Tasty Fall Latte

When I came across this light pumpkin spice latte on the "With Style & Grace" blog, I couldn't resist!   Nothing says fall like a warm pumpkin spice latte - mmmmm.   And, as someone who is allergic to dairy, the fact this recipe is dairy free makes it even better! 

{recipe and photograph from With Style & Grace blog}

Great Summer Dinner!

PRG and I went down to CT this past weekend to celebrate my Grandmother's 88th birthday which was so much fun.  I know I'm biased, but I really think she's the coolest 88 year old out there!  Even though it was great hanging out with the fam, I was looking forward to coming home to our little apartment on Sunday in order to get my life organized after a few very busy travel weeks at work.  It was such a treat to wake up yesterday without a plan other than to enjoy a leisurely day of doing whatever we wanted.  We ended up going for a hike around Walden Pond in Concord and then swimming and lounging by our pool, and the weather couldn't have been better.

After a lovely day of unwinding, PRG cooked up quite the dinner.  I swear it consisted of all of my favorite things on one plate!  Grilled teriyaki chicken, cucumber dill salad, corn/heirloom tomato/avocado/onion salad, and feta/watermelon/mint/balsamic salad topped off with a bottle of rose.  A perfectly fresh and not-too-heavy dinner for a hot summer night.  Recipes are below!



{Cucumber water is so refreshing in the summer}



{Yum!}



{My watermelon salad didn't have any feta on it because I'm allergic to dairy - I probably should have taken a picture of PRG's plate instead.  Oh well!}




Cucumber Dill Salad:
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp. chopped fresh dill
1/2 tsp. sugar
Freshly ground pepper
3 cucumbers, thinly sliced
Fresh dill sprig

Feta/Watermelon/Mint/Balsamic Salad:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 pounds seedless watermelon, rind removed, fruit sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf mint
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1/2 cup)


I'm loving that it's a short work week.  Enjoy the 4 day week everyone!

Talbots isn't just for my mom anymore...

I went into Talbots recently, one of my mother's longtime favorite clothing stores, to get her a drape cardigan because she always compliments me on my sweaters like this and I thought she deserved one too!  ....and I was shocked by how "hip" Talbots has become!  Since when have I walked into a Talbots and liked half the store for myself?  Never before!  I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.  So much so that I not only bought the drape cardigan for my mom but also a few things for myself (whoops)!

{some items from their spring collection}

{here are the 2 striped items I bought for myself (obviously I won't be wearing them together!) as well as the sweater I bought for my mom}

And apparently I'm not the only one to take notice of their transformation.  I went to their site and found these:

• A video about Talbots' Tradition Transformation and
• Talbots Chief Creative Officer Michael Smaldone talking about Talbots' Ageless Woman Philosophy

PRG and I are heading to dinner at Bacco in the North End to help our friend MF "carbo load" before the 100 mile bike race she's doing tomorrow.  Mmmmm looking at their website is making me hungry.  Then, tomorrow, we're off to a wedding down in Madison, CT.  Can't wait to help celebrate with SM and BG! 

Happy weekend everyone!

The Easter Bunny Has Good Taste

The Easter Bunny brought me a fun box filled with lots of goodies, including some Stonewall Kitchen treats.  I absolutely love their balsamic fig salad dressing and now I'm excited to try their apple balsamic salad dressing too.  PRG loves their strawberry balsamic jam so I think I'll have to share that one...




What a pretty box!



Stonewall Kitchen goodies



Food OR Fodder?

When you think about Super Bowl Sunday food, you often think about "dirty" food like nachos with the works, chili, potato skins, 7 layer dip, etc.  However, since the New England Patriots lost and my interest in the Super Bowl is minimal at best, I've decided to spend a little more time cooking a more refined dish this year.  After about a half hour of prep and about 1+ hours of cooking time, we'll have Ina Garten's Beef Bourguignon ready to go.

Beef Bourguignon

Copyright Ina Garten, All rights reserved

Prep Time:

30 min

Inactive Prep Time:

--

Cook Time:

1 hr 15 min

Level:

Intermediate

Serves:

6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon good olive oil
• 8 ounces dry cured center cut applewood smoked bacon, diced
• 2 1/2 pounds chuck beef cut into 1-inch cubes
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound carrots, sliced diagonally into 1-inch chunks
• 2 yellow onions, sliced
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)
• 1/2 cup Cognac
• 1 (750 ml.) bottle good dry red wine such as Cote du Rhone or Pinot Noir
• 1 can (2 cups) beef broth
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, divided
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 pound frozen whole onions
• 1 pound fresh mushrooms stems discarded, caps thickly sliced

For serving:

• Country bread or Sour Dough, toasted or grilled and rubbed with garlic clove
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is lightly browned. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a large plate.

Dry the beef cubes with paper towels and then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. In batches in single layers, sear the beef in the hot oil for 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove the seared cubes to the plate with the bacon and continue searing until all the beef is browned. Set aside.

Toss the carrots, and onions, 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper in the fat in the pan and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac, stand back, and ignite with a match to burn off the alcohol. Put the meat and bacon back into the pot with the juices. Add the bottle of wine plus enough beef broth to almost cover the meat. Add the tomato paste and thyme. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and place it in the oven for about 1 1/4 hours or until the meat and vegetables are very tender when pierced with a fork.

Combine 2 tablespoons of butter and the flour with a fork and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions. Saute the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter for 10 minutes until lightly browned and then add to the stew. Bring the stew to a boil on top of the stove, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste.

To serve, toast the bread in the toaster or oven. Rub each slice on 1 side with a cut clove of garlic. For each serving, spoon the stew over a slice of bread and sprinkle with parsley

-PRG