Happy Wine-day

It's that day. My favorite day of the week.
Happy wine-day, everyone!

this wine is not only delicious, but it is also made by nuns in italy.... which is awesome.

wonderful tasting today at domaineLA

every dog I meet.....

delicious foccacia from Mozza

domaineLA

the wines.

the wino.

happy sunday!

Fresh Pasta Sauce & First Kisses

So in case you've been wondering, I had my first kiss in Kindergarden. It was with a boy named Sage (awesome foreshadowing for a young chef; I bet if I was into ladies, her name would have been Rosemary). I was 5 at the time and was attending kindergarten at Sacred Hearts Catholic School in Toronto, Canada. I haven't talked to Sage since, maybe because my family moved to another country, maybe because he was intimidated by my charming ways, maybe because we were five and he went on to marry a lovely woman named Lavender... I guess we will never know.

I'm not sure when Richard had his first kiss.... if I had to guess, he was probably 4 because he always has to beat me and he's always been a bit slutty. Either way, I know for sure it was not with his friend Caitlin, who he went to elementary school with at St. Patrick's Catholic School in Charlotte, North Carolina. How do I know this you ask? Because tonight she and her husband came over for dinner and I asked her. It wasn't awkward at all.

I know. My mind is blown, too... the ONE GILR EVER that Rich hasn't kissed!!!

In case you are wondering, Richard and Caitlin hadn't seen each other since elementary school, so when we found out she and her husband, Tommy, were moving to Los Angeles it was quite an exciting surprise. And you know what happens when this ginger gets excited... DINNER PARTY!

Reunited and it feels so good!

With it being peak tomato season and our garden producing quite an abundance of San Marzano tomatoes, a pasta night was absolutely necessary... and when we throw around the term PASTA NIGHT  in this house, we are not effing around. I'm wearing the engagement ring of Rich's dead Italian grandma so I have a pretty high bar to live up to, lest I find my self resting eternally next to her. So when we say "pasta" we're talking homemade pasta and homemade marinara.... with all the ingredients from our garden!

Fresh Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
3 pounds of ripe San Marzano tomatoes, blanched and peeled (Roma will work great, too)
1/2 an onion, grated
1 stalk celery, minced
1 carrot, grated
3 cloves of garlic, minced
A splash of red wine
Lots of fresh basil
Lots of freshly grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
& lots of  FRESH PASTA (recipe here)

Method:
Begin by blanching the tomatoes. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Score the bottom of each tomato with a small "X" and then drop them into the boiling water for about 30 seconds and then put them into an ice bath to stop the cooking and let them cool. You will then be able to peel the skin off of them very easily. Do this with all of the tomatoes and then set them aside.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil and sauté the grated onion, carrot, and celery. Sauté until starting to caramelize. Add the minced garlic and cook just a minute until fragrant. Add a splash of red wine. I do this because I think it tastes delicious.... and lord knows I am rarely in the kitchen without a glass of it already in hand. Once the wine is reduced, add the tomatoes and bring everything to a simmer. Turn the heat to LOW and let cook for at least an hour.

The longer you cook tomato sauce, the more caramelized and delicious it gets! Your tomatoes should pretty much break down from cooking, but if they are a little chunkier than you like, you can use an immersion blender to get your sauce smooth right before serving it. Season with salt and pepper, top with tons of fresh basil and parmesan cheese and serve!

One bowl, four hours of love, several hundred noodles of perfection

 Madness:

The dinner was amazing and tipsy. We even kept warm by a fire in our very own fire pit. Needless to say, we are so thrilled to have Caitlin and Tommy living in Los Angeles there will be many more amazing dinners to come! Cheers!!

Tommy: "Where's Caitlin!?"

Three Dog Night

Wine & Cheese. Happy Sunday

It's that day. The best day of the week. Happy Sunday everyone! Thank you DomaineLA for another fabulous tasting!

This post is worth 1000 words......

why yes, those are homemade pickles

advice.

domaineLA = the real deal.

rose for days

This bitch.....

the loves of my life (I am talking about their glasses, obviously....)

Cheers!

xx

Savory Fig Jam and a Cheese Board for Two

You know those days when you could sit outside all day long, wine in hand, and just eat copious amounts of cheese until your arteries literally stop working? That is every day for me. If I could only have one thing to eat for the rest of my life it really would be cheese. 

So, yesterday, due to whatever political argument was ailing me at the time, I was daydreaming that Richard and I (and the 4 dogs, of course) were moving to France.... when I really got to thinking....these people know what the F is up. They drink wine (maybe even more than I do) they wear horizontal strips (which are my favorite) and I am sure that they have probably given cheese it's own food group. French women never get fat, they always look classy, and I feel like they would be much more accepting of whatever shenanigans that second glass (bottle) of wine got me into. 

Need I say more?

No. Moving to France was officially the best idea I have EVER had (as of yesterday.) So before I started looking at apartments for rent, preferably right next door to a quaint boulangerie, it seemed only fair to inform my darling husband of our new life path. Unfortunately, let's just say he was less than thrilled with the idea. Even less thrilled than when I also explained to him why turning our deck into a sandy beach was an absolute MUST for our next BBQ.... but that's a whole other story.  Anyways, while he was a bit under enthused with us moving to France for silly reasons like our careers, money, and family....... being the absolute dreamboat that he is,  he ran to the market, got every kind of amazing cheese possible, picked a perfect bottle of french wine and we are calling it a day. Did I marry well, or what? 

I obviously put on my best horizontal stripes, thanked god I just cut my hair into a bob, and broke out my favorite cheese board. Now, trying to keep in theme with "fig week" I figured this the perfect time to make my absolute favorite fig jam. It's savory, delicious, and pretty quick to make. It also calls for dried figs, so you can make it any time of the year. I actually made this recipe for our engagement party (almost 2 years ago- gasp!) and it was quite a hit!

a modest cheese board for two with savory fig jam

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons minced shallots
2 fresh thyme sprigs plus 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1 small bay leaf
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup dried black mission figs
3/4 cup port
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper


Method:
Cook shallot, thyme sprigs, and bay leaf in butter in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring, until shallot is softened, about 2 minutes. Add dried figs, Port, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered, until figs are soft, about 10 minutes. If there is still liquid in saucepan, remove lid and simmer, stirring, until most of liquid is evaporated, 3 to 4 minutes more. Discard bay leaf and thyme sprigs and transfer jam to a bowl. Cool, then stir in minced thyme and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve on toast, make crostinis, or put a dollop of it right on a cheese board like I did. 

Au revoir!

Guinness Ice Cream

So, this recipe is from Suzanne Goin's book, Sunday Suppers at Lucque's (surprise, surprise...) However, I did change it up a bit for two reasons:
1. Laziness and 2. My lack of vanilla beans. Oops.
It did turn out amazing though- so so delicious that I would totally be lazy and forget to buy vanilla beans all over again.

Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup Guinness Stout
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons molasses
3 large egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method:
In a small saucepan whisk together the guinness stout and the molasses. Bring to a boil and the turn off the heat.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla extract. Next, slowly whisk a few tablespoons of the guinness mixture into the eggs to temper them. Very slowly, continue to add the rest of the warm guinness to the egg mixture, continuously whisking the mixture. Add the milk and cream and return the mixture back to the sauce pan and cook over medium heat for about 6- 8 minutes until the mixture begins to thicken. You will have to scrape the sides and bottom of the pan with a spatula as the custard gets thick.

Place the custard in the fridge for at least 2 hours until it is very cold. Then, put the custard in an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions.