food lately: you know, from the last six months (part 2)

don't worry, there's more:

arugula salad with tomatoes and cheesy croutons 

pasta salad with cantaloupe, arugula, and prosciutto (awesome!)

pasta with eggplant, grilled onions, and tomatoes in cream sauce

one of my favorite pizzas i've ever made with eggplant, mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, and pesto

and... the strangest pizza i've ever made with leeks, broccoli, and veggie patties, but not terrible

thyme & parmesan biscuits, fried eggs, and left over dressing 

cheese dip nachos (oh yes!)

a delicious feast of roasted sweet potatoes, greens, caramelized onions, chorizo sausage, goat cheese, and crepes (also one of my favs)

plus some sweet treats: 

brownies

and blue bell! 

xoxo

food lately: not really but still good, part 1

I have been cooking (& eating) but I've been behind on posting (obviously).  

So here are some things from the last couple of months...

Tomato-Basil Bread from here plus I added some sun-dried tomatoes

Challah (at a Balla) from my bread cookbook, which is this one if you are interested (it was super delicious) 

Chocolate-Strawberry Pie with Whipped Cream for added deliciousness 

Southern Spread of deviled eggs, cheese, pickles, and crackers (for the derby! so long ago!)

More deviled eggs with a salad of blackberries, goat cheese, and pecans, so very good

and if your curious -- 

what goes in my traditional southern deviled eggs:

egg yolk

mayo 

dijon mustard

pickle juice (from the sweet ones)

salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne 

xoxo

a trip to the beach, before the rain

We actually had the loveliest weather for most of April.  It was warm and sunny, but sometimes chilly.  It's now May and the weather has been less than wonderful - cold and rainy or just some good old hot southern thunderstorms.  Lame.

But before this nasty weather turned, we had a lovely weekend escape to the NC beaches.  A couple of our friends were running the half marathon (!) so we met up to get them pumped up and celebrate post their awesome finish.

One of the things I like about North Carolina is that we can live in the South and drive three hours to be at the beach.  A good combination of the things I love.

So we went to Kitty Hawk and saw the sights, soaked up the sun, and ate our way through town (shocker, I know).  My favorites:

The Wright Memorial, beautiful 

Duck Donuts, where they hand dip your donuts when you order them (absolutely frigging delicious)

The beach house and deck facing the ocean

Seafood delight from the market

The beach, a little chilly in the water but perfect on the sand

Aww...

On the drive back we stopped at Weeping Radish Brewery, the oldest microbrewery in NC!

We also saw this sign for a town called Momeyer, who knew Lorraine had her own town?!

Finally, we had Chinese for dinner at Red Lotus back in town (which is always great) and Jonathan got this ridiculous fortune. Seriously, he doesn't need this kind of encouragement.

I hope you make it to the beach soon! 

xoxo

food lately: baking times

It's been cold out, which means more baking. Some sweet, some savory.

Almond cupcakes with Chocolate Cinnamon Frosting for Ashley's B-day:

Mom's chocolate chip cookies for everyday treats:

Tomato Basil Bread for sandwiches:

Better than...Cupcakes for the Oscars: 

More pretzels because they are so good, but this time, in a pretzel shape!

Keep eating!

xoxo

king of the cake

Berenbaum's is a delightful bakery in Durham.  But they aren't your typical bakery. They have a stand at the farmer's market and they operate a kind-of csa. 

I know, a bakery csa?? 

So much better than the vegetable kind, let's be honest.  

And to top it all off, they operate on a sliding scale.  Crazy amazing.

Now, I don't live in durham (yet), so I don't get to partake in these treats often.  But last Saturday I made a trip to the farmer's market because i won Berenbaum's weekly facebook giveaway!!! 

Boom diggity! 

Not only was I lucky just to be the weekly winner, I was also lucky because this week's giveaway was a King Cake! Right in time for Mardi Gras.  Oh believe me, Ashley and I were dying.  

So, yes, Saturday I picked up the King Cake and it looked like this:

Just beautiful. I wanted to dig right in but I waited patiently until Sunday, because we had decided to eat it while watching the super bowl.  

(Correction: I had decided, Jonathan and Ashley were ready to eat the whole thing Saturday afternoon)

But Sunday came and we ate that King Cake and seriously people, it was the best King Cake ever.

EVER.

I've eaten a lot of King Cake in my day. I am a very experienced baby-finding-king-cake eater. And this one was so perfect. The brioche dough, the cinnamon, the pecans, the icing. 

I could eat one a week.

Oh yes, who found the baby jesus? Ashley of course. 

The irony is lost on no one.

ALSO, of course they have a blog, and of course there is a picture of us with our king cake on it. 

How precious? 

(Yes, they called Jonathan Brian by mistake, don't get confused)

But now all the king cake is gone. And I must wait until next year.  

But next year I will buy two.  I don't care what you say 

xoxo

food lately: a little bit off

most of my cooking has been on hold or very strange in the last couple of weeks thanks to a broken fridge that is now semi fixed, but we hope it will all be better soon.

in the meantime, here are some randoms,

mini cannoli cups:

so the filling part was tasty but i don't love the wonton wrapper as the pastry. 

but in a rush, it will work 

deviled egg sandwich:

big fan of this: veggie bacon, lettuce, hard boiled eggs sprinkled with salt pepper and paprika, and then a spread mixture of mayo, mustard, and tapenade (yes, we put olives in our deviled eggs, deal with it).

it really tastes like a deviled egg in sandwich form

pesto and tomato pasta:

well yes, i make this all the time, because it's delicious.

this time it was with some angel hair pasta, then in a skillet saute up some pesto sauce, sliced garlic, and cherry tomatoes. toss it all together with some pepper and sea salt and call it a win.

keep cooking

xoxo

Christmas in Arkansas

Christmas was spent in Arkansas this year with the whole family.  It was a very relaxing week filled with lots of great time with the family and so very much food.

-- Some highlights --

I made gingerbread cookies before I left using Martha's recipe and some royal frosting:

Once in Arkansas, Mema put us to work making the peanut butter and coconut candies (two types, not together):

There was so much food but little photographing of it, I was too busy eating of course!

But here is one: roasted potatoes, black-eyed peas, slaw, and bacon wrapped green beans. 

These were the sides that accompanied the fish fry.

There was much card playing per the usu:

And SNOW! 

Yes Arkansas had a very white Christmas for the first time since 1926! 

It was beautiful and there is plenty of proof:

I really liked the snow, if you couldn't tell.  And it was a good snow,  a few inches that stuck around a couple of days but no ice. So perfect.

Hope y'all had a very merry Christmas!

xoxo

leftovers: peppermint frosting style

As mentioned previously, Ashbash and I were lucky judgers in the News and Observers Holiday Cookie Contest.  

I know you are jealous, and yes, it was a wonderful sugar overload. 

A couple of recipes really stood out though, and after making some of my chocolate peppermint cupcakes, I decided to put the leftover frosting to good use with one of the recipes.

Ashley suggested I make a chocolate cookie sandwich with the leftover peppermint frosting, so I did, using this recipe for World Peace Cookies.  They are a chocolate slice and bake and thus pretty easy to make with the handy-dandy-stand mixer.  Though next time I might consider adding an egg, they could use the extra binding I think. 

So, follow the recipe, or maybe add an egg (I'll update you once I test out the adapted recipe),

Slice up the log:

Bake up the cookies and let cool:

And then, apply a smear of frosting to one cookie, and top with another, 

ta-da:

Peppermint frosting (full) recipe:

This recipe frosted 9 big cupcakes, 24 mini cupcakes, and 12 sandwich cookies

15 Tablespoons of unsalted butter, room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 to 1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract

Beat butter in the bowl of a standmixer, adding in sugar by the half-cup.  Once all the sugar is incorporated add in the vanilla and peppermint extract to taste.

I also like to stir in some crushed up candy canes for good measure.

Hope you keep the holiday spirit alive a little bit longer!

xoxo

food lately: while studying

What have I been munching on lately?

Well, lots of pizza, like this buffalo tofu with ricotta, jalapenos, and corn:

And this similar soyrizo, jalapenos, spinach, corn, and eggs:

I've been in a mood for lentils with pasta, I think because it's such an easy way to add some protein - just start boiling the lentils about 10 minutes before you add the pasta

Some stir-fry with ramen:

a fried egg-on-top sandwich:

And of course, embracing the holiday spirit with some chocolate cupcakes with peppermint frosting:

hope you are eating well this holiday season!

xoxo