Sense & Sensibility

Do you ever turn to a certain film whenever you feel like you just need a great big hug to feel better? Well I do, and for me that film is ‘Sense & Sensibility’ from 1995 based on the classic novel by Jane Austen of the same name. This is without a doubt one of my most favorite books of all time, so when it came time for me to see the movie my expectations were extremely high. Emma Thompson who not only stars also wrote the screenplay for this fantastic film adaptation and does Ms. Austen every bit of justice as this book deserved.

The story follows three young sisters & their mother after the sudden death of their father. Due to the laws of that time the next male in the family in line was to have control over the man’s estate, thus Mr. Dashwood’s home & fortune befell a distant cousin and his horrid wife. The sisters & mom are forced to leave their home & move to a cottage away from everything they’ve ever known & live on a small allowance provided by said cousin. Before they leave the eldest Miss Dashwood falls for her cousin’s wife’s brother, Edward, but must leave his company before love can be expressed. Sigh.

'Can he love her? Can the soul really be satisfied with such polite affections? To love is to burn - to be on fire, like Juliet or Guinevere or Eloise.'-Marianne

Once everyone is settled in their new home the Dashwood girls start making new acquaintances including that of Col Brandon, played by the ever dashing Alan Rickman. The Col falls for the middle sister Marianne, but she’s not interested as she has eyes on a much younger & much handsomer man named John Willoughby. Ew. Now this is a Jane Austen story so multiple love triangles, wealth, social status, & behavior all play a part in these two young ladies lives as they try to find true love.

Ang Lee directed this picture so beautifully with simple coloring, gorgeous cinematography, & a nice homey feel. The love just within the walls of the Dashwood family is so beautiful it makes me feel all warm inside & reminds me of the relationship with my own sisters. Ang Lee puts a lot of focus on the scenery & the earth, but in the most simple way. Therefore I wanted to create a menu that expresses how I feel every time I watch this classic.

First up rosemary foccacia bread dipped in extra virgin olive oil. Next, a rustic homemade chicken noodle soup full of nice earthy flavors. And for dessert we have organic gala apples dipped in caramel & chocolate. These recipes are super easy to make, yet feel like they have the flavors of love, family, and earth.

"The air is full of spices."-Col Brandon

Rosemary Foccacia Bread

1 lb pizza dough ball (you should be able to find this in the bakery of your grocery store)

6-8 Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary

Coarse Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste

¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Allow pizza dough to come to room temperate if removing from refrigerator. Cut dough in half so you have two loaves. In a large bowl with hands combine all ingredients except oil. While blending the S&P with the rosemary and dough drizzle enough oil to make dough somewhat wet. Use your best judgment here to determine how much oil you’ll need until all ingredients are well combined. Round dough. Bake each loaf in an 8 inch round cake pan for 15- 20 minutes or until bread is golden brown. You can turn the loaf over and tap the bottom of the bread, if it sounds hollow it’s done! In a small dish you can either buy some Bread dip seasoning and add olive oil on top of it, or simply just use some fresh ground black pepper. Rip, dip & enjoy!

"Oh, please don't say anything important."-Margarete





Chicken Noodle Soup

2 cooked chicken breast-shredded

One large onion-roughly chopped

4-5 Stalks of celery-roughly chopped

2-5 carrots-roughly chopped

Two 32 oz containers of good (preferably organic) chicken stock

2 cups water

One bag Egg Noodles-cooked and drained

½ teaspoon dried oregano

Fresh flat leaf parsley

Salt & Pepper to taste

Start by sautéing carrots, onions and celery in a large stock pot with olive oil together until just tender for about 4 minutes. Turn down the heat and add chicken stock, water, chicken, egg noodles, and oregano. On low to medium heat simmer soup for 20 minutes. Rough chop fresh parsley and add on top of each serving bowl. Enjoy with warm foccaica bread.





"People always live forever when there is an annuity to be paid them."-Fanny

Chocolate Carmel Apples

4-6 small Gala Apples

1 14 oz bag of individually wrapped Caramel Squares-unwrapped

2 Tablespoons Milk

2 Cups Ganache (See ‘Cabin in the Sky’ Menu for recipe)

Wash and completely dry apples. Combine caramel squares and milk in a small pot, and melt on low heat stirring occasionally. Insert sticks from craft store in tops of apples, and dip in caramel. Place on a buttered cookie sheet. Put ganache in a pastry bag and cut off the tip. Heartily swirl chocolate over caramel apples to make stripes. If using decorations place on now while apples are still wet (I used pretty sprinkles that look like leaves. I also bought some twigs at the craft store, which after dipping, I replaced the sticks with these. It looks like I just picked caramel chocolate apples right off the tree! I also added cooked bacon to one before covering it with chocolate. I couldn't resist!) Refrigerate for 30 minutes and Enjoy!

"I-I've come here with no expectations, only to profess, now that I am at liberty to do so, that my heart is, and always will be, yours."-Edward





I love this menu as a segue into the fall season! My friend Megan and I enjoyed this meal with a bottle of Barefoot Sweet Red Wine. I hope these dishes make you feel as good as I know this movie will.


Sense and Sensibility: Genre: Drama Romance. Directed by Ang Lee, Released in 1995 Columbia Pictures. Starring Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Harriet Walter, Hugh Grant, Gemma Jones, Alan Rickman, Greg Wise Hugh Laurie. Won Academy Award for Best Screenplay. Nominated for Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Costume Design, Best Cinematography, Best Score, & Best Picture.

"Lovers' quarrels are swift to heal."-Mrs. Jennings