The Gathering Of Friends

For the month of March, we had the opportunity to visit the house of Michelle Huxtable, author of The Gathering Of Friends Cookbook series. She has a beautiful home and is a wonderful cook and entertainer. She showed us how to create a fabulous table setting and made the most wonderful appetizers for us to sample.

Here is the recipe for the fried tomato sandwiches (I have made these twice since....soooo good!):

• 1/4 c. butter
• 3-4 ripe tomatoes
• 5 oz. cream cheese
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup sugar
• salt and pepper
• 1 baguette cut into 1/4 inch slices (20 slices)

Melt butter in frying pan. Place sliced tomatoes in pan and sprinkle with ½ of the sugar, salt and pepper. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, flip and sprinkle with remaining sugar, salt and pepper. Sauté for an additional 4-5 minutes. If tomatoes seem runny, continue to sauté on low heat until sauce thickens.

Place baguette slices on a cookie sheet and broil until golden. Spread with softened cream cheese and return to oven until cream cheese bubbles.

Spread fried tomatoes over open faced toasted baguette.

And I don't have the recipe for the almond tart--does anyone else?
Almond Cake
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (or 2) teaspoon melted almond extract
slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients together and hand mix with a fork as little as possible Cover with slivered almonds. Bake 25-30 minutes . Makes 1 pie tin or round cake pan.

And here is the recipe for Cheryl's cold Pear Soup which was so yummy! Perfect for a brunch:

3 1/2 cups canned pears
2 1/2 cups pear juice
1 T. grated, fresh ginger
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup sour cream
sugar to taste

Put all in blender and blend well. Chill. Serve with toasted nuts sprinkled on top and a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg.

It was such a fun night--I think we all spent the first little while just soaking up all of her interior decorating skills! And I have to say that I was amazed (and a little jealous...) to hear that Michelle had place settings for 150. Not that I could even fathom cooking for that many people...I just really love dishes... And a room dedicated to your dishes? Again, a little jealous... :) At the end of the evening we all had our cookbook signed by her. Thank you Michelle for hosting us!

p.s. If you go to her website, she has a whole area dedicated to sharing some of the recipes from her book. And they all look really good...Enjoy!