Happy Thanksgiving!

Today of all days reminds me to be grateful for everything from my job to the wonderful people in my family and my rock star Hubbs! Wishing you a beautiful day!

It has been such beautifully chilly weather here in So Cal, by mean chilly I mean 50 degrees or so.  That means it's in the 50-60's at night and in the early morning.  The afternoon could be 70 or 80 depending on factors of Santa Ana winds and fog etc..  But who cares, It's getting to be soup weather!!  One of my favorite soups is the traditional French Onion, I discovered it by working in a restaurant in my 20's hostessing for Hamburger Hamlet.  It seemed so exotic at the time....  I never thought of floating bread with broiled swiss on top of a rich beef and onion broth, but it is oh so good!!

I actually broke out my mandolin to chop up all the onions required!

and the 6 quart pot!  This is serious business!

See those onions simmer away!! Smells so good!

Oh my gosh yes!!!  

I could eat this all the time, even in the summer it's soooo good!!

Like a hug in a bowl!

I got my recipe here.  In the future, I am going to make my own beef stock.  I have some time off this week so am going to make marinara and beef stock.  So lovely to just grab from the freezer and use and to know it was made in advance. This recipe called for Duck Rillette, since I did not intend on using this in the first place I omitted this item but you can make it if you wish.  I did not have a lot of time to put this together and the Rillette has many steps to it.  

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 cups yellow, julienned
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• Dash of dry sherry
• Dash of Worcestershire sauce
• 8 cups beef stock
• 8 slices of toasted French bread (about 1-inch thick)
• 8 slices of Gruyere cheese
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large saucepan, over medium-heat, melt the butter. Add the onions. Season with salt and pepper. Saute the onions until slightly caramelized, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic, sherry, Worcestershire sauce and stock. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the liquid to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook the soup for 15 minutes. Ladle the soup into oven-proof deep bowls. Float the croutons on top of the soup. Cover each crouton with a piece of cheese. Sprinkle the cheese with parsley. Place the bowls on a sheet pan and place in the oven. Bake until the cheese is bubbly and golden, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

With love from the kitchen!!

Saturday Night Festivities!

It's the first Saturday of the month and since its November that means Dia de Los Muertos here in Santa Ana! It is a real interesting part of OC culture that you don't get to see much of at all. Bit I'm here with my Hubbs and friends

Joy of Waffles

I have a waffle iron that I had for about 15 years.  It's an Oster Waffle maker that I got as a Christmas party prize.  Actually, the prize I won was weird (like allen wrenches or something) and asked the guy who won the waffle iron to trade.  He did and I have happily had the thing for a long time. I Love it!  But after 15 or 16 years, the switch that controls the temperature gauge came off.  It still works however and makes waffles perfectly. 


I went to a house party of a surfer friend of mine and she made waffles with this machine here with Nutella spread on them for dessert.   I could not believe how awesome they were!  I never thought of Nutella and waffles together, it was one of those spiritual moments (with food) that just blew me away.  It was then that I decided that I must have that waffle maker and make these things for myself.  But that unit is a little pricey and I already had my old Oster.  Well, you know what happened is I finally caved and got one myself.   I got mine here.  I wanted to recreate my own fantastic Nutella covered waffles!  The night I brought my new Waring Pro home my husband demanded waffles for dinner. It was the least I could do to justify the purchase.  I made this recipe I found in Joy of Cooking, the one where you beat the egg whites up and fold into the batter, turned out super good.

Sift before measuring
2 Cups all purpose flour

Resift with
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons double acting baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Beat in a separate bowl until light
2 egg yolks
Add and beat 1 3/4 cups buttermilk
6 tablespoons melted butter

Combine liquid and dry ingredients with a few swift strokes

Beat until stiff but not dry
3 egg whites
Fold them into the batter.

Put batter in waffle iron and cook as directed.

Source(s):

Joy Of Cooking
by Rombauer&Becker

They came out perfectly!  My Rock Star husband is super impressed that I can cook two waffles at once and that the machine turns the waffles upside down to cook!  Amazing!!  Excuse my pics, this was at night and still getting used to pictures.  I am going to have to give my bother my old Oster as he has no joy of homemade waffles in his life yet!  

New Obsession

My newest obsession is Essie Turquoise and Caicos, I really love this polish. It's a mat but shiny beautiful shade of turquoise. I thought that I would not wear colors that were this different to work at a typical 9-5 but it's working! This color would match most skin tone as well, turquoise is famous for getting along with a lot of different colors and tones!

New Shoes

This proves that you can find the most interesting things when you're not looking for it! I found these shoes at the mall in Simi Valley at Journeys. I have gotten so many complements on them and they go well with my vintage Barbie tee!!

One of my New Favorite Cookies!!

I love me some Bakerella!! Not only does she make the most adorable sweets, but also has an awesome book out called "CakePops"! My friend and I stood in line for a long time to have her sign our copies of the book. We had to go back to work but another friend of hers got them signed so we did not actually get to meet her and gush all over her. Anyways, will see her when she does another book!!
I fell in love with her Gingerbread Cookie post and had to try them out!! You can see her beautiful creations here www.bakerella/gigerbreads-heads/ plus the recipe I used. I fell in love with the little guys when I saw them! I did these for my annual office cookie exchange and they were not as polished as Bakerella's bit I think they were still super cute!!