Desiree’s Mud Room

Sunday #4

Monday, January 24th, 2011

I had brunch with a friend a while back at the California Cafe in Los Gatos. Had the best crab melt ever! I’ve re-created them for my family. And everyone—well, almost everyone loves them. I only changed the bread California Cafe’s version uses brioche. I use sweet french bread. I’ve even used this recipe as an appetizer and used a french baguette to try and keep it to a 2 bite size. This past week has been crazy and I’m looking for something quick and delicious. I want clean-up to be a breeze, so I can try to re-group before the start of the next crazy work week.

Crab Melts

1 loaf sweet french bread
1/2 cup pesto (roughly–I’ve never measured it)
4 Roma tomatoes thinly sliced
1 lb. lump crab meat
15 slices of Havarti

Pre-heat broiler. Slice french bread into approximately 15 slices. Spread a thin layer of pesto and top with a slice of tomato. Next, mound a small amount of crab and top with cheese. Place under broiler for approximately 4 minutes or until cheese is melted, bubbly and turning brown.

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Sunday Dinner #3

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

Favorite Whitter Cheddar

Favorite Whitter Cheddar

Ok. I’m feeling pretty good here. Third week in and it’s starting to feel a little more organized. I planned ahead this week and that helped a lot. AND everybody is here! Third week’s a charm! Everybody seems to be getting in the groove. It’s quite nice to have everyone sitting around chatting. We mostly talked about the Golden Globes—and we all agrees Ricky Gervais made them better!

This week we are having Mac and Cheese. This recipe is actually a blend of two—Martha Stewart’s and Ina Garten’s. I love Martha’s for the bread crumb topping, but not the elbow macaroni or the gruyere. I love Ina’s for the penne and all the different cheeses, but not the tomatoes. I’m not a tomato hater—in fact I love them—just not in my mac and cheese. So, I made it my own. I will serve this with a big salad and all will be happy.

Delicious Gooeyness

Delicious Gooeyness

My Mac And Cheese
Serves 12

6 slices brioche pulsed in food processor
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for dish
5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 1/2 cups (about 18 ounces) grated sharp white cheddar
2 cups grated Havarti
1 1/4 cups Parmesan
2 pound Penne

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place bread pieces in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour butter into the bowl with breadcrumbs, and toss. Set the breadcrumbs aside. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.

2. Slowly pour hot milk into flour-butter mixture while whisking. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.

3. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar, and 1 1/2 cups Havarti and 1 cup of the Parmesan. Set cheese sauce aside.

4. Fill a large saucepan with water. Bring to a boil. Add penne; cook 2 to 3 fewer minutes than manufacturer’s directions, until outside of pasta is cooked and inside is underdone. Drain penne and rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir penne into the reserved cheese sauce.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar and 1/2 cup Havarti and 1/4 cup Parmesan; scatter breadcrumbs over the top. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes; serve.

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Organizing My Bookshelves

Monday, January 17th, 2011

books
I started out trying to be very productive. I really meant to clear out lots of clutter—streamline my bookshelves. Somehow though I ended up looking at books and then thinking what books have moved me in some way—made me think outside my safe little box. So, had I been efficient, this chore should have taken an hour—instead of half a day.

I got to thinking which books have meant the most to me. Which stories made me stop and think? Made me laugh or cry? I created a list of my top books. Most of these are still on my bookshelf and some have moved on to other shelves. I wanted to limit the list to five but my brain said no—how can you choose?

I didn’t start out loving to read—in fact I hated it. It was a giant pain in my backside. I read only what was required. It wasn’t until my seventh grade English teacher assigned Durango Street by Frank Bonham, that the world of reading was different for me. I read ahead of the class—I re-read chapters. I can say, I may have even skipped other homework in lieu of reading. It wasn’t just the book, but that seventh grade teacher who held amazing discussions about the previous nights required reading. This was learning? Miss Bell, I thank you.

I digress—back to cleaning my bookshelf. Here are my top choices for books that made me stop. And, yes I know I’m kinda all over the place with these choices. My only defense—that’s just me. I’d love to hear what books have stuck with you year after year.

1. Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
2. Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
3. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
4. Tara Road by Maeve Binchy
5. Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg
6. Shutterbabe by Deborah Copaken Kogan
7. Dry by Augusten Burroughs
8. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
9. Holidays On Ice by David Sedaris

Sunday Dinner #2

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

Well it’s improving. Only missing one—but was promised that #3 he’ll be here! I got an iPad last year and one of the apps that I love is the Epicurious app. I have found so many great recipes. Ones I’ve made and ones I dream of making. This app is also available on the iPhone. Dinner this last Sunday consisted of carrot and ginger soup (found on my iPad) and Szechwan chicken. The Szechwan chicken is and old standby at my house. I clipped this recipe years ago from Bon Appetite magazine I think it must of been ’92 or ’93. It’s quite popular with the whole bunch, so to this day remains in frequent rotation.

Gingered Carrot Soup

* 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
* 4 carrots (about 3/4 pound), grated coarse
* 1/2 teaspoon sugar
* 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh gingerroot
* 3/4 cup chicken broth, or to taste
* 2 cups boiling water
* 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste

In a 2-quart microwave-safe dish melt the butter in the microwave at high power (100%) for 15 seconds, stir in the carrots, the sugar, the gingerroot, the broth, and the water, and microwave the mixture at high power for 20 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. In a blender purée the mixture with the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste and divide the soup between 2 bowls.

***I doubled this recipe to feed my lot.***

Szechwan Chicken Stir-Fry

5 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1/2 inch dice
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons garlic olive oil
5 cloves of garlic, minced
one bunch of green onions, cut into 1 inch pieces

Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Dredge chicken in the cornstarch. Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add chicken and stir-fry until opaque, about 5 minutes. Add soy mixture and stir-fry 30 more seconds. Add green onions and serve with rice.

This feeds 4—I always double it hoping for left overs. It hasn’t happened yet!

Again, sorry for the lack of photos—I’m having a hard time with this new habit—getting all the pieces put together. There’s always next Sunday!

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Sunday Dinner Week #1

Monday, January 3rd, 2011

819744308Well,  just a quick update. Tyler’s cauliflower soup was fab.  Here’s where new habits get hard.  First, 2 people— yes 2— were missing. Harrison was coming back from LA and well holiday traffic was horrific.  But the Sharks beat LA—so he got a free pass.   Kyle had a dinner date that was planned for a while—so what could I do?  And secondly, I forgot to take photos! Duh—how does a photographer forget to take photos?  I don’t have an answer for that one.

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My Resolutions

Saturday, January 1st, 2011

happy-new-year-2011

I’ve never really been a resolution making kinda girl—but this year I’m feeling a little different. So, here it goes! I only have 2 but they are really important to me. They say to create a new habit you must do it for roughly 6 weeks to have it feel more natural.
I’m going to really try to stick with it intensely the first month and a half and hopefully it will get easier with time. The first resolution is a mandatory family dinner night.

craft_Sopranos_AlanTaylor

I admired the Soprano Family for having those Sunday night dinners. Carmela and Tony meant business when it came to family—and so do I. When you live with adults (4) and teenagers(2), everyone is always going in different directions. Between work, school, hanging out with friends and other activities there is at least one open seat at my dinner table every night. The only excuse I’ll except will be work. If you live here guess what—dinner is at 6 sharp. Since this resolution will affect more than just myself—I’ve let my kids know their friends are welcome to dinner as well—the more the merrier. So to keep myself in check I will be posting my menu and photos of my family having dinner TOGETHER!

My second resolution is to work smarter. I know that sounds sooooo vague, but sometimes I feel I’m doing things the hard way. So, I will try to work smarter not harder—organization is the key here—that way I will have time to make slightly more elaborate Sunday night dinners. Everybody wins!

Tomorrow night will be the first Sunday night dinner. To kick it off I’m choosing from Tyler Florence’s Ultimate Cookbook. I love Tyler’s recipes—and he’s not too hard on the eyes either.

819744308Sunday Night Dinner # 1

Roasted Cauliflower Soup serves 6
1 quart of milk
Kosher salt
1 head of cauliflower, cored and broken into florets
1/2 onion, sliced
8 sprigs of fresh thyme
1/2 (1 cube of butter) unsalted butter
1 bay leaf
extra virgin olive oil
fresh ground black pepper

Brioche-Cauliflower Crumbs

4 slices brioche, toasted
1/4 pine nuts
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Pour the milk in a large saucepan, add a little salt and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Set aside about a half a cup of the florets for garnish. Put the rest of the cauliflower in the pan with the milk. Add onion, 4 sprigs of thyme, butter and the bay leaf. Bring to a simmer and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until cauliflower is tender. Discard the thyme and the bay leaf. Puree the soup in a blender ( I used an immersion blender—seemed easier than all that transferring). Put soup back in pan and season with a splash of olive oil, salt and a little pepper. Tyler says white pepper is “very cool” here but black works just fine. I used black pepper.

For the brioche croutons I took a few liberties—I used a food processor to chop the brioche adding the leaves from the remaining thyme sprigs and pine nuts. Slice the remaining cauliflower and to the crumb mixture. Drizzle with the melted butter, spread onto a cookie sheet and toast in the oven for 5 minutes or so until they are golden and slightly crunchy. Remove from oven and ad the chopped parsley.

Put soup into serving bowls and top with the brioche crumbs. Yum!

Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken serves 6
(Added chicken because some of my family HAS to have some type of meat)

We eat a lot of Caesar Salad. So this is how I make this for my family.

2 heads of Romaine Lettuce
1 grilled chicken breast, cut into 1/2″ dice
garlic olive oil
4 slices of french bread, cut into 1/4″ dice
good quality Caesar dressing

Tear, rip or chop the lettuce into bite size pieces. Add chicken. Put about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a warm skillet, add french bread and toast until golden and crunchy—about 5 minutes. Toss all the ingredients, adding dressing carefully—nobody likes a soggy salad.

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Bad Girl

Wednesday, October 13th, 2010

Key West, Florida Summer 2010I have been a very bad blog girl. I wish I could say I’ve been lounging around here all summer and that’s why I have been so absent, but in fact it was only one week.  I’ve been  feeling overwhelmed these days.  There is little time to write or photograph anything other than my own chaos–and well, that’s just not pretty.  I have the usual excuses, work, kids, family, injuries and illnesses—not to mention my latest obsession tennis.  So,  we are getting into the home tour and  holiday season and I’m turning over a new leaf—a lovely golden yellow leaf. I will make time–because this does bring me great joy to see how people have transformed their living spaces.

There are 5 or 6 home tours that run between October and December.  And,  I try to get to as many as I can—but I never miss these two!

1940 Brick Ranch-style home

1940 Brick Ranch-style home

First up is the Rose Garden Tour this coming weekend. I’m so looking forward to seeing all the homes, but there are a couple I’m dying to see!

Tangerine Chairs The Summit League’s Holiday Home Tour is the pièce de résistance of the home decor for the holidays.  I haven’t gotten any preview material yet, but I know this tour won’t disappoint.  Here’s a link to one of last years Rose Garden homes and The Summit League from 2008.

All In The Family Jeans

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

IMG_5281Jeans are being used for everything these days from insulating homes to just about a million different crafts. A few years back a friend of mine had made this wonderful quilt using old jeans. It was beautiful. At that moment, I started saving every pair of out-grown, worn-out and not fit to be worn in public jeans.IMG_5279

IMG_5283I wanted a quilt or blanket to take to the beach. I had a great one that somehow went missing. My professional mom guess?—a teenager went to the beach with some friends and somehow that blanket was left behind or left at someone else’s home. And, I’m sure that mom, like me has asked “Who does this belong to? It’s not ours.” And, I’m sure the usual response was ” Huh? What? Ya, I don’t know.”

This is my color inspiration for my denim quilt. I love the pink and coral with denim.  It seemed to be the perfect combination.

This is my color inspiration for my denim quilt. I love the pink and coral with denim. It seemed to be the perfect combination.

I cut the jeans into 6 inch squares. I used left-over fabric that I recently used to re-cover an ottoman to go in between the denim squares. Stitched the whole thing together. I added a small layer of cotton batting and a fun tie-dye fabric for the backside. I’m not a seamstress or a quilter—so I know that how I put this sucker together was very unconventional. I didn’t use a pattern and when something didn’t line up it stayed that way. I love the results. The reason—I look at all those squares and know that they came from one of my kids at some point in their lives. I did save one pair I just couldn’t bring myself to cut up. All four of my boys wore that single pair of jeans when they were toddlers. Let me tell you, those Baby Gap jeans that I purchased back in 1989 for my oldest son, have held up. And, to last through 4 boys now that is some feat!

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Linking up with Romantic Home.

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Looki: A Shameless Plug!

Friday, June 18th, 2010

69958649_IMG_1326 Here’s a little bit of personal history. I have lived in the Rose Garden Neighborhood since 1989. Our home was a very quaint 3 bedroom 1 bath bungalow style home–and with one toddler it fit perfect. But then another baby and then a set of twins–we needed a little bit of elbow room. We looked at moving but I kept coming back to how I loved this little house, how I loved my neighborhood and how I loved that park just down the street. So, we stayed and remodeled (… that’s a whole other story).

I have always adored this park, even though it was in disrepair for awhile.102054778_zGiYo-X3
My mother-in-law, Joan grew up in this neighborhood.I love the story she told me about how she remembers the day the fountain was installed. One of my favorite photos when I first decided to jump ship and become a photographer was taken at the fountain. This park has held so many memories for our family.

Every June about 7 high schools hold their graduation ceremonies at the park. I know the parking is a nightmare and quite often I’m picking up trash left over from my lawn–but to be honest with you–I wouldn’t trade it for one minute. We have parked our cars on the street to save parking for families we know who have a student graduating. The requests come in via my older kids–so and so’s “little sister is graduating on Tuesday—Mom who has the driveway”? This year our driveway was reserved on three different days and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love hearing the pomp and circumstance playing, the names being called and the cheers! I am anticipating the twins graduating in 3 years form this very spot! So here I am on bended knee—yes really on bended knee asking you to please vote for The San Jose Municipal Rose Garden. I promise to hold my driveway any time you need it! I’m attaching a slideshow of some of my personal favorite photos I’ve taken of the Rose Garden and you need to check out the links to movies my kids have made at the park as well. What would I do without this wonderful space.

So, I am here with a shameless plug. Yes, I know what your thinking “how could she? This is blog-land darn-it full of honor, trust and no shameless plugs”. But it’s not like that–really!

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Here’s the complete slideshow:

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Inspiring Work Spaces

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

Garden Shed ConvertedThis week I’m inspired by work spaces at home.  Somewhere to slip away where I know I would be so productive–errr well,  at least get something crossed off my list.  A place when kids, pets and husband can be heard, but off in the distance so I wouldn’t be distracted.  A place where I can leave a half finished project out without worries of puppy chewing,  kids spilling or husband moving to make room for dinner. Yep,  that sounds nice.  Now, in my mind it would be so organized.  If I needed a pair of scissors–I would know that they would be in the top left drawer as opposed to right now–I think I might have to knock on a neighbor’s door to borrow a pair.  Anyway,  here is what I’m drooling over–work space

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