck to the face and a big fight so I am missing out. Hope you enjoy my little food post.

Dinner With the In Laws

So we went to Alba, a wonderful BYO that IL's had not been to yet. Peter and I had been about a year and a half ago.

Oh...BYO...what is that? Well in PA they have an f-ed up system for alcohol purchasing and liquor licenses. As a result many excellent restraunts that cannot get a liquor license (b/c there are a finite amount of them) are able to have a "Bring Your Own Bottle" policy. This is wonderful b/c you are:

1. Not paying the INSANE markup on the wine you like,
2. You can actually bring wine you know, you like.

It's a wonderful arrangement really and there are many good wine stores just across the state lines since the PA ones have once again gone downhill b/c of the state laws. Grrrr.

Anyway, we shared an antipasto platter of crispy mussels, steak tartare on crostini, goat cheese and fava bean bruscetta, grilled shrimp on a small bed of romanesco slaw and salami.

Everyone else had a really good looking steak with gnocci and zucchini. I had the best lamb since P and I were in Greece with leeks and potato puree with romano cheese. It was AMAZING. For dessert I had roasted almond pot de creme. All in all a fabulous meal. Oh! We also had 2 exellent bottles of wine Paraduxx 2002 and Viadare 2002. The IL's a big wine-o's so they broke out some very nice ones for MIL's b-day.

P and I have cut down on our eating out and meals like this make me want to add a 3rd job or sell my organs so we can do it more often.

Shrimp Florentine with Carmelized Garlic

This is my first cooking post.

DE-VINE!

This was a recipe from Cooking Light although I probably added a little too much butter. :) it was so good though. I wish I could make it again tonight but then I'd get bored with it.

Sometimes, a recipe just comes together even better than expected and that's want happened. It was insanely easy and tasty. The sauce was not thick but reminded me of the creamy Provence broth you get at Monk's with one of their mussel entrees, perfect for that home made bread we had left over from the weekend. The only thing missing a nice crisp white wine. P was going to play hockey later and I didn't want to have to finish the bottle myself (seriously). I made do with a bottle of Stella Artios.

Things I changed:
- added the garlic to the shrimp and sauce before adding to pasta to distribute the flavor
- used a whole 9oz bag of baby spinach instead of frozen
- probably used closer to a Tbsp of butter. I don't think that it made a ton of diffference

Things I'd do differently next time:
- maybe, just maybe try with ff half and half to see if there was a huge diff
- use all larger cloves instead of using the smaller interior cloves (they got too toasty)
- maybe add diced fresh tomatoes (seeded)
- could try with scallops but would probably sear them first instead of saute

Shrimp Florentine with Carmelized Garlic