Happy National S’mores Day!
I’m celebrating this holiest of holidays with a guest post on making homemade marshmallows over at Treatsie! They are really easy and about 100 times more delicious than that jet-puffed garbage you buy at grocery stores. Check out this post here.
If you’ve ever been to a Momofuku Milk Bar, then you know the sort of treasures to be had there. Birthday cake truffles (don’t), cereal milk ice cream (stop), compost cookies (I can’t). It is a heaven of delicious treats. And their top seller? The Crack Pie, named so because it is as addictive as a highly illegal drug. Turns out, Crack Pie ain’t hard to make. And should be a required skill considering that even those who live in NYC and have access to them can’t buy them for less than $44 a pop.
So head on over to Bourbon and Boots where my recipe is up and waiting for you.
PS. Don’t forget to enter our Stella & Dot giveaway! We’ll announce this winner tomorrow!
If you’re scrambling for a last minute, quick and easy dessert or snack for your 4th of July holiday this weekend, be sure and check out my guest post today over at Treatsie! I’m showing readers how to make red, white and blue, cream-cheese stuffed Star-Spangled Strawberries!
Just five quick ingredients using farm fresh fruit and you’ve got yourself a sweet, tart, cream cheesy treat! Get the recipe here.
For those of you waiting on a Met Gala fashion recap, cool your jets, babies. It’s a’coming. In the meantime, check out my guest post at Treatsie. I’m making my grandmother’s famous strawberry meringue pie from her very vintage recipe cards. It’s a can’t miss for Mother’s Day!
And while you’re over there, check out this recipe from National Pretzel Day. These bad boys lasted all of three hours in my house the day I made them! Blogging for a candy/dessert website may be dangerous!
Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles
Okay…back to work on that fashion recap!
Those of you who were fans of the Summer Cocktail Series Aaron and I did last summer should check out my guest post on Bourbon and Boots today! I share recipes for three delish, seasonal cocktails that you can use to impress your Thanksgiving guests!
Aaron and I are in the middle of two big house projects, both of which require painting. Outside. Unfortunately, we’ve had a series of rainy weekends that have kept us way behind schedule. Fortunately, it’s October, and a cold, rainy weekend means two things: football and chili. So on Saturday, as Aaron was getting excited about the football game, I was whipping up a fall and winter staple at our house – vegetarian chili.
I started making this recipe in college, back when I was actually a vegetarian and very poor. After Aaron and I started dating, the first time I made it for him, I didn’t tell him it was vegetarian. And guess what? He didn’t notice. HIGH-FIVE! Not only is it meat-free, it also has about 1.5 grams of fat per serving (until you add cheese and avocado, of course). So, let’s see…delicious, filling, cheap and good for you? DON’T JUST STAND THERE, GO MAKE THIS CHILI.
Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 cups “Simply Organic” fat-free vegetable broth
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon each salt, pepper, smoked paprika, Cavender’s, dried oregano
1 bag Morningstar Farms Grillers Recipe Crumbles
1 15-ounce can “Simply Organic” pinto beans
1 15-ounce can “Simply Organic” dark red kidney beans
1 15-ounce can “Simply Organic” peeled crushed tomatoes
1 15-ounce can “Simply Organic” tomato sauce
OPTIONAL: 1 teaspoon sauce from adobo peppers, toppings such as avocado, grated cheese, sour cream or Greek yogurt, jalapeños
In a large stock pot, combine broth, bell pepper, onion and garlic. Cook over medium high heat until vegetables are soft.
THIS PART IS KEY: When the vegetables are soft and transparent, add all your seasonings. Don’t wait till the end! If you try to add your seasonings once you’ve got all your thick, meaty chili ingredients, they won’t properly combine. So add them to your broth and vegetables and stir to combine.
Allow the mixture to cook a few minutes longer. The liquid will thicken slightly and smell amazing. IF you want to add a teaspoon of adobo pepper sauce, stir it in now. I say “if” because this will make your chili pretty spicy, but it will also give it a great chipotle flavor.
Next, add everything else – beans, tomatoes and sauce, and “meat” – just throw it in there frozen. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. When bubbles start to appear, cover and reduce heat to low, stirring occasionally. Let it cook for about half an hour. Carefully taste it and see if you want to add more of any of the spices. I never measure them and I always add more at this stage, so my spice amounts are purely estimates!
Serve immediately with toppings such as chopped avocado, grated cheese (I use Gruyere), sour cream or Greek yogurt, or pickled jalapenos.
Full disclosure: I had absolutely no interest in buying or reading this book until I read an article on NYMag.com that made fun of it. I came across Rebecca Harrington’s hilarious article, “I Tried Gwyneth Paltrow’s Diet,” in which she makes Gwyneth’s recipes for a week and hilarity ensues. Is the article a glowing recommendation? No, but did I have to buy the book after reading it? Yes (and the Tracy Anderson DVDs, but that’s a totally different blog post).
I’m not sure WHY I just had to have this particular book. I mean, I’ve never really been into the gluten-free thing. Or veganism, though I tried it for a few weeks in college and I can assure you, a life without cheese is not a life worth living.
And “It’s All Good” had received a lot of negative press. Some reviews said the meals required “$300 worth of ingredients” and claimed it was an impossible diet. Â A quick flip through the pages proved that those idiots have empty pantries and assumed you’d have to go out and buy coconut oil every single time you want to cook something (tip: a jar of coconut oil can hang out in your cabinets for awhile between meals). Plus, many of the reviewers were following her Elimination Diet, which is listed in the back of the book and includes only the most extreme recipes.
Though there are a few exotic ingredients in some of her dishes, many of these recipes rely on a handful of high quality ingredients to create simple flavors. Some of my favorite recipes include the fish tacos, quinoa with kale and a fried egg, and the sauteed corn with chimichurri (above). We put the left over chimichurri on chicken tacos and it was DELISH. I haven’t, however, worked up the nerve to coat a fish in an entire container of salt and roast it. But I’m working up to that one.
Yes, there are some Gluten-Free/Detox/Vegan recipes as well, but there are also meat and dairy recipes. Don’t expect to find fried foods or processed ingredients, though.
DO expect to find lots of pictures of Gwyneth without makeup, walking in fields of grass or eating organic foods on a windy beach.
She also includes lots of great juice and smoothie recipes. Her “Best Green Juice” has become my morning ritual (her description of “grassy lemonade” is spot on!), but the beet/carrot juice is good too. Obviously, if you can’t tell by the gazillion marked pages in my copy, I’d definitely recommend this book if you’re looking to clean up and healthify your diet. Yes, Gwyneth can be a bit obnoxious at times, but the girl’s got a knack for cookbooks.
Gwyneth’s “Best Green Juice”
5 leaves of kale, stems removed
1 whole lemon, peel and pith removed
1 whole apple, chopped
a sprig of mint
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
Juice all ingredients in a juicer, or if you’re like me and don’t own a juicer, blend them up and pour through a fine mesh strainer. Enjoy!
When planning my Friendsgiving menu, something amazing happened. It was one of those moments where you are thinking about one thing you like, then the thought of something you love pops into your head, then you realize YOU COULD TOTALLY COMBINE THOSE TWO THINGS to make this one totally amazing mega-thing.
That’s how these smoked pimento cheese deviled eggs came to be. I was thinking about deviled eggs, then I was thinking about pimento cheese, then I realized those two things would probably be excellent combined.
Not to sound cocky, but turns out I was right. They were EGGcelent, if you will. So I thought I’d share the recipe with you. Disclaimer: If you think you hate pimento cheese, don’t stop reading now! I was like you! I hated pimento cheese, until I tried the recipe of my former boss, Michele. My pimento cheese is adapted from hers, but not quite the same.
Also, this recipes makes extra pimento cheese – so you can eat it by itself too. Yum!
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Smoked Pimento Cheese Deviled Eggs
(makes 24 eggs + a tupperware container full of pimento cheese)
Ingredients:
1 dozen hardboiled eggs
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
8 ounces hickory smoked cheddar cheese, grated
2 cups mild cheddar cheese, shredded
1 jar diced pimentos
1 jalapeno, finely diced
8 strips hickory-smoked bacon
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, plus more for sprinkling
1/2 cup mayonnaise, plus more to taste
Directions:
While your eggs are boiling, chop 4 bacon slices into bits and cook over medium-high heat. Move to a plate and drain on a paper towel. Chop the other 4 slices into 1-inch pieces, cook over medium-high heat and move to drain on a separate plate.
In a large bowl, combine cheeses, diced jalapeno, pimentos, bacon bits and 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Toss to combine. (Reserve the 1-inch bacon pieces to garnish your eggs at the end.)
Next, add the 1/2 cup mayonnaise and stir it all together. This is where you get to go nuts. If you like your pimento cheese extra creamy, add more mayo. I usually add a tablespoon at a time until I’m happy with the result.
Meanwhile, slice the hardboiled eggs in half, remove the yolks to a small bowl and mash them up. Add 2 Tbsps dijon mustard and 2 Tbsps mayo and mix to form a paste. Once again, add more or less mustard and mayo until it tastes the way you want it to. I like a mustard-y deviled egg, myself.
Now that you have pimento cheese in one bowl and egg mixture in another, get out a third bowl and add a bit of both pimento cheese and egg, then mix them together. Keep adding egg and cheese until you find the balance you like.
Fill your eggs, top with a 1-inch piece of bacon and sprinkle with paprika. Enjoy!
I loved the smoky flavor so much, I’m considering using a smoked cheddar/smoked gruyere combo next time I make them. The sharpness of the cheddar (even though it was mild cheddar) cut the smokiness a little bit, so next time I want to go FULL SMOKE, Y’ALL.
Do you have a special Thanksgiving recipe? I’d love for you to share it if so…
rosemary on the tv 