Thanks to Duncan Hines for sponsoring my writing. There’s no limit to the baking possibilities, so grab your favorite Duncan Hines mix and Comstock or Wilderness fruit fillings and Bake On! www.duncanhines.com.

It’s a glorious time of year. Yeah, giving, spirit, holidays, yada yada. Not gonna lie, I love it in large part because of all the desserts. I am definitely a sweet tooth kind of girl. (…And salt tooth. I’m kind of a sweet and salty-toothed gal.)

As a kid I was chocolate-obsessed. The chocolaty-ier the better. Straight up candy, fudge, all that jazz. But the best, hands-down, was chocolate baked goods. Ooey, gooey brownies, rich chocolate layer cakes, and chocolate chip cookies (even better if they were chocolate-chocolate chip cookies… yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus).

Some things never change, and while I no longer indulge as frequently in delicious baked goods, the holidays are definitely an excuse to partake. Now that I’m an adult, I especially enjoy adding tasty beverages to my dessert-indulging moments.

I give to you, my top 5 dessert and drink pairings for your own holiday festivities (or, you know, next Tuesday or whatever):

• Brownies and Port. Deee-lightful. The rich chocolaty-ness of the brownies together with the sweetness of the wine makes for an awesome flavor combo. Plus, Port makes everyone feel fancy. It’s a true fact.
• Cheesecake and Champagne. Okay, maybe not Champagne…I’m not that fancy. I usually go with an Italian or Spanish sparkling wine (Prosecco or Cava, anyone?) But, the rich creaminess of cheesecake is balanced nicely by a crisp glass of bubbly. They’re both subtly sweet and the pale hues even look nice together. (Side note: this cheesecake is drool-worthy and looks a lot like the ones I still get my mom to make for my birthday every year. Yum.)
• Chocolate Chip Cookies and Milk. Duh. This one is a classic and the perfect treat to leave for Mr. Claus to help sustain him on his rounds.
• Red Velvet Cake and Mexican Hot Chocolate. This pick is what I’m all about. I’ve had multiple friends tell me over the years that they immediately think of me when they see red velvet cake. I love the stuff. I also love Mexican hot chocolate. Both goodies are slightly unusual takes on “traditional” chocolate treats (I put that in quotes, because they’re both very traditional in their own right). And neither is so sweet that you can’t still have the other.
• Gingerbread (or Gingersnaps) and Egg Nog. This is another long-time favorite. My late Aunt Vivian used to make gingersnaps every Christmas and send them to us from 1,000 miles away. To me, they epitomize Christmas cookies. And Egg Nog is the traditional Christmas drink around my house. (Not the boozy stuff, the kind that comes in a carton from the dairy aisle at the grocery store. But the “adult” version would be sooo good here, too.) Both treats have a little spice to them and totally remind me of childhood.

Mmm, are you drooling yet? I think I need to go hit up a dessert table somewhere. I promised my family I’d make plenty of Christmas cookies for our holiday this year, but I’m thinking I might need to get an early start in order to satisfy this sweet tooth.

What are your favorite holiday desserts? What drinks do you like to pair with them?

Remember to check out Duncan Hines’ website www.duncanhines.com to find some great recipes for your holiday get-together! I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective.

They held the inaugural Jablow’s Meat’s Pop-Up Restaurant at a great spot in SF’s Mission District and served up four different kinds of meaty sandwiches for the day. My personal favorite was the pastrami. Even though I never knew I liked pastrami. Or mustard. Or rye. It’s like the sandwich is magic.

Anyway, I pitched in by acting as a runner and taking photos and generally trying to help wherever I could without being underfoot or in the way. Here are a couple of my favorite shots:

Doesn’t that look good?? It was.

Why, hello there, bacon…

So tasty. And my hair smelled like bacon afterwards. Kinda yum.

You can order your own meaty goodness from Dan and Ashley here. Or stay tuned here for more event updates (and potentially more pop-ups??). What a delicious day!

After some research (there are a lot of great vegan resources out there), I settled on this brownie recipe from Food.com. It’s pretty straightforward and baked up nicely. (Apparently, sometimes vegan baked goods have trouble setting up.) We made a double batch and they were a hit. Here’s the recipe:

Vegan Brownies

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup raw sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup unbleached white flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips (I forget the name of the brand we used, but it was a blue bag. FYI: I’m told to avoid carob chips at all costs, so stick with chocolate. Also, we amped up the chocolate and put in close to a full cup. Mmm, chocolate.)

1/3 cup walnut pieces

dash cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray an 8″ x 8″ pan with oil.

Mix applesauce, sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl. In another bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the applesauce mixture. Mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Spread in prepared pan and bake 25-30 min, until center is firm and not sticky. Cool completely before slicing.

The brownies turned out great and, like the reviews say, people actually asked for the recipe. Next time, I’ll actually remember to take a picture!

I wrote this post while participating in a blog tour conducted by Clever Girls on behalf of Dannon. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program but my opinions are my own.

For more information and recipe ideas, visit www.oikosyogurt.com or www.Facebook.com/oikos. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

I like yogurt. It’s a thing. I’ve always liked it, dating back to Bert & Ernie sundaes* when I was a kid. My appreciation for the cool, creamy goodness has only increased over time. In grad school, I not only did a whole semester-long marketing project on yogurt (don’t ask), but I also got busted by a professor in a subsequent semester for snarfing a cup in class. (I reasoned with him and earned the right to keep eating it every morning.)

A couple of years ago a friend let me in on the secret of Greek yogurt. The main points for me are that it’s higher in protein and lower in sugar than most other yogurts – two things I was definitely open to, not to mention being richer and creamier than regular yogurt. Since that epiphany, I’ve pretty much exclusively eaten Greek yogurt. At home. In class. At my desk at work. (Yes, I do this frequently. A coworker likes to tease me about my yogurt habit.)

All of this leads me to being somewhat of a Greek yogurt connoisseur and recently getting to try Dannon® Oikos® Greek Yogurt – an opportunity that I totally jumped at. Dannon® Oikos® is made through an authentic Greek straining process, giving it a rich and creamy texture. And, while it seems indulgent, the 0% fat varieties contain all the same active cultures as full fat yogurt, but only have between 80 calories (plain) and 130 calories (the fruit on the bottom varieties) per cup.

(I really like the Greek yogurt math, by the way… 2x the protein of most regular lowfat yogurts, same positive health benefits from live and active yogurt cultures, and low in calories. Now, do you see why I eat it so much?)

I particularly liked Dannon® Oikos® Fruit on the Bottom in strawberry. Which isn’t surprising since the 0% fat berry flavors apparently beat Chobani 2-1 in a national taste test. Yum. Dannon’s version of Greek yogurt is extra smooth and lightly sweet (I do not do plain yogurt, for the record).

If I haven’t converted you to Greek yogurt yet, you might change your mind with a free cup. Right now you can get a coupon to try it yourself on the Dannon® Oikos® Facebook page. You know, if you’re like me and want a tasty snack to eat in class or at your desk at work.

*Um, so I just did a search and it turns out this is not a common knowledge thing. Who knows, maybe my mom made it up? Anyway, in my lexicon, a Bert & Ernie sundae is yogurt with sliced bananas and crushed graham crackers on top. Yes, it is named after everyone’s favorite roommates. Own it.

I have partnered with Dannon to help promote the Dannon Oikos Greek Yogurt Series.  I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes writing about the promotion and product.  However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.

Apparently, nocino is an old school green walnut liqueur and it’s very easy to make at home. All it took was one quick glance at the giant walnut tree outside my window and I decided to make some for myself. I have no idea how the stuff tastes, but everything that goes into it seems pretty reasonable and leads me to believe it’ll be delicious when it’s finally ready.

I found this recipe for nocino, but ended up with slightly different measurements since I didn’t want to do a full batch. Here’s what I did:

Nocino (Walnut Liqueur)

15 unripe green walnuts, rinsed and chopped into quarters (NB: the walnuts will stain, so be careful when cutting)

750 mL vodka

6 whole cloves

1 inch of whole vanilla bean

1 stick of cinnamon

zest from 1/2 lemon, peeled with a vegetable peeler so as to only get the yellow part

1-1/4 cups of granulated sugar

I actually put this whole thing into two big canning jars, since I didn’t have a big enough jug. This required me to use more vodka than the other recipe, so we’ll see how that turns out. I found a couple of other nocino recipes online that called for a stiffer mix, so I think it’ll be fine.

You’re supposed to give the jars a shake every day to mix the contents and help infuse the flavors. After six weeks of steeping, strain the solids out of the liqueur and pour it into individual bottles.

I read that the stuff is really undrinkable until it’s at least a year old, so I’m planning on aging it at least that long before I crack into it. When I do, though, I’m envisioning using it in desserts (perhaps tiramisu or something that normally calls for another alcohol).

Here are my finished jars, waiting to age and turn into delicious, dark nocino liqueur:

Have you ever tried nocino? Have you ever made your own liqueurs before – and if so, do you have any tips to share??

For my final cake, I went with a very simple design. I did white icing with white floral trim, red roses with blue rosettes, and blue writing. We learned the writing part in class this week and I clearly need more practice. I almost wrote right off the side of the cake. Oops!

Here are a couple of close ups of the flowers:

(I think I need to work on my photo editing, too. I’m noticing how different the icing colors turned out from one photo to the next!)

And here’s the finished product:

I think it turned out pretty nice. What do you think? Did I earn my cake decorating diploma? ;)

For cake decorating class this week, I decided to go with a 4th of July theme (finished pictures to come). I baked a red velvet cake and designed a white frosting with red and blue flowers motif. I’m getting a little sick of buttercream, though, so I saved some of the cream cheese frosting from last week’s carrot cake debacle to have with my red velvet scraps. (When prepping a cake for decorating, you have to level it by cutting off the tops of the layers – resulting in delicious taste tests of your cake.)

Here’s the mini red velvet cake I made out of the scraps:

Isn’t it cute? And so delicious – the other scraps were put to good use taste testing. :)

I’ve made red velvet from scratch before and it’s kind of a lot of work, so these days I usually use a mix (Duncan Hines, this time). The super simple cream cheese frosting is my late Aunt Vivian’s recipe, though, and it’s just about perfect. I topped the little cake with some blueberries from the freezer to make it a red, white, and blue cake!

Aunt Vivian’s Cream Cheese Frosting

6 oz cream cheese

1/2 cup butter

pinch of salt

splash of vanilla extract

1 lb powdered sugar

Mix the first four ingredients together, then slowly add in the powdered sugar until it’s all incorporated. Mix on medium speed until the frosting is smooth and fluffy. Spread on cooled cake or cupcakes & store in the fridge.

Wouldn’t this be a great treat for the Fourth of July? Are you making anything red, white & blue themed for your holiday fare?

Judging from our recent decorating Lose Weight Exercises, I think my SIL is going to be the go-to cake decorator in the family. Case in point, her professional-looking Elmo cake:

…versus my Cake Wrecks-worthy carrot cake:

Turns out, cream cheese frosting is not great for piping. Also, you should plan out your color combos BEFORE 11pm when you’re tired and just want to finish your cake so you can go to bed. Oops! Lesson learned.

Fortunately my other items have turned out much better. This week is our final class (we get certificates (!) – something that I am excited (!) about only on a sarcastic level) and we’re going to learn how to make frosting roses and pipe messages onto our cakes. I’m thinking mine might read…”This class takes the cake.”

What I Wore is literally a catalog of everything Jessica wears every day. She’s got a great sense of personal style and has been able to parlay that into a pretty successful career – including her first ever book coming out soon.

To celebrate the launch of her book What I Wore: Four Seasons, One Closet, Endless Recipes for Personal Style, Jessica’s giving away 10 signed copies AND a personalized fashion illustration of one lucky winner (I think this is rad!). The contest ends July 12th, so if you want to enter go here for rules and info. I’m thinking her book might help me move past the closest thing to wear in the morning to maybe the second closest thing. ;)

The first is reminiscent of Irina Werning’s Back to the Future project (which I mentioned a while back). Dear Photograph is all about environment, though; posing old photos within the setting they were originally taken back in the day.

This is one of my favorites:

(Photo credit: Dan Perry on DearPhotograph.com)

I find it fascinating to see how the different landscapes and structures have changed over time. Some, like the one above, are very evocative. You can check out the rest of the growing collection or submit your own shots here.

The second website is Posing With Friends, wherein people submit photos of themselves mimicking tourists posing in various places around the world. The photos are kind of funny, especially in ones where the posers are doing distinct things with their limbs. Here’s a sample shot:

(Photo credit: PosingWithFriends.com)

I wouldn’t want to ruin other people’s vacation photos, but I think it’d be hilarious to do these off to the side. If you’re of the sort who also finds it hilarious, you can submit your own pictures here.

Okay, fine, I have a third website to share with you. This one is not so directly related to photography, but it is of photographs. Awesome People Hanging Out Together shows just that – awesome famous people who you wouldn’t think would operate in the same worlds hanging out together. To me, the coolest photos are the ones from pop culture history. Like this one of Frieda Kahlo and Josephine Baker:

(Photo credit: unknown? Via Noemi on AwesomePeopleHangingOutTogether.Tumblr.com)

How cool is that??

What are your favorite websites lately? Know of any other good photography projects to share?

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the first three ingredients until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Form soft 1″ balls of dough (they won’t spread much when baking, so make them nice and smooth when forming them). Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 12-15 minutes (mine took 14 mins). Cool and enjoy with a frosty glass of milk!

Do you have friends with gluten sensitivities? What do you like to bake for them?

To help me brainstorm, I’ve found the following spear-friendly recipes:

Ziti agli Asparagi (Ziti with Asparagus) from Bell’Alimento

Asparagus and Pea Soup with Herb Crackers from Tartelette

Asparagus Artichoke Salad from Simply Recipes

Ribboned Asparagus Salad with Lemon from Smitten Kitchen

Asparagus Gratin from Pinch My Salt

What’s your favorite asparagus dish?

If you live near a Krispy Kreme or Dunkin Donuts, they’re both giving out free doughnuts today to commemorate the occasion (originally started by the Salvation Army). If you don’t live by one of the big chains, maybe you can convince your local doughnut shop to join in the celebration. Or you can try out the Salvation Army’s original WWI era doughnut recipe.

National Doughnut Day was started as a fundraiser for the Salvation Army, so don’t forget them today while you’re enjoying your sweet treat!

A couple of months back, I was hanging out with some friends who had been invited to an “On a Stick” party. It was a big potluck and everyone was asked to bring something that you served or ate from a stick. My friends were trying to decide what to make and bring to this party, but we were stumped.

They were going to have to commute a fair distance on public transit to get to the shindig, so all of the deep-fried foods we thought of were out of the question. And they wanted to do something a little more exciting than just fruit kebabs. If only they’d had Matt Armendariz’s new book – On a Stick! – for inspiration.

I’ve been a fan of Matt’s blog, Matt Bites, for a long time now so I was super excited to see that he was launching a cookbook. Unsurprisingly, it’s irreverent and down-to-earth like he seems to be. I mean, this isn’t Nigella Lawson-style food porn; it’s a whole book devoted to things you eat on a stick.

Some of the recipes aren’t super exciting (see: fruit kebabs) and some are way too labor-intensive for my taste (chicken and waffles on a stick isn’t happening around here any time soon), but some of the goodies call to me from the pages of this cookbook. Breakfast pancake dogs?? Yes, please. Fried mozzarella? Don’t mind if I do. The spaghetti and meatballs on a stick is enough to make me want to go out and buy a deep fryer, not to mention the homemade donut holes.

As for travel-ready, potluck-friendly goods… Cake pops and pizza skewers, anyone?

What’s your favorite skewered or on-a-stick food??

The DIY doily lamp from More Design Please (inspired by Dos Family):

Love the frilly, femininity of this lacy lamp. The airiness of it seems perfect for warmer months (if they ever arrive).

DIY silhouette portraits from The SITS Girls:

Silhouettes are classic and this method of doing them is much easier to do than the old projector on the wall technique.

DIY bokeh photography techniques from How About Orange:

I think bokeh is rad and I’ve wanted to try it out for myself for a while now. This tutorial makes it seem very doable. I’m thinking this will be the first on my crafty list of things to do this weekend!

What DIY projects are you working on lately? Find anything that inspires your creative spirit?

Of course, I took it upon myself to introduce her to the colorful, jiggly world of Jell-o shots. I decided to class the experience up a bit, though. No flimsy paper cups here. We went for class with a capital C – vitamin C, that is. Behold the citrusy wonder of orange wedge Jell-o shots.

If you want to make your own fancy pants Jell-o shooters, I found this very useful guide for making them. (I also appreciated the editorializing.) Just sub in vodka for the cold water in your Jell-o recipe (depending on the desired strength of your finished wedges, you can sub in anywhere from 1/2 vodka to all vodka). If you’re looking for other alcohol infused Jell-o shot recipes, check out the list here.

You could even – gasp! – make these without alcohol in them for a fun kid-friendly treat. Or just give the kids the leftover oranges from your swanked up adult Jell-o shooters. That’s a win-win!

This recipe comes via my good friend Joanna – who, incidentally, is getting married in a few short weeks – woohoo!! I believe Jo got it from her friend Tina and I’m not sure of the origins beyond that. So, if you know, please clue me in; I’d love to give credit where credit is due. Jo won our friends’ annual bake-off a couple of years ago with this recipe, that’s how good it is. I’ve been meaning to share it here ever since.

I made this cake over the weekend and served it with sliced fresh strawberries and whipped cream. It was the perfect balance of sweet and not-too-sweet, rich and not-too-rich. Delicious! Here’s the recipe:

Sour Cream and Lemon Pound Cake

3 cups cake flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3 cups sugar

6 eggs, room temperature

1/4 lemon juice

1 Tablespoon lemon zest (I love my microplaner for zesting lemons)

1 cup sour cream

powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. The best kind of pan for this cake is an angel food cake pan, because the recipe makes a fairly sizable cake and the structure of the angel food pan will make baking and removal easier. Prep your pan by spraying with nonstick food spray, then dusting with a little flour, then spraying again. (Make sure you do this! Nothing is sadder than having a perfectly good cake get stuck in a pan.)

Sift flour, salt, and baking soda into a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat butter until fluffy. Gradually add sugar and beat for 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time until just combined. Add lemon juice and zest. Mix in dry ingredients. Mix in sour cream. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 90 minutes, until cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes. With a sharp knife, release cake edges from pan. Give the cake a shake to loosen and then release right side up onto your cake plate. Cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar.

Note: do not refrigerate this cake, as it will dry out and turn hard. Stays fresh covered at room temperature for a few days (if it lasts that long!).

My version didn’t come together quite as smoothly as the demonstration (I pounded out boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of using prepared cutlets), but it still tasted great. We ate our stuffed chicken breasts with oven roasted asparagus and Grace Baking garlic bread (one of my favorites – it has whole garlic cloves baked into it).

Here’s the recipe and some pictures:

Italian-Style Stuffed Chicken Breasts (a.k.a. “Chicken Rollatini” from Gina’s Skinny Recipes)

8 thin chicken cutlets, 3 oz each (or 4 chicken breasts butterflied and pounded thin)

1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs (if you have plain, just crumble in some dried basil, oregano, etc.)

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided

6 tablespoons egg whites, divided

5 oz frozen spinach, squeezed dry of any liquid (I sauteed one bunch of fresh spinach with some garlic and chopped onion)

6 tbsp part skim ricotta cheese

6 oz part skim mozzarella, divided (you’ll want a couple of ounces in your filling and one round of mozzarella to melt on top of each piece of chicken)

olive oil non-stick spray

2 cups marinara sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly spray a baking dish with non-stick spray. Wash and dry cutlets and season with salt and pepper.

Combine breadcrumbs and 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese in one bowl. Put 4 tbsp egg whites in another. Shred 2 oz of mozzarella cheese and combine with remaining Parmesan, spinach (make sure it’s dry if you’re using thawed spinach), 2 tbsp egg whites, and ricotta cheese.

Lay chicken cutlets down on a working surface and spread 2 tbsp of spinach-cheese mixture on each cutlet. Loosely roll each one and keep seam side down. Dip chicken in egg mixture, then in breadcrumbs and place seam side down in a baking dish (no toothpicks needed). Repeat with the remaining chicken. When finished, lightly spray with olive oil.

Bake 25 minutes. Remove from oven, top with sauce then cheese. Bake until cheese is melted and bubbling, about 3 more minutes. Serve immediately.

This dish is kind of like chicken parmesan and lasagna had a love child; without the pasta, but with all the flavor!

I had a craving for homemade tortillas a couple of days ago and decided to make some last night to go with the fajitas I was having for dinner. Tortillas are not as hard to make as one would think – only a handful of ingredients – but they require a fair amount of finesse. Mine are never as thin or perfectly round as my mother’s but what I lack in finesse I make up for in appreciation.

My tortillas are more reminiscent of my Nana’s tortillas, fat and fluffy. My grandmother is past her tortilla-making days now, but when I was little I used to love to watch her roll out tortillas. Instead of a rolling pin, she had a piece of a metal pipe that she would roll over the dough a few times, and with one deft movement plop the thick tortillas onto the cast iron comal. Tortillas cook fast and a few seconds later she’d have one off the stove and wrapped up with butter, tucked into a napkin, and in my hot little hand. There was not a better treat or one made with more love.

Here is our family’s recipe for homemade flour tortillas:

Flour Tortillas

2 cups unsifted flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 cup vegetable shortening (or lard – just go with it)

1/2 cup lukewarm water

Mix your dry ingredients together and then cut your shortening in with a pastry blender or a couple of forks. Once your dough is crumbly, gradually mix in the water. Use your hands to finish mixing the dough and knead it for a couple of minutes. You can cook your tortillas right away, but your dough will be easiest to handle if you let it rest for a while – cover it with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for at least a couple of hours or up to 24 hours.

Divide your (rested) dough into 8 equal sized balls. You’ll want to simultaneously be rolling and cooking, so heat your comal or flat pan to medium-low heat. Roll your tortillas on a lightly floured surface, aiming for a round shape (good luck with that!). You should also have a tortilla warmer or a cozy for them to go into as they come off the stove so that they stay warm until you can eat them.

I find that it’s easiest to roll one and then put it on the griddle and then go back to rolling the next one. You have to keep a close eye on them though, because they need less than a minute or so per side (flip once the first side has started to very lightly brown).

It’s a fast process once you get the hang of it and you’ll have 8 fresh, delicious flour tortillas to show for it. You may never want to eat store-bought tortilla’s again!

1) Apparently, crab does not freeze well. Seriously. Do not attempt it at home. It will be gross. ‘Nuff said.

2) My red wine jelly is damned good on sourdough bread.

3) A simple, thrown-together risotto can rescue a meal. Mmm.

I was so enamored with the little egg planters I made the other day, I decided to make more and dye them pretty shades this time. By the time Easter arrives I’ll have a whole dozen to use as a centerpiece.

Here are some other Easter-related projects (and treats) that have caught my eye recently.

Easter Surprise Eggs from Not Martha:

I like the idea of these festive, colored eggs so much that I’m tempted to turn the eggs I just dyed into candy-filled surprise eggs instead planters. We’ll see…it might have to be a game time decision. Not Martha has a really straight-forward, step-by-step guide for making these fun party favors.

Chocolate-Covered Peeps Pops from Girly Bubble:

These little sugar bombs take the already sweet classic Peep and turn it into a party in your mouth. Which is kind of what these do, too…

Candy-Coated Cookie Pops from The Idea Room:

How sweet are these?? Literally. They’re Oreo Cakester cookies, dipped into candy coating and decorated to look like bunnies and chicks. Adorable. And you can get your Easter candy fix in one bite.

Bunny-Shaped Sugar Cubes from Girly Bubble:

I can’t find information about these bunny sugar cubes anywhere, so if anyone sees an original post somewhere please let me know. All I know is that they’re pretty impressive in their craftsmanship and a sweet little way to get some Easter spirit.

Finally, despite all the sugar overload, I am in love with this cake.

Easter Bunny Cake from Tracey Lau:

The flowers, the bunny tush…this cake is a work of art. And the best part is that I’m pretty sure it’s chocolate. There aren’t any instructions for making it, but I’m assuming you could do a regular layer cake and then jazz it up with fondant flowers, extra frosting for the roots, and maybe a marzipan bunny. Super cute!

Are you making any special treats or decorations for Easter?

I first tried wine jelly at the Boston Wine Expo a couple of years ago and was intrigued by the concept of turning such a nuanced, complex flavor profile like wine into a sweet preserve. Particularly since you can use different kinds of wine to get different flavors and pretty colors. Since then, I’ve only seen wine jelly once – at a farmer’s market in my wine-soaked hometown. Both times, I really liked it.

I’d heard that it’s fine to use not-great wine for jelly, since the sugar will improve the flavor a lot. So, when I came across a bottle of wine that I knew I didn’t love, I immediately thought of turning into something I’d actually want to consume. I used a red blend from California – a little too rough on the palate in its original form – to make a batch of fantastic jelly.

(Side note: I used my tag cutter and an old Snow & Graham calendar to make pretty little labels. Cute, no?)

The recipe is pretty basic, I used this one from eHow and it came out great. Here it is with my notes:

Wine Jelly

3-1/2 cups (approx one 750ml bottle, plus a splash or two) of wine

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

2 oz package of dry pectin

4-1/2 cups granulated sugar

First,  you need to clean and sterilize enough jars (with new lids) to hold approximately 52 oz of finished jelly. I made 6 standard 8oz jars of jelly plus a couple of little jars. Keep your jars in the hot water after boiling so that they’ll stay up to the temperature of the hot jelly. I also simmered my lids for a few minutes to sterilize them and soften the glue rings.

In a tall, heavy pot (trust me, you don’t want hot sticky splatters coming up at you when you’re making jelly), stir together your wine, lemon juice, and pectin. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

Add your sugar one cup at a time, stirring after each addition so that the sugar thoroughly dissolves into the mixture. Once all your sugar has been added, bring the mixture to a rolling boil. Boil at this temperature for one full minute, stirring constantly (this helps keep the mixture from boiling over and/or getting too foamy).

Remove your jelly from the heat and skim off any foam that may have accumulated on the top. Quickly dry off your jars and lids and place them on a thick kitchen towel. (You can turn the pot of water back up at this point, so it’s ready to go for your sealing boil.) Fill jars up to 1/2 inch from the top with hot jelly. Wipe any spilled jelly off of the rims and threads with a clean cloth and place the lid and ring on each jar, tightening by hand.

Put your filled and closed jars back into the pot of water and boil for five minutes. Carefully remove them from the hot water and set them on your towel. As they cool, you’ll hear the lids pop as they create a seal. You can test their seal by pressing gently on the center of the lids (it may take a few minutes for the seal to happen, so don’t panic if they don’t audibly pop right away).

Voilà! You have delicious wine jelly to serve with cheese and crackers or as a glaze for desserts (or even some meat dishes). I’ve got plans to turn at least some of my wine jelly into a sweet filling for a brie en croute. Double French, double yum.

Look at that lovely color! I can’t wait to make more varieties, including a rosé jelly and a pinot noir jelly.

Would you try wine jelly? How would you serve it?

I love fried rice, but I’ve always been under the impression that it’s somehow hard to make. During grad school, I ordered fried rice from my local Thai restaurant whenever I was hungry and in a hurry for a hot meal. It was a godsend (to everything except maybe my sodium levels).

I was rummaging around in the fridge today, though, trying to figure out what to make for lunch and decided to get brave with some leftover white rice. After searching online, I thought that this recipe from Epicurious was the most approachable. Here’s my version:

Fried Rice

2 cups leftover steamed rice

1/4 onion, chopped into long strips

1 garlic clove, mashed or diced

1/4 bell pepper, chopped into chunks

1 small carrot, peeled and diced

1/3 cup frozen peas

1 egg

1/3 cup cooked chicken (I had a half of a grilled chicken breast in the fridge)

1 slice of ham, diced (I just used thinly sliced sandwich meat)

vegetable oil for cooking

soy sauce, salt, and pepper for seasoning

Heat a large pan or wok to a medium heat. Add enough oil to coat and toss in your garlic and onion. Stirfry until the onion is almost translucent; add in the rest of your veggies about halfway through (cook just until tender but still a little al dente). Transfer your cooked vegetables to a plate and set aside.

Add more oil to your hot pan and toss in your rice, breaking up any clumps. Heat the rice for a couple of minutes and then add in the egg, stirring together. While the egg is still wet, add in your meat and return the vegetables to the pan. Toss it all together for a minute or so, seasoning with salt and pepper and a splash or two of soy sauce. Serve it up and enjoy!

See, that wasn’t so hard!

A “note” book from Oh, Hello Friend:

Danni from Oh, Hello Friend: You Are Loved made this handmade book of notes for her hubby to cheer him up after a rough week. She sewed, stamped, and collaged all sorts of little goodies into it. Such a sweet idea! It would be a great birthday or Mother’s Day tribute.

Stamped Clay Cupcake Flags from The Sweetest Occasion:

Jenny from The Sweetest Thing team posts about these adorable clay cupcake flags. It’s a super simple project that just requires rubber stamps and Fimo clay (both of which I have plenty of), and some lollipop sticks. You could even use these specialized flags in plants as plant labels.

Festive Striped Sunglasses from What I Wore:

Jessica from What I Wore perks up a pair of ordinary (inexpensive) sunglasses with a little tissue paper, white glue, and clear nail polish. What an easy way to lend some spring flair to boring shades.

What’s on your DIY radar these days?

I know, right? Amazeballs, as the kids would say. I made them, but you’ll have to just take my word for it because I didn’t get around to snapping any photos. However, they were monstrous and I named them Cannibal Cookies because they seemed to me like one cookie had eaten another cookie for lunch.

And then, I was zooming around Pinterest and I saw these:

Even more amazing in the chocolate-to-chocolate ratio of dessert-y things. These brownies inspired instant “nom-nom-nom”-ing inside my head. The creators of these brownies went a step further than just baking Oreos into their brownies, they also baked in ice cream, hot fudge, and chocolate chips. Hello, insulin shot, anyone?

I scaled it back a bit for simplicity’s sake and merely baked the leftover Oreos I had from the above-mentioned Cannibal Cookies into a Ghirardelli double chocolate brownie mix. And thus, these delicious treats were born:

Hello, beautiful! I think the Oreos actually helped keep the brownies together (I sometimes have problems with too gooey soft brownies, as if there is such a thing) and they were amazing. The recipe is, literally: make a brownie mix, pour half of it in your pan, lay whole Oreos down, pour the rest of the batter in, bake. And then try not to inhale the whole pan in one warm, chocolate-y sitting.

As an aside, I feel like both of these deliciously over-indulgent desserts and/or the whole more-is-more dessert trend going on right now is in some way attributable to Bake It in a Cake. If you haven’t checked it out yet, go. And just try not to drool.

Thank you to P&G’s Have You Tried This Yet? program and Kroger for sponsoring my writing about trying new things and breaking out of my everyday routine. Click here to find great savings on high-performing P&G products at a Kroger store near you. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

I mentioned a while back about breaking out of my normal eating routine and going the low carb route. As a total carboholic, I’ve always scoffed at those low carb fad diets. Atkins? Try Heartattackins! South Beach? More like South Blech! You get the idea. Something clicked in my brain recently, though, that made me give an actual lifestyle change some consideration.

Tim Ferriss, author, entrepreneur, and awesome self-promoter, recently came out with a book all about diet and Lose Weight Exercise, in which he reintroduced the concept of a “slow carb” diet (i.e. eating foods that are low on the glycemic index, like beans and lentils). I started to read some of the feedback from people who’d adopted this way of eating and they all raved about increased energy levels and, of course, losing inches.

I got to thinking about this slow carb thing and about previous attempts to eat healthier. At 5’2″ and with a family history of way too many Lose Weight Exercise-related (or at least potentially exacerbated) health issues, I realize that I have to be far more responsible about the way I eat than I was in my younger years. (Goodbye, 20s! Hello, dormant metabolism!) This realization coincided with seeing recent picture of me holding my little niece. Is this how I want to look in photos that will be cherished for years to come? Not really.

I decided to try this slow carb/healthier eating thing for a week while I was house-sitting for a friend and away from all my usual bad influences. After 24 hours, I wanted to order in a pizza. With a side of cupcakes. After 48 hours, I couldn’t watch the Food Network without feeling pangs of carb lust and the urge to make a risotto waffle brownie sundae. After 72 hours, though, I didn’t even want the cookies my friend offered me when I went over to her house. I mean, they were appealing, because I love cookies and they looked delicious, but I no longer felt like I was going to leap across the table like some sort of wild jaguar in order to get them. Kind of amazing, huh? I was being so good.

And then some friends came into town and my willpower wavered a bit as we sampled cupcakes (cut in half!) and pizza (thin crust and small!) and mimosas (!). But I didn’t feel guilty about it, because when I wasn’t trying a nibble of flourless chocolate cake, I was ordering a green salad with tuna. I was having turkey sausage and scrambled eggs and fruit at brunch instead of those deliciously melty chocolate chip banana pancakes I made to go with them. Huh, whaddya know, I can do this healthy, moderation, not carbo-crazy thing. It’s not a perfect iteration of the slow carb way (I like fruit), but it’s about just generally being smarter about what I eat.

So, it’s been a few weeks now since I embarked on this different lifestyle of mine. It’s not a diet. There’s just no way I can live the next 60 years of my life not treating my body right. And if those double negatives are confusing, I’ll say it this way – I have to eat healthy and wisely. In moderation. And indulge a bit now and then. Again, in moderation.

On the results side, this new approach to eating has made grocery shopping a lot easier. I follow Michael Pollan‘s wisdom: “Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”  The produce aisle is my friend and I make sure to fill at least half of my plate with vegetables. I have more energy and my skin seems clearer. And the scale has started to budge a little. Which is nice. More importantly, though, I had lab work done this weekend and I’m eager to see where my numbers are (and again where they’ll be a year from now after this new lifestyle has had a chance to sink in), because ultimately I just want to be healthy.

Of course, healthy and skinny wouldn’t hurt!

Less of this…                                                                             And more of these…

Have you tried something new lately? Found a way to bust out of your usual routine or get someone to break out of theirs? Leave a comment and tell me about it!

(Photo from this kid: http://galaxiesinshit.tumblr.com/)

Chocolate Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes from 52 Cupcakes:

I’m a fan of the recent bake-something-tasty-inside-something-else-tasty trend. And I love the marriage of chocolate and peanut butter. Which means I pretty much want to jab my hand through my computer screen to get at these deliciously rich looking cupcakes.

Pear and Almond Frangipane Tarts from Tartelette:

These carbs are all dressed up and elegant, which makes me want them even more. Tartelette always has gorgeous photos and this pear and almond frangipane tart looks more than beautiful enough to eat, computer monitor and all.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookies from 101 Cookbooks:

You can whole wheat it up with these chocolate chip cookies and pretend they’re a little healthier, but deep down they’re still deliciously carbo-riffic. And I want them. With an ice cold glass of milk. ASAP.

Crispy Fried Goat Cheese from The Hungry Mouse:

Have I told you lately about how much I love cheese? Particularly rolled in Panko and fried? Because that makes it healthier. Amazing. I want this. I’d even be willing to put it on top of a mixed green salad.

Meatball Subs with Caramelized Onions from Smitten Kitchen:

Look at those saucy meatballs. Don’t they look good? They’re nothing compared to that delicious French roll, though. Bread, glorious bread, how I miss thee.

What recipes have you drooling lately? What’s your favorite indulgence?

The recipe is from my friend Lois, who made thumbprint cookies around the holidays. Her thumbprint cookies were probably the best  I’d ever had and she graciously shared the recipe with me. I did a double thumb press to make the hearts (aided by a tiny little spoon, since my thumbprints weren’t deep enough by the time the cookies finished baking) and filled them with strawberry preserves. Delicious and delightful!

Lois’s Thumbprint Cookies

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg, separated

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup flour, sifted

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Jelly, jam, or preserves of your choice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla. Add flour and salt, mix well. Form dough into small (1″ or smaller) balls. Dip each ball into lightly beaten egg white and then roll in the chopped nuts. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and press your thumb into the center of each cookie. Bake 12-15 minutes. Allow cookies to cool and then fill thumbprint with jelly.

The cookies rose a bit while baking, so I went back when they were done and smashed the prints down a little with the back of my small spoon to make the well a little bigger. As you can see in the photo, I made the imprints deep enough so that they would hold a heart shape when filled.

The finished product is a perfect Valentine’s treat!

First, I made my go-to mini cheesecakes. Except  instead of doing the usual glazed fruit topping, I channeled some more of that indoor sunshine craving and made my own lemon curd. Yow, that stuff is good! I’ve only had lemon curd once or twice before, but I am pretty addicted now that I’ve tried homemade. The name doesn’t do the gooey, citrus creme justice – “curd” just doesn’t sound nearly as appealing as this stuff tastes!

Here’s the cheesecake recipe (it’s very simple and easy):

Mini Cheesecakes

2 – 8 oz packages of cream cheese (you can use low-fat without losing much flavor)

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

3/4 cup sugar

18 ‘Nilla Wafers

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners (recipe makes approx 18 cheesecakes, in my family we use the shiny silver liners to glam up this dessert). Place 1 vanilla wafer cookie in each lined cup.

Mix ingredients (cream cheese, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice, and sugar) with an electric hand mixer until the batter is smooth. Fill each cup 2/3 full with filling. Bake 20 minutes. Let cool.

For topping the cooled cheesecakes, I usually use canned cherry pie filling. The glazed fruit looks pretty and fills the indentation that forms in the center of each cheesecake when they cool. However, I’m on a citrus kick and wanted to make a more seasonally appropriate dessert.

As a kid, there was a bakery in our town that made a delicious lemon cheesecake that my godmother would get for my brother’s birthday. It was a rich, dense cheesecake, frosted with a thin layer of cream cheese frosting and each slice was garnished with a piped swirl of lemon curd. Yum – the bright citrus flavor zinged across the tongue, cutting the richness of the cheesecake and leaving you craving more!

This thought was swirling in my head the other day when I caught the tail end of a Barefoot Contessa episode in which Ina Garten was making lemon curd. It looked so simple! So fresh and bright and delicious! So perfect for my citrus kick.

Her recipe is as easy as it looked. Here it is, reprinted from FoodNetwork.com (my notes are in italics):

Ina Garten’s Lemon Curd

3 lemons

1 – 1/2 cups sugar (I used superfine, because I knew I was going to have to make up for not having a food processor)

1/4 lb (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

4 extra large eggs

1/2 cup lemon juice (3 – 4 lemons)

1/8 teaspoon salt

Last week, I was craving said sunshine, so I made a sweet treat from a few oranges I had on hand.

Candied orange peel! Sweet and zesty – literally! Like natural gum drops.

Candying citrus peel is fairly easy (though I have seen some ridiculously complicated recipes out there). It involves peeling the outermost layer of skin off the fruit, blanching it a bunch of times, cooking it in simple syrup, drying, and then tossing in sugar. Candied peels can be eaten as is, dipped in dark chocolate (mmm, chocolate + orange), used to decorate baked goods, baked into things (mmm, citrus scones), and more.

My recipe is adapted from one on Epicurious.com and I originally used it to make candied grapefruit peel last winter. Here it is:

Candied Citrus Peel

2 small grapefruits, 3-4 oranges, or 4 lemons**

1 cup sugar (this is for the simple syrup)

1/2 cup water

1 cup superfine granulated sugar (this is for the coating)

**You can do more at once, just  increase the other ingredients roughly proportionally. This time, I actually did 5 oranges.

Here’s the Epicurious directions (my notes are in parenthesis):

With peel still on fruit, quarter peel lengthwise then remove, keeping pieces of peel intact. Reserve fruit for another use. Diagonally cut pieces of peel into 1/3-inch-wide strips. (Just get the peel off in somewhat large strips any way you can. Cut off any extra pith, as this will make the peel bitter. Don’t cut it too thinly, though, or your pieces will fall apart during the cooking process.)

Put peel in a 3-quart saucepan filled with cold water and bring slowly to a boil over moderate heat. Boil 1 minute and drain. Repeat procedure 4 times to remove bitterness. (You might be able to get away with doing it one less time if you’re using particularly sweet fruit.)

Have ready a lightly oiled large rack set in a shallow baking pan.

Bring regular granulated sugar and water to a boil in a large heavy skillet, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add peel and boil, stirring, until most of syrup is absorbed, about 10 minutes.

Turn out peel onto rack, separating pieces. Dry candied peel, uncovered, at room temperature until only slightly sticky, 4 to 8 hours. Toss, a few pieces at a time, in superfine sugar, shaking off excess.

Cooks’ notes: • If sugar syrup begins to crystallize on peel, turn out of skillet immediately. Peel will still be good but will have a different appearance and won’t need a sugar coating. • Candied peel keeps in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week or chilled 1 month. If chilled peel becomes too moist, pat dry and reroll in sugar.

Ta da – sweet, delicious citrus peel to bring in some sunshine!

I packaged my candied orange peels in these cute little apothecary jars I got at Michaels (small jars) and the Crate & Barrel Outlet (medium jars). They show off the bright, vibrant colors of the candied peel and preserve its freshness. Perfect for tucking into a care package or gift basket.

We’ve reached the point in winter when my cuticles are a disaster (though I partially blame the Season 4 finale of Dexter – yowsa!) and my pant hems need to be perpetually washed. Small signs of life are an incredibly welcome comfort and I tried to make my own terrarium this weekend (pics to follow soon, if everything survives).

I’ve also been looking online for spring-themed crafts and found some fresh, pretty posts to share:

A Big Fabric Rose from Jessica of  How About Orange:

The white is pretty, but I’d love to see one in a bright fuchsia or sunny marigold color. You could get really realistic and use a soft ombre fabric for two-tone roses. Lovely!

Spring Garden Crudite Centerpiece from Martha Stewart:

Look how simple and delicious that centerpiece is! It’s probably more appropriate for Easter or a later spring holiday, but I love the sight of all those fresh vegetables “growing” right now.

A Sweet Floral Tote Bag from Jessica of Living the Swell Life:

Isn’t this a cute, spring-y bag? I love the girly colors in the fabric she used and apparently the flower embellishment comes off for washing. Smart and stylish!

Big Fluffy Pom Poms from Rachel of Smile and Wave:

These big, airy poufs of color are the perfect thing to have hanging around when the sun refuses to come out.

Finally, here is a sunny little video of some Cosmos flowers blooming to help brighten your week:

Thanks to Trop 50 for sponsoring my writing about fabulous bloggers. This year Trop50 is granting 50 fabulous wishes. Click here to enter for a chance to win $1,000 to help grant a friend’s wish!

I’ve been blogging for a while now and I’ve built up a LONG list of favorite bloggers whom I love to read and/or go to for inspiration. Some of my favorites are such because they have hilarious writing styles, or beautiful food photography (nom), or unique angles on things I’m interested in, and/or because I know and appreciate them in real life.

With some of my favorite blogs, I feel like I know the people behind them even though we’ve never met. They’re a fixture in my life and I genuinely care and want to know how each of them is doing on a regular basis. Personally, I tend to gravitate towards female bloggers (though there are millions of fabulous male bloggers out there). I identify with these lively, funny women with fascinating jobs, quirky kids, messy dogs and adorable cats, crazy lives, and hilarious and touching stories who are nothing and everything like me.

You can find several of my favorite bloggers listed in my blogroll, but I’m gonna call out  and share a bit about five of my favorite fabulous bloggers. Here they are (in no particular order):



Heather Hunter of This Fish Needs a Bicycle

I’ve been reading This Fish for longer than I can even remember. I started reading when Heather was a single gal on her own in New York (hence the reference to the famous Irina Dunn quote). Now she’s engaged to the “Dork Lord” and living a whole different life in Texas. After all this time, her blog feels like catching up with an old friend.

Megan Reardon of Not Martha

I love the plethora of fun, smart, useful links that Megan posts every day. She’s like my own curated version of Stumbled Upon and every link takes me to some secret internet gem that is totally up my alley. A great blog for inspiration and information about crafts, food, beauty, design, technology, travel, and all sorts of random wonderful things.

Laurie Perry of Crazy Aunt Purl

Laurie has turned her unabashed lifestyle of kitties and knitting into a successful writing career. Her unblinking take on post-divorce life in Los Angeles, including ridiculous weather reports, funny bumper stickers (taken during L.A. traffic, of course), and plenty of cat pictures always brings a smile to my face.

Kelly Oxford of Eject

Kelly is  hilarious. I’m still a little fuzzy on her social origins – she seems to have a lot of friends in high places – but her posts on life, family, and the web are nothing short of professional comedy. Her blog includes heavy doses of bon mots from her husband and kids, pop culture observations, funny photos and sarcasm. Lots of sarcasm.

Ashley Jablow of The Changebase

Not only is Ashley a friend IRL (we went to b-school together), she’s also a fantastic blogger. The Changebase is her look at creating change in the world through corporate social responsibility, philanthropy, sustainability, and basically living a meaningful life. Ash is a genuine, thoughtful person and it comes through in her writing.

I could go on listing favorite bloggers for days, particularly if I start splitting down into categories of food, design, crafts, technology, lifestyle, and more. These five fabulous women are just a sample of the many brilliant bloggers I make a point to read on a regular basis.

Do you have a list of favorite bloggers? Who’s topping your blogroll these days?

Don’t forget to enter the 50 Fabulous Wishes contest for a chance to win $1,000 to support a friend’s wish. I was selected for this Tropicana Trop50 sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do. I received compensation to use and facilitate my post.

Cioppino (serves 6)

Amy and I first connected when we both interned at Crushpad winery, where her passion for the stuff led her to develop her own wines. Preppy Vines Pinot and Popped Collar Pinot are from her first vintage and they’re fantastic. She’s got a great sense of taste and that comes through with these two well-rounded Sonoma Coast pinots.

I love that Amy tapped into her preppy New England roots for her wines. She’s got a healthy appreciation for whale pants and popped collars and she’s brought that aesthetic to her labels.

After a summer of reviewing over-serious wine brands together, I totally appreciate that Amy went for cheery unpretentiousness with these delightfully preppy labels! I think they’re a friendly reminder that great wines are best enjoyed with a little twinkle in your eye.

If you want to try Amy’s wines for yourself (and I’m in no way getting paid for saying this, but I think you should!), you can check out her online wine shop here. No seersucker required.

I recently recalled a braised leek dish that an old roommate made. It was actually a Persian recipe from her best friend’s mother and featured halved leeks braised in a chunky tomato sauce. And it was delicious! So, I scoured the web for an easy braised leek recipe and discovered this one by Hank Shaw on Simply Recipes. It’s simple and straight-forward and requires a few basic ingredients. Here’s my amended version:

Braised Leeks

3 whole leeks (make sure to choose ones with plenty of white on their stalks, because this is the part that tastes the best when cooked)

1 – 2 garlic cloves, minced

2 – 3 Tbsp. butter

dash of salt

1/2 tsp. dried thyme (or 1 tsp. fresh thyme)

pinch of sugar

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup chicken stock (you can also use vegetable stock if you want to be veggie-friendly)

2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

Trim most of the green ends off of your leeks then slice lengthwise down the center of each, being careful not to slice all the way through the root end. Rinse thoroughly under cold water to remove dirt. Once they’re clean, you can finish the lengthwise cut to create 2 separate halves.

In a large pan (large enough to lay your leeks down in a single layer), melt your butter over medium heat until the butter starts to froth. Add the minced garlic and lay the leeks cut side down. Allow to brown for 1 – 2 minutes.

Carefully turn your leeks over (turning becomes a delicate process once they start cooking, because the layers want to come apart). Sprinkle with a little salt (give or take a bit depending on whether you’ve used unsalted or salted butter) and allow to cook for 1 – 2 minutes on the solid sides.

Gently turn leeks back over so that the cut sides are facing down again. Sprinkle with the sugar and thyme. Add in your liquids (you can substitute more of one for the other, as desired, but the half and half split tastes great) and the bay leaf. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 25 – 35 minutes over medium-low heat.

When your leeks are tender enough that a knife easily slices into them, remove the lid and bring the liquid back up to a boil. Allow the braising liquid to reduce a bit then remove the pan from heat. Add in your chopped parsley for garnish and serve.

Here are my finished leeks:

The color is a little washed out, but let me tell you – they tasted amazing! The wine and garlic blended beautifully with the mild onion-y flavor of the leeks…mmm, delish.

I served the braised leeks with a succulent roasted chicken (tucking the leftover leek ends into the cavity for extra flavor) and butternut squash and kale lasagna. Aside from the massive stack of pots and pans I managed to go through, the meal was a resounding success!

A “Crafternoon” Party by Jessica of Living the Swell Life (via Marta Writes):

I love this idea! Jessica’s Christmas-themed “crafternoon” party looks so charming and fun. It puts my little crafty parties to shame. I’m going to put her tips to good use for future crafternoons of my own!

The projects that she did with her friends are super cute, too. Like this yarn wreath with felt flowers – so sweet. What a great use for old yarn remnants. I’m thinking I might need to make a spring-y wreath some time soon!

And this repurposed cake plate is sweet and smart, too! She just superglued old vases and/or candlesticks to the undersides of antique plates for a charmingly vintage look. You could do a bunch in different sizes and heights for a great dessert table.

As you can see, I’m kind of obsessed with this party and its crafts. So inspiring!

I’m also smitten with this recycled sweater scarf from Suzannah of Adventures in Dressmaking:

I have a couple of nice sweaters that have been done in by hungry moths or clumsy eating (oops!) that I would love to turn into soft, stylish infinity scarves. Suzannah’s tutorial is clear and definitely seems do-able!

What are you working on these days? What projects do you have lined up for 2011?

I’m sharing my grandma’s bread pudding recipe this week because for some reason it seems appropriate for Christmas. Maybe it’s just the coziness of it or the fact that it reminds me of family. (My grandmother used to make it for my mom when she was sick, so it’s considered a special treat and I make it for my mom now if I’m around and she’s feeling under the weather.) It’s best made with cinnamon bread. In the Bay Area, my go-to is Semifreddi’s Cinnamon Twist Challah (mmm!), but any thick-sliced cinnamon bread will do. I’m also kind of anti-raisin when it comes to baked goods, so choose your bread based on your preferences.

Grandma’s Bread Pudding
6 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
3 cups milk
3 – 5 slices of bread (depends on how thick the bread is), cut into chunks
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
dash nutmeg and cinnamon
raisins, if desired

In a large bowl, lightly beat your eggs. Add in the sugar and milk and stir together. Add bread, nuts, and raisins and mix together. The bread should sop up quite a bit of the egg mixture but not too much or your pudding will be dry after cooking it.

Pour into a lightly greased casserole dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Bake at 350 degrees “until a silver knife comes out clean.” (Grandma’s words….I’d say between 40 minutes and an hour, depending on the depth of your dish.)

Some alternatives to this recipe: you could add chunks of apple for a warm fruity treat; you could omit the bread and extras and just make a simple custard; or you could add a 1/2 cup of cooked rice instead of the bread to make rice pudding.

I hope this becomes a cozy treat for your family, too!

This recipe is featured on the side of a box of saltine crackers. As you can see, it’s a recipe for Hearty Beef Barley Soup. Now take a look at the first ingredient. It’s BEEF BARLEY SOUP.

What. The. Frack. Who puts the finished product in the ingredients list??? It’s like defining a word with the same word!!

This totally blew my mind. Amazing. Officially the dumbest recipe ever.

In my family, Christmas cookies are a bit non-traditional. We don’t do the whole sugar cookie or gingerbread thing. Instead, our traditions were set by my late Aunt Vivian, who used to mail us tins of cookies from Minnesota. Every year, Aunt Vivian made us candy-coated pretzels, peanut butter blossoms, and gingersnaps. Sometimes we’d also get Russian Tea Cakes (aka Mexican Wedding Cakes), fruitcake, or other treats. Aside from the fruitcake, it was a much anticipated shipment!

These days, I totally cheat and use a mix for the peanut butter blossoms. I find the bagged mix to be so much faster and less sticky (and less expensive, actually) than wrangling with a jar of fresh peanut butter. I bake the cookies according to the mix, then after they’re just out of the oven I smoosh an unwrapped Hershey’s kiss into the center of each one. Remove from the cookie sheet and let cool undisturbed for at least a couple of hours (it takes awhile for the chocolate to set).

The candy pretzels are just as easy. Simply melt white candy bark or melts in the microwave and quickly dip pretzel twists into it. Allow to cool/dry on a piece of waxed paper or aluminum foil.

(I only dipped half of each pretzel this time, to help cut the sweetness a bit.)

So those two items are quick and easy, barely any work involved. The gingersnaps are from scratch, though. Here is our legit family gingersnap recipe:

Gingersnaps

2 cups sugar

2 cups shortening (It’s an old recipe – what do you expect?)

1 tsp. salt

3 tsp. baking soda

2 eggs

1/3 cup of light molasses (You can use dark, which you’ll see in the photo below. I just think the light looks better and less like a chocolate cookie.)

2 tsp. ground ginger

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

4 cups flour

Add ingredients in the order listed, mixing thoroughly. Roll 1″ balls of dough in sugar and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 11-13 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Makes several dozen cookies – you could easily halve the recipe if you’re not planning on shipping them to a bunch of relatives in other states. :)

I found these nice little baked goods boxes at the craft store and packaged the gingersnaps, peanut butter blossoms, and candy pretzels with some double chocolate cookies. Doesn’t that look like a tasty treat anyone would be happy to receive?

DIY Snow Globes from Well Worn via Apartment Therapy:

I love this craft! I actually bookmarked this last Christmas and I’m still not sure I’m brave enough to try it. It calls for liquid glycerin and anti-rust sealant, two things which I have no idea where to get. Maybe I’ll start collecting cute little trinkets now to make this craft next year and hope I’ll be brave enough by then!

Twisted Felt Garlands from The Purl Bee:

I really like the candy cane colors on this garland. It seems easy and relatively inexpensive to make and would totally jazz up a Christmas tree. It seems very classically Christmas-y to me.

Felt Ball Wreath from Pickles:

Adorable! I love this wreath…you know, what with my fuzz ball obsession and all. It’s so cheery, I’d love to keep it up even after the holidays. Or you could make color themed wreaths for different holidays. Cute!

Recycled Magazine Christmas Trees from Martha Stewart:

These trees look elegant but seem pretty simple to make. I think they’d look lovely on a mantle or sideboard (probably too tall for a table centerpiece) and if you do them in silver or gold  you could even keep them around for New Year’s decorations.

What holiday crafts are keeping you busy this month?

(Except subbing in the word ‘pomegranate’ for ‘peanut butter’. It’s the same syllables and everything. Pretty perfect.)

All the mental “Pomegranate Jelly Time” music is because I made pomegranate jelly today! I made pomegranate jelly once before several years ago in a hugely messy experiment with my dad which some white kitchen curtains didn’t survive. We managed to stain ourselves and our surroundings and break several kitchen implements in the process. But the jelly was awesome.

Cut to today when I, a little older, a little wiser, and a little more fearful of ruining things with pomegranate juice, made my second batch ever. And it was also awesome.

First, to clear up a couple of things for the canning-uninitiated. Jam is chunky, jelly is smooth. Got it? Jelly only uses the fruit juice, jam uses the pulp too. Pomegranates lend themselves to jelly, because they are very juicy and have little pulp aside from their million seeds.

Which leads me to the pomegranate juice extraction process…it’s a pain in the ass. Partly because you have to pick countless little gems of juicy arils (new word!) out of the spongy white pith in order to have anything to work with, and partly because said juice will stain everything in its path. I learned a new trick this time around, though, from an old canning cookbook. You score the fruit in quadrants (you should still do this in a sink you don’t mind getting a little dirty), then submerge the quadrants in a big bowl of water. You pick the arils out of the pith  under water, which prevents huge sprays of juice spatter from getting everywhere. The arils are heavy so they sink to the bottom, while the lightweight pith rises to the top to be skimmed off. I prepped about half of my pomegranates ahead of time, saving them in a covered bowl in the refrigerator.

To make one batch of jelly, I picked about 7 medium to large pomegranates. (I actually picked 8, but didn’t need it all so I’m saving the rest to put on a salad.) I juiced the arils in batches in a food mill.

Again, I was being mindful of the stain factor, so I jerry-rigged a lid of sorts for the food mill out of wax paper. Classy, no?

Once I got all the juice I needed, I prepped the jars and lids for canning. (This is a long and annoying process. Just be sure to follow the directions on your jar/lid packaging or on the pectin box. Sterile = safe.)

The actual jelly-making process was very quick. Here is my recipe:

Pomegranate Jelly

(makes 6 half pints)

3-1/2 cups of fresh pomegranate juice (You can take the easy way out and buy pomegranate juice at the store but it will lack the complexity and flavor of fresh!)

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 package of powdered pectin (My original recipe called for 2 oz of pectin but the boxes at the store were all 1.75 oz. It turned out fine.)

4-1/2 cups of sugar (Don’t be shy, now! No skimping on the sugar or the jelly won’t set properly. Measure this all out before you start cooking.)

In a large, tall pot, combine the pomegranate juice, lemon juice, and pectin. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. (Apparently, you can add a little smidge of butter to your jelly if it gets too foamy as you cook it, but I didn’t need it for mine.) Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Quickly stir in your sugar and return to a full rolling boil for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir constantly. Remove from heat and skim off any foam.

You can test for consistency at this point by dripping a bit of hot jelly onto a plate or spoon and sticking it in the fridge for a couple of minutes. If it gels up, you’re done. If it doesn’t, you may have just made syrup.

Ladle your hot jelly into prepared jars, filling to 1/8 inch from the top. (A wide-mouthed funnel is very useful for this process.) Wipe the rims and threads clean and cover with lids and screw on bands. Boil the jars in a big canning pot for 5 minutes, then remove from water and let cool on a towel. You’ll hear the lids pop as they seal (my favorite part!). Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place for up to one year.

I ended up with 6 finished, sealed jars of jelly and one half jar that I put in the fridge for immediate use.

Look at that ruby red color. Of course, I made sure to clean up the sticky, jelly pot with a big hunk of bread. It tastes amazing! It’s definitely pomegranate jelly time!

“Crab is super cheap right now. We should pick some up for dinner Friday night.”

“Ooh, yeah. We could make crab cakes.”

“Or cioppino.”

“Or crab dip as an appetizer to a crab dinner. Or crab quiche. Or…” (The list went on in a Bubba from Forrest Gump talkin’ about shrimp type of fashion.)

Of course, cut to Friday night and we were so overwhelmed by the options that we ended up just having it plain with some roasted veggies, fresh sourdough bread, and a glass of wine. I’m preparing myself for the next time I have crab, though, and dug up the following recipes to consider:

Crab, Shrimp & Mango Salad with Yuzu Dressing from chef Cal Stamenov for Sunset Magazine:

(photo by Thomas J. Story)

I’m not wild about mango – it makes my tongue feel fuzzy – but I think this salad would be fantastic with pink grapefruit segments!

Crab Rangoon from Maeghan on TastyKitchen:

Helloooo, deep fried goodness! Hot cheese? Crab? In!

Dungeness Crab Potstickers from Kitchen Daily:

Don’t those little Dungeness-filled pillows look delicious? I never think to make potstickers, but they’re an easy and versatile vehicle for serving up seasonal ingredients like crab. You could also tweak this idea pretty easily to make crab ravioli!

Crab Cakes with Chipotle Aioli from Rick Bakas of Back to Bakas:

(photo by Stuart Spivack via Wikipedia)

This recipe has several things going for it. First of all, it has not one but TWO fun words in its title. Chipotle. Aioli. Good stuff. Also, it uses the corn tortilla base masa harina as the binding agent. Bonus, as a result, it’s gluten-free. Lastly, it’s a vehicle to get more crab in my belly. Mmm.

Jen recently went to the San Francisco Underground Market, which I’ve been dying to do since I first heard about it. She generously agreed to share her (drool-worthy) experience here:

Every food enthusiast loves a good farmer’s market, mostly because farmer’s markets bring the diversity and goodness of fresh local produce to our convenient urban enclaves. In a similar spirit, underground markets like the ones hosted by ForageSF, bring the goodness of home cooking to market. I attended a recent ForageSF market on a Saturday evening in Oakland.

In order to attend the event you have to become a member of ForageSF, this is because the health department doesn’t inspect the foods being served and sold at the markets and the vendors don’t carry licenses. In order to get around this technicality, ForageSF hosts the events as private parties so only members can attend. I was happy to sign up to become a member and pay the small entry fee for the event.

Once inside the gates I had to maneuver my way through the dense crowd. There were a lot of people in attendance, probably close to 1,500 people and what looked like close to 50 vendors. I didn’t want to miss any of the vendors so I started at one end of the event space and worked my way around the room, giving myself a chance to sample each vendor’s goods and chat with them about their creations. I had wonderful tamales, cheesecakes, liquor cakes, chocolates, jambalaya, deep fried ravioli, hand-pressed sunflower seed oil, sugar cane juice, vegan sausage,  jams, five different varieties of honey and so much more! It was a lot of fun to hop from one table to the next as each vendor had a unique recipe, story, and motivation behind participating in the underground market. For some it’s just about sharing a recipe, others are hobbyists who aspire to turn their specialties into side businesses and sought out the underground market as an inexpensive way to seek exposure and feedback from potential future customers.

I spoke with other attendees, many of them were equally enthusiastic about the event and felt good about the fact that they could enjoy all of the delectable treats while supporting local cooks. The event was inexpensive to attend, a great place to socialize, and a fun way to try something new – I would encourage anyone who has not already attended to check out a future underground market, whether it be one hosted by ForageSF or not, you’ll be happy you did!

The other day she forwarded to me this quiz, a visual test of different kinds of sandwiches. I scored 24/25. I’m not sure what that says about me, but I’d like to credit my high school summer job of working at a deli with my initial sandwich education. Take it and let me know how you do…and what kind of sandwich you’re craving by the time you finish. :)

This is all a very long introduction to the topic at hand: the best sandwich ever. The Sporcle quiz may have inspired a few cravings after taking it, but I always crave what I consider to be the best sandwich in the world – fresh crab, bacon, and avocado on toasted wheat. Mmm. The ingredients are only available a short time each year, but the sandwich is worth the wait.

Crab season is in full swing right now (joy!) and I particularly enjoy Dungeness Crab, the real San Francisco treat. It’s far sweeter and more tender than other varieties of crab and virtually impossible to find out of season. My preferred crab for the C-B-A sandwich is, obviously, Dungeness. Fresh picked and lightly mixed with a little mayonnaise. Delicious all by itself but perfect accompanied by crisp, salty bacon and accented with creamy avocado slices. I like it on toasted wheat bread, but I think sourdough would be apropos, too. I keep mine unadulterated – no lettuce or tomato- and just a little smear of mayo on the bread. I like to let the main ingredients shine.

Tell me this doesn’t make your mouth water! What is your favorite kind of sandwich?

Chocolate Cheesecake from The Hungry Mouse:

Yummm!! I love chocolate cheesecake like a fat kid loves….well, chocolate cheesecake. Doesn’t that look amazing?? I’m picturing it with a nice drizzle of raspberry sauce, fresh raspberries, and whipped cream. Admit it, I just made you drool a little. Or a lot, like I did.

Buckeyes from Smitten Kitchen:

Chocolate + peanut butter = heaven. It’s a real equation, I swear. I learned it in high school calculus or something. Buckeyes remind me of a story I once read in a creative writing class about someone taking long walks with their grandfather, who would pick up buckeyes and rub them between his fingers. They also remind me of the old Granary Burying Ground in Boston, the one where Paul Revere and all the founding fathers are buried. There are big buckeye trees there that drop nuts all over the place in the fall, littering that historical place with their shiny brown gems. Those associations and the purely delicious choco-peanut butter bomb-ness of these buckeye candies make me want to make them immediately. And then take a stroll through the fallen leaves eating them!

Chocolate Truffle Tart from Bakers Royale:

This tart looks elegant and delicious – perfect for, say, a holiday dinner party. Good thing it’s the season. The recipe is originally from Alice Medrich, a chocolate guru who was previously unknown to me but whose recipes I’m going to have to research further. If her other creations are as lovely as this tart, I may have found a new spiritual leader.

What’s your favorite chocolate treat? What do you eat to satisfy your sweet tooth?

This recipe is pretty fool-proof. I know this because it’s the same recipe I’ve been using ever since we made it in class in the first grade (what’s up, Mrs. Yunker!). If a classroom full of 6-year olds can make it, you know it’s easy.

Pumpkin Bread (makes 2 full size loaves or about 6 mini loaves)

3-1/2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1-1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

2/3 cup water

2 cups canned pumpkin

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients together, then add the wet ingredients. Stir well. Pour into greased & floured loaf pans. Large loaves will take a little over an hour to bake and small (1 lb.) loaves will take about 45 minutes. Test for done-ness by sticking a toothpick into the center (few crumbs = done, batter or moisture = not done). Allow to cool slightly and then gently remove from pans and enjoy!

I love the idea of using mini loaf pans. I’m a fan of mini desserts in general (I absconded with my mom’s mini muffin tins years ago and have made hundreds of delicious mini cupcakes), because I like sharing my baked goods and having smaller serving sizes. For mini loaves in the past I’ve just used the disposable kind from the grocery store, but I just saw these mini loaf pans from William-Sonoma and they have me drooling about as much as my pumpkin bread does. Maybe the Christmas elves can whip together something similar. ;)

Thanks to American Express for sponsoring my writing today about small businesses. American Express is presenting Small Business Saturday, a way to honor the local merchants who are the backbone of the economy, this Saturday, November 27. They’re offering statement credits to people who shop at small businesses, advertising for small-business owners, and donations to Girls Inc. for “Likes” of the Small Business Saturday page on Facebook. Join the celebration by clicking the “Like” button and then visiting the Facebook page to learn more about the program and read the terms and conditions that apply.

I’m jumping at the opportunity to talk about Small Business Saturday for a couple of reasons. Actually, about a million reasons, because that’s closer to the number of small business that I love. But also because I have a personal connection to Girls Inc. and know that they do fabulous work and I really appreciate the fact that American Express is supporting them. Yay for good deeds! Also, after everyone hits all the big box stores for Black Friday, how nice is it to go and support your local businesses on Saturday? So nice.

Anyway, I think the idea behind Small Business Saturday is rad and I want to share some of my favorite small businesses with you. Of course, I’ve been kind of bi-coastal for the last couple of years so I have favorite small businesses in several different locations. Being food-obsessed, I’m going to share my favorite food-related small businesses. So, here goes…

My favorite (small business) foodie havens, by city:

Boston:  Mike’s Pastry – love! Mike’s perfectly fluffy pignoli cookies (pine nut macaroon, essentially), their apricot bows, tiramisu, CANNOLI. Little bites of heaven all wrapped up in bakers twine. And one of hundreds of awesome small businesses in Boston’s North End. Mike’s is the perfect place to stop in for a cappuccino and a dessert in the middle of all your Small Business Saturday shopping.

San Francisco: The Ferry Building. Okay, this is really a collection of small businesses, but the whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts. My favorite spots to stock up on delicious bits are Miette (their butterscotch panna cotta haunts my dreams), Frog Hollow (peach turnovers, oh my!), and Cow Girl Creamery (cheese = love). Seriously, that was hard to pare my list down to only three places; I love them all. The Ferry Building is an awesome place to shop for foodie gift basket items, not to mention having a little snack of your own.

New York: Zabar’s! I adore Zabar’s for so many reasons: baked goods, imported chocolates, Spanish cocktail nut mix (really just an excuse for fancy corn nuts), prepped foods, their awesome kitchen supply loft (they have everything, including good foodie gifts). I especially appreciate the fact that Zabar’s is an institution. It’s been there forever and is a true gem. (And it makes me think of the time when I sent my friends to Zabar’s to go pick up rugelach to go with breakfast and they thought I was sending them out for arugula. Hehe.)

I could go on and on about my favorite food-related business (don’t even get me started on my favorite restaurants, clothiers, craft and fabric stores, etc.). From fantastic local cheese shops, to charcuterie stores, bakeries to farms, I love all the really great small businesses out there who support my foodie habits.

Don’t forget to “Like” Small Business Saturday on Facebook to spread the word and help out Girls Inc., and please share in the comments some of your favorite foodie small businesses!

I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as do I.

Sunday morning, I was shuffling around the kitchen half asleep when my eyes fell upon a big sack of potatoes and a huge bowl of apples, inspiring one of my favorite artery-clogging meals – potato pancakes with fresh applesauce. Now, I won’t even feign to call these latkes, even though that was the original inspiration, because they have some decidedly un-kosher ingredients: cheese and bacon. Mmm. The method is very much the same, though. Here’s the gist:

(Forgive the fuzzy photo – I took this as an afterthought using my phone. Notice the nice sheen of oil on the plate!)

Bacon & Cheddar Potato Pancakes

4 medium – large potatoes, washed & peeled

2 – 3 green onions, chopped (you could substitute an equivalent amount of chives, if you have ‘em handy)

1/4 white onion, finely minced

2 eggs

1 tablespoon flour or matzo meal

1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and diced

1/2 – 2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

salt & pepper to taste (really, this is a trial and error process, you’ll have to fry at least one pancake to test)

lots of vegetable oil

Grate the potatoes into a large bowl with a little water in it. Keeping the potatoes somewhat submerged will help prevent discoloration due to oxidization. You don’t want to use too much water, though, or you’ll end up rinsing away a lot of the starch when you drain the water off. After you’re arm is putty and you’re done grating the potatoes, carefully drain the water out of the bowl. (You can remove more moisture by gently patting with paper towels.) Add the eggs, onions, seasonings, flour, bacon and cheese, and stir to combine.

Heat about an inch of oil in a pan until an appropriate frying temperature. (I test the temperature by carefully dripping one drop of water in the pan – when it spits back angrily, it’s ready.) Drop the mixture by large tablespoonfuls into the oil to form individual patties. I aim for patties that are about 3″ in diameter. Flip once or twice until both sides are golden brown and crispy. Remove and drain on a paper towel covered plate. You can keep the pancakes warm while you cook the rest of the batch by sticking the plate in a 200 degree oven in-between rounds. You may need to add additional oil and allow to reheat as you cook, since the pancakes will be absorbing some of it. Serve with applesauce (see below), sour cream, or ketchup. Makes about 16 pancakes.

Applesauce

6 – 8 apples, peeled, cored (wisdom says that some varieties are better than others to use for cooking, but to be honest I’m pretty indiscriminate)

water or apple juice

sugar to taste

cinnamon

Applesauce is super easy to make and it makes the house smell amazing. Measurements are totally dependent on how sweet your apples are and how much you like cinnamon. Cut your prepped apples into large chunks and cook over medium high heat in a large pot with about an inch of water or apple juice in it. (The apple juice will help sweeten the sauce, so if you use that instead of water you may not need to add any sugar.) Stir periodically as the apples cook down. Add several hearty shakes of cinnamon and sugar, as desired. When the apples are thoroughly softened, mash with a potato masher or large fork. Serve warm. Preferably with bacon-cheddar potato pancakes!

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Sage Butter from Greg Atkinson for The Seattle Times (photo by Ken Lambert):

I adore fresh gnocchi and these silken little pillows of goodness are calling to me. They look velvety smooth and delicious. Who says gnocchi has to be made with potatoes? Pumpkin mine up, sir!

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes from Nikki at Pennies on a Platter:

I’m not always the biggest pancake fan in the world, but I can practically taste these already! I’m picturing them with lots of fluffy cinnamon-spiced whipped cream. What better way to start a crisp fall day than with warm pumpkin pancakes? Yum!

Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins from Cara over at The Picky Apple:

My friend Satoko originally brought this recipe to my attention and I was all, “Huh? What in the heck are donut muffins??” Once I saw a picture of these bad boys, though, my mouth went all Pavlovian and my brain went all Homer Simpson and I was sold. A donut muffin. Brilliant.

What are your favorite pumpkin recipes?

Oven-Baked Tater Tots from Pennies on a Platter:

I love tater tots! To me, they’re perfect for Big Game because I ate an inordinate amount of tater tots during my freshman year at Cal. Well, tater tots, sugar cereal, and salads. The dorm cafeteria wasn’t great, but it had what I needed.

In keeping with the savory potato line of thinking, these Rustic 5-Spice Potato Chips from The Hungry Mouse look pretty good, too:

I’ve been wanting a mandolin for some time now and these chips might just be the perfect excuse to get one!

Joelen‘s Spicy Lime and Honey Chicken Wings look like a great game time snack, too:

I enjoy eating wings, but hate the mess of buffalo-style wings (particularly when it’s at someone’s house and not at a restaurant where you can expect them to clean up the mess!). These honey lime wings seem like a tasty take on a non-traditional wing.

And what tailgate is complete without cocktails? I love the idea behind these Strawberry Margarita Jell-O Shooters from Bakers Royale:

I’ve had similar jello shooters using orange wedges before and the fruit and jello combo is a winner. I’m going to ignore that these are red, like Stanford’s jerseys, and just appreciate a good use of the fall strawberries that are appearing at farm stands right now.

Let’s hope Cal is a winner this weekend, too. Go Bears!!

This bit of gustatory bastardization comes courtesy of my friend JP, who knows I love ridiculous things on the internet. He said he’d be into if it weren’t for the sweet potatoes. I’m not sure I’d be so easily swayed. It contains layers of some sort of turkey mash, stuffing, cranberry sauce, candied sweet potatoes, and a mashed potato frosting. Gravy optional. Take that, cherpumple!

Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients:
4 – 5 leeks, chopped and rinsed (discard the roots & greens)
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
3/4 stick of butter
4 – 5 potatoes, all but one or two should be peeled, all diced
1 cup chopped cauliflower
5 – 6 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
salt
pepper

The trick to prepping leeks is to chop off the top green parts and the very bottom by the roots. Then run your knife lengthwise down the stalk to cut it in half. Line up your halves side by side and chop into small pieces. Put the chopped leeks into a bowl of cool water and swirl and swish around to remove any dirt or dust. (Dirt usually manages to find its way into every little fold and layer of the leek.) Remove the leeks from the bowl with your hands, leaving the dirty water behind!

For the soup, saute the chopped leeks and garlic in half of the butter over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, or until leeks are tender. Add the chicken broth, cauliflower, potatoes, and bay leaf. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through. Remove the bay leaf. Add salt & pepper to taste. Blend 2/3 of the mixture and add it back into the pot (the combo of chunky and creamy lends a nice consistency).

Add the rest of the butter for a little richness. This soup tastes great as leftovers, too. It’s perfect for making a big batch and savoring it over a couple of days.

Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Gratin from Pinch My Salt:

Have I told you how much I love butternut squash? This hot cheesy goodness sounds like just the thing to cure what ails me!

Seared Brussels Sprouts with Bacon from Serious Eats’ The Food Lab:

Did you know that there’s an ‘S’ on the end – BrusselS sprouts?? Whaddya know. You learn something new every day. Like how to make your Brussels sprouts taste awesome with bacon. Because bacon makes everything better.

Butterscotch Pudding from Simply Recipes‘ guest poster Garrett McCord of Vanilla Garlic:

I want to go to there. Seriously, this pudding looks amazing to me right now. All silky smooth down my scratchy throat. Mmm, hmm. A little bit of cold p0rn.

What are you cooking up this weekend?

Now, here’s a shot of our yummy lunch:

Bacon mac and cheese and dijon vinaigrette salad, with chai blondies and Noe Valley Bakery cupcakes for dessert! Lilly made the blondies and they were delicious – butterscotch chips, coconut, and macadamia nuts in a tasty spiced blondie base. She’s promised to send the recipe, so I’ll be sure to share that soon. The cupcakes were also great. NVB makes these awesome classed-up Hostess cupcake knock-offs called Mostess cupcakes. Mmm, so good! Heaven!

The salad was a nice combo of crispy cabbage, tender greens, and crunchy carrots, cucumbers and apples. Perfect alongside the richness of the bacon mac and cheese.

The macaroni recipe is a spruced up version of the basic Joy of Cooking baked macaroni and cheese recipe. I’ve made it so many times, I have it memorized (though the bacon was a new addition).

Bacon Macaroni and Cheese

8 ounces of your preferred style of macaroni noodles (I like rotini because they hold the cheese nicely but orechietti or elbows would also work well)

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

2 cups milk

1/2 onion, diced

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/2 to 3/4 cup frozen peas

2 and 1/4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (Or more, if you like cheese! Also, consider trying different kinds of cheese to add new flavors. I added some Manchego I had on hand this time, but other hard or semi-soft cheese are delicious, too!)

salt & pepper to taste

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs

5 slices of cooked bacon (this lends a smokey flavor, I think pancetta would do well if you want the saltiness without the smoke), diced

Bring 6 cups water and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to rolling boil in medium saucepan. Add pasta and cook until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, about 3 minutes. This will be the thickener for your sauce. Gradually whisk in milk. Stir in onion, bay leaf and paprika. Simmer gently, stirring often, for 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove bay leaf. Stir in frozen peas, cooked bacon, and prepared noodles. Pour half of mixture into greased, deep 9″x9″ baking dish and sprinkle with half of remaining cheese. Top with remaining noodles and remaining cheese.

Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in small skillet over medium heat. Add bread crumbs and toss to coat. Sprinkle buttered crumbs over top of macaroni. Bake at 350F. until bread crumbs are lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Yum!

Now for the obligatory photo of my ridiculously cute niece in her Halloween costume. Adorbz!

And feel free to admire the fanciest Halloween pumpkins my crew has ever carved. I made the bat on the end. I didn’t get the cat memo, apparently. Oh well, at least they rhyme. :)

The quince paste recipe came from an old Mexican cookbook, then altered by my dad (the recipe was in English, yet he still found a way to reinterpret it!). Regardless, it’s an error he’s made many times over and it still yields tasty results.

Quince Paste

6 medium to large quinces, washed, peeled, cored, and sliced into large chunks. (This number is totally arbitrary, the recipe pretty much just has you match equivalent amounts of cooked down quince and sugar. I used 6 quinces today and yielded about 6 cups of pulp when cooked.) Note: quinces can be a pain to peel. They’re really dry, so it’s kind of like trying to peel a sawdust fruit. Do your best, I don’t think it’s the end of the world if you miss some spots.

water to boil (just about an inch over the level of the cut up quinces)

6 cups of sugar (or, as I said, equivalent to the number of cups of cooked pulp you’re using)

Using an extra large tall-sided pot, boil the quince chunks in water until tender, approximately 30 minutes. Drain off the liquid (this is the controversial bit from the recipe to my dad’s translation) and then run the softened chunks through a Foley Food Mill to mash the fruit and remove any solids.

In the same cooking pot, stir together 2 cups of the quince pulp and 2 cups of sugar. The tall pot is crucial here, as is an oven mitt, because the quince will spit and splatter as it cooks. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides of the pot to prevent sugar crystals from forming on the sides.

The mixture will darken to a pinkish-brown color and thicken noticeably. The mixture is done when the quince paste is thick and starts to pull together a bit as you stir it, approximately 25 minutes. Spoon at once into loaf pans or small trays to cool. Repeat cooking process with the remaining pulp and sugar until done. You don’t need to rinse the pot out in-between and you probably shouldn’t do more than 2 cups per go-round to avoid bubbling over. (With my 6 quinces today, I ended up with 3 batches.)

Allow to cool. The candy can be removed from the pans, wrapped with plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator. Enjoy with a nice, nutty Spanish cheese!

Next, I made quince jam. That process was even more time consuming, as canning requires several steps to sterilize the jars and lids. I used a recipe from Simply Recipes and followed canning instructions from the canning lids packaging. Here’s the recipe:

Quince Jam

6 cups (packed) of quince, washed, grated (discard cores, leave peel on), from about 2 lbs of quince (about 5 – 6 quince)
4 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tbsp lemon zest
4 cups sugar

Prepare the quince by washing and cutting in half. Working around the core, grate the quince flesh (including the peel) with a cheese grater, until you have about 6 cups of grated quince. Put water in a large, wide, thick-bottomed saucepan (6-8 quarts) and bring to a boil. Add the grated quince, lemon juice and lemon zest. Reduce heat and simmer until the quince is soft, about 10 minutes.

Add the sugar and bring to a boil again. Stir to dissolve all of the sugar. Lower the heat to medium high. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally until quince jam turns pink and thickens to desired consistency, about 30-50 minutes. Ladle into hot, sterilized canning jars* and seal. Before applying the lids, sterilize the lids by placing them in a bowl and pouring boiling water over them. Wipe the rims of the jars clean before applying the lids.

* To sterilize the jars, rinse out the jars, dry them, and place them, without lids, in a 200°F oven for 10 minutes, or boil in a canning container or large pot for 10 minutes. Follow instructions on the lid packaging for sterilizing and prepping lids and rings. Keep both lids and jars in very hot water until ready to use.

Makes about 5 half-pints. Note: Mine made about 8 half-pints somehow, so you may want to prep extra jars and lids, just in case.

Aren’t my little tags cute? I’ve actually never had quince jam before, but I can’t wait to try it out! Maybe after I take a shower to rinse all the extra sugar off of me, though.

Apple Cider Doughnuts from Smitten Kitchen:

Holy wow, these look amazing, don’t they?? They remind me of Russell Orchards and all their scrumdiddlyumptiousness. I was first introduced to apple cider doughnuts by one of my b-school professors who brought them in as a peace-offering for making us come to class on a Saturday morning. It was totally worth it. I want these now!

Pumpkin Seed Brittle from Gourmet via Epicurious:

I’ve wanted to make my own brittle for a while now, and this seems like the perfect seasonal recipe to do it. If my pumpkin seeds make it past the annual Halloween night roasting, this may become their destiny.

Quince and Apple Tart from Apartment Therapy’s The Kitchn:

I’m kind of obsessed with quinces right now and waiting impatiently for my tree to ripen! If you’ve never had quince, their fragrance and flavor are intoxicating! Apparently they’re related to the rose, hence the perfume-y smell, but they’re kind of apple-like in their appearance. You can’t eat them raw, but this recipe sounds like the perfect way to get them in my belly. I’m also looking forward to making membrillo (Spanish-style quince paste, *amazing* with manchego!!), as well as quince jam and jelly. Oh yes, little fruits, I have plans for you. Stay tuned for adventures in quince-land!

Lentil Soup

1/2 lb. dry lentils

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 large link of turkey sausage (I usually keep one of those turkey kielbasa rings in the freezer and chop up about 1/4 to 1/3 of it for this soup)

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 celery stalk, diced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

1 garlic clove, finelyminced

4 cups of chicken broth

salt and pepper to taste (you probably won’t need much, if any, salt depending on your broth and meat choices)

Sort and rinse your lentils.  In a medium to large saucepan, heat the oil over medium  heat.  Stir in the sausage, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and saute until tender.  Add the lentils and broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until the lentils are tender and soup thickens up (about 1 hour).  (Keep an eye on your water level and add more as needed.)  Serves 3-4.

I lived off of this soup last winter. It’s the perfect thing to have on the stove when it’s cold out!

In addition, I made an awesome chicken pot pie the other night. This was after roasting a couple of chickens the night before – one for eating and one for the pot pie.

Recipe: Roasted Chicken

Ingredients:
1 roasting chicken, innards removed, bird rinsed and dried
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 lemon
1/2 onion, in large chunks
several garlic cloves, peeled
2 carrots, cut into chunks
1 celery stalk, cut into chunks
2-4 Tbsp butter, slightly softened

My recipe for roasted chicken is very simple. I just mix some herbs and spices (salt, pepper, sage, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder) and rub them under the skin, directly on the meat. Then, I stuff the cavity with fresh lemon wedges, and large chunks of onion, garlic, carrots and celery. I tie up the legs to keep all that stuff inside the bird, then rub the outside with butter. I roast the chicken in a 375 degree oven for a bit on its back, then flip it over to let the breast meat collect some of those pan juices, flipping again another third of the way cooking to help brown up the skin again. Cooking time will vary based on the size of your bird, but mine were about 4-5 lbs each and took approximately an hour and forty minutes to cook.  The rotation helped the white meat get nice and flavorful without drying out. Yum!

Recipe: Chicken Pot Pie

The chicken pot pie was a first for me – I cribbed a recipe I found online and made some of my own modifications based on my tastes. First, I stripped the meat off the extra roasted chicken and set aside the cooked veggies from the cavity (so long, lemon!). I diced the chicken and vegetables, along with some new vegetables (carrots, celery, onion, mushrooms, potatoes). I melted 3 – 4 tablespoons of butter and sauteed the uncooked carrots, onion, and celery until they were slightly softened. I added in about 1/2 of a cup of flour and stirred a few minutes until the butter and flour formed a thick paste. (If you’ve ever made a roux before, this should all be familiar.) I added about 1/2 cup of white wine (I happened to have some open Viognier in the fridge that smelled great while cooking and enhanced the flavor nicely). With the roux and the wine and all, the recipe kind of reminded me of a cross between macaroni and cheese and a risotto. Either direction, I knew it had to be good!

I added a couple of cans (approx. 30 oz total) of chicken broth to the pot and let it cook down until the sauce started to thicken. I added finely diced potatoes, frozen peas, and some fresh chopped parsley, and let the mixture cook down some more. When the sauce reached the desired thickness, I added in the chicken and cooked vegetables, seasoned with pepper and salt to taste, then let the whole thing cool a bit.

While the pot part of the pot pie cooled, I prepared the pie part. Now, you could totally go the easy route here and get a pre-made crust or some refrigerator crescent rolls or puff pastry or something. I’m definitely not going to judge, since making pastry can be a pain in the you-know-what. The pastry that the original recipe called for was okay, but not great. The recipe made twice what I needed and I thought the finished product was a little dry and crumbly, so I’m not going to bother writing it in here. You go with whatever you like best. Personally, I’m going to go for my mom’s meatloaf pastry crust next time – which reminds me, I’m going to have to share that recipe with you!

Scoop all your delicious pot pie filling into an oven-safe dish and lay the pastry dough over it, cutting slits to vent. Cook in the top 1/3 of a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until your pastry is golden brown. Let it rest for a few minutes so you don’t burn your tongue, then dig in! With a nice side salad, it’s a hearty fall meal perfect for the cooling weather.

Ohmysweetnothings, these are good cookies! Look at all those delicious crags of nuts and chocolate!

I’m meeting up with friends tonight to watch a play that one of them stage managed and we’re having a little potluck picnic beforehand. I have a bottle of pinot to share and wanted to make something chocolate-y to go with it. Voila, these decadently sweet double chocolate cookies! The recipe is new to me, but clipped from a Hershey’s advertisement many moons ago. Here it is, with my notes:

Hershey’s Doubly Chocolate Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1-1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup cocoa – of course, the recipe specifies Hershey’s ;)

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (can you guess which brand?)

1/2 coarsely chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350. In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. In another bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda & salt. Mix dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes until just set. Cool slightly on pan, remove to wire racks. Cool completely before storing. Makes 4-1/2 dozen cookies.

My notes: I halved the recipe, since I have no need for quite so many cookies (want, maybe, but not need!). Instead of plain chocolate chips, I used a combination of peanut butter chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips (I only had mini, so the result is that you get little bits of chocolate throughout), and a scattering of white chocolate chips. I used slightly more chips than the recipe calls for (about 1-1/4 cups instead of the 1 cup my halved recipe needed). For the nuts I used chopped pecans, but I think walnuts would work equally well.

The end results are awesome, but I have to warn you – the batter is amazing, too – you might not end up with as quite many finished cookies as planned. :)

Snickerdoodles

1-1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup (one stick) butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375. Prep a cookie sheet with non-stick spray.

In one bowl, mix dry ingredients: flour, salt, cream of tartar, and baking soda.

In another (larger) bowl, cream:  butter and 3/4 cup sugar. Mix in egg and vanilla extract.

In a small bowl, stir together: 2 Tbsp. sugar and the ground cinnamon.

Slowly mix dry ingredients into butter mixture so that a soft dough forms. Roll dough into 1″ balls and roll in cinnamon & sugar. Place 2″ apart on the greased cookie sheet and bake 8 – 10 minutes. Let cool slightly before eating. Makes about 2 dozen cookies. Enjoy!

This super delicious-looking Harvest Cheese Bread Wreath from The Hungry Mouse:

Holy wow, does that look good! Some serious cheesy-carb-y goodness there. Perfect to go with…

A nice warm bowl of Hearty Spinach and Sausage Soup from Pinch My Salt:

Don’t you feel cozier just looking at that big bowl of chunky soup? Of course, if you’re like me you’re going to want something sweet to finish your meal. How about…

A handful of Brown Sugar Caramel Corn with Fleur de Sel by Yummy Supper:

Doesn’t that all sound like the perfect autumn meal? Now add a nice glass of wine or a mug of hot cider and you’re all set!

Do you have favorite fall recipes? What’s got your taste buds dancing these days?

Me? I nerd out over a lot of different things. Lately, I’m nerding out over arts & crafts. Knitting, sewing, other fiber and fabric crafts, paper crafting, photography…you name it, I’m all over it like  digits on a 12-sided dice.

Here are some of the craft projects that I’ve been admiring lately:

Star Wars Amigurumi Figures by Lucy Collins of LucyRavenscar – Crochet Creatures

This is for the multi-layer nerd in me. I love Star Wars and I love these figures!! I’ve been wanting to learn how to crochet just so that I can make amigurumi and these adorable patterns might just be the inspiration I needed.

How could you not love this?? And here I thought Ewoks couldn’t get any cuter.

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I’ve also been admiring these homemade stamps by Lindsay over at Shrimp Salad Circus. I learned how to do this linoleum block stamping technique way back in the day, but I’m thinking it might be time to get back into it. I love the hand-done look of it, kind of like woodblock printing but without the splinters.

Wouldn’t a nice rustic stamp be great for making holiday gift tags?

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Lastly, I like this great re-purposing of an old red wagon into a serving tray by Cathe Holden at Just Something I Made:

Isn’t that a great use of a salvaged toy wagon? I think it’s so charming – I know just who I would make this for (you know, aside from keeping it all for myself).

What projects are  you working on currently? What inspires your inner nerd?

I mastered the first step, washing and cutting the figs. You know, because a raccoon could do that.

I mastered the next step, applying honey and then topping the figs with blue cheese:

The part that I didn’t quite get down was the melting. I wasn’t sure whether to bake or broil, so I chose to bake. Except it wasn’t melting the cheese. Even after 15 – 20 minutes in the oven, the cheese was still intact. So, at that point I decided to broil. And then my friend Lilly and I wandered away from the kitchen and started watching television, forgetting about the figs until the smoke detector started going off about five minutes later. Yup, you know things are going south when the smoke detector starts screaming at you.

Instead of lovely cheesy fig bites, we had melted molten figs:

I wish I could say that they still tasted good, but they were so over-cooked at that point that they were pretty much flavorless…well, except for the slightly burned blue cheese flavor. Not one of my finest moments in the kitchen.

Fortunately, for every kitchen failure I’ve ever had there have been many times more successes. This weekend, redemption came in the form of fresh plum crisp.

The recipe was pulled from Epicurious, originally in Bon Appetit in May 1993. Here it is as it appears on the website:

Plum Crumble

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/3 cup plus 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

• 2 pounds plums, halved, pitted, cut into wedges
• 1 tablespoon plum brandy or Port

Mix flour, oats, 1/3 cup sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl. Add butter and rub with fingertips until mixture forms coarse meal. Press with fingertips until mixture begins to form moist clumps. (Crumb topping can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Toss plums, remaining 1/2 cup sugar and brandy in medium bowl. Transfer to 9-inch deep-dish pie dish. Sprinkle crumb topping over. Bake until fruit bubbles and topping browns, about 1 hour. Cool slightly. Serve with ice cream.

**My notes: We didn’t have brandy or port, so we substituted a teaspoon of vanilla extract instead. I also threw a pinch of ground cloves into the topping mixture. It was done after about 45 minutes, not an hour as stated in the recipe (I learned my over-baking lesson from the figs). (You could also use peaches…I repeated it tonight with fresh peaches and it was great!)

It was AMAZING!! The crumble topping was delicious and the fruit was sweet and gooey and warm. With a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it’s the perfect end-of-summer dessert.

Vintage button flower earrings from Life Through the Lens:

Silk flower belt/headband from Shrimp Salad Circus:

Felted flowers from The Pickled Herring:

Aren’t they all lovely? And each project seems fairly simple and inexpensive to do – my kind of crafts!

What’s inspiring you lately?

He’s the most talkative cat I’ve ever met, the kitty version of a Chatty Cathy… a Chatty Catty??

His owners have a nice blender (woohoo!) so I’ve been making banana nutella smoothies while I’m here:

They’re delicious. Just blend together 2 frozen bananas (let thaw briefly to make peeling easier), a couple of tablespoons of Nutella, and about 1/3 cup of nonfat milk. Perfect for breakfast or dessert!

My cat-sitting has coincided with having a cold and viral conjunctivitis, so the cat and I have both been curled up on the couch lately, quarantined. I was finally feeling a little better yesterday, so a friend baked beer cupcakes (!) and came over for bacon pizza from our favorite local pizza joint. She made the cupcakes in these adorable silicon teacup molds, using Blue Moon‘s Honey Moon Summer Ale and plenty of real honey. Sticky sweet and good!

The Hungry Mouse’s Drunken Coffee Jello – This grown-up version of Knox Blocks looks divine. I think I might try to make either Earl Grey tea or chai latte versions with plenty of dollops of fresh whipped cream.

Smitten Kitchen’s Everyday Chocolate Cake - I must have a sweet tooth this week, because looking at this rich, moist chocolate cake makes me want to crawl through my computer screen. Can’t wait to make this and serve it up with an ice cold glass of milk. On a side note, I just love Smitten Kitchen‘s food photography. She has wonderful natural light for her shots and great counter tops to give nice contrast to her photos.

Chocolate Nutella Cookies from Garrett McCord‘s guest post on Simply Recipes – Yes, okay fine, I definitely have a sweet tooth. I’ve been on a Nutella kick lately after having a banana-Nutella smoothie recently, and these cookies look amazing way to scratch that Nutella itch!

Do you have a favorite food blog or post to share?

“Sri Wasano’s Infamous Indonesian Rice Salad” – edited by the HungryCook

~ 2 cups cooked brown rice (despite my normal cooking prowess I’m somehow terrible at making rice, so I usually cheat and just buy the prepared packaged brown rice at Trader Joe’s, it’s actually about 1.5 cups)

1/2 cucumber, diced

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

2 scallions, chopped

1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts (unsalted)

1/3 cup raisins

Dressing:

1/4 cup canola or peanut oil

1.5 tablespoons sesame oil

juice of one orange

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 tablespoon honey (this is approximate, depending on the sweetness of the orange)

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

Mix dry ingredients together. In a separate dish, mix together the dressing (this is to make sure it has the right balance of saltiness/sweetness/tang/etc. before you mix it all together). Stir dressing into rice mixture and let marinate for at least a half hour before eating, so that the rice has time to absorb the flavors of the dressing. Yields 4-6 servings.

To me, this salad is the perfect blend of flavors and textures – a great warm weather side dish. Enjoy!

My corn salad is a go-to summertime treat, particularly since I love the flavor of raw corn. In fact, everything in it is raw, which I think is what keeps it from being a succotash. Here’s my recipe:

Corn Salad
2 ears of corn, kernels cut off of the cob
1/2 of a red or green bell pepper, diced
1/3 of a red onion, very finely diced
1-2 cups of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 cup cucumber, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
dash of salt & a hearty grind of fresh pepper
Optional additions: 1/4 cup chopped basil, or some diced avocado.

Mix everything together and enjoy. If I’m making it as an accompaniment to Italian food, I make sure to add basil, but you could add cilantro instead if you want to serve the salad with Mexican food or another cuisine. I love the fresh flavors and taking advantage of all those great seasonal vegetables!

The falafel sandwiches were easy to make because of shortcuts like using a mix and store-bought hummus. I love the ease, but crave fresh hummus and falafel (even pita!). Do you have a good recipe for homemade falafel or hummus? If so, please share!

Here’s the recipe:

Prosciutto & Kale Quiche

1 tbsp butter

1/2 chopped onion

1 1/2 cups chopped kale

1/2 chopped bell pepper

1 cup shredded cheese (I used a mix of cheddar, jack, and mozzerella)

4 eggs

1/2 cup cream

salt & pepper

2 slices of prosciutto, diced

1 prepared pie crust (I used a whole wheat crust from the grocery store)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Melt the butter and saute the onion until translucent. Add the kale and bell pepper and continue cooking until softened (the kale should still be bright green, not overcooked).

Sprinkle the shredded cheese on the uncooked pie crust.

Top the cheese with the cooked kale mixture. Top that with the diced prosciutto. Beat together the eggs, cream, and a healthy dash of salt and pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables.

Bake until the filling is set – approximately 50 minutes. Cool slightly and cut into wedges to serve.

Yum! Tasty the day you make it and the perfect easy weekday breakfast as leftovers.

Look how bright and cheery these flowers are! I don’t buy fresh flowers when it’s this warm out (they die almost immediately), but I admired them from afar.

I especially appreciated it when I was taking this shot and the woman in line behind me tapped my shoulder and, eyes twinkling, pointed silently at the woman behind her wearing a shirt with the exact same pattern as the swirly purple and white eggplants.

Love how they merchandised these potatoes – alternating red and white in the natural wood baskets.

A woman with similar hair had this adorable service dog with her. He was a happy guy, enjoying the crowd and fresh air just like the rest of us.

Today, I couldn’t resist buying more almond macaroons, a sourdough batard (you, sir, are going to be part of a tuna melt!), kale, bell peppers, heirloom tomatoes, and corn. I’m going to make a corn/tomato/pepper salad and a veggie quiche with my goodies.

Creamy, cool chocolate ice cream from Simply Recipes:

Grilled corn with feta and lime vinaigrette from the multi-talented Matt Bites:

Peach blueberry cobbler by Smitten Kitchen:

Don’t they look amazing?? So perfect for the weather and what’s available at the farmer’s market right now. Delicious – can’t wait to put these recipes to the test!

Rigatoni alla Delicious (for lack of a better name)

6 – 8 oz mezzi rigatoni (these are the little half rigatoni shapes, but you could use any smallish pasta)

water

1/2 jar of pasta sauce

1/4 diced onion

1 clove of garlic, finely diced

salt to taste

1/2 cup chopped kale

1/2 cup diced zucchini

1/4 cup chopped basil

1/2 lb. seasoned ground beef (or turkey), pre-cooked

1/2 ball of fresh mozzarella, sliced thinly

Instead of doing the usual boiling of the pasta, I browned the pasta over medium heat in a big pan with some oil.

Browning the pasta ahead of time gives it a richer, nuttier flavor. After the pasta toasts up a bit, add the onion and garlic and stir fry for a minute or two.

Add water to cover the pasta and about 1/3 of the jarred marinara sauce. Let the water come up to a boil, stirring occasionally.

Add the chopped kale and salt and let cook down a bit. Add the next 1/3 of the pasta sauce and a little more water to keep the pasta simmering.

Stir in 1/2 of the chopped basil and the zucchini. When the water is close to absorbed and the pasta is al dente, add the rest of the pasta sauce, the ground beef, and lay the mozzarella rounds on top. Cover and reduce heat to simmer for a few minutes to let the flavors blend and let the steam melt the cheese.

Right before serving, top with the remaining basil. The dish serves 3-4 people, depending on how hungry they are. The best part is that because of the cooking process, the pasta absorbs a lot of the flavors and is just the right amount of saucy. It looks almost as good as it tastes!

First, I made the promised Caprese salad (named after the Italian island of Capri, one of the prettiest places on Earth), using red heirloom tomatoes, basil, fresh mozzarella (get the kind swimming in water, not wrapped in plastic), salt & pepper, olive oil, and a little balsamic vinegar. I accented it with that great rosemary foccacia to help sop up all the tasty juices. Nothing to cook or heat up the kitchen – the perfect summertime treat.

I’m going to have to pick up some prosciutto and cibatta to turn the rest of the mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes  into a tasty sandwich, too.

Yesterday I turned the fresh ground beef from the farmer’s market into Mediterranean burgers. I call them that simply because the beef is seasoned a little differently than regular burgers and they’re served in pita pockets.

Mediterranean Hamburgers

Meat:

1 lb ground beef

1/2 onion, finely diced,

1 -2 cloves of garlic, diced

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp basil (if using fresh, use 1 tsp)

salt & pepper to taste

Condiments & Additions:

tomato, sliced thin

lettuce leaves, rinsed and dried

1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced

sauce made with a 2-2-1 ratio of mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard

pita bread

To make Mediterranean burgers, cook ground beef over med-high heat with plenty of diced onion, garlic, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. You can also throw in some in diced red bell pepper to add a little more flavor. If you have time, you can grill up onions, too, since they’re a great addition. To dress the burger, I use tomato slices, mixed salad greens, and special sauce (just a mixture of ketchup, mustard & mayonnaise). Sometimes, I also throw in thinly chopped cucumbers, as well. Layer all the ingredients into fresh pitas and you’re set for a quick, tasty meal.

Here are some of my scores:

GREEN ZEBRAS!!! My favorite kind of tomato – the Green Zebra heirloom tomato is finally here! I usually think of it as a late-summer tomato, so I was delighted to nab a few today.

Tiny little apricots. I’ve been drooling over the thought of apricots since my dad announced that their tree has been especially bountiful this year. Glad to get some for myself!

Big bushy bunches of basil…yum! The smell alone is intoxicating, never mind all the delicious things I’m going to do with this herb. Like, pairing it with those sweet green heirlooms!

I also picked up: nectarines, English peas (thinking these would go great in risotto or with fresh pasta!), more heirloom tomatoes, ground beef, and a big loaf of fresh rosemary foccacia. I eventually made it to the grocery store, too, where I got the perfect big, fat fresh mozzarella balls to make an awesome Caprese salad with my farmer’s market finds.

Here’s the recipe:

Mini Cheesecakes

2 large packages of cream cheese (I use low-fat)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I use real, not imitation)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3/4 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix ingredients with an electric hand mixer until the batter is smooth. Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cups. Place 1 vanilla wafer cookie in each cup and fill 2/3 full with filling. Bake 20 minutes. Let cool.

For topping the cooled cheesecakes, you can either use canned cherry pie filling or if you want to take advantage of all the delicious ripe summer berries, you can stir them together with a fruit glaze or even a little jelly (something to make the berries adhere to the cheesecake and help sweeten them up a bit if they’re too tart). I think the blueberries and raspberries I picked the other day would have been perfect for a dessert like this. Of course, that is if I hadn’t eaten them all! :)

If you want to take advantage of the great deals with the CleverGirls Wine Club, just click on the logo or here. Right now, they’re offering free shipping on purchases of 3 bottles or more and discounts on most bottles. They’ve even got an Amador County Zin right now, which is from right around the corner from where I grew up. Go California wine!

They’re vanilla cupcakes (with sesame seeds on top), cute in half, with a brownie “burger patty” in the middle, an orange Fruit Roll-Up as the “cheese”, red frosting as the ketchup and green tinted coconut for lettuce. Aren’t they cute??

I can’t wait to surprise her with them tomorrow!!

Briskett with Roasted Vegetables

brisket
brown sugar
pepper
2 onions
envelope of dry onion soup mix
baby carrots

Preheat oven to 300. Slice onions into rings. place one layer of onions on bottom of the pan. Rinse the brisket if needed. Rub brisket with brown sugar and sprinkle with pepper to taste. Place brisket in pan, fat side up. Sprinkle the onion soup mix over the top. Add some more onions to the top. Reserve a few onion slices for later. Cover TIGHTLY with aluminum foil. Cook according to the Lose Weight Exercise/time directions on the brisket package. When there is 1 hour remaining, add the baby carrots and the remaining onions and cover tightly again.

*NB: Do not under any circumstances peek or allow anyone else to peek at the brisket while it is cooking or the meat will dry out!

Fruit & Macaroon Tart

Crust:

Cauliflower Latkes

Boil cauliflower till soft, mash and mix with eggs and a little matzoh meal and then fry with oil. (Super simple, but these are so good! Try it with broccoli, too!)

It was chocolatey and delicious. I decorated it with meringue mushrooms and marzipan greenery.

The sponge cake recipe came from the December issue of Martha Stewart Living and you can find it here. For the filling, I made the easiest filling I could think of – Cool Whip (1 tub, defrosted), mixed with one small package of chocolate instant pudding and 8oz of mandarin orange slices including the syrup. Bake the sponge cake and when done immediately turn it out onto a clean dry dish towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Roll the cake up (with the dish towel separating it as its rolled) and let cool. This will help keep the cake from cracking when you apply the filling. When the cake is cooled, un-roll and spread the filling out, rolling back up as you go along. Place the filled cake seam side down on your serving platter and frost with your favorite frosting. I’d recommend a nice chocolate buttercream, but I was in a hurry so I cheated and used store-bought frosting and then applied some texture with the remaining filling.

For the meringue mushrooms, I used this recipe. I ended up letting the meringues dry out in the oven all night (turned off, of course). The meringues started getting sticky every time I pulled them out of the oven, so I think it must’ve been too humid in the kitchen. The ones that I packaged up immediately survived nicely.

To decorate the cake, I used frosting to affix the mushroom stems to the caps and dusted them with cocoa powder to make them look a little more authentic. I dyed marizpan with food coloring and shaped leaves and stems by hand. I included a little lady bug and some berries, too, for color.

Mexican Wedding Cakes

(Set oven to 325 degrees.)

• 1 C. butter
• 1/2 C. sifted powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 C. flour
• 1/2 C. finely chopped pecans
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• more powdered sugar!

Cream the butter, 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, and vanilla together. Separately, combine the flour, pecans, and salt. Add the dry goods to the creamed mixture. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes til lightly browned. Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar and cook on wire racks. When cool, roll again in more powdered sugar. Makes 36.

-Recipe from: Better Homes & Gardens Mexican Cook Book (c. 1977)

Cappuccino Fudge Cheesecake

Coffee Toffee

Vanilla Roasted Pears

Not only do their recipes sound amazing, they look gorgeous, too. Got to appreciate well done food porn.

Corn pudding and acorn squash (no idea what corn pudding is, but I love the idea of using a squash as a container)

New England Fish Chowder (locally appropriate)

Date Spice Loaf (I made pumpkin bread last week. Amazing, as always, but this might be a new twist to try.)

Simply Recipes’s sauteed shrimp with warm tropical salsa

Vegan YumYum’s potato salad with herbed dijon vinaigrette

101 Cookbooks’s hummus en fuego (although Trader Joe’s mediterranean hummus is my go to!)

I’m also craving chili oil roasted whole pod fava beans from Ubuntu in Napa. Mmm….so good. Where’s a girl to get favas in this town?

Right now, however, I’m taking a quiet moment before my next team meeting to drool over the following recipes:

Whipped Brie puffs

Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

Deep fried mac n’ cheese bacon bites (yeah, you read that right!)

This fall, I was all about tuna noodle casserole for some reason. The cheesy, starchy goodness was perfect for cold weather. Click here for my favorite tuna noodle casserole recipe.

Then, in January, in honor of my Inauguration birthday and our new President, I made these delicious red, white, & blue mini cheesecakes. My friend Candice dubbed them Liberty Cakes. I like it.

Soon after, I started craving more birthday-time, home-cooked food and made my all time favorite – chicken enchiladas.

The spring semester has been pretty busy, so I haven’t been doing much cooking lately except for some chicken noodle soup this past weekend (fresh pasta makes the difference!) and a few other dishes in recent weeks. Today, however, I decided to take a break from reading and made some treats:

online casino

Of course, I also made coconut macaroons for my friends who are celebrating Passover and have to miss out on all the candy-coated cupcake goodness. These are sure to be a hit at tomorrow’s MBA Council meeting!

Simply Recipes’s Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream

See Dan Cook’s Pork Chili (a cook-off winner!)

Smitten Kitchen’s Whole Lemon Tart

Maybe I’ll actually have time to cook over break! In the meantime, I’m off to see Slum Dog Millionaire (finally!) and enjoy some delicious Indian food.

Mother’s Day is this weekend and to celebrate my mom I’m making brunch for the whole family. By popular demand, I’m making do-ahead french toast (recipe here) and potato bacon frittata. Both were a huge hit the first time I made them and I can’t wait to eat them again (calories don’t count on special occasions, don’t you know?).

Here’s the recipe for the frittata.  I’ll try to remember to take pictures on Sunday and post them, too.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

8 oz. bacon, diced
2 potatoes, peeled & cubed
1/4 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. diced green bell pepper
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. salt (in parts)
6 eggs
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese (I also like to throw in a pinch of Parmesan if I have it handy)
1 c. milk
1/3 c. Bisquick
2 Tbsp. melted butter

Cook bacon in large pan until browned. Remove and drain on paper towels. Pour off all but 4 tablespoons of bacon fat from skillet (or do like I do and pour it all out but then add in some veggie oil, so you still have the bacon flavor on the pan w/o all that bad stuff). Cook potatoes, onion, green pepper, black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt until potatoes are tender but not soft (about 15 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in bacon.

Beat together eggs, cheese, milk, Bisquick, butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Pour egg mixture into a greased quiche dish or a 9″x9″ baking pan. Spoon potato mixture on top of eggs. Bake in 375 degree oven for 20 – 30 minutes until set. To serve, cut into wedges. Serves 6.

The ravioli were tasty – I used prepared wonton wrappers from the grocery store, and filled them with a mixture of lowfat ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella, spinach, garlic, basil, salt and pepper. For a sauce (super healthy), I heated up some store bought pesto with cream, nonfat milk, and garlic. The ravioli were very delicate, however, and while I was careful during the cooking process taking each one in and out of the boiling water with a slotted spoon, the darned things stuck together as soon as I put them in the colander to strain. Which meant my roommates had to rip them all apart to get a chunk of “ravioli” on their plates. Boo.

The bruschetta were good, because really, how hard is it to make bruschetta?

The salad, on the other hand…..well, it started out good. I made the same salad as last week, with kiwi, avocado, and raw pumpkin seeds. However, this time we were all out of greens from our veggie box so I went out to the garden and harvested some lettuce our green thumb roommate has been growing. I washed it (twice!), salad spun it, and ripped it up into manageable pieces. We’d eaten almost all of it when one roommate asked if she could finish it off. Of course, we said yes. On her last bite, she screamed bloody murder and leapt up from the table, shouting, “What is that? What is THAT?”

“That” was a hungry little snail. Chilling in the last bite of salad. So gross.

I roasted a chicken, mixing spices including salt, pepper, low sodium season salt, lemon pepper, crushed thyme, sage, and maybe one or two other things that I’m blanking on right now, and rubbing them on the bird under it’s skin.� I also stuffed fresh lemon wedges, rosemary, and garlic into the cavity and in and around the bird.� I drizzled the top with a little olive oil and baked it (covered with tinfoil) for about an hour at 400 degrees, then removed the foil and baked for an additional 20 minutes or so at 350 degrees to crisp the skin up a bit.� It came out perfectly moist and delicious.

I also steamed some green beans with more garlic and a little butter, and made a salad with mixed greens from our veggie box, kiwi (also from the box), avocado, raw pumpkin seeds, and a homemade honey mustard poppyseed vinaigrette.� Dessert was freshly baked brownie-cookie things from the prepared cookie dough aisle (the yellow package – I think it was Tollhouse).

Oh, and then I officially became my mother and realized after everyone was all full and done that I had forgotten to put out the potato salad that I made earlier in the day that served as the inspiration for the entire spring-y meal.� Darnit.� The potato salad was so good, too.� I used part russet, part red potatoes, chopped up boiled eggs, green onions, dill, salt, pepper, spicy brown mustard, and a little bit of mayo.� Mmm… at least it was tasty with lunch the next day.

I think the reason I love caprese salad so much is because I use a really fantastic vinegar on it. It’s mission fig balsamic vinegar from Big Paw Grub, a company that sells at my local farmers markets (and now via their website, if you’re interested!). All of their vinegars and olive oils are great, but the fig is my personal favorite.

That was a seared ahi tuna appetizer on sliced cucumber with a little smidge of cream cheese and dill in between. Here’s the rest of the meal:

A mixed green salad with grapefruit, avocado & goat cheese; salmon; beets with gorgonzola; and asparagus risotto. Forgot to take a picture of dessert, but it was very classic Valentines-ish — chocolate covered strawberries. Mmm…

I had only one minor issue with the recipe. The cooking time was way underestimated. I took it out of the oven after 30 minutes (15 minutes pretty high and 15 minutes lower, per the recipe) and let it cool and turned off the oven. But, when I went to slice into it later it turned out to be a big runny mess. So, in a fortuitous moment of tantrum, I slapped the piece back into the pie pan, threw the thing back in the oven, cranked it back up to 350 and stormed off to take a hot shower for a little while. Got out of the shower 15 minutes later and it was perfectly set.