Now We're Cooking!

I love to cook. That should be obvious by now. And only once before have I had a gourmet kitchen to enjoy, like the one I have now.

Stopped off at "Whole Paycheck" to pick up some nice produce for dinner. A good friend of mine who has worked hard in the last year to remain sober and recover his life, that was almost lost, arrived last Saturday for a gourmand's treat. Well, within his dietary limitations. Seriously, he's a fabulous cook himself, so I knew I needed to excell.

Moules poullette... that's mussels in a cream and shallot broth enhanced with bacon and chervil, at least, that's the way they make it at my favorite French bistro! Our local seafood place stopped selling PEI's and bought Meditteranean's instead. They were huge and plump!

Miniature beets in both gold and red I roasted. I might make all my beets this way now! Time consuming, but definitely flavorful. Pea shoots! I've been dying to try them for months! Stir-fried them with mint. I grilled brown turkey figs threaded with rosemary and then split them and topped them with gorgonzola and a slight drizzle of wildflower honey. It was the house fave that night. Then I roasted a pricey little beef tenderloin and served it with a horseradish cream freshly made with creme fraiche and grated horse radish. Thank you, Kathy and Tim, for the lovely microplane! Then horseradish looked like fresh snow... so light and fluffy.

I love playing around with my grey fleur de sel and my pink flaked sea salt!

I served a fresh peach pie for dessert... the taste of summer!

If I had all the money in the world and these dishes weren't so rich, I would cook like this every night. But, I'd never want to be a chef or own a restaurant. I've read Kitchen Confidential, thanks!