Archive | food & drinks

Lazy Mornings…..Simple Baked Eggs for Breakfast

Eggs baked with herbs

There have been a few lazy mornings for Bill and I ever since the start of the new year.  The holiday season is behind us and a little bit of rest was truly needed. We’ve been enjoying simple breakfasts such as scones, eggs, and granola to help us get the day started.

On one occasion, after a late breakfast and a cup of coffee, I turned the computer on and browsed the internet.  Not quite sure what prompted me, but I came upon an old favorite 1990 French movie on Youtube, Cyrano de Bergerac directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau. Not realizing the time, I sat and watched the entire movie.  Late into the morning, I poured myself another cup of coffee, grabbed some magazines, sat in a comfy chair, and tuned the world out for just a little longer with beautiful music of Mozart and Bocelli.  My morning was well spent …doing as little as possible.  As for Bill, he was quite content sitting in his favorite place and reading his favorite books as he tried to recover from a cold.

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Eggs baked with herbs

One of the recipes we made for breakfast often was Herbed-Baked Eggs from Ina Garten’s cookbook, Barefoot In Paris.  A generous sprinkle of fresh herb mixture over the eggs added a nice flavor to the egg dish and toasted sliced French bread accompanied on the side.

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Chocolate-Peppermint Cookies, Gingerbread Houses, and a Lovely Gift

Chocolate Peppermint cookies

The scent of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, molasses, chocolate, vanilla, and peppermint have been swirling around my kitchen for the past week.  Dozens of cookies baked, packaged, and given out as gifts.  One of the recipes I made was Chocolate-Peppermint Cookies.  A wonderful chocolate cookie topped with a sprinkle of crushed peppermint candies. It’s a basic chocolate cookie recipe that could easily be changed for other occasions by replacing crushed peppermint with toffee, peanut butter morsels, white chocolate chips, or other toppings.

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Winner of the Giveaway & More Packaging Ideas

Packaging, Christmas-peppermint sprinkles

Thank you to all of you for your wonderful comments on packaging gifts and thoughts of the Christmas season!

The winner of the packaging giveaway is Betsy from A Plateful of Happiness.

In Betsy’s recent blog post she made, Lamb and Dried Apricot with Tagine from Dorie Greenspan’s cookbook, Around My French Table.  Afterward, she gave her opinion about the recipe along with  Howard’s thoughts after he tasted it.  click here to visit Betsy’s website.

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Packaging ideas title

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Basic Cheese Platter

Cheese platter

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The holiday season is upon us and it’s time to prepare for this festive time of year, especially if you will be hosting and preparing wonderful meals. Creating a simple, elegant, and delicious cheese platter or a cheese board is a great start to a gathering with friends and family.

I created the “basic cheese platter” illustrations above as a guide to help answer some of the questions as to what could be included on the cheese platter.  Once familiar and comfortable with preparing it, have fun experimenting with other items by changing or adding to it depending on the season or occasion.

Cheese platter, quick tips

Cheeses – The three basic go to cheeses I like to use are brie {mild/buttery flavor}, sharp cheddar cheese {medium/intense/nutty flavor}, and blue cheese {strong/bold flavor}.  Here are the other varieties that might be of interest to include, Gruyère cheese, Gouda cheese, Mozzarella, Goat cheese, Stilton, havarti, camembert, cheddar, Manchego, Pecorino Romano, and Roquefort.

Crackers & Bread –  Offer 2 to 3 varieties of crackers and/or bread {baguette} with different shapes and sizes.

Meats – Preserved meats {salami, prosciutto} and sea food {marinated shrimp, smoked salmon}.  Smoked salmon is a must have for our family.

Fresh/dried fruits – grapes, pears, apples, apricots, figs, dates, and berries.

Nuts – The crunchy and salty texture of nuts {almonds, walnuts, pistachios, pecans, walnuts, and cashews} just give it another taste and texture to it all.

Others –  honey, vegetables, jams, roasted garlic, and olives

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Cheese platter

I like to keep the cheese platter simple with just enough variety, texture, flavor, and color without it looking cluttered and over crowded. To bring out the flavor of the cheese, let it rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.  When the cheese plate is visually pleasing, everything seems to taste even better.

Here are a few more ideas on how to create an inviting, beautiful, and tasty cheese platter…..

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Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Caramelized Apples

Whipped Sweet Potatoes with caramelized apples

{the sweet potato recipe was doubled in the pic above}

Whipped sweet potatoes with caramelized apples is a delicious side dish for this time of year. It’s not too sweet and the combination of creamy and chunky mixed with sweet and tart all in one dish is just right.

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Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Caramelized Apples

{Martha Stewart Living magazine, November 1995}

I was introduced to whipped sweet potato recipe in 1995 when my November issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine {above pic} arrived in the mail.  I have used many wonderful recipes from it and especially the “Turkey 101” section that had the step by step guide on how to prepare and cook a turkey.  I followed the instructions and cooked my first turkey that year.  I was so thrilled that I actually did it {and made gravy too}. The whole process was not as complicated or intimidating as I had envisioned it.

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