November 4, 2010

Black Beans with Kale & Roasted Squash

I only cook recipes for my blog a few days a week, when my schedule permits. The rest of the time I make stuff up in the kitchen (without photographic evidence) or rely heavily on quesadillas, frozen soups, toast & eggs or sometimes cereal for dinner. Two nights ago I made Molly’s black beans for myself and added Kale to the mix. There I was, bouncing up and down at the dinner table! I was so delighted with my dish but had no one to share it with. Casey had a work dinner, which meant I ate a LOT of beans!

He was home for dinner last night, and despite having it two nights in a row I couldn’t wait to make it for him. Even though it’s kinda hippy/crunchy food, I knew he would enjoy the kick/depth of the black beans and the sweet & savory aspect of the roasted delicata squash & apples.

The light has been disappearing earlier in the evenings, so my cooking schedule is totally messed up as a result! I didn’t feel like whipping out my camera flash, so my trusty cellphone will help tell the tale 🙂
CONTINUE READING

November 2, 2010

Pumpkin Cake with Brown Butter Icing

So I walk out onto the Project Runway stage holding this cake on a pedestal and Michael Kors gasps! He cries, “EFFORTLESSLY CHIC!” Then I proceed to ask him why the screw always comes out on my ritzy MK sunglasses??! Come on Michael! My Isaac Mizrahi sunglasses from Target have held up for almost 4 years now! Of course Nina Garcia would like to talk some mad crap about my cake, but the caramelized walnuts shut her up. Yeah girl. You know it’s totally editorial. Zip it. Later on I catch Heidi scarfing down half of it….

Then I woke up…. Why is this cake effortlessly chic? Well there’s three different recipes that come together to produce a simple, yet killer pumpkin cake. At first I was intimidated because I usually avoid recipes that refer to ANOTHER recipe to complete an ingredient. I just want it all there, right in front of my face. I want to know how hard I need work and if the effort is going to pay off. So yeah… I was blown away by the ease of this cake. Three different recipes? Child’s play. Chic? Check! Effortless? Pretty much!

This is the cake that we ate on Halloween night. YES. After all that candy wrangling, my friends & neighbors made room for this cake. Once you lay eyes on a cake like this, your stomach sends singles to your brain. “Hey! Let’s make some room for this cake!” Yes, surprisingly they’ll synchronize their swatches and suddenly your devouring a big slice.

Oh and did you get a load of those nuts? Make sure you snag one because I might fight you for it.

around the home, Uncategorized

October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween!

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween! We sure did!

Cooper was a Red Sox player. We TRIED to get him to wear a hat…but no dice.

He always takes them off the second we put them on him.

I was all spidery. My neighbor made me a spider hat! Isn’t it cool?!
CONTINUE READING

recipes, Uncategorized

October 31, 2010

Kale with Golden Raisins & Pine nuts

I’ve been sitting on this recipe for awhile because I failed the first time I made it. It was totally my fault too! I dumped a heaping 1/4 cup of pine nuts in the pan and didn’t bother tasting them for freshness. Turns out they weren’t and my family & I had to suffer through it. Everyone kept reassuring me it was fine. IT WAS NOT. I sat at the dinner table beating myself up. How could I have put something out that didn’t taste good?!? Why am I letting people suffer and eat this crap?

Why am I telling you this?

Because we all make mistakes in the kitchen!! I’ve made a lot in the past and continue to make them! If I threw in the towel, I wouldn’t be able to keep posting on this here site. I don’t give up because I love the feeling of accomplishing something tasty & wonderful. I keep trying and as a result I get better!

My mistake was NOT tasting my ingredients beforehand. I could have substituted slivered almonds or toasted walnuts in the recipe to replace the bunk pine nuts. God knows I have enough in my pantry! The next time I made this dish, I used fresh pine nuts with the suggested amount and LOVED it. All those feelings of disappointment were abolished. Crappy pine nuts? What crappy pine nuts? Nuts go bad! I gotta remember that. Apparently pistachios have a really short shelf life too. Watch out for that.

I love the balance between the bitterness of the kale & the juicy plump sweet golden raisins with the subtle crunch of the toasted pine nuts. I daydream of adding a poached egg up top or mixing it with some couscous & throwing a bunch of feta on top. How about taking some leftovers and sprinkling it on top of your pizza with fresh mozzarella and sharp Pecorino before you toss it in the oven?

Let’s make that happen.

Uncategorized

October 27, 2010

An ode to squash…

I’ve been having mad cravings for squash lately. It’s in the air!

I was searching through the Shutterbean vaults tonight looking for some ideas for dinner.

Let’s see what I’ve found….

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Delicata Squash, Kale & Cannellini Bean Salad

Butternut Squash Curry

Roasted Acorn Squash with Cinnamon Butter

Spicy Morrocan Style Stuffed Acorn Squash

Fluffy Pumpkin Parfaits

Pumpkin Waffles

Chewy Oatmeal Pumpkin Bread with Trader Joe’s Mix

YUM!! That may get you started if you’re also craving squashy things!

I hope to add more to my squash recipes to my stash this season. Got any good ones?

I have my eye on these:

recipes, Uncategorized

October 25, 2010

Herbed Cheese Straws

Want to give people the impression that you’re super awesome in the kitchen? Make a batch of these and bring them to a party! I guarantee the lucky recipients of these Herbed Cheese Straws will assume you’ve spent hours making them. You might be the talk of the party, watch out!

Want the truth? It’s pretty shameful how easy these straws are to whip up. Don’t feel bad about the praise.

You totally deserve it!

Afraid of puff pastry & dough? Don’t be a wuss! This is recipe is totally attainable. You can do this. I have faith in you. The power of puff pastry is ridiculous, and once you’ve conquered your timid frozen puff pastry dough ways, you are gonna find any excuse to make something ANYTHING with a box of puff pastry. I’m thinking these would be equally enjoyable if I substituted all the savory bits with cinnamon, sugar and a smear of yummy pumpkin butter!

But that’s an entirely different post….. Stay tuned.

recipes, Uncategorized

October 22, 2010

Hash Browns with Fried Egg & Avocado

Hash browns. Avocado. Fried Egg & Hot Sauce. What else is there to say? All my favorites taking up a lil space on my plate and I couldn’t be happier. I made this for a good friend the other day and two days later she was in her kitchen making it for her man. Watch out! It has the power to change you.

This was my first time making hash browns. They were good. REAL GOOD. And super easy! My thighs are frightened by the future hash brown filled breakfasts I plan on busting out this fall & winter. Guess who will be wearing stretch pants til Summer 2011?

And let me just say that I’ve been having some of the most AMAZING avocados lately. FINALLY! I spent the whole summer eating crappy avos just so I could delight in the most perfect topping for this batch of hash browns.

You are gonna go nuts when you take your first bite. End of story.