A week of different...

So much I've meant to tell you, but our internet has been down for the last 6 days! I had to access a recipe via my blackberry (the horror of mini-type) and send all emails from my phone. "Ugh" would be the best description! So I thought I'd run a re-cap of the 10+ days I've been gone, with photos. Here's the highlights...

We said "Good-bye" to our Max. Eleven years of loyalty, mice catching, gardening companionship and master snuggler. It was a sad day.


We met a lovely woman, Monique, who owns Al Dente Pasta Company, here in Michigan at Silvio's Organic Pizza. She was kind enough to participate in The Market's Food Show! Her "Monique's Olive & Caper Sauce" is so fantastic! Silvio's Truffle Pizza is absolutely amazing! We also had the fresh grape, potato pizza, egg and pea pizza and a Sicilian style with anchovies! Paired with Green Hills Cab and Chardonnay and great company, it was all fantastic!


I made the nastiest recipe of rice pudding with fresh lychee fruit. I'm not sure what happened....it should have been so easy and wonderful. Instead I got glue with slimy globs of mauve fruit.

Tuesday mornings are better with wine! Giancarlo paid us a 10am visit at The Boulevard Market and brought his lovely Chianti, Chianti Classico (one of my favorite wines), his Super Tuscan and Vin Santo. Lovely Tuscan wines made my morning! They will be available at The Market soon!


I'm getting this bacon/pork wrapped meat down to a science! A turkey breast, rubbed with fennel pollen, sage and garlic and topped with Pancetta...autumn dining at home! I am harvesting the rest of the fennel pollen from my garden and drying it as we speak! Our family has become addicted to the stuff! It adds a lovely delicate flavor to soups, salads and more! The Market sells it as well, and it comes from California.


We visited an industry Food Show in Southfield and came away with some new fun ideas and products that you will see at The Market soon. My favorite was these new flavored Panko Crumbs...it's like shake n bake!!! I was given the "Pommery Mustard" flavor and it was great! We just put them on some EVOO brushed chicken breasts. So easy, so yummy, so 20 minutes and it's finished!

The good with the bad...it's what living is all about! The internet is back up and functioning, I'm catching up on emails without throwing my blackberry out the window. We are anticipating our first Culinary Book Club with Food meeting tonight and will post more on that tomorrow!