Here is our entry for the March Click Event! Great Grandmother’s Silver for everyday because everyday is special for us.
Monthly Archives: March 2008
So, yesterday at 5pm, I was making Dorrie’s Party Cake, to take over to an impromptu dinner party at our friend’s J and A’s home. Was I crazy to try to make a cake at 5pm for a 730pm dinner party!?!?! Kind of……. The recipe is so simple to follow, everything just started falling into place, so easy. The house smelled of sugar, buttermilk and sweet Meyer Lemons – was delicious! Then came the time to whip up the buttercream …. I could not keep my fingers nor my sweet little god-daughters out of the shiny meringue and buttery goodness – we were being pretty naughty over the kitchen aid! I used tart raspberry preserves for the filling as the recipe calls for. I was worried I may run out of buttercream to frost the cake so I did skimp on the buttercream between the layers – now I know better. I opted out of the coconut part of the challenge only because I am not a big fan of flaked coconut. I was finished with the challenge by 645pm, just enough time to wipe off the flour from my hands and pretty up for a dinner party. The cake turned beautiful and what a wonderful combination of flavors. The tartness of the buttermilk, the sweetness of the raspberry preserves and the freshness of spring that came from the Meyer Lemons was really nice. The cake was light and not to dense and the buttercream was amazing light and fluffy. We served the cake with a chilled glass of Lemoncello – everyone loved it! Thank you L for convincing me not to give up on this challenge and Thank You Dorrie for creating a beautiful recipe – we will be using this more often!
All I can say is … these leaves made all the difference! I halved the recipe and put two leaves in, while I was yoga’ing all I could smell was lime. My stomach was a grumbling! I was simply amazed at what a difference this made. Bursting with flavor almost too much flavor – maybe just one leave next time. Sorry Honey, you missed a great dish tonight; but, I will definitely make it again for you!
To serve I toast slices of baguette, that have been drizzled with olive oil and rubbed with crushed garlic. The richness of the stock and onions really compliment the garlicky goodness of the toast!
I was a bit nervous for some reason. Maybe because it was my first time or maybe because it is one of L.’s favorite meals or maybe because he talks about how great his mother’s tenderloin is. Not sure why, but I was a bit nervous. After I laid out all the ingredients, I even read through the recipe, which is something I never do – I usually pull everything out and just start cooking. This quick read through definitely put my mind at ease and I was excited at this point, this would be easy and I was confident very good. L. poured a brandy and relaxed and I started doing what I do best, cook. The recipe was really easy, you sauté the pork with a little olive oil and then put it in the oven to continue roasting. While it is cooking you make a salad of Arugula (I used spinach, mishap at the market) and endive. After the porker is done, you make a really nice caramelized vinaigrette using the pan juices, some red wine vinegar, toasted and crushed walnuts and garlic – the garlic really gave this vinaigrette a great deal of flavor with the pork and the salad, together. I was so happy, my tenderloin came out ultra moist, you did not even need a knife to cut it, and it was very flavorful with the salad and the vinaigrette. L. did say it reminded him of pate, maybe because the pork was so fresh? Or maybe he is use to his mother’s recipe. Regardless, I am not afraid anymore and we will be eating the “other white meat” more often!
I love this risotto recipe as not only is it light in flavor; but, with ingredients as well – no cheese and no butter. Just the basics here, stock, olive oil, onion and rice and then flavored with lemon zest and lemon juice at the end. Served with it is a spicy garlic and chili shrimp. You quickly sauteed the shrimp with some olive oil just until golden and a nice pink, then at the very end you add this wonderful paste of garlic and chilies. The finished result is a nice spicy garlic shrimp (the hot part of your dish) cooled off with a warm and ultra creamy lemon risotto. I love to serve a simple oven roasted asparagus that is lightly drizzled with olive oil and sea salt with this dish, it really compliments the lemon in the risotto. Definitely takes you down under for a night!
I have been meaning to blog about this great package we got in the mail last Friday; but, have been so busy with family in town and work, that I have not had a chance until now. I had mentioned in a previous post, about Coconut and Basil Chicken, that I could not find Kaffir Lime leaves so I have to use Lime Zest …… well, Diane and Todd over at White on Rice Couple (you should be reading their blog for some great fun!!) read our post and offered to send us some lime leaves. So NICE!!! Well, even nicer, was receiving this great package in the mail – full of Kaffir Lime leaves, Kaffir Limes, Mandarins and Meyer Lemons and all from their yard!! We were super excited to receive such a great package and we can not wait to use everything – well, everything that is left. Mandarins did not last long – not past one night in fact! Bloggers are great – Thanks Diane & Todd!!
L.’s aunt from Boston and his cousin from the Azores are visiting us for a few days and I decided to try out a new dish on company; which, mind you is something I usually never do. I have a standby roasted chicken dish that I seem to serve whenever we have people over for dinner from out of town. After all, you can not go wrong with the chick, everyone loves a good chick, right?! Well, MOVE ON OVER stand-by chick, you have just been replaced by the new chick in town – Tarragon and Pancetta Roasted Chicken! This chicken is not only SUPER easy but it is so darn good. The skin is raised on the chicken and lightly stuffed with a breadcrumb, tarragon and pancetta mixture and then cooked to perfection. The stuffing sealed in all the juices, making an ultra moist and juicy chicken – so succulent! I usually do not care for tarragon; but, with the saltiness and flavors of the pancetta it was just like spring time in Italy! You have to try this one, it will be your new favorite dish to fall back on. |
I was enticed to jump on the Donna Hay band wagon, again! Vanessa over at 
I have been DYING to make French Onion soup – don’t ask me why, because I do not know. Maybe it is the looming French Gourmet magazine on our counter … not sure. L. was getting ready to leave town so I figured I would load him up on onions and garlic, not sure why I decided to do that either!I have this recipe from Moosewood cookbook, that I use. I found it about 20 years ago and love how simple it is to make and how rich it tastes. I have tweaked it over the years … I now slow cook the onions until they are caramelized and I add some garlic to it as well I do not make it vegetarian. I use a good rich beef stock – I love the richness of the beef stock and the color the soup turns.
I have never made pork tenderloin, even though it is one of L.’s favorite dishes. I found this 
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