A Photo Tour: Springtime Feast in the Country

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Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

Oh my goodness, can my mom cook! We went down to visit my folks in the country this weekend. Here’s a peek at what we ate. Give a holler if you’d like a specific recipe.

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

Oh, and “springtime feast” is not quite accurate. It was upwards of 90 degrees on Saturday!

Springtime Feast in the Country: Appetizers & nibbles

For starters, she put out a good bottle of wine, a bunch of cheese, and a handful of nibble-y things.

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

There was a bowl of good, mixed olives.

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

A cream cheese spread with pecans, dried cranberries, and concentrated orange juice.

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

I also got to taste a batch of Guinness mustard she made recently. She used a mixture of powdered mustard and mustard seeds, so it’s hot, hot, hot!

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

Springtime Feast in the Country: Roasted Beef Ribs

So you probably know by now that I come from a long line of carnivores. Mom made a giant batch of roasted beef back ribs, which her butcher cut just for her. They’re some of the meatiest ribs I’ve seen lately. (And that’s coming from the gal who does a semi-regular Rib of the Week.)

She drizzled them with a little olive oil:

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

And sprinkled them with a little homemade rub.

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

Then roasted them in the oven for about an hour (15 minutes at 450, then about 45 minutes at 350).

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

And man, they were just divine:

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

Springtime Feast in the Country: Garlic & herb bread

She spread a loaf of fresh ciabatta thickly with a garlic and fresh herb compound butter.

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

This was one of the first things I attacked when it came out of the oven.

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

Springtime Feast in the Country: Simple roasted shrimp with two sauces

My mom also managed to snatch up some gigantic shrimp.

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

She roasted them in the oven, a la the Barefoot Contessa.

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

This is a fabulous, no-fuss way to cook shrimp for a crowd without making a giant mess on the stove.

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

When they were done, she heaped them on a platter and whipped up two sauces.

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

One was a rouille�a sauce with roasted red peppers, olive oil, garlic, fresh bread crumbs, oregano, egg yolk, and hot pepper sauce�that’s often served with seafood or fish stew.

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

The other was a homemade tartare sauce.

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

There was also some steamed asparagus on the side, dripping with loads of butter.

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

Springtime Feast in the Country: Ah, dessert

And it wouldn’t be dinner at my folks’ house without a few desserts. Mom made a double ginger bundt cake (with powdered and crystallized ginger).

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

It made a little too much batter for her bundt cake pan, so used the extra to make two cupcakes.

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

Here’s the inside of the cake, dotted with chunks of crystallized ginger.

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

She also made a French cheesecake from an old friend’s recipe. It has a short crust instead of a graham cracker crumb crust.

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

It was creamy and absolutely divine. (At this point, I was so stuffed that I was getting sleepy.)

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

Last but not least, we sampled her homemade almond nougat candy. It was kind of more like taffy than traditional nougat, because it didn’t have honey in it. She and my dad likened it to Bonomo’s Turkish Taffy. It was really, really good.

Springtime Feast in the Country at The Hungry Mouse

As always, we headed back to Boston feeling just a little fatter�and very, very happy.

 

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Jessie Cross is a cookbook author and creator of The Hungry Mouse, a monster online food blog w/500+ recipes. When she's not shopping for cheese or baking pies, Jessie works as an advertising copywriter in Boston. She lives in Salem, Massachusetts with her husband and two small, fluffy wolves.

30 COMMENTS

  1. Oh I second on the cheesecake recipe as well! Your mom is an awesome cook, just like you :-p I wish I could have been there, everything looks delicious. I feel a food coma coming on heheh
  2. Hey,you have made my mouth water.These are so many of my favorites!The taffy- makes me homesick.My gramma makes taffy like that.I can remember pulling it.So good. I am craving ribs for a week now.
  3. That Guinness Mustard went to my heart! Absolutely fabulous and I WILL try it! I know your Mom is a serious cook, Jessie - I remember the post you wrote about her sublime dishes when you visited her for Christmas 08!! Can you by any chance get the recipe for that Rouille???? Thanks!! GAbi @ Mamaliga.
    • Thanks, Gabi, honey. I'll make the mustard soon and post about it. Mom was going to give me a jar before we left, but we totally forgot. So now I have an excuse! (And you know how I like to cook with Guinness...) And I'll get the rouille recipe for ya! +Jessie
      • Thanks Jessie! Send it my way when you have it. Hey we still need to do that sourdough starter exchange - mine goes like krazy! I am baking two loaves per week with it. Very active. Gab
  4. wow! looked amazing, everything! esp the asparagus *drool* (hard to come by nice ones where I live in China for the time being. Would love to know the cheesecake recipe as well!
    • Thanks so much, Kai! (And thanks for stopping by!) Love asparagus, too! Sorry it's hard to find where you are. :/ I'll definitely be posting about the cheesecake soon! +Jessie
  5. I'm also going for the cheesecake. It looks beautiful. And I adore Ina Garten. She's make favorite on FN. Her food is always simple and beautiful.
  6. Wow, what a feast! It's easy to see why you're such a fabulous cook. I'm looking forward to the cheesecake recipe, but would also love to make homemade mustard. Any chance you will be posting that recipe?
  7. Oh my Goodness Your Mother is the bomb. Everything she prepared lookes simply divine. God bless her sweet heart. Wish I could have been there
  8. Will your mother adopt me? If I ask really nicely? My mother is an excellent cook, but doesn't much like cooking, so it's usually me, myself, and I when I go home. (Unless I can convince her to make her lemon meringue pie). Any chance of that ginger cake recipe?
  9. Hi Jessie, Wow! This feast looks amazing - you must really miss coming home to meals like that everyday! I'd really love to get the Cheesecake recipe from you and your Mom - this looked so delicious. I've never been a big fan of graham cracker crust. Thanks so much for the recipe.

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