garden party

Recently, I was asked to cater an event at a beautiful home here in Nashville. The gardens were simply gorgeous and I was so happy to get a tour and be a party of this fabulous event! Here is a sampling of the bites that I prepared for this lovely afternoon soiree...

caramel fudge ball

When I was little, my grandfather was a member of the Belle Meade Country Club. My mother used to take all 6 of us - my sister and our 4 cousins - and drop us off at the club. We would swim all day and play tennis and charge stuff to granddaddy's account. My absolute favorite thing to get was a caramel fudge ball. It is rich and creamy vanilla ice cream, rolled in a ball, coated with crumbled chocolate cookies and smothered in caramel sauce. They were about the size of your fist, and just seemed like the most wonderful ball of heaven to all of us children. Now that I am all grown up, I often make these for my fiancé and his son. They love them just as much as I did! For his birthday this year, I decided to go crazy and make a gigantic one as his cake. Needless to say, it was a big hit!

spaghetti squash

Yesterday morning on the Today Show they had a segment on fall vegetables. They were saying that you can stretch spaghetti by adding spaghetti squash. Use half noodles, half squash and cut your calories and carbs in half. I just so happened to have one of these bad boys in my fridge so I thought I'd give this a try. So yummy! The squash noodles add a little bite to the dish. It was way better than I thought it would be. Next time I may go all squash and no noodles. You just never know - I'm pretty crazy like that! Just cut your squash in half, scoop out the seeds, roast it in the oven at 375º for and hour, then scoop out the noodly flesh and add it to your favorite pasta recipe.

just another day at the office

what a peach!

What a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Franklin, Tenn! I can't believe in the middle of August the temperature was in the low 80's all afternoon. Ahhhh. My sweet husband-to-be decided to pull out the grill and smoke some ribs. I went to the farmer's market and got purple hull peas, fresh squash, okra and peaches. He wanted to prepare it all and, if I do say so myself, I have trained him well. It was wonderful. He even made us a dessert of caramelized peaches and vanilla bean ice cream. Such summery goodness.

is anything better than brown butter?

My fiancé and I were watching the Cooking Channel today and saw an episode of French Food at Home that made our mouths water. We immediately decide to make this for dinner. Halibut with brown butter, crushed chickpeas with olives and Roasted cumin carrots. We actually used flounder and not halibut because they didn't have halibut at the grocery. We added chopped capers to the brown butter sauce too. We also added sauteéd spinach with bacon and homegrown Cherokee Purple tomatoes from our garden. It was such a yummy dinner!

wedding day brunch

Recently, I had the opportunity to prepare a brunch for a local bride and groom on their wedding day. They brought along about 170 of their nearest and dearest. If I do say so myself, I put together a truly scrumptious feast! It really turned out well. Here is the menu for the event along with a couple of party pics. enjoy!

Hors d' Oeuvres Italiano!

I've had several requests for antipasti platters and other Italian appetizers. I love any dish that involves an artichoke. Here are some recent party preparations...

 Antipasti

 Large Antipasti

 Bruchetta bar featuring tomato basil, white bean & artichoke, and roasted thyme mushroom bruschettas.

 These are little mozzarella & basil with marinated tomato skewers

This is a pesto drenched goat cheese ball topped with roasted pine nuts. Also served with herb cream cheese stuffed grape tomatoes and toast points.

Prosciutto wrapped melon & breadsticks

Sundried tomato & pesto goat cheese torta

organic farmer in the city

I was determined to get a little garden going this year, even if my yard is very small and doesn't get full sun. It is working out quite nicely! I am so excited about my tomatoes! And I think they are just getting started. My cherry tomato plant is nearly 8' tall. Basil, parsley, chives, rosemary, thyme! So nice to be able to cook fresh! My bruschetta recipe is so simple, but it will knock your socks off. Try it while everything is still in season!

BRUSCHETTA: Slice and toast a french baguette. While still warm, rub with garlic cloves and sprinkle with salt & pepper. In a bowl combine 3 or 4 large ripe diced tomatoes, 2 cloves of garlic,  a handful of chopped fresh basil, 2 tablespoons each of extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar, salt & pepper to taste. Serve tomato mixture in the bowl with the toast on the side. Let your guests serve their own so the juices can soak into the bread, but don't stick around long enough to mess up that CRUNCH of the crisp bread! YUM!!

custom cookies

 I now feel like I have perfected the shortbread cookie. Thanks to an old family recipe and a little creativity, these cookies can be decorated however your little heart desires. I love the butterflies and my new hot air balloons! So much fun! Let me know if you have an idea and I'll try to make it happen. Contact me for more information and pricing.

yummy weeknight dinners

Chicken pot pie... the ultimate comfort food!

 Artichoke, tomato & white wine mussels... with Champagne!

 Faucon Salads... for delivery!

Cheddar Herb Biscuits... fresh from the oven!