Call Me Barefoot Contessa Junior

Okay, that might be pushing it just a bit, but my good friend Rox and I spent the day cooking and our entree came from the wonderful Ina Garten (aka Barefoot Contessa for you non-Food Network junkies).

Roxanne and I work together. She's one of the marketing directors for the label and keeps me in line. She also loves to cook so we had planned for weeks to get together to try some new recipes. Rox showed up with groceries in hand and we got busy in the kitchen.

Rox had never been to my house, so I wanted to make it extra cozy and inviting. What's cozier than a fire going?


I love having company over this time of year. I keep the Christmas lights on all day.


We were going to try one of Julia Child's recipes, but it involved setting wine on fire. I'm sure it would have been fabulous, but since I've never cooked with fire, I was a little afraid of my cabinets going up in flames. Or worse.

Instead we made a dish I watched Ina make last weekend: Chicken with Goat Cheese and Sun Dried Tomatoes. For sides we chose Honey Glazed Carrots and roasted asparagus. For dessert we made the yummiest new recipe. I don't remember the name of it, but it was basically crispy phyllo treats topped with a citrus custard, raspberries and pistachios. While the custard chilled we watched Julie & Julia. Such a great movie! I don't typically like to watch movies twice and I had seen J&J this summer, but it's so good that I could watch it over and over.


Now I'm going to try to clean the house a bit before Todd gets home from the football game and maybe fit in a workout. With our busy schedules, I have to pack as much in a day as I can.

Hope you had a great weekend!