~Cooking with Girlfriends~

I love cooking,

 especially with girlfriends.

My girlfriends, 

Kim and Denise came over and we made homemade pasta.

I have the attachment for our Kitchenaid

 to make fettuccine, lasagna and spaghetti.

We made fettuccine. 

I used Martha Stewart Basic Pasta Recipe.

Denise brought her Nona's tablecloth that she gave to her. 

It was so special making pasta on her grandmother's tablecloth.

Stan made some butternut squash with dill earlier which we used to make butternut squash ravioli.

We made lasagna with the attachment then cut out ravioli.

They were so beautiful laid out on the tablecloth!

We also made ricotta cheese. 

Ina Garten Homemade Ricotta.

It was so good and easy to make!!

Denise made the marinara sauce.

It was delicious!!

I also made a sage butter sauce.

The ravioli were so good that night!!

I also wanted to share with you a cooking class I went to

with the girls in February.

Sur La Table 

near us had a

 Girls Night Out Cooking Class!

Denise, Kim and Me

They grow their own fresh herbs with grow lights.

~Roasted Grape and Brie Crostini~

~Watercress Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette, Toasted Hazelnuts and Goat Cheese~

Chef Yapo taught us lots of cooking techniques in the kitchen.

~White Wine Poached Salmon with Tarragon Beurre Blanc~

~Mimosa Sorbet~

It was lots of fun learning new recipes!

~Squash Blossoms~

With Summer's arrival soon approaching,

I'm seeing more and more summer squashes in bloom.

I love the dainty, edible flowers from them.

Sold at Farmer's Markets and Specialty Produce Stores,

the bright orange blossoms are from zucchini plants.

But, several other summer squashes may be eaten, as well.

We have some zucchini plants growing in our garden right now.

I'm looking forward to a wonderful harvest this summer.

I found a recipe from Bon Appetit using Squash Blossoms.

I used some fresh chives from our garden.

Ricotta Cheese

~Ricotta Stuffed Squash Blossoms~

Recipe

They were so delicious!!

We also made some Tortilla Soup.

It's a lovely recipe I've used for years now,

by Nigella Lawson. Hope you try it!

Cornish Game Hens with Wild Rice and fresh veggies.

completed our wonderful weekend.

Stan surprised me with a bouquet of Tuberoses.

The whole kitchen now smells heavenly!!