cinco de mayo desserts?

I have been charged with the task of making a dessert for a Cinco de Mayo celebration. Does anyone have any great ideas on this front? Any great Mexican dessert recipes?

French Onion Beef Roast

I was throwing together dinner for tonight and realized I hadn’t shared this fabulously easy recipe with you! My wonderful mother in law taught it to me and it’s saved me on many occasions. All you need is a good cut of beef (I just look for any roast that is on sale. Today I found a big one for under $5.00 on clearance!) and a couple cans of French Onion soup. Other then that, just use what you have on hand. Potatoes, carrots, celery,  onions, and garlic are good staples. I also like to wrap my roast in bacon, but that’s more of a luxury item. Chop all your veggies and throw them into your slow cooker with your beef. Add a couple cans of french onion soup. If you still need more juice, add water, beer or wine. And let it cook away until the meat is cooked through. The cooking time depends on what meat you are using, but you’ll know when it’s done. It smells amazing! I’ve even served it for dinner parties and it went over beautifully. So simple it’s criminal.

two-pea pasta with ricotta and tarragon

I made dinner! I know, I know, I should be able to say that seven days a week, but with all of the track meets and lacrosse games lately, we haven’t even been home for about 4 nights a week! Last night we didn’t have anything going on after 5:30 and I decided that it was high time I fulfilled my domestic duties and made something to sit down to at the table. I turned to my trusty FOOD magazine, and found this recipe. About two thirds of the way through it, I realized that it was probably intended as more of a side dish, but oh well. It was still fairly tasty, although I think it needed some additional type of cheese (the ricotta just wasn’t flavorful enough).

Two-pea pasta with ricotta and tarragon

Ingredients

Serves 4
Coarse salt and ground pepper
12 ounces gemelli or other short pasta
12 ounces sugar snap peas, stem ends removed (and, if necessary, strings)
1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon, plus more for garnish (optional)
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

Directions

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes less than al dente. Add snap peas; cook 2 minutes, add peas, and cook 1 minute more. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water; drain pasta and vegetables, and return to pot.
Toss pasta and vegetables with butter, tarragon, and ricotta, adding a little reserved pasta water as needed to create a thin sauce that coats pasta; season with salt and pepper.
Divide pasta among four serving bowls, and garnish with tarragon, if desired. Serve immediately.

Piecework

Well, I’ve finally managed to get this quilt pieced together!

It took a while because I wanted to take all of your comments to heart and make it pop a little more, so finding the right fabrics was a bit difficult. And just so you know, the hot pink squares aren’t really that dark in real life, and the light light pink strips in between are a little warmer and blend better. Anyhow, I’m pretty pleased with it, and now I just have to find some fabric for the border and the binding!

The Leaf and the Tree

“When will you learn, myself, to be
a dying leaf on a living tree?
Budding, swelling, growing strong,
Wearing green, but not for long,
Drawing sustenance from air,
That other leaves, and you not there,
May bud, and at the autumn’s call
Wearing russet, ready to fall?

Has not this trunk a deed to do
Unguessed by small and tremulous you?
Shall not these branches in the end
To wisdom and the truth ascend?
And the great lightning plunging by
Look sidewise with a golden eye
To glimpse a tree so tall and proud
It sheds its leaves upon a cloud?

Here, I think, is the heart’s grief:
The tree, no mightier than the leaf,
Makes firm its root and spreads it crown
And stands; but in the end comes down.
That airy top no boy could climb
Is trodden in a little time
By cattle on their way to drink.
The fluttering thoughts a leaf can think,
That hears the wind and waits its turn,
Have taught it all a tree can learn.

Time can make soft that iron wood.
The tallest trunk that ever stood,
In time, without a dream to keep,
Crawls in beside the root to sleep.”

-Edna St Vincent Millay

(Photograph taken from my breakfast nook window. Maryland.)

Fries Day

Today my husband called to let me know he’d be late coming home from work. Meetings. I decided O and I were definitely going to need something to keep us occupied and our tummies content until our man of the house made it home for dinner. We found this recipe on epicurious.com and improvised by adding a couple glugs of worcestershire sauce and a squirt of BBQ sauce to our bowl of oil. Yum!! We also believe in salt and peppering our oil mixture, instead of sprinkling after the fact. Also, remember to dab off the extra oil after they’re finished baking. If they aren’t crispy enough, just set your oven to broil for a few minutes…but watch it closely! It would be a shame to burn all those beautiful fries!

Ingredients:

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray (we used vegetable oil)
  
• 2 pounds unpeeled russet potatoes or purple potatoes, scrubbed, cut lengthwise into 1/2- 1/3-inch wedges (all we had were red potatoes)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450°F. Spray large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Toss potato wedges with canola oil in large bowl. Sprinkle potato wedges generously with salt and pepper; spread in single layer on prepared baking sheet. Roast potato wedges until tender and brown in spots, turning occasionally, about 45 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve.

The Clark House

If you’re looking for a nice quiet getaway here in the Inland Northwest, I’d like to suggest The Clark House. It is a beautiful country inn originally built in 1910 and fully renovated in the early nineties. They have nine guest rooms and serve an elegant six-course dinner as well as a wonderful breakfast.

The view from the East Lawn.

Andrew and I first visited here for our Senior Protocol at Logos School. At the time, we were not dating or really even interested in each other…yet. As my husband tells it, it was actually as I took his arm to go up the main staircase at the Clark House that he first thought, “Huh. She’s actually kinda cute.” And so while I remained oblivious for the next two months, it was at the Clark House that our “relationship” had its beginning.

We went back to the Clark House this past weekend for our fourth anniversary celebration. For those of you who know us, yes, it was a month early, but things just worked out better to do it now. Anyhow, we wanted to go back to “the place where it all started” for this anniversary trip. When I called to make the reservation they were quite wonderful and bumped us up to a nicer room for the same price as the one I had originally planned on reserving. When we arrived on Saturday they showed us to our room and brought up two glasses of wine. We had dinner reservations at 6:30, and when we went downstairs they took us to our private table in the Library (what a treat!). Dinner was wonderful and it was so nice to see the sunset through the cedars and look out over Hayden Lake. In the morning they served us granola with yogurt, whipped cream and mixed berries for the ‘first course’. Then they brought us the ‘real’ breakfast as my husband called it – scrambled eggs with delicious hashed browns and sausage. We took a little time after breakfast to walk around the property and enjoy the views of the lake. I of course have to mention that the landscaping left a lot to be desired (as did the coffee), but I suppose that is what I would find fault with if I were to find fault with anything.

The second floor window with the small balcony was our room this weekend.

All in all it was a lovely weekend and we would highly recommend visiting sometime. I know that we will be going back in the years to come.

Bosnian Coffee

My husband discovered that our coffee maker has a water filter. He brought this to my attention recently. Our coffee maker is a very nice one given to us as a wedding gift in 2004. I had no idea it had a water filter. The upshot of this being that until I buy a new filter, I’m can’t use our coffee maker. I’ve reverted back to my teenage years of making kick-in-the-pants-and-then-drop-you-three-hours-later Bosnian coffee. It’s rich and sweet and it smells divine. The concept is very simple. Grind your beans to a fine powder. Bring the coffee to a simmer in a pot of water. When it begins to simmer, reduce to heat to low and stir in about a 1/3 cup of sugar. Leave it warming on the stove-top about 20 minutes more to give the sugar time to dissolve and the coffee time to brew. At this point, you’ll pour it in your mug and then be called to demonstrate saint like patience. If you are challenged in this step and sneak a sip, you will find the dregs have not settled to the bottom of the cup. Not the best part of waking up. After you’ve given it ample time to separate, only then can you sip the fragrant, energy giving beverage. Of course, you can add milk (or Irish Cream! Or Ben’s favorite, a splash of whiskey.) if you are so inclined, but I suggest you do so before letting it settle. After making it a few times, you’ll be able to switch up the quantity of sugar, the temperature of the water and the texture of the grinds. In short, you’ll be able to perfect your ideal cup of coffee.

chocolate ricotta pudding

This recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis and her Everyday Italian show on the Food Network. I made this pudding for my mom’s birthday this year because I wanted something chocolatey but a little bit different. The ricotta gives this ‘pudding’ a very interesting texture that I really enjoyed. My one complaint about this recipe is that it is not pretty. If you follow the directions and remove the puddings from the ramekins they kind of fall apart (at least mine did) and they’re just not all that attractive. So I would suggest maybe leaving them in the ramekins and serving them that way. I’d also be interested in trying this with a raspberry sauce instead of strawberries.

Chocolate Ricotta Pudding with Strawberry Sauce

Sauce:
2 cups fresh strawberries
2 tablespoons sugar

Pudding:
Butter, for greasing cups
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
1 1/2 pounds fresh whole milk ricotta cheese, drained for 2 hours to remove any excess liquid
1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup sugar
3 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

To make the sauce: Blend the strawberries and sugar in a food processor until smooth. Strain the puree through a fine mesh strainer. Cover and refrigerate. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
To make the pudding: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Lightly butter 6 (6-ounce) custard cups. Arrange the cups in a large roasting pan. Melt the chocolate in a medium bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Set the melted chocolate aside. Blend the ricotta, 1/4 cup of sugar, egg yolks, orange zest, almond extract, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor until very smooth. Blend in the melted chocolate. Transfer the ricotta mixture to a large bowl.

Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites in another large bowl with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar. Continue beating until semi-firm peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the ricotta mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cups. Fill the pan with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the custard cups. Bake until the pudding puffs slightly but the centers are still creamy, about 25 minutes (the pudding will become thick and creamy when cold). Allow puddings to cool slightly before removing from water bath. Remove the custard cups from the bath. Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 3 hours.

Run a knife around the sides of the puddings to loosen. Invert the puddings onto plates. Drizzle the strawberry sauce around the puddings and serve.

The Girlfriends’ Guide to Pregnancy

I just finished reading it. I read all the serious preggers books the first time around. Truth be told? What to Expect When You’re Expecting scared the heck out of me and Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way cast a scathing eye on mommies who choose pain management…not cool. As Mrs. Iovine (author of the Girlfriend’s Guide, hereafter to be referred to as the GGP) points out, there’s no medal for natural birth moms after the stinker shows its wrinkled face! The author leans toward epidurals…she had a c-section with one of hers, and honestly, I have nothing against pain management during labor. It’s a woman’s personal choice. I braved O’s arrival without, however, if they ever bring pitocin within a foot of my iv again, I guarantee, I’ll be begging the anesthesiologist to just put me under completely! The GGP covers all those topics a gal is either too embarrassed or to naive to ask her midwife or OB. She talks about feet, breasts, skin, hair and oh, yes…the million dollar question, sex during and after pregnancy. She kept me laughing from cover to cover (she does swear a bit, so be warned, I thought it was funny.) I only disagreed with her on a few points. First, amnio and chromosomal abnormality testing. I give those tests a big, fat veto. If God blesses you with a baby, you take it. If you don’t want to have a child with disabilities, you need to buy one, not make it. There’s no return to sender option in pregnancy. And secondly, the advise to lie to your husband about the post-partum 6 week rule to get out of sex is ridiculous! Maybe I just got lucky, but Ben never asked or made me feel guilty about being out of commission of my wifely duties after Ophelia was born. He was actually more conscientious of the fact that I had just “passed” a person then I was. Also, I’ve only ever met one or two Christian wives who wanted to wait 6 weeks before getting things back to business in the bedroom. Personally, I couldn’t wait to feel like a woman again. The GGP does have some good helpful tips if you happen to be having problems getting ye old libido going again, though. As good Christian wives, I think it’s our duty not to milk the 6 week rule for all it’s worth. This really is a great read for first time moms and as a reminder to already moms. I had forgotten about sciatic nerves and cramping calves. GGP serves up the realities with a snicker and a suggestion. It’s good for pregnant mommies to know they aren’t alone and they aren’t un-necessarily crazy. The Girlfriends’ Guide to Pregnancy makes sure you know, too.