{This belated Valentine tart more than made up for it’s tardy arrival.}

{I cant resist these, crispy thin charred shallots are the secret ingredient.}

I’ve been sitting on this post for weeks now, it seems I’m paralyzed by my own dim wits and flat can’t get it together. This is it, despite the state of things — it’s going up today.  I do have to admit, covering my face in shame, that I’m deeply entranced by the Big Brother feeds right now.  I can’t look away.  At this point I think I’m just waiting for them to start eating one another and last night I swear I saw cannibalism peek it’s cute little head through the front door before shyly scampering off.  He’ll be back, I’m sure of it and I’d better not miss a thing!

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{I poached this recipe from my friend  Rasa Malaysia, if you don’t visit her blog already, her photography and recipes are magnificent and always full of inspiration.}

This is the first time I made my own chili paste and was surprised to see how easy it is.  You have much more control this way too over the heat and quality or mixture of chilies you use.  The oyster sauce added that perfect sweet heat element that I love so much.  What I was unable to depict in the final picture, because I waited until the next day for natural light to snap the finished dish, was all the delicious sauce that we poured over the angel hair pasta along with the clams.  I think over night it drank it all up, the noodles were wonderful cold the next day so I can’t be too upset about this turn of events.

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Here’s to wishing everyone a a happy and healthy new year.  Drive safe and and don’t eat too many LemonBerry tarts like the one in this picture.  It’s the first taken with my new Nikon D80 (my BIG gift!!).  The recipe for this tart is the same as here, only we adoringly adorned it with blackberries, raspberries, powdered sugar, and strawberry leaves.  xo, Aria

{tags Nikon D80 LemonBerry Tart Recipe}

{This little tart sure does live up up to it’s name, my cheeks are still puckering just thinking of the fresh lemon offset by the shortbread and cream. RIP Sweet Tart, we’ll always remember your 20 minutes on earth!}

This was easy as can be to make and worth every minute of effort. I never saw a desert pull a disappearing act quite like this one. It was like my kitchen was in time lapse film with plates and whipped cream flying about at warp speed. My only advice would be to wear some protective lab goggles, you can never be too careful with your peepers.

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We just returned from a trip to Healdsburg, Sonoma where we taste wine, explore, have picnics, taste more wine, play scrabble, eat at fine restaurants, drink more wine, and play more scrabble. Wake up, wash, rinse, repeat. We rented a house that was tucked away in this little bohemian community along the Russian River. Quiet, no cell signal, clean air.

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{ginger and sesame flavored black squid ink noodles, seared scallops, and salmon roe make up this simple dinner for you and your sweetheart}

I’ve always wanted to try swallow’s nest soup. Along with white truffle and shark fin, it tops my list of delecacies I’d love to sink my fangs into. While I bide my time eating peanut butter and fluff sandwiches, more humble ingredients in the shape of a swallow’s nest will have to suffice. I bought these squid ink noodles at a fish market, they are not at all fishy and have a very mild flavor. Aren’t they neat?

I added a tiny bit of sunflower and sesame oil, fresh ginger, chives, and soy to the noodles before twisting them into little nests. Then, topped each one with seared scallops and salmon roe just before eating them. The scallops were extra sweet and each bite bursted with flavor from the salmon roe which was also remarkably fresh tasting.

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{dark chocolate ganache, a golden buttery crust, and candycane dust are the beginning layers of this rich minty tart, yum!}

{each bite of this roasted zucchini, feta, avocado, and red onion salsa bursts with flavor as the juicy pomegranite pops in your mouth!}

The thing I look most forward too each year is spending Christmas in Atlanta. It’s a whirlwind impossibly packed into a couple days, but going home for the holidays is like being wrapped in a warm blanket and I just love it. There’s always lots of excellent food, trash talking games of scrabble, incredible wine, gift giving, and family fun. Here are two recipes that barely chip away at some of the delicious things we ate over Christmas weekend, one savory and one sweet.

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This is Max’s brother Spahny. He’s so high on ribbons, bags, and crumpled paper in this video it’s rediculous. So embarrassing. He’s in rehab right now doing some ‘personal work’. Get a grip Spahny! Isn’t he cute?

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Evidence of Noosh’s Bionic Fang ™ has finally been captured on film. After hunting all night, he subdued this wild can of albacore and cranked open it’s protective metal alloy shell the can using the fang that was installed by NASA as a test unit.

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Buckle in and roll ‘em up friends, we’re going for a little ride. All of my ‘drafts’ dating too far back will be incorporated into one dangerous post. I understand the risks of holding your attention through all this self involved information. This is my blog bitches, stick around – I’m just getting warmed up.

>First up, the last episode of The OC. Carefull y’all, I doubt you’ve stepped in deeper puddles. Marissa Cooper is D-E-A-D? Coop? COOP?! They played ‘Halelujah’ as she slipped away from this cruel world that never understood her anyway?! I guess the writers were glad to see her go. Jalalujah! FOX, why do you hate Marissa so? WHY.

>Moving right along, Venom: Not The Band, The Lip Gloss. As a longtime glosser first time blogger, Lip Venom remains my favorite. It’s cinnamon, clear, thin, not sticky, perfect alone, or as a primer for some light color over the top. The packaging kicks the competition’s ass too with this cardboard tube that’s perfect for holding stray pills. Am I losing you yet? I’m going to finish strong, I promise.

>Next, a Grammatical Bulletin – The Apostrophe. Sorry to keep you waiting so long! Lets get right to it, for most of my life my name involved an apostrophe conveniently located between a rediculous arrangement of vowels. This little bugger was single handedly responsible for missed flights, incorrect credit cards, drivers licenses, marriage certificates, social security numbers, gang related turf wars, you name it. Even now with my tidy and definitive married name, the apostrophe still haunts me. Most recently he’s parked his obsructive little ass on a background check. Trust me on this one, you menacing bastard, there’s much worse than you in my tainted past so don’t even try. Please refer to this, I’m the hottie on the right.

>In Husband news, it ain’t easy being The Evil Overlord of the Criminal Underbelly of the Internet. Chris is working at myspace these days. And every time I turn around there’s another story about how it’s destroying the fabric of our vulnerable youth. I think it’s what you call a zeitgeist, this myspace dot com. Thank the lord myspace wasn’t around when I was a teenager. I probably would still be prisoner in Brunai performing sexual favors for some pervy sultan I agreed to meet at the roller rink in 1988 for an innocent game of Centepede.

>Finally, here are some pics from our recent trip to Sonoma.


Where we stayed, the Inman Winery at the Olivet House.

Dinner at Charlie Palmer’s Dry Creek.

Hawian Blue Prawn – fava beans, applewood smoked bacon, spring onions, oregano oil, tomato broth

Hog Island Sweetwater Oysters – on the 1/2 shell with verjus mignonette, sambal cocktail, lemon

Dungeness Crab Cake – smoked eggplant fondue, Love Farm’s sorrel, caper remoulade

Alaskan Halibut – artichokes, cipolini onions, tomato confit, boquerones, taggiasca olives, basil oil

King Salmon – poached with shrimp tortellini, young asparagus and five herb butter

Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin – Tokyo turnip, fondant potato, braised Love Farm’s greens

Fourty-Eight Hour Braised Short Ribs – herbed mashed potatos, asparagus

Delicious Chocolatey Mandariney Moussey Desert to share with coffees and dessert wines

Ps. Note to the beautiful and charming Mary Leslie: Send me the quotes – I repeat – Send me the quotes. Kisses!
{tags lip gloss marissa cooper sonoma apostrophe yes}