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I wish I could tell you--it's a surprise (to me)!!

I know there is rhubarb, Berkshire pork, a fruit terrine, kumquats and fava beans involved.

Beer can chicken! Or rather roasted ginger ale chicken with a mustard dry rub, and it came out well! I also took my first stab at macarons, and while their dome shape tattles on my overzealous piping, everything else about them makes me happy, right down to the chocolate ganache and chocolate strawberry fillings. Now, I have 4 lbs of strawberries to play with tomorrow before I close out my weekend!

Having a dinner party Sunday, and it's been way too long since we've done such a thing.

Apps:
Goat cheese and smoked oyster purses
Olives/antipasti

Main:
Hot fish and greens pie with mashed potato crust
Tomato and onion salad

Dessert:
Individual butterscotch pies with graham cracker crust

And LOTS of wine, of course!!

I made homemade ricotta for the first time (from 2% milk and buttermilk). It was so easy! We had it on our pancakes this morning with maple syrup and peaches, and I'll be using it in a pasta dish for dinner. I didn't want to throw out all that whey, so I used 1.5 cups of it instead of the water to make No-Knead Bread. Worked great! There's still a lot of it left, though...

Working on my homemade bread using no commercial yeast - capture the natural yeast from the air. I'm making progress, but it's still not quite right yet.

Also making some of Alton Brown's stove top mac and cheese. I didn't have any evaporated milk, so made my own using the microwave. A tip - put the milk in something WAY bigger than the original volume, because it makes a mess!

Whoa! Homemade ricotta! My wife made some too.

Here's my surprise dinner--http://www.flickr.com/photos/art_chel/sets/72157605384375787/

good link!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/art_chel/sets/

oh well. it's supposed to be the "special spring dinner 08 set."

Funny, my husband and older son were across the country visiting family while I stayed home with the newborn, and I realized nothing has changed since I was in university: I still suck at eating well when I'm alone. Luckily we had some good leftovers in the fridge, but once those ran out, it was cereal for dinner.

I'm trying to understand why I have a hard time making good food a priority for myself, when I have no problem making sure my family eats well. A possible future topic for The Kitchn to address?