settled into the office routine, kenn decided it was time for us to host a team dinner.  the closer the date approached, the more anxious kenn became when i hadn't posted the menu.  i told him a brief text 'one cannot rush the artiste'... :)  the day before i picked up the latest issue of "Everyday Food" while sipping coffee at the breakfast table.  as usual, i was inspired by one of their many easy and hands off main course slow cooking roasts.  after committing to roasted pork shoulder with sav blanc pan sauce, all other courses came together.  

here's the menu from drinks and appetizers to dessert:

cocktails

ginger pomegranate martini

lima bean crostini with ricotta

green beans with wasabi aioli

--

main review

pork roast with sauvignon blanc pan sauce

glazed carrots and mashed potatoes

--

pallet cleanse

fennel arugula salad w/ oranges

--

demi dessert

GF thumbprint cookies w/ apple caramel jam

hot chocolate

coffee

-- 

Kenn and I have future, distant future, plans to travel to Europe (France) at least once a year and stay in country a few months at a time.  I dabble with French cuisine to keep the dream alive and this Sunday I came close to culinary warp travel with the help of Food Network's Michael Chiarello's recipe for Bean Cassoulet with Fennel Spiced Chicken and Roasted Vegetables. 

Unlike most bistro cassoulets filled with 5 different kinds of meet like the one Kenn enjoyed at Cafe Campagne in Seattle, this rendition is layered with roasted root vegetables, chicken, and fennel spices.  Pre-ground spices and blends may have traces of gluten, so experiment with recipes like this one and grind your own whole spices in your extra coffee grinder. 

The only GF adjustments for this dish layered with flavors is finding GF pancetta.  Luckily, Kimberton Whole Foods carries Applegate Farms GF and casein free meets. 

The dish, paired with Cotes du Rhone Domaine Les Aphillanthes '10, was a lovely Valentine treat.

I have a great opportunity to attend one of the top graduate schools in the Nation, if I'm accepted, and I have found myself caught in a financial aid loop of circular logic.

Completing my taxes is the second to last step in getting closer to making this opportunity viable.  Submission of FASFA (financial aid application) is the very last and DUE by February 15, 2012 to be seriously considered for my program.  I've received all forms from my RE broker, I have all my receipts and expense lists, I have my itemized list of donations, and I have been waiting by the mailbox since Thursday, February 2, to receive my 1098-E (interest paid in student loans).

I found out via the web U.S. Ed has been allowed an extention to deliver the 1098-E tax forms until February 29, 2012.  I find it ironic I could miss my program's financial aid application deadline if I do not receive a tax form supplied by U.S. Ed, my current loan servicer.  

I suppose I could file and ammend after the fact.  

Wish me luck!

--I'll be roasting up beets and adding thinly sliced fennel at the last 10mins of roasting then tossing with an orange vinaigrette and salt and pepper serving with a steaming bowl of brown rice. 

--Saving the beet greens for tomorrow”s dish of roasted butternut squash and beet greens.

I found myself on my own for dinner tonight as Kenn is out "networking" at the Flyers game.  I decided to serve up some easy comfort foods:  Pacific GF creamy tomato soup, grilled kale salad, hand made crackers from my kitchen (recipe to follow) and Bob's Red Mill brownies for dessert.  I might throw in a bit of lighly salted popcorn and Strongbow as a movie snack.

Crispy GF Crackers

1/3 cup brown rice flour

1/3 cup potato flour

1/3 cup almond meal

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp thyme

1 tbls olive oil

1/4+ cup water (enough for dough to just start to form a ball

Combine ingredients in the order listed above.  Roll between two pieces of parchment until reallllllly thin.  Peel off top piece of partchment and cut with a roll cutter into 2" squares.  Slide cut dough and partchment onto a baking sheet and place into a pre-heated 400degree oven until lightly golden.  TIP:  I place in the oven for about 10 minutes then shut off the heat and watch the crackers dry out and brown slighly for about another 10 minutes.  This method allows for a more even 'drying' from edges to the middle of the rolled dough.

Philadelphia's Chester County houses many Modern homes that peek through the forestation, cantilevering over piles of granite walls.  The Eastern seaboard will soon follow New England in there plight to preserve the newly knighted architectural style of Modernism.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/us/new-england-moves-to-preserve-a-more-recent-heritage.html?_r=2&ref=garden