Category Archives: cooking

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Rosemary sugar cookies???

Umm. Yes please.

photo by "the year in food"

I just discovered the blog “the Year in Food” and if the rest of the blog is anywhere near as good as this cookie looks, I think I might have a new blog crush. Her suggestion to eat them with a tidbit of dark chocolate might just be sending me over the edge… oof.

ingredients listed here for shopping ease, the entire recipe and instructions are HERE, go check her out!

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons rosemary
2 teaspoons orange zest
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg

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eggnog cheesecake bars via brown-eyed baker!!!!

so I’ve been eyeing SoDelicious’ new coconut-milk based eggnog for a while. Sadly, my local stores don’t carry it, but I have heard I can get it with a short drive. If I can manage to not drink the whole carton in the parking lot, I’m totally going to make some of these:


photo by browneyedbaker

(ingredients listed here for shopping ease. Full recipe and instructions are on BrownEyed Baker blog. Please go check her out!)

16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
¾ cup eggnog
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon + 1½ teaspoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, plus extra for dusting
¼ teaspoon salt

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Today is a Big Day

After working for the same god-awful company for entirely too long, my mother woke up this morning officially RETIRED.

I am so very happy for her, that place was a cesspool that was causing her entirely too much stress.

And since tomorrow is also her birthday, I’ll just go ahead and put a nice big HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!! here as well.

(recipe is from Sweet Paul, it is “pears in a pot” (pot being a hazelnut merengue cake. mmf.) )

Let the new adventures begin!

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Friday Foto Follies

recipe edition:
note: I put the ingredients here so I can easily find stuff again, a lesson I learned the hard way when a link to a favorite recipe went dead. However, please check out the original author’s posts. You’ll find the instructions and many more details there. Plus, these other blogs are just awesome.

pan-seared peaches with pistachio crusted feta from the tomatotart, via treehugger

Feta
1 8oz block of goat’s milk feta, split in half horizontally
1 cup of pistachios, finely ground
1/2 teaspoon smoked sea salt, finely ground
1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten

Peaches
2 peaches, sliced
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon of butter
Pinch of sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

While I was at the StoryTelling Festival, I had this amazing chocolate and marshmallow concoction that reminded me of a Smore, but with some salt caramel thrown in.

So, of course I had to find some recipes that might enable me to recreate this yummy treat:

Home-Made Graham Crackers
via Smitten Kitchen

2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (375 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour (a swap of 1/2 cup with whole wheat flour or 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour works well here, too)
1 cup (176 grams) dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon (6 grams) baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt (4 grams)
7 tablespoons (3 1/2 ounces or 100 grams) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen
1/3 cup (114 grams) mild-flavored honey, such as clover
5 tablespoons (77 grams) milk, full-fat is best
2 tablespoons (27 grams) pure vanilla extract

Topping (optional)
3 tablespoons (43 grams) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams) ground cinnamon

Home-Made Marshmallows
from Epicurious
about 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 1/2 envelopes (2 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup hot water (about 115°F.)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites*
1 teaspoon vanilla

Salted Caramels via Serious Eats

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon smoked salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1 leftover vanilla pod

and now for something savory after all that sugar:
Swiss Chard and Sweet Potato Gratin, also from SMitten Kitchen


(her photo)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 pounds Swiss chard, leaves and stems separated and both cut into 1-inch pieces
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups heavy cream or whole milk
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons flour
2 pounds medium red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), peeled and cut into 1/8-inch thick rounds
1 tablespoon minced fresh Italian parsley
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups (about 5 ounces) coarsely grated Gruyére cheese

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Fall is for baking: part 1

Found on http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/dessert/quick-onebowl-recipe-apple-gouda-oatmeal-cookies-128940
but originally from a quaker oats cookbook

Apple Gouda Oatmeal Cookies
makes 24 cookies

2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla OR 1 tablespoon dark rum
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 medium-sized apple (about 10 ounces)
4 ounces Gouda cheese, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Whisk the olive oil and egg together in a glass measuring cup until completely combined. Whisk in the vanilla or rum. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, ginger, baking powder, salt, and oats. Stir in the raisins.

Peel and core the apple. Use the coarse side of a grater to grate it directly into the flour. (You should have 1 1/2 to 2 cups of shredded apple.) Stir in the apple and the chopped Gouda.

Add the liquids from the measuring cup and stir just until everything is moistened. The dough will be loose and clumpy. Drop in large spoonfuls on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 17 minutes, or until the cookies are golden. They will be very soft still. Let them cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to cooling racks to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

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Friday Foto Follies

summer holiday edition:
Get away. Find adventure. Just go!

via wewillbreakout


via bubble4cat


via http://www.79ideas.org


via turmoil


(source unknown)

even if it’s just in your own backyard…

via apartment therapy

don’t forget the popsicles and your swimsuit

via Miss Clawdy

or maybe you want to go to summer camp?

and for a lazy vacation breakfast, I can think of nothing better than this incredibly decadent Creme Brulee French Toast, courtesy Smitten Kitchen. It even has the hard caramelized top, and it’s a lot easier than you might think. Check it out on her site.

(her photo)

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good stuff from around the web

I’m still in recuperation and cleanup mode, but here are a few pretty nifty things that have popped up on my feed reader lately. enjoy!
Risotto that’s not Risotto? Yep, it’s made with barley!! Healthy even!!!
mushroom barley “risotto” from the brown eyed baker.


(her photo)

You can listen to the presentations from the “Future of Food” conference online. Nifty!

this is a tea ball. no really, a tea ball.

get yours here: http://store.yankodesign.com/new-designs/tea-diver

a dozen great reasons to have urban chickens, and how to care for them:


(the picture belongs to them)

news nails! how to on HauteMacabre

Then there’s: Covet Garden, a very aptly named online magazine. This issue is devoted to the 40′s and 50′s. Yum.

and last, but oh so NOT least, a really awesome video, found via my lovely poet friend Becky