Summer is here!

Summer is officially here! We had several cold fronts that kept coming through but finally it's warm! Sadie and I went swimming for the first time this season and she of course loved it. She also got to go fishing with her daddy at the lake in our neighborhood. She caught 5 fish!!! We have also been picking lots and lots of blackberries. Life has really come full circle. All of this reminds me of my childhood and spending summers at the cabin. We'd fish and pick blackberries. At the cabin I'd often bake blackberry tartlets while the 3pm rain happened. It is one of my fondest memories, baking and or playing games on the porch listening to the rain on the tin roof. Well, nowadays I don't have the same kind of time on my hands, but really wanted to do some sort of tartlet type thing. I bought puff pastry and cut them into 12 pieces and put a blackberry sugar mixture in each and baked them. They were nowhere near as good as when I'd make a pie crust from scratch at the cabin, but good nonetheless. Here are a few photos:

Italian cooking

I picked up some truffle oil while in Italy and had been searching for a recipe to try it with. I found this recipe from Whole Foods and thought it looked good:

Rosemary-Seared Pork Tenderloin with Truffle Porcini Sauce

Ingredients: 

• 18 dried porcini mushrooms
• 3 pounds pork tenderloin
• 3 tablespoons dried rosemary
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Canola oil cooking spray
• 1 teaspoon flour
• 4 teaspoons white truffle oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon salted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 tablespoons shallots, finely chopped

Method: 

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Pour 1 1/2 cups hot water over mushrooms in a medium bowl and set aside to let soak until softened while you prepare the tenderloin.

Season tenderloin with dried rosemary and salt and pepper. Lightly spray the tenderloin all over with canola oil spray. Preheat an oven-proof skillet until you start to see wisps of smoke rising from the pan. Add tenderloin and sear on both sides. Transfer to oven and roast 10 to 15 minutes to finish cooking the tenderloin. Transfer to a plate and set aside to let rest.

Meanwhile, drain mushrooms, reserving soaking liquid, and cut into small pieces. Set aside. Mix flour, 1 teaspoon of the truffle oil and butter in a small bowl and set aside. Heat olive oil and 2 teaspoons of the truffle oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until translucent. Add mushrooms and cook for 1 minute more. Deglaze the pan by pouring in the reserved mushroom liquid. Bring to boil and then whisk in the butter mixture until well incorporated and the sauce begins to thicken. Pour any juices from the resting tenderloin into the skillet along with the remaining 1 teaspoon truffle oil. Stir to combine.

Slice the tenderloin into medallions and spoon the sauce over top. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Info: 

Per Serving:460 calories (170 from fat), 19g total fat, 4.5g saturated fat, 150mg cholesterol, 330mg sodium, 15g carbohydrate (5g dietary fiber, 1g sugar), 55g protein

 

My review:

It was a little tough. Instead of cooking 15 minutes after searing, I'd slow cook it for a couple of hours. The 15 minutes didn't cut it anyways, and it was way underdone inside. I had to put it in the oven for another 15 minutes at least. I served it with asparagus risotto with Parmesan cheese, which did compliment it nicely. 

 

 

Welcome Spring!

Today was a very fun Saturday. I had the day off-no shoot or wedding; which as much as I love shooting, is always nice! We took the opportunity to finish planting the garden. It's been such a fun tradition to start, and very educational for Sadie to understand that not all food comes from the grocery store.
Our grapes once again came back with a vengence, as well as the cilantro, which I love! And wait until you see photos of the rosemary-it withstands everything! We cut back a TON and still have enough to last years and years! I am currently drying it in the oven, and I am sure will give a lot away. :)
Tonight we also opened the salami that I brought from Italy, as well as an amazing Gouda from Norway. We used the cheese slicer the my cousin-in-law gave us. :)

                                                                     The Grapes!

                                                                    Blackberries!

                                                          The rosemary that we cut

                                   Another view of the grapes and just how massive they are

                                                                             Kale

                                                   Strawberries, squash, and zucchini

                     Blueberries that we planted 3 years ago, finally getting a decent amount!

 Some squash, tomato, the cilantro and rosemary post cut! Oh and onions underneath the soil

                                                             Sadie's purple flowers :)

                                Onion from last year that came back up, tomato, and eggplant

                                                                Basil and more squash

                                                                   Courtyard view

                                                      About to start drying rosemary

                                        Salami from Italy and Cheese from Norway! Yum!

                                                    Cheese slicer from cousin Nora

Sadie's 3rd birthday

So I just realized that I never blogged Sadie's 3rd birthday! I can't believe it! She turned 3 on September 29th. She specifically asked for a Minnie Mouse Tea Party, so we did just that. My sweet friend Robin made the most amazing cake, yet again! I bought some beads and had a bead making craft for the girls to do, and a very nice brunch that the moms appreciated much more than the kids, unfortunately. Sadie was actually pretty cranky and we later found out that she was sick. Poor thing! 
On the menu was crepes made in the shape of Minnie Mouse head/ears, chicken salad with avocado, quiche lorraine, fruit, and croissants. To drink we had coffee, tea, and water with citrus ice cubes. I ordered cute Minnie Mouse tea cups from the Disney Store that also doubled as favors. I had some stunning flowers done by Fresh. Even though Sadie was cranky it was a good celebration. :)

Bruschetta Chicken Salad!

As many of you know, I love cooking and trying new things in the kitchen. One of my favorite foods is bruschetta, and one day I thought, " I bet I can make a salad that takes on the flavors of bruschetta without all the carbs." It is SO good that I had to share on here!

Start with raw chicken and cook in the oven with some garlic and red wine. I cook covered at 350 until done. After it is done chill in the the fridge.

Now for the actual salad part:

I like to use a spring mix and then some spinach as the base. Cut up some roma or cherry tomatoes, a little red onion, some fresh basil leaves (if not available use dried) mozzarella cheese, the chicken cut into little pieces, then top with fresh grated pepper. For the dressing I like to use just a TOUCH of olive oil (I have basil flavored that I picked up in Italy 2 weeks ago and it is amazing!) and lots of red wine vinegar. It really does taste like you are eating bruschetta! 

Here are a couple photos, please forgive that they are cell phone pics!

Peking Duck Pizza

For years I have been bummed that CPK (California Pizza Kitchen) stopped making their Peking Duck Pizza. I figured it must be a pretty easy recipe and decided to google it. I came across a recipe and decided to try it, but with my own spin. Here is the link to the one I found: http://www.kikkomanusa.com/foodservice/onthemenu/recipedetail.php?rd=1321
In case anyone doesn't already know, my husband LIVES to hunt. He is super passionate about that as well as deep sea fishing. Well, he "caught" as I like to say, a couple of ducks awhile back and they were sitting in our freezer waiting to be cooked. It was the perfect use and the pizza turned out exactly how I remembered.

It was super easy to make:

Adam cut up the duck breasts into little tiny tiny strips and we barely seared them in a pan with a little coating of hoisan sauce. I always buy the Pillsbury pizza dough in the can (thin crust)  and I cook it a few minutes on each side before doing cheese and sauce because I like a crispier crust. You don't have to do it that way if you like a softer crust. Anyways, after the crust was golden brown I took it out and put hoisan sauce, mozzarella cheese, the duck, wontons (which you find in the salad aisle, not the Asian food aisle, I learned) as well as some green onion. Pop it in the oven until the cheese is all melty and the crust the way you like it and you are done! It was amazing!! Need to make it again!

*I am guessing this could easily be just as good if made with chicken if you don't like duck. I may try this as an experiment to see how it tastes.*

Dinner for 8

As many of you know, I love to entertain. Adam thinks that I think I am Emeril or something to that effect. Not really, but I do enjoy cooking and socializing so I do my best. At a recent church get together I brought a salad that everyone liked and they all said that I needed to have a dinner party. Twist my arm! So, I looked at the calendar and realized that with my shooting schedule it would be about 5 weeks out, which was fine. Sent invites to a great group of friends and started planning. The menu was: Roasted garlic with french bread, Spinach artichoke dip (made my my friend Taylor) Fried calamari with a tomato avocado cream sauce, spring mix salad with sun dried tomato, Parmesan cheese, slivered almonds, and a vinaigrette dressing. For the main menu we had individual beef wellingtons, roasted red potatoes, and cauliflower polonaise. My friend Melisa brought an amazing white chocolate raspberry cheesecake for dessert. It was a very fun evening! We have decided we need to do it every couple months and it will be called the "fancy feast." :)