to know marcia is to love her. she is not only a wiz kid in the kitchen she generally cares about her guests her recipes and her classes. mostly, on day one of the retreat she cared most about her “from scratch”Cinnamon buns. they just weren’t rising properly. did she fret no. she just woke up early and as the rooster crowed she was kneading the bread and and flouring her board. she makes it all look easy because mostly it is easy, especially if your following a recipe in her class or in her beautiful cookbook Diner is Done. The retreat was more than a gracious few days it was an adventure with mother nature, familiar friends and new ones. the cool weather invited breakfast lunch and dinner on a screened in porch where we could watch the bluebonnets would spy on us throughout the day. Each day there was a well thought out plan for yummy meals, appetizer, cocktails, savory and sweet healthy and not so healthy bites. after brief “reading the FULL recipe” how to sessions of instruction from MS Smart, we maned our stations and embraced the culinary challenges before us. Before us there was an assembly line of ingredients, 2 gals per recipe donning aprons, wooden spoons, knives and blenders in hand. we were of to chopping, sauting, mixing, blending and taste testing admits a perfectly appointed working farmhouse kitchen.

breakfast first- home made granola, bake eggs and bacon, etc…..the moon the farm house the pool and wood burning fire set the tone for a not so typical texas evening. Oh and the the bee farm and honey jar hostess gift were the icing on the cake. I can almost cut and onion.Marcia really is smart in the kitchen.