Sweet 16!

Where does time go and must it go there so quickly? I'm feeling nostalgic, watching our "baby" drive away with her music playing and purse slung over the car seat. My brain knows it's time and my heart is not yet ready to let go.

Jamie turned 16 last week and passed her driving test with flying colors yesterday! It was so fantastic to witness the feeling of exhilaration, the freedom, the total COOLNESS of having a drivers license! (I don't remember the panic on my parents faces, the worry they must have had, or the finality that they had to be feeling, either.)

It seemed easier to let our older daughters go, but now that they have gone, I want to hold tight to Jamie for just a little longer.

We had the family over for for her birthday....Pumpkin Pie was the requested "cake", my folks came after harvesting corn all day and we all enjoyed some cheese and goodies! The "sisters" made a point to stop in with a minimum of bickering between them (that was amazing) and a batch of Caramel Apple Dip was demolished in minutes!

I am learning the true meaning of the word "bittersweet"...

Here's the Caramel Apple Dip recipe if you've not had it before. It can be eaten with a spoon if you're out of apples...we won't tell.

8 ounces Cream Cheese, softened
2/3 cup Brown Sugar
Drizzle of Caramel Syrup (we never put this on,as we think it's too sweet, but it looks great)
3 Honeycrisp or apples of your choice, cored and sliced

Beat the cream cheese and brown sugar until smooth. Mound in a shallow bowl or plate. Drizzle with caramel and arrange apple slices around. Enjoy!

Family Cooking

Our family has been in the "food business" for the last 6 years. Like most family businesses this means work comes home with you, in our case, this is not a hardship by any means! (We always have a basket full of sample stuff that we are in the process of deciding whether to stock or pass.) We do love to cook together! We make the most god awful mess you're likely to experience, talk & like crazy and make some fabulous (and not so fabulous) dishes! Each of the girls have their "thing" and favorite TV chefs...as well as a list for grocery shopping!

Our youngest daughter, Jamie recently made a wonderful recipe that we all loved! We incorporated as many local items as possible (taking it's February in Michigan into consideration!) and used a few new ideas that I thought were really interesting and you might too! We are also quite spontaneous and this recipe contained most ingredients I had on hand! Kudos to Giada de Laurentiis as this was hers originally with a few minor alterations!

CROUTONS:
1/4 Ciabatta bread loaf, cut into 1 inch cubes
3 Tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 Tablespoons Vanilla Sugar (recipe at bottom if needed)

FRUIT:
1/2 cup Orange Juice
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
1/2 cup Vanilla Sugar
1 cup fresh Blueberries
8 fresh Strawberries, hulled and quartered
8 fresh Blackberries

CHEESE:
1 1/2 cup Ricotta, whole milk (I used Four Corners Creamery Ricotta)
3 teaspoons Orange Zest
1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Sugar
1 Tablespoon fresh Mint Leaves, sliced

Vanilla Sugar:
2 Cups Sugar
1 Vanilla Bean
Process in food processor until combined evenly.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil. In a medium bowl toss together bread cubes with melted butter and sugar. Bake in a single layer for 8-10 minutes, until golden and cool completely.

For the syrup: Bring juices and sugar to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add berries and cook until softened, about 7 minutes.

For the cheese:
Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Construction: In a shallow bowl, spoon out cheese and flatten slightly. Top with berries and garnish with croutons and a mint leaf!

Can't you imagine this dish in early summer when all of the berries are fresh?!?! Enjoy!