Mango & Avocado Salad

 

This was the perfect weekend to make this delightful salad for Pretty Mommy's lighter and brighter recipe exchange.  The weather in Atlanta was absolutely gorgeous, low 70's. Perfect for this California transplant.  I  could not wait to sit outside and soak up all the vitamin D I could get. Can you tell that I am just a little anxious for Spring and so over old man Winter :)

I first tried this salad almost one year ago when Mr. Foodie and I went on a raw foods diet for 1 week.  Mr. Foodie had just purchased the breville juicer and we were very excited to juice that we pushed ourselves one step further and said we would try a raw foods diet.  Being that I am what some would describe as skinny (I prefer the term thin) and very conscious about not losing weight, I was intrigued by the challenge but fearful that I might lose a few pounds too many.  

Then there was the little problem of what we would actually eat. I didn't just want to have apples, oranges and bananas, although there was plenty of each throughout the week.  I knew I needed to keep the meals fun and fresh everyday if we weren't going to succumb to the desires of having a typical, cooked meal.  I scoured the internet and found a ton of recipes using raw fruits and vegetables to create various salad combination's. And this was by far our favorite.

An unlikely pair at first glance, the creamy avocado pairs wonderfully with the sweet mango. Then the fresh pop of citrus from the lime juice plays well with the cilantro, all leading up to one A-maz-ing salad. So, even though this is not much of a recipe, I'm sure it's a dish you might not have come up with on your own.

Try it. Enjoy it. I promise that you will.  I'm going to sit over here and hope I can enjoy more of these Spring like weekends before Spring actually starts.

Welcome Back + Baked Mushroom Linguine

Hello there blogosphere! Are you there? It's me Passion Foodie.

It has been way too long since my last post.  And I absolutely have no good reason except pure lack of motivation.  Yea, I've been somewhat busy.  But that's not even an excuse and something I'm sure you don't want to hear.  Because we are all busy.  And this is supposed to be my outlet.  A chance for me, to share with you, what's been going on in my kitchen. 

So since we have established a friendship, albeit I have not done my part in the past couple of months, I feel comfortable in being completely honest with you.  There hasn't been a whole lot going on in my kitchen.  I have tried a few new dishes, cooked Thanksgiving dinner again and also participated in a few Bobby Flay style Throwdowns at work (I've currently won 1 out of 3 and I'm not settling for this record at all). But the one thing I haven't been doing is taking pictures.  And you know pictures are such an integral part of any food blog.  Well at least this blog.

But this is a new year, another fresh start (lest I remind you I've had a "break" before) and I'm ready to get back to it, if you guys will have me.  I don't want to make too many lofty promises since I still have a wedding to finish planning in the next few months (April will be here before we know it). But I can promise no more 3 month breaks. As one of my besties likes to tell me, "those cupcakes are very stale by now".  Gotta love friends.

So I'm going to get back in the groove with this Baked Mushroom Linguine.

If you love mushrooms, as Mr. Foodie does, this is the perfect dish for you.  I will warn you, this is not a quick, weeknight meal.  Think of it more like a Sunday dinner where you may have a little more time to spend preparing the dish.  It is a generous serving so you will have plenty leftovers for lunch and dinner and it is oh so tasty

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

A couple of weeks ago, I came home from the store with peanut butter, cupcake liners, flour, cocoa powder and Reese's peanut butter cups.

Mr. Foodie asks "what is all that for?"

"Chocolate Peanut Butter cupcakes of course. Duh!"

And would you believe he said "umph, I don't know about that"

So I, of course, had to show him a thing or two.

I even got all fancy on him.  I piped the frosting on the cupcake by cutting the tip off the freezer bag (haven't yet upgraded to a fancy pastry bag) and chopped up the Reese's peanut butter cups to sprinkle on top.

Now all he can say, as he inhaled his second one, is...
"umph, that's a pretty damn good cupcake. I had my doubts but, you were right"

Alas, my three favorite words (after my other three favorite words). Things would be a lot simpler if he just remembered that from the beginning.

Strawberry Mango Sorbet

I know it doesn't look like much in the too big bowl, but that simple scoop of heaven was a perfect way to end a very full but great weekend.

First off, Mr. Foodie and I had our engagement "photo shoot" by the A-maz-ing, Shawna Herring.  I just love her and her work. The pictures are Hot! and fun at the same time.  We had a great time and can't wait to see our upcoming wedding in print.

Next up, my mother and grandmother came in town for a quick visit.  Well, actually it was for my mother's birthday and I wanted to cook her dinner. I suggested she come over to my house. Unfortunately it's not just down the street as I'd love, it's a 4 1/2 hour drive.  But my mom being my mom (and I being the only child) said she would love to.

I served this and this was dessert (per her request).  I really kind of had my own "staplehouse" thing going on with my grandmother, a couple of cousins, my girlfriend and her son all added to the mix.  Things weren't as fluid as "staplehouse" but that's okay when it's just family and friends.  All in all, everything turned out lovely and the food was enjoyed by all. Most importantly, the birthday girl was full and happy.   

Then add a book club meeting (this was our book for the month, an excellent read) and a tennis match (won 6-2, 6-3) to the weekend, and the only way to end it was delving into a nice bowl of sorbet on a not so hot summer evening.

Family gone, house clean and strawberry mango sorbet.  Too bad summer nights are winding down.  Time to savor every last minute.

staplehouse

I am so excited to be able to share my most recent experience with you.  Not only because the fiance' and I were finally granted two of the very limited seats available for the experience but because after following this semi-elusive dinner club for over a year, it was so worth the wait, effort and disappointments of the "Sold Out" dinners of the past.

Ryan (the chef) and Jen (his loving, supportive and equally talented partner) are the amazing husband and wife duo who started hosting bimonthly dinners at their home.  The dinner parties are actually a preview of their soon to open restaurant, Staplehouse.  The dinners are aptly named Prelude to Staplehouse, where Ryan can sample dishes to add to his menu while getting immediate feedback from diners.

Ryan and Jen have this down to a science.  They provide such a welcoming atmosphere, you really feel like you're at your neighbors house for dinner and it'd be no problem to come back the next evening for another meal. Please and Thank You! 

There's a lovely welcoming reception 1/2 hour before dinner is served where we were greeted with a glass or wine or beer.  Everyone is chatting, getting to know one another, getting to learn more about Ryan and Jen and the upcoming Staplehouse.  Then we're ushered into the dinning room where there are six seats at the dinning room table and four at the bar (for those who would like to watch the chef work his magic in the open kitchen).  Jen is the ultimate hostess and server, as she always served the women first.  And Ryan is the passionate chef who described each course with the most descriptive and appetizing words before we literally started to dig in with our "ooohhhhss" and "aaahhhhss", giving repetative compliments to the chef.

(No pics of the food, too busy eating, but check their blog as they have recaps of the dinners, complete with pictures)

Ryan describes the food and ambiance as "casual fine dining".  Sign me up, whatever it is.
  
The food was spectacular. Starting with then king crab salad (would have never thought crab and apple would be a great combination, but it was) and the A-MAZ-ING burrata (which Ryan described as luscious, which it was) and tomatoes.  I could eat the buratta everyday, all day and not feel guilty about it one bit.  Then there was the clam and chorizo "stew", the duck which was delicious and tender, ending with orange creme or root beer floats. The floats took me right back to childhood just in time to go home and pass out in the fetal position from the fantastic meal.

(The group of lucky diners and our hostesses chef Ryan, bottom left and Jen peeking her little head from behind)

Now I could go on and on about this meal but if you live in the Atlanta area, let me tell you how you could be a lucky guest.

They host approximately 2 dinners a month which are only announced through a posting on their website, usually posted a few days before the dinner. There are only 10 seats available for each dinner and when that post goes up, the dinners sell out very quickly, within 10 minutes or less.  Literally, if you are not on your computer/email/google reader (my way to follow them) when the announcement is made, you can pretty much count on having to wait until the next dinner. 

The process is exciting and nerve racking at the same time.  But like I said earlier, the experience is worth it.  Excellent food, great company, a perfect way the end the weekend

So go to their website here. Sign up, follow along, get in the know! You'll be happy you did