no big surprise

If you know me then you know I love food.  I love cooking it, photographing it, talking about it and most of all I love eating it.  I can be sitting down with friends or family that are visiting, eating a big delicious breakfast and simultaneously be talking about what we will have for lunch and dinner.  I wouldn’t say my life revolves around it but…I sure do love it.  It should then come as no big surprise that I’ve wanted to also incorporate cooking, recipes and food photography on my blog.  I’ve talked and talked at length about it and finally I decided to make it happen–for real.  Why?  Because food is a beautiful thing.  It brings people together after a long day, it can comfort you like a big ol’ bear hug, fill you with nostalgia as smells whirl and bring back warm memories, it can be cathartic as you stir and stir and let your mind go…there IS beauty in it.

You see, I’ve posted before about how lovely garlic and onion skin is when you really take a closer look…

The colors and ruffles in a head of escarole….

That flour and sugar could resemble fluffy and granulated mountains…

How just looking at these layers can get your salivary glands going…

(sorry my mouth was watering)

Suffice it to say, food is very much a part of who I am, my lifestyle and my family as a whole.

So here is where we begin.

I have asked my lil’ sister, Jessica, to join me on the blog to share in this new venture.  We will be cooking and blogging together.  Trying new recipes, making old ones our own, recreating our favorites from local restaurants, and much more!  Who knew that the little sister who used to stand in my doorway and make me crazy because all she wanted to do was be near me and be like me…

(and a couple more I couldn’t resist sharing)

…has become one of my closest friends and we are more similar than we ever could have imagined.

I’m really excited to be doing this, to bring our passion for food to life together, here, for you all to enjoy as well!

Our sister Lisa, who is also an amazing cook and baker, bought us both the Smitten Kitchen cookbook for Christmas–Thanks, Lis! If you’ve never been to the Smitten Kitchen blog, you should head on over and start perusing the recipes pronto.

OMG.  So.  Much. Goodness.

The first recipe we cooked together was the Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette.  Jess had raved about how delicious it was and I was excited to try it.   She brought the dough which she had made the day before so we could just jump right in and get started on the recipe.  The dough calls for sour cream or yogurt which imparts a slight tanginess and creates such a beautiful, somewhat flaky and light dough.

I’ve got to be honest, it is OUT OF THIS WORLD!

It melts in your mouth and brings a little piece of sweet heaven right to your taste buds.  With the touch of thyme I want to say that I am reminded of Thanksgiving and feel like it’s a perfect fall and winter dish but truly it can be eaten anytime of year.  The fontina is a nice touch and just adds a bit of creaminess.  I give it a double thumbs up and encourage you all to try this recipe, STAT!

So here we go!

Et voila! The finished product!

So much more to come and I can’t wait to share!

xoxo

Stephanie