Visitors

charcuterie boards

I have enjoyed using my many cookbooks to put together meals when we have guests visiting. Our most recent purchase was a book titled: Boards & Platters:

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I took inspiration from a couple of the boards in here and created my own spread. My family REALLY liked the tahini-coconut dip for vegetables and we will be making this regularly as the summer rolls in because vegetable trays are that much easier to have on hand than salads are to make.

We had a great spread with sourdough bread and fresh Italian; a fruit tray with raspberries, blackberries, and dragonfruit plus some sugared & baked pink grapefruit for a special treat. To that, we added a tray of genoa, napoli, and soppressata salamis as well as a nice mortadella (our local grocery didn’t have pistachio mortadella though that is my preference). Additional accompaniments to this were goat cheese, drunken goat cheese, raclette, and manchego cheeses plus orange marmalade, organic cacao chocolate spread, and grass-fed butter. Then, came olives and spicy gardinia to bridge the gap between the meats/cheeses and the vegetable tray which has Easter radishes, purple/yellow/orange carrots, a yellow bell pepper, snap beans, grape tomatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower (along with the tahini dip mentioned above).

This spread was fresh, filling, and delicious and was a big hit (as were the mimosas served with it).

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What are your favorite spreads for entertaining?

this week, march 17-22

Originally, I was planning to take 3 and visit my parents for a few days this week. It’s spring break, baby; and I can’t think of anything sexier that a trip to western Pennsylvania!

Okay, that’s a joke.

Regardless, our plans shifted and my parents are now coming to New England on Wednesday. We will celebrate 10 turning 11 on Thursday and since the kids don’t have school, we will also celebrate 12 turning 13 on Friday for lunch (she turns 13 next Thursday — aaaaah, a teenager!!!) before they return to PA. It should be a nice break in the normal routine to have some additional attention from Grammy and Papa.

I told the kids today about the visit and can already see the gears grinding away — Papa is the family doughnut supplier. I cannot think of a single visit with them coming here or us going there where he did not supply my children with sugary dough to start their day. There’s a great little doughnut shop in our neighboring town — they have s’mores doughnuts, stuffed full of a marshmallow creme they make and I must say, it’s as delicious as it is decadent. (Apparently, the kids aren’t the only ones interested in doughnuts!)

We are hoping for a visit that allows for a couple of walks to beach, playing games at home, a visit with my brother, and cake — lots and lots of birthday cupcakes/cakes.