I have a few minutes this morning to write but won't be able to get in any of the pictures I took on Saturday.  The laptop, while useful, is very, very slow.  And I have a meeting this morning.

Dinner on Friday night at MiLa was fantastic!  We had about 25 or so people, board members and local exchange coordinators, and it was a lively group.  The menu:

• Bibb Salad - Soft Boiled Farm Egg, Crisp Bacon, Buttermilk Dressing
• Seared Scallops - Baby Turnips, Caramelized Fennel, Orange Chili Reduction
• Seared Berkshire Pork Loin - Israeli Couscous, Corn, Madeira Sauce
• Creamy Vanilla Rice Pudding - New Orleans Rum Soaked Raisins

Go here to eat if you are in New Orleans.  Chef Allison Vines-Rushing was not at the restaurant but we did get to meet her husband who is the co-chef and we applauded him.  Chef Allison was at the hotel since she is also one of the chefs for the conference food.  We eat at the hotel, but the food is prepared by chefs who volunteer to cook!  I've also had several of her appetizers at various conference receptions (I went to 3 on Saturday evening) and her food is wonderful.

Saturday I went off on my own and toured about 5 hours.  I walk a lot when away.  I have pictures and the name of the restaurant I hit for breakfast, I'll get that when I post the pictures.  I had a wonderful seafood omelette.  I ran into Virginia Willis and Lisa Ekus at Central Grocery and they insisted I try some muffeletta, I had a bite, and then we went on our separate ways.  Yes, I tried a beignet at Cafe du Monde.  I also did a little shopping at a tiny shop where the owner hand looms rugs.  I have pictures.

Saturday night of conference is Dine Around.  Groups of us go to various restaurants.  You get to give your first choices, but don't know for sure where you'll go.  I had a tough time choosing, all were restaurants I had heard of and wanted to try, but only could go to one.  I was assigned to Bayona with 11 others and it was wonderful. 

Chef Susan Spicer was at the restaurant to greet us, which was amazing since she is also conference chef at the hotel.  She seems to calmly be everywhere so far.  We started with family style appetizers and then dinner. 

• Goat Cheese Crouton with Mushrooms in Madeira Cream
• Grilled Shrimp with Black Bean Cake and Coriander Sauce
• Veal Sweetbreads with Sherry Mustard Butter
• Crispy Smoked Quail Salad with Pears and Bourbon Molasses Dressing
• Peppered Lamb Loin with Goat Cheese and Zinfandel Sauce
• Artisan Cheese Selection
• Warm Grape Tart with Sesame Frozen Yogurt and Cognac Sauce

Oh my!  Go here too!  For lunch Saturday we had various grains to highlight grain variety and while everything I had was good, Chef Susan Spicer's grains with shrimp and pesto was my favorite. 

I have been sleeping exceptionally well and woke a little early today.  I'll have to talk about my classes and show pictures later, probably Wednesday afternoon because my wake up call just came.  I need to get ready for a meeting and then classes.  I will say that the keynote speakers yesterday to start the conference were Leah Chase and Ti Martin and what a beginning!

As you know, if you've been reading, I try and fly with the FlyLady and Saturday is supposed to be family fun day.  I was not scheduled to teach any classes yesterday so we planned some fun. 

I have been enjoying the summer fruits so decided I needed some peaches for the freezer too and they seemed to be located near Macon.  We decided to take the drive, less than 2 hours, and see what we could find.  We started at the Macon Farmers Market and found lots of beautiful fruits and vegetables.

I was pretty restrained.  We bought a lot of peaches and I will deal with them on Wednesday.  I'm thinking freezer but may try and make some pies for the freezer too.  We also had to have - okra, yellow squash, a small watermelon, sweet banana peppers.  I knew I could make a menu for the week using what we bought.

We found a great yarn store and now I have yarn for 2 more projects.  The store had beautiful yarn, lots of it and most of it natural fibers. 

After the farmer's market we went to the visitor center and spoke with a very nice woman.  We looked at all the possible things to do and decided to tour Hay House.  The house was built in 1860 and is beautiful.  Very, very high ceilings, pretty wood, and a very nice tour guide.  We spent about an hour here and really enjoyed the tour.  My only disappointment was that the kitchen was not on the tour, they are in the process of renovation.  We may need to go back.

After the tour we decided we were hungry so we stopped for some barbecue at the same place I had been to when I worked in Macon a short time ago.  We went to the Pig in a Pit for pulled pork, fried okra and my husband had roasted corn.  Perfect. We then headed home.

Once home I used the internet to find some recipes for my haul from the farmer's market.  This is the menu for this week:

• Sunday: Stewed Okra and Tomatoes with Cornbread and Peach Cobbler
• Monday: Baked Gnocchi and Sliced Tomatoes
• Tuesday: whatever, probably leftover gnocchi
• Wednesday: whatever again, husband has a meeting
• Thursday: Stuffed Banana Peppers, Yellow Squash in Brown Butter and Foccacia
• Friday: unsure but we have hummus, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and I'm thinking appetizer night

Right now I have 2 cobblers in the oven because we'll have one and I have a Loving Meal to take for someone and I think they'll like peach cobbler.  I hope so since I don't know them.  I also made Baked Macaroni, Ham and Cheese.

I'm going to relax some now while the cobbler bakes and then call the woman to see what time is good to deliver her meal.  I need to spend time with the cat since she didn't get to have family fun in Macon yesterday and is seeming a little clingy.  I think my load of towels is dry so maybe she'll fold with me.  She loves to help with warm laundry!

Big weekend - it was Groundhog Day yesterday which means it was Groundhog Eve on Friday and today is just resting from the festivities of yesterday.  We all know that Phil saw his shadow and we have six more weeks of winter.  If you'd like more info you can look at the official site.

Friday I had a normal day - Jazzercise, bank, haircut and knitting class.  I'm making progress with my knitting.  I'm on track and at the same point with two other women, two women are over achievers and almost finished and one woman had to rip out and start over and does not have much done.  I'll miss the last class session probably but I think I will finish.  Friday we had an easy meal of chicken noodle soup.

Since yesterday was such a big day (groundhog) we had a little adventure.  We started at The Flying Biscuit for brunch.  We have not  been there for quite some time but a couple people had mentioned it at Jazzercise so we went for a holiday meal.  It was as good as always.  I had the eggs and black bean cakes and of course a biscuit. 

Continuing our day we headed to the quilt shop, my husband's idea.  We visited Tiny Stitches in Marietta for the first time.  We had a great time looking at all the fabric and I did find backing fabric for the bunny quilt.  I'm set for the next quilt class. 

After the quilt shop we made a quick visit to a used book store but I didn't see any cookbooks that I needed.  We headed on to Trader Joe's to do some grocery shopping.  I'm still trying to use things out of the freezer so didn't need too much.  The menu for next week is:

• Saturday: Cube Steaks Dijon with Mashed Potatoes and Salad
• Sunday: Turkey Tetrazzini (Thanksgiving leftover)
• Monday: husband has a meeting, but I'm making Macaroni and Cheese to use up some pantry and fridge leftovers so will probably have that
• Tuesday: Whatever - open
• Wednesday: Chicken with Lime and Cilantro, make tacos with black beans , this is a slow cooker recipe, we'll eat before Ash Wednesday service for church
• Thursday: Spicy Pork Parmesan, Angel Hair and salad
• Friday:  I actually have a "whatver" weekend, my husband will be away

I was thinking about the menu and believe that when I use the leftover turkey I'll be making more leftovers with the tetrazzini.  It's not going back to the freezer, that may be Tuesday whatever.   I do plan to package the macaroni and cheese in individual servings so they're easy to pull out when needed and they will go to the freezer.  

Today we've gone to church, had breakfast at home, read the paper, and now I'm on the way to the library.  I need books to read.  I am not a football fan and in case I can't find a movie or something to knit to, I'll relax and read.

I'm trying to do better with blogging.  I had a quiet weekend, got some knitting done and read some today.

I did plan a menu for this week and tonight is a pasta casserole from Cooking Light.  It says it serves 8, which it probably will not serve us that much, but it will give leftovers which I need for tomorrow night.  I have all new recipes to try from Cooking Light and Rachael Ray.

• Sunday - Smoked Cheese Pasta Bake
• Monday - forage for yourself (I have a meeting in the evening)
• Tuesday - Whatever for me
• Wednesday - Tex-Mex Meatloaf
• Thursday - Black Pepper Citrus Chicken
• Friday - Gnocchi with Turkey Ragu
• Saturday - tbd

Smoked Cheese Pasta Bake from Cooking Light January 2007

1 pound uncooked penne (tube-shaped pasta)
1 (26-ounce) jar fat-free marinara sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
 Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups reduced-fat sour cream
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded smoked farmer or mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preheat oven to 350°.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain.

Heat marinara sauce in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add salt, pepper, and spinach, stirring until blended; cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in cooked pasta.

Spoon half of pasta mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Combine sour cream, smoked cheese, and basil; spread over pasta mixture in dish. Spoon the remaining pasta mixture over sour cream mixture; sprinkle evenly with Parmigiano-Reggiano. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

I used smoked mozzarella and it looks good.  I wanted something easy for the weekend.  Here are the before pictures:

I also have an update on the seafood enchiladas.  We had them Friday night and they were good after the freezer.  I thawed them for 1 1/2 days in the refrigerator and then baked them covered with foil for about 1 hour on 375 degrees.  They were no longer in the shape of enchiladas, they were more of a casserole with no form to the corn tortillas, but they tasted as good as they did when I made them fresh for Christmas Eve.

My pasta should be about done now so I'm going to eat.  Probably no wine with dinner because of my obsession to work on my cape.  

It is a perfect fall day today.  Not too hot, not too cold.  And yesterday was nice too.  A little warmer than today.  We went to the Atlanta Arts Festival in Piedmont Park and browsed through the booths.  We didn't buy anything, but I saw some purses that were very nice and I have the card if I decide later that I "need" one. 

After Piedmont we went to Joann's to get some more material for my quilt class.  I have made it through 2 classes now without making the teacher cry, or breaking anything!  I'm pretty excited about that.  Last Friday we cut rectangles of our real material and after we cut rectangles, we sewed them back together again in squares.  Lots of cutting and then re-assembling.  I used the maching and didn't have any trouble.  I will see if that continues this week as I attempt my homework with my own machine.  Here are 4 squares that hopefully will become a table runner:

My homework is to sew the squares together.  The next class we are going to work with triangles.  And that's also the final class, so I have to sign up for another session.

We did get to DeKalb Farmer's Market today after church and I have a menu for next week.  Of course I needed to adjust it because I forgot about class Friday night.  Change is good.

• Sunday:  Ribeyes on the grill, Zucchini, maybe some bread
• Monday: Spaghetti and Salad (late Jazzercise night)
• Tuesday: Whatever (cake decorating class)
• Wednesday: Chicken and Dumplings from Cuisine at Home (home)
• Thursday: BLT Bucatini from Cuisine at Home (early Jazzercise)
• Friday: leftovers
• Saturday: Fizzy Chicken and Broccoli from Cuisine at Home

I also have all the ingredients for the Appletini on the back cover of Cusine at Home.  Not sure when I'll try that though.  For me crafts and adult beverages are not a good combo.  I also have ingredients for an Italian Sausage Ragu sauce and that might go over into Sunday. 

I've decided that 3 classes in a week are too many, but this is a short term thing.  Today is an easy day with a load or maybe 2 of laundry, a trip to the library, maybe a nap, and some knitting. 

The 2007 Summer Kids Series of cooking is over.  We had the final day yesterday and as always the group did a fabulous job.  We served our usual 45 or so people and were ready for our guests at 1 pm.  There was much work before then to get ready.  The final menu consisted mostly of Thursday recipes and was:

• Cheesy Garlic Bread
• Hearty Spaghetti and Meatballs
• Applesauce
• Lemon Squares with Raspberry Sauce

In addition to all the cooking, and there was a lot - 50 apples, 5 pounds of pasta, 6 pounds of ground beef, 3 pans of lemon squares, 6 long loaves of garlic bread, we had to be sure the kitchen was clean and places were ready for the guests.

I do have to take you back to Thursday, the day of competition.  As with the previous weeks, we had guest judges and the student chefs chose menus, planned the cooking, plated the meal and presented to the judges.  Our wonderful volunteer judges this week were Mary Moore owner of The Cook's Warehouse and Linton Hopkins owner of Restaurant Eugene. 

The judges seemed to enjoy the process and loved the food.

The winners were Ben, Courtney, Amanda and Sarah and they each won a KitchenAid Baking Suite consisting of a hand mixer, a baking pan, measuring cups and spoons and a spatula.  I want to thank LuAnn at KitchenAid for the generous donation of the prizes.

The summer is going by quickly and the garden is growing well.  Lots of tomatoes and we're enjoying tomato, basil and mozzarella salad. 

We have almost made it through the middle of the final cooking week.  It is a lot of fun and the kids have been great.  Today we'll be discussing their recipes for tomorrow and getting a count of guests for Friday.  Tuesday is the long day with lots of chopping and a couple things to be done at the last minute.  All is well though.

I did plan a menu for this week at home taking into account that I might be tired, but I did have company.  Sunday we grilled fresh salmon, Monday was spaghetti and Tuesday was still "whatever" because after all, the company is family.  I was a little concerned that my sister would not like my spaghetti sauce.  We make the same recipe from Grandma Tartline, but of course we do it a little differently.  I think I'm okay though, my sister had spaghetti for "whatever'!

Here are some of the pictures.  I have one shot before class started and then we get into working!

I have to leave now to get groceries and cook!

We made it through another successful day of cooking!  The kids did a fantastic job with creating the recipes for today and the judges were impressed.  Of course I have pictures! I would like to say that I have each group with one of their dishes like the last session, but truly that was an accident and it didn't happen again this week. 

Group 1 - Tom, Will, Leah and Rhiannon

• Bruschetta with Mushrooms
• Gnocchi with Red Pepper and Prosciutto
• Zucchini and Yellow Saquash with Mustard Seeds
• Cobbler with Apples and Apricots

Group 2 - Lindy, Allie and Julia

• Bruschetta with Tomatoes
• Chicken Cutlets with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
• Zucchini with Parmesan
• Apple Crumble

Group 3 - Catherine, Liz, Zach and Kim

• Mixed Greens with Parmesan Crisps
• Chicken Cutlets with Shrimp Marsala Sauce
• Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake

The judges for this week's contest were Chef Carmen Cappello and Darren Toothaker, my Publix manager.  You can read about Chef Cappello and you can meet my Publix manager at the store on Haynes Bridge Road and Old Alabama. 

I appreciate that the judges took time out of their busy days to come and give feedback to the groups.  They took the judging seriously and gave suggestions to the groups.  The winner today was Group 1.  It was close though, out of a possible 40 points, Group One received 35, Group Two received 34 and Group Three received 32. 

Tomorrow we will be cooking for friends and family and have a total of about 45.  The menu tomorrow will be:

• Bruschetta with Tomatoes
• Penne with Five Cheeses
• Zucchini with Parmesan
• Apple and Apricot Crumble

This is such fun!  I was much less tired this evening and even made it to Jazzercise.  Hi Rose if you're reading.  Dinner tonight was courtesy of Trader Joe's and a lovely already made pasta, chicken, vegetable meal.  As my husband said "this is a kit".  It was pretty good though and I needed exceptionally easy.

This weekend will need to be massive cleaning and re-organizing the spare room, assembling some Ikea purchases, getting things ready for company.  I did manage to get the second coat of touch up on the ceiling last night.  I have found no comforter or quilt yet so white might be nice.  Next time I paint perhaps I should match the paint color to the linens instead of the other way around.

Happy July!  Just a couple days until the 4th, but we have no plans other than painting. 

Today we went to church, went to DeKalb Farmers Market, home for breakfast and I just finished the first coat of paint on the ceiling.  It went on fairly well but it might need 3 coats, this is the first time it's been painted.  There was a popcorn ceiling on which we took off earlier.  The plan is to finish the ceiling today, one coat of walls tomorrow, one on Wednesday and the floor is being installed Friday.  And my sister is coming the 21st or 22nd.  This should work.

I bought fresh, Alaska salmon at the farmer's market today.  It is beautiful and is going on the grill tonight.   Also some green beans from Tennessee. 

I'm planning on paninis tomorrow, whatever Tuesday, burgers for us Wednesday with Barefoot Contessa Chinese Chicken Salad for a family at church that had a death in the family, Chicken Salad for us Thursday (a different kind, of course no mayo!) and some kind of pasta for Friday.  Saturday is Six Flags Day. 

I have a busy week coming up with my regular customers on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.  I think I may need to make sure I get my 20 minute nap during the day.  It refreshes and lets me accomplish more than I would without it. 

Now I think it is fold the laundry time while waiting for the first coat of paint to dry.  I'll read and maybe fit in the first nap of the week.

Chinese Chicken Salad from Barefoot Contessa Parties

This has been a great week!  The student chefs are doing a wonderful job.  Tuesday was a long day with complex recipes, but they met the challenge. 

Yesterday we featured recipes from Rachael Ray:

• Cheddar Crusted Chicken with Smooshy Applesauce
• Potato Mash with Mix-ins
• Zuchini and Yellow Squash with Mustard Seeds
• Cranberry Cheesecake Squares (had to go with blueberries)

After the more complex recipes from Mario Batali, Wednesday was a breeze which was good because the students had to let me know what they wanted to cook for today.

Today is Iron Chef Atlanta Day where the students adapted recipes from the week to make them their own.  Yesterday afternoon each team presented their menu to me.  We won't have secret ingredients like Iron Chef, we'll have secret recipes. 

I was a little concerned that this might be too much work for the teams, but they seemed to have fun with the assignment and really worked together to come up with the menus.

Team Ben, Elise, Matt and Thomas

• Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes with Cheddar and Bacon - appetizer
• Penne with Four Cheeses and Chicken
• Green and Gold Zucchini Parmesan
• Peach Raspberry Crumble

Team Abby, Claire, Gloria, Gracie and Hannah

• Tomato Crostini
• Farfelle with Four Cheeses and Panko Topping
• Shrimp and Scallops with a White Wine Lemon Sauce
• Plum Raspberry Tart

Team Adrienne, Ali and Imani

• Arugula Salad with Prosciutto Wrapped Shrimp and Citrus Vinaigrette
• Stuffed Goat Cheese Balls with Sun Dried Tomatoes
• Zucchini Ribbon Salad
• Chocolate Bruschetta

 I do have two guest judges coming today : Virginia Willis and Elisa Gambino to judge on presentation, originality and taste.  This will be fun.  I'm leaving now for the class and will be back later.

The day is over and it was spectacular!  The winning team was Gracie, Gloria, Claire, Abby and Hannah and they are shown with their Plum Raspberry Tart and assistant Taki. 

The other two teams tied with the same number of points!

Team Elise, Thomas, Matt and Ben with their Penne with Four Cheeses and Chicken.

Team Imani, Adrienne and Ali with their Chocolate Bruschetta.

The judges in deep contemplation and deep enjoyment - Elisa Gambino and Virginia Willis.

Tomorrow we're cooking for guests, we will be cooking for 45 people.  The menu as chosen by the students:

• Salad with Warm Goat Cheese
• Penne with Four Cheeses and Chicken
• Applesauce
• Plum Raspberry Tart

It's off to cook dinner for us now and maybe have a glass or two of wine.  Jazzercise will have to wait for Saturday!