I been bakin'

For a dinner with two girl friends (and your men!) you used to see much more of.  And then again to bring to work because they were just that good.
Smitten Kitchen's cranberry bars.  From her cookbook!

For your lovely co-workers.  Because you like test new recipes on them.  Shutterbean's cookies and cream peppermint bark and snickerdoodle blondies because they're your fave.

For Christmas Eve dinner with your parents.  Because your mom will think it's special.  And, Ina!
Vanilla semi-fredo with raspberry sauce.  From Make it Ahead.

To take to Hillie's because you and Lauren used to have dinner together every month before L moved to Colorado. Smitten's raspberry buttermilk cake.

As gifts for your father's family because your mom commissioned them from you.
Marshmallows! The recipe is perfect and impressive.

Salted caramels wrapped in pieces of parchment to look like candy.

A special chocolate bark.

Happy Holidays!!

Swanksgiving

On Saturday my friends, Katie and Lyle, hosted Swanksgiving!  A spin on a Friendsgiving where a bunch of friends get dressed up and eat and drink! 

Gimme dat turkey!

I offered to bring a few appetizers since the Thanksgiving staples were taken care of.  They included a turkey (of course!), mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, mac & cheese (with avocado and basil), crescent rolls, brussels sprouts salad and sweet potatoes.  A feast!  I've already emailed Katie to rave about her brussels sprouts salad and beg for the recipe.

Anyway, for appetizers I made a jalapeno-cranberry cream cheese dip which I thought was good, not great.  But the real show stopper was the amazing artichoke-olive spread I made.  It was a huge hit and I'll definitely be making it again.  I've said it before but Smitten Kitchen never lets me down!

To wash everything down I brought a few bottles of wine.  I also made a big batch of Cranberry-Ginger Cosmos to share.

3 parts vodka
2 parts cranberry juice
1 part lime juice
1 part Cointreau (or triple sec)
4 large pieces of ginger

I muddled the ginger a bit and poured the rest of the ingredients in my carafe, then viola! 

The evening was a huge success!

Read, Watch, Eat: Volume 1

A new blog series.  Read, Watch, Eat!

Read
Although my Bitchin' Book Club is still alive (Divergent, The Book Theif, Someone Knows My Name and The Rosie Project were the latest reads) I definitely read more on my own.  Recently, I picked up Where'd You Go, Bernadette and I was so pleased!  I'd snagged it in the airport on my way home from Portland and nearly finished the whole thing save for the last few chapters. I couldn't put it down.  Light, funny, smart, cheeky. I highly recommend it!

Watch
I gave up cable a little over a year ago so I'm always looking for something good on Hulu, Netflix or Amazon Prime.  I'd heard a glowing review on NPR last week about a new show streaming on Amazon Prime.  Transparent. The show is about a 70 year old father of 3 grown children (with messy lives of their own) who comes out as trans. It was just so good.  I devoured all 10 episodes (only about 30 minutes a pop) in a few days. 

Eat
It's the season for all things pumpkin.  Personally, I'm a big fan!  I've made pumpkin muffins 3 times already.
1. A triple batch for co-workers.
2. A batch and a half for brunch at a friend's during MPMF weekend.
3. A batch to take to my favorite new moms(and see baby Shep!!) with a few leftover for Mr. Louisville.
You know it's a Smitten Kitchen recipe.  My favorite food blog, like, ever.
BAKING NOTE:  My bake time is more like 20-25 minutes. If they go too long, they'll dry out so I suggest checking them sooner rather than later.

Showering Abbey

This Sunday I hosted a Bridal Shower Brunch for Abbey.

 A picture of Abbey and Mike the night before the shower.  We went to Rhinegeist for our friend, Ashley's 30th birthday.

I kept the decorations simple.  Flowers from my parents' garden.

For drinks I had mimosas and a Blood Mary bar.

Over drinks, I asked Abbey questions that Mike answered for me earlier in the week.  Here were 2 of my favorites:

Q. What is your most commonly used phrase?
A. Hmmm? if someone says "That pisses me off!" I always say "It's better to be pissed off then pissed on". Also... I act that part out in the movie "Hook" Where I take my fingers and smush her face around and say " There you are Peter" pretty weird. 

Q. Who is her celebrity crush? Yours?
A. (Hers) Ryan Gosling (Me) Zoey Deshanel and Jessica Simpson.



For games, I downloaded a game of scattergories that went over very well!  At the last minute I picked up a few gifts at Kroger.  These little succulents were 2 for $7.

 

MENU:
Blueberry Baked Oatmeal
Powdered, glazed and chocolate doughnut holes
Baked ham and cheese sandwiches
Whole wheat penne with butternut squash and goat cheese
Bacon
Crustless Broccoli Cheddar Quiche
Fruit

The shower was scheduled from 11am - 1pm and my last guest didn't leave until 3:30 so I'd say it was a success.

Friday Five

1.  On the Run
I went to the Great American Ball Park a few weeks ago to see Beyonce and Jay Z.  It was the greatest live concert I've ever been to.  And I've been to a lot!!  The production was top notch and it was just so high energy and fun.  I went with Abbey and we had so much fun dancing the entire time.  Luckily, I was able to slip in my flask so sipping bourbon for the duration helped.

View from our seats.

2.  Nordstrom Anniversary Sale!
I've professed my love of Nordstrom a few times before but this sale hit the spot.  I had a delightful time shopping with my mom and was able to find lots of great things.  I decided to splurge on a black leather jacket for myself.  I'd never wish summer away but I can't wait to wear it!  

3.  How does your garden grow?
After much success last year pickling jalapenos from my parent's garden I requested kirby cucumbers this year.  My mom planted 4 little plants and the cucumbers are growing like wild fire!  I tried a few recipes for refrigerator pickles but wasn't too impressed.  My mom tried this recipe and they hit the spot so I made some as well.  I'm sure I'll be making many more batches before summer's end. 
Also, their sunflowers came up and are absolutely stunning. It's so nice to pop over there to get fresh flowers that last a few weeks to keep in my house!

Care for a pickle?

4.  Charlotte Rose
When I was in San Francisco I popped into a little shop one day to get a gift for my favorite niece.  I had to stop myself from getting one of the gorgeous stacking blocks because she's just too young for them yet and I've been on a roll getting her things she loves!  Instead I got a little sunni rattle for her. Success!

5.  4th of July
I had a very low-key holiday this year but it was perfect.  Spent the day poolside with friends until Mr. L arrived in the late afternoon.

This summer is flying by.  Hope you are enjoying yours!

Eating salads

Have you been to the gym yet this new year?  It is bonkers.  I have decided to lay off the gym for the month of January and focus on eating well, drinking less alcohol and more water and trying some new healthy recipes.  Until the loads of new folks give up on their resolutions.

I made this avocado salad with carrot-ginger dressing and it was flipping delicious. 

One of my 2013 resolutions is to be less wasteful when I cook which means trying to eat more leftovers (which I'm really not a fan of).  However, this quinoa salad with black beans, avocado and cumin-lime dressing is so good.  So easy to pack for my lunch with a side of tortilla chips.

Finally, I'm slightly addicted to Chipotle so I make my own spin on my favorite salad there.  A bed of romaine lettuce with sauteed peppers and onions, this awesome salsa, this addicting corn salsa with a little sour cream.  I wish I could find a good recipe for Chipotle's hot salsa and then my life would be complete.