Time for another little tour of our Bewitching Kitchen, to join the virtual party started by Celia, from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.

LET ME START WITH THREE SPECIAL GIFTS…

Freshly picked blackberries from a colleague at KSU…  As you might remember from a recent post, they were put to excellent use in a blackberry-cherry sorbet... Hummmmmmm…..

Vanilla beans straight from France, a surprise package, courtesy of the same dear friend who sent me a huge  load of saffron in the past… My first use of one of these incredibly potent pods was the Apple-Cinnamon Bread you read about last week.

A Hamilton Beach electric oven, surprise gift from Phil, who found it on ebay… the thing is huge, and the temperature control pretty accurate.  I’ve baked bread in it (the Black Sesame Sourdough),  I’ve used it to roast the meat for our French Dip sandwich...     Very nice option to keep the house cool during the hot months.  His name is Mr. Hamilton, and our patio is his new home.
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AND MOVING ON TO OTHER STUFF GOING ON IN THE BEWITCHING KITCHEN…

Roasted bell peppers made in Mr. Hamilton.  I like to cut the peppers and seed them first, the peel comes off very easily after, no need to run under running water or do all sorts of manipulations needed with the whole pepper.  Try it, you might adopt this technique too!

When we spent the sabbatical year in Los Angeles  the house we rented had beautiful Italian dishes from Jennifer Moore.  We loved them!  Ever since we left L.A. Phil has been actively searching for places that sell them.  Thanks to his persistence, we now have several pieces to remind us of the months spent in California.

We normally prefer clear glasses, but these are so delicate and beautiful with a light pink body and green stems!  Those are my favorite glasses to sip some Portuguese green wine. Another great ebay find by Phil, by the way… 

A new product, Mycryo…  If you haven’t heard anything about it, be ready to be amazed!  It is a cocoa butter-derivative, that you sprinkle on food to be sautéed.   It has fewer calories than any other type of fat, and is supposed to brown the food like nobody’s business.  Fantastic on scallops, by the way, you don’t even have to worry about drying them.   Yes, there will be a blog post about it…. stay tuned!

Preparations for one of our favorite ways to entertain: a pizza party!  We provide the dough, the toppings, and if needed a quick lesson on how to open the dough. After that, our guests can have a lot of fun creating their own versions and “sharing the love”…  Artichoke hearts, fresh mozzarella, sautéed mushrooms, grilled zucchini, and of course those roasted red and yellow bell peppers were also part of this feast.

Another way to preserve sourdough starter, inspired by Celia and Joanna, two of my bread baking gurus who definitely know how to handle their starters!    I dried a very active batch of Dan, and stored several “chips” in ziplock bags at room temperature.

AND WRAPPING UP, A QUICK HELLO FROM OUR FOUR-LEGGED FRIENDS…

What do you mean “You cannot have dark chocolate?”

I hope you enjoyed the visit to our Bewitching Kitchen… if you’d like to participate of the In My Kitchen series, compose a post and link to Celia’s site. The more, the merrier!  😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Raspberry Sorbet at Summer’s End

TWO YEARS AGO: When three is better than two (2 years with Buck in our home!)

THREE YEARS AGO: Grating Tomatoes (and loving it!)

FOUR YEARS AGO: A Peachy Salad for a Sunny Day