Royal Potato Pesto Egg Salad

Few things make me happier, foodwise, than to open my refrigerator and find two or three different things that I can spoon or fork directly from the bowl, often with the door open. On days I´m feeling very proper, I present a nice plate with different things in it. Like an everyday mini buffet lunch or dinner.

I can´t think of any better meal than one that involves a lot of dishes I like that get piled up in my plate. Maybe a very good sandwich, like this with serrano ham, mozzarella and arugula, can compete with that. 

Or a killer barbecue, but then, my barbecues involve several meats and salads, so we´d be back to the buffet like idea. Though to tell you the truth, I dislike the word buffet a lot, have no clue to why, I just do, but it serves its purpose very well here.

Savory Brioche Pockets with Caramelized Onions and Goat Cheese

These past weeks have been tiring, more emotionally than physically, but just for normal everyday reasons like work, family and life in general. 
The weather has gotten colder, a fact, and I can´t seem to get my house to be the right degree of warmth I like, personal issues about socks and gloves, which I already commented, aside, it´s too stuffy so I open a window, and before I realize it my kitchen is just too cold to let the brioche dough rise in the time frame that it should. You know,  normal crappy bouts of crankiness here and there, a normal week.

The sponge is cracked and the butter is soft

Brioche making is a pleasure for me, and a recipe that talks about it stuffed with caramelized onions and goat cheese gets me pumped. Or it should´ve. But I was not in my best attire this week and it was somewhat an effort to make yet another recipe with a deadline.
I should´ve skipped this recipe probably, but hey, it was nancy silverton and it was brioche, how could I say no?

8 Hour Cheesecake with Roasted Grapes (gluten free) #SundaySupper

After 24 hours in the fridge

Some cold fronts made an appearance this week, requiring the heating system to be turned on, and socks to be worn to bed. Yes, I wear socks and gloves inside my house most of the winter, because no matter how well heated the house is, there´s usually a big difference in temperature with the rest of my body, which is beyond my control, very John Malkovich in Dangerous Liaisons, btw a fantastic movie, in my opinion, about human character.

Cheddar Scallion Pecan Quick Bread #FRD2013

We´re joining forces today within the French Fridays with Dorie group, to participate in a day I particularly find very inspiring. Jamie Oliver started the idea, and this is the culmination, with so many of us around the world cooking and sharing. This group is sponsored by Mardi, the amazing blogger behind Eat.Live.Travel.Write, and is part of our usual Friday programming.

“Food Revolution Day is a chance for people all over the world to come together and stand up for good food and essential cooking skills. It’s a chance for people to come together in homes, schools, workplaces and communities to cook and share their kitchen skills, food knowledge and resources. Food Revolution Day is a global day of action to raise awareness about the importance of good food and better food education for everyone.

The theme for this year’s Food Revolution Day is “Cook it. Share it.” – something all of us here at French Fridays with Dorie are passionate about already!” 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream

`Decide what you want,

 decide what you are willing to exchange for it,

 establish your priorities and go to work.´ 

      H.L.Hunt

Words I stumbled across at a moment of confusion and upheaval in my life some weeks ago, but not too many. The exchange part was the hardest to decide, but I´m almost down to the end of my listing the priorities while starting to work on it. Let´s see how it goes.

In the meantime, I have some sensational ice cream for you. Chocolate chip cookie ice cream.

My food blog is no doubt a priority because food is my passion, will always be, and this is the perfect way to express myself. So I´m working on it too, establishing priorities within the priorities.

A few days ago I got a message on facebook from the oldest daughter of two of my best friends (they are married to each other), asking me if I had anything to do with the blog Vintage Kitchen. Huh? Is this a trick question? I was suspicious, similar to the time my door bell rang in january and there was a man with a package I had never ordered. So I answered yes, of course, I am the blog.

Vintage Mondays - Pastel Azteca

Sometimes I open my fridge and freezer and am surprised at the amount of food I hoard without even realizing. If you didn´t know me better, and most don´t really, you´d think I was preparing to give birth to very hungry eighteen year old triplets. Or quadruplets, all boys.
Well now you do know that´s not happening, at all. For the record, I live alone and eat most of my meals by myself, with the exception of my weekly brunch and dinner with friends or the times when my on/off boyfriend of the last five years happens to be around.  So how on earth do I buy so much stuff in the first place?

This pastel azteca is a result of said moments, when I found 8 or 9 frozen vegetable packets. Do I add a few each time I go to the supermarket without realizing? I´m baffled at my own habits. 
And I wonder, does that apply to other aspects of my life? I have a creepy feeling it does. Let´s not find out though. I´m not in the mood for some soul cleaning right now.

A new vintage Monday and some new, and hopefully interesting, finds to share with you. 

Since food always comes first in this blog, here are some very interesting recipes that I would want to tackle asap:

Peach Doughnuts from The Ginger Bread Lad 

Chocolate Crusted Banana Blondies from Cake Duchess

Coconut Baklava from Diethood

Blackberry Farm Griddle Cakes (gluten free) from Bon Appetit

Carnitas from Smitten Kitchen with Homemade Tortillas from Juanita´s Cocina (my first time making both)

Guacamole Rice from Foxes Love Lemons

Esquites (Mexican Corn Salad) from Kimchi Mom

Stuffed Buttenut Squash from Elizabeth´s Kitchen (it´s pumpkin season here!)

Fresh Fig and Walnut Pie #SundaySupper

For the scant year and a half that I´ve had this blog, it´s my third time celebrating mother´s day and it will be four before the year is over. Since it´s always celebrated in the spring, no matter what part of the equator you live on, we take our moms out to party in september, or october, I´m not quite sure now.
I made her a dark chocolate mousse last year and a fresh fig and walnut pie today. Why? She´s crazy mad about figs which makes this pie the perfect gift for her.
She´s more mad about figs than me. Dried, fresh, in syrup, whatever way, she likes them.

We´re having a celebration with the Sunday Supper group, hosted by my friend Heather of Hezzi-D´s Books and Cooks, and we made many fantastic recipes for you to share with whomever raised you and helped you be the person you are today.

My mom worked with me for two years at the Café I once had. There were times where it´s very fair to say she worked more than me. We were both equally exhausted. But like only a mother can, she never lost her temper with me the way I did with her. Actually, I lost my temper with most persons at some point, a very unpleasant streak of the gastronomy business.