Pink House

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween Quilt! I was going to post this a few days ago and forgot! whoops!

I made this wall quilt with miniature quilt blocks about 15 year ago (1995 I think). I try to get it out every October to add to the fall decorations and usually forget. I'm doing well if I can put if up the week of Halloween at least. When it comes to Halloween decorations, I go for the Great Pumpkin-style rather than the really scary ones. I love this one. For more specifics, click on the "Quilts" photo gallery in the right column.

Sometimes I Work and sometimes I Daydream

I have been SO busy lately! Every week I'm printing out my schedule from my Google Calendar and then checking it every day to make sure I don't forget something. Add to that my everyday tasks (empty dishwasher, do laundry, go to grocery store, etc.) and it feels like a lot. By evening I am ready to fall onto the couch where Rocco is patiently waiting for me.

I think it's going to be at this pace now until we leave for Thanksgiving week to California. We're continuing our tradition of renting a vacation house at some location in Cali where the guys will come to meet us for the long Thanksgiving weekend. In 2007 we stayed in a beach town just south of Santa Cruz called Aptos. That was a great little beach house. Last year we rented a house in Santa Barbara which was fun too. This year we plan to head further south to Newport Beach area. We found a cool beach house to rent with a rooftop deck (!) and I'm looking forward to exploring that area. It's always fun to see the guys and to just have a few days of "just us four" again. It only happens once a year which is not enough, but part of reality now. I treasure the time. 

But I'm also REALLY looking forward to having some vacation time. I feel like this year both Kev and I have been working hard and not taking as many breaks. He added the band (which he loves) to his already full schedule, and I've been working with students and taking graduate classes through UCLA (one more to go to complete my program!) For the last two weeks both of us have had evening meetings Monday through Thursday.....we're missing our dinners for two at home, and Rocco is missing couch time with us. I'm feeling like we need to take a break.

This summer we only went out of town twice and one was camping on the Smith River (doesn't count!) and the other was a crazy-long drive to California over a long weekend. No weeks of relaxation. Then fall came and we're into the cold long winters. I realized that I may be in for a bad winter if I don't get some serious vacation time out of state!

We were lucky that the board my husband serves on met in sunny Phoenix for their fall meeting. We got to stay at a gorgeous resort (Sheraton Wild Horse Pass) for four days in glorious warm weather. Friends were there and we shared some good times. I got to sit by this beautiful pool for three whole days and just read and chat! One of my favorite things to do.

This was the best kind of place to be - this is my kind of "office". I took along my laptop and some reading to do (the work kind) but I just couldn't make myself do it when I got to look at this kind of view from my lounge chair. So......I simply didn't. I simply let myself veg out and enjoy. Well, we did get up to do a bit of shopping and go to lunch too. Tough duty.

My plan now is to buckle down and work hard until we leave for Thanksgiving in California. Seniors are working hard on applications and essays, and I have some new students to start the process with. I also have to do some research and write a proposal for a practicum. But I just keep thinking about that sun on the California beach. It's the carrot to dangle before myself to keep me going.

Fall Dessert - Pumpkin Gingerbread with Caramelized Pears

Last week I made dinner for a friend who was recovering from surgery and wanted to include something special for dessert. I love gingerbread...and pumpkin....and pears and decided to combine the three into a perfect cake. It was spicy, moist, and looked pretty too. I was excited about how it turned out.

This recipe is a keeper! Think I'll put it on the menu for Christmas Day as well.

Pumpkin Gingerbread with Caramelized Pears

A dense, moist cake full of the flavors of fall

(adapted from a recipe in Bon Appetit magazine, Sept. 2008)

Topping

2/3 c. dark brown sugar

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 T. molasses

2 to 3 firm but ripe Bartlett pears, peeled and sliced

Cake

2 c. all purpose flour

2 t. baking soda

2 t. baking powder

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. ground ginger

2 T. crystallized ginger, minced

1 T. Valencia Orange Peel (dried)

½ t. salt

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 c. sugar

2 large eggs

½ c. molasses

¾ c. canned pure pumpkin

½ c. boiling water

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9 x 9 x 2 inch  or 12-inch round metal baking pan with nonstick spray.

Topping:

Combine sugar, butter, and molasses in heavy small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking until sugar dissolves and syrup is smooth, continue boiling for 1 minute. Pour evenly into prepared pan.

            Peel, core, and slice pears into even ¼ inch slices and arrange in single layer in symmetrical design in syrup in pan.

Cake:

Whisk together first 8 dry ingredients in medium bowl and set aside.

            In large mixer, beat butter until fluffy. Add sugar and beat to blend. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in molasses, then pumpkin. Beat in dry ingredients just until blended, scraping down sides of bowl. Beat in ½ cup boiling water. Spoon batter evenly into baking pan, being careful not to disturb pear layer.

            Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan 45 minutes. Place serving platter over pan and invert. Let stand 5 minutes. Gently lift off pan.

            Serve cake warm or at room temperature with fresh whipped cream (add sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon) alongside the slice of cake.

6-course Farmer's Feast at Quiessence in Phoenix

Last week when we were in Phoenix for a meeting, I researched a restaurant for our group of friends to go to one night. I typically use a variety of sources including food websites (trip advisor, yelp, chowhound) and food magazines (Food & Wine, Gourmet, Bon Appetit), and city newspaper reviews to find what are considered the best food or most unique dining experiences in the cities that we visit. Quiessence was highly rated in all of the sources that I checked.

Quiessence is the main restaurant, fine dining option, in the "Farm at South Mountain" development just south of downtown Phoenix, near Chandler and Tempe. We called ahead for reservations for a party of 8, and arrived after dark. It is a challenge to find where you're going, even with directions and a good map, but after a few wrong turns, we  spotted the lit sign in the dark. After entering the main entrance, you still have to continue in through the "farm" area, past some shops and park-like areas. At the end of the road ahead, I could see some lights and we continued driving through. We parked in a bark-covered field, and then walked down some rock pathways toward a farm house in the distance. Fortunately, there were some glowing outdoor lights that guided our way forward. It was worth the drive and navigating to get there!

Quiessence is in an old farm house that has been converted to a restaurant. Therefore, there are several rooms within the house for dining, rather than one big area. Some diners were seated out front of the house (love those warm Phoenix evenings) on the patio. Inside the screened front porch is a waiting area, and the hostess walked us through two separate dining rooms (one with a cool fireplace), into the back where our group was seated in a private dining room at a large 8-person table. It was kind of cool to have our own room!

Quiessence's food is focused on locally-sourced produce and meats from local farms and ranches. They have a regular menu, but our group chose to have the 6-course Farmer's Feast (everyone in your group must order it).

The Farmer's Feast at Quiessence is a "signature multi-course culinary journey through local farms and pastures, land and sea". It is $65 a person, well-worth it in terms of quality of food as well as the unique dining experience.The menu states that they EXCLUSIVELY source all of the ingredients for the Farmer's Feast from:

• Local and organic fruits and vegetables
• wild foraged edibles (mushrooms)
• organic and heirloom wheat grains
• pastured and humanely raised meats
• wild and sustainable game
• overnight flown-in sustainable seafood
• sundries from small Arizona businesses

It sounded great to all of us! We were there for the dining experience, not just to "eat". We had a wonderful waitress who explained the Farmer's Feast dinner to us and warned us that it takes a couple of hours to prepare and serve all courses. We smiled and said "great! Bring it on!". Two of the guys looked through the good wine list and selected a red and a white for the table. Then we settled in to enjoy ourselves, and we certainly did.

Our waitress had the help of a few other waiters, so that every time they brought in a new course, they brought in all eight dishes together and sat them down in front of us at the same time. Impressive! The service was WONDERFUL the entire evening - very pleasant, professional, and attentive without being overbearing. GREAT SERVICE!

Two kinds of bread with herbed butter and orange blossom honey

As they brought out each course the waitress described in detail what each item was. Everything was made in house. I'll do my best to remember, but I just won't have the detailed info that they provided us. I did take photos of everything because I was planning to blog about it.

The first official course was charcuterie and cheese platters.
All of their meats are house-cured, but the cheeses were from a local farm.

They brought out two large platters, one for each end of the table, with carefully arranged salumi and cured meats and local artisan cheeses. Looking at the menu, this is called the "Chef's Spread" on the appetizer list. Some of what we were served was head cheese on house crackers with relish (in the middle, rabbit pate on crostini, and the cheese were Applewood Smoked cheddar and Fossil Creek Havarti. It was very interesting to sample these. I like how they were very careful to provide 8 samples of everything for our group of eight. A thoughtful detail!

Smoked Sturgeon Salad with shaved radishes and apples, creme fraiche and baby arugula.

2nd course was Salads and Soups. What surprised us a bit is that after the first course, each course came with four options. So when they served the salad and soup course, they brought out 8 dishes of 4 different options. They set them down in front of each diner and described what each dish was. We then had the option to trade amongst ourselves or most of us just ending up sharing bites with our spouses so that we could sample different dishes. The variety was fun to see and sample. Everyone was really happy with each dish though! They were all delicious.

Another salad: Chiogga Beet Salad - roasted chicogga beets, frisee, toasted walnuts, creamy dill vinaigrette, shaved red onions, and roasted red peppers.

Tomato Bisque - with oven-dried tomatoes and crispy fried shallots
(this was Kevin's dish)

And I didn't take a photo of my salad! But I can see from the menu that it was a tomato and eggplant salad - and it was very tasty! By the way - all of the portions of these courses were SMALL and for the most part light as well. That, paired with the relaxed pace of the meal (and the fact that we didn't have dinner until 8 pm!) made it not so filling to have these many courses. It really was not over-filling.

My 3rd course: mussels with garlic and mushroom linguine! Heaven!

The 3rd course was pasta which they said were all made in-house fresh each day. There were four different varieties!

Another pasta course option: Farmer's Cheese Gnocchi with fennel sausage, sage and cream
This looked so good and the diner eating it thought so too!

One of the pasta courses was Short Rib Ravioli which looked amazing! But I didn't get a photo of those.

The 4th course was seafood. They were all small portions of two different seafood dishes, either scallops or halibut.

George's Bank Scallop with Garlicky Spinach, Cherry Tomato Jam, and Creamed Corn Sauce.

This was outstanding! Probably my favorite dish of the entire night. I loved it!

Roasted Alaskan Halibut with Spaghetti Squash, mediterranean relish, and roasted red pepper sauce.

The 5th course was the meat course. This time they served two different varieties, either steak or pork. I was happy to get the pork tenderloin and Kevin was happy to be served the steak. Again small tasting-size portions with the 6-course meal.

 Kevin's meat course: Wood Grilled Grass-Fed Beef wtih Red Potato Hash, Roasted onions, and Chanterelle Mushrooms.I think this was a hit with the guys.



My meat course: Wood Grilled Pork Tenderloin with butternut squash mash, roasted gala apples and braised fennel. Delish! Really nicely prepared!

The last course was dessert, of course! The surprise though, was that there were four options that were served to our table ...so some sharing of desserts took place. I'm actually not a big dessert fan, so I can't even remember what these were and they are not listed on the menu that I brought home. So the descriptions here are pretty generic:

An apple/pear tart on mini-crepes with creme fraiche and caramel sauce.


This was a apple walnut bread pudding with some kind of sauce (bourbon?). I think this is what I had and all I remember is that I really liked it and only shared one bite with Kev!


Kevin was served the flan with some kind of sauce. Poor guy - he was probably dying to have the apple tart now that I look back at this. The luck of the draw, I guess.


The other dessert option was some kind of berry sorbet served on shaved pears. Pretty and healthy!

And that concludes our lovely dining experience at Quiessence in Phoenix! A delightful and yummy dining experience. At the end of the evening the chef came out to see us and we gave him our thanks and a round of applause over the wonderful meal. It was really fun! I highly recommend Quiessence if you like locally-sourced gourmet food prepared in healthy and interesting ways.

Quiessence Restaurant at the Farm at South Mountain
Phoenix, Arizona (Chandler area)

"Hand-crafted American Cuisine"
Menu changes nightly!

Happy diners!

Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix - Score!

When we flew into Phoenix last week, I had a game plan. A serious one. Our goal was to get into an early dinner at Pizzeria Bianco before heading out to the resort where our conference was. We actually tried to get into Pizzeria Bianco last fall when we flew into Phoenix, but we were there at lunchtime and they only open for dinner. So...another year to wait. But this year, we scored. Big time!

What is Pizzeria Bianco and why would I care about going to just a "pizza place", you ask? Pizzeria Bianco is possibly the most famous and popular "pizza place" in the U.S. And rightly so. It has been featured on news and talk show (Today Show  etc.) and food magazines numerous times....even Oprah has been there. It was on my bucket list. Crossed that one off.

We arrived at the airport and rented out car and drove a couple miles to the downtown location, a couple blocks from Chase Field. Pizzeria Bianco opens at 5 p.m. and is well-known to have a line of people waiting to get in the entire evening. That's how popular it is. We parked in a garage and walked around the block to find it. It's a bit disorienting because it's located in a little group of historic buildings and at first you think there's no one around. And then we came around the corner...and I told Kevin, "Oh! There it is." He asked, "Where?"  And I pointed and said "See the line of people? That's it. They're waiting." At 4:30 on a Wednesday in the fall. Yeah.

Bar Bianco next door

So we walked up and asked where the end of the line was. People pointed and I talked to the young man next to us who told me that they were "group #11" which made us group #12. A few minutes later more people starting arriving and filing in behind us on the sidewalk. Lucky we got there when we did.

If you ever have to wait in a line for a restaurant, this is the place to do it. Not only is the weather GORGEOUS and comfortable, but PB has made the wait as pleasant as possible. There are tables and chairs where people can have a drink and visit while they wait, or read, or play cards, or even a game of Scrabble like a group of gals was doing. Cool! Everyone seems pretty happy to be there and content to wait. I guess they know it's worth it.

PB has also, wisely, purchased the building next door and turned it into a bar, Bar Bianco, which serves wine and beer for waiting customers. So upon arriving to wait in the queue, parties send in someone to order glasses of wine or beer, and bring them back out to the group. There are benches and chairs to sit comfortably. PB even planted a little green lawn to make the wait more pleasant. And the famous long table and benches that are sandwiched between the restaurant and bar. Kev took my photo there.

At 5 p.m. sharp, a young hostess opened the door to the restaurant and the line surged forward. There was one group of 6 retired-age couples who had called ahead for a table and arrived early (only large groups can reserve). They were let in first. The hostess then let in one party at a time and let them select their own table. Even the 8-seat bar with single chairs was filling up as we inched our way to the front of the line. I didn't think we were going to make it in for the first seating. But we did.....we nabbed the last 2-top table, right in the middle of the restaurant. Score! We were happy as could be as more crowds lined up outside, waiting for the next seating.

Look! There's the famous owner/chef in the open kitchen!

This was one of my most-happy-restaurant-experiences ever. Just perfect in every way. We took it all in - the tall-ceilinged room (so tiny!) and exposed brick walls, hardwood floor, open kitchen, brick pizza oven with glowing flames. Smile and sigh.

The menu is small - but the waiters know it well and can recommend how much food to order (they don't even try to upsell you because they know they can fill your table again as soon as you leave). The service is professional, quiet, and swift. They know how to serve well but you don't feel rushed. It was fun to be able to see the workers make pizzas from our central seats.

And there was the owner/restaurateur/chef right behind the counter, making pizzas! I've seen him on TV! This is the guy that makes the magic happen.

Our waiter recommended that we order two salads or appetizers, and two pizzas to share (they're small, thin-crusted, cut in 6 slices). Sounded great. Every day they feature a new "Farmer's Market Salad" which is composed of fresh local ingredients. The salad this day was baby arugula (tiny micro leaves!), parmesan cheese, thinly sliced apples, and a light citrus vinaigrette. It was delicious! Really fresh and tasty.

We ordered two pizzas: The Sonny Boy (tomato, fresh mozzarella, salami, greek olives) and the Wiseguy (roasted onion, smoked mozzarella, fennel sausage, and we added roasted cremini mushrooms. No tomato sauce on this one.) Both were excellent. We realized why people LOVE the light, crisp, tender crust. SOooooooo good!

We had a couple of pieces left at the end that we took with us. We wanted to stay and just people-watch but the tables are a very precious commodity here, and we willingly gave it up when we were finished so the next happy twosome could enjoy dinner.

Such a great place! Outside groups were waiting in the dark, under the street lights and twinkling lights. Talking, drinking, and waiting their turn to go inside. The warm weather made it even better. What a fun, delicious, and magical place. Yay for Pizzeria Bianco! Hope we can return someday!

Taco Soup for Fall

Since I've been so absent there lately, and I'm heading out of town tomorrow, I decided to throw you off by posting again. Two days in a row. Surprised?

Anyway, our September here was beautiful...warm, sunny, and dry, and seemed just like summer really. Then October came, and suddenly on Sunday (Oct. 4) the winds blew in the cold all day long and it actually rained. All of my friends know that when it rains I suddenly feel driven to make some kind of soup. My favorite rainy day activity. On Sunday I got a hankering for taco soup.....and so that's what I made. It's better than chili, in my opinion.

This is a recipe that I first sampled at another gal's house about 15 or more years ago. I tweaked it a bit and served my version to my family every couple of months for years. Once, when I worked at Head Start several years ago, we were going to have a potluck and they wanted some volunteers for "main dishes". I offered to bring my taco soup in a crock pot. They asked "What?" like they'd never heard of it before. I thought EVERYONE and their dog had taco soup. But apparently not. And so they, being curious, cheered me on to bring it. I mixed it all together the night before, hauled it to work in the crock pot where I plugged it in on low until lunch time. I also brought all of the toppings and plastic bowls. Everyone liked it so much that they kept bugging me for the recipe, which I finally typed up and handed out copies a few weeks later. I've heard that some of them are still making it for their families.

So this Sunday, I made it just for the two of us. A small batch. But of course there was enough for leftovers for lunch the next day (my favorite part). Try it - economical, very tasty, and serves a crowd.

Shelley's Taco Soup

(this is for the small batch (4 to 6 servings) for serving a crowd, just double or triple the recipe).

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef (organic if you can get it) - browned and drained
1 small onion, chopped (brown with beef)
1 T. of minced garlic
1 qt. carton of beef broth (I like Kitchen Basics)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 14 oz. can of Rotel Tomatoes & Chillies ( or just Diced Tomatoes if you prefer)
1 14 oz. can of beans (black, pinto, or light red), rinsed and drained
1/2 lb. package of petite frozen corn
1 6 oz. can of minced green chillies (optional)
2 T. of taco seasoning or 1 t. of cumin and 1 t. of chili powder
Salt & pepper to taste

After browning the beef and onion, add of of the other ingredients, stir and simmer for about 30 to 60 minutes. Flavors intensify as time increases.

Serve in bowls topped with the following condiments: light sour cream, chopped green onions, grated cheddar cheese, and tortilla chips or fritos. Refrigerate leftovers if you're lucky enough to have some.

Cafe DeCamp - a locally owned Billings restaurant serving locally produced food

A few weeks ago a friend of mine texted me that there was a cool new restaurant in town that I should go check out. Cafe DeCamp in Billings, Montana. She loved it and thought that I would too.

And so, two weekends ago, I headed to Farmer's Market on my scooter and it was such a nice fall day - sunny and warm, that I decided to treat myself to lunch. I had my Kindle along and wanted some coffee and so I felt comfortable going it alone on my adventure. I walked in, picked out a table where I could observe others and then pulled out my Kindle and settled in. I enjoyed seeing what others had ordered, and I myself ordered a BLT served on toasted sourdough with a side of waldorf salad. It was the BEST BLT I've ever had! I loved reading the menu - about how all of the produce and meats are from LOCAL farms and when possible are organic too. Farm-to-table concept in Montana! I never thought that I'd see the day (because there's only so much you can do with beef and wheat). This was exciting.

So I went home and told Kev how much I enjoyed it and insisted that he go with me next time (he'd been out golfing with friends that day). So last Saturday morning, we headed down together with my favorite USA Today Weekend Edition in tow.

 

Carrot Ginger Soup with Lime Creama - fantastic!

A tiny restaurant with an open kitchen, and a patio with more tables in the back (which can't be used 8 months of the year). The owner/chef worked at a lot of different restaurants before buying this old building (used to be a local Mexican cafe) and fixing it up to open their own tiny restaurant. A small menu, serving lunch and dinner five days a week.

 
Bison Burger - grass fed DDC Ranch Bison, sharp white cheddar, housemade cherry BBQ sauce,
shallot straws on toasted foccacia, with housemade potato fries.

We loved it - we each shared and sampled what we ordered. I didn't quite like these sandwiches as well as the one from the week before, but they were still very good. And unique. This place reminds me so much of a Portland or Seattle neighborhood cafe. The kind that I like and use to frequent when I lived there many moons ago.

Lazy Anchor Meat Loaf Sandwich - Montana organic beef meatloaf, sharp white cheddar, horseradish aioli, cucumber, caramelized onions, marbled rye bread, housemade potato chips, ginger cold slaw

We're going for dinner next time. Our friends went there for dinner and enjoyed it even better than at  lunch. But I always thought our town needed more lunch places and this one fits the bill. I hope that they make it. It can't be easy with the overhead and sourcing locally and working so hard. But I applaud them. And I plan to support them. I hope other "locals" do too.

Cool, quaint, fresh, organic, local, gourmet, urban.
Cafe DeCamp: www.cafedecamp.com
1404 6th Ave. N.
Billings, MT
406-256-7285

(If you're interested in learning more about the Eat Local movement, I recommend reading Barbarba Kingsolver's book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle". I read it a couple of years ago and became very interested in this.)