Sylvia's Scenario

Last night we hosted some of Bruce's work associates who were in town for the International Speciality Coffee Expo - one of our favorite conventions of the year.  I've blogged about it twice before,  here  and  here .  For dinner, I planned a similar dinner menu that I learned worked real well last year; I kept the carbs low in the meal (no potatoes and no bread or rolls) so everyone would enjoy the dessert more. Lower carbs in a meal means a less full, bloated feeling after eating. In other words, a feeling that you can still eat more...(and since I like to plan my meal around the dessert, this is a good thing.)  This year, I made my  Chocolate-Raspberry Cake  and like last year, it was the star of the show.   Last year, I made our favorite  Lemon Curd and White Chocolate Truffle Cake  that ended up being in my top three most popular recipes of 2017.  This recipe is just as good in my opinion.  I'd f...

This is a big weekend in Seattle for the coffee business.   It's the weekend of the Coffee Convention - at least that's what I call it.  It's officially called the Global Specialty Coffee Expo.  I love this weekend during the Expo because:     #1 - I love coffee.  #2 - People from all over the world are here.  #3 - Free samples.  Need I say more?   Bruce's business has a exhibit at the Expo, although he was not actually working at it but he knows everyone working and he spent a lot of time there networking with co-workers and potential customers. We had everyone affiliated with the Bratney Companies over for dinner last night and they loved getting out in the fresh air and enjoying the views after a long day at the Expo. It was fun entertaining them and providing them with a evening where they could kick back and relax and enjoy a good meal. Bruce barbecued our family's favorite  Herbes de Provence Cru...

This is a cake recipe that has been around for decades and we use to make it growing up. It's that easy and it's a snap to make, too.  That's why I thought about making it for Easter dessert because I did not have a lot of time for a dinner. We had just returned from New Orleans Saturday night and Easter was Sunday.  Lauren and Ari were coming over for dinner and wanted to know "the plans".  Unfortunately, I didn't really have any "plans".  I had a frozen lamb roast that I bought before we left so I thawed that out.  Then I made quick versions of a previous  Easter menu  and we had a delicious Easter meal very quickly.  The only difference was I bought hot cross buns at the grocery store from a local bakery which were delicious and I bought some Jordan almonds to decorate since I hadn't gotten any Easter decorations out of the attic because we were gone.  It was all very simple but effective and we had a lovely meal.  And for...