A baby and French Macarons

Wow...I have been totally absent from the blog-o-sphere lately. Life just seems to run away with itself sometimes. To quickly catch anyone up who still stops by here...my husband and I are expecting a March baby!

Needless to say we have been very busy making preparations baby Ieshee (my nickname for our little one since we are not finding out the sex). My husband has been busily preparing the nursery which includes pulling up carpet to refinish the hardwoods underneath, adding wainscoting and painting. We are going with a very neutral color scheme, a rich gray with yellow accents to the room.

I've also found myself baking more and more lately. I got this determined idea to try and make French Macarons this weekend, and I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome:

They look like little pink hamburgers, but they are much more delicious than that! I was nervous about how they would turn out since I've heard they are pretty time consuming and finicky to make. Luckily I found a great easy recipe, and my first batch turned out perfect! My husband was super impressed. Here's the recipe if you're interested: French Macaron Recipe

Momma's got the goods...

 Red Onion and Blue Cheese Spread

This is one of my favorite recipes that my mom gave me.  It's super easy and great to bring to parties as an appetizer.  I made it last night for a social event I was attending and it was a hit. 

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup chopped red onion

1 cup chopped toasted walnuts

1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped kalamata olives

2 garlic cloves minced

1 cup crumbled blue cheese

freshly ground pepper to taste

Baguette slices

Red grapes for garnish

In a dry pan toast the walnuts, set aside. Put olive oil in a pan over medium heat and lightly the saute the red onions and garlic. Add olives and heat through. Stir in the walnuts. Put the blue cheese on a large platter or serving dish, pour the heated olive and onion mixture over the blue cheese. Gently stir to mix.

Pepper to taste and add red grapes to garnish.

*I also made another super easy appetizer which is what the basil in the first photo was for.  I stuck mini mozzarella balls on a toothpick followed by a quarter slice of a cucumber, a basil leaf and a cherry tomato.  I brushed them with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper and voila!