Happy Thanksgivukkah

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Chanukah!

We were planning on eating barbeque for Thanksgiving when a visit to Annie's Eats inspired me to roast turkey breast, make green bean casserole from scratch and bake some honey rolls. Seem easy enough to cook for four, and so it was. Thank you, Annie!

I was also going to buy pie, when I heard Chef Matthew Raiford talk about his Nana's sweet potato pie on NPR. 

So indeed the universe is telling me to cook for thanksgiving. 

The Mushroom gravy recipe is from Splendid Table. (Yea, yea ... I listen to too much NPR.)

So here goes. My first home-cooked thanksgiving meal; except for the pie shell (after making sfogliatelle last week, I don't want to see a rolling pin for another month at least), and  the french fried onion (no mood to deep fry shallots today.)  All devoured within 20 minutes! With just enough left over for light lunch tomorrow. 

Sfogliatelle - The Daring Baker Challenge November 2013

Sandie of the lovely blog, Crumbs of Love, was our November hostess. Sandie challenged us to make a traditional Italian dessert, along with its American version – Sfogliatelle (or better known in the US – lobster tails!) The flakey, 1000 layers of super thin dough, shaped into a horn and filled with a scrumptious filling. Così buono!

O my ...  and a challenge it was!

I made the ricotta cheese and candied orange peel, for the first time ever. The Sfogliatelle Frolle came out OK, but for someone with my (lack of) patience, making the Ricci without a pasta maker was the most challenging part.I will definitely try making the ricci again, hopefully with a better result.

Thank you, Sandie and the daring bakers for the challenge and encouragement!

Ricotta, Candied Orange Peel, Ricotta-Semolina Filling

Sfogliatelle Frolle and Ricci.

PB and J Winter

Yeah. It's definitely not summer anymore.

Pastel De Tres Leches - The Daring Baker Challenge September 2013

Inma was our Sept. 2013 Daring Bakers’ hostess and WOW did she bring us
something decadent and delicious! Pastel de Tres Leches or Three Milk Cake, creamy yet airy, super moist but not soggy.. just plain delish!

What can I say ... delish it is! Thank you, Inma. 

I actually didn't know until this challenge that the '3 milks' were infused into the baked cake. I thought it was part of the batter. Duh. 

Since this is the first time I tried making a tres leches, I made the plain sponge cake, plain whipping cream frosting. I barely sweeten the cream to balance the sweetness of the cake. Yum yum yum.

Gnocchi - The Daring Cook Challenge September 2013

Todd, who is The Daring Kitchen’s AWESOME webmaster and an amazing cook, is our September Daring Cooks’ host! Todd challenged us to make light and fluffy potato Gnocchi and encouraged us to flavor the lil pillows of goodness and go wild with a sauce to top them with!

PB and J weren't too keen on the gnocchi served with a choice of cilantro pesto and marinara for lunch.
(I know, it wasn't too appetizing on the picture either, but "I" love the cilantro pesto.)

I tossed the left over gnocchi in olive oil, onion and shrimp for dinner and that was a bigger hit with the boys, especially PB. 

It's a fulfilling challenge overall. Thank you, Todd!

Good Bye Summer

This blog has served its (original) intended purpose, summer vacation was over.
We survived the first week of school!

Post tally:
 J = 2
Mama =15

Ha! 

America the Beautiful - It's All About the Altitude!

Today was the first day of school, but our hearts were still at the mountain in Colorado.

 Rocky Mountains: Our first national park visit

 Pikes Peak: Up, up, up, to America the Beautiful

Lake Estes: If you stick your tongue out, the fish will come

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo: Mama + Daddy + J + PB =  1 adult male gorilla