Homemade gourmet bread

A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou.

~Omar Khayyam

This week I embarked on making my own bread. I had staked out a couple of different recipes and was really undecided on which one to use. so I consulted my bread expert, Sophie. As long as I've known Sophie she's always baking something, especially bread. I've seen her whip up a batch of bread in minutes using not much more then a bowl, loaf pan and her hands. Sophie gave me her older sisters favorite recipe that she's been using for ages, and it was amazing.

The bread came out so full of taste... I didn't even know bread could be so flavorful!

And while it was still piping hot we all had a slice with butter, Wow!

All I know is I am SO thankful that I don't have Celiac Disease, because to not be able to enjoy this gluten rich bread would be so depressing!

I can't wait to start exploring with more breads, I've even gone out and bought tons of yeast and flour so I can come up with my own variations of different gourmet breads. The one I might try next is chocolate cinnamon raisin ! Yum!

I'm really into site like King Arthur Flour , and epicurious.com recently! So hopefully that means more yummy blogs to come! :)

Hope you've all had a great week!

Happy Easter! Easter eggs

Large, naked raw carrots are acceptable as food only to those who lie in hutches eagerly awaiting Easter.  ~Fran Lebowitz

I trust you all had an excellent Easter or Passover. I was very busy that week. I came home from an international flight, prepared an Easter brunch for some family & extended family. We had ham, bacon, sausage (all really healthy stuff), a onion ham and two cheese quiche, baked beans, roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes, pancakes, pea soup & Mimosas. 

It was delicious! For dessert we had coffee, tea, apple crisp, and homemade french Canadian sugar pie! I'm not going to lie, Thank God  we have many couches, and a spare bedroom, because our guests all had to lay down after that much food. Ha! We had a fantastic time. The piece de resistance that day was my Easter favors I made for everyone. If you live in Canada or have ever visited Canada you might have heard of Laura Secord. It is a gourmet chocolate shop that you can find in most malls. At Easter time, they have about a 3 inch long, and 2 inch thick Easter egg filled with a sweet & salty thick filling- it's to die for. It's so rich that you have to cut it in slices and portion it out for a couple of days! Here's my version of the Laura Secord Easter egg:

I tried to break down the recipe and match Laura Secord's egg exactly! It was pretty dead on, and tasty!

Our guests were all shocked at the end of the evening when they got to take one of these home with in a gift bag with Easter ribbon!

Do you have any yummy, go to Easter dessert recipes?