Roasted Figs
Victor found the perfect dessert. He was watching TV yesterday and somewhere saw figs roasted with balsamic vinegar and topped with a dollop of mascarpone.
Wouldn't you know that we just happened to have all three ingredients in the house tonight?!?
They really are simplicity.
Take about 3 figs per person and cut through in quarters about 3/4 through. You want the figs to stay intact.
Place them in a small buttered casserole, sprinkle with a teeny bit of sugar and drizzle with good-quality balsamic vinegar.
Bake at 350° for about 10 minutes.
Place three figs on each plate and drizzle with the accumulated juices. Place a small dollop of mascarpone cheese in the center of each fig, and serve.
This was really good. The perfect ending to the perfect day.
Creamy Chicken and Mashed Potatoes
I'm trying to rush fall, a bit. I'm ready for the fall foods. Grocery stores are all set up with butternut and acorn squash, gourds have appeared. Mother Nature is taking her time. It was sunny and 78° today. Actually, it was perfect weather. I'm not complaining. Really. I just want to make a pot of soup.
Yesterday, I boiled a whole chicken. I got a gallon of great broth for a few future projects and a full chicken for a few meals. Tonight, I took a bit of that chicken, a bit of that broth, a few mushrooms and some fried hot peppers and a dolop of mascarpone and made a creamy - and ever-so-slightly-spicy - chicken that I served atop mashed potatoes.
It was just the ultimate in comfort foods. Something my mother would have put together to feed the lot of us back in the day.
I hate to admit it, but I actually cleaned that plate.
It was really good.