Sunday drive

murphys ca.

Sunday morning we packed up the car, and the dog, and took a little drive up to the sierra. We spent the day in Murphys, (yes, there is no apostrophe) a little old town that was probably a mining town back in the day. It is now a little touristy town with cute little shops, restaurants, wineries, and Bed and Breakfasts. We had a nice afternoon, it seemed like everyone brought their dogs. Rosie had a blast meeting all of them, there was even another Rosie. We grabbed a couple of sandwiches at a local deli, and had a little picnic in the park. A very relaxing day.

White kitchen

From time to time I will probably post pictures of kitchens. It is my favorite room in the house. I don't know why, maybe that's why I work at a kitchen store :) I love all kinds of kitchens, but I am drawn to white for some reason. This kitchen that I want to show you today is from my last house. I have been missing it a little bit lately. It's really the only thing that I miss about this house, well, that and the front yard (I'll post more of the rest of the house another time). There was plenty of cabinet space, and all the bottom cabinets had drawers that pulled out. The only drawback was that there was a lot of tile and grout to keep clean.

Waiting for fall...

Every year about this time I get antsy for fall to arrive. I pull out all of my favorite Halloween movies (yes they are mostly children's movies) and start roasting, braising, and baking. Fall is my favorite time of year, and it just can't get here fast enough for me. So maybe if I hurry it along...

I wanted to share this recipe. It is from the cooking school that we used to have at the kitchen store that I work at. I know, very sad that they closed the school portion, but we have been left with some excellent recipes from some very talented chefs. And a lot of good memories.

This is probably the best butternut squash soup that I have tasted. There are a few ingredients that you might question, but trust me... it works, and it's delicious!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1 medium red onion, diced

2 medium carrots, diced

1 Tbsp. garlic, minced

1 medium jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2 tsp. dried thyme (preferably 1 1/2 tsp. fresh)

1 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 tsp. dried basil (preferably 1 1/2 tsp. fresh)

1/2 tsp. dried oregano (preferably 1 1/2 tsp. fresh)

2 large butternut squash, seeded and cut in half lengthwise

48 ounces vegetable or chicken stock (preferably low sodium)

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 cup half and half

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly rub flesh of butternut squash with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place flesh side down on a lightly greased cookie sheet and roast for about 35 minutes. Allow to cool enough to handle and peel skin and cut squash into 1 inch cubes. Heat soup pot. Add oil and butter. When melted add next 4 ingredients and cook until onions are translucent. Do not overcook or brown. Add stock, bring to a boil. Add squash and the 4 herbs, return to a boil and lower heat and simmer 30 minutes. Puree until smooth (can use a blender if needed working in batches, return to pot) Add maple syrup and bring back to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add half and half and bring back to a boil. Remove from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Adjust thickness of soup if necessary by diluting with more stock or water or thickening with more half and half. Yields 8 servings.

this is delicious with crusty french bread on a cool fall day, one can always dream....

Ina's perfect roast chicken

Have I mentioned how much I love Barefoot Contessa ??? This is our favorite roasted chicken recipe, it does turn out perfect every time!

Perfect Roast Chicken

1 5-6 pound roasting chicken

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 large bunch fresh thyme

1 lemon, halved

1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

1 spanish onion, thickly sliced

1 cup chicken stock

2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers and pat the outside dry. Place the chicken in a roasting pan. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of the lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Scatter the onion slices around the chicken.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove to a platter and cover with aluminum foil while you prepare the gravy.

Remove all the fat from the bottom of the pan, reserving 2 Tbsp. in a small cup. Add the chicken stock to the pan and cook on high heat for about 5 minutes, until reduced, scraping the bottom of the pan. Combine the 2 Tbsp. of chicken fat with the flour and add to the pan. Boil for a few minutes to cook the flour. Strain the gravy into a small saucepan and season it to taste. Keep it warm over a very low flame while you carve the chicken.

Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve immediately with the warm gravy.

Rosie Gets Cozy

This is Rosie, our 18 month old yorkie. She was a gift to our daughter on her 17th birthday. We had lost our dalmation, Polly, exactly a year prior on her 16th birthday. We were devastated, and it truly took us a year before we were ready for a new dog. Rosie was meant to be in our family, all the pieces just fell into place on Melissa's birthday, and she came home with us. Rosie has become the love of our lives. Even my husband in madly in love with this little girl. She is just the sweetest. Anyway, she loves her bag and if we leave it laying out she will jump in it and take a nap, I'm not sure if she just loves being in it, or wants to go bye- bye and ends up falling asleep while waiting..

our ranch style home

I thought I would share a few pictures of my home.

It was built in 1956, we purchased it about two years ago. Luckily the previous owners updated it, and kept the charm of the era. I really haven't had to do a thing to it except decorate it, which I must say is taking awhile. I would like to change the appliances in the kitchen to stainless though.

My previous home was done in french country, and I really didn't think that style would work here, plus I was ready for a change. So, starting from scratch.... it's taking some time, but half the fun is watching it evolve, right???

Mini Chocolate Mousse Cakes

My friend is hosting her daughter's bridal shower at my house on Saturday. I am so excited that she asked me to make the desserts, and requested my favorite... mini lemon cheesecakes, and something chocolate. I have made the cheesecakes on many occasions, and they always seem to go over pretty well. As an added bonus, a couple of bites and they're gone, easy, delicious, and not too many calories. Since I needed to come up with something chocolate for the chocolate lovers, I thought a rich chocolate mousse would be appropriate. I wanted them to be in similar size as the cheesecake, so I thought I would experiment with my pans, adapted a couple of recipes, and this is what I came up with. They were delicious! The bride liked them, so I will be making these along with mini lemon cheesecakes on Friday.

Mini Chocolate Mousse Cakes

Chocolate Crust:

2 cups chocolate wafer cookies crumbs

4 Tbs. sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

4 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat 24 cup mini cheesecake pans (two pans) with non-stick spray. Stir cookie crumbs, sugar, and salt. Add melted butter and blend until moist sandy texture forms. Press mixture evenly onto bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks.

Chocolate Mousse:

1 1/2 pounds semisweet chocolate (chips may be used)

1/2 cup prepared espresso coffee

1/2 cup Grand Marnier

4 egg yolks

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup granulated sugar

8 egg whites

pinch of salt

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of about 1 1/2 inches of nearly simmering water, whisking until smooth. Add espresso coffee, then stir in Grand Marnier. Cool to room temperature. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Whip cream until thickened, then gradually beat in sugar, beating until stiff. Beat egg whites with salt until stiff. Gently fold egg whites into cream. Stir about one third of cream and egg mixture thoroughly into chocolate mixture. Add remaining cream and egg mixture over the lightened chocolate base and fold together very gently. Divide the mousse evenly into prepared cups. refrigerate until set.