What's With Me And Donuts?

It's typically not my pastry of choice (unless it's a bear claw, gimme one of those any day of the week!)....but for some reason on this little bloggy I just love them. HOWEVER, I cannot take credit for this post. Last summer, my mom and sister went to New Orleans for a mission trip. My mom fell in the Mississippi River and my little sister ate her body weight in craw fish. Oh, and they helped restore houses for Katrina victims. Anywho, my mom picked up Cafe Du Monde Beignet mix to make back when she got home because they are just so darn good. Christmas morning my mom whipped out her wok (I'm telling you, screw frying pans for frying) and her rolling pin and got down and dirty with some beignets. I helped...and by helped I mean took pictures and ate them.

So here we go:

You'll need a box of beignet mix found here and some water. UM how easy is that?

Then you roll it out so it's reeeeeal skinny.

Then you wok 'em until they're pretty and golden.

Then you roll 'em around in powdered sugar and...

Fancy French donuts! Put on a beret and draw yourself a skinny moustache and you'll be Paris-ready in no time. Oui!

These kind of taste like Indian fry bread, so I decided to put honey all over one before it was attacked by powdered sugar and THAT my friends, was a tasty treat. Unfortunately my bff Emma (she's part human part chocolate lab) was laying at my feet when I did that and I poured honey on her head :/. Sorry, Em!

Merry Christmas/Happy New Year and shiz! That's my Mom, isn't she cute? Yes, that picture is from Christmas Eve, clearly, because I'm wearing a union suit and red lipstick. I do realize that my deer-in-the-headlights-scary-face is not the most flattering, but if you don't like it, than you can just bite me.

xo!

Who Needs Gas? According to Socal Gas Company...I Don't!

I tried to find a picture of me looking "angry", but couldn't. Apparently I'm too damn happy! Anywho. I rush out of the office on Friday to catch the gas guy so I could FINALLY cook in my new place. I get to my complex, barrel through the front door and what do I find? A "Sorry We Missed You" notice. UM!!! My appointment wasn't even until 45 minutes later! But in an effort to not complain constantly (after all, it IS Christmas!). I looked up some no-cook recipes to get me through the next couple of days so I'm not ordering Chinese and Dominoes. I would like to fit into my New Years dress.

I would love to not have gas when it's July because these no-cook recipes are delicious when it's roasting out, but seriously? It's POURING out and all I want to do is make soup.

Which one of these should I make tonight? Any of them? All of them? Does anyone have any suggestions? I am capable of using my toaster and crock pot, and my Kitchenaid but I don't think that will get me anywhere.

White Bean and Roasted Chicken Salad

Chunky Gazpacho

Roasted Chicken and Arugula Salad

A Mini Peek.

So, we all know I just moved. Although my kitchen is considerably smaller than my last, I'd like to look on the bright side. The bright side, being the following:

1. There's a breakfast nook attached to it large enough for a table and four chairs.
2. The CUTEST hutch in said nook to showcase my adorable dishes.
3. My building was built in the twenties, and they decided to keep the original ice box in place for added storage. I mean, how stinkin cute is that?
4. IT'S ALLLLLLL MINE.


Let's take a tour!

I had to get a little creative for things like my pot holders and measuring spoons because storage is limited so I thought....why not display them!?

I LOVE my spice jars but never had a fun place to put them in my old kitchen. Now they're out for all the world (or me and my kittens) to see! However, take a little advice from me- if you're planning on transferring your spices out of it's original packaging be sure to label it. I didn't, and sometimes I get to play a little game I like to call "Guess the spice"...it's not as fun as it sounds!

This is the bottom half of my ice box. The top half isn't as cute and just has pots and pans in it, so let's stick to where the good stuff is!

How cute is this mat? Now, I know what you're thinking. Nothing really matches! I know, I like it that way. I tend to like neutral colors for the rest of my house, but since I adore being in the kitchen so much and it's fun for me, I like to surround myself with bright colors and my very favorite patterns.

This kind of sold me on the place. My mom has always had her "good china" on a bit of a display in the house and I think it's so sweet and perfect. While I don't have anything fancy yet, I really love my bowls, tea cups and vintage champagne glasses and hate that they're stuck behind cabinet doors most of the time. Now whenever I have girlfriends over for dinner (or let's be honest...for wine) they can take a peek at some of the things I love most.

xoxo.

Can Someone Please Pass The Rills?

No, my friends, that is not a typo. I said rills. When I was young, I watched Father Of The Bride Part: 2 alllll the time. There's a part in the movie that Steve Martin takes a sleeping pill right before dinner...as he's about to conk out, he asks someone to pass the rills. I seemed to think it was the funniest thing I had ever heard, and would forever call them rills after that. I'm sure the story is really not that thrilling, but I like it. Don't judge me. But enough about me, right? Right. Onwards!

Buttery Herb Dinner Rolls Rills:
Recipe from Sunset Magazine

1 cup milk


1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened, plus more for sheets

2 eggs

3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading and shaping


Microwave milk (or in my case, use a sauce pan....I say F microwaves!), until warm (90° to 105°) Put in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir in yeast, salt, and sugar. Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.

Attach dough hook (I don't have a dough hook, I just had to wing it...and I winged it well! Is that a word? Winged?) and, with mixer on low, stir in butter 1 egg and 3 tablespoons freshly chopped thyme *or whatever herb is your favey! Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a stiff dough forms and pulls away from inside of bowl. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and let sit until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, butter 2 large baking sheets and set aside.

 Punch down dough and turn it onto a floured surface. Knead a few times, adding more flour if necessary to keep dough from sticking. Um, punching the dough is really fun and a great stress reliever! I highly suggest doing it if you have a particularly long work day.



 Divide dough into 24 pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time (keep other pieces covered), roll into a 10-in. rope. Coil rope into a flat spiral or twist into a pretzel shape, pinching ends in place. (Make sure you really pinch those puppies, they kind of don't like to stay) Put shaped rolls on buttered baking sheets. Cover and let sit until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°

In a small bowl, beat remaining egg with 2 tbsp. water. Brush rolls with egg wash and bake until brown, about 20 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking time to ensure even baking. (meh, if you don't do it, they'll survive!) Cool on wire racks. Serve warm or at room temperature.

And there you have it, kittens. You're welcome.







I LOVE BRUSSEL SPROUTS

I really do. Like, a lot. Maybe too much. It's my go-to vegetable for any side. Roasting them, steaming them, I lurve it all.

Boiled brussel sprouts with red currant vinaigrette:

Ingredients

2 lb brussel sprouts

1/4 cup red currant jelly

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper


Bring large sauce pan to a boil and add sprouts, boil until just tender...about 5 minutes.
You could roast them- but I personally love them boiled this way. I got made fun of for boiling instead of roasting them, but that was prior to anyone trying them. TRUST ME. You'll be hogging this dish like a mother f-er.

Heat the jelly in a small saucepan over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the red pepper and mustard. Whisking constantly, slowly add the oil. Season with the salt and black pepper.

- I personally brought the jelly to a slight boil before removing it from heat, mostly because I forgot about it (stop judging, I was also making home-made dinner rolls, an entire roast beef and sour cream mashed potatoes AT THE SAME TIME...but it turned out just fine.)

Transfer the brussel sprouts to a serving bowl, drizzle with the jelly vinaigrette, and toss. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Fun fact: this recipe actually called for broccoli rabe instead of brussel sprouts, but when I went to Ralphs they didn't have the fancy broccoli so I went with my staple veg. Red currant jelly is kind of amazing and I feel like isn't used often enough. It needs to be brought into high rotation in my kitchen.

PS: I googled how to spell broccoli at least 5 times because I thought it looked funny spelled that way. Is it just me? Yes? Ok.


If you make this dish every night of the week I don't blame you. D-LISH.

OH: So I realize that this is a cooking blog, HOWEVER, I was thinking of doing a shop my closet. Thoughts? Concerns? Yay? Nay?

A Little Explanation.

Image via we heart it.

I have 3 posts from meals I made over 3 weeks ago that still need to go up. I haven't cooked in my kitchen in a month. It's not my kitchen anymore. I'll be settling in to (if all goes well) my new kitchen next week. It's smaller, but its mine. A LOT has changed in the past couple of months and I managed to keep my mouth shut to protect everyone else around me then realized that I wasn't protecting myself. I've been in the process of wiping my slate clean and starting over. Trying to keep a smile on my face and remembering that the chapter that has closed is for the best. I am a very lucky girl to have the friends and family that I do. I've never been hugged so much in my life!

So bear with me, send me some positive thoughts if you've got 'em, and I'll be back to my normal shoe-obsessed, sarcastic self in no time. (PS this is the most serious post I will EVER do so don't get used to it).

Here's to a fresh start, a lovely Holiday season surrounded by the people that mean the most to me, and (gulp) learning how to cook for one.