Party for poets, etc

Per usual, the grad poets came to my house for dinner to celebrate the end of the semester. Here's what we ate!

In other news, I got an exciting shipment from King Arthur Flour....

And here are some recent meals... nothing too exciting... but yummy, I think....

The KAF goodies let me bake a bread very similar to the delicious Cheesecake Factory dark loaf...

Finally, look at these beauties....

Meeting and greeting

Hard to believe it's that time of year again, but, alas. In any case, I was happy to host the MFA meet-&-greet this past weekend. Here are some pics of the food.

I made four salads.

Quinoa with edamame, corn, chick peas, dried cherries & pepitas.

Wild rice, cantaloupe, blueberries, spinach, toasted almonds & feta. My favorite.

Mixed greens with sautéed asparagus, toasted pecans, blue cheese. My vinaigrette.

Watermelon, tomato, feta salad. An old stand-by.

I also made two quick breads: beer bread and cherry-walnut bread. The latter is a Cherry Republic recipe.

And for dessert, two kinds of cookies: NY Times chocolate chip (the best...) and chocolate-pumpkin seed cookies (also very good).

Whew! That was fun.

Cheesecake; Michigan; Poets; Honeysuckle

Lots to like, this go-round.

First, a cheesecake with a chocolate crust. Note: no crack.

And still, no crack:

Here's something pleasing: frosted Michigan glasses. They can be found here.

Aren't they nice? As for the stuff in the background... that was in preparation of the annual spring gathering of MFA poets. This year, an array of salads....

... and they were lovely company, too, those poets. We had a good semester, I think. 

It's already hot and humid in West Virginia, and the honeysuckle---my favorite---is out in full force.

Even the ditches have lovely flowers...

Finally, a familiar little dinner on the day of commencement... spring is full of such beginnings.... spaetzle, roasted brussels sprouts, pecans, feta, spinach, dates... good as leftovers, too... the summer term starts tomorrow... Keats, onward---

Meeting and greeting

This past Sunday I hosted the MFA meet-&-greet. Now my house is mostly very clean.

No grilling this year. Instead, five (yes, five) salads:

Mixed greens with feta and pecans. My vinaigrette.

Wheat bulgur and corn salad. 

Rice salad with edamame, pistachios, dried cranberries.

Chick pea and parmesan salad.

Watermelon, tomato, feta salad.

I also made some beer bread.

And then there was some fruit.

And some brownies and chocolate chip/espresso chip cookies. The Hello Kitty cookies I did not make. Alas.

Finally, a couple of pics of the table.

Whew. That was a lot. But a good time, I think.

A very pretty Sunday in September

A good day for a small dinner party for a visiting writer.

To start, tomatillo-avocado salsa. Rick Bayless recipe.

And two kinds of bread, the oatmeal loaf and the beer bread.

I made a green salad (no pic) and grilled lots of vegetables to go with farro. 

And a cranberry cheesecake for dessert. I've made a lot of cheesecakes. This was one of the best, by far.

Belatedly

I hosted the annual MFA meet-and-greet—two weeks ago now—and here, at last, are the photos.

First, flank steak, already marinated in low sodium soy sauce, mirin, ginger, garlic, lime juice.

And grilled... along with some chicken that had been marinated in Greek yogurt, etc.

And some salads: watermelon with tomatoes and feta... 

and orzo with baby kale, chick peas, feta, red onions...

and a chopped salad with pears, gorgonzola, pecans and a homemade poppyseed dressing...

Finally, here's a pic of the table.. 

And yes, a good time was had by all.