Le Baguette

I've been really into bread lately.  And by "lately," I mean the past 26 years.  One of my like-minded coworkers and I even joke about how, if we were ever thrown in jail and sentenced to having meals of only bread and water (like they used to do to people in old, romantical times), we'd be cool with it.   However, I have to admit, I'd be even happier if I had to finish out my days eating bread topped with this bruschetta.  It's so simple and takes no time at all to make.  But since it's also so colorful and zesty, it feels and tastes fancy.

 I used part of a baguette and some Trader Joe's Rustico bread, just to mix it up. 

If you're like me and pile so much bruschetta on your bread that it falls off before you can get it into your mouth, than you'll probably finish your bruschetta before you've made it through your entire baguette.  Letting good carbs go to waste is one of the saddest things I can think of, so I recommend piling on some avocado, a bit of pepper, and a good squeeze of lemon juice.

Toast the bread a bit first in a buttered pan, and then smother on the goodness! 

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Weekend in Buffalo

At the end of February, I took a trip to Buffalo, NY, to visit my sister and brother-in-law for the weekend.  While the dead of winter is perhaps not the best time to see the sights of this region, we managed to have a ridiculously fun visit anyway.  As is usually the case when we get together, there was a lot of laughing, eating, playing with adorable doggies, eating, drinking, eating, and British period drama-ing.  Oh and eating.  But first, the doggies!

Mika (the looker in black) spent most of the weekend building tents with blankets and trying to figure out why there were suddenly two of her mommy (my sisters and I really look alike), while Skye (the aloof lady in white) spent most of her time either patrolling for squirrels or exfoliating my face.

And now, on to the food!  The dining-out highlight of the weekend was when J & J took me to brunch at The Roycroft Inn in East Aurora, NY.  With its lovely Arts & Crafts architecture and decor and its large windows that look out onto its courtyard, it was the perfect setting to watch the falling snow while indulging in mimosas, poinsettias, and more than one plate of scrumptious food from the buffet (we're no amateurs). 

The pretty view from our table.

Plate #1

The buffet spread was quite impressive in its size and variety, but I think that the coddled eggs with spinach cream were my favorite.  I also made a happy, accidental discovery when some of my syrup for my french toast wandered over and made friends with the au gratin potatoes.  Would never have put those two together, but it was a match made in heaven!  It sounds crazy, but seriously, try it sometime!

J can always be counted on to pose for an inappropriate picture.

After thoroughly stuffing ourselves, we did a bit of shopping and then rolled ourselves home to nap.  Always a necessity after an inebriated brunch.

The next day, we decided to put our own culinary skills to the test and made quite the impressive dinner.  First up:  Melon and Prosciutto

 J & J and I took a trip to Italy together last summer, and this dish will forever remind me of our night on Capri, when we had it at a lovely restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean.  *Sigh*

Next up:  Brown Butter Squash and Sage Pasta.

I am seriously obsessed with this recipe.  It's so flavorful and delicious, but it's so easy to make.  It also seems fancy, so make it for your friends.  They'll be impressed and wonder how you became such a good cook, I promise.

The motherload:  Baked Brie.

 

Need I say more?  This world would be such an empty, sad place without molten cheese.

A lovely dinner to mark the end of a great weekend!  And yes, we ate ALL of the brie.

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Blonde Ambition

I can't say that I've ever been a big fan of blondies.  I never really understood the need for an alternative to brownies (why would you not want to eat their chocolately, gooey, deliciousness? Why?) and the few that I did try (when there were no other dessert choices, obviously) always seemed dry and lackluster.  However, all of this was before I tried this recipe.  I'll never bad-mouth blondies again.  Of course, these are not your average blondies.  With two superstar ingredients (peanut butter AND oreos), how could you go wrong?

The peanut butter gives the blondie layers a rich, moist texture while the oreo surprise in the middle really gets the party started.  The hard part is not eating the raw batter or all of the oreos as you're assembling them.  But trust me, the baking time is worth the wait.

Peanut butter + oreos = GENIUS.

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