Feeds 4 to 6 people - (or maybe two)

The recipe says that it feeds four to six people. I don't know who they have testing this statements, but they are way off. Craig and I polished this entire Dutch Baby with Lemon Sugar off in a matter of minutes. It was incredible. Craig had his doubts initially, as I didn't serve it with whipped cream, maple syrup, or butter, but he loved it! I tried a little raspberry jam on my serving, Craig had his straight up with plenty of lemon sugar. Try it! But ignore the comments that the recipe could use less sugar or less butter...that's what makes it is so good!

Winter CSA

When I saw these Tuscan Kale Chips in my February issue of Bon Appetite, I was intrigued because of the cool way that they were served in a pyrex glass and because it recommends serving them with cocktails. I'm always searching for a new recipe for a 'nibbly' course, but I'm not really a fan of kale at all, so I passed the recipe by.

But then last week, when our winter CSA arrived, tuscan kale was included. I admit that I might not have known exactly what it was if I hadn't recently seen picutres and read about it. I went back to the recipe for the chips and made these this Saturday night, and then again on Sunday. They are absolutely addictive! We loved them! I am now a fan of kale, as long as it is crispy and salty.

A Perfect Ending.......

...to our Valentine's dinner at home. I was a waitress for long enough to know that eating at a restaurant on Valentine's Day can be a nightmare. We decided to stay at home and make something special together. I didn't have any idea what I was going to make for dessert until I stopped by Whole Foods and saw these really tasty looking blackberries on sale. I searched epicurious.com and found a recipe for Lemon Mousse with Fresh Berries. It turned out to be an absolutely delishous recipe! It was very simple, too. I served the mousse in these oversized martini glasses, so it was a really fun presentation. I will be making this mousse again for sure.

We really splurged on the main course of our meal, although it was much less expensive than going out. I picked up two Kobe steaks, one a sirloin and one a bone-in ribeye from Savenor's, which is the place to go for meat in the Boston area. Craig did a fabulous job cooking them in a cast-iron skillet and they came out great. The rest of the meal was baked potatoes with butter and sour cream, steamed artichokes with a lemon vinaigrette for dipping, and one of my favorite mushroom recipes, Mushrooms with Garlic Butter. We topped the meal off with a bottle of 1995 wine that we had brought home with us from France. We really enjoyed being home and being together and eating great food for Valentine's. It was truly a special night.

We couldn't stop eating it!

I can't take credit for the picture, but I wanted to share this recipe for Quick Omega-3 Granola. I made a batch of it on Sunday night and now, less than four days later, the entire batch is gone! I'm planning on making another batch of it this weekend and probably every weekend for the rest of the winter. It is so yummy!

Homemade Marshmallows

Who knew that making homemade marshmallows was so simple...or even possible? When I first read the article, I knew that it would be a great project for a chilly fall or winter day. Last weekend was the perfect opportunity, so I set out to make them!













The first step was boiling the corn syrup, water, and sugar mixture to 240 degrees. Easy enough.
The next step was to add the hot mixture to the gelatin and water mixture that was ready in a mixing bowl.
Magic happens! It start to actually look like marshmallow goop in just a few minutes.
After adding vanilla, you pour the mixture into a baking pan and let set for four hours to firm up.
Cutting the marshmallows make be the trickiest part as they are pretty sticky! Once they are cut, you dust them with a mixture of powdered sugar and potato flour so that they don't stick together.
Chocolate fondue for dessert! What a great way to spend a Saturday in Vermont. It was really very simple to do and they of course tasted so much better than store bought marshmallows. I will definitely be making these again. Can't wait to try them in hot chocolate or s'mores!

Farmer's Market Find #3 - fresh eggs

Beautiful blue, pale pink, and brown farm fresh eggs. I finally was able to get Craig to the farmer's market early enough to get some before they sold out. I had just read an article this morning about the glorious taste and the beautiful color of the yolk of a farm fresh egg in the most recent issue of Saveur. It was an issue devoted entirely to breakfast...mmm. Just in time for me to plan a Sunday morning brunch.

I had been wanting to make this Ricotta and Roasted Pepper Frittata for a while (actually, I wanted to make homemade ricotta and then make the fritatta, but there wasn't really time for that today), so I made that along with some scones with butter and strawberry jam and had a nice brunch.

Farmer's Market Find #2 - Zucchini Blossoms

I had literally been looking for these gorgeous blossoms for years and all of a sudden, there they were at the farmer's market on a Saturday morning in early July. I had read about them, seen pictures of them, had recipes for them, but had never actually seen them available to purchase. I don't know what intrigued me so about them, I just knew that I had been craving them.

I knew that I would prepare them battered and deep fried, but then I had the brilliant idea to stuff them with Boursin. They were amazing and worth the years of waiting.

Boursin Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms

zucchini blossoms

Boursin

2/3 cup flour

3/4 cup beer

canola oil

Mix the beer and the flour. Set aside. Place a small wedge of cheese inside each blossom and gently press together. Fry the blossoms in hot oil (375degrees.) Drain on paper towels and season with salt. Enjoy!!