Weekly Wrap-Up; Merry Christmas

by Emily

I hope all of my Christmas-celebrating readers had a merry week! We celebrated one day early, but had a lovely Christmas all the same. Our best one ever, maybe! Lots of nibbles are missing from this post (candy! Chinese food!), but here are the basics from the week –

Fashion Friday

Short week celebration flair.

Christmas Eve.

‘Twas the day after Christmas and all through the office…

Breakfast and Lunch

An on-theme Luna Bar.

2% Fage with Honey, an apple, and a leftover ABP chocolate peppermint shortbread. I also bought a piece of pizza from the cafeteria but I didn’t have my camera with me.

Leftover pizza that was in my mouth before it could make it to the plate. x3

The last of the 0% plain Chobani with sliced banana, cinnamon, nutmeg, and maple syrup.

An apple, Chinese candy, and a tasty turkey sandwich of Applegate Farms smoked turkey, light Jarlsberg, and dijon on a bagel thin.

Snacks Galore

The husband and I shared a Peppermint Dazzler.

Also adorably tiny chocolate Santas.

This halvah came in my stocking (thanks, mom!).

Dinner

Adam worked all day on Christmas but we both had half days on the 24th so we celebrated a day early! Honestly the best gift of all was getting to spend a weekday afternoon with my husband.

But our new tradition of (homemade) pizza for Christmas Eve dinner was pretty great too!

We tried our hand at 2 ingredient pizza dough.

Topped with marinara, tons of sautéed mushrooms and green onions, and freshly grated gouda.

I’m always a fan of sautéed mushrooms (and gouda!) but the dough was out of this world. I quickly declared this the 2nd best pizza I’ve ever had and the best meal of the month.

With our pizza we drank big glasses of eggnog,

and split a Shiner Cheer.

The beer was so peachy good.

Opening presents was a ton of fun. Our families were too good to us.

We’re terrible at waiting so we exchanged anniversary presents (ours is this Saturday) that night as well. The modern 6th wedding anniversary present is candy – the traditional is iron – so that’s what we gave each other. Adam’s snack shelf has ruthlessly encroached onto coffee territory.

For Webster we spent $20 replacing an old favorite, Pig.

New Pig was rated 8/10 on the durability scale. He lasted less than 3 minutes.

The dog is a monster.

I was home on Christmas, so I spent hours in the kitchen making homemade tomato sauce. Served on pesto tortelloni from TJ’s.

I don’t know quite what went wrong, other than too much onion and crushed red pepper, but I basically made homemade salsa.

This was not a success.

Dinner for last night was supposed to be more “pasta sauce,” but I just could not bring myself to eat it again. Instead we got Thai take-out; Pad See Ew and Cashew Shrimp.

Much better.

What is your Christmas dinner tradition?

16Dec2013

My Weekend, A Book Report {Giveaway}

by Emily

I had a lot of fun this weekend. When I decided to write about my weekend I was excited. The food was very good. There were a lot of foods. Adam was so fun to be with…

Ahahaha! Don’t worry, there will be no 2nd grade book-report-style writing here. I do have two new books to share with you though. And the verb “share” was used literally in that last sentence – there’s a giveaway at the end of this post!

Both of the books mentioned in this post were provided to me free of charge to review. The publisher also provided a 2nd copy of each book to share with my readers. All opinions are my own.

Just a few things to note:

Please click on the headings/book titles for links to the publisher’s website.
I did have another, non-food, book that I wanted to talk about. I read Susannah Cahalan’s “Brain on Fire” during my commute last week and I flipping loved it. “Brain on Fire” is a memoir about her struggle with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. Cahalan is a journalist, and she did a great job presenting the scientific aspects of her story in a clear, and accessible manner. Plus she made me cry; I kept having to blink back tears on the train!

Picture Cook – See. Make. Eat.

Instead of a list of instructions, “Picture Cook” breaks down its recipes into step-by-step pictures (though the bottom of each page does include a list of ingredients for clarity’s sake). I liked the look of the artwork a lot; the pictures are clear but cute. The book also includes some handy tips,

and stream of consciousness-esque recommendations for things like raita, pizza, and omelets.

I made two recipes from it this weekend. The instructions were a snap to follow – it was much easier to glance at the pictures than read through instructions while I cooked. The dishes were delicious, though it is worth noting that I increased the cooking time for both recipes.

We made Home Fries on Saturday.

Which we served with ketchup and a sunny side up egg. Yolk makes the best sauce.

The recipe called for precooking the potatoes in the oven, which was much better than microwaving them first like I usually do. We thought the amount of spice was perfect.

On Sunday I tried my hand an Chana Masala.

Served with white rice and onion chutney.

This was the second or third time we’ve made chana masala at home and this recipe was by far the quickest and easiest, but the final dish was still our favorite. Adam loved it.

Homemade Condiments – Artisan Recipes Using Fresh, Natural Ingredients

A sauce can really make or break a dish, so I was excited to add a guide to homemade condiments to my culinary bookshelf. The book has recipes for ketchups, mayos, mustards, dressings, dessert sauces, and more.

Each recipe comes with a list of recommended uses, which I thought was a nice touch.

Over the past week I made three different sauces, with varying success.

Orange-Miso Dressing went in my cooked cabbage and got two thumbs up.

The sauce had the right balance of savory miso to sweet orange. It reduced perfectly but I think it would be great “raw” on a salad as well.

Maple Tarragon Vinaigrette went on a salad and sadly got one thumb down.

I felt like I could never get it to emulsify and even though I cut the recommended oil almost in half the final dressing was just too oily for my tastes.

The Caramelized Onion Chutney on our chana masala got two big thumbs up.

Another sweet and savory, the balance of flavors in this one was perfect. My only complaint is that the onions started to burn (on the lowest my heat can go) before the recommended cooking time was even halfway through. I was expecting the husband to hate the chutney because he’s not a raisin fan, but he raved about it. I would love to make another batch to spread on grilled cheese sandwiches.

The Giveaway

I have a copy of each book to share! Simply leave a comment on this post stating which book you want to win by 2 pm EST on Thursday, December 19th. If don’t want to chose between the books you may leave two comments, but each reader is only eligible to win one time (i.e. two winners will be selected, one person cannot win both books).

13Dec2013

Weekly Wrap-Up; Burritos And A Birthday

by Emily

I’m (almost) through my 2nd week! How long do you think I’ll have to be back at work before I stop counting? My guess is at least a month.

About the title… The birthday was Adam’s. My husband turned 28 on Wednesday so for the next 6 months I’ll stop being the older woman.

That picture is from BDL; i.e the years Before Doctor Life. He is on a very busy rotation now so unfortunately we didn’t have time for anything too festive. He got a disgusting amount of Taco Bell and we watched “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.”

The burritos were from Red’s All Natural.

They recently sent me some free-product coupons so that I could try out the goods. All Red’s products are 100% all-natural, preservative-free and made with antibiotic-free and hormone-free meat and rBGH-free cheese. I love the company’s philosophy and practices and I liked the burritos too (though admittedly not quite as much as their ideals).

So far I’ve tried two varieties. I microwaved one burrito and baked the other. The nuked one was a little mushy, but not at all chewy like some lower-quality tortillas tend to get in the microwave. The one I baked got perfectly crispy and nice. Both had good ingredient combinations but sadly I found the flavors to be a bit one-note. It is also worth pointing out that the burritos are giant, more than 500 calories each which is a lot for one meal component. However, they are also very, very filling – I shared both of mine with Adam because I could not finish. If you have someone to split with they are a great option but if you are purchasing them to eat alone just be mindful. <– they also have 5 oz burritos available in some varieties!

Overall, I am giving the two I tried a positive review (just not glowing). I am looking forward to trying some of the other varieties and I will definitely be sharing them on the blog when I do.

Fashion Friday

A new polka dot dress, from the Gap.

I tilted my head funny in the picture, but I actually got several compliments on my bun piled high on my head.

I usually don’t button my cardigans, but I liked it here.

Another new dress. It’s cuter in person than in the picture. The husband loved it and bought it for me with some of his birthday money ❤

The Gap sales rack has been very kind to me this season. Even with my newbies, however, I’ve pretty much gone through my entire closet in the two weeks, so we’ll see how long “Fashion Friday” continues to last.

Breakfast

Cookie Dough Balance Bar.

I think they changed the recipe again. It’s not quite as glorious as my old memories, but a big improvement over the really gross ones I was finding a year or so ago.

Giant coffee.

I was cashing in on a freebie so I went all out. Venti, non-fat, iced latte with 2 shots each gingerbread, white chocolate, and (extra) espresso.

Chocolate Peppermint Stick Luna Bar.

I never eat this flavor because it feels so seasonal, but it is one of the best. The mint is nice and cool.

Lunch

Monday. Looks like breakfast but was actually lunch. Quaker Cherry Pistachio Oatmeal.

And ~~the big apple~~ a big apple.

I’ve got to buy more oat go-cups; this was super portable and easy to just fill up with hot water in the cafeteria.

Tuesday.

Pizza with mushrooms and black olives.

And grapes.

These grapes are HUGE. They’re a seedless “holiday” variety.

Wednesday.

More leftovers.

Tangerines.

I promise, that cabbage was so much better than it looks.

Thursday.

More grapes.

And an everything bagel thin with leftover smoked tofu and light havarti.

I left this “raw” and the thins are definitely much, much better when toasted.

Snacks

Just like last week, picture lots of lunch assembly bites. This first one was an after dinner treat though. Looks like a root beer float…

But actually it’s Vanilla Porter with French vanilla ice cream.

I was pretty proud of this idea but it probably would have been a little better in milkshake form with a mix of beer and milk.

An Andes tree.

This was weirdly exciting. I’ve really been craving mint lately.

These gorgonzola cracker crisps have been a favorite for munching.

I love how big the serving size is here.

Dinner

Best dinner of the week, hands down.

Soy Boy organic Smoked Tofu that I sautéed in evoo.

With shredded (frozen) cabbage that we cooked in canola oil with salty peanuts and fresh edamame. We dumped in a bunch of miso orange dressing at the end and let it reduce, and the whole thing was heavenly.

I never seem to repeat meals any more but I do really want to make this again.

Salad and a burrito.

Romaine with groats and maple tarragon dressing.

Red’s Turkey Burrito.

This was the one I microwaved.

Cereal night on Adam’s birthday.

Two servings of Love Crunch Gingerbread Granola with vanilla almond milk and sliced banana.

Plus a big glass of eggnog during “The Grinch.”

This meal was missing vegetables, but that just didn’t feel festive! Thankfully this was the day I had my veggie-heavy lunch.

Chicken Burrito.

Apparently that was the only picture I have from last night?! I meant to eat it with salad but ended up having cheese and crackers instead.

Do you have any exciting plans for this upcoming weekend?

6Dec2013

Weekly Wrap-Up; I Survived!

by Emily

I survived my first week of full-time work! Well, almost; I’ve still got to get through today. And I am very excited to hit the couch as soon as I get home. TV, how I’ve missed you! {Random Note – “Mom” on CBS? So flipping good. I laugh out loud over and over again. Also “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” randomly got really good too. It seemed like a train wreck at first but they’ve pulled it together; it’s another llol situation.}

I do plan on sharing a bit more about work as time goes on. And I’ll definitely post a picture of my office (I have an office!) once I get it all set-up. I have some work outfits at the start of this post though, and I’ll try to keep that going.

Last week’s eats were fairly boring, but I’m proud of how (relatively) healthy I managed to keep things. And I even captured 95% of what went in my mouth on film. What you don’t see is the snacking I did before dinner every night while I packed my lunch. Also there was coffee. So, so much coffee.

fashion friday

New navy, polka dot top from the Loft.

I didn’t realize how similar day 2’s look was to day 1.

My mom got me this mint cardigan on her trip to Amsterdam.

I wish my pictures were clearer so you could see details like this fun neckline.

And Friday’s look will get looped to next week.

breakfast

As of now I’m eating on my train ride so things have to be portable. Sticky Bun Larabar Uber.

Still not my favorite flavor, but I liked it better than the first time I tried it.

Pecan Pie Clif Bar.

Such a fun seasonal flavor. I really hated the gingerbread and spiced pumpkin ones, but this was delicious.

Super smoothie.

Frozen strawberries with plain Greek yogurt and chocolate peppermint soy milk. Adam and I love this blend.

lunch

Lots of repetition here but I changed up little details to keep things interesting. Turkey sandwich round 1.

A Sandwich Thin with Applegate Smoked Turkey, Crofter’s Grape, and a TJ’s goat cheese medallion.

With a cameo apple.

And a baggie of Angie’s Iced Gingerbread Kettle Corn.

The husband and I both love this popcorn; not too sweet or spicy. It’s not on their website but I found my bag at Target.

Butternut squash round 1.

Roasted butternut squash with chopped spinach and craisins with WF’s Korean BBQ Sauce on top.

On the side,

another cameo apple and a baggie of Salty Pepper Somersaults.

Turkey sandwich round 2. This time with a slice of light havarti, banana peppers, and a bit of Miracle Whip.

Plus a pair of tangerines.

And Twix Gingerbread.

This meal was the week’s winning lunch.

Butternut squash round 2.

With TJ’s Champagne Pear Vinaigrette in place of bbq sauce.

And a side of tasty mango.

The flavors here were good but this meal was a little too mushy overall.

dinner

These are all single girl dinners; I was on my own every night this week. Adam had a week straight of night shifts and with my new schedule we literally saw each other for less than 30 minutes a day. I miss him!

Soup night.

My box of pumpkin soup from TJ’s was terrible.

It was weirdly sweet and I ended up throwing out the majority of my bowl. My side made up for it though.

The last of the tortilla chips with fancy cheese microwaved on top.

Sandwich night.

My sandwich was a little burnt, but oh-so-good. I mashed together a can of Smoked Trout with Miracle Whip and smoked paprika and then put it between two pieces of gingerbread swirl bread with a slice of light havarti and cooked the whole thing in a pan with a little butter.

With a giant pile of kale chips on the side.

The smokey-sweet combo on my sandwich was amazing.

Egg night.

Two eggs scrambled with evoo, frozen roasted corn, chopped jalopeño, sugar, and Sriracha.

Another kale pile.

With popcorn.

For the whole grains, of course.

Fun night. Yesterday I met up with a friend who works in Park Slope for dinner. I had some time to kill before she got off so I walked a ton (my feet are still killing me!) and got the best cup of frozen yogurt.

Eggnog and praline yogurts with pralines, toffee, and malt balls. Fan-freaking-tastic!

Then we went to Song for Thai food.

My “Spicy Noodles” weren’t spicy at all, but they were nice and chewy and I came home with leftovers for lunch. It was great to see a friend on a “school night.”

P.S. Don’t forget to enter my coffee giveaway. You’ve got until 2 pm Saturday to comment.

27Nov2013

Mid-Week Wrap Up; Visitors In Town

by Emily

My parents got in on time Monday night and we’ve had a great time showing them around. They visited us in the city the years we lived in Brooklyn, but Long Island is a new family destination. And two sets of aunts and uncles get here tomorrow morning! Since I knew I’d have lots of good food to share with visitors in town I decided to post in smaller mid-week wrap ups this week.

Here’s some of what my mouth’s been up to…

Coffee from 7-11 with Cinnabon creamer.

I’ve been wanting to try that damn creamer for months and I ended up hating it so much that I threw out my whole coffee halfway though. Boo. But at least I can stop pestering Adam to walk to 7-11 with me.

A gingerbread lunch feast.

An awesome sandwich of Applegate Farms Herb Turkey Breast, reduced fat cream cheese, and banana peppers on Pepperidge Farm Gingerbread Swirl Bread.

Plus sliced Sweet Tango apple.

And Gingerbread Twix.

These holiday Twix are sooooo good. I wouldn’t normally eat a Twix but the gingerbread spice is wonderful.

We went to Great Neck for my parents’ first night’s dinner. Bareburger, of course, because that’s our go-to spot for out-of-towners. We shared the fried zucchini to start.

I’ve decided that the Western turkey burger (sans bun) is my favorite variety. The fried pickle on the side is too fun.

And despite the cold we wandered over to 16 Handles after dinner.

Sugar-free praline with chocolate pretzels, salty almonds, and peanut butter sauce.

For their 2nd dinner we went our favorite Italian spot, Luigi’s.

That focaccia is great. As was the Tuscan salad my mom and I split.

Baby spinach with breaded artichoke hearts, roasted peppers, gorgonzola dolce, pine nuts, and balsamic vinaigrette.

We all shared some fresh mozzarella too.

I stuck with the cheese theme for dinner. Spinach, ricotta, and goat cheese ravioli (house-made!) in a champagne truffle cream sauce.

It was very rich but very good. The sauce was truffle heaven.

I did have enough room left over to dole out a round of RumChata after dinner.

I was introduced to it as “the snickerdoodle shot” and that name is very apt. Adam and I both put some in our coffee too and decided that we’ll be doing that regularly.

I don’t know what the plan is for tomorrow (with 10 people for dinner) but the next day’s Thanksgiving, whee!

25Nov2013

Weekend Wrap-Up; A Fabulous Date

by Emily

This weekend was downright fabulous! I’m still not feeling quite 100% from my cold – you’ll notice that fruit and veggie consumption was still abysmal – but I felt well enough to have lots of fun. Having Adam home on break has been indescribably wonderful❤. And tomorrow my parents come to visit (and will be joined later in the week by two sets of aunts and uncles) for Thanksgiving and Hanukkah!

breakfast

Yogurt bowl.

TJ 0% honey Greek yogurt topped with two sliced kiwis.

Sunday breakfast.

We toasted the last of the garlic and cheddar beer bread in the oven with some Smart Balance Light.

With a sliced Cameo apple on the side.

And a cup of cafe con leche.

The coffee was part of a sample that Maison Camus sent me.

Please note – this product was sent to me free of charge. I was not provided further compensation for my this post. All opinions are my own.

I had not heard of Maison Camus before they reached out to me, but apparently they are an independent, family owned Cognac house. Their coffee is grown sustainably – no herbicides, fungicides, or pesticides, and they stick to a strict growing process to minimize environmental impact and preserve biodiversity. The beans are grown at high altitudes (primarily in Costa Rica and Guatemala) and they use small-scale farmers who they pay fair wages.

I haven’t opened the French Roast yet but we loved the Signature Blend. My first tasting thought was “smooth,” and it was fun to see that match the company’s description (the French Roast is described as bold and I’m quite looking forward to it). I did put a bit of SCM in my coffee but I took a few sips black and was thrilled with the lack of bitterness. I drank two big mugs. Adam, who drinks at least 3 cups of coffee a day and is a much more discerning drinker than I, was very impressed as well.

lunch

Breakfast for lunch but not brunch.

Seedy bread with Smart Balance Light,

and eggs scrambled with tons of corn (cooked with evoo, tons of Sriracha, and a bit of sugar).

Don’t turn your nose up at the sugar; I realize it’s something I’m not exactly short on in my die,t but with the chili sauce it makes the corn perfect.

On Saturday I took Adam on a date that ended up being one of our best days ever. We decided the last time we had such a good time was on our last trip to Toronto. We drove up through Long Island to Port Jefferson.

The town was gorgeous and quaint, and we even came across a fire pit offering free marshmallows for roasting!

After we licked all the burnt sugar off our fingers we headed over to C’est Cheese for lunch.

My girlfriend (who lives in Buffalo but grew up in LI) used to babysit for the owners and recommended it to us. We were grateful for the intel because we had an amazing meal.

Adam and I shared… A beer sampler.

{South Hampton Double White, Smuttynose Brown Dog, Frambois, Port Jeff Porter}

The Smuttynose was his favorite and the porter was mine, which was funny because we both didn’t care for the others selection. The frambois was enjoyed by all though and was an excellent palate cleaner.

A bowl of New England Clam Chowder.

Adam ate this all on his own but he said it was excellent.

The Somerset sandwich – Melted aged cheddar, sun-dried tomato pesto, black olive tapenade, and fresh basil.

The aged cheddar on our sandwich was actually our very favorite cheese of the day, though it had a lot of competition.

A cheese sampling.

{Truffle Tremor, Taleggio, Pecorino Toscano, Scharfe Maxx, Vlaskaas, 2 year Grafton, Harbourne Blue}

The sampling is a plate of seven assorted cheeses that changes each day. We loved our selection. And we came home with leftovers so the fun could continue the next day. The fun continued that day as well; we finished out our date with a trip to “Thor” and popcorn for dinner.

On Sunday we had leftovers to look forward to.

We chopped up the last of our cheese plate and put it on top of crockpot cranberry chicken (scroll down to dinner) and jasmine rice.

This was so good we both wished we had leftovers of our leftovers.

dinner

I only have one meal in this category! The other days we did big, late lunches and just snacked (popcorn and bananas foster!) for dinner. Thankfully this one meal was a winner, though not very photogenic.

Crockpot Cranberry Chicken = put 1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breast into the crockpot and top with 14 oz fresh cranberries and bbq sauce (we used Whole Food’s Korean style) to cover, then cook 4 hours on “high.”

So simple, but so good. Adam raved about this meal and went back for both 2nds and 3rds. The green on the bottom was frozen spinach that I cooked with evoo, lemon juice, craisins, and smoked almonds.

drink & dessert

The gingerbread cookies from Cheryl’s (thanks again, Barb!) are perfectly soft and spicy.

I’ve already bought a whole slew of gingerbread flavored goodies and I’m excited to announce that I’ve decided tomorrow is the perfect time to start opening them.

Grande, non-fat, eggnog latte.

I got this with a 50% off coupon and I was glad because I didn’t love it this year. Somehow it wasn’t sweet at all, which was very strange with the eggnog flavor.

Another sample, Rave Review Original Culinary Spirits sent me a box of booze for cooking.

Please note – this product was sent to me free of charge. I was not provided further compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

We had a lot of fun setting up a bourbon tasting.

Bourbon isn’t my favorite kind of whiskey, and on first taste I preferred Rave Review to the competitor. I rarely give a bad review (I’m excitable and pretty easy please), but I have to say that after heating I hated it! The flavor was almost savory?! which we think was related to the blend of spices. That said, I could see how it could be good in a savory dish, and I do plan on cooking with it.

On the positive side, we made Bananas Foster with the Rum and I’m giving that two thumbs up.

I basically followed Alton Brown’s recipe, except I skipped the banana liquor and used cinnamon instead of all spice.

Served over vanilla ice cream, this was wonderful. I’m pretty sure we’ll be making another batch next weekend.

Finally, have you seen the new limited edition winter flavors from Polar?

Toasted coconut was good but champagne strawberry is out of this world. The flavor is great and the scent is just ridiculous. I will also be searching high and low for fudge cheesecake, obviously.

Do you ever cook with booze, or do you just drink booze while you cook?

11Nov2013

Sunday In The Kitchen

by Emily

No full wrap-up for this weekend; a good high school friend was in town for his birthday and Adam stayed out so late on Friday night that Saturday became a sleep recovery day. I am going to share Sunday, because I pulled out the big guns and had a very productive kitchen session –

Recently, Oh!Nuts.com reached out to me to see if I would like a few items to help with my holiday baking. I happily accepted, then thought long and hard and finally settled on the two items I needed most in my life – a cookie and a nut butter. Here’s what they sent me:

Cinnamon Pecans {for cinnamon maple pecan butter}

Almond Flour {for lavender and salted caramel macarons}

Note – these products were provided to me free of charge. All opinions are my own. I was not provided further compensation for writing this post.

Cinnamon Maple Pecan Butter

These cinnamon pecans are so crunchy good; I was very pleased to have some left in the bag when I was done making my nut butter.

This Cinnamon Maple Pecan Butter tastes like fall in a spread. The cinnamon and maple would pair perfectly with pumpkin butter or hot pepper jelly for an amazing but unconventional PB & J. The butter is definitely on the sweeter side, so feel free to pull back on the maple a bit if that’s not your thing.

Cinnamon Maple Pecan Butter

3 heaping cups cinnamon pecans
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Place pecans in the base of your food processor and process until no large pieces remain (don’t worry about making butter until the oil is added). Add oil and maple syrup to the nuts and process until smooth.

I couldn’t wait to try it out, so I put a big scoop on top of a bowl of TJ’s vanilla bean Greek yogurt, alongside a small scoop of pumpkin butter.

Delicious. I loved how gritty the pecan butter is.

Lavender and Salted Caramel Macarons

I used Jenna @ Eat, Live Run‘s recipe for macarons as my template. I am not going to repost that here in full, instead I will direct you to her recipe and list my modifications below. Unless otherwise noted, follow her directions.

macaron modifications

Jenna’s base recipe is here – http://www.eatliverun.com/video-411-raspberry-rose-macaroons/
skip her filling entirely, I’ve included the recipe for my salted caramel filling below
instead of the rose extract and red food coloring, use 1 tsp lavender flavoring and 3 drops each red and blue food coloring
I recommend making a size/shape template on the back of your parchment paper. I found that tracing a mini candle from Bath and Body Works with permanent marker worked perfectly for me
for my oven, Jenna’s baking time was wrong, wrong, wrong; I had to throw out my entire first batch! I recommend cutting the cooking time in half and then checking the cookies every minute thereafter (8 minutes seemed to be the correct amount of time for my oven)

caramel cream cheese filling

1 cup powdered sugar
4 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened
4 Tbsp prepared salted caramel sauce
(optional) 2 drops yellow food coloring

In a large bowl, use a mixer to cream together sugar and cream cheese. Add caramel and food coloring and continue to beat until smooth.

The final combination of lavender cookie and salted caramel filling was to die for.

I can’t believe I’ve never seen this flavor combination before. My macarons were not necessarily the prettiest, but they weren’t that difficult to make and they made my taste buds very, very happy!

Have you ever made your own macarons?

25Oct2013

Weekly Wrap-Up; Over The Bridge And Through The City

by Emily

I don’t have a ton to share, but I’ve got to do it in reverse because lunches were leftovers. It was a boring week, but I’ve got some news to share coming up soon and the next three weekends are slated to be fun.

dessert

My mom sent us the Haribo Smurfs.

I thought they were cuter than the were tasty, but Adam was crazy for them.

This ice cream was more my speed.

Coffee, Coffee BuzzBuzzBuzz! is one of my B&J favorites that recently moved from scoop shop only to pints. I normally hate chocolate chunks in ice cream but instead of being teeth crushingly frozen these are melty and crunchy with espresso.

I ate this bowl with a giant diet soda while we watched “Teen Witch” and was in total heaven.

dinner

Green Curry Fritters from Cooking Light.

We love this recipe. I substituted ground turkey for chicken, skipped the sesame oil, and increased the portion size a bit, but otherwise followed the recipe.