How To Use Herbs

Do herbs you've never tried intimidate you?

Sometimes I worry I'm going to completely ruin a dish if I add something I'm not 100% sure about. Other times I take the risk.

Last night for example I made a rack of lamb for dinner and seasoned it with a bit of olive oil, salt, rosemary, thyme and herbs d'provence. It was delicious, if I do say so.

Cooking is about taking risks and not being afraid to order a pizza if you ruin whatever you were attempting to cook.

Here's a great tool to help with herbs.

Via

Enjoy your day!

Recipe Friday... Breakfast!

Are you a big braekfast person? I can't go a day without it but I don't make / eat anything elaborate or fancy, just a bowl of yogurt will do! Michael on the other hand is obsessed with big breakfasts. One time being the good fiance I am I woke up a little early, snuck downstairs to make him bacon and eggs... He ended up eating cereal because I burnt EVERYTHING! I'm going to seriously need some practice in the breakfast area!

What's your favourite breakfast food?

Via Brown Eyed Baker

Via Food Gawker

Via The Late Afternoon

Via BREAKFAST

Enjoy the Party,

Nicole :)

Learning to cook & hosting a dinner party...at the same time

Learning to cook and hosting your first dinner party for your brand new boyfriend (now fiancee) and another couple is a daunting experience to say the very least. Three years ago I decided to step up to the plate and give it a go, I mean how hard could this be, I've seen my mom do it a million times. I decided I would make baked rigatoni for the main course (I'm half Italian, can you tell) and an angel food cake (boyfriend's favourite) for desert. With some much needed help from my parents the entree turned out delicious; the cake, not so much. My mom, God love her, is not a baker which means I have not picked up any baking skills over the last 25 years. She told me once the cake is cooked you need to flip it over a pop bottle so it settles and cools. Well I didn't have a 2 litre pop bottle laying around so I used the next best thing, a Perrier bottle. Warning, do not do this at home! The cake fell to the counter crumbling into a million pieces. Needless to say, Michael (fiancee) is not marrying me for my baking abilities!

The moral of this story, no matter how lousy of a cook you may be and how daunting the experience is, people notice your efforts and appreciate them!

Stay tuned for the baked rigatoni recipe in a future post.

I don't have a picture of us from that night so I thought I'd post another of Michael and I to introduce you all to him!

Side note, who was your favourite on Idol last night? I have such a tough time picking a favourite, they're all great. My top 3 favourites are Paul, Casey and Scotty.... Pia too!

Enjoy the Party :)