Our neighbor, Jeff, just retired and my husband wanted to have he and his wife over for dinner. This couple has been our neighbor for more than 30 years. What was on the menu you ask? For hors d’oeuvres I made my late cousin’s stuffed mushrooms, crab spread from Mr. Shrimp (Belmar) and Alexian’s Pâté’s Wild Forest Mushroom Pâté served with cornichons. A Stilton and Pear salad was our first course. For dinner,  Dijon and Cognac Beef Stew, a recipe from the New York Times, served atop garlic mashed potatoes along with popovers. Dessert was the Financiers that I recently blogged about.

I purchased a spaghetti squash and couldn’t decide if I should prepare a recipe I’ve already made or find something new. As a food blogger, I’m always looking for new recipes to share with my readers. My internet research led me to the Food Network and their recipe for Sausage and White Bean-Stuffed Spaghetti Squash.
 
For this recipe you’ll need a large spaghetti squash, kosher salt, olive oil, Italian sausage, cherry tomatoes, fresh thyme, red pepper flakes, garlic, dry white wine, heavy cream, 15.5 can of white beans, 5-ounce package of baby spinach and Parmesan cheese.​

On Sunday afternoons, Dreyers Farms, Cranford, sends out an email with the upcoming week’s CSA box contents. Before I receive my share, I begin researching new recipes. My share of the box last week was rhubarb, lettuce, radishes, broccoli rabe and escarole. I also had some golden beets left from week 1.
 
With this week’s produce, including my golden beets, I found a recipe for Beets, Rhubarb and Orange Salad on epicurious.com. For the recipe you’ll also need extra-virgin olive oil, kosher salt, water, sugar, shallot, honey and feta cheese. 

​I hosted my son and daughter-in-law for Easter dinner. My menu was Boston lettuce with pears and bleu cheese, Manicotti with tomato sauce and meatballs, Wellshire Farms Spiral Ham with applesauce, Simple Chile & Honey Asparagus, Sweet Potatoes with Bourbon and Brown Sugar, Spanish Almond Cake with whipped cream and strawberries. The asparagus was from a recipe my husband found in the magazine Garden and Gun. The recipe was quite tasty and not too spicy.

​It’s a new year, but I’m finding recipes in my box that I can’t believe I haven’t shared with you!
 
Many, many years ago I received a recipe card from The New York Times/Margrace Corp. for Chicken with Tarragon, a 60-Minute Gourmet recipe. Since it’s labeled 60-Minute Gourmet and from The New York Times, I’ll assume it’s a Pierre Franey recipe.
 
For the recipe you’ll need a split whole chicken (I used bone-in chicken breasts), salt, pepper, butter, shallots, fresh or dried tarragon, dry white wine and water (I used chicken stock to reinforce the chicken flavor). This recipe comes together in about 30 minutes. The chicken came out moist and delicious and the accompanying sauce was light and flavorful from the infusion of the shallots and tarragon. My husband enjoyed the preparation very much.

​It has been a few weeks since I posted last. My daughter and her family have returned home to an almost completed kitchen renovation. There is still quite a bit of work to be completed, however, everyone was anxious to get home as baby number two is due to arrive at the beginning of August.
 
My daughter ordered twice from a mail order company that sells “less than pretty” produce. I was a little hesitant for her to try this, however, since the pandemic, she has taken to ordering groceries online. One of the items in her last produce box was a rather large red beet. The beet was stored in a cool, dark place, but need to be cooked. I found on www.epicurious.com a recipe by Melissa Clark (December 2017) for Beets with Dill, Lime and Yogurt. Eureka! I had all the ingredients for the recipe and now had something with which to use the dill that was growing in my garden.