Pretty much the most perfect dinner...

Bread. Cheese. Wine. I have no words.

Bread 101

Traci and I attended a Sunday afternoon Bread 101 class at Kendall College - it was such a great time! We learned how to make baguette, foccacia, sourdough and challah breads. I was a fan of the industrial mixers and the great facilities! But, not so much of a fan of the white paper hats. If I do ever become a chef one day, I will have to find alternate head gear. :)

Erin's Birthday Weekend

What a fun way for Erin to roll into her thirties! We had a fun-packed weekend - including an evening of Lou Malnati's pizza and roller skating. I did not partake in the skating - and it's probably a good thing that I didn't .... Becky went home with a broken wrist. :(

Puppies!

When Erin was in town for her birthday weekend we visited "Thee Fish Bowl" in Evanston. We had so much fun playing with the cute little puppies - especially the mini Otis!

Tofu au Vin

As much as I like tofu, this meat-free version was not nearly as good as the original. I think I'll stick to using tofu in my Asian dishes and leave the classic coq au vin unaltered.

It's a dog's life

Easter Sunday was a very fun-packed day for Mr. Otis. He got to spend some quality time with Jenna, Adam and Goldie.

As you can tell from the last two pictures - he was pretty tuckered out on the ride home to Chicago.

Bacon Cheddar Scones

I made these bacon cheddar scones for my family's Easter brunch - they were a hit!

These were pretty dense and "scone-y," if you will - but I kind of liked them that way. I tried a few other varieties of these scones - one at a local pastry market (which had a croissant-like consistency) and another from my master-baker co-worker (which had a combo effect of scone & croissant). If I ever make them again, I think I'll stick with my recipe! :)

Chicken Curry in a Hurry

Chicken, green bell peppers and red curry paste - yum!

Gnocchi Love

I'm really far behind on updating my blog posts. This is a dish that I made at the end of March - how can you go wrong with gnocchi, bacon and spinach? A little Parmesan cheese on top and a glass of wine on the side - and I'm a happy camper.