I'm just not feeling winter this year - maybe for a few days when we had snow on the ground.  The way things look right now I'm expecting to see the forsythia begin to bloom.  The sun is shining but I need that cold, blustery weather to get into the winter mood.  I'm confused, should I be thinking about making comfort foods or begin making salads?  I'm buying tulips every time I go to the grocery store, but I tend to do that anyway.

So, I've been cleaning out lots of our closets and drawers, which always makes me feel good.  I feel better when the things I see on shelves and in closets are all things that we use - our old farmhouse doesn't have a ton of storage so we need to maximize the space that we have and fill it with things that are functional and of course pretty and meaningful.

Even though I love clearing closets and drawers, I actually have to stop myself from buying new things to fill the spaces I've just cleared!  

Tonight we are trying a new recipe at Frog Hollow Farm, from the February 2012  issue of La Cucina Italiana that I picked up at our Whole Foods last week.  I guess I'm going with comfort foods and not salads, at least for tonight.

The recipe is called Scalloppine di Maiale all'arancia - that's Pork Scaloppine with Orange and Lentils for all of the non Italian speaking bloggers out there :).

This is the photo from the La Cucina Italiana website.

Here's the link - http://lacucinaitalianamagazine.com/recipe/pork-scaloppine--with-orange-and-lentils

If you highlight the link you should be able to link right over to it.

I already had all of the ingredients and am even trying to clear out some of my pantry and freezer items, this seemed like a healthy way to go.

For last week's Giant's game I made a new appetizer recipe from skinnytaste.com called  

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites 

I ate them all....they had me at BACON.  

I'm reading and hearing a lot about people switching over from Blogger to Word Press - I'm not sure if it's something that I need to do but began reading about it today.  I've been wanting to develop my blog into a business of sorts and have some ideas - Word Press may be the more dependable source.  

What are your feelings on switching?

Ciao, bella!

Dinner for a Friend

FHFB and I have been to visit our friend Dave many times at Lindenmere in South Hero, Vermont. Dave is originally from New Jersey, and makes a trip back down here once or twice a year. 

The last time Dave was in New Jersey we hosted a small dinner party for him - and it was warm enough to eat out on the back porch. 

Here's what was on the menu:

If you have the time please check out some older blog posts about our trip to Lindenmere, Vermont.  It's truly a magical place that we love to visit.

http://froghollowfarmgirl.blogspot.com/2010/10/flatrocks-at-lindenmere.html

http://froghollowfarmgirl.blogspot.com/2010/10/vermont-vacation.html

(this blog post has another menu for you to check out!)

I'm linking in to Yvonne's first On the Menu Monday party at Stone Gable!

Ciao, bella!

xxoo



Dresser Bar on the Back Porch for Summertime Entertaining

We entertain all summer long at Frog Hollow Farm, and with the addition on our wrap-around porch three years ago, entertaining has become so much easier. 

One thing that I have always done both in and out of our house is move things around - I am constantly moving furniture looking for just the right combination of sitting areas and places for food and a bar. 

The good news is that I think the porch is finally finished as far as figuring all of that out. We have a large farm table with 6 red ladderback chairs as the main sitting area, and several sitting areas all around the porch, including both small couches and chairs as well as large beautiful rocking chairs loaded with comfy pillows. 

My focus for this post is the bar area I just set up for the summer.  I found an old dresser in our garage that I thought would work just perfectly - I loved the color of the wood and the contrast with the rest of the porch furniture - and using an antique wooden piece of furniture in an outside sitting area seemed like a novel idea.  Having a covered porch allows for protection from the elements - we'll have to take it inside over the winter. 

You can see the entire piece centered under the kitchen window.    An old basket held the all-purpose wine glasses that we use for most everything - they are stock items from Crate and Barrel - I usually end up buying 24 of them each year around the holidays - they are inexpensive so when they chip or break throughout the year I don't feel so bad.  After awhile the finish on these everyday glasses tends to dull, so new sparkly glasses are a must!

The large glass jar with the spout is from Pottery Barn, and worked beautifully for our White Wine Sangria.  I filled it up right before our guests arrived, having to of course sample the sangria before serving it ;).  The wine bottle to the left of the glass jar is an old bottle from FHFB's family - I love the look and it's a colorful accent on the bar.

This old copper bucket worked so well holding the chilled white wine and proseco.  We found this recently at an antique shop on Route 9 in Cape May, New Jersey.  It was raised up off of the floor on a small plant stand for easier access. I love buying antiques that are simple, functional and beautiful.

Since there isn't a ton of space on the top of the dresser, I decided to use the two small drawers on the top to hold some specific items, like a corkscrew, bitters, shaker, a towel and small bottles of juice and alchohol (we had one person who loves gin martinis, so I needed to have the  ingredients easily available).  We always like to serve our guests their first cocktail or glass of wine, but having the bar area set up and easily accessible allows everyone to serve themselves cocktails, soda or water throughout the evening. 

Beer glasses and plastic cups for the kids were placed in the second small drawer, lined with a vintage checked placemat.

This bar will stay in place throughout the summer.  When not in use it still looks like a significant part of the porch with the addition of a colorful coleus plant.  We keep the large glass jar and the round basket out all of the time - just rinsing them off carefully before using them each time. 

Thanks for stopping by - I'm linked in to Seasonal Sundays over at The Tablescaper 

Foodie Friday over at Designs by Gollum 

Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch!
Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home 
Friday Foods at Momtrends 

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch!

Ciao, bella!

xxoo

Finally...the Dessert Recipe from La Cucina Del Garga!

Crema di Ricotta

con Salsa Caramello all'Arancia e Mandorle Tostate

(Ricotta Cream with Orange Caramel Sauce and Toasted Almonds)

Serves 6

For the ricotta cream:

1 pound fresh ricotta

2/3 cup confectioners sugar - sifted

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Place the ricotta in a bowl and cream with a wooden spoon until smooth.
2. Add the sugar and cinnamon and mix thoroughly
3. Add the cream in small amounts, mixing until well combined
4. Add the zest and vanilla and mix again
5. Chill, covered with plastic wrap for at least an hour

For the sauce:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

2 tablespoons amber rum

1. Cook sugar in a dry 1-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, undisturbed, until it begins to melt.  Continue to cook, stirring occasionally with a fork (no liquids!!!!), until the sugar is melted into a deep golden caramel.  This really does happen!
2. Remove from the heat and carefully pour in orange juice, then rum (caramel will harden and steam vigorously!!).  Cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until caramel is dissolved.  Cool sauce to warm.

Note:  caramel sauce can be made 3 days ahead and chilled, covered.  Reheat before serving.

 

Garnish:  1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds - slightly toasted

 

To Assemble: 

1. In individual serving dishes place a quenelle shaped portion of the ricotta cream.  What's a 'quenelle' you ask????  Here's a You Tube video to help you see how Chef Patrick Fahey from Chicago forms an ice cream quenelle.  Looks like a lot of work to me.  If I were you I would just carefully mound the ricotta cream onto the plates. 
2. Drizzle with the sauce and sprinkle with the almonds.

Here we are with Sharon at the beginning of our meal.  Of course, after drinking wine for four hours needless to say that I did not take any photos of the finished dessert - and I'm so sorry about that because it was just such a simple presentation and an absolutley fabulous dessert.  Here's one idea that I found through a Google search. Since this dessert is so rich, serving it in the individual serving peices from Pier One for example might be a good idea!!

I'm linked into Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum!

Ciao, bella!!  xxoo

 

 

Magnificent Taglierini del Magnifico from La Cucina Del Garga

This dish was created by Guiliano Gargani for his restaurant, Garga, in Florence Italy.  In one of my recent blogs about our trip to Italy I mentioned Sharon Gargani's cookbook called Once Upon a Tuscan Table. 

She writes the following about this recipe in her book:

The inspiration for this pasta came from a simple citrus cake eaten during Carneval - the season between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday.  During the Renaissance, citrus fruits were a status symbol in Florence:  the climate being too cold to grow oranges and lemons outdoors in winter, a greenhouse or limonaia (an orangerie in France) was required.  Naturally, only the wealthy had such accommodations. We named the pasta 'Magnifico' after Lorenzo il Magnifico. 

Lorenzo il Magnifico

Here's the delicious pasta recipe that FHFB and I made during our class. 

As you can see, my abilities to manipulate scans is yet to be developed. 

Please forgive all of the extra space under the recipe. 



If you have trouble reading this just email me and I'll send you a clearer copy!

  

Below, you can see that I am beginning to make the pasta dough.  This is a basic recipe for homemade pasta dough - it's included in the first part of the Taglierini del Magnifico recipe. 

I've made pasta dough like this before, after watching FHFB's mother and sisters make in on their kitchen table in New Brunswick, NJ.  Watching them begin to make the pasta with a well of luscious light yellow semolina flour with eggs cracked into the middle (one egg per person) was always one of those mysterious Italian skills that I never thought I'd be able to do.   

Sharon showed us how to beat the eggs with a fork while gathering in the flour along the sides of the well, until all of it was incorporated. 

You can see the stainless pasta machine clamped to the side of the work table above.  This is a very basic and easy pasta machine to work with, and it has different settings for flattening the pasta dough and then cutting it into the desired size (such as spaghetti, linguine, fettucine or taglierini). 

After we flattened the dough and rolled it through the pasta machine, this is what it looked like. 

Isn't this a cool looking pasta dryer??

I think that I was just sitting there(and drinking that delicious white wine it appears!) admiring all of our hard work.  Sharon looks busy in the background, doesn't she??

The sauce was made separately in a large pan on the stove by FHFB.






Sharon has a mirror placed directly behind the stovetop.  She uses this to show specific techniques to larger groups of clients

I don't know about you, but I would never be able to keep this mirror as clean as Sharon does! 

This citrus sauce is really so delicious.  The ingredients are pretty basic, but I believe it's the quality of the citrus that will make or break the sauce.  Sharon recommends using only organic citrus - and of course the sweet Sicilian oranges in her kitchen were just so delicious! 

After we zested the oranges Sharon pulled out a small citrus juicer and made some fresh orange juice. It was so delicious (there's that word again) that I purchased a small citrus juicer from Black and Decker when I got home.  This little juicer is just right for us (we have one that attaches to our food processor but it's used for when we are juicing tons of lemons for our Rao's Lemon Chicken recipe!)   This little juicer is so easy to use - we use 2 oranges for each glass of juice.  I would normally eat an orange for the benefits of all that fiber but I have to admit that the juice is just so refreshing. 

I do hope that you try this very delicious recipe. 

We served it here at Frog Hollow Farm with Grilled Salmon and Roasted Asparagus. 

I'm hooking up with Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper. 

Ciao, bella!

Katie and FHFB in front of the Duomo in Florence.

Ciao, bella!!

xxoo

Brunch at Frog Hollow Farm

A few weekends ago FHFB and I served our first brunch - can you believe it?  We're not big breakfast eaters here - something simple - maybe a poached egg with whole grain toast and coffee or a simple bowl of oatmeal - and we're good to go. 

Although we set the table in the dining room for the main part of the meal...

it was a gloomy day...

We actually started out in the kitchen with the banana muffins, Irish Soda bread and hot coffee....

then we moved into the dining room.

Here's the menu with the recipes:

March Brunch Menu

Lilly’s Irish Soda Bread

Banana Muffins (Ina Garten)

Mini BLT’s (Breakfast at Nine, Tea at Four)

Potato Galette with Smoked Salmon (Martha Stewart.com)

Canadian Bacon Strata (Martha Stewart.com)

Fresh Organic Strawberries and Blueberries

Chocolate Flourless Torte (Ina Garten via Judy Marino)

Bellinis

Mimosas

Coffee/Tea

 

I'll be over at Tablescape Thursdays and Foodie Friday!  

Ciao, bella!!!
xxoo

Lilly's Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Hi everyone, as promised, here's the recipe for 

Lilly's Irish Soda Bread.

Lilly's Irish Soda Bread

Mix these together these 4 ingredients together:3 1/2 cups of flour

2/3 cup of sugar

1 1/2 cup of raisins

1 T. caraway seeds

1 t. salt

1 t. baking soda

1 T. baking powder

Mix together 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk and 2 Tablespoons of melted butter.

Add to dry ingredients and stir to combine throroughly.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour. 
You can bake it in a loaf pan greased with butter or just form it into a mound, score a large X on the top, and bake it on a cookie pan lined with parchment paper. 

I'm over at Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper 
and Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum- come take a look!

Christmas at Frog Hollow Farm

My goodness, it has been a busy few weeks here at Frog Hollow Farm - but definitely in a good way!

FHFB and I have hosted several Christmas parties over the last few weeks; FHFB's office staff  for a holiday cocktail party - 26 people in all, our annual Christmas House Dinner and Christmas Eve. 

Let me tell you, a room full of meteorologists is definitely very interesting and also a ton of fun!  Most of these guys are young - under 30 - and they are adorable to watch with their wives and girlfriends.  Every so often a different couple was snuggled up in our cuddle chair with a glass of wine or one of our delicious specialty cocktails of the night, the Blizzard (if you like bourbon)! 

I decided to cater this party from a local little restaurant called Stella G's.  This was definitely the way to go!  FHFB wanted something a little more elegant - and the appetizer selection from Stella G's was just perfect. 

Lobster salad in puff pastry cups...

I did some research and found that if a cocktail party is replacing a meal (like ours did), each guest would need 2-3 appetizer pieces, from 8-10 selections.  We also had to consider our vegetarian guest and a guest who is allergic to shellfish.  

Sesame Ahi Tuna on Wonton Crisps
 Parma Prosciutto with Asparagus...

In all, the menu included 5 cold appetizers and 7 hot appetizers.  

Cold

Sesame Ahi Tuna on Wonton Crisps

Parma Prosciutto with Asparagus

Hummus Selection with Herbed Pita

Lobster Salad Tartlets

Vegetable Crudites

Hot

Crab Cakes with Jicama 

Baby Rack of Lamb Lollipops

Individual Mushroom Quiche

Sesame Chicken Skewers with Teriyaki

Mini Beef Wellington

Coconut Shrimp

Filet Mignon with Horseradish Chutney

The cold selections were available when the guests first arrived, placed on silver serving pieces on our breadboard dining room table, the pine server and small round drop leaf table covered with a soft moss green jacquard tablecloth.  The hot appetizers were served to the guests on small antique silver platters throughout the evening.

Our invitation listed the hours from 6pm-9pm, just so people could drop by at any time and not worry about any formal time frame.  As it was, everyone arrived around 6pm and the last guests didn't leave until 11:30pm!!!  LOL - I was exhausted but so happy to see that everyone was having a great time.  

FHFB is so lucky to have such a wonderful staff - he's worked hard at putting together a great group of people.

Here are a few more pics of the food and tables...

We also hosted our annual Christmas House party for a small group of friends that we often travel with.

Our menu included:

Christmas Blessing cocktail
Clementine Cosmos
(Double the amount of clementines, reduce the sugar by half, and use citron vodka instead of vanilla vodka.)

Roasted Shrimp Cocktail
Parmesan-Thyme Crackers
Tellegio Cheese with Frog Hollow Farm Marmalade on Flatbread
Buttered Nuts

Lasagna Bolognese
Frog Hollow Farm Stuffed Artichokes
Arugula, Cranberry and Roasted Pecan Salad

Desserts were provided by our guests - there was a delicious cheesecake, a wonderful pecan layer cake, a yummy pumpkin pie and fantastic platter of Italian pastries!!

Here are a few photos of the table:

The tablecloth was purchased recently at a little store called La Petite Provence in Bethlehem, PA.

The chargers are from Home Goods.

The white dinner plate is rimmed with gold and was purchased in Macy's years ago, along with the gold flatware.

The salad plate is from a pattern called 'Winter Greetings' from Lenox and was purchased at Macy's this year. 

The napkins are from April Cornell.

The napkin rings were made from a soft white gold rimmed wire ribbon, with gold leaves tucked into the tied ribbon.

The water glasses were purchased at Williams-Sonoma years ago.

The two-tiered cake stand in the middle of the table was a recent purchase from Pottery Barn.

Our two spectacular helpers for the night:

Sara... 





and our daughter Katie below.

Thank you so very much for taking the time to stop by Frog Hollow Farm to see what's been happening lately. 

I'm taking part in Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch - please stop by to see all of the wonderful ideas for your seasonal table!

Ciao, bella!
Happy New Year!!

Google Image

The October Conservatory

We are so busy here at Frog Hollow Farm!  Bringing geraniums and hibiscus into the house before the frost, getting the gardens ready for winter, putting the finishing touches on our dining room and living room and also thinking about the holidays and the delicious menus we'll be serving. 

Our conservatory is right off of our dining room, and has become a year-round room.  Besides using it for housing herbs...

and entertaining, we love sitting out there in the winter, reading, and watching the snow fall outside while sipping hot chocolate with home-made Frog Hollow Farm marshmallows or drinking a delicious cocktail.

For October we have our pumpkin pine table set with some seasonal pieces of mixed vintage china picked up in a couple of antique shops on our trip to Vermont several years ago.

The napkins are from April Cornell and the tablecloth is from Marshalls.  I love the colors in these vintage pieces.

Two little bears sit in their adorable Halloween costumes, waiting for someone to take them Trick-or-Treating.  We don't get Trick-or-Treaters at our house - we sit down a long tree-lined lane and there are only a few homes on our street. 

Somewhere in my reading and browsing I came across an interesting way to prepare brussel sprouts, if you're a fan that is. 

Sliced and Sauteed Brussel Sprouts

Clean the sprouts and slice off the end of each one. 

Place in a food processor with the slicing disc and slice the brussel sprouts .

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a pan with thinly sliced garlic.  We like garlic so I used 3 cloves, but you can use as much or little as you like.  I suppose you could also use shallots or leeks instead.

Saute the brussel sprouts with the olive oil and garlic until soft - about 15 minutes or so.  While they are cooking, sprinkle on some kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

We are driving into the city today to check out the new 'Eataly' - Mario Batali's new gourmet Italian grocery store and restaurants (yes, there are several restaurants in this place).  My daughter has been there twice and has warned us that it's a zoo, but definitely a fantastic place for Italian foodies. 

I'm linked in to Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper!  Please stop by to check out the wonderful blogs and seasonal ideas. 

Ciao, bella!!

Vermont Vacation

I'm finally sitting down to share our wonderful trip up to Vermont in early September. 

Thirty years ago was the first time FHFB and I took the long drive up to South Hero Island in a very large old Cadillac with a 6 month old baby.  Truth be told I was a little nervous, I didn't know our host (he was another weather friend of FHFB's) and I wasn't sure how baby-friendly the house would be. 

We all fell in love with Lindenmere the minute we drove down the narrow tree lined lane to the magical little house overlooking Lake Champlain.

I can't believe I don't have any photos of the house - it's a summer house built in the 1920s with cedar shingle siding and  wooden windows painted with a simple white trim.

Cedar trees surround the house and lean precariously over the rocks into the lake.  The house is up pretty high so there's no danger of any flooding. 

Our host plants the loveliest garden every year, full of colorful annuals and geraniums that he saves year after year in their clay pots.  He really has a green thumb.

Tomorrow I'll post some photos of the lake and flatrocks.  

Our Vermont host is visiting Frog Hollow Farm this weekend  and we're planning to have a wonderful dinner on the porch.  Hopefully the rain and wind will be out of here and we can all sit snuggled in some sweaters and talk the night away. 

Here's our menu chock full of Italian comfort food:

Frog Hollow Farm Sausage and Peppers

(all the peppers are from FHFB's garden!)

Baked Rigatoni with Bechamel Sauce

Crusty warm semolina bread

Arugula salad with toasted walnuts

Ina Garten's Apple Crisp

(I use less of the citrus zest when I make this absolutely delicious recipe)

The first time I ever made this recipe was about 10 years ago.  We were expecting a phenomenal meteor shower that year, I think it was in November, but I'm not sure.  Anyway, we had some friends coming over at 3:00am (yes, I know, a bit crazy) to sit and watch the show with us.  And I say 'show' because I've never seen anything like it.  The meteors were so numerous and so very bright, they were lighting up the whole field.  It was one of the most magical nights that FHFB and I have shared together - and we had our dearest friends with us as well!  Afterwards everyone came into the kitchen and the aroma of the baking apple crisp was still in the air.  With a steaming cup of coffee the apple crisp just hit the spot - we still talk about that meteor shower and when we do our friends always mention the apple crisp. It was truly a memorable evening! 

(He just came into our office told me it was the Leonids meteor shower in November.)

I hope your evening is memorable as well - there are so many memories to make!

Ciao, bella!