I decided to make French Baked Eggs or Oeufs Cocottes for Easter simply for the reason that I wanted to use the new lavendar Le Creuset Signature Petite Cocottes that I had found for a steal at Home Goods a couple of months ago. I already own the cocottes in navy blue, green and brown so when I stumbled upon three of the lavendar beauties for 2/3 the price, I snapped them up.

We’re closing in on the last of the 2016 Holiday Appetizer Pot-Luck recipes.

Kim made this one and totally changed the recipe I’d sent out and made it all her own… no surprise there.

Instead of making the cream cheese mixture the recipe called for, Kim used Boursin. Use any flavor you prefer.

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On Friday night we had a little reunion of sorts. Our dear friends and former neighbors, Lori and Jonathon, were in town for the week.

In December, Tram and I flew to Chicago to visit them and do a bit of Christmas shopping. We had an absolute ball! I meant to blog about our trip but I never got around to it, you know, with the holiday rush and all.

Tram and Steve and Lori and Jonathon came over for dinner and we had the very best time! I’ll be posting recipes all week; appetizers, cocktails, starters, salads, and even a salt block cooking recipe. I’m going, to begin with a gorgeous smoked salmon appetizer. It’s hard to take that first chunk out of it because it’s so beautiful, but once you get going on it, it’s hard to stop. It’s as delicious as it is lovely.

There is no cooking involved and you’ll be using a food processor to put it together. As such, I’ll be tagging this one as an Easy-Breezy Recipe.

Once you add the herbs, you want to use the Pulse button ONLY. You don’t want the mixture to turn green from the herbs or the processor to turn the salmon and cranberries into baby food. What you’re going for is a cohesive mixture with a bit of texture.

Fresh Fruit – Smoked Salmon Spread

• 4-ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon each; fresh minced dill, mint, and thyme
• 24-ounce package of smoked salmon
• 1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped dry roasted almonds
• Fresh sliced peaches, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and fresh sprigs of thyme, basil, dill, and/or mint for garnish
• Crackers for serving

Place the cream cheese in the bowl of a food processor and blend; add the mayonnaise and salt and blend until smooth.

Using the pulse button, add in the fresh herbs with only 2 or 3 short pulses.

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How completely adorable and at the same time, sophisticated, is this? It’s the picture perfect elegant appetizer.

A cute and savory Smoked Salmon Mini “Ice Cream” Cone.

It is eaten in a bite or two. It is a flavor explosion in your mouth, a combination of creamy, sweet, smoking … perfection!

Believe it or not it is also a breeze to make. Really, it could not be more simple.

I purchased the mini ice cream cones on Amazon HERE. They came perfectly wrapped and not a one was cracked or broken.

Note: I’ve noticed that the cones above have not been available on Amazon for quite some time. Here are a few more resources:

Etsy, Restaurantware, or a sugar cone on Amazon

I made these for my last week of classes at Les Gourmettes. We served them as they were made during the class, so there was no need for a beautiful table presentation.

In fact, I made a “cone holder” with a heavy-duty cardboard box, an ice pick and a chopstick. I made the first hole with the ice pick then made it large enough to hold a cone, using the larger end of the chopstick.

You could do the same, even for a more presentable presentation. Just wrap the box in some colorful fabric or simple butcher paper. Or you can buy a lovely artist palette holder HERE.

These would be perfect for any entertaining event… say a Christmas Open House, a cocktail party or maybe even … a wedding.

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I can’t believe not one of you made a comment yesterday about my awesome tub photo.

Come on people, I cleaned up. I made sure the pumas stone, heel file, razor, shaving cream, loofah, and other junk was out of the photo. I’d had a pedicure just a couple days before, so my toes looked all pretty…

I even lit the bird candle!

And not one comment about any of it. I have to say, I’m a little disappointed.

Oh well, even so, I will still do as I promised and give you three recipes today. Three in one day! Yeah, no problem. 🙂

Karen and Bob enjoying their Blackberry- Meyer Lemon Gin & Tonics. Bob had shoulder surgery on December 26th, so my cocktails were a good substitute for any pain meds.

I’m just here to be of service.
Seriously though – Cheers to a speedy recovery, Bob!

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Happy Easter to you and yours. I’m throwing out one last recipe, just in case you still have to make something super easy and SUPER-DUPER cute! Usually, I would have already had my table all set to show you my tablescape, but since we are eating outside and it’s been windy and dusty all week… I have not done it ahead. Instead, above you can see the pile of dishes I plan to use and a mock-up of a place setting at the bottom of the post.  I hope you enjoy this beautiful day!

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… is kinda of red and green, which makes this very pretty appetizer or brunch pizza perfect for Christmas.

Naan can be found on the bread aisle at most grocery stores, at Trader Joe’s, or at Costco. And smoked mozzarella with other specialty cheeses. But if you can’t find the mozzarella, substitute smoked Gouda.

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This is the recipe using smoked salmon that I told you about a couple of days ago, the one I found in an old Gourmet Magazine and wanted to try for my smoked salmon-loving husband.  It is a winner!!! Perfect for picnics, tailgating, or lunch brown-bagging.

If you made the Brussels sprout salad from yesterday’s post, then you have extra mustard vinaigrette leftover… use 1/4 cup of that and just stir in the shallot listed here… then skip making the vinaigrette in this recipe, and you are ready to rock and roll.

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Dave adores smoked salmon. This is a dish I make for him every now and again and I’m always on the lookout for new ideas. I recently found an intriguing salad, featuring smoked salmon, in an old Gourmet magazine that I’m going to give a try. I will let you know how it turned out in a day or two… until then, I give you this classic – which we enjoyed with our Roasted Silkie Chicken a few nights ago.

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Today I am sharing another Southwestern-inspired recipe from my friend and mentor, Barbara Fenzl of Les Gourmettes Cooking School. I helped Barb teach a couples’ class earlier in the week and this was just one of the six delectable dishes the class made. If you’re looking for something special for you and your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day, these quesadillas will fit the bill. Enjoy them before you head out to a romantic dinner, or make them together and then sit down, relax, and enjoy them with the champagne. Avec amour (with love) xoxo

Here is a picture of the roasting of the two peppers used. A poblano has a much thinner skin than a bell pepper, so watch it more closely and turn it more often, it will roast more than twice as fast as the bell. These two peppers began roasting at the exact same time, but as you can clearly see, the poblano is ready to be covered with plastic wrap to steam, and the yellow bell still has a ways to go.

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