This is Dave in his office on April 17th, tax day, this year.  After an especially long and grueling “tax season” I decided he needed a special “It’s Finally Over!!!” gift from me.  So I made up this basket… filled with some of his favorite things… here is how I did it.

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Today I give to you the recipe for the rich, smooth, and creamy chicken liver mousse that Jacques demonstrated on the Jacques Pépin Cooks for Eight taping this past Sunday.  Here is a little of what he has to say about it.

“Unlike most mousses and pâtes, which become watery and grainy when frozen, this one freezes perfectly. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil before freezing. Small soufflé dishes are ideal for freezing because they can be defrosted in a couple of hours. If you use a large dish, you’ll need to defrost it slowly under refrigeration for 24 hours before serving.”

So, of course, I followed the master’s advice and made six little ramekins to freeze for later entertaining purposes. The larger dish that you’ll see decorated, is one that Jacques made on set Sunday which I brought home to finish. It was served last evening as an appetizer at my father’s birthday dinner. Happy Birthday, Dad! xoxo

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Terry, Barbara, and Sloane

All-day long while Jacques, Barbara, Henry (executive producer), Kim, Sloane, Terry, and I were busy at the taping – others were slaving away as well. My husband, Dave, was working like a dog on taxes (it was April 15 after all, but the “real” April 15th was still two days away if you know what I mean). Henry’s wife, Jesse, was working like crazy because they have two young sons… and we all know what hard work that is! And Kim’s husband, Paul, was at home, cooking up a storm!

So after the show had wrapped and we all made ourselves as presentable as possible in 10 minutes… we rejoined at Paul and Kim’s gorgeous home, for an intimate dinner for ten.

Henry and Jesse

We started out with wine by the fireplace on their “back forty”.  Kim brought out Baguette Slices topped with Wild Mushrooms, Comté, and Roquefort along with a terrine of Jacques’ Chicken Liver Mousse brought over from the set.

Linda, Jacques, Dave, and Henry

The conversation and the wine easily flowed as we recounted the day’s events and as Jacques entertained us with a choice few of his many wonderful stories. Then we headed inside to Kim’s stunning dining room table, which I should have taken a picture of, darn it.

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The BIG event this past weekend was the taping of … Jacques Pépin Cooks for Eight.

Barbara Fenzl brought legendary chef, author, and educator Jacques Pépin to Arizona to tape a very special cooking show that will first air on June 4 at 7:00 pm and will serve as the main pledge-drive program for our local PBS station, KAET – Channel 8.

The title has a double meaning; Jacques and Barbara not only cooked together for channel Eight, in addition, but the menu was also set like a meal for Eight people.

But the taping of the show wasn’t the only big thing that happened over the weekend… there was a KAET fundraising dinner the evening before, Saturday night, in the gorgeous East Room at Vincent’s on Camelback. Here is a look a the menu. The artwork was provided by the guest of honor.

Barbara gave the most lovely and loving introduction for Jacques to the 100+ guests.  I think that was my favorite part of the entire evening.  She spoke so beautifully and eloquently.  I am always proud to call her my friend and my mentor, but especially at that moment.

Chef Vincent Guerithault and his staff put together an intimate and delicious evening.

The two Frenchmen have been friends since the mid 1970’s, when Vincent first came to the United States. It was a spectacular evening and each guest received Jacques’ most recent cookbook, Essential Pépin.  Then at the end of the night, Jacques signed and personalized every single book to each guest – and as he was doing so, a photo was taken, as a memento of the evening for each person, as well.

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Linda and Jacques in Kim and Paul Howard’s backyard on April 15, 2012

On Saturday, I mentioned that I was working on something very BIG over the weekend. These pictures are a hint of just WHO and WHAT the BIG deal was all about.

If you do not already recognize the handsome gentleman in these photos, he is none other than world-renowned chef, Jacques Pépin.  And if you don’t already know who Jacques Pépin is… please either read THIS or THIS or THIS, or just Google “Jacques Pépin” and read up. I promise you will be very impressed with this amazing man.

Kim Howard, Barbara Fenzl, and Jacques in my backyard on October 26, 2008 to celebrate Les Gourmettes’ 25 Anniversary.

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I’ve been working on something VERY BIG for the last couple of days and it will come to full fruition on Sunday… so I shall tell you all about it next week.  Until then…

I took a bunch of pictures of our yard when it was just beginning to bloom and then again yesterday…  I’m going to share with you some of the progressions. The bunnies and quail are year-round residents.  And you may recall my drama-trauma baby quail story from last year at about this time… if not, please do check it out HERE! It’s quite the story.  To avoid the same sequence of events this year, here is what I did to the “quail pot” next to our pool.

I had to do it! Those darn quail came back to nest again and I had to chase them off so they would find another place to lay their eggs. I thought they would have learned their lesson. But no!  First I stuck a bunch of cardboard between the plant and the pot, but they still tried to get in there. So the bubble wrap went in and that seemed to do the trick. Thank goodness, I could not deal with that again!

OK, so my yard is blooming like crazy right now and I am in love with it. We didn’t have any hard freezes this past winter and everything is big and healthy, so I’m taking it all in while I can.

The “centerpiece” of the yard is this orchid tree. It’s pretty enough most of the year, but in the spring… it is a stunner!

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My poor husband is working at least 90 hours a week. He has dragged his worn-out self in the door at 9:30 or 10:00 the last several nights, exhausted to the bone. At least there is a dim little light at the end of the tunnel… unfortunately, it does not shine into full brightness on April 15th this year.

Last year it was April 18th because of a Federal holiday that fell on a Saturday but was observed on the Friday before, which was April 15th.  And since tax filing deadlines can’t fall on a weekend or holidays, it was extended to Monday, April 18. Confused yet? Well, this year the 15th is Sunday and then Monday, the 16th, is that same holiday.  Many people know nothing of this new (only since 2005) day off for the Feds.  Here is the lowdown from the ever-reliable Wikipedia:

“The municipality of Washington, D.C., celebrates April 16 as Emancipation Day. On that day in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act for the release of certain persons held to service or labor in the District of Columbia.

On January 4, 2005, Mayor Anthony A. Williams signed legislation making Emancipation Day an official public holiday in the District. Although Emancipation Day occurs on April 16, by law when April 16 is a Saturday, Emancipation Day is observed on the preceding Friday.

In 2007, the observance of this holiday in Washington, D.C. had the effect of nationally extending the 2006 income tax filing deadline from April 16 to April 17. The 2007 date change was not discovered until after many forms went to print. In 2011, the tax deadline was extended to Monday, April 18, since the observed date for the holiday was Friday, April 15. In 2012, because Emancipation Day falls on Monday, April 16th, and the normal tax deadline of April 15th falls on a Sunday, the tax deadline will be on Tuesday, April 17th.“

There you go, now you know exactly why your taxes aren’t due until April 17th this year and why my husband and CPAs everywhere are tortured for an additional two days.

Since I’ve been cooking for one, I’m cooking quickly and lightly. This recipe is a perfect example. I’ve eaten it for dinner, lunch the next day, and dinner again until finally I just tossed the rest of it. It is the perfect vegetarian meal. If you’re observant you’ll notice that I used chicken broth instead of the suggested vegetable broth, only because I had a partial box in my fridge left from Easter. Use vegetable broth or water to keep it vegetarian.

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Image from Pinterest

I’ve been working with a friend/neighbor, cooking together once a week, to help increase her repertoire and confidence in the kitchen.

We make a meal for that night and another meal for the next night… something in the crock-pot or a casserole that can be refrigerated overnight and then popped in the oven the next day.

She has two sons who are picky eaters, I had forgotten what it felt like to have picky eaters! Because of that, we are taking it slow.  Let’s see; no fish or seafood, extremely limited variety of vegetables (when I say limited, I’m talking only potatoes, corn, and tomato), nothing too spicy… you get the picture.

They like pasta, red sauce, and meatballs… so I came up with this easy recipe for the “second-night” dinner… from the refrigerator to oven.  Add a fresh salad and she is ready to rock and roll.

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The three quiche recipes I worked up for The Arizona Republic food section over six weeks ago are finally in the newspaper today.  Although I am extremely pleased with the article written by the lovely Karen Fernau, the photos leave a lot to be desired. The cover shot’s color is off and the inside photos are an unappetizing black & white.  Luckily, the beautiful color photos that food photographer extraordinaire, Michael McNamara, shot are on the AZCentral website, along with all three recipes.  Find the full article and links to all three recipes, plus the basic crust recipe, HERE.

And this is what you will find there…

Jalapeno Popper Quiche                  Photo credit: Michael McNamara

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For Easter, I rearranged the hanging basket, over the sunken swim-up kitchen… keeping the ivy and replacing the roses with purple iris, daisies, and lilies.

Then, I drew all the new drop-cloth drapes on the patio, to keep the sun and warmth out, turned on the ceiling fans, and we had a beautiful late-afternoon dinner outside.

The place settings consisted of my collection of pink and green Bordallo Pinheiro majolica plates. Here is how I built each setting.

The green salad plate varied from one seat to another.

The bunny plate on the bottom right is my favorite, I particularly love the edging on that one!

For holiday dinners, I usually plate each course, but since Connor’s roommate was joining us, I didn’t want to make any assumptions about what he might or might not eat.  So instead, I set up a buffet.

We dined on Brussels Sprout Salad, Challa, Fruit Skewers, Smashed and Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Roasted Leg of Lamb with Zinfandel Sauce, a glazed spiral ham from Costco, and Plum and Raspberry Upside-Down Cake.

The fruit skewers are self-explanatory – and just click on the names of any of the other dishes to get to the recipe. Below you will find the recipes for the lamb and the potatoes.

Even though Connor and his roommate, Patrick, are both nearly 21, they still enjoyed searching for, (above) and then playing with (below) the stuff in, their Easter baskets.

Oh, and turns out, I could have saved on the washing of a bunch of bowls and platters and just plated the meal after all. Patrick ate it up!

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