lemon curd

I had so many egg yolks left over from all those marshmallows that I decided to make a big batch of lemon curd. I used the same recipe for the lemon cake filling I made for my mom's birthday. I froze most of it, but some I had on one of the delicious Wolferman's English muffins (they are gigantic!) we got for Christmas. I felt like I was eating a big ol' slab of cake for breakfast.

blue cheese souffle



Tried Ina's recipe for blue cheese souffle last night, although I used Point Reyes Blue instead of Roquefort, because that's what I had on hand. The recipe is for 1 big souffle - she said serves 2, can you imagine? I made four little ones, I think that was about the right size for a single serving. We ate them with an arugula salad - simple and yummy. I think the recipe would be even more delicious with goat cheese...I will have to try that soon. I got a fancy new phone (lost mine on NYE - curse you Estelle's, why are you open 'til 5 am?) so I've included  a video of the exciting moment when they came out of the oven.

Christmas marshmallows

I've been neglecting the blog due to a busy holiday season. Oops! I hope everyone had a good one. Here are the Christmas marshmallows I sent out. I made tins of 3 flavors; vanilla, chocolate, and peppermint. I am very happy with the way they turned out, especially since they got rave reviews from my nephews.

sweet potato gnocchi

With sage, chestnuts, and brown butter. I made these once before and they are super yummy - sweet and nutty, tasting like fall. Somehow the last batch were more elegant - these turned out a little more large and lumpy-lookin'. Let's call it "rustic." This recipe is from the October issue of Gourmet magazine 2009. (RIP) Be aware when frying sage that your neighbors will think you've been smoking pot all day.

marshmallows

So, I was so enamoured by the marshmallows I bought in Madison, I decided to make them for Christmas presents this year instead of cookies. Time to practice! I found a great recipe online, which worked really well. I had a super-delicious brunch at Southport Grocery and Cafe yesterday: A chorizo, goat cheese and arugula omelette - yum! They also have a gorgeous little market there with all the fancy food things I love, so I bought some rose water (among other things). My marshmallows were raspberry-rose flavored, and I added a few drops of red food coloring to make them pink. So purty! I am very pleased with myself, as I don't often make candy and when I do, it usually becomes a sticky disaster involving serious burns and a good deal of cursing. I tried a marshmallow in a cup of Vosges "La Parisienne" drinking chocolate,which is really thick and rich - just like Maxim's. It melted into a gooey delicious chocolate-marshmallow soup - the best treat on a cold November day.

patchwork pillow, cheese extravaganza

I've been really bad about not posting because I was totally distracted by the anticipation of and participation in A Super Rad Wisconsin Cheese Weekend with a couple of my cheesemonger friends. We went to the Wisconsin Cheese Originals Annual Festival in Madison, where we tried lots of delicious cheese (Rush Creek Reserve - hooray! If you like stinky, gooey, washed-rind cheese, this is the one for you) and shopped at Fromagination, pictured above. Aside from lovely cheese, they also carry these beautiful marshmallows from a company called Butter. I bought some rose flavored ones and devoured them all myself. What a great weekend! We had some great meals at Nostrano and Sardine and just pigged out generally. Then I came home and made this little pillow from bits and pieces of all the lovely fabrics I've been collecting. I put it in my shop on Etsy, and I will definitely be making more.

halloween cupcakes



I made some chocolate mini cupcakes for a Halloween party - with this recipe. I  love anything mini as well as anything orange. I made my own frosting with 8 oz cream cheese, 1 stick butter, a little orange zest and a little fresh orange juice (about 1/8 of an orange), a box of confectioner's sugar and some red and yellow food coloring. Happy Halloween! I'm going to watch some zombie movies now.