IHCC - Ottolenghi's Chard, Squash, and Chickpea Sauté

I wish I could say that  I was completely in love with this particular recipe ... which is a shame, as the freshness of the chard was terrific! And had I followed my instincts instead of the recipe, I might have been raving right now, instead of delivering a 'meh' review of Yotam Ottolenghi's recipe for a warm sauté of chard, winter squash, and chick peas. It all 'went South' when I added the yogurt dressing over all that fresh and beautiful chard, squash, and chickpeas - far too much tartness for my taste.

I think I want to make this again and have the dressing on the side, as a dipper for an accompanying flat bread. I really think that a warm bread alongside this vegetable dish would make for a perfect meatless meal - much more authentic than having it sit beside a medium rare steak, as I did this evening.!

Black Forest Cookies

In my book, when you put together cherries and dark chocolate, you've got a Black Forest something ... today, it's cookies for me. I have baked up a batch of these tasty cookies as a 'thank-you gift' for Richard, my daughter's employer. You see, Richard holds season tickets to Boston Red Sox games at Fenway Park in Boston. For fans like SB and I, a pair of tickets to see the Sox is just about the finest thing we could ever wish for once the season starts. The only thing finer would be good seats in front of the TV watching them play in  win the 2013 World Series. That seems to be putting the cart before the horse though, as our boys are just seven games into the 2013 season!

Last week, we received a phone call from Sprout Sara. Richard had two tickets for the third game of the Red Sox opening home series. Would we like them? WOULD WE LIKE THEM ?!? There is an entire series of questions involving a bear/woods, Popes/Catholicism, fat babies .... yeah, well. YES! The answer was yes! So, these cookies have been baked with love and gratitude and tomorrow, we head off to Beantown to deliver these cookies to Richard, grab those precious tickets, hug our sweet girl, and head off to see our boys of summer try to beat the Baltimore Orioles. Hopes are high here in the grey cottage! We're whistling "Take Me Out To the Ball Game" and "Sweet Caroline" and getting psyched!

IHCC -Greetings Ottolenghi ! Thanks for Sunday Night Supper!

Ottolenghi's Sweet and Spicy Beef and Pork Pie

Two weeks ago, what started out as a search for some good Indian recipes turned into the introduction to a new blogging group that concentrates their cooking efforts on researching and cooking one particular chef's work for an extended period of time. The I Heart Cooking Club was finishing up a period of time in which they had concentrated on Madhur Jaffrey's cooking and announced that they would be moving on to the work of Yotam Ottolenghi.

HMM! There has been quite a bit of chatter on-line about Ottolenghi over the last year. Between talk of his restaurants, his interesting take on fresh vegetables and use of spices in new and interesting ways, the cook book called Plenty, and his latest cookbook called  Jerusalem , I was intrigued to see just what all the excitement was about. I went here and after giving it some thought, I decided to join up.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Yesterday, I butterflied a little chicken - just enough for SB and I ! Then, I rubbed it all up with lemon zest strips, cayenne pepper, some lemon juice, and olive oil and let it marinate overnight. Today, I made a killer chicken dinner ...

Deceptively Easy Gourmet - A Ham, Corn and Cheese Soufflé

Flower colors mimic food colors ... what a coincidence! Happy Spring!

It's always fun to roll out a gourmet recipe when guests come to share a meal, but it can be stressful if said recipe is a 'time drain' that takes you away from your guests or has to be worked up at the last minute. I have always been intimidated by the idea of  'The Soufflé' - the idea of a huge puffy mass of eggs dependent on proper folding, the perfect oven environment, and perfect timing when planning the actual serving. All these issues kept me from trying to make a soufflé.

Sundried Tomato and Garlic Hummus

I remember sitting in a small restaurant in Concord, New Hampshire a while back, blythly knoshing on bread sticks and hummus and thinking that it was the perfect snack. I was having the hummus as a starter with a glass of wine, waiting for my lunch entree to arrive at the table. Thinking back now, I think I'd have been able to make another glass of wine and a side salad a meal with a few more bread sticks and a slightly larger bowl of that gorgeous snack my entire lunch! I got thinking about that hummus yesterday, as I was making the breadsticks for our soupy supper.

So, today, I decided to make my own jazzier version of that hummus recipe and have it for lunch ... voila!

Garlic-Chive Semolina Bread Sticks

Boy, what a busy day ... Easter's leftover ham and the bone have been transformed into a huge pot of Pasta Fagioli and I have spent the day cleaning the back porch and washing my pottery. Spring cleaning is beginning a little at a time. I stress a little at a time, as I need frequent breaks from the boredom of household drudgery. So ... I moseyed outside to throw the Frisbee and stick for the dogs, discovered the first spears of daffodils poking up by the front of the house, did some more cleaning on the back porch, and I made breadsticks to have with the simmering soup.

Roasted Hoisin Duck Breasts

I simply must share this simple dish. Silent Bob and I had it with a side of fried rice and almonds and stir-fried broccoli and peppers - fast and easy Asian.