A Post Without Pictures

Oh the horror! Actually, I'll probably sneak in some puppy pictures at the end, but that doesn't count does it? It's like when you eat cookie dough, those calories don't count - I double checked and that's the truth.

Speaking of truth, here it goes. My first post that's open, honest and whole lot of scary if you ask me. But with 2013 in full swing, I'm hoping many of you don't see this post and we can go back to our regularly scheduled program in a couple of days. For those of you that do, I apologize in advance. It's a lot of words, so grab a glass of wine.

I don't have resolutions this year, just goals. Oh wait, I just lied. I did resolve to snuggle more with the puppy and always hug and kiss when we leave and enter the house. But those seemed normal so I never wrote them anywhere. Those are normal right?

But back to goals, yes I have a handful of them:

1. To use this blog as an extension of me, to let you into my little world a whole lot more. What does this mean? It means you'll get to hear about Crossfit, paleo, Gluten Free and a whole lot more puppy. (That's in addition to random food ramblings, which is how this whole thing got started.) I'm basically hoping Lucy becomes famous and can support us when we grew old. Should I make that a goal too?
2. To get back into style, to accessorize and to own the clothes I wear. I work from home, I love yoga pants and they are completely acceptable for a Tuesday night dinner. But, I also love fashion, grew up in that world and don't want to forget that classic style I was handed from my Mom.
3. To stretch it out and go to yoga more. I hate to stretch, then I have to think of things and then I get all nervous and sweaty. And then my sweaty hands can't hold a stretch. But it's good for me so I'll do it.
4. To determine my own healthy. Most recently as a couple of years ago I thought healthy was fat-free, skipping meals and a lack of taste. Luckily, my brother's a chef, my family is Mediterranean and I figured out a new healthy. Yes cookies are healthy if made from scratch (in my own little world).
5. To understand the world of bubbly. I know nothing about Champagne, unless you count knowing that good champagne doesn't give you a hangover. But I want to know more so I can drink more. How does one go about this goal?
6. To cater a party. I'm probably going to have to pay someone to let this one happen. It's totally opposite of how the deal should work, but I'm kinda backwards so I'll probably let that happen. I'm not beneath convincing a 1st grader to let me make cupcakes for their big day.

And now some pictures of the puppy. She's available for photo shoots 7 days a week!

Who is cuter than Lucy - Happy 2013!

Well, Today Was Rough

I'm confused what day it is, the holidays are over and all of a sudden there's no cookies. Without cookies I get confused, so I drink, a lot...

Of tea and coffee. Get your heads on straight - I work, you can't drink while you work. Actually, that's a lie, I've done it before when putting in long hours. It helps, and I think the work has a special twist to it. But back to the topic, hot beverages - I love them.

I think tea cups should be big and coffee cups should be small and classic. My absolute favorite are glass coffee cups. Seriously, how do they not break with boiling liquid - it's like a science experiment every morning. Remember back in the day when I thought I  liked science and went to school to become a doctor, yeah that was funny. Now I just write and work and hug people. I tricked everyone.

so cute, yet fancy

As you know I don't make coffee, my partner-in-crime does. But I know a lot about the topic (see how tricky I am). Like too much that if I start talking I borderline become a coffee nerd. I'm okay with that because otherwise I'm super cool (tricked again!). Okay back to coffee. I don't make it. My husband does. And I love it.

I drink it black, always. Well, that was a trick because once a couple of years ago I tried it with milk and sugar for 2 days. I quickly smartened up and went back to the straight up kind. That is unless it's a cappuccino, then obviously there's a milk product included.

I miss the overabundance of cappuccinos in Italy

Beans are bigger and better. Sure, ground coffee is easy, but it doesn't taste as good. And I should know I drink it black! The freshest coffee is in bean form and is most recently roasted. That brew will knock your Monday into Wednesday, trust me.

And in case you need me to clear up any confusion, here are some of my favs:

• Folgers - ahaha tricked ya again! This isn't one of my favs.
• Cafe Du Monde - we order this New Orleans staple and always have cans in our house. It comes in ground format, and is the only acceptable ground coffee allowed in our little kitchen. 
• African & South American Beans - you can find these at a lot of gourmet coffee roasters and they are worth the premium price.
• Fresh Market - for those times when we can't make it to a gourmet coffee retailer I depend on this specialty grocer. They sell beans, lots of them. I like variety.

And even better is pour-over coffee - the way coffee was supposed to be made. I first tried this at the Queens Kickshaw and fell in love. (If there are any Boston shops that do this PLEASE let me know!) So naturally I bought my husband all the items to make this at home for Christmas. I hope he's reading and he tries them out soon. (I'm tricky). I'll report back soon on how that experiment goes. For now, no tricking just drinking.

Awkward Situations...Just Hug

So many parties, so many people on the list. I pretend to start my holiday shopping early, but I inevitably forget. Like when you forget to buy lemons at the store. I do that a lot too. And then there's the whole situation of forgetting to put people on the list and those last-minute awkward present exchange situations (where you get something, but have nothing to give in return). Yeah, just smile and hug the other person, it's less awkward that way. Trust me.

Or you can just have some of these babies on hand.

My heaven

Yes, that's infused olive oil. The little gift that I made for every smiling guest at our wedding. I was hoping they would remember this gift in the future in case I ever forgot to buy a holiday gift. It was like a pre-gift.

And if I can make 150 of these in one day, you surely can make 10, have them on hand and distribute as needed. First, you MUST have a pretty (heat-proof) glass container. And then you are off and running

Rosemary Infused Olive Oil
Enough GOOD olive oil for each bottle
One rosemary sprig for each bottle

• Heat olive oil over LOW heat. You'll be tempted to turn it up, just eat chocolate instead. You want to heat it so you can still stick your finger in there and its warm but not boiling. (I have no way of telling you how to do this so let's just pretend you'll watch it for a bit)

• Meanwhile place rosemary sprigs in each bottle.

 

•  Once oil is heated either using a funnel (a kitchen one please) or a measuring cup (something with a spout) pour the heated olive oil into the containers. This infuses the oil with the rosemary flavor.

• Wait for the oil to cool and close each bottle. 

If stored in a nice cool place these can last for a couple of months. But let's be honest, you're going to want to take some crusty bread, yummy cheese and dip right in. Don't you think?

Voila!

Cookies Happened...

For a Cause. I love this cause, because of the cause and because there are cookies involved. Are you confused? I'm kinda confused - but that's the norm for me.

So back to it. The Great Food Blogger Cook Swap 2012, or as my brother-in-law likes to call it - cookies from friends on the internet. (Don't worry he ate the cookies). Our lovely friends over at OXO helped us out this year and we all set out to bake cookies, REALLY good cookies, for each other in support of Cookies for Kids' Cancer. And our donations to participate meant that OXO would match dollar for dollar back to the cause up to $100,000. See why I love them so?

It doesn't get much better than that, unless I let you into my little cookie world and let you drool over the creation that came to be. Lucky ladies Hannah over at Blue Kale Road, Rachel over at Williams Kitchen and Adriana over at Food-N-Thought got to taste test my treats. I hope they were good (I tried one, they were kinda delicious).

I took a classic. And by classic I mean anything by Joy the Baker, she's the best, and added my special holiday flavors. These are the distinct tastes that come to mind when I close my eyes and envision the holidays. Chocolate, white chocolate, espresso and orange. (Yes my mind is a little crammed, but I went with it and these cookies did not disappoint.)

Dark Chocolate Cookies a-la Holiday
adapted from Joy the Baker's recipe

10oz ounces good quality dark chocolate , 60%-72%(chopped or in chips)
3 Tablespoons butter (always use Organic unsalted when baking, it tastes better trust me)
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs (again Organic and cage-free)
1 1/2 teaspoons espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped white chocolate (use the good stuff)
zest from one fresh orange

In a double boiler, melt together the chocolate and butter over low heat. Stir continuously until all the chocolate melts.

In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs till they’re thoroughly combined. Add the melted chocolate mixture, then stir in the remaining ingredients, including the chocolate chips, white chocolate and orange zest.

Preheat the oven to 325 F.  Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets, three if you have them. Drop the cookie dough by the tablespoonful onto the prepared baking sheets. 

Bake the cookies for 11 to 12 minutes, until their tops are shiny and cracked.  They won’t crack until the very end, so keep a close eye on them; when they’re cracked all the way across the top surface, they’re done. Remove the cookies from the oven. Wait 5 minutes then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Friends that Send Food

I have a new friend, I've never met her, but she loves food and I think that's all I need to know. Oh and she lives in one of my favorite food cities.

I have a list of U.S food cities in my book, places where I have been and some where I plan to go to get the best eats. These include (in no particular order of course) - Boston, Chicago, D.C. NYC, Seattle, San Fran/Sonoma/Napa, Cinci (I'll explain this one some day), New Orleans and Austin. I love Austin and I love it even more after my new friend sent me some goodies.

As a part of the Austin to Boston Swap, Part Deux a group of bloggers from each city was paired up with a new friend with the promise of a food package in the future. There's really nothing better - friends brought together by food.Oh and did I mention I got the best match - I'm not prejudice or anything - best Austin box ever from Nelly Ramirez over at Analee.

And here's what I got and pretty much devoured:

• El Milagro Chips - that's right homemade tortilla chips
• Torchy's Diablo Sauce - this is the taco food cart that served my pre-flight meal prior to departing - holy carnitas, YUM
• Goodflow Wild Flower Honey - my new friend knows I live for homemade honey - obsessed
• Cuvee Coffe - my brother-in-law said it best, I'm a coffee snob and this one is right on par
• Thunderbird Energetica Bars - okay these are my favorite - so much so that I need to order them asap
• Butternut Squash - perfect for many of my fall-inspired meals
• Edible Austin - just like Edible Boston magazine here in town
• Wheatsville Breeze - this one was so cool, a newsletter from where Nelly shops
• HER OWN PRESERVES - these I'm actually savoring and saving at the same time, I just don't want to share them with anyone

I can't talk much longer, I'm eating all my treats - thanks again Nelly!

A Little Piece of Comfort

In the quiet beach town that we call home there's a little (literally) and new (again, literally) piece of comfort. It comes in the form of a warm smile and homemade eats. And this time it's really homemade. There's no menu and no schedule of favorites but instead this little piece of comfort rolls like the tide (that was cheesy, so I'll keep it in there). And we love every thing about the Acorn Canning Company.

The fact that there's homemade soup one day, fresh spring rolls the next and always seasonal pies gets me every time. And everything is made by one woman (and maybe some helpers) from scratch. This is the "real from scratch." From pie crusts to soup broth to inventive jams - where else can you find Strawberry vanilla jam? So good you want to eat it out of the jar, but you know that's really inappropriate.

My comfort of a lunch - homemade Chicken Noodle

And the best part - the daily selections are written on a large chalkboard outside the shop. So when you drive by you instantly want to cause an accident so you can get a slice of blueberry. It's a simple idea yet one that goes a long way. Do what you know and do it well. Acorn,  you are our little comfort!

Show Some Muscle

Remember that time when Food Beautiful went quiet for a couple months? Yeah, that was crazy and ridiculous. But now we have muscles so it's all good.

Coming in close second to my favorite meal of champagne and oysters is mussels. They are super simple to cook and pretty cheap to buy here in our quiet little town. I'm talking 4 bucks for day-caught mussels which is enough to feed a table of four. Ah happy bellies and happy wallets.

Food and Coaster Courtesy of Our Beach Town

Ingredients
3-4 leeks cleaned and chopped, white parts only
3-5 cloves of garlic, I like 5!
2 lb mussels, prepped
1 cup of white wine, I use sauvignon blanc
olive oil
butter
salt/pepper
parsley
loaf of bread (day old is even better)

Muscle Prep
Rinse your mussels in cold water in a colander. It's also important to rip off the tiny mussel beard, which looks like the string hanging from each mussel. (This is where you'll need to use those muscles.) Grab the string-like part and pull it towards the back of the mussel or the end that doesn't open. You should be able to rip it right out - this is great for relieving any stress from the day. Note: any mussels that don't close when you tap them should be thrown out.

Quickest Most Decadent Meal Ever
In a large heavy bottom skillet (that has a lid) heat up a couple of tablespoons of oil and 2Tbsp of butter. The mix of the two is key here to get that yummy broth at the end. Next you'll want to add the leeks and garlic and saute until they are nice and translucent, about 5 minutes. (fyi: I'm pretty sure I could eat a bowl of leeks at this point)

Throw in the mussels and add your cup of wine. Stir so everything is incorporated and cover with the lid. At this point the mussels are cooking and will take about 5-10 minutes to cook. The best part is they tell you when they are done - once mussels open they are good to go. Note: Any that have not opened should be thrown out. Remove the mussels from the pan with a slotted spoon and reserve.

Now we create the broth - add salt and pepper to taste to your broth. Keep the lid off and cook the liquid until it's reduced. You can add another 2 Tbsp butter if you like, but I usually just go with straight olive oil at this point. Broth should be done in another 5-10 minutes and you end up with this...

the best dish ever

It's wine and olive oil and garlic all waiting to be devoured with some muscles and good crusty bread.