Once Upon a Plate

Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday ~ Afternoon, On the Way Home from Town

Friday

Asparagus-Cream Cheese Rolls in Prosciutto with Vinaigrette

We're blessed to have some of the best neighbors imaginable ~ and for Mother's Day I received a beautiful bouquet of asparagus, freshly cut from their garden, along with a Mother's Day note.

Thank you Paul and Jane!

If you grow your own you know that it tastes infinitely better than the grocery store stuff ~ it's the delicate freshness!

For our Mother's Day Luncheon for two I wanted to make something a little special and decided Asparagus rolls wrapped in cream cheese and Prosciutto and drizzled with a fresh vinaigrette would be perfect . . .

especially so with the addition of a little Bubbly from Italy.

If you prefer, you could substitute the Prosciutto with thinly sliced ham, turkey or roast beef from the delicatessen.

Some little tulips from the garden. If you are familiar with tulips you know that generally after a few years the bulbs fade and eventually don't emerge in the spring ~ so I plant some new bulbs every fall.

These red tulips surprised me this year ~ the bulbs were planted in a basket outdoors several years ago. I suspected the bulbs were nearing the end of their cycle and didn't expect any blooms from the basket this spring.

But instead of not appearing at all, they bloomed in miniature. I've never experienced that before!

The vinaigrette is a classic one ~ olive oil, good quality red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, sea salt and freshly cracked pepper. And a sprinkle of chives from the garden.

I love the colorful layers when the bundles are cut open.

The wishes may be a little late ~ but I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day this year!

This is my entry for Tablescape Thursday and Foodie Friday.

If you would like a printable copy of the recipe, it's on my recipe blog~ you'll find it HERE.

~*~*~*~*~

Table accessories:

Tablecloth ~ Williams-Sonoma

Checked Place Mats ~ DII

Glazed Terra Cotta Salad plates and Chargers ~ Lone Oak Pottery

Flatware ~ Pottery Barn

Pepper Mill ~ Peugeot

Crochet Trimmed Napkins ~ Neiman Marcus

Flower Jug/Creamer, from a mixed set ~ I.Godinger & Co.

Wine Coaster ~ Apilco

Thank you for stopping by today!

Monday

Gruyère Puffs filled with Warm Bacon-Mornay Sauce

Two-bite puffs of savory goodness ~ I got the inspiration from one of Tyler Florence's restaurants to recreate them at home. They got thumbs up. :)

Crisp, airy & cheesy little pâte à choux puffs seasoned with Gruyère and Parmesan cheeses. Then baked and filled with a warm Gruyère Sauce Mornay, sprinkled with bacon and chives.

Yes, they are rich, one or two will do.
And next time I will hold back a little on the amount of Mornay sauce for each one~ I got a little carried away and overfilled some. The cheese sauce should just peek out over the top. Ooops.

Pâte à Choux?

Don't let it put you off, it is the same simple batter used to make eclairs, cream puffs, gougeres, etc. as well as savory treats like cheese gougeres, and filled savory puffs. There are lots of excellent tutorials online if you need a little assistance the first time. Trust me, it's difficult to mess them up!

Of course you can skip the filling and just serve the warm puffs by themselves, or filled with other fillings ~ Chicken salad? Shrimp or Tuna salad? There are lots of possibilities.

They are perfect as an appetizer with a light meal, or as a nibble with your favorite cold beverage.

If you would like a copy the recipe you can find it Here on the Once Upon a Plate Recipe blog; and if you make them I hope you enjoy!

Thank you for coming by to visit, and any comments you would like to share.

Have a wonderful week everyone ~Mari

Saturday

Muffins~ Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins!! (And they have a surprise inside.)

Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins have been around for a long, long time.

But this version, adapted from "Taste of Home" is a little different . . .

. . . a fruit jam filling. Really easy to make, too.

Just mix up the simple batter, half fill the cupcake tins with batter, drop a teaspoon or so of your favorite jam in each one (I chose my sister's delicious homemade Strawberry jam this time.) Then top with little more batter over the jam and bake.

The batter is heavily scented with freshly grated nutmeg and a bit of cinnamon ~ the kitchen is filled with a heavenly aroma as they bake.

After they have baked dip the tops in melted butter, then in cinnamon sugar.

Irresistible?

You bet.

In fact, the photographer became overwhelmed, and ate half of the subject during the close-up shot.

*blush*

If you would like a printable copy of the recipe, it's HERE on the OUaP recipe blog.

Thank you for stopping by today ~ and Happy Mother's Day to all of you wonderful Moms!

xoxo ~ Mari

Thursday

Garden of Eden Spring Rolls with Creamy Peanut-Ginger Dipping Sauce

Do you love Spring?

I do!

The explosion of colors and bursts of new life everywhere make my heart very happy.

Violas and Pansies are among the first to bloom here ~ these little jewels reseed themselves each year in abundance all over the garden. Since we garden organically with no chemicals, the flowers are edible.

In case you're wondering, the dogs and chickens are not allowed in this part of the garden. ;-)

Spring and Summer mean lighter meals around here, so you can probably guess where I'm going with this.

Garden of Eden Spring Rolls filled with all kinds of colorful goodness and herbs. And the bonus is ~ there no real "cooking" involved, just boil the rice noodles for 3 minutes.
The rest is a matter of rinsing the greens, discarding the tough stems, a little bit of slicing and you're ready to "roll".

This one is a combination of a couple of Spring Roll recipes, and close to the one found in the Whole Foods cookbook.
(Theirs are called Garden of Eva Spring Rolls.)

If you are gluten sensitive, it's your lucky day as these rolls (and the rice noodles in the filling) are naturally gluten free.

The wrappers (skins) are made from Tapioca flour (Manioc) and can be found in a well stocked supermarket, or Asian food store.

Brittle and translucent out of the package, they become pliable and soft when soaked for 30 seconds in very hot water, and then are ready to fill and roll.

I serve them with a simple peanut sauce; Creamy peanut butter, finely grated ginger, sugar (or your favorite sweetener), soy sauce, lime juice, water ~ and chilies if you want it spicy. This time, because of the delicately flavored flower blossoms, I made it without the chilies.

The ingredients for the filling are finely sliced Napa cabbage (you can use green cabbage, too), baby spinach leaves, Thai or regular basil leaves, fresh cilantro leaves, flat leaf parsley, fresh mint, thinly sliced scallions, edible flowers, and rice/bean thread noodles.

You can use any kind of organic edible petals or small flowers.

If you don't have access to edible flowers you can omit them and substitute a combination of bean sprouts, finely grated carrots, and perhaps some shredded purple cabbage.

I definitely need practice rolling the wrappers ~ they are slippery after soaking ~ making them a little more challenging to roll than Egg Roll wrappers, in my opinion.

But it doesn't matter how neatly they are rolled, they still taste fabulous . . .

Supremely fresh and healthy!

If you would like a printable copy of the recipe, you'll find it on the Once Upon a Plate Recipe Blog.

Thank you for coming by to visit today!

~ mari

Tuesday

Pan Seared Salmon Filets with Highly Herbed Lemon-Olive 'Vinaigrette' on Orzo Shaped Pasta

When I devised this dish the dilemma arose as to what to name it. The 'sauce' for the fish isn't a true vinaigrette ~ it's loaded with olives, and many more chopped herbs than a traditional vinaigrette.

But the flavors of a herb vinaigrette are all there ~ Lemon juice and zest, Dijon mustard (optional), olive oil, salt and pepper. With the addition of some slivered olives. (You might like to substitute your favorite wine vinegar for the lemon if you don't care for citrus.)

If you've followed my blog for a while you know that salmon appears on the menu often so I try to keep the flavors interesting with healthy additions that can be drizzled or spooned over the cooked fish for variety.

I used Kalamata olives but you could use another type if you prefer (or omit them altogether.)

The rice shaped pasta is just boiled until al dente and plated first, the salmon on top, then a generous serving of the vinaigrette ~ it serves dual purpose by dressing the orzo as well as the fish.

Fortunately most of the herbs in my garden (except the most tender) over-winter in this climate so they are available year round. This time the mix was Italian Parsley, Thyme, Oregano ~ and snipped chives (which I forgot to include in the herb photos, oops.)