Holiday Favorites

From top left:  Candy Centered Chocolate Cookies// Chocolate Crackle Cookies// 
Pecan Rolo Pretzel Bites// Oreo Truffles// Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Men

Merry Christmas my friends.  

Christmas is coming in five days and that feels a little bit shocking.  Mostly shocking because not a bit of extra butter or sugar has whipped itself into any holiday baking this year in my kitchen.  I've had my fair share of caramels and cookies and chocolate covered things.  I just can't say I made any of them myself.  It's been a wonderful but very busy month, which has not left time for the all important gingerbread man. 

I still have high hopes of doing some baking this year, but in the meantime I wanted to share some of my past favorites.  Hope you are having a very merry Christmas season.

From my little kitchen to yours... Merry Christmas.  

DIY: How to make Pom Poms

This little kitchen has been keeping itself busy.  Between the catering, throwing parties for family and friends and the ever important wedding cake deadline that is slowly creeping up on me, time is going faster than I could have ever imagined.  I had big plans of reminding you about the perfect Fourth of July pie and equipping you with cold soups that make this summer heat seem not so oppressive.  But between the long days of cooking, many nights have been spent on these little fluff balls to spice up parties and gatherings.  And I promise to be back with cold soups and other goodness soon.

For now, let's pom!

parties: Father's Day in the Backyard

We had quite the backyard party to celebrate Father's Day.  With a brother I love who is a father of two and a dad I adore, I decided we should celebrate them both.  This menu would work at your backyard parties all summer long. 

Oven Roasted Potatoes

It's a funny thing that happens.

The louder things get in my kitchen, the quieter things seem to get around here.

It's just totally backwards, but I see no end to that reality.  Until Apple comes up with a way for me to blink my eyes to take a picture that is instantly sent to my iphone and computer, I will most likely never catch up.

There are several types of cooking that take place over here.  There is the slow cooking, which is what gets photographed and posted.  Step by step is considered and the lighting is adjusted.  It usually involves a glass of wine and sending Mr. Hungry to the grocery store a couple of times because I forgot ingredients.  But it doesn't matter because time is not important. It's my therapy and I like it that way.

And then there is what has been happening as of late.  I seem to be moving at a speed that leaves not even seconds to place something down and take pictures of the food that I am making.

So without wasting any more time on my excuses for being away, I can share with you a list of things I have learned and a recipe for potatoes you are going to need for the rest of your life.

parties: A Baby Shower.

Oh boy, do I have something fun to share with you.  Last weekend, I had the privilege of helping to cater a baby shower in Dallas and oh, what a privilege it is when you are working with friends who put so much love and work into the party.  My friends Abby and Katie (with the wonderful help of sister Hannah, mother Karen and Katie's mom Barbara and her wonderful home) threw a lovely shower for Abby's sister, Emily.  These girls know how to throw a party, but more importantly, how to decorate. I happen to meet sweet Emily this summer on our trip to Italy and let's just say that I could have never imagined I would be helping with this darling shower for a baby that will be born exactly nine months from the week I met her {Oh, Italia}.  I put together a few shots of the food, but every detail of the party is worth mentioning so here it goes...

(scroll to the bottom for notes about the menu)

This January Shower was a mix of comfort food + bright pops of color.

The photo booth captured everyone's predictions as to whether a baby girl or baby boy was in the works.  The mom to be is unsure, but grandmothers have good instincts and this one is going with boy. 

There was a table with packets of sweet peas for guests to plant for favors and a jar to shower the mom-to-be with advice. 

And by the end of a lovely shower, the three of us had a little fun with the photo booth. 

Menu Notes...

• Click here for the tomato basil soup.  
• The grilled cheese were made with buttermilk sourdough bread from Central Market with sharp cheddar cheese and olive oil to crisp the bread. 
• Click here for Avocado Chicken Salad. 
• Click here for Pesto Pasta Salad recipe.  I substituted these marinated mozzarella balls for the feta ... not sure I will ever go back to feta. It was delicious.
• Click here for chocolate chip cookie recipe.
• And the Oatmeal Cake Cupcakes with buttercream frosting were amazing! I am going to do a little begging to see if I can get the grandmother to be to share this perfect recipe.  

Mother's Day Brunch

Did you know Mother's Day is soon? 

  I repeat MOTHER'S DAY is soon.

May 8 to be exact. 

Never underestimate the importance of Mother's Day.  You will probably be cursed for the rest of your life if you don't go out of your way to thank your mother for dealing with you all those years. 

If you are old enough to read, it means you've given your mother some trouble so be sweet.

What better way to celebrate the woman who will probably cook for you more in your lifetime than any other person in the world than to cook her a feast.  Sure, you can go out and celebrate at a restaurant, but what do moms really like?  You...in the kitchen, putting a little love into a brunch... AND doing the dishes after.

It's no secret I've been on a brunch kick, but here are a few of the reasons that back the obsession.  I could never throw a breakfast... too early for me, but lunch time just doesn't sound as jazzy..  By brunch, you can serve hearty breakfast foods mixed with sweet breads and muffins and top it off with a mimosa or bloody mary.   Below are some menu ideas from the archives.  Still working on what I will actually serve this year, but these have all worked well at brunches in the past.

p.s. if you no longer have a mom around, you can always celebrate another mother in your life, or someone who has been like a mom to you.  Guaranteed, there will be tears.  Thanking someone for being a "great mom" to you?  Yes, there will be tears, tears of joy.

{Mother's Day Brunch Menu}

Mimosas

Mixed Berry Fruit Salad

Spinach, Artichoke & Ricotta Pie

Maple Roasted Bacon

If you are like me, and like a little dessert with brunch...

Lemon Lime Tea Cakes 

or 

Blackberry Shortbread Bars

Keys to hosting a brunch:
Cook only one stove top item.  The last thing you want to do is spend all your time over the stove trying to cook items that are all last minute so they are nice and hot.  This menu is perfect for that because you can cook the bacon and pie in the oven at the same time.

Make everything in advance. I would consider this the golden rule, but maybe that's just because I'm not a morning person.  I would rather wake up and stick a few things in the oven while I get ready than think about waking up at the crack of dawn for prep work.  With these two main dishes, the prep is so minimal it's okay to leave it till the morning, but you could always cook the pie and just reheat in the morning if you wish.   Even fruit salad can be tossed together the night before.

Another reason this menu works well together... you can put the pie and bacon in at the same time.  

happy valentine's day.

So I took my own idea and made these brownies and made a version of these bags.  Two days before Valentine's was not the time to start looking for the brown bags I needed for this project so I improvised and used brown lunch bags and cut them off.  My printer was being difficult so I just printed on white card stock and pasted on.  It's been awhile since I brought a sweet treat to work, so I thought this was a perfect excuse to try out a new version of the over top fudgy brownies that I have been dying to try and give my coworkers a little old fashioned valentine.

Are you ready for this?  No seriously, if you have any interest in peanut butter and serious chocolate, this could change everything.  Dark chocolate Reese's peanut butter cups sprinkled into over the top fudgy brownies.  I can barely type because of the sugar coma I have put myself in just from the bite here and bite there that i ate, but what better day than Valentine's to go a little over the top?  I will say these weren't the easiest brownies to cut into hearts, but I think they turned out pretty darn cute. I made half with Snickers just in case the Reese's cups didn't work out, but seriously?  Why would I have ever thought peanut butter cups would be anything but bliss in all this chocolate??

This version is now on the very top of my list of outrageously tasty and decadent treats with the Reese's being my favorite version.  Hope you are noshing on some sweet treats today and put these on your list.

From my little kitchen to yours... Enjoy.

Here is the recipe.  Substitute Dark Chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Cups for Snickers and walnuts for the pecans.

Sure wish you I could deliver these through each one of your screens... hope you have a great day.

soft pretzels

We had our own little Oktoberfest celebration this weekend and if I have my way, it will be the way we celebrate the occasion every year from here on after.  For that matter, it might be the way I celebrate everything.  We made soft pretzels and I am hooked.  It's a blessing and a curse when I find something I love so much.  A blessing because it's another great recipe to share but if I make these as often as I want, I would turn into one gigantic carb.

This is not by any means one of those quick recipes, but it was quite fun making them and even more fun eating them.  If you have a few friends or kids that want to join you in the kitchen, rolling these suckers is a fun little project.

We added some parmesan cheese to a few and cinnamon sugar to a few more.

My friend Kate made two great dips... a worcestire dip and a beer cheese spread.

If this wasn't indulgent enough, after one bite of the cinnamon sugar pretzel, I heard, "this would be even better with some icing"... from another, "oh I think this would be good with some Nutella.  Well, what do you know, I had both in the pantry and they made the cinnamon sugar pretzels even better.

This is the perfect weekend project.  Warning... make at least two per person or you might start feuds over who gets the goods.

pretzel rollin fun...

Don't be discouraged if your pretzels don't turn out well from the get go.  Even the ugly ones taste good... that was my first one, eek.

the baking soda bath... sounds weird, but makes for a great pretzel

Soft Pretzels

Adapted from Alton Brown, Food Network

Recipe Notes

Some people use pretzel salt and if you want to go all out, feel free. However, I used coarse sea salt and if you don't have it, I would suggest buying it.  You will use it way more than you think.  Make sure you provide a lot of time for these suckers because you will need to let the dough rise for an hour.  

Ingredients

1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water (a meat thermometer comes in handy to test temperature)

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 package active dry yeast

22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups

2 ounces unsalted butter, melted

Vegetable oil, for pan

10 cups water

2/3 cup baking soda

1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Coarse salt

Optional toppings

parmesan cheese, shredded

cinnamon and sugar

Equipent

stand mixer with a dough hook

parchment paper

Step by Step

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in a large pot.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Pinch the dough at all places that it intersects tightly so that it will stay together.  Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula or strainer spoon and return to the baking sheet.

For regular pretzels:  Brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with coarse salt.

For cinnamon sugar pretzel:  Brush with melted butter, dip in sugar and sprinkle cinnamon on top.

For parmesan pretzel:  Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with shredded parmesan cheese.

Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Serve warm with various dips.

father's day fudge {a.k.a. peanut butter fudge}

Have you ever had anyone tell you that you were so beautiful only to realize years later that you had a uni-brow and unruly frizzy hair? Or have someone insist that you are on a “fun adventure” when you call and request  to be rescued from a freeway in 100 degree heat because you ran out of gas?  These are just two of the thousands of reasons that my dad is so great.  Sure, this was a hard fact to see growing up when he marched in my high school lunch room with his accordion to sing me happy birthday or blast show tunes and shake the car every time he dropped me off in the middle school carpool line.  Well, here I am many years later, chalking all of that up to self-esteem building and realizing I have been blessed beyond belief with the greatest dad.

While my dad doesn’t cook much, I am pretty sure he is the reason I love to do so.  I have decided over the years that I love to cook because I love to eat and I definitely got that from my father. 

It seems like yesterday that I was in lower school eating breakfast with my dad one Saturday.  Someone must have been having oatmeal because the brown sugar was on the table.  We happen to glance at the back of the box and saw a recipe for peanut butter fudge.  We both agreed that it looked like the tastiest fudge we had ever seen, and we just had to try it.  Less than five minutes later, we had come up with exactly what we would be doing for the rest of the afternoon and headed to the grocery store.  And just like that I was hooked on cooking because this was the most amazing fudge I had ever had. 

The funny thing about this recipe is that day I felt like we had been slaving in the kitchen all day and had made an extremely complicated gourmet dish that tasted like absolute heaven; all these years later, it’s about the simplest, quickest one pot dessert you can make (and still unbelievably rich and good).

So thank you dad, for taking the time to clear your schedule and just make fudge.

Almost two years ago, I was given another amazing father, my father-in-law.  Ron is an amazing cook (I’m still waiting for you to guest blog!)  and I have shared some great times with him in his kitchen.  So, Happy Father’s day to you too and hopefully your fudge makes it to Missouri safely!

Peanut Butter Fudge

Adapted from Imperial Brown Sugar

Recipe Notes

If you do not have a candy thermometer, do not let that stop you from making this fudge.  I have made this more than a few times and this is the first time I used a thermometer.  Just make sure and boil it for about 6 minutes and it will be at the right temperature.

Ingredients

12 Imperial Sugar or Dixie Crystals Redi-Measure Light Brown Sugar pouches (3 C)
2/3 C (5-oz can) evaporated milk
1/2 C butter or margarine
1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow crème
1 C smooth peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla
2 C miniature marshmallows
1 C roasted, unsalted peanuts, chopped

Step by Step

Grease a 9-inch square pan with butter.  Combine brown sugar, milk and butter in heavy 2-1/2 quart saucepan.  Bring to a full boil, stirring constantly.  Boil to 235 degrees for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently (see recipe note about thermometer).  To avoid grainy fudge, don’t scrape mixture from sides of pan.  Remove from heat. 

Add marshmallow crème, peanut butter and vanilla, stirring until smooth.  Stir in miniature marshmallows and peanuts. Pour into greased pan and spread evenly.  Cut into 1-inch squares.  Makes 36 squares.

a cupcake factory

Okay, so I'm not exactly a cupcake factory, but it feels that way a bit. I have made quite a few in the last week. I have loved each and every batch and just wanted to share. Things have been slowing down a bit around here (by around here, I mean this blog... definitely not in my life or the little kitchen, but that's usually a direct correlation to not being able to share as much!) and I will try to get back on top of things and get back to some recipes because yes, we have still been eating. So for now, here are some toppers...

These were double lemon cupcakes that were ordered for a festive mojito filled 30th birthday party...


And these were cookies and cream cupcakes ordered for an engagement party...


and there was my friend's birthday...Happy Birthday Mel!

Pasta Making Party

I lose track of how much I have shared about myself on here (and still a little bit shocked that other people besides my parents read this blog),  but in case you don't know, I work at a private school in the development office.  Every other year, our school has a gala to raise money for the school. Faculty and staff offer different things in order to raise money so I decided to throw a pasta making party with my coworkers.  A couple of years ago, I learned to make fresh pasta in Florence, and while I could go on for hours about that (and one day I will), right now I just wanted to tell you about our party.

I just hope everyone had as much fun as I did. We had a wonderful brie for an appetizer, fresh pasta with three sauces, and a lemon blueberry tart for dessert. Oh yeah, and chewy amaretti nutella sandwiches as a favor. It was a fun party, but I will say everyone definitely worked for their lunch.  Homemade pasta is a labor of love, but well worth the effort.  After 3 hours of cooking and eating, I needed someone to roll me out of there. I'll be back with all of the recipes and hope at least someone out there will attempt to make homemade pasta... seriously it's worth it.



First, we ate a wonderful brie topped with sun dried tomato pesto that my boss, Allison, made...

Then, it was on to make pasta...

Lots of long strips of pasta being made...

And there were sauces being made...

Then, on to drying...

Finished off with a delicious lemon blueberry tart made by my coworker, Frances.