Wedge Salad and Homemade Pizza

Wedge salad and a glass of red wine. Color me happy.

On Tuesday evening, my husband and I returned home after 44 hours of travel from Uganda. It was our first time visiting Africa, and it felt both intimate and immense. I have so many feelings and memories from the trip that I want to reflect on, yet for that evening, I was grateful for our two daughters, who picked us up at the airport and had dinner waiting.

I spy Elizabeth in the background. She heads back to London tomorrow. I will miss her so much. Here you see a slice of extra cheesy pizza with arugula scattered on top.

They had the table set, the wine open, the candles lit, and pizza in the oven. It was divine. A wedge salad started us off, and we finished with a few chocolates.

We felt welcomed home and loved.

Every day dress, wedge salad, and homemade pizza.

Roasted Chicken Provençal

Yes, I had nasturtiams growing in the garden. Couldn’t help myself with garneshing the plate with these edibles.
I love when all hands are on deck for family meal, here is Booie helping out.
Plated and ready to serve.

Most mornings, I check in with the New York Times cooking friend app, either before coffee or after exercise, and sometimes, if I’m being honest, I peruse it while out walking. I know that walking should be a sacred experience, one in harmony with nature; yet, as a modern human, my brain craves novelty. That damn phone consistently pulls at me, seeking to give me a dopamine hit.

Dopamine hit or not, here is a recipe that consistently delivers and satisfies: Roasted Chicken Provençal from Steven Stolman, adapted by Sam Sifton.

I’ve made it for an informal family dinner. I’ve made it for a fancy formal dinner. I’ve made it for informal and fancy guests. It works every time. 

Always love a white shirt. Double win with the monogram.

With the giddy-up holiday season rolling in faster than a thunderstorm, it’s a recipe I recommend having in your back pocket. It will not disappoint, and you will come off as a Roasted Chicken Provençal rock star.

mise en place city-side on a regular Tuesday…
Kids helping with the mash.
you just have to step up to all that stuff going on in your world and plate some mashed potatoes.
Hello, beautiful Lexi and handsome Connor
family dinner….

Here is a first-time beginner tip: do not put the legs or thighs skin down in hopes of creating a crisp skin for the first 25 to 30 minutes; that precious skin will stick to the pan, and when you try to turn it over carefully, it will tear from the meat. Position the chicken pieces skin-side up and have a good baster on hand. That pan juice is liquid gold, and by basting the meat at reasonable intervals during the final roasting session, you will have gorgeous, crisp skin and juicy, delicious meat. I’ve even added more vermouth to the pan as the cooking session progresses. Keep a good eye on the whole thing, and you will be absolutely delighted.

Here it is served country-side. I spy I very cute baby in the left-hand corner.
Flowers by Lexi. Food by me. Tomatoes from my summer garden.
Sourdough by Booie.
Most everyone loves a brownie and a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.

a mid-summer dinner

I set the picnic table under the trees and close to the house. We had two heaters for when the sun went down.
Very late afternoon, I had some work to do. I am a solo entrepeneaur. The two armchairs on each end were brougth outside from our dining area. I always put the two largest men on the ends with the armchairs regardless of Bill and I being hosts, I always aim to make our guests comfortable. I’m not sure picnic table benches are super comfortable for men of distingquished substance. 🙂
I made the tart city-side while working muy fashion hustle and drove it out to the country after it cooled.
I prepped the blueberry pie cityside but backed it in the country is a small countertop Wolf oven.
Mashed potatoes and foccacia prep.

While there is so much talk about fall and back to school and back to work, I’m not ready to give up on you summer ’25 just yet; in fact, I’m going to the official end, Sunday, September 21st. On Monday, September 22nd, the autumn equinox and the official start of fall in the Northern Hemisphere, I’m all yours. Until then, let’s soak in every last drop of the waning daylight.

A few weeks ago I hosted a small weeknight al fresco dinner for eight of us. I wanted to make it special, we were hosting family and friends that hadn’t been together in too long a time. Me being me, I carted dinnerware, the good flatware, and linen napkins from the city house to the country house, it’s all in a day’s effort.

Peach and burrata salad with homemad foccacia.
tomatoes from the garden.
Sliced in half with fresh rosemary.
a room with a view, my county kitchen windows
ready to bake
always good for breakfast the next day with an over easy egg on top.
Chicken from the local market is prepped and ready to go.
quickly blanched green beans laying wati to be sauteed with good butter is always a faorite.
table is ready to go.

I made a sublime peach and burrata salad using young arugula and fresh small basil leaves from my garden, and a roasted Chicken Provencal that has been a recent favorite and on good rotation. I did a small potato mash using lots of Kerrygold butter and heated whole mild to make them silky and delicious, and fresh, homegrown green beans rounded out the entree.

For dessert I baked my standard blueberry pie. Apricots have been calling my name at the farmers market so I also added in a beautiful apricot upside down tart kind of thing. Both were served with fresh whipped cream. Guests were offered to choose, most chose a small serving of each, myself included.

My husband picked the wines, as he always does. We are quite the duo, I couldn’t tell you what we drank other than it was delicious, and he couldn’t tell you where I sourced the food or how I prepared it, no matter, we made it work, and it was good.

when all is done and ready to be served i like to turn the lights off in the kitchen proper work area. It’s easeir on the eyes and makes for a better vibe. no harsh lighting during the dinner hour.
here we go… Lela Rose bustier, Brunello Cucinelli skirt, I love good clothes.
another vibe check, lighting small votive candles
later in the evening when the temperature dropped i added a great turtleneck sweater.

This was a weeknight dinner during a week I host one of four annual trunk shows, meeting women for one to one style appointments to help them choose clothing for their unique lifestyle. Trunk shows in and of themselves take a lot out of me as I take matching luxury clothing with beautiful women quite serious, yet I also love to host family for intimate and meaningful dining experiences so I guess I just have to go forth, put the work in, and enjoy the rewards.

the morning after, it was a lovely evening.

Good food and good outfits are always worth the effort.

more trunk show shenanigans waiting for me city-side the very next day. it’s all worth it.