Ohhhh boy, it’s apple season! I just dipped my toe in the water with the apples this week and only picked up two, which limited my options a little as to what I was going to make, but I like a challenge. This recipe for maple apple muffins immediately grabbed my attention with the “maple apple”, then when I saw that I had enough apples, I was sold. They’re the perfect recipe to welcome apples back.
Last Friday I had the pleasure of guest posting over at the lovely Food Loves Writing. Check out my rendition of Mark Bittman’s recipe for arepas.
Mint Julep in September? Yup, I did it. I’d picked up a big bundle of mint at the market last week with nothing in mind. It’s just that that sweet smell always lures me in. When happy hour rolled around and the mint was still there and a fill bottle of bourbon was in the pantry I decided summer or not, mint juleps are going to be had.
This particular recipe was created by Eben Freeman, bartender of Tailor Restaurant in New York City, and let me tell you, he is not shy with the booze. All I’m saying is you might want to sit down when you drink it because this is one strong, and of course delicious, cocktail.
Cheers to you and to a great weekend ahead!
mint julep
an adaptation on the classic by Eben Freeman
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) club soda
2 heaping teaspoons superfine sugar
15 fresh mint leaves, plus 5 small sprigs for garnish
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) Bernheim or other high-quality whiskey
2 cups crushed ice
1
In julep cup (or any 10 oz glass), stir together club soda and sugar until sugar just begins to dissolve.
2
Add mint leaves and, using glass muddler or back of large spoon, gently press leaves into sugar syrup until slightly darkened but not completely crushed.
3
Add whiskey, then fill cup with crushed ice and, using long spoon, stir briefly.
4
Tuck mint sprigs into top of cup and insert short straw.
5
Cheers!
It always surprised me when people are adverse to ground turkey. I love using it because it’s so versatile while also being pretty good for you. I’ll often make turkey burgers or pasta sauce with it, but this week I picked up some peppers that I thought would be perfect for stuffing. The peppers hit the spot and left enough leftovers to create a whole other meal.
Gnocchi and I have a love/hate relationship. I love it, but more times than not when I try to make it things get a little crazy. When I saw this recipe in Gourmet, one that made Ruth Reichl’s top 10 list, I just couldn’t let the disasters of my past hold me back from trying this one out. So I pulled out the ricer, gave myself some encouragement and got down to business. I’m proud to say that not only did this gnocchi look like gnocchi (well, basically it didn’t dissolve on contact with water) but I can also see why Ms. Reichl chose it… this is good stuff.
Oh. Boy. I am pumped about this recipe. A while ago this idea popped into my head while eating a basket of popcorn at one of my favorite pubs. Maybe it was the popcorn, probably it was the beer, but all of a sudden I had the idea to cook popcorn in bacon fat. But that could be a little boring, so I thought maybe I should add a little maple syrup into the mix to jazz it up. Whooo, boy. This is the stuff happiness is made of.
Yay, it’s Friday, my favorite day of the week! This week let’s celebrate with a delicious watermelon martini. I picked up this super cute little watermelon at the market last weekend and it sat on the counter all week just waiting for the perfect recipe. Well, Thursday evening rolled around and it seemed like happy hour would be the perfect time to use it. I made watermelon juice by pressing chunks of watermelon through a sieve, combined it with a little simple syrup, lime and vodka for one heck of a martini rimmed with sugar and salt.
Cheers! Have an excellent weekend!
watermelon martini
adapted from this recipe
makes 1 drink
2 oz watermelon juice*
2 oz vodka
1 oz simple syrup
1/2 oz lime juice
equal parts sugar and salt for rim
watermelon slice to garnish, optional
ice
1
combine sugar and salt on a plate. coat the rim of your glass with a lime wedge and dip in sugar and salt mixture. set glass aside.
2
combine watermelon juice, vodka, simple syrup and lime juice in a cocktail shaker with a few cubes of ice. Shake vigorously for 10 seconds.
3
strain mixture into glass and garnish with watermelon slice.
4
cheers!
*to make watermelon juice, simply cut a watermelon into 1-inch chunks and press through a sieve into a bowl.
This weekend I was in the mood for cookies. With the weather transitioning to Fall, cookies just felt like the right thing to make. It didn’t hurt that I had a bag of chocolate chips burning a whole in my pantry. I was a little apprehensive to just make chocolate chip cookies because I was sure I’d already posted a recipe but I soon realized I’d never made a batch for eatmakeread and it kind of seemed like I couldn’t not make them. I did some playing around with a recipe from the Baked cookbook and holy moly, a little brown butter and sea salt take the classic chocolate chip cookie to a whole new level.
I recently signed up for a library card, something I am very excited about. Of course the first thing I did was head right over to the massive cookbook and food writing section and stare. I could hardly contain myself, and quite frankly I didn’t show much restraint because I walked out of the library with about seven books. Upon seeing me, Aaron reminded me that I can go back anytime and check out books, I don’t have to borrow them all at once. Point taken, especially after carrying those bad boys home.
One of the books I checked out was Best Food Writing 2008. Now, I don’t typically pick up “Best of” books and I’m not entirely sure why. I think it has to do with the fact that I’m pretty sure I’m not going to like all the stories and therefore I don’t want to spend money on a book that I’m not going to fully enjoy. But that’s the beauty of the library, I felt no guilt skipping the stories that bored me. To tell the truth though, there weren’t a ton of stories in this book that I didn’t like. Obviously they’re all well written, some are funny, some are educational and some are just plain good stories. What I liked best was getting a glimpse of authors whom I may not have ever noticed or had the chance to read because the stories are taken from books, magazines, blog and newspapers from across the country.
I think this is a great book to read if you’re looking for some good stories about food or perhaps looking to find a new food author to get into. The stories are interesting but short enough that you don’t get bored, and if you borrow from the library like I did, even if you do get bored you can just skip to the next one.
nyt autumn baking
As soon as I saw these photos in the New York Times my mouth started watering. I mean, a fig tart with caramelized onions and sprinkled with rosemary and Stilton cheese? Yes please. This article will definitely get you in the mood for a little autumn baking.
Images from the New York Times