design a life you love
The name of these cookies is not an exaggeration. They are truly magical. Possibly even a little sinful, making them a perfect indulgence for this time of year. We can all wait until 2016 to worry about losing a few pounds in cookie weight, right? I promise you that these are worth a couple of extra sessions at the gym.
Eleven years ago I visited France for the first time and experienced THE BEST MEAL OF MY LIFE in Albi. The five course delight was capped off by a thick, rich chocolate dessert that I was unable to identify or duplicate for years. The dish was not quite a mousse, not quite a solid fudge…it wasn’t quite anything discernible. I searched high and low for a decade for anything that came even close to my mystery dessert and finally stumbled upon it by mistake one glorious day when my mint chocolate mousse hardened.
I am not generally a huge lover of citrus but for whatever reason I ADORE the refreshing taste of it during fall and winter. A tart orange or grapefruit feels like a surprisingly fresh jolt of flavor to be experiencing during colder months. Living in Los Angeles I’m able to get my hands on citrus year round, however growing up in a colder, wetter climate it was harder to come by. For that reason it still feels like a bit of a special treat to me to be eating it as we move towards winter.
I came up with this simple grapefruit feta salad to compliment the crab stuffed portobello mushrooms that I shared with you last week. I knew the portobello mushrooms were going to have a smokier taste and therefore wanted to prepare a salad that would offset that and shock the taste buds. This salad did just that!
This grapefruit feta salad is comprised of just a few simple ingredients – most of which you probably have on hand – and produces a truly unique flavor. The tang of grapefruit combined with the bite of feta and the richness of walnuts thrills the taste buds and perfectly compliments a winter meal.
As we look ahead towards our upcoming move, we have started making plans to do a lot more entertaining at home. As a result, I have been on the hunt for delicious, beautiful and easy(ish) recipes to offer future guests. This strawberry prosecco granita will be a perfect dessert to serve friends on warm evenings at home. After all, how could you go wrong when you’re combining prosecco and strawberries?!
The recipe itself was exceedingly easy to prepare. The only trick is that you have to continue scraping the prosecco granita with a fork every hour or so as it freezes to break it up and give it that yummy crushed ice consistency. Therefore this is definitely a dish you want to make on a day when you’ll be home for a few hours. Perhaps on a day when you will be preparing for a dinner party?
Juicy strawberries
Prosecco and strawberries
Puggle Chef is eager to help
This delicious recipe made enough to cool us down and satisfy our taste buds for several days in a row. I have already been getting requests to make it again so it seems that it will be a staple in our household. We both highly recommend giving it a try.
Do you have any favorite recipes you serve when entertaining that you might share with me? I’m doing my best to get some recipes and hostessing skills under my belt but I know I have a long way to go. Tips and tricks are always appreciated!
