Necklace for Marianne

Nick asked for some chunky and funky jewelry for Marianne in honor of their anniversary and Marianne told me separately that her favorite color was blue... hence: funky, chunky and blue.

Potato, Leek and Cheddar Soup

We had a ton of potatoes from the CSA that have been accumulating, and I just got some leeks in this week, so potato leek soup it was! I combined several recipes to make my own...

Cooked 4 slices of chopped bacon in my stock pot, took out the bacon pieces, then cooked 2 sliced leeks, 5 cloves of garlic, and a bunch of diced potatoes in the bacon grease. Then I added 2.5 cups of chicken stock and some salt and pepper and let it simmer until the potatoes were soft. Pureed with the stick blender, then added 1/2 C milk, 1/2 C sour cream, a cup of shredded sharp cheddar, and some smoked paprika and stirred until combined. Served with extra cheese, bacon bits and a ton of chives. Mmmm.

Halloween Costume: Medusa

We got the idea for the Medusa hair from Martha Stewart's website, and it worked out better than expected when combined with a toga fashioned from an old sheet, some gladiator sandals, funky snake-like earrings, and a ton of green eye shadow and glitter!

Smitten Kitchen's Apple Cake

Tim needed a dish to bring to his office potluck, and one that could be served cold or heated in the microwave. Since I think most things heated in the microwave end up having the consistency of rubber, we opted for a dessert that could be served at room temperature... Smitten Kitchen's apple cake.

This was also the time for apple cake since we had a million apples leftover from a game of apple bobbing that was truly misguided in this season of swine flu paranoia!!

We'll see how the cake turns out. I can't cut it open yet because it has to be pretty enough to entice Tim's coworkers to purchase a piece tomorrow (proceeds go to United Way). I think I forgot to put the nuts in the cake... don't tell.

UPDATE: Tim tells me the cake was "really good," as in "good enough to win best dessert" at Nathan Associate's potluck fundraiser. Apparently we are now the proud owners of two tickets to Mt. Vernon.

Winter Squash Salad with Couscous, Cranberries and Chickpeas

Yum- this squash and cousous salad with a citrusy dressing is really good. I used delicata squash because that's what I had on hand, but you could use whatever winter squash you have: butternut, kabocha, etc. I bet the couscous could easily be exchanged for quinoa or some other grain, too.

I made two additions to this recipe: chopped cilantro for color and freshness, and a clove of garlic sauteed with the onion, because everything's better with garlic. We ate it warm with the suggested walnuts and goat cheese sprinkled on top.

Moroccan Chicken with Fennel and Carrots

I got some fennel from Star Hollow Farm this week, as well as some of the biggest, fugliest carrots ever. The other Martha had this Moroccan chicken recipe on her site, and I thought I would give it a go, despite the fact that Tim and Chuck like neither fennel nor black olives nor cooked carrots, really. It sealed the deal when I remembered I had a ton of dried apricots and chicken thighs at home from a particularly overzealous trip to Costco recently.

This was really good: sweet, but has a nice spice! I think I pretty much like anything with Moroccan or Moroccan-esque spices. We served this with couscous cooked in chicken broth, with broccoli on the side. Tasty! I think even the haters liked it.

PS: we cooked this tag-team style like last week's Top Chef Quickfire challenge. I started the mis en place, but got distracted by a previously scheduled beading project, so Tim finished the chicken, and Chuck the broccoli, without really knowing what they were getting themselves into. Good work, kittens.

Molten Chocolate Cakes with Melty Caramel

Dudes: these individual molten lava cakes are awesome, and awesomely easy. Plus, it's always fun to give everyone at the table their own personal dessert.