Bread Baking Class with Local Baker

 I took a bread class from local baker Don Guerrathis week.  It took place at the UA farms on Campbell.  He had us sit in groups of 3 and make dough together that we developed throughout the 4 hour class.  At the end of the class each group divided their dough into 3 parts and each person had a beautiful round to take home and bake off later that day.

Don is a very down to earth, friendly and joyful baker.  He did some lecturing, some demonstration and answered countless questions on bread baking.  The class had about 30 attendees.  Most were older and a varied level of baking experience was present.

Don provided us with a spread of bread he baked that morning, cheese, fruit and nuts to munch on during the class.  But the best thing he gave us (to my surprise)  was a big hunk of his unbelievably delicious smelling sourdough starter to take home and continue baking with.  His starter smelled so good I could have eaten it raw. 

 I have already baked with his starer this week and made the best tasting, most beautiful breads I have made to date.  And I discovered nothing goes better with a piece of sourdough bread than a glass of traditional method sparkling wine.  Oh all the bread, toast, and yeast!!!

Valentines Date

Pizzeria Bianco is purported by Peter Reinhardt (my favorite baker and bread expert) to be the best pizza in the country.  It is located in Phoenix, Arizona and has recently opened a new location in Tucson.  I have been wanting to go there for months and  this is where Matt took me on our Valentines date.  Afterwards we went out for a night cap at Tap & Bottle and followed that up with hot tub and our favorite Baskin Robbins ice creams at home.  A wonderful evening. 

Valentines Dance

Matt got to take Ariana to her school Valentines dance for the second year in a row. 

Trivia Night Calls for Bread

Our church has a trivia night every year where we team up and compete to see who knows the most amount of trivial information.  This year's trivia night included a spaghetti dinner beforehand.  Matt and I were privileged to be able to provide the bread for the dinner. Fortunately it turned out that I was off work the day before and was able to make all the dough Saturday.  Then on Sunday after church we came home, fired up the oven, and baked all 13 loaves in the brick oven.  Any time we can practice baking in the brick oven is a good thing since a brick oven you build yourself does not come with instructions  and a lot of trial and error takes place.  We didn't know how many people were coming or how much bread they would eat so we made 6 baguettes and 7 round loaves. A little over half of the bread got eaten with the dinner.  At the end of the night one person told us the prize for the winning team should have been the leftover loaves!

Visitors from Frozen Tundra Seek Refuge in Arizona!

My Mom and my nephew Levi finally came down for a visit.  Levi was here with his family last Christmas but my Mom has not been here in 3 years so it was great fun to have her and show her all the things we have done to the house and yard since she was last here.  

We spent most of the time relaxing, eating and watching movies.  We didn't want to put her to work too much but we did need a few Mom treats like what you see pictured here: her famous chicken salad and her delicious beef short rib and dumpling soup which I have named "Soup of the Meaty Bones."  When we could get her out of her chair and away from crocheting dozens of dishcloths we took her and Levi to the Gaslight Theater to see a fun production of "The Cisco Kid" which we all enjoyed. 

Levi, who is turning 14 in a few months, is almost as tall as Matt already!

New Recipe of the Week: Chickpea Curry with Rice

My friend Betsy and I both really love to cook.  In order to spur each other on in cooking new things we decided to take turns picking a new recipe of the week which we give the other each Sunday and both cook during the week.  FUN!  

I thought it would be fun to keep track of what we cook each week by posting a picture of the plated recipe, a link to the recipe and a short review.

I chose the first recipe which was an easy chickpea curry from Ree Drummond.

4 out of 5 stars.  I really enjoyed this recipe.  It was fast, simple and very flavorful.  Using the coconut cream from Trader Joes made the sauce so silky.  It paired perfectly with a semi-seco Cava from Spain which tempered the spiciness.  I will definitely make this again.

In Honor of the Sharptooth

One year ago today we had to put Sharptooth to sleep.  We decided from now on we would honor him by drinking our very favorite wine of all time each year on this day.  We have a little less than one case left and it is a 2007 so we will see how it fares over the years.  

We miss you buddy and hope for a reunion in Glory.

Good Sports

Ariana came over to play with Bandito and new toys she got for Christmas.  Bandito was a good sport and played a good horse/cat in the stable. 

After dinner we played dress up and even got Uncle Matt involved!

Our Christmas Morning Tradition

On Christmas morning Matt and I have biscuits and gravy (his Mom's recipe which is a bacon gravy) and a bottle of nice Champagne while we open presents.  A great tradition indeed.

Minnesota Summer

Wine and Werewolves

Wine and Werewoves was an EPIC NIGHT with Tyler Lyle who we hired to come play a house gig in our backyard.  We had been preparing for weeks.  The morning of the gig Matt awoke early to fire up Sharptooth's Inferno.  We baked about a dozen loaves for the gig.  Set up followed throughout the day and we were so happy the Janks were here to help us.  The guys picked Tyler up from the airport around 2 and took him back to our house where we promptly filled him full of our most authentic and delicious Tucson food- Guerro Canel carne asada tacos.  I served Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne and Monte Xanic Calixa red wine (cab/syrah blend) which is one of Mexico's finest.  After a leisurely lunch of getting to know Tyler we gave him some time to chill and get acquainted with Luke's guitar.  Jeff arrived late afternoon and helped us all with last minutes stuff around the yard and thankfully he also took photos throughout the night for us with his sweet camera.  See his awesome photos here.

Gates opened at 7:30 and Tyler was playing by about quarter after eight.  We had 40 people all together.  Tyler took a break a few songs in so people could get more wine and snacks.  We had a plethora of wine (Champbrule, Luc Pirlet Chardonnay, Summit Estates Riesling, Vasco Sassetti Sangiovese, Montecillo Rioja,  L.A. Cetto Cabernet Sauvignon, & Line Shack Cabernet Sauvingon).  Plus we had fresh baked bread from the brick oven, cheeses, a tray of dessert bars by Betsy and a big platter of strawberries from our neighbors.  Tyler played many more songs, including my favorite of his, By My Name, which he had to relearn for me as its one of his oldest songs, and Matt's favorite, A Journey of Infinite Recognition, another oldie.  Tyler ended and we demanded an encore so he took a bit of a break and then ended the show with One Legged Woman.  The concert was awesome!  We tried to record the audio and video but unfortunately it didn't work (Jeff recorded a few songs which you can watch on his photo page linked above). Tyler brought a bunch of copies of his new album to sell and even though no one who came to the gig had ever heard of him they loved him and he sold a slew of his CDs. For those who bought CDs they got entered into a raffle in which we raffled off an autographed bottle of one of Tyler's favorite bottles of Bourbon.  When the music was over we kicked people out within about a half an hour or so.  This was for two reason, number one we needed to quiet it down and get all the cars off the street before we got complaints from our home owners association and because there was an after hours high end whiskey tasting for just a few guys and Tyler.  All in all the night was AWESOME except that I got sick that night and had to go to bed soon after the show.  The next morning we filled Tyler full of coffee and Los Betos breakfast burritos before we hauled him back to the airport.  

I will never forget how I was walking around the corner into my backyard the afternoon of the gig when I heard a very familiar voice singing, live.  A voice I listen to almost everyday and here it was live in my own backyard.  Awesome.

Women's Wine 101 Night: Wines for Summer

Me and few girlfriends started a women's ministry at our church last year called Fourth Fridays where the women in the church get together on the fourth Friday of the month to fellowship as we learn something together.  We take turns hosting and teaching all different kinds of things.  Last year I did a bread baking 101 night and in June this year I taught a wine 101 class.  I had 12 ladies and we tasted through 8 different wines as we learned about wines for the summer season.  It was such a fun night that I am hoping to sneak in another wine 101 night- wines for the winter season- just before the Holidays.  I had the tables covered in different fruits, vegetables, spices, herbs and the like for the ladies to smell in order to help them build up their sniff memory banks.  I also typed up a three page study guide for them to follow along and takes notes if they wanted to.  I served the last wine, which was a dessert wine of course, with a beautiful pastry cream and fruit tart on a shortbread crust that my good friend Betsy made especially for the evening- belissimo!

The Soul of la Hacienda McReynolds...

Before

After