Chocolate Hazelnut Misto

The best part of waking up is coffee in your cup.  You may have heard that tune with some alternative lyrics, but to this Western Washingtonian there one coffee that reigns supreme over all the others, and of it I will forever sing.  Nothing beats sipping a steaming beverage out of a mermaid cup while walking on the water's edge...unless it's a lazy Saturday morning in your pajamas.  We sometimes will truck down to our local shop in our sweats and roll back with coffee in hand, but more often I like to make this tasty little homemade concoction.  That way I avoid the "compliments" on my piggy pajamas and odd stares at bed head.  

Artichoke Avocado Pesto Mini-Pizza

With all the beautiful summer produce available, you'd never think that a foodie like me would be distracted by the pantry.  But alas, this is indeed the case.  I have been absolutely obsessing over canned artichoke hearts lately.  Munching them here, there and everywhere is my new favorite past time.  And it seems I'm not alone in this obsession.  Ever since I saw this delicious recipe for couscous where artichokes stood in for the typical cucumber, I have happily joined the subbing bandwagon.  But out of all the dishes I've tried and created, the best by far is this slamming Artichoke Avocado Pesto Pizza.  Beautiful to look at and even better to eat, this little pizza is green goddess perfection.

Ginger Peach Galette

Everybody loves peach pie.  Bright, juicy peaches baked to tender perfection in a sweet sugar syrup of their own making, all wrapped within a tender and flaky crust.  What's not to love?  For me, it's all that sugary syrup.  Call me names if you will, but I do not like the traditional peach pie.  For me, all of that sugar completely knocks out the delicious tartness that I so love about the fresh fruit.  Now the hubs happens to love peach pie, so I decided to come up with a recipe that satisfied both our appetites.

Grilled Chicken Cornbread with Peaches & Pepper Jack

So the hubs was out of town last week, which meant I really got to play in the kitchen.  Perhaps it's the fact that we're still pretty-newlyweds, but I usually try to stick with dishes that he will enjoy throughout the week.  Granted, he gives me a pretty wide berth with things like Watermelon Habanero Gazpacho and Pesto Pomegranate Pasta.  But when he goes out of town, I tend to get even wackier.  Why not have an artichoke white wine sauce with my turkey meatballs?  Sure I'll try a goat cheese, strawberry and asparagus breakfast burrito.  (For the record, both of those were delicious.)  But one of my little creations absolutely took the cake last week!  Or should I say cornbread?  This will be recreated for the hubs without a doubt.

Cookies & Coffee Ice Cream Pie

I am fortunate to have some terrific in-laws.  Not everyone can easily say that.  Think about it - you have all your growing-up years to get use to the odd little quirks of your own family while developing a few of your own.  It can be a challenge to find another family who's eccentricities mesh well with yours.  But I struck the jackpot with a wise-cracking, card-sending, ski-sloping group of intellectuals who love to drink wine and eat.  Score! 

BLAT! Burgers

BLAT!  That's what my husband yelled right after I told him we here having bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato burgers for dinner one evening.  No, we do not live in a Batman comic strip...this is just a typical evening conversation in our kitchen (be lucky he didn't rap it for this would be a very different post).  Needless to say, the name was catchy and stuck - POW! - to this recipe.  BLAT! Burgers are now the handy sidekick in our most daring, death-defying and debauched action movie nights.

Brie Stuffed Mushrooms & Joe's Barbecue Corn

The hubs and I have been working on emptying out the freezer for a while.  He also had quite the hankering for ribs a month ago.  In an ingenious negotiations tactic, I promised him that once we ate through the last of the pot stickers, pulled pork and sweet potato fries that I would make a rack of ribs.  I could kick myself for not trying this stratagem sooner.  Ribs are the perfect man-motivator for just about anything under the summer sun.  Before I knew it, he was attacking all leftovers, remnants and rainy day reserves with the same enthusiasm the pups reserves for her hickory-scented rawhide.  Within two weeks, I was carting home a full rack and the fixins for some superb sides.  But not just any ol' sides....some manly grillin' sides.

Red, Lime & Blue Galette

Get your stars and stripes out, because the Fourth of July is almost upon us!  For the record, I'm really excited about this year's celebrations.  Last year we drove right by Independence Day twice without stopping - first Canada's on our way to visit family in Toronto and then America's on the way back. Though the fireworks were splendid from our view in the car, the lack of food and cornhole was quite disheartening.  This year we're staying put to celebrate both the 4th and the hubs completing of his third year of medical school.  That's right folks, as of 4:30 on July 3rd we're only 12 months away from being a two income household.  Needless to say, there's ample reasons to celebrate this week.