tis the season

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season!  Jeff, Jackson and I had our annual holiday dinner party this past weekend with friends from near and far.  We love you guys!  Jackson had a blast.  And, this morning we woke up to a Christmas package from my sister!  How fun is that?  Cranberry walnut cookies and chocolate bark.  As you can see, Jackson couldn't decide which one was better...so we had both...for breakfast:)  

Did I mention how much we love the holidays in this house?

tartine



It's been quite a week.  We got back from a wonderful long weekend fall trip up to New England of which I plan on posting pics soon.  But, alas, Jackson has a viral infection (poor thing) and has been feeling under the weather these last few days so my posts will have to wait.  He is slowly on the path to recovery, seemingly, none the wiser.  The other night, though, feeling sick and just plain exhausted, Jackson rose up from bed in the middle of the night with puffy eyes and rosy cheeks, pointed to the window and said, "Bussssss.  Bussss."  He then fell right back down to sleep to finish his dream.  It was heart-melting.

And, speaking of melting, check out this new cookbook by the owners of Tartine Bakery in San Francsico.  The grill cheese looks oozy and delicious.  Awhile back, I took a bread-making class and learned just how simple the art of making bread can be.  It takes little ingredients, just some time and effort.  The end result is so perfectly gratifying.  I hope to be smearing herbed butter on homemade whole wheat bread for my men very very soon.

to the farm

It has been awhile.  My baby is turning ONE in a few days and I've been in a reflective mood as of late.  It's been about family, birthday celebrations, and work...in order of importance.  I just had to share some photos from our trip last Saturday to the annual harvest festival at Blue Hill at Stone Barns for #2 of Jackson's 3 (that's right, 3!) birthday celebrations!  The day was a perfect fall sunny day filled with food, music, sheep, chickens, pigs, and family...I couldn't have imagined a more perfect birthday celebration for my number one little man.  

fabulous friday

Another fabulous Friday: Lunch with Jeff, Jackson and my besties at Schiller's which was noted in nymag as a kid-friendly restaurant.  I was skeptical since I have been there for lunch and dinner and it can sometimes be very loud and crowded.  But, the waiter was cool and friendly and Jackson batted a few eyelashes at the hostess.  Pretty cute.  

I took one look at the kids menu and thought it was adorable.  Love the font, the blue and red.  It sort of has a nautical feel to it - great color scheme for a nursery I think!  

We all had a great time!  Kisses, Ellen and Heather!

....happy weekend!

just like the good ol' days

...when Jeff and I used to make lovely dinners at home and eat together at the dinner table with a bottle of wine.  These days, we are a little busier, of course, and often have quicker meals and plenty of leftovers.  But oh tonight, we had a feast.

Here are some pics of the sweetest heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and delicious lemon chicken that I made.   We picked up the few ingredients that we needed from our neighborhood market and butcher, Marlow & Daughters.  As suggested in The Wednesday Chef, the chicken was accompanied by some rice which worked out nicely as it soaked up the lemon creme-fraiche sauce. Delicious.  It will definitely be a "go-to" recipe in my house.  Jeff got the last licks of the spoon while I got to take the last bit of bread and wipe the platter clean!  As I sit here writing this, I am satisfied.

I hope your weekend offers plenty of delicious food and good company~

...happy weekend!

ps. These great photos were taken by my husband who also had full editing rights;)

the wednesday chef

I love to cook.  I love to bake.  I find that it relaxes me to be in the kitchen.  I must get it from my mom who, when not sleeping, can always be found in the kitchen cooking.  I like getting the list ready, grocery shopping, organizing the ingredients, prepping, chopping, cooking, tasting, and smelling everything.  I especially love to do this with a glass of red wine - that is perfect.

It has been a while since I've done this and made a meal for Jeff.  So, this week, I declared, that I am going to make him dinner.  Chicken.  (This is not a shocker to those that know me.  I do love chicken.)  Another criteria is that it has to be easy and not take three hours to make, simply because Jackson does not have that kind of patience!  I searched for a recipe and found this fantastic blog, The Wednesday Chef (I even love the name)!  This lemon chicken recipe was voted "Best of the Web" on saveur.com.  It only has seven ingredients - five of which can probably be found in your pantry (olive oil, butter, lemon, salt, and pepper).  The kicker is that it is topped with a lemon-creme fraiche sauce!

It looks divine, yet seems so simple!  I am looking forward to making this lovely dish...but not tonight.  So, I guess you are going to have to call me the "Friday chef"...

(Image and recipe via The Wednesday Chef)