Dinner...With Whatever You Have Left Over In The Fridge...

Gnocchi...with some other things that I thought of...

Some of the best meals are the ones that I make up as I go along.

Gnocchi and a good tomatoey-creamy pasta sauce.

Gnocchi takes minutes to cook. I heated up my sauce and mixed the two together.
I had some left over frozen shrimp from another recipe. I thawed it and added it to the pot!

I had this left over arugula. The peppery flavor adds a punch to any meal!

Ahhhh! And my new favorite...White Truffle Oil from Olive Chattanooga! I drizzled a little on the top, with parmesan and fresh ground pepper.

It was delicious!

La Bonne Vie Y'all!

Chicken Tarragon- A Very French Dish

So the next season of my favorite TV Series (in fact, the only current TV Series I watch) came out last Tuesday: Once Upon A Time! 

Once Upon a Vine- Glass Slipper Sauvignon Blanc goes great with Once watching!

The menu called for something special...something with a unique flavor...Ahhh...Chicken Tarragon!

Peeled and seeded chopped tomatoes.

Saute'd chicken in butter. I flattened mine out and sprinkled a little salt and pepper.

Now, the sauce...use the same pan you just cooked the chicken in, cook tomatoes and shallot;
and then....Deglaze it with White Wine!!! Yay!
I used 3/4 cup of white wine and 1 Tbsp of white wine vinegar.

Reduce the sauce and thicken with more butter. Add FRESH Tarragon!

Viola! Chicken Tarragon over rice and served with mixed veggies!

We grabbed the white wine and hit play!

 This is a quick weeknight meal that is fancy enough to impress guests. You can find the full recipe in The Bonne Femme Cookbook by Wini Moranville.

My favorite show...bottle of white...and a fabulous French dish....

It's La Bonne Vie Y'all!

Mediterranean Snapper In A Snap!

Mediterranean Snapper with Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

You will need 6 calamata olives sliced, 1 can diced tomatoes with herbs and garlic (drained), 1 lemon, 1/4 cup crumbled tomato/basil feta cheese.

In about 1 Tbsp of oil, place fish skin-side up to cook on medium heat about 2 to 3 minutes.
Flip fish and squeeze lemon over fish. Top with tomatoes and olives, cook 2- 3 minutes.

Top with feta. Cover and cook for 2 more minutes. Fish is done when it is opaque and flakes easily. ( You may need to adjust cooking times and temps based on the type of fish and thickness).

Delicious!
Pair it with a nice light white wine and its a Win!

La Bonne Vie Y'all!

Chicken Pot Pie...With A French Twist!

Four words: Cognac AND Puff Pastry!

Poulet Pot Pie with a small green salad

This is another Bonne Femme recipe, so I can't give away the goods (you really should get the book- it's excellent!), but as they say: a picture is worth a thousand words!

Enough carrots to equal about 1 1/4 cups & about  2 cups
sliced leeks.

I used rotisserie chicken- it cuts down on cooking
time. Two cups should do it!
Cooking chopped carrots in slightly salty, boiling
water for about 3 minutes helps the carrots to soften
quicker as well.

Cook leek, small yellow onion and garlic in butter, of course! The smell is heavenly by the way.

Add chicken and carrots, 1/3 cup of flour, 1 cup chicken broth, 1/2 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of heavy
whipping cream, 1/4 cup of Cognac (please don't report me to the French cooks
of the world...I used Spanish brandy...I know, I know...it was what
 I had on hand!), 1 Tbsp of parsley, 1/2 tsp tarragon and pepper.

Thicken and pour into a baking dish. 

Cover with puff pastry. Brush egg and 1 Tbsp of water over the pastry.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Oh my- isn't it pretty!!!!

We served ours with a fresh green salad with Champagne vinaigrette.

Cognac, Puff Pastry...Y'all Know It's La Bonne Vie!

The Hubs Manly-Bourbon Birthday Bash!

 Happy 40th Birthday to the Hubs!!!!

Our Blackboard Crab on the back porch!

 The Hubs turned 40 on Friday, but we decided to celebrate with family on Saturday.

I've never been a fan of all that "Over the Hill" kind of stuff, so I opted for a Manly-Bourbon Theme. The Hubs loves bourbon and mustaches are everywhere...it just seemed to be the perfect idea!

I've included lots of pictures and one recipe...Chorizo Deviled Eggs!

Enjoy!

The Menu: 

- Chilled Shrimp Bisque

- Mini Caprese Bites

-Peach & Brie Phyllo Tarts

Veggies in Cumcumber Dill Dip

- Chorizo Deviled Eggs

- Pinwheel Sandwiches (from Publix)

- Gourmet Cheese Tile

- Publix Cupcakes

Drinks:

- Frosty Sours (Bourbon based cocktail)

- Red & White Wine

I found this DIY Banner at Target. It is blackboard paper.
I can just use a bit of water to wipe off the letters and use it again!

I found little signs like this on Pintrest. This one includes
some facts from 1974!
Can you believe that a gallon of gas was only $ .53!!!

I made this sign with several of the Hubs' favorite
things. I used some jute string and hung them over
doors. As guests walked through the house
 they stopped to read the signs!

In keeping with the theme, I found The Gentleman's Guide
to Cocktails by Alfred Tong...

...I had guests sign this book as a keepsake!
I used mustache place cards to leave instructions!

I found mustache straws and these "window decal type"
mustache glass markers at Hobby Lobby.
The note on the place cards
say: Pick a Stache...
...and mark your glass!

Look at how cute they look on the glass. Plus, when
you are done, they easily peal right off!
The color of the Frosty Sours really make them
stand out!

Would you like some Red?
The Hubs loves red wine. Here are 2 of his favorites!

Our gurgle pot with water.

Mason would be so proud! I used this little notebook
to keep all of my lists together.
I even have a time table about when things need to go
in the oven.

Prepping is the best!
I cut and assembled these little crudites earlier in the day.
When it was time for the party, all I had to do was
pull them out of the fridge!

The little hanging fans have mustaches as well.

Mom's cool idea- I used a giant flooring tile to serve
cheeses. I picked a pretty tile, added the little felt
pads to the bottom and- Viola! Cheese Tray!

I found these napkins on amazon. I used this color scheme
throughout the party.

Publix cupcakes! White cake with butter cream frosting. I asked for the smooth swirl on the frosting.

So now...How to make Chorizo Deviled Eggs...

I googled it and found this recipe from Chef Brian. It was a huge hit!

You will need: a dozen eggs, 4 oz of ground chorizo, 6 Tbsp of Mayo, 2 tsp of Dijon mustard, 1 pinch of cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste. 

Basically, you hard boil eggs...

Mix the yolk, mayo and Dijon in a bowl...

Brown the Chorizo until crispy...

Add Chorizo, cayenne, salt and pepper to the yolk
mixture...

Spoon mixture into hard boiled whites!

I change out the ribbon and write new messages on this plate based on the celebration.
Our three black cats (Remy, Pumpkin and Minnie) usually make it into the message!

It was a great party!

It is so important to celebrate each other. 

I enjoyed celebrating the man I love so much.

Happy Birthday Hubs!

La Bonne Vie Y'all!