Cinnamon, pecan, streusel coffe cake

From Martha, this month.  Odd recipe, has almost as much flour in the streusel topping as it does in the cake itself.  The two kind of become one.  It's tasty non the less.....

Chicken Tagine with citrus rice

Monday night effort.......  Chicken tagine with tomatoes, orange, carrots, celery, and green olives.  Served with red citrus rice.  This was a recipe that I found on the Wall Street Journal site.  It's divine, one of the better tagine recipes that I've made lately. 

Quiche Lorraine and Co. - from Julia Child

Mom and dad came to brunch the weekend before last.  I was working the night before and had lots to do for class the next day.  So quiche sounded good and easy.  I used one of those awful refrigerator pie crusts, which I would not do again.  It's definitely worth the time and effort to make your own pie shell.  Anyway, It turned out perfect.  Quiche Lorraine is usually bacon only in the quiche.  I added cheese.

a nice green salad is perfect with the quiche.  I made a vinaigrette with Italian olive oil, champagne vinegar, and a touch of honey.

Valentines day dinner

Every year for V Day we stay in.  Ignore the crowds, the PDA, and the overpriced not worth it meals.  This year was no different.  We had a bottle of 2006 Childress Vineyards Meritage that we wanted to open and Fillet was a good pairing.

The french green beans look so boring here.  They really were quite tasty.  Tossed with some white pepper and our best olive oil in the house.  Potatoes were roasted with herbs de Provence and some olive oil as well.  The steaks were the show stopper for this meal. I went to three different grocery stores to get what I wanted and then had to have them cut.  Why is it so hard to buy a decent piece of meat.  Fleur de sel, pepper, and olive oil is all I put on the steaks.  I do this a few hours before cooking so they have a chance to absorb some of the flavor.  These guys were about 3 inches thick so I grilled them on screaching hot for 6 minutes per side for a perfect medium rare.  I took them off when they registered about 114 internally with my Rosle thermometer.

Lasagna with Swiss Chard, Sausage, and Lemon

Sunday night dinner this past weekend.  Compliments of Martha again.  She has been having lots of really tasty recipes lately.  During the summers they correspond nicely with the garden and what is coming from it. 

yes that is a lemon slice on top, not a tomato.  You boil the lemon slices first and that removes any bitterness with the pith.  It's a great compliment to the swiss chard and cuts the richness of of the sausage.

Brunch: Bacon, Cheese, and parsley omlette and salad with champagne honey vinaigrette

Simple brunch this morning. 

Tonight's Dinner, brought to you by the letters A and P

Tonight dinner started late, I got in from the studio at 9, dinner was on the table about 10 after 10.  That's even late for me!!!  Asparagus with white pepper and olive oil, mashed potatoes with cream, buttermilk, and butter; and grilled pork chops with Dean and Deluca Pork rub.  So fast, So easy, So yummy.

Here it is on the table.  I had to do a table shot because we are working with rituals and dining in studio right now; not just eating.  Dinner is a ritual here, nightly.

and the post dinner view.