Christmas Card 2009

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Tapps and Apps 2009

Our friends the Cudworths sure know how to throw a party. They hosted an event called, "Tapps and Apps" a fun contest of pairing an appetizer with a beer that compliments it. This was literally a food smorgasbord sent from heaven. I left 10 pounds heavier, with cheese sauce and a smile smeared on my face. Good thing I wore my leggings.

The entries were not your basic appetizers but gourmet delicacies, arranged beautifully throughout the room, which was also decorated and cozy thanks to Missy's skills. Some of my favorites were mini-paninis with carne asada, grilled Anaheim chilies, feta and carmelized onions paired with Slim Chance, and Obatzda, an addicting cheese spread which was served with warm pretzels and paired with Hofbrau Hefeweizen.  I made "Chicken Pot-Pockets" which were puffed pastry pockets filled with roasted butternut squash, carmelized leeks, and chicken breast.  We paired these with Newcastle Brown Ale, which turned out to be a great combo.  The event was so much fun and I hope it keeps happening year after year! 
Here is the recipe for our entry: (I don't know why it is so small!) You can click on it to make it bigger 

In the Land of the Giants

Paul and I decided to have a "date night" making homemade ravioli with my new pasta machine. I have always wanted to make my own pasta dough, so I cranked up some music and we got the ingredients ready. Oh, a special shout out to Bed Bath and Beyond for selling a machine that had already been used with pieces of hard dough stuck in all the crevices! After cleaning the hard-as-cement dough out, we began.
I was surprised that you only need 4 eggs, 3 to 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, and a teaspoon of olive oil to make this dough. If you try this recipe, go easy on the flour because our first attempt was too much and would not form a dough. First make a "well" with your mound of flour, making sure it is wide enough to fit all four eggs. Crack the eggs into the well, beating each one gently with a fork. Add the oil and mix together in the well. The next part was tricky. With your fork start incorporating the flour into the well from the bottom. Don't worry if you don't get it perfect, mine was a big mess that involved eggs running down the countertop onto my feet! Eventually it turned into a dough. Once you get it into a ball shape, start kneading, whacking and rolling the dough around with your hands. After a few minutes, it will get very smooth and velvety, letting you know it is ready to rest. Wrap in plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes at room temp. For the filling, I used roasted acorn squash, cremini mushrooms and leeks. It was a tasty combo, but I think we needed to run the dough through the machine more, because it came out a little thick and HUGE. Behold the giant-sized raviolis.

The Great Potato Pile Up

Today while I was driving on a farming road between Carnation and Duvall, an incident happened. A tractor full of workers in front of me were driving fast and teetering back and forth, while trying to hold onto a bunch of big wooden crates. Suddenly, the crates tumbled off and exploded all over the road. With russet potatoes. Hundreds of them. They were all laughing about it and kicking the poor potatoes through the air, motioning for me to keep driving. I smiled and waved, my car bouncing over potatoes, smashing them into the road. Funny things always seem to happen to me in everyday life; I am not sure why. As I drove home, I thought about mashed potatoes. Then I thought of something that could be a delicious combo when mixed with mashed potatoes. Tomorrow, we will see. Stay tuned for "Squatatoes."

Edible Centerpieces

I was honored to be a part of my long-time friend Brooke's wedding in August. The wedding was gorgeous and very unique, with a broccoli bouquet, baby carrot and radish boutineers and corsages, and artichoke centerpieces. We had a blast and I am so happy for Brooke and DyLon. Congratulations you love birds.








Oh yeah and then this happened........

This is tasty

Golden Quince Fruit Pate- I found this at Metropolitan Market in Queen Anne. That place is like crack for food lovers. This was very good served with crusty bread and any kind of cheese. It is usually $6, but it was on sale for $1.99! It is made in New Zealand too, so you can feel extra special and gourmet.

I Heart this Kitchen Gadget

Cuisinart CSB-76 Smart Stick Hand Blender

This is one of the best kitchen tools ever! I found this at Costco and it is a hand-held tool that blends, whisks, and chops just about anything! My favorite thing is to puree soups right in the pot-no mess or transferring! After numerous times scalding myself and having a blender shoot hot liquid in my face, I am a huge fan of this.

Welcome to Soup Season!

I am obsessed with soups. I make them year-round, even on hot days. To me, nothing is more comforting or soul-soothing than a warm bowl of delicious soup. Soup is also great because you can invent one of your own by throwing in whatever you have on hand. On this sunny October day I was prompted to make a soup out of some Buttercup Squash I got at one of the local farms. I have never bought this type of squash before, but they are really quite cute. I wanted to make the soup sweet but savory, so I decided to saute leeks, bacon, garlic and white wine, but also toss in a dash of nutmeg and vanilla. The vanilla seemed weird but I wanted to try it anyway. Yum!

Recipe:

3-4 Buttercup Squash (cut in half and seeded)

1 box chicken or vegetable broth

2 strips center-cut bacon, diced

1 leek, trimmed, washed and chopped

splash of chardonnay (eyeball it)

splash of half-n-half

sprinkle of thyme

sprinkle of red pepper flakes

small splash of good vanilla extract

pinch of nutmeg

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the squash in halves and scoop out seeds. Drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt. Roast for about an hour, or until the squash is tender when poked with a fork. Scoop flesh from the squash and set aside.

2) In the meantime, chop and wash leek (I soak the chopped pieces in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes) and chop bacon. Saute leek and bacon with olive oil in a large pot over low heat. Stir often.

3) When bacon and leeks are cooked (not too brown), add 2-3 cloves chopped garlic and saute for one minute. Splash white wine and scrape up any brown bits from pan. Add squash, broth, vanilla and nutmeg and bring to a boil.

4) Turn heat to low and let simmer for 10-15 minutes with lid halfway on. Add half-n-half and salt and pepper to taste. Use a hand blender to puree the soup (if you don't have one you will have to transfer to a blender or food processor).

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and Bon Appetit!