HYACINTHS FOR THE SOUL

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Let's Dish ~ Tartan

Let's Dish

Let's Dish ~ Tartan

It's time for

Let's Dish

Hosted by Cuisine Kathleen

A time to share

anything table or dish related.

National Tartan Day is April 6, 2012,

so open those cupboards and

pull out your plaids or tartans.

There is going to be a Tartan Parade

with a linky party on April 1st for

Favorites on the First

@ The Polohouse

One Party ~ Four Blogs

Hyacinths for the Soul with Sarah

Upstairs Downstairs with Babs

Vignette Design with Delores

Polohouse with Alison

Link up any post that flaunts your PLAIDITUDE.

We want everyone to share something plaid or tartan

to celebrate Tartan Day 2012.

Start planning your post now and join us for the parade.

Click below to stop by Kathleen's

for the premier meeting

of the Sisterhood of Dish Lovers

Let's Dish ~ Cuisine Kathleen

Also Joining:

House & Garden Party @ Delightsome Life

Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Potpouri Friday @ 2805

Show & Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home

Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home

Seasonal Sunday @ The Tablescaper

Cowgirl Up @ Cedar Hill Ranch

Tabletop Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life

Tea Time Tuesday @ Rose Chintz Cottage

Party W/ My Peeps @ How to Nest for Less

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Custard, Cookies, & Irish Coffee

Crumiri Cookies

I hope everyone had a chance to take part in

Kathleen's Annual St. Patrick's Day

Blog Crawl

You'll find my party post here.

Joining

Designs by Gollum

Foodie Friday

to share the recipes from my party.

Baked Egg Custard

Beat 4 eggs in the blender until light. Add a pinch of salt, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and blend well. Add 1 cup of whipping cream. Mix well. Pour into baking dish or individual cups. Place baking dishes in a pan of hot water. Bake @ 300 until shimmering, about 1 hour.

Top with whipped cream and fresh berries or other topping of your choice.

Crumiri Cornmeal Cookies

Crumiri Cornmeal Cookies are originally an Italian cookie, but they are a wonderful little treat to serve along with rich custard. These gems aren't very sweet and the added crunch with the cornmeal gives them a nice texture along side the smooth custard. I sprinkled green sugar on top of each little crumiri button to add to celebrate the green.

You can find a copy of the recipe I used here. I didn't have a good piping bag, so I opted to roll the dough into small balls and top with the green sugar.

Irish coffee is

a favorite treat here.

Simply add a jigger of Irish whisky

to a cup of your favorite dark, rich coffee.

Then top it off with sweet whipped cream.

Wishing each of you a

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Click here to join

Michael Lee for Foodie Friday

Seasonal Sunday @ The Tablescaper

On the Menu Monday @ Stone Gable

Monday, March 12, 2012

Erin Go Bragh

Bailey's Cream

May your home be filled with laughter.

May your pockets be filled with gold.

May you have all the

happiness your heart can hold.

"Céad mile failte"

A hundred thousand welcomes!

It's time for Kathleen's

Annual St. Patrick's Day

Blog Crawl

I fixed a special tray to

help us celebrate.

There are top hats

and shamrocks a plenty.

Gold Coins

for Luck

Green Checks and Stripes

in Honor of the Emerald Isle

Even a

four leaf clover!

All special details to celebrate

St. Patrick's Day.

I hope you'll

enjoy the treats!

There's Irish coffee made with

Bushmills' Irish Whiskey.

Topped with sweet whipped cream

and a little candy shamrock.

A plate of goodies

made just for you.

Rich Egg Custard

with Berries and Cream

and

An Assortment

of Cookies

May good luck be with you

wherever you go and your blessings

outnumber the shamrocks that grow.

Like the warmth of the sun

and the light of the day,

may the luck of the Irish

shine bright on your way.

Long live the Irish,

Long live our cheer,

Long live our friendship year after year.

Now put on some green and join

Cuisine Kathleen's

St. Patrick's Day Blog Crawl

I'll share the recipes this Friday for

Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm

Also joining

Cowgirl Up Tuesday @ Cedar Hill Ranch

Bunny Hop @ Bunny Jean's Decor & More

Tablescape Thursday @ BNOTP

Home & Garden Thursday @ A Delightsome Life

Pearls & Grace Thursday @ Faith, Grace, & Crafts

Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Show & Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home

Potpourri Friday @ 2805

Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home

Say G' Day Saturday @ Natasha in Oz

Pink Saturday @ How Sweet the Sound

Seasonal Sunday @ The Tablescaper

Thursday, March 8, 2012

THE MATCHMAKER OF PERIGORD

book review

THE MATCHMAKER OF PERIGORD

by Julia Stuart

Available here on Amazon

A book review for Food for Thought,

a delicious blog for readers with

an appetite for the written word.

This light quirky novel is full

of both humor and culinary delights.

The cuisine of France is

certainly not lacking in this whimsical read.

Yes, there are many delectable treats

among the pages of MATCHMAKER OF PERIGORD.

Just as there is an abundance of

romantic mishaps in this village of Amour.

Guillaume Ladoucette, the successful village barber, suddenly finds that his clients have grown older and balder, and it becomes apparent to Guillaume Ladoucette that he must pursue a new profession. Set in the small French village of Amour-ser-Belle (population 33) "despite its name, love was something that Amour-Ser-Belle was sorely lacking." To alter this village status, Guillaume Ladoucette takes on the task of village matchmaker.

"Guillaume Ladoucette wiped his delicate fingers on his trouser leg before squeezing them into the glass jar. As he wiggled them around the cold, slippery fat he recognized what he felt was an ankle and his tongue moistened. He tugged it out and dropped the preserved duck leg into the cassoulet made by his mother thirty-one years ago and which had been on the go every since."

My first inclination for a FFT connection was to make a cassoulet. So I went straight to Julia's MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING. Clearly this recipe was a bit too adventuresome for moi. The ingredients alone made me feel as if I were taking inventory at la boucherie.

So instead I settled on a fishing trip picnic.

"For whilst the two men were fiercely competitive when it came to fishing, their unspoken rivalry was not over what one another caught, but the contents of their picnic baskets. And the barber, who had been labouring in the kitchen since five that morning, was convinced that victory would be his."

~ Baguette ~ bunch of tomatoes-on-the-vine ~

~ jar of cornichons ~ bunch of pink radish ~

~another baguette ~ duck paté ~ vichyssoise ~

~ potato salad w/ lobster tails ~

~goat's cheese tart ~ walnut and apple cake~

"No, thanks, otherwise I won't be able to manage this! ' the baker announced, lifting a walnut and apple cake out of his basket with a flourish. But they both knew it was useless: nothing could have beaten Guillaume Ladoucette's caprine masterstroke."

Guillaume Ladoucette's goat cheese tart couldn't be topped.

So Goat Cheese Tart it is for FFT!

I used an Ina Garten Food Network recipe found here.

Instead of using garlic-and-herb soft goat cheese, I opted for Montchevre fresh goat cheese and then added fresh chopped garlic in with the saute of chopped shallots.