Today’s planting, a light pink foxglove surrounded by ranunculus, ivy, ghost ferns, lupines, hellebores, hyacinths, spurge, and nemesia.
Hellebores, a great pick for spring pots!
Ranunculus
recipe: pappardelle with arugula and prosciutto
April 26th, 2013 | Posted by in Entrées | RECIPES - (0 Comments)
This is a wonderful recipe in this months Bon Appetit. A light tasty pasta featuring leeks and arugula, two of my favorites. I served this with a simple but delicious piece of baked salmon. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS:
• ½ pound pappardelle or fettuccine
• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 leeks, white and pale greens only, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise
• ¼ cup chopped fresh chives
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest plus more for serving
• 1 bunch arugula, thick stems trimmed, leaves torn (about 4 cups)
• 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan plus more for serving
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 ounces prosciutto, torn into 1-inch pieces
DIRECTIONS:
• Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain, reserving 2 cups pasta cooking liquid.
• Meanwhile, heat oil and butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring often, until softened but not browned, 5-8 minutes.
• Add pasta, chives, 2 teaspoons lemon zest, and ¾ cup pasta cooking liquid. Cook, tossing and adding more cooking liquid by 1/4-cupfuls as needed, until a glossy sauce forms that coats pasta, about 4 minutes.
• Add arugula and 1/3 cup Parmesan, season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Add prosciutto and toss again. Top pasta with more lemon zest and Parmesan. (Add the prosciutto at the last minute to preserve the pretty pink color.)
Serves 4
I am so ready for spring! We had a wonderful day at our favorite nursery and then planting a few spring containers. We used perennials because they are gorgeous, full of soft colors and texture, and will be able to handle this unpredictable weather. To give height we used forsythia. These large containers become their own individual gardens.
Spring is in the air! I love green with a pop of deep pink for a beautiful spring table. Stop by Material Possessions for beautiful table settings.
friendship – recipe: Liz’s best turtle brownies
April 17th, 2013 | Posted by in Desserts | RECIPES | UPDATES - (2 Comments)
How do you say thank you… and goodbye in the same breath? I apologize for this post to those of you who really just want to read about food, flowers, and entertaining. But food for me has always involved relationships and family.
I have learned that food, entertaining and the happiness it brings opens you up to new friendships and that is why we need to make sharing a meal with friends at our own tables a part of our lives. I am fortunate to adore my clients… I really do enjoy working with and for them. But there are a few people who seem to shine so brightly. The friend and client I am speaking of had a combination of truth, kindness, brilliance, and she touched my life in a very special way. And of course she was a dog lover like me.
I started cooking for this amazing woman who encouraged me to go down this path. We started talking about her style, her favorite flavors and spices, the way she wanted to entertain, and the importance of enjoying her home and sharing her home with others. This relationship morphed into weekly cooking and special diners for family and friends. And then we became friends, good friends, and this is the gift that food gave me a wonderful, honest, caring, reciprocal friendship. It was like an angel landed into my life because as much as I did for her she gave back to me in encouragement, honesty, laughter, and support. I cannot say enough about how special Elizabeth Cheval was.
We never know where life will lead us, it is a journey and on the way if we meet one or two truly exceptional people how lucky are we.
If we can call them friends then we are even more fortunate. So I am a very rich person because of “food”. It has brought me these treasured friendships and it has warmed my soul when family gathers, and it has opened up roads for me yet to explore.
One of Liz’s favorite guilty pleasures were my Brownies. She would call me to make a batch to bring to the office for a special meeting or to bring as her dessert addition to a friend’s home for an evening… or just the need to have a few in the freezer to sneak and enjoy when she needed a bit of sweetness in her life! I am reworking them as “Liz’s Best Turtle Brownies”. I will forever think of her when I make them. Thank you Liz for your inspiration!
I use this brownie recipe, placing ½ of the brownie mixture into the pan. I make homemade Carmel sauce. The recipe is Ina Garten’s and referenced below. I put about ½ cup of pecan halves on the brownie mixture. Then I pour ½ cup of the Carmel sauce on top. Next I spread the rest of the brownie mixture on top and bake. The final step is to place in fridge for an hour cut and serve!
RECIPE: Caramel Sauce
INGREDIENTS:
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 ¼ cups heavy cream
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
• Mix the water and sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan.
• Cook over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Do not stir.
• Increase the heat to medium and boil uncovered until the sugar turns a warm chestnut brown (about 350 degrees F on a candy thermometer), about 5 to 7 minutes, gently swirling the pan to stir the mixture. Be careful – the mixture is extremely hot! Watch the mixture very carefully at the end, as it will go from caramel to burnt very quickly.
• Turn off the heat. Stand back to avoid splattering and slowly add the cream and vanilla. Don’t worry – the cream will bubble violently and the caramel will solidify.
• Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is smooth, about 2 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. It will thicken as it sits.
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