I'm not a very talkative person, although my husband and a couple of very close friends might argue that.A couple of weeks ago I was talking with one of my dearest friends about my blog and one of the advice was "start to share things at a more personal level, try not to be shy, I know how hard it can be, but write as if no one but you were reading it" and I did.
To be honest, when I start writing that post I had no idea it's going to have such an impact and that many of you had the same story. I thought I was the only one left on Earth living under a rock. I'm so blessed I got to meet all of you. It's been such a wonderful journey and I'm still enjoying the ride.
Some of you were too sweet and called me a successful blogger. Those comments made me do some dancing but when I looked outside the window I was still in rainy Virginia not in a beach house in Bora Bora (Com'on, a girl can dream)
I'm faaaaaaar from being a successful blogger, but I'm not a newbie anymore. I learned how most of the things work. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have come so far without your guidance and especially for all the "Ask Chef Dennis" weekly posts. If you are new to blogging and still have questions how this world works, please find some time and read the posts Chef Dennis kindly shares with us every week. You'll find info about almost everything and in case you still don't understand something, don't hesitate and email him. I always do and he always has the right answer.
I'd also want to thank to Dionne (Try Anything Once) and Kita (Pass the Sushi) for helping me with my FaceBook Page. Thank you Ladies for taking the time to help this blond chick. I did not know how much fun facebook can be.
For the last couple of weeks I received so many awards (sometimes I feel I'm the most loved blogger) (I'll try to make a slideshow and post it, there are too many photos to be posted right now). Thank you for thinking of me and passing all these awards onto me. I'll take this week and get my list ready to pass them to other bloggers too. Please visit these wonderful blogs for delicious recipes and amazing photos. Ami's Vegetarian Delicacies Eizel Our Eyes Eat First Food and Thrift FindsThe Deep DishAn Italian Cooking in the MidwestCooking with My Soul
I feel like I'm writing a speech for accepting my Oscar but there's one more person I'd like to thank. Weeks ago Chef Dennis hosted a giveaway and I was one of the lucky ones to win a copy of "Around My French Table" by Dorie Greenspan. I already spotted some recipes I want to try. So excited.
Finally, the recipe of the weekend!
For the first time I made artisan bread. Woo-hoo. If you love making yeast bread and especially playing with the dough, this bread is a challenge. First, the dough is so soft and the baker in me was tempted to add more flour. Don't do that! Second, you have to mix the water and flour just until incorporated, don't knead!
Then, is the waiting time. Couple of hours for the first rise and some more for the second rise.Oh, man, takes all day!
Oh, but the result was better than I thought. A light bread with a crispy crust. This time I made just half of the recipe and shape the dough into 1 big and 2 small round breads.
One of the breads was gone before it had a chance to cool down. But, follow the recipe and let it cool for about an hour before slicing it. While still warm, the crust was not so crispy and I found it a little elastic. For dinner we sliced the second small one and the crust was crispy, perfect for dipping it into the oil and juices from the roasted veggies I had in the oven. Today we had the last big bread. Tomorrow I have to make some bread again. Ahh, a baker's job never ends :)
To get the recipe for these lovely artisan breads you have to visit Chef Dennis' blog
Artisan Bread
Thank you Chef for this wonderful recipe.
This week I received couple of emails asking if it's something wrong with me since I haven't post that ofter. Everything is fine, thank you for your concern. A while back we decided to do some painting around the house and before we knew it there were many rooms repainted. I don't want to bother you with all the problems we encountered and the review I'm going to write for Behr Paint (never ever going to but that paint again). We still have a little bit of work to do, just some light touch-ups, hopefully we finish it these days.
