They have a cooking class on Sur Le Table called “Date Night Paris”.  It is a class where the recipes impress me because I like French recipes and I think it would be fun to try out the recipes on my own Date night.  I searched for recipes that I saw and the first one I found and pinned to my French Recipes board is Perfectly Seared Salmon with white wine sauce.  The recipe I found on a blog included putting the salmon with the sauce over squash noodles which is fun, also.  Love it.

Then the class included grilled asparagus with tarragon and chive butter.  They don’t give the recipe out, so I had to figure out how to try and make it.  So I found a recipe for grilled asparagus to get the grilling time and some tips on how to make it.  Then I figured that they must have used compound butter with the herbs mixed in it and then put pieces of that butter over the asparagus while it was grilling.  So I found a recipe for citrus herb compound butter and substituted lemon for orange and added tarragon and chives for the herbs.  I figured dried tarragon and fresh minced chives might work.  And to add more flavor, I added my own touch of tossing the asparagus in 2 teaspoons of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar with 2 teaspoons of olive oil before putting on a grill pan.  Will have to experiment with it and figure out what might work.

I found a blog that had compound butters and just got ideas from that, also.

Then they had “Sweet Pea Souffles”.  Looks impressive and I found a recipe for that to try and pinned the recipe on my French Recipes board.

Then they had Mousse au Citron with Fresh Strawberries.  I found that recipe on Saveur and pinned it to my French Recipes board.

While I was looking for recipes, I came across a recipe for Ham and Gruyere Croissants that looked really good and I pinned it to my French Recipes board.

Then I was looking for seasoning blends and came across some neat ideas and pinned the recipes to my seasonings board on Pinterest.

I like French recipes and if the recipes are good, they can’t help but come out.  But I always try to see if I can make them before I try them out on like a Date night.  Every once in a while, I surprise myself and the recipe is a keeper.

I don’t live near any of the Sur Le Table cooking classes.  I think the nearest one is in Natick, MA.  But trying out their ideas is the next best fun for me.

And that is my thoughts for today.

I can’t wait until the weather is good to go bike riding and bring along a Spring picnic.  My gentleman friend and I go out to South Pomfret leaving the car at the Billings Farm in Woodstock.  It’s about a 10 mile ride if you count 5 miles out and 5 miles back.  Plus he usually wants to ride the bikes a little further when we get back to go into Woodstock town.

I like to pack a couple of wraps that are always fun.

Then a couple of salads in a mason jar.  I like to put the dressing in the bottom of the jar and then you just shake the jar for a nice salad.

And then another fun and easy dessert is to make a strawberry shortcake in a mason jar using pound cake, strawberries and whipped cream.

It’s really a beautiful time of year when the lilacs and tulips are out.

Also, the clear mountain air is just awesome.

There is a bike trail that goes along Lake Champlain in Burlington and you can look across the lake to the Adirondak Mountains in New York state.  It’s really pretty, and we want to try that trail this year sometime.  We sometimes go on a neat bike trail in Stowe that goes along the river and it has bridges that have a slight arch to them that are not that much fun to go across.  Plus it is a very long trail that has a lot of walkers and people with baby carriages that make it a little hard to get around on the trail.  We roller bladed on the trail a couple of times, but then again the bridges were not fun.

If you come down Interstate 89 from Burlington, there is an exit that has beautiful mountain views and over to the side there used to be these two whale tails.  I don’t know if they are still there, but so fun to see.

Sometimes it’s just fun to go for a car excursion on Interstate 91 and stop along the way and have a picnic.  The views along the Connecticut River are just beautiful.

Bringing along little individual cherry pies are always a treat.  Then plenty of water in the cooler and maybe a potato salad like my Mom used to make.  Maybe some cold cuts and of course snack stuff.

I love it when the Spring Crocus are out.  The colors are so pretty and they make like a carpet.  I’ve seen people plant them in a circle around a tree, also.

I like the above coffee mug.  Whenever my parents went up to northern Vermont, they called it going “up north”.

I love little paths in a garden and stone walls.  Some people just have beautiful gardens.  The one above looks like a little secret garden and so peaceful.  Summer is just around the corner.

And that is my thoughts for today.

 

I saw the cutest cupcakes on Cupcake Wars on the Food Network.  I was hoping to find the recipes for the cupcakes on the Food Network episode, but they only gave the recipe for the one that says “Turtle Power” on it which is a Quatro Leches Cupcake.  It has a whipped cream frosting.  It has 4 milks in the recipe, which are condensed, evaporated, whole milk and coconut milk.  That mixture Leches is poured into the cupcake in little poke holes after cupcake is baked and makes for a super moist and delicious cupcake.

Then the chocolate cupcake recipe, I had to really search for and do not know how I found it.  But it is just plain cute and would be awesome to have for a special occasion for kids.  It’s called “Turtle Power Turtle Cupcakes”.  The turtle is just green gumballs with fondant for headbands and hands.  It has royal icing for eyes and a chocolate cookie dusted with silver luster dust for the manhole cover.  The cupcake recipe is one that the $10,000.00 winners use in their bakery.  It sounds really good as it has 2 sticks of butter, semi sweet melted chocolate, cocoa, buttermilk, sour cream and walnuts for just some of the ingredients.  Then there is a recipe for the caramel sauce  and chocolate meringue buttercream frosting.  I pinned the recipes on my Cupcake Pinterest board.

On Etsy, they have the above cupcake toppers that would be cute on the cupcake recipes and would be super fast and easy to top the delicious cupcake recipes with.  But they cost $25.00 which is a little much for the set.  But they would be easy to make just by using fondant and a chocolate wafer cookie and from looking at the design.

I get lots of ideas from watching the Food Network.  I was really impressed with the “Alex’s Day Off- Steakhouse Dinner” episode.  I mean Alex Guamaschelli is a professional chef that has a restaurant in New York City.  She made a Steak house dinner that showed what a steak house restaurant in New York would serve, but she upped it up one notch by adding her own personal touches.

She used a 2-inch Porterhouse Steak and grilled it a crispy golden brown in a cast iron skillet and topped it with oozy maitre d butter and gave the recipe for the butter.  She showed what to look for in a Porterhouse Steak when they showed her visit to the butcher shop to get the steak.

Then the salad she made was awesome.  She grilled some of the Romaine and chopped up the rest of the Romaine and combined it with fresh basil leaves.  She made an awesome Caesar dressing in the blender and topped the whole thing with crumbled blue cheese.  She said that it was like a salad she had in a Steak house and recreated for herself.

Then the stuffed mushrooms looked really good the way she prepared them.  The stuffing was a blend of sauteed onions, garlic and sour cream.  Then she added Parmesan on top and baked the sauteed button mushroom caps that she put that stuffing mixture on top.

Alex made all that for herself on her day off.  And she said it was like going to a Steak house Restaurant with a combo of the steak her Dad used to make and her own touches.  What a very impressive and fun show to watch.  I pinned all the recipes just to have on my Pinterest boards.

And I like to watch Martha Stewart’s Cooking School.  Her episode on
Stews was on today.  I like how she made Coq au Vin.

Then from last week, I liked how Nancy Fuller on Farmhouse Rules, went to an Antique auction and bought some antique flutes for over $1,000.00.  I saw some crystal antique flutes on Ebay that looked a lot like the flutes she had the money for and they would be affordable to me for only $35.00.  And they are a set of 8.  I love them.

Nancy Fuller also bought an Antique table that I think was over $3,000.00.  I love the idea of a beautiful Antique table.  The one that I like is expensive but 1/3 of the price that Nancy liked and included chairs.  Still a little much for me, but on my dream list.

I would have a French Blue rug under it an cushions to match.   And that hutch is just beautiful.  It would be beautiful to display those antique looking flutes.

I saw the above cute chalkboard on Ebay.  The mason jar holds tea bags.  I just think that it is adorable and would be fun to have.

L

I would love to have some  Lavender in a container like the above.

And I love the idea of having tea in the garden.

And that is my thoughts for today.

 

It’s a cold and rainy morning in March.  The kind of morning where your glad you broke down and actually bought those pair of warm socks in the Men’s department.  Then it takes  coffee to get the energy to go out and get coffee.

Maybe some afternoon tea lightens the day……….

Then to really cheer up the day, a Margarita Pizza.  Just something about it.

Add a nice salad……

Plus a glass of wine with the fireplace going to take the chill off…..

Who says rainy, chilly March days have to be dreary.

 

 

 

 

Beautiful sunrise in the mountains.

Wishing you all a Happy Easter.  I love Easter Lillies.  They are just so beautiful and the sweetest aroma.

Holidays are always fun if you have kids.

A nice Easter morning breakfast is always a treat.

Sunshiney colors…….

Eggs Benedict is always fun………

Or a Cheddar and asparagus Spring Omelette…….

Cinnamon Rolls are always a treat……..

And can’t forget Limoncello and Prosecco with raspberry ice cube.  Bubbly and just plain Spring.

I love the idea of a chocolate Easter Bunny somewhere.  So much of a tradition.

And of course Peeps……..

The above would make a perfect outfit to wear on Easter Sunday.  I like the colors.

Frilly Easter hat for little girls that was on Etsy.

Darling little baby boy outfit.

I would love a Vermont farmhouse porch like the above.

A little terrace in the garden for Easter brunch.

I love dishes and the above little dish is cute to have.

A fancy salad is a Bacon Blue Cheese salad with white wine vinaigrette.

I love Lemon Creme Brulee for Spring.

And Strawberry Rhubarb pie with a crumb topping.

Little ducks are so cute.  I used to go by a pond on my way to work that had three little ducks swimming around in it.  They were not my ducks but I named them anyways.  I called them Peanut, Butter and Jelly.  I always find ways to entertain myself.

I like lemon and the above Lemon Curd Mousse sounds good to me.  Perfect for Spring.

Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake sounds good, too.  All the recipes are on my Pinterest board under Easter Ideas or Desserts.  There is a button on this page that will take you to my Pinterest boards if anyone is interested in the recipes.

The above Lady Slipper is a Vermont wildflower.  When I was a kid, we lived on a dirt road and I used to go for walks and I remember a place where these used to grow wild.  So pretty.

I like the above idea for a raised garden.

I like the above raised garden idea, also.

 

My cousin and I went to King Arthur Flour store one time and they had samples of Butternut Squash Ravioli.  It was just scrumptious and you could buy it in their frozen food section.  I found a recipe that sounded something like it, only it was lasagna roll ups stuffed with butternut squash with sage.  It sounded good and  I posted on my Pinterest Veggie board.

And that’s my thoughts for today.

 

 

I’ve got to try the Vermont Yoga Bread that has cranberries and pumpkin seeds.  They make that bread in Brattleboro, VT.  It sounds like it’s healthy as well as tasty.

Cabot butter is kind of good, also.

In a few weeks the Spring blossoms should be out.  The apple tree blossoms and Pear tree blossoms are fragrant and just beautiful.

I like the above photo of Tasha Tudor’s Spring garden.  She is an author and an artist.  Her son built her that house in an old Vermont style.

I love the above covered bridge in Hartland, VT.

Waterfalls are just so beautiful.

Spring cows.

Another view of Tasha Tudor’s garden.

Cabot Vermont Cheddar cheese is my favorite.  At the Vermont Country Store in Rockingham, they have  huge wheels of the Extra Sharp Cabot Vermont Cheddar.  I used to work at that store at one time and I can tell you that cheese is really good.  They also have Grafton cheese and all kinds of artisan cheeses.

Vermont Maple Syrup is a natural sweetner.

Ben & Jerry’s near Stowe, VT is a fun place to visit.  They have tours of where they make their ice cream and free samples.  Then they have a gift shop and a place where you can buy ice cream cones with all their flavors to choose from.

 

A bird that stays in Vermont year round is the Goldfinch.  We get a lot of them that come to bird feeders in the winter.

That’s the view from Simon Pierce Restaurant.  I like it in the summer when the Hot Air Balloons go down the river and at the last minute hit the gas and go up above that bridge.

I like the above Spa Butterfly soap set that is hand carved and hand poured in Vermont. Such pretty Spring colors.

The above Diner has been in Bellows Falls ever since I can remember.

Vermont is just a beautiful state.  I love it.

Cute little lamb……..

Cute little bunny….

I think it would be fun to have an Easter egg hunt on Easter morning for the kids.

So cute and they love stuff like that.

I like simple table decor.

Pier One has such cute ideas.  Like the cute bunny subtle raised design on their white bunny egg plate.

People are so creative.  I love the bulb digger idea and using the bottom holder of a flower pot with moss and Easter eggs.

Cute napkin and simple idea……

Or the bunny napkin……

Spring color…….

I like Daffodils.  They are the symbol of hope.

Cute little bunny.

So cute…

Spring time is just a time of new beginnings and it’s also the beautiful time of Easter.

 

 

Last week on the Food Network, I watched a neat show with Nancy Fuller called Farmhouse Rules.  The episode was “Auctionista” and Nancy went to an auction with some of her friends.  She bought the above hand-blown set of flutes from the 1800’s that she got for $650.00.  She made dinner for her friends after the auction and used the flutes that she bought to make Mimosas.  At the price she paid for those flutes, I wouldn’t dare use them myself.  She likes antiques and buys a lot of them.

On the show, she had previously picked out the items that she wanted to bid on and she wanted the flutes and the above table from the late 1700’s.  She won the bid for $3,300.00.  She then used that table for her luncheon that she made for her friends.  Must be nice.

She made her friends poached salmon and herb rice.  I pinned the recipe to my Pinterest Farmhouse Rules board.

Then she made a Strawberry Buckle that she served with vanilla ice cream and I also pinned that recipe to my Farmhouse Rules Pinterest board.

So yesterday on a new episode of Farmhouse Rules she had Spring Kick-Off.  It was so fun to watch as she started out by making Spiked Vanilla/Mint iced tea.  She just seeped some black tea bags in a pot of  hot water as a base.  Chilled it. Then added Bourban, vanilla and ice and put mint leaves on top.  I love the pitcher and glasses she used.  Probably expensive antiques.

Then she went to a Farmers Market and got all kinds of Spring veggies.  So fun to see that Farmers Market.  The above salad had pencil thin asparagus chopped up, colorful heirloom cherry tomatoes, shallots sliced thin, and Baby Greens.  Then she made the most scrumptious sounding Ranch Dressing that had mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, chives, parsley and minced garlic.  I pinned that recipe on my Farmhouse Rules board, also.  She knew all the vendors at the Farmers Market and invited several of them to enjoy the Dinner she was making from the Spring fresh produce.

She made a Shepherds Pie that had fresh garden peas in the filling and sounded so good.  The topping was just a shredded Idaho potato mixed with Parmesan cheese and it browned in the oven.

I love the filling recipe she had, but I think I would rather make a regular mashed potatoes topping for Shepherds pie.

Then she made asparagus with Hollandaise sauce for her guests, also.

And if that wasn’t enough, she made a jelly roll from scratch and she showed how she wrapped it in a towel while it was warm and then unrolled it and filled it with strawberry preserves that she had made from local strawberries and she made whipped cream to add to the filling and also on top when she rolled it up.

I don’t know about you, but I was impressed.

I think it would be nice to have friends over like that and cook for them.  Have a nice Spring bouquet on the table.

Spring is one of my favorite times of the year.

And that is my thoughts for today.

I love the colors in the above Spring bouquet.

I like the single pink Hyacinth.

White tulips with pussywillows is nice for Spring.

Yellow Peeps with the tulips is a neat idea for Easter.

I like Pansies.  They were one of my Grandmothers favorite.

So many neat ideas for Spring flowers.

Primroses and Daffodils are just sunshine and happiness.

I like all the neat colors of Daffodils.

Container gardening is always fun.

I love Forsythia and it looks so pretty on a wreath.  I saw a door that had the wreath on a door like the color of the one above and it had grape vine framing the door with white miniature string lights on the grapevine.  It just looked so Spring like.

It’s such an awesome time of the year.