Hangin' In The Kitchen

One of my very favorite places to be is in the kitchen! Music blasting, wine in hand, and cookin'. That's my bliss. Last weekend can be put very simply: we didn't stop! We shot back to back weddings on Friday and Saturday, and on Sunday it was my parents 40th wedding anniversary. Quite a milestone. In honor of that, MK and I had the family over for home made spaghetti and some celebrating.

It's as simple as this, pasta from scratch is the absolute best! Its easy too. The only thing you need is flour, eggs and a little salt and water. Oh, and a little patience of course.

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I wanted to share my baguette recipe with you since it is easy to make and perfect with basically any meal.

  • 2 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 tbsp. sugar
  • 1 packet of instant yeast
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • a dash here and there of rosemary or thyme (or whichever spices are your favorite)

All you do now is put the water and yeast in your mixer and let sit for 5 minutes, then add everything else. Flour a surface, and knead the bread. Let rise for about 40 minutes, knead again, shape into baguette, make 3 or 4 slices in the top and bake on 450 for 20-30 minutes depending on your oven. Make sure its a golden color for that little crunch.

 

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A party without cake is just a meeting.
— Julia Child

Local Love

This is one of my favorite photos that MK ever took of me. Even though this looks like a big city, it's just little ol' Uniontown. It took me some time to come around but I must say, I love my town.

Also, this photo got "explored" on the photo sharing site Flickr. That means it was picked out of millions of photos as a top photo of the day. Pretty cool.

Comfort Food At It's Best

I've been a little off the grid lately as I've been under the weather. But I'm a glass half full kind of Gal and I decided to put a positive spin on the dreaded summer cold and make myself some ooey gooey comfort food. A couple of nights ago like a good Husband does, MK made me a fabulous grilled cheese sandwich. It hit the spot so much that I wanted to make another the following night. I wanted to switch it up so my brain automatically goes to gourmet. Gourmet Pesto Grilled Cheese?! Perfect!! I just so happened to have fresh from the garden tomatoes (thanks Dad!) just sitting on my counter needing to be used. This just might be my new favorite and the good news is that it's so easy!

All you do is put the pesto of your choice on each side of the bread (I used fresh Italian from the bakery), cut up some tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, I put mine in a Panini press but you can do it stove top as well. It's quick, easy, and so delicious! 

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