This cake was inspired by my “little sister” Johanna who is a talented artist.   I thought the cake would be perfect for her 11th birthday.  I started with an 8″ round cake, then carved away a small section to create the curve of the palette.  The “thumb hole” was carved out as well.  To finish, the entire cake was iced with a traditional Italian Buttercream.  The “finishing touch,” the paint brush, was a simple butter cookie, frosted with colored icing.  The cake itself was a yellow cake layered with orange curd and fresh blackberries.

Read Part 1: Mission Impossible: Jami’s Dinner

The age old question of how to roast a chicken…  After I decided that roasted chicken would be the perfect solution to Jami’s Mission Impossible Dinner, I thought I would look into how everyone else thinks a chicken should be roasted.  A classic dish, almost every chef and home cook has his or her own method for the “perfect” chicken.  From differences in flavorings, temperature, basting, racks…it can be a very confusing field to navigate.  With the way everyone talks about roasting chickens, you really do come to believe it is rocket science. (more…)

My good friend Jami has been very supportive of my new blog endeavor.  A frequent visitor, Jami was quick to offer suggestions for future posts – the most challenging of which was this:  Plan a dinner I can make and eat on Sunday that will provide lunches for the rest of the week (and it can’t take too long, and it can’t be too difficult, and it can’t require many ingredients, and oh right, I have very few pots and pans).

Only because I love you Jami….

So this was my task for the last couple of weeks, lying in bed at night, on my drive to work, I have been running over recipes in my head trying to be as creative as I could with the little I had to work with (no offense James).  And what crazily creative concoctions did I come up with?  Roasted Chicken!  Sometimes the simplest things are the answers to difficult problems.  Roasting a chicken is not difficult, you just have to be patient with the longer cooking time.  However, if you put in the time on a Sunday afternoon, not only can you create a wonderful, warm, healthy dinner for that night, but the left-over chicken can be used in a variety of quick and easy recipes for later in the week.  Hence, dinner for Sunday, lunches for the rest of the week. (more…)

I am a lover of all things banana, (except for bananas themselves, strange huh?) and therefore have amassed quite a collection of banana recipes.  Having tried several versions of banana bread over the years, I finally settled on this particular recipe.  With a true fresh banana flavor, a wonderfully moist texture, and a subtle nutty crunch, this is a winner in my book.  I made a batch today (I had to do something with those browning bananas) and thought I would share the recipe with everyone.

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My husband and I found a great little treat in our neighborhood.  Our local wine store, Manchester Wine & Liquors, offers monthly wine tastings at a nearby restaurant.  We noticed January’s topic was Port and knew we had to check it out.  Having traveled to Portugal a few years ago, both Scott and I have taken a particular liking to this fortified wine.  So we called, made our reservations for the tasting, and went in anticipation of some great port.

For those of you who aren’t already port fans, let me tell you a little about this dessert wine.  Port is a fortified wine, which means that along with the natural alcohol produced during the fermentation, it also has added liquor (usually brandy).  This mixture produces a sweet wine with a stronger kick….think red wine meets dessert meets cocktails.  Because of its powerful sweetness and extra alcohol, port is usually served in smaller wine glasses (dessert wine glasses or cordial glasses) and meant to be sipped – not unlike a cognac or brandy.  I like port because it tastes like an enhanced version of red wine.  With a lot of the same characteristics, I enjoy the fruit forwardness of a ruby port and the oaky, nuttiness of a tawny.  Paired with simple desserts, port makes a decadent addition to the end of any meal. (more…)

When it comes to making desserts for myself, I usually chose something with fruit.  (I am one of those odd people who doesn’t love chocolate).  In the summer months when berries and melons and stone fruits are wonderfully sweet and in season, I don’t have any problems creating fruit desserts.  The winter months, however, are a different story with limited produce options.  Yet, even though our temperatures sink below zero, the tropics are ever-producing.  Due to vast globalization, we can now get our hands on tropical fruits that were previously unavailable.  Most tropical fruits have more than one peak season, and therefore you can still get a great pineapple or mango at your grocery store in the middle of winter.  (I will admit this goes against my attempt to buy locally and use what’s in season – but I am just not ready to give up tropical fruits all together, so yes, I pay to ship them half way around the world to arrive neatly packaged at my local grocery store.  I’m not proud of it, but I’m human). (more…)

Chicken Fajitas

Scott and I love to play games, and when you live in New England in the winter time, inviting neighbors over on a cold night beats the bar any day (not like we go to the bar in good weather, but you get the point).  I love to entertain, but a lot people shy away because they believe you have to go all out and produce a 5-course French menu any time you have guests.  That is simply not the case.  Casual entertaining is a whole other ball game.  With less fussy menus (however not less tasty) and more do-ahead friendly dishes, not only are you guests at ease with a casual atmosphere, but more importantly, you the host are relaxed.

For our last game night, I decided to serve Chicken Fajitas.  I love all Mexican food, but I especially love to serve fajitas.  Whenever I have a big crowd to feed (I made these for a Superbowl party one year) I turn to buffet style.  Buffets are usually easier when entertaining and fajitas are great because they also offer “make your own”  component to the evening.   Its a great way to get your guests up and moving, talking and mingling.  Also, most people enjoy participating in dinner and feel like they are “helping” by simply being able to create their own plates – they aren’t being waited on and again the atmosphere is taken down a notch. (more…)