Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've done it.  I've perfected my chocolate chip cookie recipe.  Chocolate chip cookies can be very personal.  I've heard some people say they like their cookies burnt, some like them with nuts, others may be partial to soft baked.  But my favorite is nice and flat, crisp on the edges, chewy and a little soft in the middle, with semi-sweet chocolate chips and a sprinkling of salt.  The salt makes these taste so grown-up and perfect.

I used the recipe from Back in the Day Bakery that a friend gave me a while back and have been tweaking things ever so slightly until I got it just right.  I made a batch for zombie club and they were devoured, I took some to work and they literally disappeared.  I had friends over this past Friday for a UK game and I believe everyone had at least two... or three!  Have I convinced you to make these yet?

Laura's Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Back in the Day Bakery

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 lb. butter (2 sticks) at room temp
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs at room temp
1 12 ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips
Coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 and move the rack to the lower third of the oven.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment.
Sift together the flour, baking soda and kosher salt.
In a stand mixer cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar for about 3-5 minutes.
Add eggs 1 at a time and mix for just about 30 seconds.
Turn the speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture.
Sprinkle in the bag of chocolate chips.
Use a mini ice cream scooper to form heaping rounds of dough and place on the cookie sheet about 2 inches a part.  Warning!  These cookies spread out pretty significantly so make sure to give them enough room.
Pat the cookies lightly with your hand to flatten them out a bit and sprinkle each one with a little sea salt.
Bake the cookies for 13-16 minutes.  The cookies should be golden brown around the edges but still light in the center.
Remove from oven and using a spatula, transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Repeat this process until you've used all your dough. By the time the next batch comes out of the oven your cookies should cool enough to stack up off to the side to make room.
ENJOY!

Halloween

My favorite holiday is Halloween.  Candy, costumes, scary movies!

I was going through some old photos and found this gem.  I think I was some kind of sexy cat/mouse?  Really Mom?  Look how short my pleather skirt is!  Haha!

This year Abbey and Mike threw their 2nd Annual Halloween Party and it was so fun.  I helped them with the party last year since it was also Abbey's 30th birthday but I'm so glad they've decided to continue the tradition.

I went as Wendy Peffercorn from the Sandlot.  Mr. Louisville was my date and went as Squints.

Julie and Andy

Mike as Lieutenant Dan and Matt as Bob Ross.

I didn't see my sister or brother-in-law but they sent me pictures of their costumes and OMG.  Kudos! 

Molly as Zombie Mom. Frightening!!

Ryan as Si from Duck Dynasty.  Admittedly, I've never seen the show but he looks pretty legit.

Now, it's time to start thinking about next years' costume!   

Nashville, a timeline!

I went to Nashville!

3:30pm 2:30pm - Arrived in Nashville. Learned that Nashville is actually an hour behind. 

3:30pm - I met up with Eli where he's living and met Harley and Max, the Germans (Shepherd). 

4:00pm - Had a drink and a snack at ML Rose.

5:00pm - Met up with Mr. Louisville at Pub 5.  His friend, Sterling meets us a little bit later.

7:30pm - Eli's roommates, Josh and Lauren, pick us up and we go to The Pharmacy for supper.  I ordered the Stroganoff Burger per the reccommendation of our server.  Eli ordered the Bauernworst.

7:45 - Wished I had ordered the Bauernworst.

10:00pm - Back to their house for box-o-wine and strange You Tube videos.

11:00pm - Attempted to go to the Stone Fox but scoffed at the cover charge.  Walked to ML Rose for a nightcap.

12:10am - Had the cabbie drop Eli off and then went back downtown to meet Mr. Louisville and his friend at Robert's. The Chris Casello Trio was playing. Fantastic.

Sometime after 2am - Called it a night. 

My friends are 30

It's happening.  30 is happening.  Not for me!  Yet.  Haha, but my friends are slowly but surely crossing into their third decade.  Last week two of my closest friends, Tyler and Kevin, turned 30.  The three of us have been through a lot together and I wanted to do something special for them.  So, what's more special than inviting them over for a home-cooked meal?  They are both single dudes living alone so lord knows what the eat every night.

Tyler & Kevin

I made Smitten Kitchen's mini meatloaves with a tomato glaze and brown butter mashed potatoes with a side of plain ol' broccoli.  The recipes are in her cookbook, which is my favorite.  For dessert, apple cake!  Also from her cookbook.

Looks perfect, right?  Unfortunately, it wasn't.  I've had the worst luck with my apple desserts this season.  I made a sub bar apple crisp, now this!  One of the issues was I ran out of vegetable oil so I had to supplement with extra virgin olive oil. Also, I think when using a non-stick pan I should decresase the cooking time.  Basically, this cake was too dry to enjoy.  I'd definitely try it again because I refuse to believe that Smitten Kitchen would steer me wrong! 

Aside from the cake it was a banner night that I can't wait to do again...  They'll be 40 before I know it!  Ha!

Charlotte Rose

My sister is having a baby!  The whole family is very excited, to say the least.  Charlotte Rose should be ready for her debut the first of December and this weekend I threw Molly a baby shower.  It was a success!  Nearly every single cousin and aunt came along with a few other friends.

I served spinach and artichoke dip, cheese tortellini with a pesto dipping sauce, strawberry and pineapple skewers and three different types of sandwiches.  Chicken Caesar, turkey and colby jack and a warm veggie sandwich.  The veggie was a rip off of my favorite hot veggie sandwich from York St. Cafe.  My mom and I love going there for lunch.  It's so good!

Molly and I

I wish I was able to take more pictures but it I was GO GO GO from the moment I woke up until well after the guests left. 

Luckily, Molly's friend, Rotha, volunteered to take care of the dessert.  Not only did she bring a beautiful cake but also cupcakes, cookies, cake pops, M&Ms.  It was ridiculous!

The hard part is over (for me, at least).  Now I'm ready to meet my niece!

Out with Summer, in with Autumn!

I've been aching to catch up on my blog but a bum computer made that impossible.  I finally got it fixed (thanks Blair Technology Group!) so I'm back.  Until I get back in the swing of things, let's play catch up, shall we?  Everyone loves a good summer re-cap!

I traveled to Chicago for my 20th and 21st Phish shows with my buddies.  I got to see Dr. Stamates, shop on Michigan Ave., have an amazing brunch at Flo, eat a traditional Chicago dog at Portillos.

 Myself, Kyle and Jay at Phish

I also traveled to Houston, Texas to visit the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center.  I had a fantastic time learning from their team and got to do a few cool things in my free time like visit the Menil Exhibit, Museum of Contemporary Art and the Houston Fine Art Museum.  I also ate my weight in Tex-Mex!

Menil Park in Houston, Texas.

This summer I spent as much time as I could at the Bluegrass Swim Club with my mom.  It's our favorite thing to do.  On the weekend, during the week... every damn day if we could!  Because of all the time I spent poolside I got a lot of reading done!  Valley of the Dolls, Joyland, A Hundred Summers, The Good Earth, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, State of Wonder, and the newest in the Flavia de Luce series.  I can't even remember all the books I read this summer but I also devoured many issues of Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone for good measure.

I also celebrated my Grandmother's 85th birthday!

I went down to Louisville a few times this summer and went to my first L'ville football game!

Finally, as it is with every year, I ended my summer at Midpoint Music Festival.  I've written about it before but this was my 4th year attending and it was a fantastic time, as always! My highlites were probably the Kansas Bible Co. and Sol Cat.  I don't even have the energy to remember all the bands I saw over the course of 3 nights but I already can't wait to do it again.

Katie, myself, Brittany, Julie on Thursday night of MPMF.

A keytar solo closing out my second night.

What did you do this summer?  Whatever it entailed I hope you had as much fun as I did! 

Forecastle 2013

Since the weddings have wrapped up for the summer it was time for a music festival!  I went to Louisville this past weekend for Forecastle.  Last year I went for one day only and then to Bunbury for a day which is a festival the same weekend in Cincinnati.  This year I decided to stay for the whole Forecastle weekend.

Friday night. Kristen, Jenny, Lauren and I.

The first night we saw Big Boi (best show of the weekend?) and Houndmouth.

Morning after.

The next morning we went to Hillbilly Tea for brunch which was disappointing.
J and K left to head home for Bunbury but Lauren and I stayed. 
We walked to the Flea off Market to visit my friend, Katie at her Bourbon Built tent!  I bought a koozie that I used the rest of the weekend and got many compliments on. Spoiler alert!  I foresee many bourbon built gifts for friends and family this year.

Bourbon Built.

Katie and I. Twice in 1 month!

We poked around the market and I had the most amazing burger at Grind which totally made up for the bad brunch!  We also had the most delicious treats from Please & Thank You.

Then it was back to the hotel to get ready for the second day.

Sidebar in NKY just closed but we found one on our walk to the festival!

Day two notable bands we saw were Dawes, Alabama Shakes and Jim James.  LOVED me some Alabama Shakes!

Lauren and I. Day 3.

The third and final day was a hot one!  But we checked out of our hotel and headed straight to the festival. 
We saw Tift Merritt, Bombino, The Wheeler Brothers, El-P & Killer Mike, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, The Forecastle Incident, Robert Plant presents the Sensational Space Shifters and the Avett Brothers.

I was most excited to see Robert Plant being the huge Zeppelin fan I am.  He didn't disappoint!  Unfortunately, a HUGE storm rolled through so he had to cut his set short.

My friend Paul is a member of Avett Brothers and he met Lauren and I early in the afternoon and caught most of the shows during the day with us. Other friends of mine were able to come down Sunday night for the Plant and Avett shows so we got a group photo with Paul. 

Justin and Brandon.
Myself, Grace, Natalie, Lauren and Paul.

A super bitchin' weekend for sure!  Next up, Phish in Chicago for three nights!  I can never get enough of fun summer music, don't you agree?