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.

Birthday Bests

When it's your birthday you should get all your favorites don't you think? I'm a big believer of this, which is why today I will dream about my favorites, enjoy as many of them as possible and try to make my birthday last all week.

Greek wine and flowers

Garden fresh tomatoes

Two scoops of ice cream on any dessert

Greek dips

And my favorite loves

How can you not love a birthday???

A Man, A Truck, A Taco

Down in our lovely little beach town there is one thing missing...anything that slightly resembles Mexican fare. Okay, well maybe there's some guacamole here and there but I want authentic. My partner-in-crime and I spent 2 years living around the block from a family-run Mexican joint with the best (and most authentic) Mexican I've had, and I miss it dearly.

And then I went to Austin and all bets were off. There's Mexican - it's authentic - and it's in food trucks. I think that sentence says it all. The fact that you can arrive late on a Thursday night, find all restaurants have stopped serving food and still be served fresh sea bass tacos on homemade corn tortillas is heaven. It's unpretentious, it's real and boy was it better than good.

At Pecos Tacos on West 6th Street you find an overly generous man who has created this little secret late night eatery. I tried one vegetarian with mushrooms and cheese and one sea bass. When we were told the fish was fresh I didn't exactly believe it, but boy was that the truth. And with only a couple of other added ingredients it was the perfect little late-night dinner.

Doesn't Jill look like a happy food-truck customer!