On Saturday night we had our Spain Reunion Dinner.

Peggy & Jim and Lorraine & John plus Dave & I spent a relaxing evening drinking sangria, nibbling on tapas, and dining on my paella.

I’ll share recipes with you all week. I shall begin with the star of the evening – the paella!

Begin this recipe the day before to marinate the chicken overnight. Up to 4 hours before serving, brown the chicken and cook the onion, garlic, and tomato base in the same pan. You can finish the dish when your guests arrive by bringing the base back up to heat and taking turns stirring as you enjoy your tapas and sip sangria.

A couple of disclaimers before I get to the recipe. I forgot to add the peas. I had a bag of fresh peas in the fridge and just forgot, much to the dismay of my husband, who loves peas. Sorry!

And the final photo was taken at the dinner table which was outside, in the dark, and I should have used a flash. Oh well, it will have to do.

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Along with Arugula & Strawberry Salad with Chèvre, Pistachios and Horseradish-Maple Vinaigrette and Pomegranate Molasses Leg of Lamb and Lemon-Limoncello Meringue Pie I made this scrumptious potato dish for our Easter supper.

One quick tip:  When shopping for leeks, look for a leek with as much white as possible. The white and pale green portions of the leek are the only parts used, so try to get the most bang for your buck. I found these two perfect leek specimens at Trader Joe’s.

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“Dining with one’s friends and beloved family is certainly one of life’s primal and most innocent delights, one that is both soul-satisfying and eternal.”   ~ Julia Child

Easter Day – Scottsdale, Arizona  Circa 1963

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Something has happened.

One of you did something and I am asking that you step up and take responsibility for your actions.

I know, with certainty that it was one of you! No one, absolutely no one else, but one of my readers could have known and done what you did.

I know this because one of you did something after you read about a situation that was ongoing, and you read it about it here.

Please step forward and admit it, not just me, but to all of us.

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Tomorrow night we’re having Peggy and Lorraine and their significant others over for a dinner of tapas, sangria, and paella. We’ll exchange photos and basically relive our dreamy trip to Barcelona. Plus, I have to put my money where my mouth is when I assured them that my paella is superior to what we had in Spain.

Here is the recipe for one of the many tapas I’ll be serving.

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Instead of my usual Silk Transfer Easter Eggs, I went another route this year. On Pinterest, I found Cocktail Napkin Easter Eggs.

I hard-boiled 9 eggs and used the technique explained HERE for the first eight eggs. Then on a whim, I tried another technique and ended up with the egg above. I love the end results and will show you how to do both.

Plus I’m putting up links to all of my Easter recipes as listed on the Complete Recipe Index – over there on the left if you are still trying to figure out what to make.

Cocktail Napkin Easter Eggs

8 to 12 white hard-boiled eggs, cold
Printed paper cocktail or lunch napkins
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Open the napkins and separate the printed top layer from the plain second layer if the napkin has two layers. Discard any plain sheets.

Cut each napkin into four squares, along the folds.

Dip a small pastry brush into the beaten egg white and use to adhere and apply a square onto the front center of an egg.

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Last week, Chef Kevin Binkley of Binkley’s, Café Bink, Bink’s Midtown, and Bink’s Scottsdale, was the guest teacher at Les Gourmettes. Kevin is once again up for the James Beard Award for the Best Chef: Southwest. Fingers are crossed!

Everything he made was, of course, amazing! The thing that I really enjoyed though was a simple, thick, tangy, creamy vinaigrette made without any vinegar. Strange but true and truly delicious.

Kevin served the vinaigrette over a salad of arugula, strawberry slices, goat cheese, and pistachios. I’ll be serving the same salad for our Easter dinner on Sunday.

Speaking of Easter Sunday, if you haven’t colored your eggs yet, hold off one more day because tomorrow I’m posting a new way to decorate eggs and a bunch of Easter Menu ideas.

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For the past six weeks, Connor has been working at Mark Tarbell’s The Tavern. He is the dishwasher and although they feed him dinner, he has not gotten the one item he sees that he really wants… the coconut cream pie.

So of course, I made it for him. That’s what moms do.

He gave it a thumbs up.

I have plenty of photos to accompany the crust-making part of the recipe. But my dad was here while I was making the filling. He can be very distracting, so no photos of that part, sorry.

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How was your weekend?

I spent mine deep-cleaning my house and preparing my backyard for the harsh summer conditions. The first order of business was to bag up all the patio throws and blankets we use on chilly fall and winter nights and store them in the rolling crate-ottoman.

While I was at it, I vacuumed the rug and dusted off all the furniture – a never-ending battle!

One of the prettiest things blooming in the backyard is the Lavender Snail Vine (Vigna caracalla) that is completely covering…

… the rusty arch at the far edge of the patio.

I discovered the first Canna Lily (Auguste Ferrier) of the summer. It is a promise of things to come.

Another nearly weekly activity is the cleaning and refilling of the hummingbird feeder.

I have tried all sorts of ways to clean the bottle, from bottle brushes to pipe-cleaners, but the most effective method I’ve found is this: Fill the bottle about halfway with hot tap water, add a tablespoon of bleach, and then a handful of dried beans. Shake and roll the bottle and the beans will clean the sides better than any bottle brush known to man.

Next, triple-wash the bottle and then wash it again to make certain that you’ve gotten all traces of the bleach out of there before filling it with sugar syrup. I use a mix of 1 cup sugar to 4 cups water.

I’m barely able to turn around from hanging it up before the hummers get back at it.

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Not much to add to this one, it was 98 degrees on April 10, 2014 in Phoenix, Arizona. It should be about 84 degrees!  #toosoon  #notready  #wedontneednorecordheat

I know I’ve said it before, but I swear I spend 39% of my life looking for things I’ve put “somewhere” in my house.

Yup!

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