What to make?

For the past few years Jake and I have hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our house. It's been so nice to cook for my family and to not have to rush around from house to house like we used to. This year it looks like it will just be us and one of my students, which I think might also be a good change of pace. My plan is to spend part of the day cooking (which I love to do and often don't have time for), eating, and watching movies. I'm going to try really hard not to work at all.

So, now I have to decide on a menu. I think this potato gratin from La Tartine Gourmande is going to make an appearance. And I'll certainly have to have Molly's cream braised Brussels sprouts and savoy cabbage gratin. Seriously, last year I made both recipes and we ate every last delicious bite. I still haven't found a great stuffing recipe (if you know one, send it my way), but I think I might try this one. For dessert, I know we'll be having Smitten Kitchen's raspberry buttermilk cake. I'm not usually a sweets kind of person, but this is hands down one of my very favorite recipes. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a delicious meal with family or friends!

{image from Béatrice Peltre}

A day off

This weekend marked Jake's 30th birthday. It was pretty low key, but it also meant that it was one of my first days off in what feels like a long time. It's weird, when you own your own business, you work every day. It may not be the entire day, but work is certainly never far from my mind (like when I was glued to my laptop working on a deadline even though we were at a cottage on a beautiful lake). Even on the weekends, it's impossible for me not to check my email and then likely that I will get sucked into a long response or remember that I need to finish a proof for a client. Well, Saturday I made it a point to not do most of these things and just spent the day at the market, going to dinner, and then staying up late talking with friends we barely get to see. It was such a nice night.

We've also been making an effort to cook more. Before Jake got laid off I had been making a bad habit of eating out a lot. Way too much. It was easier and it was less stressful and it meant I could just veg out and not think about anything. Which is so sad because I love to cook. So now that Jake is around during normal dinner hours, we have started making meals together. It's amazing that cooking together can be so satisfying. Even the easy meals come together so much quicker. The pics in this post are from some of our recent meals...yogurt parfaits with fresh berries and peaches...sweet yellow tomoatoes waiting to become roasted tomato soup...summer salad with beets and clementines.

It's a foodie day

It's been awful trying to find the time to cook lately. So, I've been trying to find easy and delicious recipes that Jake and I can make (or sometimes that Jake can make himself). This aged cheddar and apple melt from She Eats Bears looks incredible and is going to be added to our repertoire. We've also been eating quite a few pizzas and this lemony zucchini pizza tops my list. I've actually made it with fresh ricotta from our local cheese shop and it's amazing. Any suggestions for easy meals out there?