{weekend photos}

This past weekend was filled with birthday dinners, shopping and celebrating a friend's completion of his first triathlon.  Here are some snapshots:

 {muji confused by the birthday balloons}

 {trying out a potential champagne for the wedding before heading out to dinner for Chris' birthday}

 {Korean BBQ at Genwa}

 {new necklace from a small boutique across from our place called Bliss}

 {pumpkin scented candles from Target}

 {baked eggs brunch at a friends house}

{portobello mushroom fries with basil aioli from this recipe}

{cooking with friends + squash blossom recipe}

 
Cooking for my friends is one of my favorite things, but even better than that is spending an entire day with friends picking out ingredients and then cooking the meal together. This past Saturday, we got up early and headed out the Santa Monica farmer's market with our good friends Josh and Heather. We didn't have a meal in mind for dinner, but one soon came to us after browsing around at the farmers market. After picking up some artichokes, squash blossoms, fresh herbs, and fava beans, this is the menu we decided on:

Cocktails: 

Manhattans

Blackberry Caipirinha

Appetizers:

Fried squash blossoms stuffed 

with ricotta, thyme, and sauteed shallots

Artichokes with spicy mayo dip

Main:

Sauteed fava beans with bacon and roasted asparagus over rosemary polenta cake 

topped with a perfectly poached egg

Dessert:

home-made donut holes with 

caramel, chocolate, and whipped cream dipping sauces

 {the advertising on these artichokes won me over}

 {part of the farmer's market purchase}

 {polenta with rosemary and thyme}

{Chris shucking the fava beans}

We followed the farmer's market with a brunch at The Farm of Beverly Hills and then relaxed on our deck in the beautiful weather drinking sangria before walking over to Josh & Heather's loft to cook the dinner together. By far the best part of the meal was the squash blossoms. If you happen across some of these, I highly recommend picking them up and preparing them the way we did.  Here is our recipe for fried stuffed squash blossoms:


What you need:

• 10 to 12 squash blossoms
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup of flour
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 tablespoon thyme, chopped
• 1 half shallot, chopped
• 6 cups vegetable oil for frying (preferably canola or grapeseed)

1. pat down the squash blossoms with a damp paper towel. Do not rinse underwater- the blossoms are too delicate to be cleaned this way
2. saute chopped shallot in olive oil
3. in separate bowl mix together ricotta, thyme and shallot. Salt & pepper to taste.
4. spoon about 2 tablespoons of filling mixture into each squash blossom and twist the top to close
5. place egg on one plate and flour on another.  lightly roll each blossom in egg and then flour.
6. heat oil in medium saucepan to 350°F
7. gently place each blossom in the oil. turning for about 1 minute- until batter is crispy- it will not brown
8. place on paper towel to drain excess oil
9. Enjoy!

 {squash blossom filling}

 {Heather filling the blossoms}

 {coating the blossoms to be fried}

 {battered and ready to be fried}

{kale chips + weekend photos}

I finally had a chance to make the kale chips that I mentioned here and they did not disappoint. I followed Smitten Kitchen's very simple and quick recipe here and added a teaspoon of lemon zest. This bowl disappeared in about 3 minutes and we were already brainstorming different ways we want to try using these such as served over mashed potatoes or as a garnish over steak.

This past weekend started with a dinner on Friday night dinner at Bottega Louie followed by a Saturday spent wine tasting in Santa Barbara/Los Olivos.  Sunday started with a relaxed brunch and a shopping trip to find the perfect planter for our citrus tree. Here are some photos from the past few days:

 {tasting board at Dragonette Cellars- Hillard Bruce Pinot Noir is amazing}

 {tasting at Epihany- the Petite Sirah was accompanied by chocolate}

{sunday brunch}

{muji being dramatic}