Heeere, piggy, piggy, piggy, piggy!

It's been a while since I've done one of my Sunday posts about the Patterson clan. Let's share a little, yes?

Miss Kate wasn't feeling well on the day we were going to take her to the National Zoo to celebrate her first birthday. While we have plans to get there in the next week, I wanted to wet her appetite with a visit to a local farm. So, we packed a lunch and met up with my friend Klysta and her little boy who's Kate's age. I wish I could tell you that the animals (such as those adorable little piglets in the photo) were her favorite part of the visit, but it turns out walking in the grass in the red shoes her grandma gave her was what got her most excited. Normally she loves to be in my arms, but every time I tried to pick her up and redirect her away from the edge of the grassy area where the driveway was, she'd stick her arms straight up in the air, so that I couldn't get a good grip under her armpits, and would let the rest of her body go limp, trying to collapse on the ground rather than be picked up. At least that's my only guess as to what she's trying to accomplish with such a oddly comedic position.

My Baby Girl's Going to Be a Race Car Driver

She doesn't even own a toy car, but she loves the them. Whenever her play-date buddies have cars, she chooses them over whatever else is available. She rolls them across the floor, chases them down, and rolls them again. Ever since she was a couple months old, she'd get upset at stoplights and quiet down as soon as the car started moving again. And today, she said her first word: "Car!"

Don't let the tutu fool you.

As for the proud parents, we're celebrating her achievement with yet another round of hot chocolate and Harry Potter by the fireplace. ...and by choosing not to dwell on things like Kate's poopy diaper that fell face down on Shawn's foot. :)

Mom's Helper Has a Promising Future

It's always a bit of a challenge to do a photo shoot with Kate in tow. While I appreciate her enthusiasm and willingness to assist, we often have conflicting creative visions. For example, when I was taking pictures of the spice cake, I wanted the milk to stay IN the pitcher. Kate thought that was too boring and wanted to take us in a more artistic direction.

Genius. I have to admit, after seeing the manifestation of her idea, I can no longer remember why I ever tried something as predictable as this.

Guess I'll keep her on the staff. I hope you're all enjoying your family on this cold, beautiful Sunday as much as I am mine. 

Back tomorrow with what's in season in February!

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Holy Toledo, we have been busy bees around here these days! Dinner with friends this past Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and today, if you can believe it! On top of that we had a basketball game, a farewell party for some wonderful friends of ours, and a baby shower. Somewhere in there Kate learned to step down the stairs, and Shawn & I managed to read a little of the 3rd Harry Potter book together. He's loving his first taste of the books, and I must say, this second time around for me still carries magic and suspense. Coming up for this week we have dinner with friends on Wednesday and Saturday. Whew! All of these gatherings have given me an excuse to make pasta from scratch for the first time ever (SO FUN!) as well as two of my very favorite dishes: Chicken Coconut Curry Soup and Buttermilk Spice Cake w/ cream cheese frosting. (Recipes coming soon!)

For the baby shower, I found myself so busy that I had to improvise a bit with wrapping. Brown craft paper (a favorite of mine), butcher's string, some chalk, and voila! Not too shabby, methinks, but then again I am a rather big fan of clean and simple.

Hope you're finding reasons and ways to celebrate even the most common aspects of your lives. See you tomorrow!

Sunday Treats

After battling illnesses at our home this week (-sorry for not posting these last few days-), yesterday my awesome, awesome, awesome husband decided to clean the entire house (including floors, dishes, and bathrooms) and then to run errands with me, which the man hates to do (run errands, not clean. He's actually a very tidy person.) I don't know what got into him, but I don't care. It was a fantastic day! While we were at Wegman's we picked up a couple of treats to set aside for the next day's breakfast. He went with the croissant, and I chose the muffin. Don't they look yummy? I assure you, they were.

Vanilla muffin and almond croissant.

As for today, we got to enjoy another delicious meal courtesy of my mother-in-law, who made, among other things, a creamy poppyseed chicken and rice dish. Sometimes Sundays with the fam. is just what the doctor ordered. Back soon with the rest of menu #2!

Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Holy Moly it's been a busy day! Anyone out there still awake? I'm looking forward to a nice, peaceful Sunday. Tomorrow night our good friends, the Hintons, who recently had a baby are coming to dinner and I'll be sharing with them a few of the dishes I'm sharing with you on this menu. I can't wait to see their little boy again!

This next recipe is one that I made for the first time about three years ago. It was one of three appetizers we served that night, and I can vividly remember the crowd of friends standing over this dish gobbling it up with enthusiasm. I love that it can be prepared the night before and popped in the oven a half hour before guests arrive. Who doesn't love a stress-saver like that on the day of a party? My husband likes it served with tortilla chips. I prefer baguette slices, warmed or prepared bruschetta-style. As an alternate, I go with pita chips. I opted for pita chips for this menu because I'm serving bread at the table, but it's really okay to serve one kind of bread with the appetizer and another kind of bread with dinner. But if you do go the pita route, try for a soft pita chip so your guests can hear each other over the crunching. :)

................................
Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip adapted from "The Comfort Table" by Katie Lee Joel 
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Serves 6


Ingredients
1 8-oz package cream cheese, room temp.
1 9-oz package frozen artichoke hearts (drained jarred or canned, cooked fresh, or frozen, but not marinated)
9 ounces raw spinach, steamed, and then squeezed to get out the excess water
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
2 garlic cloves
6 large fresh basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 2-quart baking dish.
In a food processor, combine the cream cheese, artichoke hearts, spinach, mayo, Parmesan, garlic, basil, salt, and pepper. Spoon into the baking dish. Top with the mozzarella. Bake until bubbling and the top is golden brown, 25-30 minutes.
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Serve this as a prelude to the rest of Menu #2!

Artichoke dip can be spread on crackers, baguette bread, grilled baguette or toasted bread, tortilla chips, or pita chips like you see in the photo.

It's Sunday!

The first Saturday in December, tree hunting!

Sunday's have always been a special day for my family. We'd spend the day together going to church, playing games at home, napping(!), and having a particularly nice Sunday dinner, of course!  Now that I have my own family, we carry on the same traditions. To make sure it stays that way, I've decided that on Sundays, I'll either post something about the Patterson clan or take the day off from blogging altogether. I hope you'll appreciate the personal touch instead of missing the food/hosting/music. Really, the reason any of that matters in the first place is because they're ways to elevate the time you spend with people you care about, right? Right!
With that said...
Christmas is just a week away! And Hanukkah begins at sunset on Tuesday! Shawn's brothers just flew in yesterday, so we'll be getting together with the family again this evening for one of those amazing Sunday dinners I was telling you about. And, let me tell you, their mom is a fantastic cook. The woman even makes her own rolls from scratch. Anyway, I hope today and this week for YOU and YOUR loved ones has lots of special moments... and lots of good food. ;)

A pint-sized tree for our pint-sized girl's first Christmas.

Poor baby was ready to go home... but what a fun day overall! Merry Christmas!

Happy Sunday!

Wishing you a Happy Sunday and that you and your family are staying out of trouble.. unlike certain members of mine.

Keep your Peppermint Patties under lock and key.

Back tomorrow with an Italian playlist. You'll fall in love. I promise. :)

Mini Chocolate & Almond Croissants

Good Morning! Warm croissants and cold apple cider, anyone?

Whatever else you offer at your next brunch, make sure you serve these as well. I've made the croissants as part of two menus this past month, and they've been the #1 requested recipe of each event. Lucky for you and me, they're really not difficult at all, especially once you've made them for the first time. Even better, you can prepare them the night before, so all you have to do in the morning is brush them with egg, sprinkle with sugar, and pop them in the oven for 15 minutes!

Here's the recipe by Chef Anne Thorton, adapted slightly and with photos.................................
Ingredients
1 17.3 ounce package or 2 sheets frozen puff pastry thawed
Flour, for dusting, if needed
2 Milka Milk Chocolate Confection chocolate bars, (or other good European chocolate,) broken into mini bars according to the indented lines (You'll use about 1.5 bars, so you can eat the rest while they're baking.)
1 large egg, beaten
Sugar, for sprinkling
1/2 (7-ounce) package almond paste, shaped into 32 logs each composed for about 1/4 tsp paste (or just 
reference the photos to see about the ratio of paste to chocolate you're going for)

Directions
Special equipment: pizza cutter or kitchen shears, ruler
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line the 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Place 1 sheet thawed puff pastry on the work surface like a sheet of paper or portrait (not horizontal or landscape.) If the pastry is very sticky, very lightly flour the working surface. Using a pizza cutter or kitchen shears, cut the puff pastry in half, widthwise.

Using a ruler as a guide, make an indentation at 2-inch intervals (for the base) across the bottom of each puff pastry half. Cut each half into 8 triangles, with the base of each triangle measuring 2 inches. (They will be very long isosceles triangles.) You'll end up discarding the 2 end pieces to get the most out of your puff pastry piece. Repeat the cutting for the second puff pastry sheet that will be used for the almond croissants.

Place 1 chocolate piece just above the 2-inch edge of 1 pastry triangle and top with one almond paste log. 

 

I couldn't find it in "package" form, so I went with this.

Fold the dough over the chocolate as you tightly roll up the dough, enclosing the chocolate and paste. Repeat with the remaining puff pastry and chocolate.

Place the pastry rolls on the baking sheet, seam-side down. Cover the croissants with plastic wrap and place the baking sheet in the refrigerator until the dough firms up. (You can make these croissants 1 day ahead up to this point.)

Be smarter than I was and don't forget the parchment paper... 

Just before baking, remove the croissants from the refrigerator, brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle lightly with sugar. 15 minutes in the oven will do it. (Tips: Even if you triple the recipe, you still only need one egg. Sprinkling the sugar from higher up ensures a more even coating.)................................

Anne suggests experimenting with your own fillers, like ham and cheese for a savory spin!

original recipe