Good Morning Darlings!
Remember on my birthday, my sweet friend Allen gifted me with a homemade chicken pot pie? Goodness gracious, it was delicious. And, as expected, gobbled up like hungry badgers by E and me.
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Allen’s Chicken Pot Pie
Tuesday, March 1st, 2011Birthday Pizza and Porch Drinks
Monday, February 28th, 2011Good Morning Darlings!
Well, it’s been a week but it seemed like the birthday fiesta went on and on. Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday Sunday Sunday (insert motocross announcer voice here). Sunday was my actual birthday and we gathered everyone to eat pizza, leftover nibbles from Saturday night and drink some lively libations. What I didn’t know was that Eric had asked our dear Lisa to bake me a cake. What a cake!
You’re invited! Come on in.
Mr. John’s Feast + 11
Thursday, February 24th, 2011Good Morning Darlings!
This past weekend was my birthday and there were no shortages of celebrations. Friday night was The Cafe at The Ritz-Carlton Buckhead, Sunday night was pizza and beer on the porch, but Saturday was most special. My sweet bestie, John, cooked a fabulous meal for 12 of us – at my house, so I never had to leave. The party just came to me. Yay!
John decided on a La Dolce Vita theme, with all Italian cuisine. It was divine. The planning started weeks in advance, with John allowing me final say on the menu. I felt so pampered. The menu was as follows:
Aperitivo
Savory Caramelized Onion Cheese Cake with Apricot Glaze
Assorted Crackers
Red Grapes
Green Grapes
Pan Seared Polenta with
Creme Fraiche
Chives
Antipasti
Pesto Insalata with Three Cheese Tortillini
Piatto Principale
Lasagne with Baby Spinach and Portobello Mushrooms
Dolce
Chocolate Raspberry Panna Cotta
Sambuca
Amaretto
Mmmm, Chicken Meatballs!
Monday, February 21st, 2011Good Morning Darlings!
Oh my goodness. I was totally spoiled this weekend. And as much as I would like to share all the grandeur right now, I must rest.
So tomorrow we will regroup. But today I will leave you with a new food product to ponder before the weather gets too warm. Although it can’t get warm enough fast enough for me. You? These chicken meatballs are yummy. And I don’t ever eat chicken meatballs. But these might have convinced me that it doesn’t always have to be beef meatballs.
What’s new in the food world? Come See.
Danny’s Seafaring Birthday
Wednesday, February 16th, 2011Good Morning Darlings!
Yes, this is my birthday week, but last week we feted our darling Danny at McCormick and Schmick’s with some yummy seafood. There were 10 of us and we just gathered, drank, laughed and enjoyed our plates of seafood. I think the photos (snapped by our friend, Eric Rice) say it all.
A special menu with a special message for our birthday boy.
Our group
Holly, Eric and Me
My sweeties John and Danny
My boys and me sharing a giggle.
Patrick and Andrew.
Eric, Danny and Bruce
Bruce, Danny and Sweet Rose
It was a fabulous night with some of my most favorites!
Happy Birthday my darling Danny! I love you!!!
xoxo, Patti
Today blogging to Johnny Cash – Oh Danny Boy
V-Day Recap and The Morning After
Tuesday, February 15th, 2011Good Morning Darlings!
Hope you all had a fine Valentine’s Day – no matter who you spent it with. Ours was swell. Lets recap the menu:
Crab Cakes
Creamy Pasta
Fresh Green Salad
Lemon Souffle
It was all so good. The souffle was delicious, but needs some work. I thought it was pretty good for a first try. An oven thermometer would probably help to make sure it’s calibrated correctly.
Some photos?
Crab Cakes and Creamy Pasta
Eric whipped up the cream sauce with the most spectacular oregano and gorgeous Greek olive oil by Frixa, that was just sent by lovely Miss Leigh in St. Simons Island. The Chryssaidis family owns a restaurant, Athena, in St. Augustine, where they go through 20 liters of this elixir each day. Can you imagine? And you can buy both the olive oil and oregano online. Yum.
The sauce goes like this (thanks, Honey!): Melt 2 tbsp butter and add 2 tsp Frixa oregano, infuse with low heat while the pasta cooks. When the pasta is al dente, strain and quickly beat together 2 eggs, 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1 cup parmesan with a little pasta water. Dress the pasta in the sauce and drizzle with the butter to serve. (cooks note: boom done).
Eric’s crab cakes were essentially crab, a bit of mayo to bind and panko for coating. Perfect.
I dressed the table with three large pillar candles, red beaded placemats from Mexico, silver napkin holders, hammered silver flatware and red champagne flutes. Although I believe I forgot to shoot the table because I was so excited about dinner. Sorry, Darlings.
Here’s a peek at the souffle.
Fresh from the oven and dusted with powdered sugar.
To our plates.
And into our bellies! Nom nom nom. And having an excuse to practice my souffle skills is a delicious reason for dessert, yes?
But, Eric and I both agreed, the really special treat came this morning inside the delicate confines of four very fresh eggs, gifted to us by our oh-so-sweet friends Stephanie and Reeves, who raise chickens just a few blocks away from us. They taste nothing like what you buy from the grocery store. No, these are much more piquant, with a richness that betrays its supermarket brethren, and puts them to shame. And look, Stephanie puts the date each one, so you know exactly what day it was gathered.
Gathered 2 days ago! And more cooking in the background. In Beka!
We didn’t say too much during breakfast – we were too busy trying to savor every bite of those pristine eggs. Thanks Stephanie and Reeves!
Aren't they lovely?
Oh, and my Sweeties – I am giving away two tickets for The Wedding Experience tomorrow. You just need to comment here on this blog post. You don’t have to be a bride, you might have a friend who is getting married and could benefit from this – so get your comments in!
xoxo, Patti
Today blogging to Nat King Cole – Love
Valentine’s Day Dinner
Monday, February 14th, 2011Good Morning Darlings!
Welp, today’s the day. The day we make those who are so special to us feel even more special. This does not mean you have to have a significant other – or more specifically, it means that a significant other can mean lots of different things.
It could be your best friend, your child, your dog. Doesn’t matter. Just give someone you love a big hug and enjoy the day together. And tonight, cook up something special.
Eric and I love to cook together and it’s a rare occasion on a weeknight. But tonight at our house it will be crab cakes and pasta with cream sauce, fresh green salad and lemon souffle for dessert. Crab cakes are one of those fab dishes that are super easy and impress everyone. Just add bubbly! Here is a great recipe from Miss Paula Deen, who knows what we southerners like. I would omit the bell peppers, but that’s just me. And I would let the cakes rest in the fridge before I dipped them in flour and fried them, just to make sure they keep their shape. And one more note: I like buying big king crab legs instead of the canned crab. This way I know where the meat came from and there is less chance of shells. You just cut them up the middle and pull out the crab meat. Easy peasy.
Paula Deen's Crab Cakes, Courtesy of Food Network.com
Ingredients
1 pound crabmeat, picked free of shells
1/3 cup crushed crackers (recommended: Ritz)
3 green onions (green and white parts), finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 egg
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
Dash cayenne pepper
Flour, for dusting
1/2 cup peanut oil
Favorite dipping sauce, for serving
Directions
In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients, except for the flour and peanut oil. Shape into patties and dust with flour.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, carefully place crab cakes, in batches, in pan and fry until browned, about 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully flip crab cakes and fry on other side until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Serve warm with preferred sauce.
Don’t they sound good? See? Now go impress your loved ones. And don’t bother baking – let your neighborhood bakery do the work.
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!
xoxo, Patti
Today blogging to Ella Fitzgerald – That Old Black Magic
Kahlua 101
Saturday, February 12th, 2011Good Morning Darlings!
I thought I would slip a bonus post (or two) in this weekend. If your mind is on Valentine’s Day today, here are some super easy and yummy cocktails to be made with Kahlua. Isn’t Kahlua yummy? All sweet and exotic – it’s great by itself or even poured over some ice cream. Easy ideas, both. But here are a couple more ideas from Chef Aaron Sanchez sent to me by our friend Jaclyn in New York.
Celebrity Chef and TV Personality, Aarón Sánchez’s favorite cocktails are easy to make in the comfort of your own home and are simply delicious! Each is made with Kahlúa, keeping close to his Mexican heritage.
Here are a few recipes below for you to try this Valentine’s Day…
Kahlúa Black Russian
Ingredients
1 part Kahlúa
1 part ABSOLUT® Vodka
Ice
How to mix it
Fill a rocks glass with ice, add Kahlúa and ABSOLUT VODKA and stir.
Kahlúa Espresso Martini
Ingredients
1.5 parts Kahlúa
1 part ABSOLUT VODKA
1 fresh brewed espresso
How to mix it
Fill a shaker with ice, add Kahlúa, ABSOLUT VODKA and a fresh brewed espresso. Shake vigorously, and strain into a chilled martini glass.
Kahlúa Sparkling Water
Ingredients
2 parts Kahlúa
4 parts soda water
Ice
Lime
How to mix it
Pour Kahlúa into a highball glass filled with ice. Add soda water. Top it with a lime and serve.
For more recipes visit www.Kahlua.com .
Don’t they sound delicious? Charm your Valentine.
xoxo, Patti
Today blogging to Tom Jones – Love Me Tonight
More Birthdays Mean More Cake!
Thursday, February 3rd, 2011Good Morning Darlings!
Since Shane’s cake turned out so well, I thought I would go for it for Kerry and Ryan’s birthday dinner on Friday night. Oh, it was so good!
We kept this a small affair – only five of us. Arancini started the night right. If you have never had these, they are risotto balls stuffed with cheese and fried. Oh my golly. And I won’t lie, I bought these beauties at Trader Joe’s – less cooking for me! Yay!
They’re bigger in person. Anyhoo, the menu was rack of lamb, pesto mashed potatoes and a veggie medley. That veggie medley also came from Trader Joe’s, but it was not so tasty, so lets not mention it again, shall we?