September 10, 2014

Sour Cream & Onion Popcorn

New post! Sour Cream & Onion Popcorn

As someone who is immersed in the food world, it’s sometimes easy to fall into the state of being jaded/unimpressed with food. I know, it’s crazy, right? Perhaps it comes from finding a good recipe, taking pictures WHILE making recipe, writing about the recipe, posting the recipe online with the hopes of inspiring people to make it and then moving onto the next recipe. This. Over and over again. I’ll have you know that it’s absolutely liberating to make a recipe without documenting it and sometimes I fantasize about what life must be like if that were my reality. Either way, I love this space and I hope it’s obvious that I love what I do here or else I wouldn’t keep doing it!

With that said, I look through A LOT of cookbooks for inspiration on a daily basis and so I feel like I’ve already seen renditions of recipes online…. so I keep flipping. But when I was looking through Seriously Delish (such an appropriate title) by my friend Jessica, I was like WHOA. YES. I WANT THAT. GIMME. Just wait until you see Celebrations (for times when calories don’t count!) section. Holy mother of GOD. There are combinations that make my mind race like Cinnamon Sugar Bacon, Chocolate & Peanut Butter Lover’s Brownies, Buffalo Chicken Pizza and Coffee & Doughnuts ICE CREAM. And suddenly I feel inspired by food again. One of the recipes that stood out to me was this “Sour Cream & Onion” Popcorn recipe. I’ve been wanting to make a homemade cheese powder for a popcorn and Jessica figured it out for us. Thanks, boo!

How did it go? Well…. I started out taking a small bowl of popcorn away from the kitchen to munch on while I worked…and then two trips later I was like OMG THIS IS TOO DANG GOOD and I WANT A PERFECT BITE/HANDFUL TO FINISH and then I kept going. I proceeded to bring the gigantic bowl out to Casey who quickly finished the rest. So, I’d say it went pretty well! I can see this being a hit during football season. Just make sure you put a roll of paper towels near the bowl. It’s a good kind of messy.

Inspiration

September 9, 2014

Shutterbean Summer Recipes 2014

School is in session, Halloween is slowly creeping its way into Target (TOO SOON!) and apples & pears are quickly dominating my favorite grocery stores. Even though we are due for some warm weather here in the Bay Area, I can definitely see signs of Summer coming to an end. What was with that chill in the air last night??! SAD FACE! I was looking through my Pinterest this morning…contemplating how good the eats were this Summer!

Here’s what I made in the kitchen this Summer of 2014 for Shutterbean.

When we’re deep in Winter of ’14-’15 we’ll have to look at this post when we piiiiiiiiiine for Summer. What should I make in Fall 2014??

featured, recipes

September 8, 2014

Honey Mustard Fried Chicken Sliders

It dawned on me that I’ve never really had a lot of sandwich recipes around here. Well, I’ve made my share of panini and am still obsessed with my panini press but I haven’t been so good about getting in to the slider game. What up with that??

The first recipe (of many) I wanted to make from my friend Stephanie’s new cookbook- Easy Gourmet: Awesome Recipes Anyone Can Cook was this fried chicken slider number because HELLO, SLIDERS. There was something so appealing about having something relatively indulgent in bite size form. I also liked that the recipe made six total, so that means our family of three could have two a piece (with picky eater alterations on two) and be satisfied. This recipe really is EASY GOURMET! The fried chicken was flavorful and crisp and I added the sweetness of honey, the sharp bite of brown mustard, creamy aged cheddar, tangy dill pickle slices, peppery arugula and a juicy heirloom tomato slice to each sandwich. Talk about balance!

Picture perfect emoji, angel emoji, fire emoji, happy face emoji, lady in red dress dancing emoji, explosion emoji and cut!

Easy Gourmet is one of my favorite cookbooks this year. Check it out and you’ll see why.

Way to go Stephanie!!

Inspiration

September 7, 2014

And I Quote:

my everyday life, Photography

September 6, 2014

My Everyday Life: Week 36

Here’s what this past week looked like:

September 5, 2014

I love lists, Friday!

Grandmothers know best.
Women & Whiskies. I play a hand model in this series. Ha!
This is beautiful.
Kinda makes you think of all the lives you could have had.
This was fun to watch.
Yup. Pretty much.
How to test if a battery is bad. Spoiler alert: It bounces!
I might be spending my Friday night on this Youtube channel… Start with the Marilyn Monroe look!
9 things I learned about Earthquakes this week.
The smile on this baby’s face melts my heart.
Do you think you’re old? Haha budgets! Superfoods!
What Progress Really Looks Like. REAL LIFE.
Photo Inspiration! You Are My Wild.
What are these and why don’t I have them??
I experienced this thought when I watched my grandfather die.
A little morality tale from David Sedaris.
How to Say No to Everything Ever. (!!!!)
How to reprogram your Subconscious Mind. Thank you, Marie.
The ULTIMATE Cheat Sheet on How to Be a Great Negotiator. Bookmarked!
Yes.

Have you listened to the latest episode of the Joy the Baker Podcast? Check out episode #129 These Are the Days of the Week,

On this week’s episode we talk about —What being born on a Monday or Saturday means for you. We discuss what you bake for a work baking competition. Joy’s new cookbook is about to come out, she’s working on a new one and I want to know why she’s such a cookbook making machine!

recipes

September 4, 2014

SUNFLOWER SEED BUTTER + PRETZELS

Let’s talk a little bit about resisting temptation, shall we?

Have you ever had the peanut-butter stuffed pretzels from Trader Joe’s? I’m quite fond of them. I won’t even allow myself to try the chocolate covered version because I know I won’t be able to STOP. I’ve had a bag of the salted peanut butter filled pretzels in my pantry for a few months. It tempts me EVERY TIME I open the pantry. I swear it’s just waiting for my moment of weakness. It’s saying “Tracy, have a bourbon drink! You’re gonna love us with some!” Those pretzels know that bourbon makes a good catalyst.

My biggest challenge is having a full bag of something/ANYTHING around. Let’s be real….I will eat more of whatever it is than I should. I will portion some out and then go back for “just one more,” until it’s done. With that said, I’ve found that if I put a snack on a plate and portion it out, then put everything away before I start eating, I’m in much better shape. I’ve also found that I really love sunflower seed butter but can’t eat a ton of it like I can with peanut butter. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s super rich? Anyways. I sandwiched sunflower seed butter between two pretzels, made three sandwiches and ate three and that was that!

This is how I counteract eating a bag of peanut butter filled pretzels.