Mascarpone and Pear Crepes

Seize the moment.  Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart. 

~Erma Bombeck

Mimosas and these fabulous crepes. Sunday Brunch bliss. I did not get the recipe (perhaps I was in a sweet haze) but I did find the recipe for blintzes linked below that must be very close. The crepes in the photo were served with a Spiced Maple-Butter Sauce as the one in the linked recipe. No currants and no ricotta in mine but I think with a little tweaking, these would be close. I'll know this weekend! Can't wait to try!

Pear Blintzes with Spiced Maple-Butter Sauce 

Family and saffron risotto

 

. . . gastronomical perfection can be reached in these combinations: one person dining alone, usually upon a couch or a hill side; two people, of no matter what sex or age, dining in a good restaurant; six people . . . dining in a good home.

~M.F.K. Fisher

The highpoint this weekend was a birthday dinner that my daughter and I put together. Tarragon chicken, roasted asparagus and risotto. My daughter is a vegetarian so the risotto was vegetarian...oh yes, and outstanding. She is phenomenal and flexible. She even made a turkey for Thanksgiving...very challenging for a vegetarian! A great meal and great company. Nothing like family! Annie's risotto and asparagus recipes follow. This recipe is the result of her efforts to recreate a risotto she had when she and her husband were dining at the Lagoon restaurant in Bora Bora. 

RECIPE...

 

Pasta and desert sun

If the family were a fruit, it would be an orange, a circle of sections, held together but separable - each segment distinct.  ~Letty Cottin Pogrebin

My mother has always been the most fabulous cook. She not only prepares beautiful foods in innovative ways that satisfy the appetite, but she also presents food in beautiful tableaus that satisfy the eye.  This weekend, she created this amazing lunch served on her patio. Coupled with the warm desert sun and good wine, it was a day to remember. Fettucini with caramelized onions, sundried tomatoes and goat cheese. Al dente. Al fresco. All'appetito!

RECIPE...

Tote-ally Awesome Rosemary Chicken

The layers of multitasking can run very deeply in our daily lives.~Mitch Thrower

And so I plopped chicken breasts in my clay pot along with some wine, 21 Seasoning Salute and rosemary sprigs from the garden. That simplicity and time allowed me to finish the quilted tote pictured below. It is a gift for a very special lady ~ my mother! It's her birthday tomorrow.  I'm so pleased with how it turned out. And now I have some fabulous chicken to eat. That worked out nicely!

 

Quinoa Oatmeal Cookies

Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap.~Robert Fulghum

I work in a preschool and I often say I want to enroll there when I retire. Yes, we should all have cookies and milk and a nap everyday. Tonight, I was short on sleep and long on household chores. I popped chicken breasts in my clay pot with a splash of wine and a sprig of rosemary. I made some sticky sweet brown rice and green beans. Not too complex yet lovely. And then I made these little wonders! I am an Oreo girl so a cookie has to taste GOOD for me to enjoy it. These do. The fact that they are a much healthier choice is secondary. I followed Marian Blazes' recipe linked below exactly. I omitted the cinnamon and raisins and used toasted walnuts. I baked them for 18 minutes. Yay! I know I will grab one as I race out the door in the morning!

Quinoa Oatmeal Power Cookies 

How to Make Irish Eyes Smile

May you never forget what is worth remembering, nor ever remember what is best forgotten~Irish Blessings quote

Worth remembering. Definitely. I followed the recipe linked below exactly. I used my new Sclemmertopf which is slightly smaller than the described Romertopf. It worked great for a 5 lb. brisket. I served the corned beef with a coarse Colcannon.  I boiled quartered red potatoes with carrots and onions. Added quarters of green cabbage after 20 minutes. When vegies were soft, I mashed slightly and added butter. Easy to put together after work and the advantage of the clay cooker tonight was starting with a cold oven. This was outstanding!

Corned Beef in a Clay Cooker 

 

Pasta Squared

Everything you see I owe to spaghetti.

~Sophia Loren

What's the only thing better than a pasta? Two pastas! Side by side. Rossi Tomato Basil Garlic and Spinach Basil Garlic Fettucini smothered with Vodka Sauce and nestled side by side in a bowl. I love this stuff. We ration it so it lasts! It doesn't get faster or easier or better. Saving my energy for tomorrow's Irish Feast of Corned Beef and Cabbage. This year I am going to try cooking the brisket in my new Schlemmertopf. We'll see...! The Rossi link is in the February archive - Day 26!

Getting stewed....

The only thing new is you finding out about something. Like nothing's really new, but you reinvent it for yourself and find your inner voice.
~Mike Watt

Ok, this is becoming my favorite soup. But this time it became more stew-like. Thicker and heartier. I doubled everything (recipe on Day 6) using one can of kidney beans and one cannellini beans but kept the broth at 32 oz. Lots of vegies and 2 packages of tortellini. Quite good!

Cooking up a quilt

Really, I don't dislike to cook, but what you cook is eaten so quickly.  When you sew, you have something that will last to show for your efforts.  

~Elizabeth Travis Johnson

And 'sew', tonight I cooked up a quilt! Not in one night, of course. But tonight I enjoyed it in all it's finished wonder. A simple flannel rag quilt that has the look of an heirloom. And as for any concern about food being eaten so quickly...food fotos fix that!

Cobb Monday

 

To remember a successful salad is generally to remember a successful dinner; at all events, the perfect dinner necessarily includes the perfect salad.
~George Ellwanger 

I was on my own tonight so, in this case, the perfect salad WAS the perfect dinner. Cobb. Avocado and bacon. Mmmm. From Agoura Deli. They make the best. Oscar dénouement coverage. Nice relaxing night.

Day 35 Birthday Bliss

 

The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.  ~Lucille Ball

Family, flowers, cheese souffle and Sprinkles cupcakes. A sunny day and a sunny outlook. Special. All for my birthday. Priceless. I no longer focus on the years for my birthday, so I decided today that I will no longer focus on the days of my blog entries. Too much pressure. I have been away for a few days. Sometimes forgetting to note my culinary products with a photo; sometimes realizing that they did not deserve noting (although I made a mean hot dogs and beans the other night)!  So tonight I will watch the Academy Awards with some hummus and pita and bask in the bliss of the day.

Day 30 A Pie in a Pot

All my fans tell me what a glamorous life I have, but I tell them how hard I work and how many nights I spend alone with my dogs, eating chicken pot pie

in my bedroom.
~Shannen Doherty

Aw...Pot Pie can be glamorous. Well, sort of. This one was tasty and that's all I care about. Easy peasy...and carroty! Perfect after work. Two cans of chicken drained and flaked, one can of cream of anything soup, 1 cup of vegie or chicken broth, 3/4 cup buttermilk or cream, 1/2 cup white wine, one small bag frozen mixed vegies. Add preferred seasonings. Mix it up. Pour in greased flat casserole dish. Open and roll out one 14 oz. box refrigerated pie crust (2 pieces). Work into one piece. cover casserole, seal and pinch. Trim off extra and use to decorate the top of the pie. Cut slits for ventilation. Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes.