handmade days - fairy bread

ohhhhh white bread, butter, and sprinkles - yummmm. thanks to sarah from i ate brisbane.

handmade days - bittersweet tart

today, there's nothing that paper, fabric, glue, scissors, glitter or even paint can do to fulfill my handmade urges. today, it has to be this - a bittersweet tart from 101 cookbooks.

101 cookbooks - a 2009 favorite

i'm going off the schedule for the next three days, the last posts until the new year. i have about 10 days off of work for the holidays; i plan to take advantage of the time & get some projects moving forward. plus... you won't be reading blogs.

to start i want to reiterate my true love for 101 cookbooks - a beautiful cooking blog heidi swanson. the blog is filled with gorgeous photography, delicious recipes, & a writing style that makes following heidi's instructions a cinch. there is something so special about her featured recipes, she keeps it unpretentious, while focusing on whole, seasonal foods. it has become my go to whenever i need to whip something up for guests or a friend's dinner party or brunch. of course, i've got favorites: spring tabbouleh, strawberry panzanella & sunburst carrot salad, but i'm always excited to see what's next.





i am finishing off the year with two recipes on 101 cookbooks, sante's hermit cookies & sparkling ginger chip cookies. both cookies are to die for & quite easy to make. i encourage any of you looking for a new take on cooking or baking to visit her blog & dive in - you'll be super happy you did.

handmade days - candy these apples

i want to make some of these delicious treats - it's just that time of year.

found mixology

this isn't a new find, we've been sipping on the inside kid since early spring. but, it was last night that bart & i had one of the best we've had & named it the inside kid.

it started at via tribunali, where they suggested a makers, campari & grapefruit juice over ice, with a blood orange garnish. the drink was a delicious sipper, a drastic change from my standard vodka soda with lemon. the next was at a friend's party where he poured me a whiskey, campari on the rocks - it was a little stiffer, but still a solid choice. at this point, i was hooked. having a drink that no one knows gets tiring, especially when you haven't perfected it yourself. we had many terrible versions (garage, chutneys) & we've had some great ones (oddfellows, pink door). pink door made it official:

1 part makers (or whatever whiskey)
1 part campari
splash of sweet vermouth
served on the rocks with an orange garnish.

the perfection of the drink & our goofy moods made naming it at that moment neccessary. bart insisted on inside kid, i think it's a sexier drink. his argument - the drink is so classy & sexy that the name then becomes that. sure. so there it is, a found cocktail now known as the inside kid. learn it, drink it, love it.

found recipe

another goodie from the magical heidi at 101 cookbooks - strawberry panzanella. so delicious, i can't even tell you.

found goodness

this weekend was filled with goodness. here it is, in list form.

sunburst carrot salad from 101 cookbooks, my first experience with carrot ribbons.

a simple spring salad from 101 cookbooks, my first experience roasting beets & peeling blood oranges. it was such a colorful time prepping this one.

sweet & savory quiche, stina is magic. she modified the recipe slighty & it was killer. "i made more bread cubes for the crust, blended that cubes into bread crumbs with some spent grains from beer to make it a little more dense and chose to use sweet ham. oh, and i used 1 cup of 1% milk and 1/2 cup of half and half to cut some of the fat." you have to be registered member to get the full recipe, but i have it in email format, feel free to email me for it.

vicky cristina barcelona, more than just eye candy. i thought it was beautiful, funny, sexy & paced perfectly.

s'more please

sunday was such a wonderful day, filled with coffee, fried eggs, cookie dough, walks to the park, movies, jammies, friends & yes, s'mores. my good friend chris is in town from manhattan, last week we discussed the idea of making marshmallow & set a date for sunday.

it didn't take long for it to become much more - s'mores from scratch. we started with a simple mallow recipe & a goodie from 101 cookbooks for graham crackers (have i told you how much love i have). after our failed attempt at the marshmallow (quick to the boil & not enough mixing), a product that looked like meat jell-o & tasted like gummy vanilla squares, we found this lovely recipe from epicurean. ta da - we had cups & cups of beautiful fluff that sat & turned into the most beautiful marshmallows. layer it up with the crackers, thursday's ganache - take a creme brulee torch to it & there you go.

i definitely recommend both recipes as the s'mores could be the perfect dessert for any type of event - birthday & dinner parties, baby & bridal showers or the marshmallow squares could make a lovely gift tucked into a canning jar.

photo by tonya doughty.

bi-monthly recipes

i'm two months into the year & i have to say that i'm steps closer to crossing a few things off that 2009 to do list. i'm 8 lbs into the 10 lb weight loss, have tickets for my european vacation & have my hands in many a new recipe. i highly recommend these:



betty crocker chocolate chip cookie dough brownies with a ganache frosting from bakerella. in honor of my birthday tomorrow, i decided to bring these into work along with the usual friday treats. i felt straight out the midwest last night as i assembled these; it almost felt ridiculous.



i made this lentil soup a week or so ago & let me tell you - it's made the perfect lunch or side dish most days. another goodie from 101 cookbooks.

salted caramel makes my heart pitter patter

i highly recommend making this salted caramel buttercream frosting - put it on some devils food chocolate cupcakes & sprinkle them with sea salt or eat it with a spoon. it's too die for.

image from chockylit.

in the kitchen

in an effort to try more recipes, i decided to make chicken & dumplings from smitten kitchen last night. i grew up on the salty doughy goodness of chicken & dumplings & have since learned to make them just like my mom. the problem is - i wanted a little more kick & i wanted to make the dumplings from scratch. thanks to the slog, i found the above recipe.

i wanted to rate all of the new recipes i try in 2009, but the first one will be hard as there is no base to start from. either way, here is the system.

difficulty: easy, intermediate, difficult
time: quick fix, some time, all evening
taste: blah, pretty pretty good, holy yumm

smitten kitchen's chicken & dumplings:
easy
some time (30 minute prep, 1.75 cook)
holy yum