I first made this recipe a few months ago for Aaron’s birthday. Not only did the flavors sounds amazing, but since his birthday was on a weekday I wanted to it to be as easy as it was delicious. Holy smokes! Its spicy goodness knocked our socks off and I’ve been making it ever since.
This weekend was big for our little apartment… After months of living without an overhead light in the dining room, we finally found the perfect one (a vintage industrial light) at a flea market and installed it on Saturday. It’s funny how little things like a light shade or a coat of paint make such a big difference, at least in my book. Now that that’s settled, I feel a big sense of relief. I’ve been meaning to share photos of my new kitchen because it makes me happy… I hope you like it too!
You may remember my big paint revelation I had earlier this year. Initially I painted the kitchen light blue, thinking it would be lovely and calming, but after 3 coats of paint and a few weeks of living with it, I just couldn’t handle it. The blue made me feel like I was in a baby’s room and did anything but calm me, so I had the bright idea to use some dark gray paint I had left over from another room. I was a bit hesitant because dark gray theoretically seemed a bit abrasive for the kitchen, but after the first test patch I was sold. The color helps camouflage the terrible faux granite counters and gives the room depth and modernity. Now I actually do feel calm.
I love brownies. Due to this affection, I’m a bit picky with them too. None of those cakey brownies, I want fudgy, moist brownies thank you very much. As I was flipping through this months issue of food and wine when I spotted a recipe for espresso-shortbread brownie bars and was instantly intrigued. That just sounded like the Cadillac of brownies. Plus, it’s been a while since I tried a new brownie recipe. So, into the kitchen I went, ready to whip up one heck of a brownie.
I quickly made the shortbread in the food processor and pressed it into a baking pan. I popped that in the freezer for a few minutes, then into the oven while I worked on the chocolatey goodness. It was during this part that I started to get what I’d like to term, baker’s anxiety. I melted chocolate with the butter, over a stick and a half of butter, then added two cups (!!) of sugar. Remember this is after I already made a butter-laden shortbread. I’m not normally the type of person concerned with these kinds of things, and honestly I was already too deep to go back, but holy moly, that’s a whole lot of butter and sugar. Don’t worry, I worked through it, I even licked the spatula clean. I pulled the golden brown shortbread out of the oven and carefully poured the chocolatey batter over top. Into the oven it went, ready to turn into the richest brownies ever.
Not too long ago I was strolling through my blogroll and came to a sudden halt when I saw a recipe for savory roasted almonds over on sprouted kitchen. The photographs are always stunning, but until seeing the recipe I’d forgotten how comforting a fresh batch of roasted nuts could be. Easy and always delicious, they’re a great way to be creative in the kitchen without commiting too much time. I usually lean towards the sweet and spicy end of the spectrum, but this savory recipe seemed like the perfect afternoon snack.
After stripping the thyme leaves from their stems and zesting a lemon, I added all the spices to my mortar and pestle relieved a bit of stress by grinding the spices together for a minute or two. One of the things I like best about this recipe is the aroma it gives off almost from the very beginning. Think about the scent of thyme, then lemon, even red pepper flakes and parmesan… they all have distinctive smells, some stronger than others, but once combined it’s like a whirlwind of goodness.
I don’t know why it hadn’t ever occured to me (or maybe it has and I forgot), but eggs whites are such an easy way to bind things to nuts without using oil. I quickly coated the almonds with the egg whites and tossed the spices in. Into the oven they went, on a mission to create the awesomest smells ever. Continue reading »
Woohoo! It’s happy hour and I’m a happy lady! I found this cocktail called the “fancy free cocktail” in my little vintage cocktail book. Not only did I love the name but I had all but one ingredient. Well, a quick trip to the store solved that problem and shortly after Aaron and I were feeling fancy free… whew, the name doesn’t lie; this is a strong cocktail.
Thank you so much to everyone for the kind comments about the new colors, it really means a lot to me. Cheers! To all of you my awesome readers!
fancy free cocktail
makes 1 cocktail
1 1/2 oz bourbon
2 dashes maraschino liqueur
1 dash orange bitters
1 dash angostura bitters
1
Add all ingredients along with two ice cubes into a cocktail shaker. Shake well.
2
Pour into a chilled cocktail glass and enjoy!
One of the many things I love about living in New York City is that I get to take the subway everyday which gives me a solid 20 minutes of reading time on the way to work. No computer, no phone, no one else that needs my attention (besides the occasional preacher/singer/crazy folk).
Yesterday I picked up the New York Times and read the food section front to back. Funnily enough, when I took a quick preview at the articles on my computer before I left home, I didn’t think I’d be interested in any of them. Once I had the paper in front of me and read them because there was nothing else to do, I found that I was really interested in all these recipes and articles that I initially brushed off. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I love the internet… it allows me to read papers all over the world but there’s something so comforting about holding an actual newspaper in your hands and just getting lost in the pages.
Highlights include:
A Crispy Duck Salad with Green Beans and Honeyed Almonds. I’ve never made duck, but this may be enough to tempt me.
A Quick Tagine that had my mouthwatering and stomach rumbling.
Saving the Jewish Deli… I found the most intriguing thing to be the recipe for a celery tonic.
And lastly, a new spice to try, Pimentón.
Well, after feeling a bit out of it for a while I marched myself to the farmers’ market determined to be inspired. While I didn’t see the rhubarb that I keep hoping for (soon, it’s going to be here soon), I did find some dusty carrots… one of the few colorful things currently residing at the market. I can work with carrots… even better, I can bake with carrots! I whipped up some delicious little carrot cupcakes that are as tasty as they are cute. What’s not to like?
Well, here we are again. I have to admit something that you may have noticed. I am in a funk. A food funk. I’m not sure what to attribute it to, perhaps the fact that it’s so nice out that I don’t want to be inside. Each weekend I visit the farmers market, hoping to be inspired and it’s just not happening. Even the fancy grocery store isn’t doing it for me. So please, bear with me while I try to find a spark of excitement… I know I’ll find it, it’s just taking me a bit longer than usual.
I did manage to mix up a tasty summer inspired-cocktail. I have been uncharacteristically into iced tea lately. I have always been an iced coffee kind of lady, but this yeah I just crave iced tea. For happy hour this week I mixed up a drunken Arnold Palmer, something I like to call an Arnie. I was lacking proper garnish, like a lemon or a mint leaf, which would have made it a touch better, but what are you gonna do, you know?
Cheers! I hope you have a lovely weekend!
arnie
makes 1
2 oz iced tea
2 oz lemonade (preferably fresh-squeezed)
.5 oz simple syrup
1.5 oz vodka
lemon wedge or mint leaf, to garnish
1
Combine iced tea, lemonade, simple syrup and vodka in a cocktail shaker. Stir vigorously for 10 seconds.
2
Pour into a rocks glass and garnish with a lemon or mint leaf.
Pour a
happy hour: tennessee
Woohoo! It’s Friday! I meant to make a mint julep in anticipation of the Kentucky Derby but life was a bit hectic this week and I didn’t get the key component, mint. So instead I worked with what I had on hand and whipped up a little number called Tennessee. A little whiskey, maraschino liqueur and lemon juice. Simple and strong.
Cheers! To a lovely weekend ahead!
the Tennessee
1 oz whiskey
1 oz maraschino liqueur
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1
Combine all ingredients along with an ice cube in a cocktail shaker. Stir for a few seconds and strain into a cocktail glass.
2
Garnish with a lemon slice. Cheers!