Scenes from getting dinner ready last night (before Mike arrived at the table). In the lower, right corner of the above photo is the spinach artichoke bean dip that I made again from the Sprouted Kitchen cookbook. It's really delicious and such a healthier alternative to the traditionally heavy, cheese and mayonnaise-laden ones. This recipe has some cheese in it (shredded mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano) but it gets it creaminess from mashed cannelloni beans. So while Mike is chewing on some charcuterie, I can get satiated on a wholesome bean dip with all the flavors of garlicky, spinach artichoke dips that I love so much. We both win.
The bread is another loaf of Pesto Bread. Same as last Friday. Same great flavor and aroma. This bread is a keeper! Pizza night got cancelled again, not for our anniversary (that was last week), but because of kids' activities. We needed something quicker to put together.
This was the first time I've tried a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and it was love. at. first. sip. It was so crisp and refreshing and fragrant that its safe to say that there will be many more Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs in my future.
Also, I heart membrillo paste with Manchego.
This morning we're baking up some brownies with marshmallows for a school event. We're using a recipe from The King Arthur Flour's Baking Companion that's based on a brownie recipe from Maida Heatter's Best Chocolate Desserts. I'm pretty sure we've made it before (maybe even multiple times) but I never made any notes on the page so I can't remember if we liked it. It couldn't have been made in the last year because since then I've been vigilant about scribbling some of my thoughts in the page margins of every recipe I make. I'm on a mission to keep great notes so that I never have to cook a mediocre recipe again that I've already tried. Here's to GREAT food eaten with with wonderful people.
And to chocolate brownies!
