I Want My Dessert - NOW!

We had a lot to drink Saturday night and had an amazing dinner. Apparently, it wasn't enough for D because as we were watching Nine, she suddenly blurts out - " I want my dessert, now." I think she was trying to pay Tim a compliment - because the galette smelled so good.

Apple-Pear Galette

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for the surface

2 9 inch refrigerated pie crusts

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons apricot preserves

3 Empire, Gala, or Cortland apples, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick

3 Bartlett pears, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 large egg, beaten

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, place one piecrust on top of the other and roll the stack into one 16 inch circle. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Spread 1/4 cup of the preserves on the crust, leaving a 2 inch border.

2. In a large bowl, toss the apples, pears, flour, lemon juice, ginger, cinnamon and 3 tablespoons of the sugar. Transfer to the crust, leaving the border clear. Fold the edges of the crust over the fruit mixture.

3. Brush the egg on the crust and sprinkle with the remaining teaspoon of sugar. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the fruit is tender. 50 to 60 minutes.

4. In a small saucepan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of preserves and 1 tablespoon water over medium heat until liquid, 2 to 3 minutes. Brush on the fruit. Serve warm or at room temperature.

On A Scale of 1-10, Nine!

Until Tim buys our next car - some beautiful convertible that will seat 4-6 people, we are limited to who we can invite from the city for the weekend. The reason we are limited is because of the size of the back cab of our pick-up. Whoever we invite must either be a contortionist, or very petite and definitely a good sport. Thank God, my friend D is all of the above. She squeezed into the jump seat of our truck and we drove up on Friday night without a hitch. It was almost a perfect weekend.

Saturday, Tim made Cloud pancakes for breakfast and then we took off for the day. It was gorgeous out. We stopped at Fisk House in Bovina. There was a barn tag sale on HWY 28 and I bought an armchair frame. We flung it in the back of our much maligned truck. We hit a couple of antique stores in downtown Delhi and I picked up two sets of vintage Pyrex bowls. On the way to Walton, we picked up water plants and herbs at Green Thumb nursery. Tim had seen this tiered herb garden on Martha Stewart and wanted to recreate it. Tim worships Martha Stewart. I believe she has endless issues and can't stand the way she butchers the word herb - (pronounced Herb). In Walton, we shopped used books and had lunch. We picked up fish for the pond. We shopped groceries, drove home and Tim started cooking. Neighbors of ours stopped by and we had cocktails. Tim made a special sangria for the occasion. Tim made grilled lamb chops with lemon chutney, grilled sweet potatoes with a scallion and maple glaze, red cabbage salad and an apple and pear galette. Everything was delicious. We all passed out watching the movie - "Nine." It was our second time trying to watch it.

D sleeps late. I don't. I got up and made a pot of coffee, washed dishes and sat by the pond and watched the tadpoles. I tried to find the fish that we had put in the pond on Saturday. Tim made an egg strata and we sat watching "Nine" again. How could they ruin this play? Tim wants to be Kate Hudson. We drove to Andes and we wanted to shop my favorite store, Delaware, but it was closed along with several other stores. They didn't get the memo that we were in the mood to shop and to please be open for our friend. We drove to Margaretville and shopped Home Goods where I found a great grill pan and another pyrex casserole dish. A new used bookstore opened up - I could spend hours and hours at used bookstores. We shopped furniture and a yarn store where Tim got attacked by a laughing cockatoo. I nearly peed my pants when it jumped on his shoulder. We spent the afternoon sunning, planting herbs and worrying about the fish. Weekends like this, give us the opportunity to enjoy our home and learn more about the community that we have adopted. We also get to share it with our friends.

D emailed me monday to let me know that frogs eat fish and basically we had fed the frogs and tadpoles a gourmet meal. Poor fish.

Cloud Pancakes

I love pancakes! These are incredibly light and fluffy.

6 large eggs, separated

2 cups small curd cottage cheese

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon coarse salt

Pinch of ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Unsalted butter for cooking

Maple syrup for serving

Berries for serving

1. In a medium bowl, combine the egg yolks, cottage cheese, flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Stir to combine.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar, and beat on medium-high speed until stiff glossy peaks form.

3. Whisk 1/3 of the egg whites in to the egg yolk mixture to lighten. Gently but thoroughly fold in the remaining whites.

4. In a large, nonstick skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Drop batter. 1/4 cup at a time, into pan. Cook until golden brown and set. 2 to 4 minutes more. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve immediately, with maple syrup and berries.

Birthday Boy

Great birthday weekend. Tim doted on me. I gained 40 pounds as a result. Grilled tilapia tacos for dinner and Inside Out German Chocolate Cake with chocolate frosting for desert. Cloud pancakes for breakfast...mmmmm!

Horrible weather but lots of chores...installing cabinets in the laundry room, painting the mantel mirror, and unpacking more moving boxes. My parents called to sing Happy Birthday Sunday morning. 3 of my closest friends all share May birthdays so we were emailing each other all weekend. My first Facebook birthday - what a treat! You get hundreds of birthday greetings on Facebook and then the greetings are also emailed to you on aol. I feel so special.

Le Creuset

It's my birthday this week and I am at a certain age where I need to treat myself to get through these more advanced senior years. I turn 48. I get no kick from clothes, spa treatments or jewelry - however, I can walk into Williams-Sonoma and my heart just goes pitter pat.

I collect red Le Creuset and I went onto the Williams-Sonoma website to purchase a five quart braisier to compensate for the birthday. I was sitting at my desk and one of my assistants entered my office and noticed the braisier on my computer screen. She said, "Oh how pretty" and inquired as to the price of the casserole dish. I showed her the cost and she gasped - "I could buy a pair of Prada flats for that." I responded, "My casserole dish will be around a lot longer when your Prada flats will have been re-soled 3-4 times." She said, "For that price you could be buried in it." I did a double take and said - "You know, that is not a bad idea."

Tim and I had been speaking about purchasing an urn for Grace's ashes. I had a brain storm. I decided how perfect it would be to be buried in my Le Creuset! I will be buried in the five quart dutch oven, Tim can be buried in the oval dutch oven because he is taller, Grace will be buried in the panini pan and my dog, Rupert, will go in the braisier. Such a great way to use expensive cookware.

I had to tell the saleswoman for Williams-Sonoma over the phone that they had a new way to market the cookware - she didn't seem amused.

Firecracker Hot

It was so hot this weekend. 80 degree weather. Whew! We were working out in the yard all day on Saturday - pulling out all of the outdoor furniture, moving the picnic table, spraying terra cotta pots with acrylic spray to seal them, unloading paving stones from the back of the truck and pouring concrete paving stones. I kept ducking into the basement to cool off.

Our neighbors, M & M, who live two miles down the road, had us over for dinner. We went over around six to watch the Kentucky Derby and Tim made his sticky wings for the occasion. We were going to make mint juleps but somehow the local grocery store missed this occasion to stock up on fresh mint. Mrs M makes custom wood furniture and gave us a tour of her woodshop and showed us a beautiful sideboard on which she is working.

The dinner was amazing - grilled salmon with a great sauce, pea mash, roasted parsnips and potatoes. It was really good and then Mrs. M made a peanut butter and chocolate tart as an early birthday desert (my birthday is next weekend). We had a great time and drove home very full.

On Sunday, after chores were finished, it had gotten so hot outside that we stayed indoors all day. We read magazines and watched movies - "Sid and Nancy","2012", "Whip It", and "Where the Wild Things Are."

Tim had made two batches of wings so we had leftovers for lunch and leftover peanut butter and chocolate tart for dessert.

Sunday morning, we got a call from my mother who told us about the car bomb attempt in Times Square. The car was parked a block away from our apt. Tim is ready to sell the apartment and move to Bovina permanently. I want a life where the hardest decision that I have to make is what to cook for dinner. I think Tim is ready for that too!