Miguel's Jalapeno White Sauce

I fell in love with this dip/sauce the first time I had it at Miguel's; a Mexican seafood restaurant here in San Diego. It came with baskets of chip as an appetizer before the meal. I ate too much of it needless to say! I loved it so much than when I was packing up my leftovers from dinner that night, I scraped every last bit of the sauce into my box. I took the leftovers home to my daughter and had her taste the Queso Dip. Another person now obsessed with this dip/sauce!! Apparently, the waiters will give you the recipe if you ask for it so it was fairly easy to find it on the internet. This is my second time recreating this dip/sauce. I think it is quite a delicious simile of the legendary sauce. Give it a try!

Ingredients

2 cups whipping cream (470g)

1 cup sour cream (254g)

1 tsp chicken base

2 tbsp. flour

1 pickled jalapeno, minced (30g)

1 tbsp. juice from bottled jalapenos (30g)

2 oz shredded jack cheese

2 oz shredded cheddar

Red the Fox

We had a blast making elephant and mouse. I will not lie, we struggled with letting them go because they were so adorable. It made it a little easier that the Fox Amigurumi is staying home with us.

Made the head first. Add the muzzler and embroidered the nose. Attached the safety eyes and stuffed the head.

What does the Fox say?

What does the Fox say?

The Fox say " I miss you Elephant and Mouse. I know you will enjoy living in the Forest living with lovely Sophie. She loves you already. Share her secrets, make her laugh, wipe away her tears. She will introduce you to Poopsie and Plum and their lively gang- Gary the Hog, Mung the Bird, Zin the Bear and the Pole brothers. What a glorious time you'll have. Cannot wait to hear about your adventures when we meet in Imagination Forest! Love you"

Pear Cornmeal Cake with Rosemary Syrup

Too many pears. Not enough time to eat. Actually, too many fruits. The tray of Jonagold apples from Costco was placed on top of the Bosc pear, which was bruised, which required that they be made into something. I have been incorporating cornmeal into my baking dishes recently, ever since I bought a box of cornmeal to make cornbread for my cornbread stuffing. A google search later, I came across this Pear Cornmeal Cake with Rosemary Syrup from the Real Simple magazine. Finally, I get to use the square Springform  pan I had bought awhile back.

The cake is in the oven. It is dark outside... I am debating going into the garden for those sprigs of rosemary. Ha, ha. Who am I kidding, I will be making the rosemary syrup and brushing the cake with it.

NB So this cake is a keeper. Daughter asked if I used the batter from my Blueberry Peach Cobbler, another favorite of hers/ ours. Totally different method of making the batter but a flavor reminiscent of the Cobbler. Delicious warm with a dollop of whip cream. A hot cup of tea is the perfect complement. 

Poppy Seed Dinner Rolls

It has been awhile since I made this Poppy Seed dinner roll. This buttery rolls are delicious and fun to eat. Layers are peeled apart to mop up gravy. The important thing to remember when making these dinner rolls is to prepare the dough the night before. I made some this Thanksgiving weekend to accompany a rack of lamb dinner.

Cornbread Stuffing with Chestnuts, Leeks and Chanterelles

Cornbread Stuffing is a constant staple on our Thanksgiving menu even if the turkey is not!! This year I perused a number of cookbooks and magazine for ideas to make it even tastier. I was challenged by the fact Thanksgiving dinner would be not be hosted at my house. I wanted to break it down to a number of make ahead components especially since I like to make everything from scratch including roasting those chestnuts! 

Summer's Fresh Tomato Sauce

This is my favorite thing to make at this time of year. Nothing could be simpler...well, maybe if you omitted the sausage. It is a joyous celebration of my summer garden. With a smile, I head out to the garden. The garden is heady with the scent of all the fragrant herbs like basil, oregano and thyme. Plump tomatoes weigh down the tomato branches seeming to need tying up each time I get out there. A quick harvest of sun ripened tomatoes, some basil and oregano and I head back to the kitchen to make the Fresh Tomato Sauce.