~ artichoke bruschetta ~ Here’s a little something I invented awhile back. It’s a salad, it’s an appetizer…it’s delicious! 2 (6 oz) jars marinated artichoke hearts, chopped and undrained 2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese 1/4 cup red onion, chopped fine 1/3 cup sweet bell pepper in assorted…
tomato bisque ~ two ways
by Melissa • • 4 Comments
citrus spatchcock chicken
by Melissa • • 26 Comments
photograph by Jeffrey Placzek ~ spatchcock chicken ~ My friend Shelly introduced me to the idea of cooking a “spatchcock” or “butterflied” chicken at home. This method of cooking a chicken is so amazing, I’m quite sure we’ll never go back to the old way of roasting a chicken again. The poultry cooks more evenly…
chocolate truffles
by Melissa • • 15 Comments
~ peppermint ~ ~ orange ~ ~ coconut ~ ~ cayenne ~ Hello my lovelies! Here is the 7th surprise in the “Week of Valentine Treats” line up. I hope you’ve enjoyed the romantic posts this year. I made up a batch of these delicious, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate mousse truffles. These little yummies would make a…
the art of crystallizing flowers at home by karen toocheck
by Melissa • • 12 Comments
I would like to welcome my friend and talented flower artist, Karen Toocheck, to ChinDeep today for a very special Valentine’s post! She is the proprietor of a wonderful business called The Crystallized Flower Company located in Willoughby Ohio and has generously agreed to share some of the magic and wisdom that goes into…
nelson creamery
by Melissa • • 2 Comments
Today we took a leisurely Sunday drive over the bridge into Wisconsin. The Great River Road meanders along the Mississippi river and Lake Pepin through these sweet, quaint villages that remind me of vacations we’ve taken to Door County Wisconsin and Cape Cod Massachusetts. These are places we visit over and over again and they…
five passionate cookbooks & a romantic recipe for breakfast in bed
by Melissa • • 2 Comments
Valentine Treat #5… My favorite passionate cookbooks! The Passionate Palate by Desiree Witkowski Aphrodite by Isabel Allende Intercourses by Martha Hopkins & Randall Lockridge The Erotic Baker Cookbook by Karen Dwyer & Patrika Brown Romancing the Ordinary by Sarah Ban Breathnach Stay-in-Bed Fruit and Wine Omelet recipe adapted from the beautiful book… The Passionate Palate…
valentine traditions & time capsule
by Melissa • • 6 Comments
six senses saturday
by Melissa • • 4 Comments
seeing :: these photos from my date with Jeff “in the night kitchen.” We had so much fun sipping wine, listening to music and making pasta! hearing :: still listening to Florence + The Machine (the new MP3 download of Ceremonials…and THIS SONG, from Between Two Lungs, which I am hopelessly in love with.) some…
rose ylang ylang massage oil
by Melissa • • 5 Comments
~ rose ylang ylang massage oil ~ “All thoughts, all passions, all delights, whatever stirs this mortal frame, are all but ministers of love, and feed his sacred flame.” ~Samuel Taylor Coleridge Did you know that I wrote a “home spa” book? Yup. I did. It’s called Chin Deep in Bubbles and on pages 35…