Mother's Day Catch Up

Still playing catch up.  Mother's Day weekend was lovely.  Tim's parents came up for the weekend.  Tim cooked a delicious meal and we pulled out the Amsterdam tulipiere because we had our double daffodils blooming.  Mom looked so cute in a new sweater and Tim's Mom gave her a cute floral vintage pin.  Sunday, Tim made and Egg Strada and blueberry waffles - so nice!

May Birthday Catch Up

I am playing catch up with postings at the moment.  There has been so much going on in our lives for the past few months that I am completely behind.  So, pardon me as I catch up.   My birthday came and went and Tim did an awesome job of making it special despite my constant attempt to deny that I was having a birthday.  He took me to this great restaurant in the city which is our current favorite place to go - Taboon.  Awesome cocktails and beautiful light space.   The food is mediterranean and we started with fried cheese and ceviche and then octopus and lamb meatballs and dessert and GIFTS!  The theme was outdoor grilling and I got some awesome new tools and cookware.   Thanks Tim for a great day!

Exploring....

Robert Moore Shuford was my Grandfather.  An incredibly gentle, loving, intelligent, soul.  This week - I was helping my Uncle and Aunt pack and leave North Carolina to move to Florida.  They are awesome and incredibly generous.  Over the past couple years as they transitioned from larger homes to smaller homes - they have had to slowly leave behind objects that they can no longer fit into their new lifestyles and homes.  I am glad to say that I am the fortunate and grateful recipient of some of their treasures.  Both my Grandfather and Uncle were wood workers and I love that I will carry on this tradition.  Both Grandfather and Uncle were engineers in different fields but very specialized.  My Grandfather was an engineer for Frick refrigeration and the top photo was him working in his offices. His back to the photographer - I love this pic.  I also love the pic of my Grandfather working in his wood shop in his basement in Pennsylvania.  I am going to blow this up and frame it to put in my wood shop.  I have another photo of my Uncle which I plan to blow up as well and hang it along with my Grandfather's pic.  One of the "gifts" this week is this amazing set of drawers and workbench that my Grandfather made some decades ago.  They are beat up but still functional - but it's what is in the drawers that is magical.  All of these great tools and bits and chisels that he used while working on many of his projects.  There are also meticulous notes he took while working on projects in his impeccable hand.  He had amazing penmanship.  Every drawer I opened was an intimate peak at his personality.  So excited to spend hours exploring and getting to work with his and my Uncle's tools.  

Chicken and Sweet Potato Sheet Pan Meal

In the spirit of eating healthier and making our lives easier and with less clean up.  Sheet Pan cooking is great.  We have been creating a library of sheet pan meals for a couple years and this one was pretty outstanding.  Minimal prep and clean up time and awesome flavor!

CHICKEN AND SWEET POTATO SHEET PAN DINNER

• 1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes (2 medium potatoes)
• 2 teaspoons chopped thyme leaves, plus a small bunch of thyme sprigs
• ¼ cup whole-grain mustard
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 3 pounds bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks (or a mixture), patted dry
• 2 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• ⅔ cup plain dried bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling
• 1 pound broccoli rabe, trimmed ( We substituted regular broccoli)
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• ⅓ cup sour cream or Greek yogurt

1. Prepare the sweet potatoes: Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut the potatoes into 1-inch-thick slices. Reassemble the slices so they look like intact potatoes. Insert a sprig of thyme between each of the slices. Wrap each potato in 2 layers of foil and place on a pie tin or directly on oven rack (seam side up). Bake until very tender, 60 to 75 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make the mustard butter for the chicken: In a small bowl, combine the whole-grain mustard and chopped thyme leaves. Mince 2 garlic cloves and stir into the bowl. Take out 1 tablespoon of the mixture; reserve. Add butter and Dijon to remaining mixture in bowl and stir to combine.
3. Prepare the chicken: Season chicken with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Rub mustard butter all over chicken. Place bread crumbs in a wide, shallow bowl. Coat the chicken evenly with bread crumbs. Transfer to a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.
4. Once the sweet potatoes have baked for a half-hour, add the pan with chicken to the oven and bake until chicken is golden and no longer pink, 35 to 40 minutes.
5. As the chicken cooks, prepare the broccoli rabe: Toss rabe with olive oil, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and the red pepper flakes. Smash remaining 2 garlic cloves and toss into rabe. Spread on another sheet pan. Add to the oven with potatoes and chicken for the last 10 minutes of cooking time. The broccoli rabe is done when the stems are tender and the leaves are crisp at the edges. (The chicken, sweet potatoes and broccoli rabe should all come out of the oven at more or less the same time.)
6. To serve, combine the reserved 1 tablespoon of mustard mixture with sour cream or yogurt in a small bowl. Serve chicken with broccoli rabe and sweet potatoes on the side, dolloping the potatoes with the sour cream-mustard sauce.

Spring Is Here

The warm weather, the trees budding, irises coming up and what is this?  A blizzard?  6" of snow this morning and more coming!  So much for no winter this year!

Breakfast Casserole for Two

Drizzly, grey April weekend.  Mom napping. Tim making breakfast. Yum!

Breakfast Casserole for Two

3 slices bacon, chopped ( we substituted ham)
2 slices hearty white sandwich bread, cut into 1/2" pieces
4 tablespoons heavy cream
4 large eggs
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 scallions, sliced thin
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1. Adjust oven rack to upper middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Cook bacon in 8 inch nonstick, oven safe skillet over medium heat until crisp about 8 minutes.  Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pan.
2. Add half of bread to skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown.  3 to 5 minutes.  Transfer to medium bowl and toss with untoasted bread.
3. Whisk cream, eggs, salt, and pepper in another medium bowl until smooth.  Stir in bacon, scallions, and cheddar. Add egg mixture to now-empty skillet and cook over medium heat, using spatula to scrape bottom of pan, until eggs are just beginning to set, about 1 minute. Fold in bread and lightly pat mixture into even thickness. Bake until puffed and golden brown, 7 to 9 minutes. Serve.

and now for something totally adorable....

Sookie flirting with me.