The Way to My Heart

The way to a girl's heart is through her stomach (and frankly her food obsession). This weekend, John's mom and her friend Marge were staying with us. I was happy to have them, and even happier to be on the receiving end of their oh-so-perfect gifts.

While we were at the farmers market on Sunday, Marge picked out this delicious balsamic vinegar to give to us. Like most purveyors at our local farmers market, they gave out free samples of their wares - in this case the balsamic vinegar. Taking a sip of balsamic vinegar will wake you up, this I can guarantee you! One that was aged for 25 years was super sweet (the kind that goes over strawberries), but the one we have (and that I can't wait to use) is more of an everyday balsamic that will taste perfect in salad dressings. It was aged for 14 years, I believe. Our little teenager of a balsamic. Hopefully she won't be all sullen and moody.

I had a great time discussing Food Network shows with our guests this weekend. Marge is a huge fan of the Barefoot Contessa and has made almost all of her recipes. We talked about Ina Garten quite a bit, and they knew I really liked her too. While we were in the three-story Williams Sonoma (aka heaven), they snuck to the top floor and bought us Ina's newest cookbook.

Oh and it was signed! How cool is that? Hopefully I won't get the book too messy when I'm cooking out of it in the near future. I am known for covering my recipes with samples of the dish. Maybe I need to get one of those cookbook holders...hmm...