It was potluck. Everyone had to bring something. I brought these baked goodies from Dutch Delicious Bakery. I may have cheated but no one explicitly said no to bringing store-bought goods.
I couldn't pronounce most of the goodies if I tried but that doesn't matter as there are just some things in the world that are international understood. Delicious baked goodies crosses all language barriers.
The folks at Dutch Delicious were really helpful and answered all my "what's in that one?" or "what does that taste like?" Individual marzipan-covered cakes, butterfly cookies and the melt in your mouth pink & white meringues.
I'll be back to the store to poke around as they have all sorts of Dutch and other European goods.
Sorry no recipe.
I haven't been cooking or baking too much the last several weeks but I felt like making a waldorf-inspired salad. I'm so eager for spring, even eating salads doesn't seem to be bringing it on.
On the topic of salads, the other day I bought a new salad dressing and after shaking it well, I went to pour it onto my salad and drenched my lettuce leaves. Apparently, this bottle did not have the pour spout top. I would say 99% of the store-bought dressings I purchase have that small pouring spout so when it does not, I get taken aback. Because it happens rarely enough, I never think to check it first.
It has become my pet peeve. This isn't the first time it has happened to me. My family loves to take little jabs and make funny comments every time I grab a salad dressing at family dinners.
"Har har har" I reply.
I will never live that one down.
To the person who came up with the small pour spout tops, I thank you. To all those food companies, please use them. Use them every time and on every brand of your dressings.
Please and thank you.
I have to admit that I have not given eggplants much face time in my kitchen. They don't usually make it in the grocery cart. But every so often, I get bored with the usual vegies I buy and decide to try something different. And these beautiful little eggplants caught my attention. And I get to use a mandolin with this recipe!
Truthfully, any time I get to use a mandolin, I get giddy (and partially petrified!) I feel like a real chef with my mandolin but am so paranoid that I will slice some fingers off at the same time so I am uber careful.
I remember being at a friend's home and her Italian mother brought out all sorts of dishes of food baked in tomato sauce. So I figured I'd do the same here.
Spoon your favorite tomato sauce in a baking dish, then a layer of eggplant slices, some more sauce and continuing to layer until all the eggplant is used up. Cover with foil, bake at 425C for about 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake uncovered for another 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.
I've been following a low-carb life the last month or so (with the exception of some special instances and family gatherings over dinner). Lately it has been a lot of eggs for lunch. It's simple and quick. And this time I added wilted spinach as a side dish.
Have a great weekend!
Today is my birthday and yesterday we had a family dinner to celebrate the occasion.I knew my hubby did not think about my birthday cake (I'm in charge of all things cake in this house!) so I told him I wanted a birthday cake. I didn't want to make my own cake nor was there any time for him to make one so told him I wanted a store bought one. But, I voiced my dislike before on my blog about typical grocery store "cakes". Took me a few minutes to think what I wanted and then I called Duchess Bake Shop asking if they had any Duke cakes in their case.
They had one and it was first come, first serve.
I sent my hubby out ASAP.
It was chocolate heaven.
Happy Birthday to me indeed.
