The Only Plant We Have Kept Alive

Marty and I tend to kill any flower or plant that we attempt to grow, but for some reason this pepper plant is delightfully growing in our dining room!

They are great to cook with and beware: home grown peppers tend to be a lot spicier than store bought!

I'm Not a Baker, but...!

I decided to attempt baking Lemon & White Chocolate Pots de Creme! It was a very tideous process, but it was well worth it and they turned out DELISH!!
[Lindt white chocolate]

[The yolk, sugar and lemon zest mixture]

[Everything combined and sitting in HOT water.]

[Right out of the oven.]

Beautiful!

Recipe:

- 2 bars white chocolate chopped into 1/4 inch pieces (recommended: Lindt)
- 3/4 C heavy cream
- 1/4 C whole milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- Pinch fine sea salt
- 1/2 C fresh raspberries
- Ramekins or custard cups

Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat to 300 degrees.

Put the white chocolate in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a small saucepan, over low heat, add the cream and milk and heat until hot but not boiling. Pour the cream mixture over the chocolate and stir until smooth. In another medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest and salt together until smooth. Slowly whisk the cream mixture into the egg mixture until smooth. Ladle the custard into 4 (4-ounce) ramekins or custard cups. Arrange the ramekins in an 8X8 inch square baking dish. Pour enough hot water in the baking dish to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 30 minutes until the custard is almost set and still slightly soft in the center (custard will set as it cools). Let the ramekins cool for 30 minutes in the baking dish. Remove the ramekins from the water and refrigerate for 3 hours or up to 1 day.

Garnish with fresh raspberries!

I made this dessert to go along with the following soup and steak recipes. All courtesy of Giada!

Asparagus Leak Soup w/Herbed Goat Cheese

When cooking with leaks, don't forget to completely wash them! They tend to have dirt inside of all the layers.
[Sliced leaks, chopped asparagus, chopped fresh basil & chicken broth]

Used the immersion blender for this soup!

[Goat cheese & fresh basil]

[Cute little goat cheese balls in the fridge chillin'!]

Ta-da!

Recipe:

Goat Cheese:
- 1/2 C (4 ounces) goat cheese, at room temp
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves
- S&P

Soup:
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp
- 1 large leek (white and light green part only), thinly sliced
- 4 C low sodium chicken broth
- 2 lb medium asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1/2 C chopped fresh basil leaves
- S&P

Using a fork, in a small bowl, combine the goat cheese and basil until smooth. Season with S&P, to taste. Form in to mini balls and arrange on a non-stick surface (I used a Silpat) and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.

In a dutch oven, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring constantly until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add the broth, asparagus and basil. Season with S&P, to taste. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the asparagus is tender, about 15 minutes. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth. Season with S&P, to taste. Keep the soup over low heat.

To serve: Ladle the soup into shallow bowls and garnish with the herbed goat cheese ball.

Thanks, Giada!

Filet Mignon w/Rosemary & Mushroom Gravy

Chop up the rosemary!

Shiitake & baby bellas

Marsala wine mushroom gravy

Recipe:

Steaks:
- Vegetable oil cookingspray
- 2 (8 ounce) filet mignon steaks
- S&P
- olive oil

Gravy:
- olive oil
- 2 large or 4 small shallots, minced
- 2 C assorted mushrooms (I used shiitake & cremini)
- S&P
- 1/2 C Marsala wine
- 1 1/2 C low-sodium beef broth
- 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh rosemary leaves
- 1 1/2 Tbsp flour
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp

Steak: Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a small baking sheet with vegetable oil cooking spray. Set aside. Season the steaks w/S&P, to taste. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the steaks and brown on all sides. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes for medium-rare doneness. Let the steaks rest for 5 minutes on a cutting board.

Gravy: In the same skillet used for the steak, heat 2 Tbsp of oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and mushrooms and season with S&P, to taste. Cook until the shallots are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Cook until imost of the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Stir in the beef broth and rosemary. Whisk in the flour until smooth. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until half of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter until smooth. Season with S&P, to taste.

Cutting across the grain, slice the steak and arrange on a platter. Pour the sauce into a serving bowl and serve alongside the meat.

[This is supposed to serve 4. Marty and I like our beef, so we used this amount of beef for the 2 of us ;)]
Thank you Giada!

Christmas Pt. IV (If you are getting annoyed with my xmas spirit, deal with it haha)

Fireplace mantle.

My mom and dad's wedding picture with berries from our backyard. Just love this.

I just adore this mini cupcake!

Christmas Pt. III

Mini colorful tree in the kitchen with grandma's pink antique ornaments.

I just love these colors.
And for those of you who have the cake stand from Williams-Sonoma- turn it upside down and put ornaments in it!

Dining table

The BC Clark plates are kind of collectibles in my family.

Guest bathroom.

Christmas Pt. II

Restoration Hardware "letters", Pottery Barn reindeer, CB2 candle holders

Restoration Hardware ornament, Grandma's antique snowman

Restoration Hardware "M", Pottery Barn acorn

Two Turtle Doves that my mom gave me, Hobby Lobby berries

Pottery Barn peace sign, Hobby Lobby icicles

I LOVE Decorating For Christmas!!

Restoration Hardware

Hobby Lobby garland w/Hobby Lobby glittered pine cones and silver thingies.

I heart the 50% off Xmas sale at Hobby Lobby!

The Cheesy Part of Thanksgiving

Here is the super duper CHEESY (and EASY) mac 'n cheese that I made for my other side dish.

Whisked together the milk, flour and onion salt.

Added shredded cheddar cheese and the cooked rigatoni to the milk mixture.

And transferred everything to the serving dish.

The let it cook away in the over for about 30 minutes or so until it turned nice and golden and crispy!

Oh and I decided to share a picture of Dory, our cat, eating some left over turkey!

Recipe for the mac 'n cheese:

- About 2 cups of whole milk
- 1 tsp onion salt
-1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 box of any type of pasta
- about a 1/4 cup of flour
- 2 bags of shredded cheddar cheese
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350.
Boil water and cook the pasta until al dente.

Whisk together the milk, flour and onion salt.
Add the pasta, 1 bag of cheese, garlic powder and salt and pepper to the milk mixture. Combine.

Transfer everything to a baking dish.
Add the rest of the cheese and the bread crumbs on top. Then pour on the melted butter.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly!
[I like my mac 'n cheese more gooey than dry, so I add more milk if needed.]

Happy Turkey Day!

The past two years Marty and I have hosted the big Thanksgiving feast at our house- cooked the delicious turkey- you know, the whole shibang! Well this year we decided to take a break. My family was all in Houston for the holiday so we spend it with both sides of Marty's family. We only had to make two sides....sooo I decided on a green bean casserole and mac 'n cheese!

I decided to make these sides as quick and easy as possible, so I did not make my usual green bean casserole, which is all from scratch. Instead I took the easy way out and used a can of cream of mushroom soup (sad face).
I did, however, use fresh mushrooms, onion and garlic.

Sauteed them in a cast iron skillot.

Added the boiled green beans (which I might add boiled away in CHICKEN STOCK), making them even more delicious.

And transferred it all into my mini Le Creuset.
Dig in!

Recipe:

- About 1 pound of fresh green beans, trimmed
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 1/2 of an onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cups crispy onions
- 3 tablespoons butter
- salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 350.
Bring the chicken stock to the boil and add the green beans and cook for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Add the butter to a large saute pan or cast iron skillet and melt. Add the mushrooms, onion and garlic. Saute until the onions are translucent.

Add the cream of mushroom soup, 1 cup of crispy onions and the green beans to the saute pan. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Stir to combine.

Transfer to baking dish and add the rest of the crispy onions on top.
Cook for about 20 minutes, until nice and bubbly!

Spoiled Doggies!

Westies love short ribs too!