*sniffle*

I received my biscuit butters today!  /joy  They are soooo heavy and made from stainless steel.  I cannot wait to use them.  I looked at them and my mind went wild.  Square homemade raviolis, cute shortbread cookie sammichs with a "window" for the chocolate ganache to peek through on top, tea sammies all cutely cut on the edges....so many possibilities aside from biscuits.

I wish I felt better.  What started off as simple sniffles has reverted into a full out sneezing assault.  I have went through a whole box of tissues overnight.  Mucinex didn't even touch it.  I slept a total of about three hours last night between the running of the cats (much similar to Spain's running of the bulls) at 3am and having to wake up and blow my nose every 30 minutes.  It was a delight.  I made my doctor appointment with my family doc but he can't see me till next Tuesday.  Lovely!  So I'm on my own, staring at my kitchen, desperately wanting to make something ridiculously delicious to comfort myself but having no energy to produce anything more than comes in a can.  (go soup!)  I would love my grandma's creamy bean soup right about now.  I have some frozen but I'm even too weak to go dig out my crock pot to put it in.  That's how badly I feel today.  Joy of living in the snow belt.  /yeah!

On a different note, I am going to attempt my first cassoulet this week.  If that succeeds, I may even try something more difficult like beef burgandy.  My attempt at soba noodles in a leek and chicken broth didn't go so well.  It tasted fine but the noodles soaked in all the broth and swelled to resemble more egg noodle than soba.  I have to do some more research into that whole department.  I'm sure Steamy Kitchen will have some tips or hints. 

Trying to work out a new St. Patty's day menu for this year.  Last year's was terrible.  I used a book from Ireland and I think the conversions weren't acccurate or something because every single thing I made flopped.  Completely inedible and I worked ALL day long.  It was very sad indeed.  Pork chops in a mustard sauce, shortbread, fish and stuffing roll appetizers and soda bread - all trashed.  I think I'm going to revert to my old Guiness stew, a new version of soda bread with orange and honey butter and vanilla ice cream sudaes made with a Guiness reduction sauce for dessert complete with shortbread fingers on the side. 

Hope your day is sniffle free!