junior kitchen

The perfect dish for little hands to help with.

And for a great recipe we used this one from 101 Cookbooks.

Christmas rocks.

Miami City Ballet’s Nutcracker is opening this week and we have one very excited ballerina dancing around our house. Making her stage debut in Miami as an angel we are geared up for two weeks of performances with the company.

We took off for Atlanta  and celebrated Thanksgiving with old friends.

So. Much. Fun.

Yesterday when we went to the library I grabbed a cookbook on French cooking and made this Savory Cheese and Chive Bread.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 – 1 teaspoon salt (depending on what cheese and add-ins you use)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper (I threw in a pinch of cayenne also)
3 large eggs at room temp
1/3 cup whole milk at room temp
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 generous cup coarsely grated Gruyere, Comte, Emmenthal, or cheddar. I used extra-sharp cheddar.
2 oz Gruyere, Comte, Emmenthal, or cheddar. I used a white, no-name Mexican cheese we had left in the fridge, similar in texture to Parmesan.
1/2 cup minced fresh chives, other herbs or thinly sliced scallions. I used chives and basil.
1/3 cup toasted walnuts (optional).  I opted not.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Butter a loaf pan. Recommended is 8×4 1/2×2 3/4 but you can use a slightly larger one if that’s all you have.

Whisk the dry ingredients together. Put the eggs in a bowl and whisk for about 1 min. Add the milk and oil and whisk everything together.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir together. Add the cheese and herbs. Don’t over-stir or you will toughen up the dough. Just stir until everything is moist. Turn it into the pan and smooth down the top with the back of the spoon. Bake for 35-40 mins or until golden brown.

Serve with a crisp white wine (for the grown-ups) and it’s heavenly.

We’ve been busy creating new styles. Please visit Retro Home and check them out.

We set up the telescope and invited friends and family to join us in celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon this past weekend. We ate homemade Mu Shu Pork and Mu Shu Tofu. We had sticky rice and red bean dumplings and for dessert we went non-traditional and made Red Velvet Whoopie Pies.

For several years I followed the practice of buying traditional Moon Cakes but I have to admit our local offerings are pretty slim and mail ordering seemed a bit extravagant this year. The kids loved these because they are delicious and although we adjusted the recipe and used less sugar (2 cups) they were still plenty sweet. The original recipe can be found here.

Little hands did a great job spooning the batter into little circles.

Using the pastry bag is Kitchen Daughter’s favorite part of the job.

Although the rest of the country may be feeling the beginning of fall weather here the kids swam in the moonlight and the girls wore flowers in their hair.

This recipe made an otherwise uninspired weekend morning a little more exciting.

Ingredients:

4 eggs
2 red potatoes – sliced
1/2 cup cheddar cheese – shredded
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 small yellow onion – chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the broiler.

Boil the potatoes to soften them up and then sliced them. Next using a cast iron skillet over med heat add the olive oil and cook the onions until soft and translucent. Add the potatoes and cook them until they brown on both sides. Whip the eggs together and pour over the potatoes. Sprinkle the cheese over the top. Add some salt and pepper to your liking and let the eggs set. Place the skillet under the broiler until the eggs are browned on top.

See more here