Mmm mmm mmm, I love me some soup on a rainy fall day. A storm blew through our town in the last two days, so I had to whip up one of my favorites: white bean with bacon soup. It’s scrumdillyumtious and perfect on a fall day.  

Read the rest of this entry »

Fall foods are my absolute favorite, so the other day I had a hankerin’ to fill my kitchen with a few of their flavors. I made pork chops with caramelized onions and pan sautéed pears (oh yeah), then followed it up the next day with roasted butternut squash risotto. It had to be done. 

Today, I share with you my favorite butternut squash risotto recipe.  It has cream.  It has wine. It has butternut squash. And it is so good.

Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto

Ingredients:

1 medium butternut squash cubed (approx. 4 to 5 cups raw)

½ medium yellow onion, finely diced

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

16 oz. arborio rice

8 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup + 2 tbsp half & half or cream

½ tsp dried sage

8-10 fresh sage leaves

salt & pepper to taste

3 oz. shaved or grated parmesan

Read the rest of this entry »

You inspire me, truly you do.  The other day I posted about those simple sew napkins and placemats, and happened to mention I was in possession of mission figs and casually suggested you send some recipes my way.  Well thank you to Kim, Lara, Sarah, Dawn, and Camille, you completely made my day. 

I confess in years past I’ve never actually sought out the fig as an item to purchase at the local market.  One time a friend had a fig tree and I made and canned some fig jam, but ended up giving most of it away to a self professed fig lover.  That’s neither here nor there because what I meant to say was ever since we’ve been receiving a bimonthly box of organic produce from local farms shipped to our door (as I mentioned here) we’ve become adventurers in gastronomy.     

“The Box” as we call it is like getting a Christmas present every two weeks.  We never know what will be inside “The Box” of produce, we only know it will be what’s in season.  We’ve made a vow to create something new from at least one thing inside the contents of “The Box” whenever we get it, and those figs were it.

As a result of the mystery delivery, things have occurred that have changed my life and my diet.  I’ve embraced the bok choy with soy, fallen in love with roasted beets, and this week, I began a passionate affair with the perfectly ripe fig.  That’s right, I’m gettin’ figgy with it.  May it be a lifelong dance. 

I was forced back into the kitchen at the suggestion of several of these readers.

Kim informed me that my life would never be the same unless I tried the following melody of flavors.  I admit, I certainly did not want to ever regret anything for the rest of my life, especially if it absolutely required a pairing with a good Pinot Noir, so Kim had my attention.  

Lara got me thinking about pizza:

Sarah wrote in with this amazing recipe:

Dawn chimed in with another delicious cheese/fig/prosciutto combo:

Finally, Camille offered this advice:

Based on all the comments, I was convinced I needed and I mean NEEDED a fig, cheese, and prosciutto combination pizza or I simply couldn’t sleep.  I came up with this gourmet pizza that pretty much has everything.  Sweet figs, savory blue cheese, salty prosciutto, melted mozzarella, and sassy green onion.  I tell you, the marriage of flavors was pure bliss. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Greetings all, I wanted to share with you a project I was proud to be a part of.  Months ago after the earthquake disaster and devastation in Japan, the gals over at How Does She? had a brilliant idea to put together a cookbook with recipes from fifty plus favorite bloggers. The plan?  Gather fifty plus recipes, put together a cookbook with color images, sell copies, and donate the proceeds to the American Red Cross.  Very cool.

I’m proud to share that the "Recipes to Help: 50 Favorite Bloggers, 50 Best Recipes" cookbook is here!  From now until the end of August, the cookbook is available for purchase in either hardback or eBook version, but it’s not a “purchase” per se, we like to think of it as a donation!  Yes, 100% of your purchase/donation will go to the American Red Cross to help the many people who have been affected by natural disasters around the world.

This one-of-a-kind cookbook is available in both hardback version and as an eBook, your choice!  Paper Coterie generously donated 100% of the supplies and 100% of the cost to offer the printed version to all of you. 

With your donation, you will have a beautiful full color recipe book with gorgeous pictures and delicious recipes to try, and also feel good knowing you donated for a worthy cause. 

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been in a mood lately.  A mood to take it easy.  To relax.  To enjoy life’s simpler pleasures.  To me, that includes baked goods.  You too?  

A recent trip to the market reminded me it was peach season, so I brought a dozen home, and contemplated what I could create with them.  I’m often caught up in the idea of trying something new, hence the recent quest for the perfect pie crust.  The attraction to baked goodies continues, pulling me yet again to attempt something both simple and gastronomically wonderful in the kitchen made with ripe fruit and dough.

Enter, the peach galette.

What the heck is a galette you might ask?  For those who don’t know, a galette is just a fancy French label for a rustic fruit tart.  The kind of tart filled with seasonal fruit and formed with a less than perfectly shaped crust, folded over by hand and baked in the oven.  Less than perfect?  That I can handle. 

Ever since I made my summer list, I’m obsessed with baking with summer fruit, whatever is in season and of the moment.   In May, it was rhubarb crumble, June brought mini cherry pies.  Lately, I’m craving peaches which are in season and readily available everywhere. 

How to make a peach galette?  It’s not difficult. 

First grab yourself a bowl of these. 

via

.

Read the rest of this entry »