Boo !

Happy Halloween~!



I had fun making these to bring for our babysitting night ~

I used adorable little picks..all ghouls and goblins/Wilton..



Some edible markers..some fondant..
Frosting..black....and these cute cupcake wrappers~


Ordinary cupcakes and Duncan Hines frosting..last minute before work:)

Thank you Susan~
These adorable cupcakes are all because of her~
And the Ephemera from The Graphics Fairy:)~

Comforting~

I love butternut squash soup~
Many different versions.
This one was just sautéed garlic and onions.. cubed squash(half of one).. some maple syrup to help caramelize~

Added turkey broth.. once everything was fork tender I used my small motor hand held mixer to purée..

Then added a bit of milk and some light coconut milk..salt and pepper and my salted herbs..It really doesn't take much to satisfy..does it?



I was enamoured with the Courges displays at La Ferme De La Huppe in Provence in September of 2008..I understand there are new owners now..I wonder if it is as charming as ever?

A Most Delicious Salad~

I have a new cookbook..I have been waiting for this one..I had been fortunate enough to see the "proof" and knew I would love to add it to my collection..I really don't have that many cookbooks..I have my mom's Jéhane Benoit's.. a few that my husband bought me the first few years of our marriage:)Pol Martin.. etc:)People used to go to his office and sell them.. he knew I needed all the help I could get~ Truly....



I have some that clients have offered me.. some I have picked up..and some from friends..
But many I gave to my daughters in a bag or two the last time we moved ..I don't know if they kept them..
But I do have 2 bookshelves w/ books and 2 drawers filled w/ cut outs and printeds:)

I have one from Jain about California Cuisine and Mary Screen Doors and Sweet Tea..where my polka dot shortbreads originated:) and one I bought on Hélène's recommendation that I love:)La Cuisine Des Fées~I like looking at cookbooks..no..I love looking at cookbooks..

I nearly forgot the recent Moroccan one:)
My husband said I can't love something..I can like it..I said have you read my blog? I LOVE:) He knows..and he reads it~

In a nutshell 2 bookshelves.
This is my latest aquisition and it is stunning..

Maria Loggia.

I made her Pear and Beet salad and it is delicious~



I perused the book the evening I received it.A wet rainy October night by the fire~
What a treat!!
It is just great.I bought the English version as it was the original version..but it is available in French and I first saw it in French at a lovely bookstore a friend took me to.

The recipe seems long but it's not really..

It's a matter of blanching your mandolined pears in a syrup comprised of water, sugar and cinnamon,cardamom , lemon juice and rind.. clove.. then baking them on parchment until crisp..turning over once..next time I would not slice as thinly w/ my mandoline~


The beets are roasted at 425 in foil w/ EVOO , a bay leaf and thyme..garlic..s and p..~She called for red but I had rich orangey golden ones..

Cooled..then peeled and thinly sliced..
The recipe adds goat cheese and hazelnuts..I used a soft cheddar and toasted pine nuts..
The recipe calls for mâche..I had arugula and Boston..
The dressing is Sherry Vinegar..Evoo ,garlic,Dijon ,hazelnut oil salt and pepper..
On a large platter or in ind. bowls you arrange the sliced beets in a concentric form overlapping slightly..add your mâche..scatter the pears..add goat cheese and nuts..Drizzle w/ dressing and serve immediately.
I will make this again:)

Soul Food #27

"The stillness of October gold
Went out like beauty from a face."
- E. A. Robinson

The next Jacques Torres?:)

Oh my gosh he was sooo concentrated filling the lollipop molds w/ melted chocolate..he snipped the piping bags.. started the microwave..pushing the right numbers and sat on our island..like a true chef:)




I don't know what he loved better.. the preps..or the end results:)



So cute!



I know what I loved.. all of it:)

I give gracious thanks to Tiff..for the cool photoshop Halloween brushes..

And undying awe to Jacques Torres~



The way he says "but but but"..is just like our Lulu.. :) Exactly!!

Again..

I enjoyed watching some of those episodes:)

Noah's mommy was busy making her own treats for a Halloween Party she had for Adamo and Giuliana:)
~ They are from Hello Cupcake that I gave her of mine..She is so good at making these adorable little cakes~


I don't think I could hold a candle to her attention to fun detail:)
Have a wonderful weekend~

Soupe Tonkinoise ~ My Way~

I just had to share a new mug I received as a a gift~♥
From one of my alphabet boy's mommy.
It's not even close~To the REAL soupe Tonkinoise~But ..to us it works~
It varies w/ what I have on hand~
It was w/ turkey broth and turkey..and special noodles and dumplings~



It's us~ "Us" when I am starving and want crisp and clean and fresh~



When I want comfort in a big bowl w/ slots for darling chopsticks:) and a trip to the closest Orient:)

At home~



Warm and soothing and full of flavor~
We add soya sauce too:)

I even order this out..

It's nice to be "relaxed" at home..enjoying it:)

I made turkey broth from our TG turkey and saved it..and some thinly sliced turkey:)

I prepped the noodles..according to the polite instructions~



And take great pleasure in stirring w/ chopsticks because of the gracious please:)

Who could resist?

I had little won tons ...home made... frozen..:)And added..not Tonkinoise at all! But I was throwing caution to the wind:)

Added green onions.. and some ginger..very little as there was some in the wontons..

I warmed the bowls.. and placed everything..added the chopsticks please..and thanked myself~

To The Pleasure Of Eating Well..

Or Au plaisir de bien manger..

Sunday..before my day started out and about I read her blog and her apple pie was the apple of my eye!



Instead of blackbird..whitebird:)



I know this "billet" is long winged:)

But I loved the light..the pie.. the bird!

La recette~


Enough pie dough for 2 large pies

ap 10-12 apples.. core removed,peeled and cut up.
1 1/3 cups white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbsps of butter
1 tsp cinnamon(I put more..and added cardamom because I am a very big fan)
2 tbsbs flour
For top.. beaten egg mixed with some water and sugar
Prepare your pies by lacing the bottom crust.. Mix all app;e pie filling ings and bring to a simmer let cook ap 15 mins..let cool..

Fill pies and top..Bake at 350 ap 20 minutes..I did 375 and it took a bit longer,my oven seems to do that.




From the moment I read her post..I just knew!!



that the recipe would win me over..

I have accumulated very many apple pies..my daughter's crumb top being my favorite..Kim's brown bag one being a close second if not equal..and now this one..:)



who says you cannot teach an old dog new tricks? Not my favorite saying by the way:)



Elle est croquante et craquante sa tarte:) Thank you!!!!

Un coup de coeur!






An affair of the heart....


With or without the bird:)

SoulFood#26~

Birds of a feather~




Flock together~

And sometimes fly away together~


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Milkweed by Philip Levine
Remember how unimportant
they seemed, growing loosely
in the open fields we crossed
on the way to school. We
would carve wooden swords
and slash at the luscious trunks
until the white milk started
and then flowed. Then we'd
go on to the long day
after day of the History of History
or the tables of numbers and order
as the clock slowly paid
out the moments. The windows
went dark first with rain
and then snow, and then the days,
then the years ran together and not
one mattered more than
another, and not one mattered.

Two days ago I walked
the empty woods, bent over,
crunching through oak leaves,
asking myself questions
without answers. From somewhere
a froth of seeds drifted by touched
with gold in the last light
of a lost day, going with
the wind as they always did.

Grazie~

Caroline~



It was so nice to come in after an après-midi in the garden..putting beds to sleep..and have NO meal to prepare..one of our daughters had sent a dish she made~



A penne dish..w/ her Italian sausage pasta sauce..

I gave it a 10:)

I forget where I saw this..which beautiful blog exactly...but it is not my idea:) It was at Foodgawker and someone had kept the words from the cheese..tonight I cut the rind.. saving some words..and lo and behold.. a 10 was there..I thought..how fitting indeed:)Thank you whoever did that:)My daughter's dish was a 10 absolument:)


Norcia~ Pasta~Cheese ~Salumi~ Beauty.

La Belle et La Bête~ Beauty and the Beast~

Yesterday was finally glorious.. from morning till sunset~

It's been a while..that all day had sun~Everything is extraordinarily gorgeous in fall w/ sunshine~
I saw a sweet client today... and her views.. are incredilicious~

The sunny morning was spent w/ Olivier and Maxime and their mommy..

Before leaving.. I had started to prepare what I thought would be a beauty of a treat(s) for my husband..Les Belles Poires d'Hélène~
The main meal.. Turkey pot pie..is easy for me:)

Thanks to Mary ..I have the perfect little dishes for one of my all time favorite meals..chicken/turkey..pot pies~
They are a long way from Swanson's of our youth~


The turkey was already cooked..and chunked.. I sautéed the shallots..potatoes..carrots.. broccoli..garlic.. added the turkey stock after fluffing w/ salt and pepper and flour..:) Done~ Added parsley, sage ,rosemary and thyme..:)And then let rest until I was ready to cover w/ puff pastry later in the day~

Meanwhile I tried to make the beauties Hélène had made..Les Belles Poires~

But do them her way.. forget about soft ganache because you have tried to make your own walnut cream:(It will only ooze everywhere and all the time you took to poach and pretty up w/pistachios will be lost in the wind~

That's why hers..are the beauties and mine are the beasts:)



But the taste? DIVINE:) I hope half as good as hers:)My husband even had some after he ate my daughters 2 delicious mini crumb top apple pies:)

I loved the light in the kitchen today~


When the sun is so bright and the leaves so colorful! Enough to make the roosters crow:)


And the pot pies sing~



Really..one of my favorite meals on earth~Comfort food.. to match the fall foliage ..blue skies and crisp air~jean jackets and peaked caps:)

La Belle Vie~ La Vie Est Belle~

Wednesday morning ..the sun was shining on our maple leaves..:) It was cold..but beautiful!
On my way to work..I picked up our mail.. and I had a notice..that the Post Office had a package for me:)Well..I could be late for work..I work minutes away ..:)



I thought that perhaps:) The gift I won at Hélène's beautiful blog..had arrived:)



Sure enough a heavy beautifully packed box from Victorian Epicure had arrived for me:)


I have linked Hélène's latest post of her soup..so you do not miss it..but it was an earlier post that had the contest:)

Again I don't know how I found Hélène this year..but I am so glad I did..the photos..the recipes.. the family:)


Apart from all the wonderful jars..and shakers..and brining bags..and pepper and jelly..etc..etc..I received..beautifully packed..

There was also a Brie/etc baker in my favorite kind of little bakers:)



I love the fact their name is on it~

:)



You may remember a sweet client first introduced me to these products.. w/ the edible flowers..

and the very same day..Hélène spoke of them..

It was just a lucky day that day!!!

Love these products!!

Now I would love to dedicate a shelf in my pantry to them:) I will make a list soon:) I am so proud of everyone involved..and I am grateful:)~

Ina Ina Ina~

I heard about this recipe and luckily I found it at Martha's..A different Martha:) But much the same for decorating and recipes etc:)
It is so good! Just as expected..but better..

La Recette..and Thank You Martha~:)

Sweet Pepper and Gorgonzola Bruschetta
from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

Good olive oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into thin strips
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced into thin strips
1/2 t. sugar
1 T. capers, drained
2 T. julienned fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
Baguette
3 ounces creamy Gorgonzola (or other blue cheese) at room temperature (see note)

Preheat the oven to 375.

Heat 2 T. of olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium high heat. Add the peppers and cook until soft, about 12 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the sugar and continue cooking for 2 more minutes. Stir in the capers and basil, and season to taste, with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Slice the baguette crosswise into 18 thin round slices. Brush the bread rounds lightly with olive oil on 1 side. Arrange them in rows, oil side up, on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and toast in the oven until lightly browned, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Top each toast round with a teaspoonful of the pepper mixture. Place 2 small pieces of Gorgonzola on top. Return the toast to the oven for 1 to 2 minutes and warm through. Serve immediately.

It's so good I am making it again this week~




Yummy!