Eats: Dinner with Julia

In my mind, Julia Child has always been and will always be the pinnacle of French cooking. So it's not surprising that until this weekend, I had never made or followed a Julia Child's recipe in my life. They just seemed too intimidating, even though the grande dame herself is the one that made French cooking so easily accessible to people like me. In honor of what would be her 100th birthday, I gladly rolled up my sleeves and got to work making a dinner I'm sure Julia would be proud of: moules à la marienière (mussels steamed in white wine) avec les pommes frites (french fries) et pour le dessert, mousse au chocolat (chocolate mousse). 

In true Julia Child fashion, everything turned out marvelous, even though I'm sure I made a few mistakes along the way. Bon Appetit!

Eats: Tomates a la Provencal

As I've previously mentioned, N and I have been making an effort to hit our local farmer's market on a weekly basis. Not too long ago, we came home with these gorgeous, and extremely large, tomatoes from one of the local farmers' stands. I thought for quite some time how to best enjoy them, other than the usual slice and chop for a salad or sandwich, and had a eureka moment when I found this recipe on the wonderful blog Manger.

Heavenly... that's the only word to describe how wonderful these stuffed tomatoes really were. They tingled the taste buds in the best way possible. And I served them with an Orzo Salad recipe that I adapted from The Kitchn blog. Instead of Spinach pesto, I made Arugula pesto because we had bought some fresh arugula with our tomatoes. The peppery kick of the arugula went so well with the mellow richness of the broiled tomatoes.

A perfect summer meal! Bon Appetit!

Eats: Crepes

In the midst of my recent vacation daydreams and revisiting past trips, I remembered my visit to France in high school. One of the first things I wanted to try when I arrived was a real French crepe. After all, I had been taking French lessons and learning about French culture since the First grade and it was high time I got to sink my teeth into one of those delectable French "pancakes". 

This past weekend, the craving struck! I really wanted a crepe - stuffed with that hazelnut spread, the infamous Nutella, and strawberries. I probably ate a couple dozen of these that month I spent in France and it was finally time to try to make them at home. I used this crepe recipe and then slabbed a good helping of Nutella and sliced strawberries inside. They were delicious and nearly as good as I remember the authentic French crepes I ate that summer to be. Bon appetit!

Eats: Mango & Kale

N and I have been making an effort to visit our local farmers market more often. Last week, we came home with a bunch of kale and a few other goodies. Having never had kale before, we decided to pair it with an extra sweet mango and some roasted pumpkins seeds when we found this recipe. It did not disappoint - it was earthy and sweet and made us want to eat good, healthy superfoods way more often!

Eats: Simple Scones

I made these scones this weekend; mostly because N and mine's teas obsession has reached new heights (who doesn't want tea and scones? Together they are heaven!) but also because I've been wanting to try my hand at making my own scones. This recipe for Sweet White Scones adapted by Martha Stewart from Petersham's Nursery that Emma posted on her blog, The Marion House Book, was simple, delicious and really quite dreamy topped with strawberry preserves. I actually halved the recipe so we wouldn't end up with an abundance of scones with no one to eat them all and they turned out just perfect.

Sweet White Scones 
slightly adapted from Martha Stewart and Petersham's Nursery


Ingredients:
3 1/8 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
Pinch of salt

1/8 cup plus 1 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 heaping tablespoon baking powder
6 tablespoons (3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
3 large eggs
just under 1 cup plus 1 tablespoons milk
Granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Directions:
Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, superfine sugar, and baking powder. Make a well in the center and add butter. Using your fingers, work butter into flour mixture until a crumbly mixture is formed.
In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 eggs and milk. Add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir to combine.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead lightly and shape into a round. Roll dough out until it is 1 inch thick. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter, cut out scones and transfer to prepared baking sheets.
In a small bowl, beat remaining egg and brush the top of each scone; sprinkle each with granulated sugar. Transfer baking sheets to oven and bake until golden brown and cooked through, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer scones to a wire rack and let cool slightly before serving.


Yields approximately 12-14 scones.