Sole-Wrapped Asparagus with Tangerine Beurre Blanc

Well, I am back. Nearly 8 weeks ago I had my adorable son, Roark. He is a good baby, but nonetheless I've had my hands full and haven't had much time for cooking of late, but this week I started back at it. It feels good - I missed it!

We had some left over Dover sole (don't know if it was real Dover sole and when the Count asked the fishmonger at WF she looked at him like he had three eyes...sigh) and with this being asparagus season, I got on Epicurious to see what easy recipe I could find that would only require ingredients I already had on had. What a gem I found, sole wrapped asparagus with tangerine beurre blanc. Don't be fooled by it's fancy name - this was easy and delicious.

Truthfully, I didn't follow the instructions on the sauce. I reduced down the orange juice (didn't have tangerines) and added the drippings and shallots from the fish pan and then added a bit of butter but not nearly the amount the recipe called for (still have 8 more baby lbs to lose!!) and it was delicious. This is easy enough to be a weeknight meal but looks fancy enough to serve for a dinner party. Also, this isn't a particularly fishy dish so it's safe to serve to those that aren't huge seafood fans.

Pignoli Cookies

I am really into pine nuts right now - not sure if this is related to pregnancy or not but recently learned they are a superfood so now I have the perfect excuse to find all sorts of ways to incorporate them into recipes.

One of my favorite pine nut recipes is a Lemon Pine Nut Torta, so when I came across this recipe for pignoli (pine nut) cookies in the Martha Stewart Cook Baking Handbook, I had to give it a try.

They are super easy. They are tasty but strong in almond flavor. I found I ate quite a few the first couple of days but they have been lingering around the house ever since which never happens with cookies around here, so I am not sure what to think...

Graham Crackers

Another Martha Stewart Baking Handbook recipe I decided to try out was her recipe for homemade graham crackers. I think they are pretty tasty and they received raves from a three year old so that really says something!

They were pretty easy - not as easy as buying the Nabisco kind, but good for a special occasion.

Strawberry Blueberry Napoleons

This recipe for Strawberry Blueberry Napoleon is another great entertaining gem - easy to make, sophisticated presentation and can be made in advance and assembled in 3 minutes after dinner.

Don't let the phyllo pasty intimidate you - even if they are a broken mess when you put them in the oven, they will end up looking great. I also must confess, I never have bothered with the balsamic sauce.

I made it most recently when we had our also pregnant neighbors over for dinner. Greg made his famous steak frites for dinner and I was in charge of salad and dessert. It was a fun night and we enjoyed getting to know our neighbors better - we've only lived in our house about five years now, so I suppose it's about time!

Summer Squash Lattice Tart

And I'm back...not sure where I went. I've been cooking plenty, but just haven't been blogging about it. I think I got off track with the holiday craziness. I'm about to have my first baby so we'll see how long I can keep this up, but until then I am back.

I've made Martha's Summer Squash Lattice Tart tart lots of times when entertaining as it always gets lots of "ooohhhs and ahhs" both for appearance and taste. We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas dinner at the Pannoni's this year with friends and I brought this over as an appetizer. While no, it's not the easiest dish to make it's not really hard either (just don't make this on top of five other complex dishes when entertaining).

Shortbread Fingers

Growing up I was never a fan of shortbread, but as an adult I've really come to love their buttery delicousness. I think I truely came to appreciate them while living in London as they are the perfect accompanyment to "a spot of tea".

These were delicious adn was another Martha Steward Baking Handbook recipe. I couldn't find the exact same one on line, but I think this one is pretty close.

Tiramisu Eggnog Trifle

I was looking for something special to bring as dessert our annual Christmas Party and found this recipe for Tiramisu Eggnog Trifle on Epicurious which got great reader reviews. I am not usually a huge fan of tiramisu generally, as I think it's mushy. Despite my best efforts to keep this one from being mushy (didn't soak the ladyfingers in the coffee mixture but a second), it was but it was still pretty good and was a great option for a group that isn't big fans of chocolate - I know, shameful!

The best part of this dessert is the visual presentation with the chocolate leaves. I was hesitant to tackle them, but all the reader comments said it was easy and it was. I used the bay plant leaves I had in my backyard with white chocolate (see above!) with a few redhots to make it look like a poinsettia. My only advice is to make twice the amount of leaves you think you'll need as some will break as you peel the leaves off.