OMG, SAMMICHES

While I was out... Pt. 2

2011-07-29T14:12:00.000-07:00

Hey guys what's up? I've been busy working on this giant cross stitch for the last 3 months, so I haven't done anything else. I also baked a wedding cake. I'll tell you more about that next week.

Cake Interior

2011-05-02T11:13:00.000-07:00

These are borderline obscene.

Pennant Wedding Cake

2011-05-02T07:14:00.000-07:00

Bunting!

Union jacks!

So much cake.

Royal Wedding Cake

2011-04-29T08:26:00.000-07:00

Well hello! Did you all see two of my greatest loves- the British Monarchy and Old Money People doing Old Money Things combine this morning? I did. And while I was at it, I built a 4-tier wedding cake. First I filled it with homemade lemon curd.

Then I topped it with homemade raspberry jam, laced with some Grand Mariner.

Wondering what 19 sticks of butter looks like as swiss meringue buttercream? That's 28 egg whites, 7 cups of sugar, and 19 sticks of butter. And I used almost all of it.

This is currently in my fridge: I was rushed and kind of distracted, I'll do better next time, promise.

PS- Check back tomorrow, I'll have pictures up of the cake decorated and the inside. If it doesn't collapse.

Practice Cake Home Stretch

2011-04-28T10:15:00.000-07:00

In case you wondered what 5 pounds of butter looks like, here it is. The butter is sitting out coming to room temperature, ready to get whipped up into 18 cups of swiss meringue buttercream this evening. My lace tablecloths are ironed. My Grandmother's Sepia Rose china has been set out. My boss has sharpened my wood cake dowel into a sort of cake-spear. Everything is set.

Wedding Menu

2011-04-27T08:47:00.000-07:00

That is all.

Measuring Cups, Bowls, Lack of Self-Control

2011-04-26T12:32:00.000-07:00

This morning when I got an email for 25% off at Macys.com (coupon code: MACYSFF), I thought, "Oh, maybe I can use this for good and not evil?" and then ten minutes later almost bought a $250 countertop convection oven.

Then this afternoon I remembered that I need new measuring cups, because I have been snapping the handles off of mine for the past 27 years, and have gone through the following: 1 stainless steel set, 1 heart-shaped red set, 1 white plastic set, 1 pink plastic set, 1 blue plastic set, and 1 Kitchen Aid set. The only things I have that measure and I haven't destroyed are my Mario Batali Measuring Prep Bowl set in creme, which I love but they are not good for scooping.

I decided that I probably wouldn't break the All-Clad set, but $50 for measuring cups? So I found these Anolon ones that don't have handles so I can't snap them off. Also they come in grey, the best color for kitchen things to come in, after cream (creme). And then Macy's suggested I might like to buy this set of Martha Stewart Bowls:
So I did. I can serve things out of these, and my chips bowl situation is kind of sad right now.

Practice Wedding Cake: The Cake

2011-04-25T14:28:00.000-07:00

Hey you guys! Do you know what's way harder than you might think it would be? Baking 32 cups of vanilla buttermilk cake batter into actual cakes. I used a modified version of this recipe, which is my go-to red velvet (with added cocoa) and makes the lightest, fluffiest, moist-est cake. It also caused two entire days of cake drama.

Cake trial #1:

What I tried: Filling my 12", 10", 8" and 6" pans with batter according to Wilton's recommended cake-baking chart. I also wrapped the pans with cake strips to try to ensure even baking.

What happened: Cake bubbled over the sides, cake dripped from the top rack into the bottom cakes. Cake dripped from the bottom rack onto the oven floor, burned, filled my house with smoke and generally made me upset. The cakes baked totally unevenly, with sides, tops and bottoms all cooking wonky.

What I learned: Put way less cake batter into the pans. My oven sucks.

Cake trial #2:

What I tried: Filling my 12", 10", 8" and 6" pans with way less batter. Putting only 2 pans into the oven at a time.

What happened: Cakes still baked unevenly. Way too little batter in the pans.

What I learned: My oven still sucks. I should Google this.

Cake Trial #3 and #4:

What I tried: Filling my 12", 10", 8" and 6" pans with the perfect amount of batter. Putting only 1 pan into the oven at a time. Use a heating core on the 12" and 10" cakes, stolen from the inside of my bear-shaped cake pan.

What happened: Moderate success. the 12" and 8" cakes baked perfectly. The 10" and 6" baked wonky no matter what I tried.

What I learned: Use a heating core on 12" cakes. Also, use all your fail cake scraps to fill in the holes in your final cakes.

So anyway, the cakes are now happily sitting in my office's freezer so they can stay fresh until Thursday night/ Friday morning, when I try to frost and assemble this beast. I am considering sleep-deprived liveblogging the process.

In other news: The Union Jack Cake Topper is complete:

Cute.

Today Things!

2011-04-21T12:52:00.000-07:00

Today it is Josie Bear's birthday. She is 3 years old, and has enjoyed a day of coming to work with me, snarfing down a rawhide and napping before a trip to the Dog Store and the Dog Park. Above is a video of 15 week old Josie. Happy Birthday, Love.

IN OTHER NEWS: Lady Jane is now on Netflix instant. ZOMG. You should go watch it now because:

this.

and also:

One more thing:

In the fliers at Jo Ann Fabrics, there is a coupon for 25% off your entire non-sale purchase today through Saturday. Which is awesome if you're going there every other day for wedding cake baking supplies.

Wedding Cake Math

2011-04-19T13:02:00.001-07:00

(Just another cake I have baked.)

There is so much cake math to do. How many cups of batter go in each pan? How much butter do you need? (Answer: So much butter)

For my practice wedding cake, I will need the following:

26 1/4 cups of sugar
35 eggs
21 sticks of butter
19 cups of flour
11 1/4 cups of oil
7 1/2 tsps of vinegar
7 1/2 cups of buttermilk
3 1/4 cups of lemon juice
2 bags of frozen raspberries
20 tsp vanilla extract

Oh, boy.

Wedding Cake Bunting

2011-04-16T13:45:00.001-07:00

My practice wedding cake project is less than two weeks away- it'll be served at my Royal Wedding party (you should come!) like I am an actual crazy person.

Since one of the main decorations at J&J's wedding is festive garden bunting, the cake will also be edged in tiny paper pennants. I chose slate blue, pink hearts, and yellow gingham scrapbooking paper for the practice cake, and glued the double-sided triangles on light pink cotton embroidery thread. Finally getting around to using my craft mat! Antique scissors, too!

Dark, cold and rainy in Chicago today, so you get dark and dreary rain pictures.

DIY Wedding Cake, take 1

2011-04-15T10:16:00.000-07:00

Last night I attempted my first test run for the 4-tier cake I plan on tackling in July. For a wedding. Where I will be Maid of Honor. OK!

This is an 8" white chocolate, filled with raspberry jam and lemon curd, and frosted with swiss vanilla buttercream. It would be the third tier. Not bad.

Things I learned:

1.) Turntable. ZOMG. Do you have a turntable? You need one. Frosting goes on perfectly. Spin, spin, spin. Don't move your hand at all!

2.) Cardboard rounds. Perfectly flush, to the edge frosting. Easily pick up cake and put it wherever you want. I am never baking anything ever again without cardboard rounds.

3.) Straight edge pans. Do you have a set of those cheap, 8" or 9" standard pans that have a sloped edge, because the bottom is 8" but they go out to 9" and your cake is all wonky? Yes you do. Get straight edge, aluminum pans. You are welcome.

Goat's milk & Mexican vanilla pretzelbread pudding

2011-04-03T09:13:00.000-07:00

I had forgotten to put some frozen pain au chocolat out to proof overnight, and it's still that kind of winter/spring cold and dreary where trotting down the street to pastry hunt isn't worth it, so breakfast options were slim this morning. My cell phone is programmed to give me a panic attack every time I received an e-mail, ( in case Next Paris tickets go on sale while I'm sleeping), so my brain was still thought-scrambly from interrupted REM when I stumbled into the kitchen. There was a bag of pretzel rolls, a large quantity of broccoli, 6-8 zested lemons, and half a carton of goat's milk left over from last weekend's batch of cajeta frosting.

This is what I came up with:

Goat's milk & Mexican vanilla pretzelbread pudding:

4 large pretzel rolls
4 eggs
1 cup goat's milk
1/2 cup vanilla soymilk
2 tsp mexican vanilla
1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Cut pretzel rolls into 1" cubes. Beat all remaining ingredients Spray baking dish with nonstick spray. Briefly soak cubes in egg mixture then pour into the baking dish. Bake 25-30 min.

Mmm, yay. The goat's milk and eggs formed a nice custard, the pretzel crust added a nice contrast with the bite of lye and big chunks of salt.

El Bulli Hotel

2011-03-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

So, you are probably never going to eat at El Bulli. Me either. And this is as close as you're going to get. A half-hour taxi ride outside of Seville will bring you to the Hacienda Benazuza in Sanlúcar la Mayor. This is a magical place filled with pristine citrus groves, canopied outdoor lounge beds, rows and rows of fountains- there were probably baby unicorns wandering the rows of olive trees, but I think I was too excited for dinner and may have missed them.

So, now you have tricked your family into driving 30 minutes outside of Seville to have a 16 course El Bulli's Greatest Hits tasting menu. And you have been explaining for the past four days to your father, who hates olives, that he will served an olive. You say that he has to eat the olive, because even though it is in an olive jar and looks like an olive, it is NOT an olive- it is a reverse spherified olive oil that has been brined.

He, of course, tries passing on the olive. And then you have 16 of the best courses of food and mind tricks that you have ever had- Quicoguaca. Mimetic peanuts. Deconstructed omelette potatoes. "Ajo blanco" with prawns, ceps, and asparagus. Tuna ventresca with tuna mayonaise and jellied tomato. Mini quail in carrot pickle. Rabbit shoulder in "salmorejo" sauce with mango puree and marscapone cheese. All ending with a frozen English bread pudding that practically evaporates before your eyes.

While I was out...

2011-03-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

RIP- Holiday Sprinkle Collection.

Oh, we have so much to catch up on, friends.

Some things that you may have missed: Cereal Cakes (and why you shouldn't make one). Mastering the two-person souffle. Baking a Cherpumple (you can hardly tell there are 3 pies inside that cake!) Dinner at the El Bulli hotel in Spain. Coca-Cola ravioli (just as disgusting as it sounds!) Finding out you used to date a social media billionaire (and how to drink away the last of your megayacht dreams). The Cottontail: egg white, gin, Cointreau, peach bitters- shake. My dinner at Alinea (or how I terrified Grant Achatz). The Dateline: Diet Dr. Pepper, whiskey, amaretto, bitters. Olive Oil Macarons. How much jamon is too much jamon? (not a thing). A brief obsession with no-knead bread, and how I managed to overcome my borderline-insane sprinkle hoarding.

OMFG, OMG is Back

2011-03-28T15:01:00.000-07:00

Hello nobody that reads my blog. I am going to bake a giant wedding cake, so I am back and will be blogging about it. Because people LOVE reading about silly 20-somethings who decide they are able to bake wedding cakes on their own.

See above? That is the liquors that are going in the cake. They need to age for 3 months. There is homemade limoncello, and homemade raspberry liquor, and earl grey creme infused gin. Recipes and details coming soon. (Like how do you make the best limoncello? Hint: LIMES).

Hugs.

B

Oeufs Cocotte

2010-02-14T07:59:00.000-08:00

Easy easy French breakfast. I mean, really easy. It takes about 1 minute to make these eggs. Delicious creamy eggs and toast points, and "microgreen" herbs. The herbs I just started growing in a little pot on my kitchen window- they are baby chives and baby basil sprouts and were surprisingly flavorful. Sorry for stunting your growth, baby sprouts.

Oeufs Cocotte (serves 1, multiply accordingly):
1 egg
2 tablespoons crème fraîche
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Spray ramekin with cooking spray. Add 1 tablespoon crème fraîche. Add egg. Add additional crème fraîche and sprinkle with salt and peper. Bake in oven, about 10 minutes or until slightly set and serve with toast.

White Russian Macarons

2010-02-12T07:51:00.000-08:00

I know. Macarons, again. Sorry. These are some White Russian flavored ones I made last weekend. They've got light coffee flavored shells, thanks to a bit of instant coffee, and a white chocolate ganache with a little Kahlua and more instant coffee.

White Russian Ganache

227 g white chocolate
100 g cream
20g butter
2 tablespoons Kahula
1 teaspoon instant coffee
1 teaspoon water

Mix water with instant coffee till dissolved and set aside. Melt chocolate with cream, add butter and liquids. Mix till smooth. Pour onto cookie sheet covered with plastic wrap, fold wrap over making a little package and cool in fridge till set, about 24 hours.

TPT (tant pour tant)

200 grams ground almonds
200 grams confectioner’s sugar

Mix together. Sift. Let sit out overnight to dry out.

Coffee Macarons

Batch A:

400 grams TPT
75 grams fresh egg whites
1 tsp coffee extract

Batch B:

200 grams sugar
50 grams water
1 tsp glucose
75 egg whites

Batch A: Mix all together in a large bowl to form a thick past.

Batch B: Add sugar, water and glucose to pan. Heat without stirring till it reaches 118 C. In the meantime, whip egg whites to stiff peaks. Slowly pour syrup into the egg whites. Fold together, slowly at first to incorporate, then beat violently a couple times until you've reached the proper consistancy.

Pipe and bake at 300 F for about 10-15 minutes. Fill and let age about 2 days in the fridge before eating.

Macaron tips and tricks

2010-02-05T06:26:00.001-08:00

1.) The Italian meringue method to make macarons is the way to go. This way, you can flavor the shells in the sugar syrup.

2.) To make uniform macarons, buy a couple of half-tray cookie sheets and make yourself a template with parchment paper and a sharpie. Place a second piece of parchment over the template on the sheet, then when you're done piping, carefully slide the template off. Repeat.

3.) Convection ovens cook everything perfectly. If you don't have one, things are gonna get screwed up.

4.) Chocolate espresso ganache is delicious.

These are coffee macarons with chocolate espresso ganache. I made them in pastry school. This weekend I'm going to try and tackle some white russian macarons, with step-by-step photos, instructions and recipes.

Espresso Ganache

375 g milk chocolate
250 g cream
60g butter
1 tablespoon espresso
1 tablespoon of Invert sugar or glucose or honey

Melt chocolate with cream, add butter and invert sugar. Mix till smooth. Pour onto cookie sheet covered with plastic wrap, fold wrap over making a little package and cool in fridge.

TPT (tant pour tant)

200 grams ground almonds
200 grams confectioner’s sugar

Mix together. Sift. Let sit out overnight to dry out.

Coffee Macarons

Batch A:

400 grams TPT
75 grams fresh egg whites
2 tsp coffee extract

Batch B:

200 grams sugar
50 grams water
1 tsp glucose
75 egg whites

Batch A: Mix all together in a large bowl to form a thick past.

Pipe and bake at 300 F for about 10-15 minutes. Fill and let age about 2 days in the fridge before eating.

Opera Cake

2010-02-04T14:25:00.000-08:00

Usually I don't really like coffee flavored desserts. Almost ever pastry I made in class was coffee flavored. Now I love coffee flavored things. Like this Opera Cake. You've got 3 layers of Joconde (almond sponge cake) soaked in coffee syrup. You've got coffee flavored buttercream. You've got a layer of chocolate ganache. You've got the thin, perfect chocolate glaze. And on the bottom you've got a coat of dark chocolate. Delicious, even if it does take three days to make.

Opera Cake was supposedly invented by the Patisserie Dalloyau.

For those that want to try it, there's a recipe here. Also, you'll want to get a sheet of acetate to keep the top perfectly smooth and build the cake upside down.

ZAP! Éclairs.

2010-01-21T06:17:00.000-08:00

So for the past couple of days, I've been taking "Fundamentals of French Petite Fours" at the French Pastry School in Chicago. I wanted to hone my macaron skills- one of the Chefs worked with Pierre Herme. More on that later. In the meantime, this is why I'm never making tiny éclairs again:
Pâte à Choux, piped in two inch pieces with egg wash and scored with a fork. Lookin' okay.

The pastry tip we were given for filling these with pastry cream just put a big crater in the bottom of the pastry. Instead, let's focus on the fondant icing, which has been flavored with chocolate and has weird chemically properties that make it get all crusty-glazey on top.

Oh, and two-inch éclairs? They are a pain in the ass to cover with fondant.

Sad-looking éclairs. At least my madelines, coconut roches and raspberry financiers looked better. More on that soon. Bonus fact: éclair is French for "lightning,"

A few of my favorite things...

2010-01-13T06:04:00.000-08:00

Over the holidays, I got to enjoy a lot of my very favorite things. Shrimp cocktail for instance, I am a sucker for a good homemade shrimp cocktail with extra horseradish-y sauce. And a nice Old Fashioned doesn't hurt either.

Best friends are also a great treat to have around the holidays. My puppy is best friends with this little basset hound, Ruby. They like to chew on each other's faces and then nap.

Butter. Butter is always a favorite thing. Here's me and my French Laundry cookbook- I tried to make my beurre monté sauce exactly to the book's specifications, including posing with a handful of butter. I then poached lobster in the butter- you totally need to do this.

Finally, eating butter-poached lobster and filet mingon is good too. It's even better when I get to use my Grandmother's table linens, china, and my other fancy things that only get broken out for special occasions- champagne flutes, silver chargers, gold flatware- and a gorgeous floral arrangement given to me as a hostess gift. By candlelight.

Cheep Cheep Cheep!

2010-01-12T08:16:00.000-08:00

This weekend I attended my first Fried Chicken Social. I brought cupcakes frosted to look like chickens- a rough copy of a Martha Stewart Cutest Cupcake contest winner. I frosted them with a Swiss cream cheese buttercream, and the cake is my favorite red velvet.

So many chickens!

The Lady Grey Creme Cocktail

2010-01-11T14:41:00.000-08:00

I was baking this Christmas, and bought a pair of terrible, expensive, dry vanilla beans. I tried splitting them and they snapped into pieces- I was furious. Then I took a minute, calmed down, put them in a tupperwear container and drowned them in vodka. I poured in a couple tablespoons of my favorite tea, Argo's Earl Grey Creme. I proceeded to completely forget I had this in my fridge. Then last night I took it out and mixed up this drink- it's a little sweet, but it's really strong (I think I originally declared it a 'Vanilla Drunkbox').

Vanilla Earl Grey Vodka:

2 Tbsp Earl Grey tea
2 Vanilla Beans
2 cups vodka

Combine all ingredients. Let sit in your fridge a couple days or weeks.

The Lady Grey Creme (Or Vanilla Drunkbox):

2 Tbsp. simple syrup
1/4 cup Vanilla Earl Grey Vodka
soda water

Combine vodka and simple syrup in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a glass. Top with soda water.

Cassoulet (Meat Surprise!)

2010-01-07T11:41:00.000-08:00

Last month I decided on lazy Sunday to try and make a French Cassoulet. Pretty much it is a peasant dish consisting of slow-cooked meat and beans. What kind of meat? All kinds of meat. Fatty ducks and fatty lamb and fatty pork and beans. I tried to lighten it up as much as I could. I replaced pork shoulder with trimmed pork stew meat, and I used skinless chicken thighs instead of skin-on duck legs.

First you cook up a couple slices of bacon and set them aside. I did not try to lighten up bacon.

Next is the stew pork! You could use chunked leg of lamb if you'd like to have a heart attack.

Boneless, skinless, chicken thighs! I wish I could afford that much duck confit.

Cast iron is getting all dark brown and meat sear-y. Mmmmmm.

Onions and garlic go in to scrape all of the brown bits off the bottom.

Tomato paste, too. For more brown-bit scraping.

Then you toss the meat back in. I didn't take a picture, but at this point you also add about 4 spicy chicken sausages, cut in half down the length of them. So many different meats.

Four cups of chicken stock are next. I like to use the chicken stock concentrate from Trader Joe's, that way I don't have to lug heavy broth up to my apartment where I have no room to store it.

Meats in meat water. You also add a whole ton of great northern beans in here now too. Four cans.

Top with panko breadcrumbs and bake for like, 4 hours.

The finished product deceitfully looks like it's covered with a thick layer of cheese.

Scoop out some into a bowl- you never know what kind of meat you'll get, so it's an exciting gamble.

Cassoulet (adapted from a Cooking Light recipe- no really, I had to lighten a Cooking Light recipe):

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
4 bacon slices, chopped into pieces
1 lb of chunks of pork
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup tomato puree
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups chicken broth
4 cans Great Northern beans, drained
4 spicy Italian chicken sausages
1/4 cup panko

Brown meats and drain. Sautee onion and garlic and tomato paste. Add meats back to pot. Cover with chicken broth. Bake at 300° for 2 1/2 hours. Stir in beans. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top of the casserole. Bake at 375°for 1 hour covered, then uncover and cook until brown and bubbly, about 15 minutes.

Foie Gras!

2010-01-06T08:36:00.000-08:00

After visiting Fauchon in Paris, my credit card company turned my card off because "spending over $200 at a French grocery store" was suspicious. They must not know anything about me. Above is the whole duck foie gras I smuggled home in my luggage, along with some honey, which made me nervous- forbidden animal products! Shhhh, don't tell.

I decided to use more of my Christine Ferber raspberry jam with the foie. I warmed some of the jam up in a saucepan and added balsamic vinegar and Courvoisier and reduced it into a paste, which I then cooled. I served cold slices of the buttery salty meat over a thin slice of baguette and topped each piece with a smear of the jam/vinegar/cognac.

It wasn't the best foie gras, but it was a nice holiday treat.

Hazelnut Linzer Cookies with Christine Ferber Raspberry Violette Jam

2010-01-05T07:12:00.000-08:00

Sorry I've been gone so long. Holidays? Anyway. So you know that jam I picked up in Paris. The Christine Ferber for Pierre Herme jam. It has been sitting on my bookshelf. I kept thinking, "What can I do with this jam? What does one do with arguably the world's greatest jam, eat it with a spoon?"

I opened a jar. And, yes. You eat it with a spoon as fast as you can and hide the evidence- throw away the jar in the dumpster, take a shower and brush your teeth and hope your roommate doesn't find out. At least that's what I wanted to do. Instead, I used it for the purpose I had intended it for- the filling of some Linzer cookies.

Now, I am not a big fan of jam cookies. They're gross. So I tried to do this right. First, I attempted to find the best Linzer cookie recipe. I considered Nancy Silverton's recipe, but I couldn't get passed how weird it was to be adding hard-boiled egg yolks to cookies. I also wanted the recipe to have some cream cheese in it. Instead I modified this Good Housekeeping recipe to use hazelnuts instead of almonds.

I didn't have a tiny strainer, and these needed a powdered sugar dusting. I had to use this tea strainer- it worked remarkably well and I think there was a lot less escaped powdered sugar. I recommend doing this.
Jam-filled cookies that are filled with the freshest, most delicious raspberry puree!

Christmas cookie rundown- Red Velvets, Linzers, and Carmel Toffee Chocolate Pretzels.

BRAINCAKES!

2009-10-29T18:16:00.000-07:00

Saturday is Halloween. I baked up some braincakes. Martha had a good idea. I made it better in two ways- first, "Brain Cupcakes"? Really? How about "Braincakes?" Secondly, no more chocolate cake, these babies were designed for red velvet. Red velvet braincakes!!!Yum!

How sick of macarons are you?

2009-10-23T10:06:00.000-07:00

My macaron posts from my trip are winding down, promise. This is the second to last. I saw these macarons in a window of a chocolate shop in Brussels, long after I had left Paris and eaten through my stash. Macarons in the middle of chocolate land! I made a bee-line over to the shop, by the time my family made it inside I had already purchased a box of the delightful little sandwiches.

Almond. Caramel. Vanilla. These ones were super chewy, not made very well but still delicious- and the buttercream inside was very slightly sweetened, which made them taste even better.

Pistachio. More almond. More caramel. I miss macarons.

These ones are from Jean-Philippe's Darcis, a chocolate shop and patisserie. Be warned- the site pictures halloween-themed macarons, which I can imagine are nothing short of exquisite. I've got a bad feeling that next week I'll be whipping up some chocolate hazelnut macarons with pumpkin buttercream...

Waffleology.

2009-10-20T06:57:00.000-07:00

The waffles of Belgium. They are sold in little storefronts everywhere, sometimes with scoops of ice cream. They smell heavenly. I would always wander around, trying to find a stand that would make them to order, instead of warming ones that were already sitting out.

Inside, they're sweet, tender, and buttery. Outside they're almost crunchy with crisp areas of sugar sprinkled on the iron before the batter was poured- the sugar caramelizes into delicious waffle-y coating. Oh, and you can also get them smothered in whipped cream. Belgium is trouble.

Pain a la Grecque!

2009-10-19T07:45:00.000-07:00

At the Dandoy biscuit shop in the city center of Brussels, you can buy these delicious slabs of butter pastry, dotted with cubes and chunks of sugar. The window is filled with them, and by mid-day, there's a line out the door. It's a pastry that's a specialty in Brussels, and in fact I don't know where else you'd get it but Dandoy.

I was the only one who liked these- they're unapologetically sweet, and the pastry is very yeasty-tasting, like a dry brioche. Kind of chewy, everyone thought they were stale. I loved them because it was a semi-acceptable way to just eat sugar.

Crispy, flaky, sweet- and a nice break from the constant munching on Belgian chocolates, Trappist beers, and Belgian waffles... Mmmmm... waffles. More on that later.

Hot Air Ballooning in Bruges

2009-10-16T06:55:00.000-07:00

My sister sees a flier in our hotel lobby for hot air ballooning. We make a few phone calls. We get picked up the next morning at 7 a.m. for a a three-hour ride at sunrise, followed by champagne and breakfast.

We get picked up with the balloon in a trailer. We test the wind direction with a rubber balloon at a VW dealership. We find out that the balloonist, Christoper, a driver, and my family will be running this whole production from setting up the balloon to putting it away.

The balloon gets rolled out and clipped on, now we're ready to fill it. This is windy.

Almost there! We're in a field next to a highway- the production is slowing down traffic.

From here it becomes a chaotic shouting of "Get in! Get in!" and scrambling to get into the basket. Inside the balloon, it's time to take off.

Liftoff!

The strangest thing about this was that you never got to see the balloon floating from the outside, except in shadows and reflections. Above is the balloon floating over a lake.

The entire city of Bruges, from 1500 feet.

At the end of the ride we got soaked in champagne and fed delicious, butter pastries fresh from a local bakery. I was a little tipsy and adrenaline filled for pictures after our "crash" landing in a farmer's field, so you'll have to forgive the missing pastry pictures.

Cocktail Hour

2009-10-15T06:51:00.000-07:00

The best part of the day when you're on vacation is the lazy time between spending the day sight-seeing, and dinner. Usually this would include a drink or two and some snacks. Bruges is a lovely place for cocktail hour. Above is my Jupiler in the middle of the city center.

Or how about an afternoon Campari and soda on the adorable shrub-lined patio outside of the hotel?

Topped off by an amuse bouche of tuna tartare, cucumber foam, microgreens and caviar along the canal as the sun sets? Perfect.

Macarons, Pt. CCCXLV

2009-10-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry to do this to you again. But, see, these are the macarons from Laduree. They were the best macarons, (sorry, Pierre). Fun colors! Simple flavors! Chewy, crunchy, sweet, yum.

Macaron tower!

They also came in this gorgeous little box. I'm now using it to hold earrings on my dresser.

I think the vanilla macaron from Laduree was my favorite. Or pistachio. Or rose.

Ok. I promise, no more macarons, at least for a week.

Bruges et moules et frites!

2009-10-13T06:50:00.000-07:00

The lovely city of Bruges is surrounded by canals. It's beautiful, but touristy. This is where you get mussles and frites, as it is pretty close to the ocean.

Crispy, hot, frites! Dipped in aioli and in your moules.
Moules! So good. So good with beer. More than once I found extra sea creatures in my moules- once it was a teeny baby crab, and another the world's smallest scallop. Extra creatures!

XOXO Thomas Keller.

2009-09-30T07:09:00.000-07:00

Last week I was in Las Vegas. I don't really like it there, for various reasons. There's only one good thing about Vegas, and that's the assortment of lovely restaurants I can't afford to eat in. This does not stop me though, from pressing my nose against the glass at B&B and whimpering at the gorgeous wood paneling and wine glasses.

There is somewhere I can eat, though- Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery in the Venetian. And I ate there every day. Well, I ate a vanilla macaron every day. Perfect, palm-sized, almondy, creamy, sweet, chewy, crackly macarons, wrapped up in quirky beach-ball printed papers.

I almost cried when I ate this sammich. Perfect ham. Perfect cheese. A dab of perfect dijon. All stacked up between the most perfect, warm baguette- it was crunchy and chewy on the outside and the middle just melted. I miss you, ham sammich.

Also: Homemade peppermint patty! Chocolate was good, filling was too powdered sugar and nothing more.

Coming up on OMG!:

-The Gossip Girl Sailor dress I bought in Vegas.
- Belgian chocolates! Belgian pastries!
- Hot Air Ballooning!

Breakfast in Paris

2009-09-17T11:02:00.000-07:00

Oh man. This was the best pain au chocolat that I had in Paris. Flakey, deep rich chocolate and teeny strong coffee (I may have put a ton of sugar in it). We had it Sunday morning at a little bakery around the corner from our Hotel.

Boulangerie Viennoise- 2 Rue Emilio Castelar, 75012 Paris, Île-de-France, France. The woman didn't speak any English but was very patient with me making hand gestures and speaking terrible fragments of French.

Here's a chocolate brioche roll, sprinkled with French pearl sugar. I couldn't find any of this in France, but you can get it from L'Epicerie. L'Epicerie also carries my favorite lemon-infused olive oil and all your glucose and tapioca maltodextrin needs if you're trying to make Dry Caramel Sea Salt shots, ala Grant Achatz.

Kirs and Co.

2009-09-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

When you are in France, and it is that time of day for a drink before dinner, the drink that you have is a Kir. Kirs are previously covered here. You can have a Kir Royale, too, with champange- but somehow those never seemed to stick around long enough for picture taking. This was my first Kir, pictured above, and the delcious salty meat that was brought out along with it. Not peanuts, not spicy crackers- slices of delicious sausagy meat.

Sometimes you don't get a snack with your late afternoon kir, so you have to provide for yourself. In my case, this one was accompanied by éclairs from Stohlers. Long, thin, and filled with chocolate cream- it was delicious, but also the only éclair I managed to wolf down on the trip (too busy eating marshmallows and chocolates and tiny creme brules and crepes). Yum.

My favorite things at the Louvre.

2009-09-15T12:24:00.000-07:00

Check out these sweet chairs from the Louvre. I'm pretty sure they are the best chairs I have ever seen. Bright yellow satin, pewter metallic thread design- they've even got tassels and swags of fabric on the bottom. And yet they still have a kind of modern, streamlined shape to them. I don't know who's responsible for these but, Kudos, the Louvre.

This is a lion woven in a tapestry at the Louvre. It looks a whole lot like my dog, but with a tail and yellow and also a lion.

Mona Lisa. Come on.

Pierre Herme, Pt. 2

2009-09-14T11:21:00.000-07:00

More gratuitous, food porn shots of my macarons from Pierre Herme. Gossip Girl premier is on tonight, so more European delights tomorrow.

So bright. So pretty. So filled with creams and ganache.

What is that? Oh, that is the Lavender macaron. It's covered in shimmering pearl luster dust. It was delicious.

I'm taking these on the street in Paris. People are walking by, wondering what's going on. I don't care. How about a close-up?

Mint macaron. French manicure. This one was deemed too herb-y.

Moremoremoremoremacarons.

Look at the coloring on the purple cassis macaron. Gorgeous. Almost black. Yum.

The yellow is passion fruit and I did not like it, but to each their own.

This is the olive oil one. I may have eaten half of it. Bonus tip- this color green is supposed to be in for nail polish this year. You are welcome.

2009-09-12T10:41:00.000-07:00

My trip to Europe is wrapping up. I've been busy eating and taking pictures and seeing the sights. I've got weeks worth of posts for when I get back, tomorrow, from Amsterdam. Highlights include:

-Grey Goose Ice Bar in Paris- Lychee Martinis.

- Hot Air Ballooning over Bruges. (I'm pictured above with my Father and Christopher, our balloonist, setting up the balloon).

- Mussels and Frites in Belgium!

- Chocolates, chocolates, and waffles.

- Macarons, croissants, and pastries.

-The beers of Belgium.

And muchmuchmuchmore.

Pierre. Herme.

2009-09-06T23:44:00.000-07:00

So, I have been to Pierre Herme. These are the macarons I bought (I also got the collaboration jam! and the opera honey! but more about that later...). They are brightly colored and perfect and I love them. I've eaten through about half of the box now- very jammy, strange flavors- sweet, bitter. I've gotta say that I liked Laduree better- at one point a bartender asked me, "Which Laduree did you go to?" To which I replied, "Both."

Le Paris!!!

2009-09-06T09:09:00.000-07:00

I don't even know where to begin. It's been an overwhelming three days- I've eaten my weight in macarons, I've consumed more foie gras than I can even explain, and I love Paris. And butter. And ducks. And Paris. I can't blog everything at once, so I'll do what I can when I can and jump around

Above is the menu at the first restaurant we ate at once arriving in Paris- L'Encrier. After a fair amount of hilarious menu translation by my Mother and I, (we misread "pig cheeks" as "cheeks of the sea") we started our 3 course lunch.

I pushed my limits and ordered the house special- fried rabbit kidneys in a raspberry vinegrette. ZOMG. Heaven, once you got past it being a little weird.

For my main course I had the pig cheeks,which were rich and tender and taste like slow-cooked veal. For dessert- cream puffs filled with vanilla ice cream and drenched in dark chocolate sauce.

And we're off!

2009-09-03T13:29:00.000-07:00

This is my first test-post on the road, using the world's teeniest laptop, borrowed from my friend Jen. I'm currently hangin' out in the Newark Airport, drinkin' vodka tonics and snackin' on shortbread cookies. Success! Tomorrow? PARIS.

Dress shopping for Paris

2009-09-02T06:56:00.001-07:00

After months of running and weight lifting and running (macaron/eclair training), I finally treated myself to a nice little dress for Paris. The first option was Marc by Marc's Pansy-Print dress. But I wasn't totally sold, so I put it on hold at the Marc Jacobs store and kept looking.
'Next up was this confetti print dress from Cynthia Rowley, which is currently on sale for over half off on their website- good thing I didn't buy it. In fact, I didn't even try it on, since the salesgirl was unbelievably rude and just gossiped on the phone the entire time we were in the store- not even a hello! Also the model in that picture looks sad.

Then, there was Nanette Lepore's Devil dress. It's light as a feather, fit me like a glove, and had cute ruffly sleeves. The only decision was to get it in Sapphire (pictured), or in Onyx. After much debate, I settled on the black, since it seemed much more practical. At least that's how I rationalize a dress that costs almost as much as my rent. But then this morning, I saw this...

Look familiar? In the season premier of Gossip Girl, Blair wears a skirt that matches my original Marc Jacobs choice. Maybe I'll get it right next time.

Tomorrow: I'll be blogging from the Newark Airport on my way to Europe! Cheese, crackers, airline peanuts and afternoon gin and tonics.

Multigrain pancakes, Creme de Cassis laced syrup

2009-09-01T06:47:00.001-07:00

Pancakes. Who doesn't love pancakes? When I have houseguests for the weekend, I always try to cook breakfast myself at least once. This weekend my refrigerator was laughably out of ingredients and posed a bit of a challenge. Here's what I came up with: The pancakes are Trader Joe's multigrain baking mix- but to the recipe on the box I added plain non-fat yogurt, brown sugar, cinnamon and a ton of bourbon vanilla.

And the syrup. The easiest way to class up boring maple syrup when you have nothing on hand? All you need is jam, and a fruit-flavored liquor. Raspberry jam and cointreau. Blueberry jam and Chambord. In this case, I used blackberry jam and Creme de Cassis- a French blackcurrant flavored liquor. Just warm some maple syrup in a saucepan, throw in a couple heaping tablespoons of jam and finish it off with a splash of liquor. Ta-da!

PS- Only two more days till Paris.

Brown butter pecan chocolate chip cookies.

2009-08-28T09:11:00.001-07:00

Last night we had a end of year bash for our softball team (we won a whopping two games and got kicked out of the playoffs). I wanted to bake cookies, but had to bake them at the party. Chocolate chip cookies are always a crowd pleaser, but I wanted to do something a little different. At first I thought of using marcona almonds, but scratched that. Then I thought of using buttermilk, which I've done before and is always delicious- but I didn't want to buy a whole big jug of buttermilk. Then I though molasses and scratched that, too.

Finally I just decided to brown the butter. OMFG. It added such a rich, complex, nutty taste to the cookies. They were AMAZING.

Brown Butter Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 sticks salted butter
4 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, salt and baking soda and set aside. In a small saucepan, melt butter and stir over low heat till browned. Add sugar to butter and stir to dissolve. Let mixture cool. When cooled, add butter/sugar to dry ingredients and add eggs and vanilla and mix. Add pecans and chips. Form into balls and bake, about 10 minutes.

Google Mapping Paris

2009-08-27T06:46:00.000-07:00

Above are my most sucessful macarons that I made for the 4th of July. So pretty!

Alright, there's only one short week untill I leave for Paris. I've been frantically mapping all the places that have been recommended to me, or that I want to visit. Comments are a mix of my silly observations, copy-pasted David Lebovitz's comments from his Favorite Places in Paris and suggestions made by others. Apparently, bars are located on the east side of Paris, and macarons on the west.

I will be bringing the world's teeniest laptop with me, and will be blogging when possible from Paris, Bruges, Belgium and Amsterdam- so make sure that you check next week for updates!

Whole-Wheat Pecan Zucchini Bread

2009-08-25T07:41:00.000-07:00

My friend Roly asked me for a zucchini bread recipe the other day. I didn't have one off-hand. This is what I came up with- you cut as much oil as possible with yogurt. Buttermilk adds a nice tang. And, the secret to keeping any bread or cake with tons of fresh veggies in it (like carrot cake), or any cake, really, is to dump a package of sugar-free instant pudding in the batter. Works every time. For this bread I like to use cheesecake flavored pudding, but you could use vanilla, too.

Whole-Wheat Pecan Zucchini Bread:
1 1/4 cups of whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups of white flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 tablespoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of nutneg
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs (or eggbeaters)
3/4 cup of walnuts or pecans
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
3/4 cup of low-fat or fat-free yogurt, plain or vanilla
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons of vanilla
2 cups of zucchini, shredded
1 package sugar-free pudding

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease or oil two 8 inch by 4 inch loaf pans. Mix everything together and split batter into pans. Bake 55 minutes or until set in center.

Yum. There it is, right out of the oven.

And there it is, out of the toaster, smothered with butter and cinnamon sugar. Mmm.

Tennis-y Shoes

2009-08-24T11:30:00.000-07:00

Two things you should know: First, I left my pictures of whole-wheat pecan zucchini bread at home. Second, I am not a Coach tennis-shoes kind of girl. I am a Marc Jacobs mouse flats kind of girl, and MJ shoes do not fit me. But this weekend I went shopping for comfy Paris (10 days!) shoes and found that I actually like Coach's Op Art print. I think because the print, for some reason, reminds me of candy. Delicious candy shoes.

Tomorrow: Whole-wheat zucchini bread!
Wednesday: Chicken Kelly!

Bear in a dorag! Bear in a dorag!

2009-08-21T07:10:00.001-07:00

Josie came to work today. Look how happy she is! Actually, I have an egg sammich, which is what she's happy about.

So happy. So not in focus. Who wants to see a bear in a dorag?

Bear in a dorag!

Bear in a dorag! Bear in a dorag!

Scallops!

2009-08-20T06:51:00.000-07:00

Whole wheat pasta, zucchini, peas, leeks and basil with scallops. Look at that crusty brown scallop, yum. I'm not posting a recipe because there isn't really one- just saute all the things I listed in some olive oil. You can cut the leeks up into rings, rinse them really well and saute them first and save some for something else- a crab and avocado salad, vichyssoise, etc.

I couldn't post last week, since I had a bit of a disagreement with the electric company over whether or not we should be receiving electricity. Now that that's sorted out... exactly two weeks until Paris! I'll be blogging from Europe when I can, so get ready for some seriously disturbing macaron pics.

Best Parisian Eclairs! (?)

2009-08-11T08:31:00.000-07:00

So, I will be in Paris in only 23 short days. I'm excited, are you? When I met Gale Gand (2001 James Beard award winning pastry chef) at the Green City Market, I asked her what Patisseries I should make sure not to miss when I was in Paris. She recommended the usual "Lauduree" for macarons, which I had already mapped out in my travel guide, along with Pierre Herme. But for éclairs, she told me I couldn't miss Stohrer.

I will be finding out for myself by eating all the éclairs in Paris.

WTF, Sushi overload!

2009-08-10T08:00:00.001-07:00

Last night I made way too much sushi. There were about eight rolls, all of varying combinations of tuna, asparagus and avocado. My rolls weren't perfect, but my rice was. Then there was the dilemma of what to do with the leftover sushi- which ended up causing me to leave an embarrassing amount of phone messages to Chicago friends along the lines of, "I know this is going to sound weird, but, I've got a ton of sushi over here if you want it."

I brought the leftovers to work today, so they should get eaten at lunch.

Mmmmm, sushi.

Brown Sugar Caramel Corn with Hazelnuts

2009-08-08T17:47:00.000-07:00

So I decided to try and make caramel corn today, about an hour before leaving to see "500 Days of Summer" (mixed feelings). I skipped the bake-the-coated-corn-in-the-oven part and ended up with a sticky, chewy ball of corn. But it was still delicious.

2 bags 100 calorie pack microwave popcorn, popped.
1/2 cup whole hazelnuts
1/2 stick margarine
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 TBSP light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
sea salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a saucepan, combine margarine, brown sugar, corn syrup and vanilla. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. In the meantime, mix popped corn and hazelnuts on a baking sheet. Add baking soda and a pinch of salt to the stove mixture. Stir to combine, then pour over popped corn and nuts. Stir to coat evenly and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Bake in the oven for 1 hour, checking every 15 minutes. Allow to cool then break into pieces.

Pride and Joy.

2009-08-07T17:48:00.000-07:00

So in addition to cooking, my other main hobby is silversmithing. One corner of my bedroom is filled with butane torches, a flexible drill, saws, pickling acids, files, and more silver, gold and gemstones than I can keep track of (at least financially). These are a couple of my favorite pieces. Above is a necklace I made for my friend Roly- it's the teeny-est grey-blue sapphire bezel set in sterling silver on a thin chain.

Then there's my baby. Fourteen 8x10 mm faceted citrines, prong set in silver and hand-forged together with hinges- all made by hand. It took me six months of time and savings, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Trivets!

2009-08-06T06:42:00.000-07:00

This weekend I picked up the most adorable cast-iron trivet in robin's egg blue from the Martha Stewart Collection at Macy's- super on sale. It is now my second favorite trivet, topped only by a hot plate-ish thing I picked up at a cooking store in Germany that pictures two plump sausages lying on a blue plaid table cloth. Other favorites:

Le Creuset's trivets are a little ornate for my taste, but the dune is more than classy enough for tabletop serving.

Here's the one I picked up at Macy's in Cobalt.

This trivet is made of adjustable ceramic "pearls" that can be manipulated to fit any number of hot objects.

New York Strip with Burgandy Mushroom Sauce

2009-08-05T09:41:00.000-07:00

Steak for dinner! This was so rich I could only handle a couple bites. Here's what you need:

1 steak
2 small shallots, chopped
2 cups sliced button mushrooms
1/4 cup dry red wine
2 TBSP sour cream
salt and pepper

Coat steak with salt and pepper on both sides and sear in a bit of super-hot olive oil. Add mushrooms and shallots and saute till soft. Add wine and stir to get bits off the bottom. Cook steak in liquid briefly or move to oven. When steak is done, pull out and let set. Continue cooking remaining ingredients until liquid has reduced. Add sour cream and scoop onto steak. Woot, steak.

New beauty things I like

2009-07-30T08:35:00.000-07:00

1.) Booths's Deep Cleansing Volcanic Mud Mask- $9.99 at Drugstore.com

This stuff is lovely, since I have sensitive skin and my old mask got discontinued. It smells really good. It actually works. It is reasonably priced.

2.) Rimmel's Glam Eyes Mascara- $7.50 at Walgreens.com

If I didn't wear mascara, you wouldn't even know I had eyelashes. This stuff is awesome- the applicator brush is silicone, it doesn't clump, and it's really easy to get the tiny lashes at the edge of you eyes.

3.) Elf's Nail Polish Remover Pads- $1.00 at EyesLipsFace.com

I adore these little pads. One of them will remove navy nail polish from all ten digits. They smell like oranges instead of chemicals, and they don't make your hands taste like poison for a week no matter how many times you wash them.

MORE Cupcakes.

2009-07-29T11:46:00.001-07:00

So, this weekend we stopped at More, the cupcake store with cupcakes designed by Chicago pastry chef Gale Gand. I recently met Gale at the Green City Market- she was super nice and suggested a couple bakeries I should visit when I'm in Paris. She also told me to e-mail her and then never e-mailed me back. (E-mail me back, Gale!) Anyway. I had a brioche cupcake filled with sour cherry butter cream and iced (made to order) with foie gras buttercream.

There it is. Yum, I love foie buttercream.

Cupcake rundown! (from left to right): The salted caramel, lemon meringue, and the BLT.

The savory cupcakes were pretty good. The cake wasn't as moist as I would've liked, except in the red velvet, which had disappointing frosting. All in all, I'd go back for the foie cupcake, but that's about it.

Oven Pancake!

2009-07-28T11:00:00.001-07:00

You can call it a lot of things- Dutch baby, an oven pancake, a German pancake. I don't care- it is the simplest breakfast to make for a crowd. The batter puffs into craters and mountains of crisp, buttery peaks, with a doughy, sweet base. I never remember the exact proportions of my mother's recipe, but my guesses always seem to turn out okay. I did this one with 1/2 whole wheat which only makes you feel marginally better about the stick of butter.

Whole Wheat Dutch Oven German Pancake

1 stick butter
1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
6 large eggs
2 cups milk
salt
cinnamon
vanilla

Place stick of butter in large baking dish and stick in the oven while preheating. Preheat oven to 400. Mix all remaining ingredients together until smooth. When oven reaches 400 and butter is sizzling, pour batter into the middle of the pan. Cook until puffy and batter has set, about 15 minutes.

Top with powdered sugar, warm cinnamon apples, whipped cream.

Nothing to eat for dinner.

2009-07-22T07:24:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I got too caught up in watching Mad Men to do things like shop or cook or generally get off the couch. This always ends up with me eating the most ridiculous things. For instance- I had a frozen dinner lined up with a salad on Sunday evening. I couldn't bear to actually eat it, so instead I took the few things in my fridge and whipped up some truffled Parmesan scrambled eggs.

2 eggs
dribble of white truffle oil
dash of heavy cream
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan
salt and pepper

Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Beat remaining ingredients in a small bowl till fluffy. Add to hot oil. Stir quickly and continuously until eggs form tiny curds and are soft-set, don't overcook! Grab a glass of whiskey and continue watching Mad Men.

Honey wheat pizza with garlic scape pesto, mascarpone, ventresca tuna.

2009-07-21T06:56:00.000-07:00

Whew. I actually cut some of the ingredients from that list and it's still too wordy. I recently got a new pizza stone and decided to try it out. The crust was easy:

Honey Wheat Pizza Crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup warm water
1 package active dry yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tablespoon honey

Combine warm water, honey, and yeast in small bowl- let sit until yeast has proofed. Add flour and salt and knead, adding more flour, until dough isn't sticky. Place for an hour or so in a bowl sprayed with cooking spray. You don't have to let this rise, but I think that science says this develops gluten and it gets all flexy.

Garlic Scape Pesto:

1 cup chopped garlic scapes
1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup pine nuts
salt and pepper, to taste

Put all of above in blender. Grind into paste. Eat, because it is delicious. To be honest, I was a little hesitant to make the garlic scape pesto, but now I am a believer. That stuff is AMAZING, and the garlic taste is so subtle once it's been cooked. Yum.

Additional Pizza Toppings:
1 package baby portabellas
2 cups fresh spinach
mascarpone cheese
Parmesan cheese
1 can or jar ventresca tuna, packed in olive oil, drained

Saute mushrooms and portabellas. Squeeze out excess moisture. Roll out pizza dough (you should probably pre-bake this for about 15 minutes at 350). Spread pesto on pizza. Sprinkle on veggies and tuna. Dot with mascarpone, then finish entire pizza with a decent amount of shredded parmesan. Bake. Eat.

The mascarpone melts into these delightful buttery sweet puddles, the tuna is salty and rich, the pesto is creamy, the mushrooms are earthy... The crust is chewy and crisp and hearty and sweet. This is an amazing pizza.

Hazelnut Streusel Buttermilk Coffee Cake

2009-07-17T10:32:00.000-07:00

I had house guests the other weekend, and I wanted to make something delicious that could sit out and people could snack on during the day. I had a ton of hazelnuts leftover from my hazelnut macarons, so I decided to make a coffee cake.

Streusel:

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 tbsp butter, softened

Mix all streusel ingredients together in a small bowl until soft and crumby.

Batter:

3 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 stick butter, softened

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups lowfat buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar together with your mixer. Add eggs slowly, one at a time to butter and sugar mixture until soft and fluffy. In a seperate bowl, combine remaining dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients and buttermilk, alternating slowly, into batter until all dry ingredients are incorporated. Pour half of the batter into a buttered, floured bundt pan. Sprinkle 1/2 of streusel mix over the batter. Swirl two layers together lightly with a butter knife. Pour remaining batter into pan and again top with remaining streusel and again swirl with knife. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.

The cake was pretty good. I'm just happy that it came out of my cathedral-inspired bundt pan, which I can NEVER get a cake out of.

Hot Doug's at Work Day!

2009-07-15T09:21:00.000-07:00

I'm lucky (unlucky?) enough to work within a scary distance of Hot Doug's, a gourmet hotdoggery in Chicago. Sometimes we will order the sausages and have them for lunch. Today I am having the Spicy Thai Chicken Sausage with Thai Peanut Sauce and Toasted Coconut. Last time I had the Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Sel Gris, which was really good but so rich I could only eat half of it.

Happy Hot Doug's at Work Day!

Bastille Day!

2009-07-14T08:19:00.001-07:00

Bonjour! Bastille Day is finally here for real now, not like last week when I just thought it was. I'm celebrating by wearing my tacky Paris tee shirt today, and later I'll snack on champagne and leftover macarons.

Here's your Bastille Day rundown:

The NYT has the places to go for authentic French cuisine if you happen to be in New York today.

The Baltimore Sun has some book recommendations.

Chicago chimes in with restaurant recommendations.

And finally, here are your pictures of the military parade earlier today down the Champs-Elysees.

What are you doing to celebrate?

Macarons!

2009-07-09T11:56:00.000-07:00

So, I jumped the gun on Bastille Day, turns out it's not till next week. This is after I spent the last two days toiling away making three different kinds of macarons. I swear, this cookie kick will be over as soon as I get destroyed by Parisian macarons. All of my shells came out pretty well- I think I'm getting better at this.

Ah, the pecan/ praline buttercream macarons. These are my favorite. The buttercream is hands-down, the most delicious frosting I've ever made. It's a mix of Swiss buttercream mixed with ground pecan caramel candy. I had to make the candy twice to get it right.

This is the hazelnut/blackberry buttercream macaron. The Swiss buttercream curdled a bit when I added the blackberry preserves, but despite the appearance, this cookie is PERFECT- the tartness of the preserves, the sweet creaminess of the buttercream, the crunchy, chewy, nuttiness of the shell. Sigh.

Here are the pistachio/dark chocolate ganache macarons. For these I used half ground pistachios and half almonds. The ganache is equal parts heavy cream and Trader Joe's "Pound Plus" Dark Chocolate. I didn't use the 75% Dark Chocolate because I prefer milk chocolate, but thought I'd make a compromise. I then whipped the hell out of the ganache. These are delicious, but too rich for me.

Petunia the Pig

2009-07-08T07:11:00.000-07:00

So, this 4th of July, I attended a pig roast in Columbus, Ohio. This is Petunia, who was slow-roasted on a spit for almost all day over a bed of coals. She was delicious, except for her tongue, which tasted like super-chewy bacon and wasn't exactly delicious.

These are the pups who attended the roast, and only got a few bites of pork. This is them trying to work in tandem to receive more pork- they are adorable, but unsuccessful.

Red, White and Macarons

2009-07-07T10:41:00.000-07:00

Special thanks to J.F for the photo and J. M. for her hand.

Here are my 4th of July macarons- traditional almond shells were dyed blue, swiss meringue cream cheese buttercream filling with a dollop of raspberry preserves in the center. I topped them with a bit more buttercream and a fresh raspberry. I'll spare everyone the recipes, but here are some tricks I learned:

It is better to underbeat your shell batter than overbeat it, as you'll knock some air out when you pipe the shells.

Macarons do not need to sit out for an hour to "harden" their shells. This is a lie.

Swiss meringue over Italian meringue, always. It's easier and more stable, especially when you're adding butter and cream cheese.

Oh, the possibilities...

2009-07-06T07:20:00.000-07:00

Damnit, Martha. So this morning I find out that Shrinky Dinks, those wonderful plastic cutouts from your (my) childhood are AVAILABLE FOR LASER PRINTING. Awesome.

This week on OMG, Sammiches:

PHOTOS! Red, white and blue macarons (Almond, Swiss cream cheese buttercream, raspberry preserves).

Bastille Day! I'm making more macarons (Pistachio with Chocolate Ganache? Hazelnut with Blackberry Buttercream? Pecan with Praline Bourbon Buttercream?) Possibly croissants. And Dijon, there will definitely be Dijon.

Pig Roast recap, complete with tasty part eating.

OMFG. Needs more pants.

2009-07-02T09:09:00.000-07:00

The first photos for Anna Sui's Gossip Girl inspired line for Target are out. I'm half excited, half disappointed. The line will be available at Target starting September 13th. Almost all of the looks are minidresses, I think there's only one pair of pants in the whole collection. New York Mag's Slideshow is here. Again, why no Chuck Bass inspired pieces for the ladies? Unfair.

Whole Wheat Fresh Ricotta Ravioli with Garlic Scapes, Asparagus and Portabella

2009-07-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

Scapes!

The garlic scape! Usually people make these silly little things into pesto, which I set out trying to avoid (but failed- I totally made garlic scape pesto. More on that later). So I decided to sauté them with some other fresh vegetables and serve them with teeny fresh cheese pastas.

Whole Wheat Fresh Ricotta Ravioli:
3 eggs
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup fresh high moisture ricotta (can sub mascarpone)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
salt and pepper

Mix flours and eggs with a pinch of salt. Knead for about ten minutes, then wrap in plastic and set aside for 20 minutes to develop gluten or something. In the meantime, mix the cheeses together with a little salt and pepper. Roll out pasta, dab on filling in teaspoon size, cover with more rolled out pasta, cut out with biscuit cutter. Drop carefully in boiling water till tender, freeze extras. Ta-da!

My pastas are adorable!

For the scapes, I cut them into green bean sized pieces and sauteed them with some asparagus and mushrooms with a little butter and olive oil. I served this over the pasta. Hooray for spring!

Bonjour, mousies!

2009-07-01T07:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I finally caved and bought a pair of Marc Jacob's signature mouse flats in Gold patent leather. Some of his designs just allude to the mouse design, but these are full-on mouse shoes. They probably won't fit and I'll have to return them, but it was fun while it lasted, no?

Mouse round up, insert pied piper joke here:

Here's a cheaper, sling back pair in black.

Litte brown mice on Shopbop.

Casual denim printed mice, too.

Prawns with roasted asparagus and baby zucchini

2009-06-30T08:19:00.001-07:00

It is hot here, and cooking in a sweltering kitchen sucks. So, I like to cook in the broiler when I can. I keep shrimp from Costco in my freezer- they're a great deal and are HUGE. This weekend I went over to Chicago's Green City Market and got some fresh produce- lots of asparagus and sugar snap peas and baby squashes. Here's what I did with it:

Prawns with roasted asparagus and baby zucchini (Serves 2)

8 giant shrimps, in their shell
1/2 bunch asparagus
6 baby zucchini
olive oil
salt
pepper

Wash and cut veggies into sizeable chunks. Make sure they are dry. Shell shrimps, pat dry with paper towel. Throw everything on a baking sheet- drizzle with olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. I like to use Argumato Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which is pressed with lemons. Toss everything until evenly coated. Throw under broiler- after a couple minutes, turn shrimp. After a couple more minutes, remove shrimp and set aside. Continue to cook veggies till crispy.

Skorts, etc.

2009-06-29T14:40:00.000-07:00

Target is selling the best Skorts. They aren't shorts made to look like a skirt, they are just shorts with a skirt over them, so they look like a skirt. I got them in blue.

This week on OMG, SAMMICHES!:

I met Gale Gand. I asked her about Paris patisseries. I will tell you about it.

Farmer's Market! Garlic scapes! Portabellas the size of your head!

Recipes: Roast shrimp and spring vegetables, whole wheat ricotta ravioli with spring vegetables, Pistachio raspberry cream cheese macarons.

Nice Things from France You Can Have*, Pt. II

2009-06-25T10:25:00.000-07:00

* But you still need to find them, and they're still kinda pricey.

Jam! Who doesn't love jam? All kinds of jam! In France, a lady named Christine Ferber is in charge of jam (at least that is what I can tell by my translations). She has her jam in the best shops, and you cannot get it in the US. She even- and this sentence makes me very happy- has a line of jam for Pierre Herme. In France, pastry chefs collaborate on jam. I would one day like to have a jam collaboration.

Nice Things from France You Can Have*, Pt. I

2009-06-24T08:03:00.000-07:00

*If you can find them, and also they are still reasonably expensive.

This post incorporates so many wonderful things that I'm not exactly sure where to start- the Parisian Beekeeping, the Paris Opera House, Honey. It also reminds me of the recently departed 'Pushing Daisies' which also featured rooftop urban beekeeping.

Since the mid 1900s, Paris has been a hotspot for urban beekeeping. The Beekeeping School (Rucher Ecole) in the Luxembourg Gardens teaches apiculture to the cities many rooftop beekeepers. Honey and honey products can be found at Les Abeilles.

One of the cities most famous beekeepers is Jean Paucton, who tends to the hives he started on top of the Paris Opera House. He sells the honey at the Opéra de Paris gift shop, and at the gourmet store Fauchon when in season.

NYT article on Paucton's Opera beekeeping can be found here.
NYT article on the bee epidemic and it's impact on Parisian beekeeping can be found here.

I am buying so much honey in Paris.

Meringue secrets...

2009-06-23T06:42:00.000-07:00

The secret to perfect mint chocolate chip meringues is that you need to chop the chocolate into the itty-bittiest pieces that you possibly can. If you use the tiny chips, then the airy, sugary meringue melts in your mouth and you get stuck with a mouthful of chocolate chips. If you grind the hell out of some milk chocolate chips, the chocolate and the mint meringue melt together and the whole thing tastes like a big bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Becca's Mint Chocolate Meringues:

4 egg whites
1 cup sugar
green food color
mint extract
cream of tarter
1/2 a bag milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 225ish. Beat egg whites, and add a dash of cream of tarter while mixing. Once they get foamy, slowly add in the sugar- hourglass style. Once the sugar is in, beat it till it gets all creamy and shiny. Now, and this is important- add the food color (four or five drops) at the same time as the mint (Careful! just a drop, you can always add more. Too much and the whole thing tastes like Scope.) Beat till food color is evenly distributed. In a food processor, puree the chocolate chips into dust. Add chocolate dust to meringue. Scoop by spoon onto a foil lined cookie sheet (Piping this meringue will 1.) waste meringue and 2.) deflate the meringue). Bake in the oven 90 minutes, turn off oven and leave meringues in to cool overnight.

Bonjour!

2009-06-19T09:38:00.000-07:00

OMG, Sammiches is going to France! Duck confit! Macarons from Pierre Herme! Van Cleef and Arpels! French cheeses! French wine! So, I am trying to learn a little bit of French. I'm using Rosetta Stone, and it is totally the best- both because I am actually picking up some vocabulary, and it is fun to "play." Highly recommended.

Father's Day Gift Idea

2009-06-09T10:56:00.001-07:00

Father's Day is coming up, and you're going to have to find a gift. Golf balls? No. Shaving kits? No. Polo shirts? No. Cologne? YES. Vintage men's colognes that will remind Dad of when he was younger, but also have the best names of all time ever? YES AGAIN. My favorites:
English Leather. Launched in 1949. This fragrance possesses a blend of citrus, woods, moss and leather. My mother once admitted to spraying it on her stuffed animals when she was in her 20's and snuggling with them.Royal Copenhagen. Amazon says, "Fragrance notes: orange, lemon, jasmine, moss, and amber, a woodsy and manly aroma. Recommended use: evening." Manly aroma. Evening.British Sterling. BONUS! Vintage commercial. White snow, white horses, white clothes, and bottles of British Sterling on silver trays.

I'm getting a bottle of English Leather.

Truffled Parmesan Popcorn

2009-06-09T07:10:00.000-07:00

You know what sounds good? Truffled parmesan popcorn. Here's how:

1.) Pop a bag of your favorite microwave popcorn.
2.) Get a big stainless steel bowl. Drizzle a teeny bit of truffle oil into it- careful, the oil is hardcore. Swirl bowl around or use a pastry brush to coat the outside of the bowl with the oil.
3.) Pour popped corn into bowl and toss lightly to coat with oil.
4.) Sprinkle with a couple tablespoons of parmesan and a bit of your favorite sea salt.

This Food & Wine recipe does a bit of a more complicated process with real truffles, but they are dead on with their suggested drink accompaniment- a cognac sidecar.

Sealz!

2009-06-08T11:56:00.000-07:00

I'm decorating my bedroom with a shellfish theme- Posters of edible mollusks, german glass glittered lobster sculptures, jellyfish and crab pillows. But what I really want is an Omersa Seal for the corner. They are leather! They are animals! They are furniture!

You want a hippo and a pig and a basset hound and a dachshund. Then you can use them as seating for the world's most adorable sunroom. Tea party mandatory.

Weekend Cupcake Update!

2009-06-06T11:39:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I excitedly prepared to make the above cupcakes, Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow from Seattle's Trophy Cupcakes. I'm a sucker for recipes that let me use my butane torch. I watched the video. I read the user comments. This is what I ended up with.

They looked like sunken flourless cakes. They tasted OK, they were fluffy. But all of the delicious graham and chocolate topping sunk to the bottom. The batter was WAY too thin, and I even subbed buttermilk for the regular milk. So I had to try AGAIN, and used a buttermilk chocolate pound cake recipe I made up with ingredients I had leftover from the original failcakes.

Yay! Second time they came out. The cake tasted weird, but it held up to the toppings. Nothing like cupcakes with a huge swirly peak of meringue, toasted caramel brown on top.

Beforebear and Afterbear

2009-06-05T11:09:00.001-07:00

Giantbear attacks Happysteak.

Puppy bear went to the groomer this week. Before Bear is pictured above. Look how cute and fluffy. And knotted and hot and uncomfortable. Now, Afterbear!Oh boy does she look stupid. At least she's more comfortable.

Thinking Bobby Flay things

2009-06-03T14:05:00.000-07:00

Today someone asked me what I thought of Bobby Flay. I said that I think he seems like a bit of jerk, like he would make comments about ladies being fat behind their backs (or sometimes NOT behind their backs(!)) and would laugh at inappropriate things like if you touched your eyes after chopping a hot chili, or if you didn't know what kind of tequila was the best, but also he would sometimes be fun to be around and have a couple drinks with, and I bet he likes dogs, too.

ZOMG UMBRELLAS!

2009-06-03T13:22:00.000-07:00

My French-Canadian umbrella arrived today. I got it in navy, with silver screenprinted text. It is the most lovely thing, and it makes me almost wish it were raining. It has a solid wood handle and wood tips and should stand up to the Chicago winds.

I'm going to try and bring this back, friends, really I promise.

Tea+Vodka=Mmmm

2009-03-10T12:45:00.000-07:00

Things I want for my birthday: A bottle of Firefly Vodka, Sweet Tea Flavor. Mixed with lemonade, served poolside. It tastes like sweet iced tea, except that it is vodka.

Dessert as Dessert

2009-01-28T07:44:00.001-08:00

What's better than just having dessert? Combining something that already exists on it's own as a dessert into another one! (Think chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.) The NYTs has a great recipe up for Jelly Doughnut Pudding.
This is like a better plan than the one time I tried to cook jelly doughnuts french toast style, but it only resulted in an inevitable molten jam explosion.

Two Thousand Nines

2009-01-05T10:06:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years! OMG, Sammiches has been on a holiday hiatus due to a family health crisis. But now there is a whole new year of delicious and fun things to discover- new things you can do with eggs, lots of at-home French pastry attempts, and the braising of meats! I have gotten pretty okay at macarons, my batch of salted pecan shells are pictured below.
Will have more shortly!

Macaron Fever

2008-12-16T14:34:00.000-08:00

I have not written in awhile, seeing as how it is Christmastime, and I have finally become ill with the plague that eventually threatens all food-blog-people: macarons. The classic French sammich cookie consists of a delicate almond meringue shell and a gooey-creamy frosting filling. Eventually you have to try and make them. And you can't just make them once. First you must perfect the shells, then you become obsessed with different flavor combinations.
So, currently I am baking baking baking various combinations of delicious crunchy chewy French goodness (Though not fig/chocolate/foie gras (!!!), like the above red cookie). I will report back.

UPDATE: Red Velvet EVERYTHING

2008-12-11T06:51:00.001-08:00

I've been getting a lot of response to my red velvet post, so I thought I'd post an update about them. Last night I made them, but I didn't use Paula Deen's recipe, opting instead for this Rachael Ray recipe (ugh Rachael Ray) that I modified slightly. I switched recipes because the latter contains an entire half-cup of buttermilk versus the former's two tablespoons, which I feel is absolutely critical in red velvet. I also made the following modifications: I used an entire stick of butter in the batter, an extra half-teaspoon of baking soda, and I added an extra cup of flour. The batter should be thick enough to keep peaks when whipped. I also piped nickel-sized swirls of batter onto the cookie sheet to make bite-size sammiches. I baked them just till they were firm to the touch on top, about 5 minutes, but it depends on size.For the filling, I used an entirely different recipe, opting for Tartlette's Cream Cheese Italian Buttercream:
1 1/2 sticks (170 gr) butter at room temperature
4 oz (120gr) cream cheese, softened
3 egg whites
1/2 cup (100gr) sugar
2 Tb water
1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste or 1/2 vanilla bean split open
and seeded.

In the bowl of stand mixer, whip the egg whites until they have soft peaks. In the meantime, combine 2 Tb water with the sugar to a boil in a heavy saucepan and bring the syrup to 250F. Slowly add the sugar syrup to the egg whites. If you use hand beaters, this is even easier and there is less hot syrup splatter on the side of your bowl and in the whisk attachment of the stand mixer. Continue to whip until the meringue is completely cooled. Slowly add the butter, one tablespoon at a time. The mass might curdle but no panic, continue to whip until it all comes together. Add the cream cheese, the same way, a little at a time until everything is smooth. Whisk in the vanilla extract, or paste or bean.

They came out perfectly, and taste just like little concentrated bites of red velvet cake.

White Winter Honey

2008-12-10T14:03:00.000-08:00

Know what's better than just plain old boring regular honey? White winter honey. It comes from bees near the north pole and is gathered by, I must believe, the most festive little happy bees.

Get it from the Savannah Bee Company, and put it on your waffles and in your tea and make honey cakes and challah!

Red velvet EVERYTHING!

2008-12-08T10:20:00.001-08:00

Yesterday while finishing up Christmas shopping, I saw Philosophy's Red Velvet Cake Shampoo. Most of their products are ho-hum scents you can get at the dollar store, but I'd never seen red velvet cake scent. It was perfect- slight chocolate and buttermilk and sweet, sweet, delectable cake.Now, I've got red velvet cake on my mind, and I have to whip up some Christmas cookies for this weekends festivities. So, cookies + red velvet= red velvet cake cookies. They weren't on my list, (clothespin cookies, TKOs, vanilla macarons) but I think I will whip up a batch. I found various recipes, but I'm going to go with Paul Deen on this one (cookies are sammiched with cream cheese icing and rolled in crushed pecans).

Candy, Bacon, Candied Bacon.

2008-12-03T12:44:00.000-08:00

Your holiday guide to candied bacon:

Emeril's recipe for this treat recommends a lot of cayenne pepper, but suggests you serve it at brunch. I say serve it all the time, even as a snack. Food Network
This New York restaurant serves candied bacon with whipped cream for dipping, which sounds like the best drunk food of all time, and may surpass the current frontrunner, the sausage egg and cheese croissant. NYT

The do's and don'ts of at home bacon candy-ing, or "sticky pig candy stripes." Delicious Days

Brown-sugar glazed bacon from PBS, but be careful, it also includes serving sizes and nutritional information (both of which should not be allowed anywhere near bacon). PBS

Realsgiving!

2008-11-25T13:02:00.000-08:00

Realsgivings is only days away. While you might be making Turbaconducken (courtesy M.S.) I will not, because they do it totally wrong To make a proper turducken, you need to completely debone the chicken and the duck, while keeping them in one piece. This is hard. Therefore, I present to you the following best resources on how to debone bird animals:1.) Deboning a chicken- Includes nice drawings to help guide you.

2.) Deboning a chicken- Includes nice pictures to help guide you.

Happy Realssgivings!

Holiday Gift Guide, Pt. III

2008-11-21T13:11:00.000-08:00

10 under $200

10.) Whatnot Muppet, $90 from FAO Schwartz. Finally, you can design your own muppet! This new program lets you choose all the features and costumes for your very own muppet, which you will never do anything with.

9.) Edible Gold Flakes, $90 from L'Epicerie. Gold flakes can be thrown into martinis. They can be scattered on appetizers or entrees or cupcakes. Top some handmade truffles. They make everything not just look expensive, but actually be expensive.

8.) Kobe Beef Steaks, $100 from Allen Brothers. Your boyfriend likes steak. He also likes grilling. Kobe beef is delicious. Extra bonus: you might get a night off from cooking dinner.

7.) Photographer's Task Table Lamp, $100 from Pottery Barn. Old-school movie light inspired lamps looks totally modern as an end table or on a desk.

6.) Jelly Gummy Lights, $125 from Sprout Home. These are meant for children, but who's room wouldn't brighten up with a giant glowing lamp in the shape (and feel) of a gummy bear candy?

5.) Tea and Toast Robe, $130 from Anthropologie. This darling terrycloth robe is covered in ruffles, and includes a cosy hood to snuggle up in. Plus, it comes in grey.

4.) Marc by Marc Jacobs Dr. Q. Clutch, $140 from Shopbop. Adorable buttery leather clutch bag from the Dr. Q. collection is seriously on sale from Shopbop. Plus, with Shopbop there's no sales tax and free shipping- unless you live in Wisconsin.

3.) Whistlejacket Painting, $150 from Global Wholesale Art. An oil painting of everyone's favorite horse, since you can't get a life-sized reproduction for less than $200 (believe me, I have tried.)

2.) Le Creuset Round French Oven, $175 from Amazon. You need this for cooking things. Fancy things. Brasing things. You want this in Dune. Dune is the best color.
1.) Puppybear, Market Price from Various Locations. The best gift you can give is that of a puppy. Personally, I'm partial to aussiedoodles. They are loving, do not shed, like to eat bumblebees (and TV closed captions) and look like little black bears with funny ears. Everyone loves a puppybear!

Holiday Gift Guide, Pt. II

2008-11-19T08:29:00.000-08:00

10 Under $70

10.) Nina Ottosson Dog Toys, $21 and up from Paw Lickers. These dog toys are more complicated than the usual "shake a treat out of a kong." Think of them as a brain teaser for you pup.

9.) Cheese Dome, $25 from Crate and Barrel. This adorable cheese board/dome combo is perfect for holiday entertaining. Plus, it makes late night clean up a snap.

8.) Salad Wrenches, $23 from Atypyk. These wooden salad tongs are shaped like tools! How quirky and imaginative!

7.) The Alinea Cookbook, $32 from Amazon. Tons of gorgeous pictures of people making science/food. Sure to entertain both foodies and scientists alike. Just don't try to cook anything, unless you want to invest in an anti-griddle.

6.) Leather Mahogany Candle, $35 from Burke Decor. This candle smells like the library of your British grandfather at his country estate; dark stained wood, worn leather club chairs, a vase of wildflowers, and a lingering of men's cologne.5.) Cow Anatomical Model, $35 from Kikkerland. A cute accessory for the meat-eater's kitchen- you can see where all your favorite cuts of beef are while you cook. Very Alton Brown.

4.) Bow Appliqué T-Shirt, $50 from J Crew. Super soft knit tee with bow appliqués, though the snowflake one is a personal favorite, and you can wear it all winter.

3.) Digital Camera Gift Card, $50 and up from Target. Boys are hard to shop for, so sometimes it is easier to let them shop for themselves. This gift card from Target is also a tiny, flat digital camera, which is cool and gadgety.

2.) Batman Legos, $50 from Lego. Your boyfriend wants legos. He also likes Batman. Note: Since I picked this item, it has sold out or doubled in price from other retailers. Fortunately, your boyfriend probably also like Star Wars or Indiana Jones (the classic collection is best), or Ferrari, which are all available and come in various price ranges.

1.) Landmark Bookends, $65 from Restoration Hardware. Cute bookends fashioned in the likeness of your favorite city landmarks and surprisingly less ugly than bookends usually are. I like the Brooklyn Bridge ones best, but they appear to have sold out, boo.

Coming Friday, 10 under $200...

Holiday Gift Guide, Pt. I

2008-11-17T12:02:00.000-08:00

10 Under $20

10.) Elf Cosmetics, $1 and up from Eyes, Lips, Face. Cosmetics can be stupidly expensive. Everything at ELF is only a dollar, so you can easily afford to make the makeup mistakes you know you will.

9.) Fuzzy Snowballs, $2-$4 from CB2. These fluffy fake snowballs in various sizes are perfect for piling into a bowl or vase for instant holidayness.

8.) Marc Jacobs Headquarters Banadana, $8 from Marc by Marc Jacobs One of the many low-priced treats sold at Marc by Marc stores. Who says you can't have nice things?

7.) Mechanical Paper Crafts, $7 from Kikkerland. This elaborate moving paper craft kit finally gives you something to do on Christmas Day! Personally, we like the sheep one.

6.) Letterpress Mats, $15 from YeeHaw Industries. Gorgeous letterpress swirls and loops dress up the plainest postcard or the most elaborate photograph. Plus, you get three for $15.

5.) Science Notebook, $10 from Three Potato Four. Get this for all your science friends so they can write down all their sciency notes and get their advanced degrees (in science).

4.) Subscription to Domino Magazine, $10 from Conde Nast. Recipes and nesting tips and decor items and clothes and generally 12 months of leisurly entertainment.

3.) Titanium Kitchen Shears, $14 from Williams Sonoma. You need good kitchen scissors, and how can they get any better than a pair COATED IN TITANIUM?

2.) Martha Stewart Recipe Box, $15 from Macy's. Old school recipe box is an adorable gift, extra points for filling it up with your favorite family recipes.

1.) Earl Grey Tea Macarons, $19 from Paulette. Buttercream filled chewy sandwich cookies make the perfect gift. And let's be honest, you aren't going to try and bake these yourself.

Coming Wednesday... 10 under $75

Dulce de nomnomnomnomsalt

2008-11-13T13:37:00.000-08:00

Last night we got some dulce de leche gelato. The recipe, if you are feeling overacheiving, can be found here. It is also sold by Ciao Bella. And although I've done the whole "make caramel out of condensed sweetened milk in the can" thing before, it is not recommended, since it might blow up.
To make it extra delicious, we sprinkled it with sea salt. (I used Sel Gris de l'Ile de Noirmoutier, which can be found here.) Caramel gelato+ sea salt= best most delicious thing ever.

Just a note...

2008-11-12T08:51:00.000-08:00

Next week, OMG Sammiches will be revealing it's HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE 2008. Everything that you didn't even know you wanted! It will be released in three parts. Yayayyaya!