Cucumber Goat Cheese Dip With Radishes and Scallions

Now that spring is almost here and green is taking over the week... I thought I would share a simple fresh and easy cheese dip. Easy and fast and fit to eat with crackers or dip veggies.

Plus you get to make cucumber water...it is fun to make and adds great flavor to the dip.

If you have extra cucumber water it can be used to add to a citrus mint drink or even to spice up a martini...just in case you have had enough green beer. 

 The combination of radishes, cucumber, and mint pair well with the tangy goat cheese.

I forgot to take a picture of the dip with all the lovely veggies. We had good friends over, and I got side tracked with great conversation and watching the little kids giggles. Lets just say the dip was a hit and just the right thing to share to celebrate  the beginning of spring.

Lucy's Chocolate Minis

I have no idea who Lucy is and I don't care. What I do care about is chocolate, sugar and eggs. And I really care that Lucy's lovely minis come together so quick and easy... (while the baby is napping type of easy and fast.) Plus minis are so cute and so much fun to eat... and portion controlled (if you can eat just one.) 

Added some candied pecans and sour cherries to the tops of a few to spice things up.

Melting the butter and chocolate....two other delicious things to care about.

I suggest you care about Lucy's Chocolate Minis too.

Stove Top Braised Short Ribs

For Valentine's Day dinner I thought it would be fun to switch it up a bit. I would make dinner, my husband usually does the cooking. (Thank God!) And he would make dessert. Let just say it was a match made to be...and my stomach totally agrees.

First off, I have never ever braised a thing in my life. Second, it is so easy and so tasty. Tasty also because short ribs braised in wine with whole shallots and carrots and a bunch of thyme, and parsley makes for a good show...really it does!

Oh I forgot the mushrooms! They were just like little magic after they soaked up all the goodness of the braise. 

I also forgot to mention that the short ribs were dredged in flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg and then seared in bacon fat...yes I said it bacon fat....fatty fat fat!!!

 The scene is set...

 Wine and cheese please.

 A chopped salad with mango, pear apple and pomegranate seeds.

And there she is.....oven braised short ribs over a cheesy polenta. As you can see the dog is wafting in the aromas.

And to top it all off my husband made mini pecan sour cherry sticky buns with gelato and chocolate. (He needs to bake more often.) All I can say is that this was such an easy dinner and it was so good. Glad that Valentine's Day comes once a year as my taste buds, and belly could not handle anymore!

Granola Bars

Granola bars remind me camp and camp reminds me of summer and summer reminds me of sunscreen and Slurpees. Wow, I am really digressing. But, for some reason eating a granola bar brings me back to being a little one, playing outside until the street lights come on, and just having fun!

    So, I thought I would mix up a quick batch (little fingers approved) fun and easy granola bars.

I had a ton of dried fruit and added some almonds, toasted oats and coconut.

Bound together with some honey and vanilla. Toasted in the oven until golden!

Here comes the fun, sun and some crumbs! 

Plum Rugelach

Life lessons via Rugelach...first off... how the heck to you say or spell this damn thing. Really how do you?

Second, and more technical question, use a food processor or kitchen aid to make the darn "flaky crust."

I choose the food processor as it was already on my counter top.

Third, next time make sure you follow the directions (dummy) and mix the darn dough to the descriptions that you should...."shaggy and flaky."I bilked and thought that I did this, but not really.

Then make sure you don't over do it with the filling. This is a lesson that should be carried into life. Like don't over fill your dessert plate, or your belly or your wine glass....guilty on all fronts. 

But most importantly enjoy...enjoy and have fun. My little one enjoyed these treats (as imperfect as they were) and so did I.  Lessons learned from the Rugelach from my life you to yours. Happy 2011!

Jingle Berries!!

The holidays came and went and alas I did do some baking but no blogging.... well maybe next year.  Oh  holly heck 2011 is here and all I want to do is stay away from anything that says, "first cream the butter and sugar together." So here are two photos of a lovely fruit salad that we enjoyed on New Years morning. With the help of Blog O Food we had a lovely brunch filled with good friends, bubbly and of course popovers! 

My addition was a simple fruit salad with berries and pears and of course some mint. You can't ring in the New Year without mint.... and great friends to share it with. Hope you all have a happy and healthy new year. Lots of love (and mint) to all!

Do try the popovers they were lovely. Butter and flour posts to follow... you can bet on that!

Pecan Bars

In case you still need a last minute secret Santa gift or are searching for a last minute holiday dessert. Maybe you need to make sure that you put a smile on that loved ones face, or make up for your "witty" comments you made last year. Whatever is on your last minute "To Do" list, you may need to add these bars. They are that good!

Pecan bars with a simple shortbread. Basically bite size pecan pie. Beware they might make you jump up and down. I swear I have seen it happen.

Shortbread...really who does not love shortbread. I think that Santa told me it was his favorite.

After baking off the shortbread and making the gooey pecan mixture, you spread out the goodness and bake until it bubbles.

Cut in to bite size squares and let your holiday bells ring!!!