little ms foodie

That tart is really pretty chufi, and I love love love risotto! Will try the carmelized leeks next time, Had that in a restaurant once and they put a nice little bundle of crispy ones right on top...yum!! Ate out last night.............

Chateauneuf du Pape is one of my favorite wines!! You know we hardly ever use our decanters except when serving magnums or something that has a lot of sediment. I've also been told that we should actually be decanting our young wines and leaving the old ones in the bottle as Really Nice! said.

Emeril has a recipe for it

Please keep in mind that I have only gotten to page 3 today but I just wanted to throw a couple of ideas out for the next time (or person) who does this type of tasting menu. I just did one and 2 things in particular worked our really well. 1) shrimp ceviche with pomegranate and fennel. Total make ahead and the pomegranate seeds looks like rubies among the ceviche. We served this in martini glasses. Looked and tasted really nice. 2) I have wedding china and of course that comes with the tea cups that no one ever uses. I served my soup in the tea cups, perfect size for tasting menu. I had gruyere croutons in the soup and cut the bread down to fit. I have to say that your organizational skills rock! I'm taking notes and stealing ideas for Christmas!

Unfortunately we'll be out of town Jan 6 & 9 but if it's on the 13th I think we will try to make it. Wendy

Sam, great blog!!!! I just started reading and now must go back and start on page one....this isn't helping my day job you know! I'm very interested to see what all can be made in advance and held. I did a large (for me) dinner party last weekend and made quite a bit in advance but even now see there was more I could have done. This will be a great learning experience! thank you! Wendy

hubby made a really excellent thick winter minestrone last night!! mmmm, so good. Served with crusty rosemary bread and roasted garlic butter and a nice red wine! pumpkin cookies for dessert!

We tried the lillet blond with some leftover rose last night as an aperitif and it was soooo good!!! Great idea! I have a half of bottle of the red in my fridge, so far I haven't liked it but I'm still looking for other good ideas. I hate to toss it!

Great! Depending on the date chosen we may be interested in this outing!!!

Hey Rocky, Where is this place? I'm not familiar! Wendy

We use Metaxa brandy in our sidecars. And I like mine with orange juice vs. lemon. Does that still make it a sidecar??

...Breakfast is a great way to consume it, at least it is from the looks of your breakfasts! For breakfast on the porch this morning I had leftover steak and eggs in a different form than usual... after yesterday morning I had my fill of runny yolks, so I had a Little Ms. Foodie -style egg on a cold plate. ← Looks fabulous and reminds me that I need to boil some eggs! On Sunday Dayne made a very yummy scramble with some left over Italian sweet sausage, mix of herbs, pepper jack and gruyere cheese. toasted baguette and butter. Apple cider. This morning was baguette toasted with goat cheese. I need more ideas for quick weekday breakfasts!

The wierd thing is, Marcella Hazan has a recipe for canapes of mortadella and gherkins, processed together into a paste. I don't think Marcella knows about cheez whiz though... These sound as bad as the "cowboy sandwiches" we were served at a friend's house (the same friend who makes terrific tapenade; go figure?). Velveeta and spam, ground up, smeared on hamburger buns and broiled. Served open-faced. The dog wouldn't even eat them. ← My husband was just telling me that his mom use to make this and he loved it! He said there needs to be mayonaisse mixed in after the bologna and pickles are ground up.

At least you were only 10! I did this same thing a few months back when I finally found my mom's meatloaf recipe and was really happy to make it for my husband. Then we ate it, and had to drink about a liter of water because of the salt!!!

Holy crap!! This exact same thing happened to me in the south of France this summer!!Soooo funny!

mmmm ludja your party sounds great too!!! Love the trio of salad idea!! Dinner tonight- easy peasy! leftover shrimp ceviche on greens, grilled salmon with cajun rub and roasted delicata squash with chili lime butter

I'd be happy to taste test!!

25!! wow, I had a heck of a time with service for 8! looks like frisee is the "in" salad of the moment!

We had a really fun dinner party for 8 last night. It was a blind wine tasting where each person brought either a Chardonnay base, Pinot Noir base or Merlot base wine. We brown bagged the wines, I paired them with 6 courses and then we voted for the winners and revealed the wines. No pictures as I was busy plating and serving!! CA sparkling served at the door Amuse of vanilla foam with potatoes Menu Chardonnay Shrimp Ceviche with Fennel and Pomegranate Frisee Salad with Lardon and Quail Egg Pinot Noir Garlic Soup with Gruyere Crouton Butternut Squash Flan with Parmesan Sage Sauce Merlot Dijon Crusted Rack of Lamb with Potatoes Joel Robuchon Cheese Plate (Brie, P'tit Basque, New Amsterdam) Wine Poached Pears Filled with Mascarpone in Caramel Sauce McCrea Late Harvest Viognier 02’ A friend brought an Okanogan Ice Wine which we also drank! YUM!!

Quail with grapes and tarragon!! It's very easy and sooooo tasty! Just put a sprig of tarragon in each quail and season. Heat about 2 TBS of clarified butter in in a deep saute pan and brown the birds on all sides. Add 2/3 c. of white wine and boil for 30 secs. add 1 2/3 c. chicken stock and about 5oz of green seedless grapes. Cover the pan and simmer for about 8 mins till quails are cooked thru. Take out the quails and grapes and reduce the sauce till syrupy. Strain it and pour over quails and grapes and serve. This is soooooo yummy!!!!

Pike Place Creamery told me they get theirs almost every Wed.

Ling, how was it? I need to try that against the BB I made last week!

great review and they are on Open Table which I love using!! this might be the spot!

We will be spending one night in South Beach and I've heard that Wish might be a good restaurant to check out for dinner. Anyone have recent experiences here?

Well that sounds like a fantastic meal! I only wish my parents would have taken me to such exotic restaurants! Very nice of you, I'm sure it will be an experience he won't ever forget! Wendy