Joy of cooking

As promised, I snapped a few photos of my Pennsylvania adventures, which today consisted of practicing and cooking (pretty crazy, hey?)  Contrary to previous home cooking experiences (I can't even recall the various assortment of "I-just-don't-know-what-happened-I-swear-I-followed-the-recipe" dishes I've served to my family over the years) I spent this afternoon in the kitchen without any major catastrophes.  I made these braised short ribs with this herbed polenta, along with a salad topped with a cumin salad dressing (recipe courtesy of my sister.)  La pièce de résistance (in my humble opinion) was this lovely apple tart.  Mine doesn't look quite as good as hers, but it tasted pretty dang good.  So without further ado, here is a mini recap of my day:

 Okay, technically I took this photo in Cleveland before we embarked on our trip home.  But finding Ollie with his head on a pillow and the rest of him under a blanket (just like a person!) was just too cute to not share.  Just look at that mug!

The view from my morning practice session.  Look at that plant stand my dad whipped up yesterday!

 Mid-afternoon raspberry latte treat made just for me by my lovely sister.

My crowning achievement for the day: apple tart with salted caramel.

 And although he's a bit blurry, nothing says home like a little pug love.  Here, my sister's pug, Abraham, is saying "go to bed and stop trying to take my picture!"  (this was the last of many failed photo attempts.)

With that, I will heed Abe's advice and turn in early for the night.  Happy Monday, and thanks for stopping by!