8 Ball Zucchini and Everyday Salad Dressing

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Not together, but two different recipes.  Both are delicious though.  I saw these cuties at the farmer's market and found this thekitchn recipe.  It's the perfect breakfast/lunch/brunch/dinner meal or side.  And it looks ridiculously awesome too.

1 eight-ball zucchini
Olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
1 tablespoon soft goat cheese (chèvre)
1 egg
1 sprig basil

1.  Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Cut the stem off the squash about 1/2 an inch from the top. Using a pointed teaspoon or melon baller, scoop out the insides of the squash, leaving a 1/4-inch thick wall on the sides and bottom. Brush the inside and outside of the squash shell with olive oil and rub the inside with a little salt and pepper.
3. Place the squash shell on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork.
4. Meanwhile, chop up the squash flesh and heat it in a pan with the tomato sauce, cooking until the squash is tender.
5. Remove the squash shell from the oven. Spoon the tomato sauce mixture into the bottom of the shell, then add the goat cheese. Crack the egg on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the squash stem on the baking sheet alongside the shell.
6. Return to the oven and bake until the eggs are set, about 15-20 minutes.
7. Garnish with basil and place the stem on top or to the side of the squash. Serve immediately.

I've been making my own salad dressing too and adding it to a kale salad.  It cuts the crunchiness of the veggie perfectly.   The Nourishing Gourmet's everyday salad is really simple and delicious.
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Apple Cider Vinegar Salad Dressing
1 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of Apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of onion powder
2 tablespoon of whole grain mustard or Dijon type mustard
2-3 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon of dried  basil
1 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients and mix well before using.

Happy July 4th! (with orange creamsicle Jello shots)

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Enjoy your middle of the week holiday.  

Hopefully you have the rest of the week off!

And make some Jello shots - your friends will love you!  I made a combo of orange creamsicle Jello shots and Jello shot slices adapted from this recipe.  Happy Independence Day America!

Orange Creamsicle Jello Shots
3 large oranges
2 small package orange flavored Jello
1 1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup juice from the oranges
1 1/2 cup (or a lot more) orange whipped creme vodka (I used vanilla vodka)

Directions:
1. Slice oranges in half. Juice the oranges and reserve the juice. Using a spoon, scoop out all the remaining flesh and pith.
2. In a bowl, mix jello and boiling water until powder is dissolved. Add orange juice and vodka and mix thoroughly.
3. Put the orange halves in muffin tins. Pour the liquid into the halves.  I poured the remaining liquid in Jello shot cups.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for approximately 4 hours or overnight. You can also put in the freezer for 15 minutes to speed things up.
4. When jello is very firm firm, slice each half into 4 sections. Makes about 24 shot slices + more Jello shots.

Recipes From the Last Month (and have a great weekend!)

Pin It now! I always have good intentions on making something for the week or trying a new recipe, but as the weekend passes by, there's laundry and chores to do or TV to catch up on, and baking something new never happens. I've made a few things over the last month though even if it wasn't something every weekend.

For Chinese New Year, I made almond cookies which came out just as good as the ones I've had in the bakeries and Chinese restaurants (assuming you think those are good!).  The almond flavor seemed a little artificial to me (I added more extract than the recipe asked for) which is probably from the extract, but everyone else didn't think so at all.  I skipped adding an almond on top since I forgot to buy whole almonds  It was a bit labor intensive since it took two days to make (you need to chill the dough), but at the end it was worth it.  The cookies came out crispy and light, and the house smelled warm and delicious. 

Chinese Almond Cookies - Makes 5 dozen
from Simply Recipes, posted by Garrett McCord
1 1/3 cups of almond flour, lightly packed
1 cup of unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
Pinch of kosher salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of almond extract
1 3/4 cups of flour
1 cup + 2 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
Thinly sliced almonds

1. Place the almond flour, salt, and butter into an electric beater with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for three minutes. The mixture will become course and chunky looking.
2. Add one of the eggs, reserving the other for later, and the almond extract. Mix on low speed until just incorporated.
3. Sift together the flour, sugar, and baking soda then add to the butter mixture at low speed. Mix until just combined.
4. Take the dough and flatten it into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Place it in the refrigerator for two hours to chill.
5. Preheat the oven to 325F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the other egg into a bowl and beat it.
6. Take pieces of dough and roll them into balls about a half-inch wide. Place them on the sheet about and inch apart and then press them down slightly with your palm to make a coin shape.
7. Place a slivered almond onto each cookie and lightly press it into place, then paint the surface of the cookie with some of the beaten egg using a pastry brush or your finger (this will give the cookie a lacquered appearance once it bakes).
8. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the edges just being to tan. Cool on the sheet on a wire rack.

Earlier this month, I made this Nutella Pear tart for a neighbor's party and it tasted as good as it sounds.  I used the homemade tart crust I've used before for the fruit tarts I've made and next time I won't soak the pears as I slice them in cold lemon water (to prevent browning).  The pears didn't dry completely and the tart was a bit watery.  I also just used whatever cranberries and nuts we had in the pantry to top it off.

2 Bartlett pears
Pie crust (or this recipe for a homemade tart crust)
Nutella
Lemon
Orange Marmalade
Hazelnuts


1. Start by pressing your dough into an oven safe dish (I used a tart pan). Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spread a huge generous layer of Nutella across the crust.
3. Thinly slice and layer pears on top.
4. Melt about 1/3 cup of marmalade. Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Brush over the pears.
5. Lastly, chop and sprinkle hazelnuts over the top. (You can use also use chopped pecans or walnuts.)
6. Bake about 20 minutes until crust is golden brown.

Hello February

Pin It now! I know, we're already into the first week of February so it's not really timely to start a post the way I did.  I'm obviously way beyond in posting.  I still have to tell you about our four Chinese New Year dinners.  That's right...four...but that will have to wait until tomorrow.  Let's recap the weekend.  This past weekend and the entire year so far has been a great example of global warming.  It was in the 50's...in February!  Anyway, I started out with a bridal shower in Chappaqua.  It was originally going to be in Manhattan, but there was a little confusion about party-booking fees and all that fancy Manhattan ho-hum.  Ideally, the next option would have been in Brooklyn since the bride, several neighbors who were in attendance (yeah, me) and the groom's family were all coming from Brooklyn.  We all ended up in Chappaqua at one of the bridesmaid's house.  I admit it's beautiful up there and we drove through Pleasantville (sound familiar?), but after 45 minutes driving and only going 5 miles through Queens, almost having a car side-swipe us, and the GPS giving us bad directions, we had wished the lovely party was closer to home.  They did have delicious food (including a drop dead delicious pesto pasta salad) and a tiramisu cake, which saved trip.  Thank goodness for the delicious dinner at Jadis and much-needed dancing at Fat Baby with my girls that night to celebrate Cyndi's birthday to make up for a long afternoon.  As someone said to me today we partied like we were in our twenties.  (Sad...)

Yesterday, we went over a neighbor's place to watch the Superbowl.  Michael made pulled pork sliders.  Ridiculously delicious, and I'm not just saying that because he feeds me on a regular basis.  The host wanted to hide them so that she could have the leftovers for lunch.  They were gone in about 15 minutes.  They were that good. 

Like most of his creations, no formal recipe.  5 lb. pork shoulder cooked in the crock pot for 6 hours (garlic and onion powder, orange juice, and a packet of beef ramen seasoning).  We cut hot dog buns into thirds and topped the pork with pickles.  Oh, and I guess the game was fantastic too!

Mini Spiced Pumpkin Donuts

Pin It now! A few weeks ago I made these pumpkin donuts (via say yes to hoboken) and they were delicious!  It was one of the most fun recipes I've made and now that I have a mini donut pan, I'm expanding beyond my cupcake-making obsession.

Petite Pumpkin Spice Donuts - Makes 24 mini donuts
For Donuts:
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoons ground cloves
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup milk

For Coating:
1/2 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup sugar
1-2 tablespoons cinnamon (more if you're a cinnamon lover)

1. Preheat oven 350 F. Butter a mini donut pan and set aside.
2. In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and spices together and set aside.
3. In a large bowl (or the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment) whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the mixture and stir until just combined, careful not to over mix.
4. Using a pastry bag or a steady hand and a spoon, fill each donut cup with the batter. The donut cups should be fairly full, but not overflowing. Bake for 8-9 minutes, until donuts spring back when gently pressed (if you're using a larger donut pan, allow them to bake for 12-15 minutes). Turn donuts out onto a wire rack and allow to cool for a few minutes.
5. While the donuts are cooling, melt butter in one bowl and combine the sugar and cinnamon in another. When donuts are still hot (but not too hot to touch), quickly dip each donut in melted butter, then coat in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Serve immediately.

Scenes From the Weekend

Pin It now! Dinner at Radagast and pool with friends we haven't seen in a long time.  Visit to Bayside to see my parents' new apartment renovations.  House party with lots of food, drinks and dancing.  Baking spiced pear muffins.
Spiced Pear Muffins - from The Kitchn (Makes 12 muffins)
1/2 cup (4 oz) packed brown sugar
1/4 cup (2oz) white sugar
1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (5 oz) all-purpose flour
1 cup (5 oz) whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (4 oz) milk
2 to 2 1/2 cups pears, unpeeled and diced small (2 medium-sized pears, about 11 oz whole)
Cinnamon-and-Sugar for sprinkling on top
Optional: 1/4 cup chopped candied ginger, 1/2 cup chopped nuts, 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Heat your oven to 425°F. Spray the top of your muffin tin with non-stick coating and place muffin cups in all the wells.
2. In a mixer on high speed, cream together the sugars and the softened butter until they resemble fluffy frosting, about 1 minute. Mix in the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated, about 1 minute each. Mix in the vanilla extract.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, spices, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, mix 1/3 of the flour mixture into the butter-sugar mixture followed by 1/3 of the milk. Continue alternating between the flour and the milk, mixing just until the flour is incorporated. It's ok if there is still some flour on the sides of the bowl. Do not over-mix
4. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula and stir gently to incorporate the last of the flour. Add the diced pears all at once and fold them into the batter.
5. Divide the batter between the muffin cups. The batter will fill the cups and mound slightly on top. Sprinkle the tops with cinnamon and sugar.
6. Place the muffin tin in the oven and immediately turn down the heat to 400°F. Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating the pan once in the middle of baking. The muffins are done with the tops looked cracked and toasted, and when a toothpick inserted in the middle of one of the muffins comes out clean.Let the muffins cool enough to handle, then transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling. Leftover muffins can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days or frozen for up to three months.

Any Given Sunday

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What's better than fresh figs drizzled with honey for a midday snack?

Maybe homemade bbq chicken and cole slaw for dinner....And homemade chocolate cupcakes with Nutella for dessert (plus one for breakfast and a midday snack).

Photo by chockylit

I used this recipe for the cupcakes but was lazy didn't have time to make the buttercream frosting so I just spread Nutella on top.  It was still delicious to say the least.  The recipe was super easy and the cake comes out ridiculously moist and spongey.  Warm these bad boys up in the microwave for a few seconds and it's even more mouth-watering.  Believe me.

Devil’s Food Chocolate Cake (makes 24 cupcakes / 350 degree oven)
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Measure out everything but the eggs directly into your mixer bowl.
3. Mix on low speed just until incorporated.
4. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes.
5. Add eggs, beat on high speed again for 2 minutes.
6. Measure out into cupcake pan lined with cupcake papers. A 2″ ice cream scoop works great for this. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Let cool slightly in the pan then transfer to a rack to cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Buttercream (enough to lightly frost 24 cupcakes)
1 stick butter
1/2 cup cocoa
4 cups confectioner’s sugar
~1/4 cup milk

1. Beat butter on high for about 30 seconds until soft.
2. Add cocoa and 1 cup of sugar and beat until incorporated
3. Add half of the milk and the remainder of sugar and beat until incorporated.
4. Continue to add milk until you get to the consistency you want.

Pictures and Recipes from the Weekend

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Michael's Pulled Pork
5lb pork butt
garlic powder
onion powder
paprika
honey
BBQ sauce
1.  Trim the fat off of the pork butt.  Sprinkle dry ingredients and honey all over to form a rub.  Cook in slow cooker for 5-6 hours.
2.  Once the pork is cooked, use a couple of forks to separate the meat - it should be falling off the bone and easily "pulled".  Add your favorite BBQ sauce. 

Michael's Mac & Cheese
1 box of extra large shell pasta
6 oz block of monterey jack cheese, cubed
6 oz block of sharp chedder cheese, cubed
2 tbsp. of butter
garlic powder
paprika

1.  Cook the pasta until al dente.  Drain.  Add butter and cheese and stir until cheese melts.
2.  Sprinkle paprika on top (we didn't have breadcrumbs so if you do, you should use that instead)
Broil for a few minutes until golden crust forms on top

No Mayo Cole Slaw (adapted from Rachael Ray)
1 head of cabbage, shredded
4 carrots, shredded or largely grated
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. of sugar
2 tbsp. of olive or vegetable oil
Garlic powder to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Whisk red wine vinegar, sugar, garlic powder, salt, pepper and oil until combined.  Mix cabbage and carrots together.  Add dressing and combine.  You can serve right away, but it'll taste a little better if you let it soak for a couple of hours.

The Weekend

Pin It now! We had both sides of the family over this weekend for a BBQ.  Michael was a pack mule again and hauled a IKEA bag home with meats and veggies from the Meat Market in Hell's Kitchen.  We had pretty much the same menu as we did with the birthday BBQ: grilled skirt steak with homemade chimichurri sauce, sweet and spicy sausage, grilled veggies marinated in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  My Mom added a grilled shrimp dish and I made tiramisu and cupcakes.  Good thing we made a lot of food because besides our family members, we had a few neighbors pop over. 

 (Yellowest squash I've ever seen)

(Of course there were cupcakes)

We ended the night with a ceremonious opening of the Johnnie Walker Blue that I bought for hubby for our wedding.  For the last two years, we never had a  chance to open it, so we figured we should do so with the family around.  I'm not a big Scotch drinker, and even though it went down really strong, it was pretty smooth and delicious.  Hubby and my sister's boyfriend were in heaven.  Lovin' summer BBQ's.

Here are some recipes from the weekend:

Michael's Chimchurri Sauce:
1 bunch of cilantro
1 bunch of flat leaf parsley
4 cloves of garlic
olive oil
Sriracha hot sauce 

- Pulse the cilantro, parley and garlic in a food processor (hubs uses the mini food processor which works perfectly).  Add olive oil until sauce is a thick but liquidy consistency.  Add sriracha to taste.

Tiramisu (adapted from Debi Mazar & Gabriele 's Cooking Channel show, Extra Virgin)

3 cups brewed coffee, cooled

2 (8-ounce) containers mascarpone

5 eggs, separated

14 ounces savoiardi cookies (firm ladyfingers)

4 ounces sugar, plus 2 tablespoons or more, for the coffee

2 shots rum or Italian Marsala, optional

Pinch salt

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup shaved dark chocolate

1. Prepare the coffee (I used a French press) and pour it in a bowl and allow to cool off.
2. Mix the egg yolks with 2 ounces sugar, and mix until you obtain a creamy light mixture.
3. Work the mascarpone in a bowl using a wooden spoon, making sure you eliminate any lumps (I used mascarpone from Whole Foods and it was creamy so I skipped this part), then add the mascarpone to the sugar-egg mixture and continue to mix well.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the egg whites, pinch of salt, and the remaining 2 ounces sugar, until they reach a somewhat firm, but fluffy consistency, then add them to the mascarpone mixture.
5. Dip the entire savoiardi cookie (firm ladyfingers) in the coffee, and one by one lay them flat into a 13 x 9 pyrex tray.  Only dip the entire cookie for 1 second, making sure you do not soak the cookies, as you want to make sure they maintain their firmness.  
6. Once the first layer of cookies has been laid out, spread a layer of the mascarpone cream on top, and dust with 1 tablespoon cocoa powder.
7. Prepare another layer of coffee-dipped cookies, cream and cocoa powder. Garnish the top of the cake with the shaved dark chocolate.
8. Cover the tray with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 3 hours so the flavors can marry and the tiramisu can settle.

Lemon Thyme Roast Chicken & Caramelized Onion Mango Sweet Potato Salad

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One of my favorite go-to recipes is Ina Garten's Perfect Roast  Chicken.  It takes little prep time and once prepped, you just pop it in the oven.  No fuss.  I first saw her prepare it on Barefoot Contessa while I was in law school and since then I've used this recipe, sometimes with a few tweaks, whenever I want an easy recipe to prepare for dinner.  Since hubby was out last night, I was able to take my time with dinner (we usually make a speedy dinner in about half an hour when we're home together).  On the menu, Ina's abbreviated roast chicken recipe and my adapted version of Bobby Flay's Caramelized Onion Sweet Potato Salad.  For the chicken, I didn't include the carrots or fennel this time, and for some reason it took forever to cook.  I pan seared it first, then baked it, and it still wasn't fully cooked so I pan fried it again.  Weird.  For the sweet potato salad, I added mangoes, which turned out to be a fantastic addition and perfect for the summer.  Next time, I would use less orange zest since the orange flavor was a bit intense.  No photos this time, but take my word, it was delicious.

HAVE A HAPPY WEEKEND!

The Easiest Sangria Recipe

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Everyone knows you need a pitcher (or two) of sangria to help you get through the hot summer weekends.  Here's my foolproof white sangria recipe. 

1 bottle of white wine (the fruitier the better)
Lemon lime soda
Fruit - any kind works. I like peaches and nectarines be size they're crunchy.  Frozen berries work well too.

1 - Cut up any seasonal fruit.
2 - Pour the bottle of wine into a pitcher.  Add your fruit.  Fill the rest of your pitcher with the soda.  Add ice and/or frozen fruit.
3 - drink right away or let the fruit soak for an hour or two. Either way it's delicious.

* For larger parties, it might be more economical to buy the magnum size bottles of wine.  If you do that, pour wine about 3/4 of the pitcher full and refill with wine and soda as needed. 

Panna Cotta Weekend

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This past weekend, I tested Tartelette's red berry almond milk panna cotta and it came out delicious!  I love having it at restaurant and didn't realize how easy it is to make from scratch.  The basic ingredients - cream, sugar and gelatin.  You can add almost anything to personalize it - berries, vanilla, chocolate or caramel.  After making it on Saturday, sharing a couple of bowls with the French when they came over, and giving two ramekins away ot a neighbor (in exchange for homemade banana bread!), I was dying for some more and made another half batch on Sunday using up the peaches we had.

Serves 4-6 depending on the size of your glasses or ramequins

Kitchen Notes: freeze the glasses once they are filled with the fruit puree while you prepare the panna cotta. Make sure the liquid is at room temperature before pouring it into the glasses or you will shatter your glass.

1 cup raspberries
1 cup red currant
1 cup almond milk (Almond Breeze)
1 cup dairy free creamer
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons powdered gelatin bloomed in 2 Tb water (means to
pour water over gelatin and let it sit while you prepare the panna cotta

1. In a food processor, puree the raspberries and redcurrant together and divide the mixture among 4-6 glasses. Freeze.
2. Combine all the ingredients, except the gelatin, in a saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Heat the gelatin in the microwave for 8 seconds and quickly stir it in the cream mixture.
3. Let the panna cotta mixture cool to lukewarm. Remove the glasses from the freezer and slowly pour the cream over the red berry puree and let set in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
4. Decorate with fresh berries if desired.

The recipe uses non-dairy creamer, but I used heavy craem instead.  For those who are lactose intolerant, stick with the non-dairy creamer!  I also added a teaspoon of vanilla extract for extra flavor.  Raspberries were ridiculously expensive at the market so I substituted blackberries and peaches for the recipe's raspberries and red currant.  (I'm not even sure what red currant is!)

I may tweak the recipe going forward - less sugar; half & half instead of heavy cream; and if using fruit puree on the bottom, freeze the fruit for at least two hours so that the fruit doesn't mix into the panna cotta when you pour the milk mixture into the ramekins.

Funfetti Cupcakes!

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There were funfetti cupcakes for Leo's going away party a few weeks ago and the name is so fitting because these cupcakes are so much fun (we may have had more than two each that night!).  I love the sweetness (aka too much sugar) of the white cake and of course the sprinkles are the highlight.  They inspired me to make my own and last week i bought a box to make, but I thought it might be more fun to make them from scratch (move over Sandra Lee!).  It actually wasn't hard at all.  I followed the recipe from iheartcuppycakes via CakeSpy.  I would make a few tweaks: 1) add a little more milk; 2) use whole or a mixture of half & half and whole milk (I used 1% today); and 3) add an extra tablespoon of butter.  I used store-bought frosting instead of making it from scratch and it was a little thick to pipe through the piping bag.  Next time I'll make it from scratch so I can make sure the consistency is better suited for the piping bag.

Recipe adapted from Cupcakes by Shelly Kaldunski

Makes about 12 cupcakes

For the cupcakes

1-1/4 cups AP flour

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup sugar

6 tbsp butter, room temperature

1 large egg + 1 egg white, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk (I used half-and-half instead)

2 tbsp rainbow sprinkles

For vanilla buttercream

2 sticks butter

7 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Randoms for the Day

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1. It's FREEZING!  And more snow is on the way.
2. Why do people use those sidewalk ATMs that aren't associated with a bank?  They rip you off with fees and are great places for identity thieves to steal your bank info.  There are so many in my neighborhood and I saw three people using them just today.
3. Have you seen Grandma's Boy?  Hubby and I actually saw it in the movie theater (I'm not sure why), but it's one of the funniest movies I've seen.  There's a guy in the movie that thinks he's a robot and dresses like he's in the Matrix (think Keanu Reeves in a long black vinyl trench coat).  I saw a guy on the street that looked EXACTLY like the robot guy.  I couldn't take my camera out quickly enough and he disappeared into the subway.  (In robot voice): "Please sit on my face."
4. Smitten Kitchen is my go-to recipe savior.  Thank you Yael for pointing me in her direction.  I was craving a good goat cheese pasta dinner last night and bam! she had one.  Her recipe is here.  

What Would You Grab?

Pin It now! Last night we watched Leap Year and cutie Matthew Goode asked Amy Adams, "If your house was burning and you had 60 seconds, what would you grab?"  She doesn't give a straight answer, but he said he would grab his mother's Claddagh ring.  Totally sappy, but of course you want to fall in love with this guy rather than her fiance who grabbed his computer and cellphone.  So the question is...what would you grab?

I'll give you some food for thought (literally) while you ponder the question.  I made Smitten Kitchen's recipe for Chard and White Bean Stew for dinner.  It's perfect for a cold, snowy night like tonight - it's supposed to snow 8-12" overnight.  Yay for winter!  Seriously!  I usually hate the cold, but last winter while I was in London, I missed all the snow so I'm excited to have another snowstorm so early in the season.  Luckily I don't have a long commute or one that involves a bus or train, otherwise I'm sure I would hate another storm.  I have my snow boots and an extra pair of socks though - bring it on!

Lots of Christmas Cookies

Pin It now! I went home to NJ this wekeend and my mom and I made lots and lots of Christmas cookies.  When we first started, we were excited and thought we should do this all the time and could even start a business.  Yeah right!  By the sixth hour, we had rolled, chilled, and baked so many balls of cookie dough (and then rolled and chilled some more dough) that the idea of starting a cookie business was completely gone.  It was fun though!  We made Chestnut cookies (smitten kitchen's recipe here), Vanilla Sugar Cookies (foodnetwork recipe here) and Gingerbread cookies (the Neely's foodnetwork recipe here).  Even with all the labor-intesive work, the cookies came out really good and perfectly pretty.  Some notes on the cookie recipes... Chestnut cookies: Use more than 1 cup of chopped chestnuts.  I put in 1 1/4 cups and it still wasn't chestnutty enough.  I think 2 cups+ would make it taste stronger.  If you make munchin-sized cookie balls like we did, you need to bake them at least 25 minutes.  I suggest making the balls smaller and the 14-17 minute cooking time would work.  Gingerbread cookies:  Lots more ground ginger!  The recipe says 1 Tb, but I think 1-2 extra tablespoons would make it more ginger-y.  Also, use royal icing for the cookie decoration.  We used some gel pack from the supermarket for a few cookies and the icing never tried.  I used the royal icing at the end of the cookie recipe and piped it with a pastry piping bag and (after practicing on a few cookies), the decorating came out perfectly.

My To-Do (aka To-Try) List

Pin It now! These are the cutest and I want to try to make them!  Watch, I'll end up just buying them, and it'll probably be worth it, but I really want to try to get these done.  Loving them.

Embroidered cakes shown in Oh Happy Day.  Absolutely darling!


Myrna May

 

Homemade Twix Bars from Cashmere and Cupcakes.  The recipe is by Not Without Salt

I'm starting this project this year for next year's holiday decorating.  Felt ball wreath by Pickles

I have no idea when or who I'll make this for, but this S'mores Kit by Jordan Ferney at Oh Happy Day is wonderful.

Homemade Pizza & Hot Wine Sunday

Pin It now! My first attempt at homemade pizza.  It actually came out better than expected.  I guess it's true what they say about it - even bad pizza is good pizza...or something like that.

Pizza dough from Whole Foods
Crushed tomatoes with basil
4-cheese Pizza cheese (low sodium)
Pepperoni
Grated Parmesan cheese

1. Let the dough sit out in room temperature for at least 1-2 hours so it's easier to stretch.  Stretch dough out on a pizza crisper or pizza pan.  Let it sit for 5 minutes.  Stretch it out again.
2. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
3. Lightly brush with olive oil or butter.  Use a fork to dot the entire pizza with small holes
4. Cook the dough for 10-15 minutes
5. Let it cool for 5 minutes.  Add sauce, cheese, and pepperoni and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.
6. Cook for another 15-20 minutes.
7. Cool for 5 minutes.  Enjoy!!

After our pizza lunch, we headed to see the French for their Hot Wine Sunday party.  Delicious mulled wine, roasted chestnuts, homemade apple pie, hot apple cider, cheese and more wine.  What more could you ask for on a freezing NYC afternoon?  Stay tuned, the French are hosting an Ugly Sweater Party in a few weeks.  Lots of fabulous photos to come...

The Weekend Recap

Pin It now! I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend.  It was nice to have a long weekend although I technically worked from home on Friday.  Thanksgiving Thursday was a full day of the Garden State.  The usual hour-long ride took us almost three hours from the city to hubby's cousins house - an hour from the parking lot to the Lincoln Tunnel alone.  When we finally got to their house, it was nonstop eating (thank goodness!).  After trays of stuffed mushrooms, proscuitto wrapped breadsticks, pulled pork and the first Thansgiving dinner of the night, we headed to my parents' house the next town over for our second dinner.  Don't judge!  My sister and her boyfriend did the same although they were in Philly first and had a few hours to digest on the way to my parents'.  My mom was amazing and made everything herself this year since we had our obligations earlier in the day.  She made some of the same (cream of mushroom soup, candied yams, garlic string beans) and a few new additions (a delicious new stuffing recipe, homemade cranberry sauce and chinese bbq spare-ribs).  I made smitten's spiced applesauce cake for dessert and took a horrible photo of the turkey...

Friday we took advantage of The Gap and Rite Aid's Black Friday sales (good basics and toilet paper, respectively).  It was a low key night and we stayed in to watch the original Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo.  I haven't read any of the books, but why didn't someone tell me the movie is not for the faint of heart.  I was expecting Borne Ultimatum, but instead (spoiler alert!) the movie is full of sexual violence and serial murders.  It was a good movie, but a little terrifying.

Saturday, while hubs was at the gym and taking his friend's Crossfit class, I was off to TJMaxx (again!).  I bought a couple more toys for my office holiday toy drive and then hovered over the Le Creuset table for a long time.  5-qt Oval French oven for $199 (retail $$225), 5.5-qt Round French oven for $159 (retail $235).  If I didn't have all the toys with me and didn't have to lug the heavy pot home, I would have rationalized buying one.  I imagine myself cooking roasts and stews like Giada de Laurentis in a gorgeous Le Creuset... Where the old Filene's Basement was on 6th Ave, they put in a new Marshalls.  The home section is fabulous and has great designer finds, something I didn't find at TJMaxx.  I saw a Vera Wang Wedgewood Sable Duchesse teapot for $99 (retail $216) and teacups for $11 (retail $30).

** Celeb alert!  We saw Harvey Keitel outside of Amity Hall last night.  Anyway, yay for four day weekends.  By the time Sunday arrived, it felt like I was on a mini-vacation.  Today was all about the chores though.  Laundry, supermarket, baking (smitten kitchen's pear bread) and cooking dinner.  Ahh, almost done, just need to do a little ironing and I'll be finally done.  I'm ready for Amazing Race and Walking Dead tonight and then back to work.

Hope you had a fabulous weekend too!