Feel good food is definitely in need right now. Cause you know why??? BOYS SUCK! Thats why I am so glad it is Independence Day!!

But other than that life is quite lovely right now. I was inspired by Miss Julie after seeing her leeks at the JFX farmers market last Sunday and I have been rereading Julie & Julia (and this was her first julia attempt!). This recipe is so simple and incredibly delicious and savory.

Ingredients:
4 leeks, white and green parts, thoroughy cleaned and sliced into semi small cuts
5 white potatoes, scrubbed and peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cans chicken stock
2/3 cup heavy cream
some nutmeg, white pepper and at least 1 tbsp of salt!

Directions:
Add leeks and potatoes to big pot, add chicken stock and 4 cups of water and salt. Boil and then simmer, partly covered for 45 minutes. Mash up veggies with potato masher and then in two rounds, blenderize the soup until nice and smooth. Add half of the cream to each batch while in the blender and pulse again! Serve in bowl and top with nutmeg and fresh ground white pepper. Serve with fresh baguette!

This past weekend my dad and very good friends went rafting on the lower youghiogheny river! But no thank gosh- there was NO drowning, only good times!

My dad is super kayaker and so he was wonderful enough to be our rudder in the huge raft! We headed out on Friday night and got to partake in some campfire deliciousness and had some good eats on Saturday too!

Above is one of the many smores that were devoured! Yay for sticky chewy messy and gooey things! and thank you Erica for bestowing the smores goods on us!

We also “roasted” some pineapple slices and BOY OH BOY does pineapple taste good with some chargrilled goodness on it! Jesica was my successful photographer on this one, my abilities were not happening at that hour!

On Saturday we went to the Firefly grill for some breakfast goodness! I got the french toast with home fries- these home fries were especially tasty!

Our last stop on our trip out west was one to When Pigs Fly! Dad and I have been going to this restaurant for about 5 years and it is our favorite spot to catch some dinner before driving back to Baltimore.

I think in the past I would get the crab cake (yeah crab cakes in the mountains?? smart elizabeth…) So this time I made sure to go with the specialty and get the pulled pork (pronounced -’poke’) sandwich! It was fantastic!

This month’s challenge was definitely a daunting one! (as they always are…now that I think about it!). I have never used yeast before and this is about the third time I got out my trusty rolling pin from WS.

It was fun! I love rolling dough. And I love rolling dough even more when I know I am getting a delicious pastry out of it! I still have half of the dough in the freezer waiting to be shaped, filled and proofed! Hmmm..I’m thinking pain au chocolat needs to come about in this kitchen of mine pretty darn soon…

Ingredients:
For the dough (Detrempe)
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions:
1) Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk.
2) Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix well.
3) Sift flour and salt on your working surface (should have done this in a huge mixing bowl- running eggness all over the counter- of course!) and make a fountain. Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even. Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain. With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges. When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes. You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.

BUTTER BLOCK
1) Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Set aside at room temperature.
2) After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough. Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally. Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3) Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left. Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third. No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
4) Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns. Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight. The Danish dough is now ready to be used.

APPLE & FIG FILLING
Ingredients:
1 Harvest apple, cored, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
5 figs, cut up into 1/4 inch pieces
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions:

1)Toss all ingredients except butter in a large bowl.

2)Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat until slightly nutty in color, about 6 minutes. Then add the apple mixture and sauté until apples are softened and caramelized, 5 minutes, then stir in figs and cook for about 5 more minutes. Pour the cooked apples and figs onto a baking sheet to cool completely before forming the braid.

DANISH BRAID
Ingredients:
1 piece of Dough (cut the rectangle prepared above into another rectangle)
1 cup apple & fig filling

For the egg wash: 1 large egg

1) Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the Danish Dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes, then roll again. Place the dough on the baking sheet.
2) Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts with a knife, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made.
3) Spoon the filling you’ve chosen to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling. Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.

Egg Wash:
Whisk together the egg in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.

Proofing and Baking:
1) Spray cooking oil (Pam…) onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch. ( I let mine sit outside (80deg?) for about 2.5 hours!
2) Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
3) Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake about 15-20 minutes more, or until golden brown. Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature.

I let mine rest overnight and had a piece for breakfast the next morning! Incredibly amazing and delicious!

Check out the rest of my daring bakers!

Ah the classic sweets of a summer beach visit…

First and foremost is a ritual in my family and Stephanie’s - Fisher’s Popcorn. Now you can see the popcorn is all gone, but believe me! It is FANTASTIC.

Next- Saturday night we ventured out for a night on the town after a nice long day of running, shopping, and beaching! We found this ice cream shop (Maureen’s) in Bethany and could not have been happier! Steph got the key lime ice cream and I got the chocolate chip with sprinkles, PINK sprinkles!!!

The last and (actually first) dessert of the weekend was this Busy Day Cake I made! The cake recipe can be seen here, but the frosting was a new creation.

For the frosting, I melted 4 oz of cream cheese over a double boiler, added a cup of confectionery sugar, and a 2/3 cup of the raspberry sauce and mixed it well with my hand mixer. I frosted the cake and made sure to keep it all refridgerated (the frosting is not exactly solid at room temperature…). It looked like it was going to be a weird frosting but it worked out nicely!

Oh there is definitely something fishy in OC MD! It’s the delicious fresh fish I found at Crab N’ Cruz in Ocean Pines and subsequently made beautiful summer dinners with for two nights with my girl Stephanie!

We ventured down to the eastern shore on Friday night in preparation for our 4 mile Dewey Beach Classic Catering Race on Saturday! Stephanie had brought some delightful fresh veggies from a roadside stand and from her organic box service!

Friday’s dinner was a simple and fast one - cooked the corn in boiling water for 6 minutes, laden with butter and old bay, the greens and cucumbers were dressed with a simple viniagrette (red wine vinegar, evoo, lemon juice, s&p) and the exciting part- orange roughy! was sauteed in olive oil for about 6 minutes and dressed with butter, lemon juice, s&p and capers!

Saturday night was a similar meal- just with a little asian twist! Mahi Mahi was our fish of choice and both that and the beans (boiled in water for 5 minutes and then shocked in ice water, then reheated in the hot nonstick pan the fish was cooked in) were dressed with a cilantro sauce.

Sauce Ingredients: (that were pulverized in the food processor!)
handful of cilantro, washed and dried
1/2 cup evoo
2 tbsp red wine vingegar
s&p
1 tsp red pepper flakes
4 tbsp lite soy sauce
2 cloves garlic

These meals were delightful and very healthy! That’s good since we both read In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan while at the beach, which makes us want to vomit thinking about eating processed food… too bad I love processed food and uhhh ate oreos for dinner last night? with skim milk though!

Here is my lovely dinner from Monday night! Definitely a treat! Wegmans blessed me with fresh morels and I graciously obliged!

and I promise there are morels in there! This recipe comes courtesy of Ina from Barefoot in Paris! This is the third time I have made this chicken dish and it NEVER lets me down. And the roasted rosemary & garlic potatoes, and fresh sauteed peas from the Waverly Farmer’s Market were delicious too!

Ingredients:

10 fresh morels
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
1 tbsp butter & olive oil
1 small onion, chopped finely
1 clove minced garlic
1/3 cup Madeira wine
1 ounce of cream cheese, softened helps
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:
1)Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Rinse the morels with cold water and dry the morels lightly with paper towels. Chop into 1 inch pieces and set aside.
2)Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Dredge them in flour and shake off the excess. Heat half the olive oil and butter in a large saute pan (I used my dutch oven) and cook the chicken over medium-low heat until browned on both sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove to a plate.
3)Add the rest of the olive oil + butter to the pan along with the onions, chopped morels, and garlic. Saute over medium heat for 2 minutes, tossing and stirring constantly.
4)Pour the Madeira into the pan and reduce the liquid by half over high heat, 1 minute.
5)Add the cream cheese, cream, lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Boil until the mixture starts to thicken, 5 minutes.
6)Put the chicken back into the pot and spoon the sauce over the chicken and bake for 8 minutes, or until the chicken is heated through.

For the potatoes, I rinsed three russets and cut into wedges. Coat well with 1/3 cup olive oil, s&p, and 2 tbsp minced rosemary and 1 minced garlic clove. Roast for 1 hour at 400 degrees, turning once!

For the peas, I took a bit of the onion&garlic from the chicken recipe and sauteed that in 1 tbsp butter then sauteed the fresh peas for 5 minutes over low heat!

This was the last of the desserts on Saturday and boy was it yummy! The entire tart was promptly finished off on Sunday with my pops.

The recipe comes from Miss Mary at Alpineberry! My tart pan was a little smaller than hers so I cut the recipe by a third! (my measurements listed below have been adjusted!)

Ingredients:

1 cup finely ground chocolate cookie crumbs
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp melted butter
1 cup whole milk
1/8 tsp salt
2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3 tsp all purpose flour
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 tsp vanilla extract
2 ounces semisweet chocolate
3 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 tbsp light corn syrup

Directions:
For crust:
1) Preheat oven to 350F. Mix cookie crumbs and sugar in food processor until well mixed. Drizzle butter in and pulse until it looks like wet sand.
2) Press crumbs evenly into a 7-inch tart pan. Bake crust for about 10 minutes until fragrant. Let crust cool completely before filling (I put it in the fridge overnight)!

For the filling and glaze:
1) In a medium saucepan, bring milk and salt to a simmer. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, brown sugar and flour. Whisking constantly, slowly ladle in half of the hot milk over the egg mixture.
2) Pour mixture back into the remaining milk in the pan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens, about 4 minutes.
3) Continue to cook, still whisking constantly, for 1 more minute. Remove pan from heat and whisk in peanut butter and vanilla.
4) Pour hot filling into cooled crust and spread evenly. Carefully press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the filling (to prevent a skin from forming). Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before glazing.
5) For glaze, melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler over medium heat. Stir in corn syrup into the melted mixture until smooth. Remove plastic from chilled tart. Carefully pour the hot glaze over the filling and spread evenly to cover the filling. Chill the tart for 30 minutes before serving!

Here is another dessert from my girlie party on Saturday! It comes from Mrs. Ina Garten and even though it looks like a white mass of something…it was delicious! (with minor adjustments…)

I am submitting this to another one of Mike’s Table Food Challenges!

Ingredients:
12 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1.25 cups powdered sugar
2.5 cups cold heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp grapefruit extract
1 pint fresh raspberries

Sauce Ingredients (makes 2 cups- so I cut these amts in half):
1/2 pint fresh raspberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup raspberry jam
1 tbsp framboise liquer

Directions:
For Sauce:
1) Put raspberries, sugar and 1/8 cup water in small saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 4 minutes.
2)Pour the cooked raspberries, jam, and liquer into a food processor fitted with steel blade and process until smooth. Chill!
For the dessert:
1) Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar on high speed for 2 minutes with a mixer with paddle attachment (ina speaks the truth, this mixture gets crazy!)
2) Change the beater to the whisk, and on low speed add the heavy cream, vanilla, and zest and then beat on high speed until the mixture is very thick, like whipped cream!
3) Line a heart shaped mold with cheesecloth so the ends drape over the sides and place it on a plate, making sure there is space between the bottom of the mold and the plate for the liquid to drain. Pour the mixture into the cheesecloth, fold the ends over the top and refridgerate overnight (I left it in there for 3 days!) BUT the liquid never came out…so the mixture stayed creamy…and then I put the dish in the freezer to make it solidify a bit (30 minutes).
4) Unmold the cream, place it back in the freezer for 5 minutes, drizzle sauce and garnish with berries! Serve nice and chilled!

Basically a frozen smooth cream cheese ice cream! delish!

First- I would like to give a shout out to ma famille. Below is a picture of us on our vacation last summer in Burlington, VT.

I love them so much and words cannot express how thankful I have them in my life. There would be no “food on my table” if it was not for their love and support.

Second- Shari from Whisk Blog food blog tagged me! I am so honored!

The rules:

Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What was I doing ten years ago?
I was 15 and a sophomore in High School! (studying, singing, being crazy with mi familia and amigos)

What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today?
1. make a walmart run for sunscreen and soap
2. do a bit of laundry
3. make roasted rosemary garlic potatoes, sauteed peas and chicken with morels
4. take pictures of said food
5. eat said food

Five snacks I enjoy:
1. hummus and stacys pita chips
2. ben and jerry’s (coffee and/or chocolate flavor combinations)
3. masa tortilla with grandma’s beans and queso fresco
4. fresh baguette with soft butter and bonne maman raspberry jam
5. wheat cracker with melted brie cheese and a raspberry

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. make sure my entire family has a comfortable life
2. have amazing homes in Paris, Provence, Baltimore and on an exotic island
3. go to pastry school
4. decorate mine and mom’s home in authentic shabby chic-ness
5. Travel extensively with my loved ones

Places I’ve lived:
1. Jarrettsville, MD
2. Fredericksburg, VA
3. Baltimore, MD

Jobs I’ve had:
1. babysitter
2. golf course snack shop girl
3. biochemist
4. environmental chemist

Tag…you’re it!! Let’s hear from these five awesome bloggers!

Vanilla Basil

Parisian Cigarettes

Miss Cupcake Face

Cupcake Muffin

Fab Foods

This my friends is what I like to call heaven in a handbasket.

Now that makes no sense, but that’s okay. I made three lovely soufflés on Saturday for my delightful friends-Megan and Kim, and myself!

I love you french chocolate food. I really do.

see recipe below!

Ingredients
4 egg yolks
3 egg whites
4 oz dark chocolate
2 tbsp butter (plus a little more for ramekin coating)
3/4 tbsp raspberry liquer
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/6 cup sugar (plus little more for coating)

Directions:
1) Rub butter on ramekin and roll some sugar to coat the entire inside!
2) Melt chocolate and butter over double boiler, then add liquer and extract and mix well.
3) Cream egg yolks and sugar for 3 minutes until light yellow and thick, then mix into chocolate mixture.
4) In another bowl, beat egg whites until they are frothy, then add cream of tartar and continue to beat until really thick and strong! (4 minutes)
5) Fully stir in 1/4 of egg whites into chocolate mixture, then carefully fold in the rest of the egg whites until just incorporated.
6) Now I filled up my ramekins to the top and let them sit in the fridge for about three hours…and they turned out just fine, so thats awesome, but you could cook them immediately!
7) Preheat oven to 375 and cook for about 18 minutes until it smells nice and its puffy!