DOGGIES!

Must love dogs to appreciate this video. It seems like something from a dream.

NO-KNEAD CASSEROLE BREAD

Apparently I missed this trend on the blogosphere.  Being sans-stand mixer, the thought of baking bread hasn't even crossed my mind; my forearms can't handle ten minutes of kneading.  But after a co-worker opened my eyes to this hassle-free recipe, I may become an avid bread baker!  This no-knead, make-it and leave it style bread is remarkably similar to a crusty ciabatta.  The dough is pulled together the day before and left to rise for at least ten hours.  No need to punch it down after two hours or worry about over-proofing.  When it's time for dinner just shape into a boule, wrap in a tea towel and wait for the final rise while the oven comes to temp.  Pop it in a pre-heated casserole, bake covered for thirty minutes, then remove the lid and let it crisp for a final fifteen.  Looks pretty impressive for such little hands on time... and for using expired yeast.  Excellent for sopping up leftover tomato sauce or a heartt soup/stew.

There are plenty of versions online for Jim Lahey's no-knead bread.  I used this one.

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

What to do with leftover chopped peanuts?  Well, make peanut butter cookies of course. This version from Dorie Greenspan has the perfect consistency: crisp, light and tender, not overly crunchy or sandy. One thing I've learned by baking entirely too much, is that the key to a fantastic cookie is making sure you thoroughly cream your butter and sugar.  I'm not talking one minute with a hand mixer.  It's more like three minutes of beating until the mixture is light and smooth.
Tailoring the recipe to my own taste, I chopped up and tossed in semi-sweet morsels and peanut butter chips.  They add the perfect contrast in texture without being too large that the classic crisscross adornment is indistinguishable.  Definitely a cookie jar staple.

PEANUT BUTTER CRISSCROSSES
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup smooth peanut butter (I use Skippy)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup finely chopped salted peanuts
1/2 cup finely chopped semi-sweet morsels
1/2 cup finely chopped peanut butter morsels (I use Reese's)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Working with a stand-mixer or hand mixer, beat butter on medium speed for one to two minutes until creamy.  Add peanut butter and beat for another minute.  Add sugars and beat for three minutes more. Add eggs, one at a time, beating for one minute after each addition.  Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl and, on low speed, add the dry ingredients, mixing until just incorporated.  Mix in the chopped nuts and morsels. The dough should be light, soft and easily mush-able.

Working with approximately a tablespoon of dough, roll into a ball and drop into a bowl with approximately 1/2 cup of sugar.  Roll balls around in the sugar to coat, then place on cookie sheet two inches apart.  Flatten slightly with your palm, then create the crisscross indentation with the tines of a fork dipped in sugar to prevent sticking.

Bake for 12 minutes, roatating sheet half way, until the cookies lightly colored and still a little soft.  Let cool for five minutes then transfer to a wire rack for to cool to room temperature.  Makes about 40 cookies

ZARA HOME

Since retail therapy is out of the question, lets play pretend.  Zara Home has officially opened up shop in the US; my hypothetical abode will be getting a european face lift.  Overall I was impressed with the offerings.  The affordable home accrssories and housewares had clean lines and classic finishes.  Being a sucker for natural textures and materials, their glass, wood, wool and metallic products really stood out.  Their more colorful and patterned offerings were not really in my preferred palate, so I'd pass on the Union Jack plates and fuchsia pillows.  Similarly, their Holiday line lacked the sophistication that the balance of their products had.  But back to the pretty picks; here are the beauties I'm buying for my faux home:

 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15

BACK FROM BREAK

I've been a horrible blogger.  This past summer was full of adventure which I failed to document and share.  My only hope is to briefly bring you up to speed and promise to be a more diligent contributor moving forward.
Since my multimedia skills are lacking, I will forgo the time-elapsed music montage, recapping the highlights of the past 4 months, and instead share a series of images sans 1980's backtrack.

JUNE: CMA Music Festival - Nashville, Tennessee
One pop-up trailer, three girls and four nights of country music.

JULY: Salkentay Trek to Machu Picchu - Peru
Spent over two weeks with my friend Alex exploring the Sacred Valley, hiking through the Andes, and visiting one of the Wonders of the World.  A once in a lifetime experience.

AUGUST: Family Vacation - Charlestown, RI

SEPTEMBER: Farm Bakery - North Andover, MA
Have been spending the Fall season working on a beautiful farm, baking copious amounts of pies and slinging apple cider donuts.

It has been too long, sorry for my extended absence!

FROM BLAH TO TA-DAH: BED SIDE TABLE

As of today, Matt and I have been officially living together for a year. We survived an entire year: through a week long black out, a hurricane, giant carpenter ants, a lot of spiders, and a live bat living in our house. You know, the usual issues. Despite all of our little set backs during this past year, it has been fun making this a comfortable rental home to live in. We've been taking on fun projects like the pin board (started during our black out), our kitchen island, and beer. Can't live happily without a full fridge of beer in the house and homemade beer is even better.

Our latest task, or at least my latest task, was to start making our guest bedroom a little more liveable. Matt had inheredited an ugly bed side table from an old roommate. It looked like an IKEA special from the early 90's. I decided to freshen it up and bring it into the 21st century, instead of purchasing an expensive piece of furniture. I did this by painting it with a white gloss paint and adding polished brass hardware. It was one of the easier projects that didn't take too much time. Picking out the hardware was the hardest part. Now it is a more attractive and fully functional piece. Time to start decorating the room!

BEFORE

AFTER

SUMMER MUST DO LIST

It's Summer Time! Time to make a MUST do list for the season. I don't know about you but my summers book up quickly, and before you know it, the summer is over and you didn't get to experience all the exciting things you wanted to.  Below is what I wish to accomplish.

1. Make lobster at home
2. Go on a hike
3. Watch fireworks
4. Go golfing at least three times
5. Go for lots of walks
6. Make s'mores on an open fire
7. Go to the beach one random weekend
8. Read more books & make fun cocktails
9. Try something new on my summer vacations
10. Complete one of my many projects (photo books, recipe books)

HAPPY FRIDAY

Smile. 

via oh hello friend

INSPIRATION

INSPIRATION IS FOR AMATEURS. 

THE REST OF US JUST SHOW UP AND GET TO WORK. 

Thank you door sixteen for directing me to this video at just the right moment.  Chuck Close shares a letter to his 14-year-old self, pointing out the perspective that only comes with age and experience.  There are some pretty insightful nuggets to pull away from this piece so do take the time and watch the 5 minute clip.  Happy Friday!

LUCK O' THE IRISH

Before we get into the festive fare, like to give a big congrats to the Lehigh Mountain Hawks for the thrilling upset Friday night.  Super proud of my alma mater!!!  They put up a good fight against Xavier last night but sadly luck was not on their side and the shots just wouldn't sink.

St. Patrick's day was spent as it should be in the Talbot household, with a black and tan, corned beef and cabbage soup and a decadent Guinness chocolate cake with Bailey's cream cheese frosting. The soup was festive and tasty but a bit on the bland side; I found the healthy recipe here.  The cake, however, made up for the lackluster soup.  Looking like a frothy pint of Guinness, this chocolate stout cake was given an extra Irish touch by my addition of 8 teaspoons of Bailey's Irish Cream to the frosting in place of the 1/2 cup heavy cream.  Thanks Nigella Lawson for the delicious recipe! 

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  It's been 6 years since I've been in Ireland (too long). I studied abroad their my Spring semester of College, where I attended University College Dublin. Up to this point in my life it has been the most amazing experience, and the most overall educational (thanks Mom & Dad). Ireland taught me to become independent, to appreciate different cultures, how to travel, about the amazing history of Ireland (really puts in perspective how young America, or as they would say "The States", truly is) and how to appreciate beer (great beer). It's a time in my life I will never forget. Today I'll be raising my Jameson and Guinness to a great country... Ireland.

Here are some images from my experience...

Newgrange, an ancient passage tomb.

Kilkenny Castle

The very popular Cliffs of Moher.

Yum... Guinness.

St. Stephen's Green, park in the middle of Dublin. As you can see very pretty in the Spring. 
There is a shopping center right beyond the arch called St. Stephen's Green.

Grafton Street is THE place to shop in Dublin. It's a long cobble stone street.

 The Spire of Dublin on Henry Street. You can't miss it. This picture is cut off but it is super tall.

Messrs Maguire is my favorite pub in Dublin. It's still very old and laid back.
Not a club like others have become in the area.

 

Had to throw this one in...  Malahide Castle home to the Talbot family.  

Could I be royalty?

Saint Patrick's Day parade float in Dublin.  Pretty creepy floats.

The Liffey Bridge formally known as the Ha'penny Bridge.

CARTIER

Visual treat for your Monday night:

Caught this stunning commercial last night during The Good Wife.  Prettiest 4 minutes I've ever seen on TV. Gorgeous.

The powers of imagination never cease to amaze.  You can read more about the spot here.

CHOCOLATE STOUT CAKES

Yes, it tastes as good as is it sounds. The main ingredients say it all: CHOCOLATE, STOUT BEER, and BREAD... these are a few of my favorite things. Did I mention this is a Chuck Hughes recipe? It is super simple and a great comfort dessert. Let me try to describe this dish as best I can: the bread adds sponginess to the texture of the dish; the chocolate has a custard-like consistency and absorbs into the bread, yet the extra chocolate mixture turns into custard around the bread; and the stout is very present, adding notes of coffee and alcohol, which enhances the chocolate flavor.

This is essentially a bread pudding; but, Chuck can call it a cake if he wants, he's the boss. The Chocolate Stout Cakes are served warm with whipped cream. I personally enjoyed it best when it was closer to room temperature or cold (I'm weird like that, not always a fan of warm/hot desserts). I was 2 for 2 this weekend with recipes. As Matt would say, "I knocked it out of the park." Now I need to go to the gym.

SHRIMP FRITTERS

There is nothing like a ball of fried dough. Whether it be sweet or savory, it is always sinfully delicious. This weekend, when our plans fell through, I decided to take that extra time and try some new recipes I had been eying for awhile. The first being Shrimp Fritters from the ever so popular blog spoon fork bacon. The recipe was as good as I had imagined. The fritters were light and flavorful with a light golden, crispy exterior and a perfectly cooked doughy center. The dipping sauce of honey and chili was a fitting accompaniment to the fritter. A great combo of sweet and spicy.

The fritters weren't the easiest thing I've every made, however, anything that's really good never is. For the recipe I used a food processor (the recipe says to use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, which I do not have) to mix the dough which was extremely sticky! It stuck to EVERYTHING. Needless to say cleaning wasn't that fun but completely worth it. I did add a couple of extra green onions to the recipe and used pre-cooked shrimp. The shrimp was present in the fritters, but probably would have been even more so if I had used raw shrimp. I also used canola oil instead of the vegetable oil the recipe calls for to fry the dough. I think I got the same results, but used a healthier oil.

At the end of the day I would definitely make this recipe again. The fritters remind me of the Bag of Donuts appetizer from The Moorings in Newport, RI, one of our favorite spots to dine in the summer when visiting that area.

BRANDY BUSTER

I don't know about you, but I am getting pretty excited for the spring and summer. The days are getting longer and the temp is getting warmer. Therefore, it's time to start experimenting on some new summer cocktails. The bar has been fully loaded with fun new liquor and mixers. I must say I've tried a few and this has been the only success so far. Now go make a cocktail, sit back, relax, and pretend you are on a sunny, warm beach! Just looking at this drink makes me thirsty!

Brandy Buster
1 oz Brandy
1/2 oz Dry Vermouth
1/2 oz Lime Juice
Ginger Ale
Slice of Lemon

Fill your shaker with ice and pour in the brandy, vermouth, and lime juice. Stir, then strain into a highball filled with ice. Top off with ginger ale and stir again. Decorate with a lemon slice. Take a sip, close your eyes and enjoy!

{Recipe courtesy of The Cocktail Directory}

GIANTS WIN THE SUPER BOWL!

GIANTS WIN!  I can't even put into words how happy, thrilled and excited I am! Living in Massachusetts just makes this victory that much sweeter. Surrounded by Patriots fans on a daily basis and listening to all the Tom Brady hype everyday. Now all the smack talk has been put to rest and the better team has prevailed. It is time to celebrate and purchase our championship gear!

Zak DeOssie lifting the Super Bowl Championship towel proudly.
{Image by Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger}

Tyler Sash & Victor Cruz run around the field in celebration. They look like happy school boys! That would have been my reaction too. {Image by Tim Farrell/The Star-Ledger}

Last but certainly not least, Eli Manning. The MVP raises the trophy in celebration. I dub him the 4th quarter king. {Photo by the Associated Press}

FRESH BAKED CROISSANTS

Any french pastry, when warm from the oven, is well worth the effort to create it.  Seeing as croissants require a 14 hour window to produce, I had been waiting a while for the right day to dedicate. So I knew that on Saturday, after a days of balmy winter weather we finally had snow in the forecast, it was time to spend the day in the kitchen.  Yes, there was a lot of dough rolling and a giant brick of butter.  No, it was not the only thing I did that day.  But popping into the kitchen for 5 minutes every hour is not that cumbersome.  The hardest part is waiting!! But after they're baked, all fluffy and buttery and steaming ... oh boy.  The French got something very right here.

And you guessed it, half of them were filled with chocolate. Sinfully delicious.

If you're feeling bold and want to give it a go, do! I followed the recipe here.

BRIOCHE THREE WAYS

I love butter.  Well, really who doesn't.  I may not have a Paula Dean level obsession where I top every creation with a giant knob, but in my eyes few things are as delicious.  Any carbohydrate, be it pasta or a biscuit, spaetzle or pancakes, is always better topped with butter.  Now if butter on carbs is always tasty then a butter packed loaf of bread has to be a no-brainer.

Enter Brioche.

Golden brown and so rich your hands have a nice oily sheen after you've inhaled a slice (I like mine toasted with a smear of raspberry jam).  I grabbed my trusty Baking cookbook by Dorie Greenspan and pulled together the simple recipe (p.48 , stand mixer with dough hook a must).  After baking one loaf I decided to use the second half of the batter for another sinful treat, a batch of Honey Pecan Sticky Buns (p.51)!  And since our small household couldn't kill the entire loaf before it going stale ... Four-Star Chocolate Bread Pudding (p.410) came to the rescue.   The waistline may not have been happy but my butter loving stomach sure was!

THE ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE PUDDING KICKED UP A NOTCH

One of my all time favorite treats from the elementary school cafeteria was the chocolate pudding. It was a creamy chocolate delight that accompanied my chicken nuggets and soft pretzel so perfectly. It brightened my school day. Alas, my palette has changed over the years and I don't get that same joyful feeling when I see pudding. I feel it lacks flavor and depth. Quite honestly it doesn't even taste like chocolate. While it may still appeal to others, I need an alternative. I decided to create my own chocolate pudding with the flavors I love. I was inspired by the Real Simple Ultimate Chocolate Pudding and kicked it up a few notches by adding espresso and booze. What was a school favorite is now an adult indulgence.

The Ultimate Chocolate Pudding Kicked Up a Notch
{Adapted from the Ultimate Chocolate Pudding from Real Simple}

Ingredients
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstartch
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons instant espresso
Pinch of kosher salt
1/4 cup Kahlua plus 1 teaspoon
2 cups whole milk
4 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Whipped Cream
2 tablespoons Kahlua
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions
Set up a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, instant espresso and salt.  Gradually whisk in the milk, Kahlua, and then the egg yolks. Cook the milk mixture over medium heat while whisking constantly until thickened to the consistency of mayonnaise (about 7 to 8 minutes). Continue to cook, whisking for 1 minute more. Remove from heat, pour the mixture through the sieve into the bowl. Add the butter and chocolate and stir until melted. Mix in the vanilla and 1 teaspoon of Kahlua.

Press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding (so it doesn't form a skin) and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.  When serving the pudding stir it up and add the whipped cream.

Whipped Cream: Combine sugar, Kahlua, and whipping cream. Use an electric mixer or whisk and whip until the mixture forms soft peaks. Add it to the top of the pudding and enjoy.

SAVORY MUFFINS - BUTTERMILK, CHEESE & BACON MUFFINS

When you think of a muffin, what type of muffin generally pops into your mind? Was your answer blueberry? Mine was. Well muffins aren't just for breakfast anymore. I am here to introduce you to a savory muffin. This Christmas, Meredith and I each received the cookbook Cupcakes & Muffins cookbook from our dad. This tiny book is jam packed with 100 recipes so I decided it was time to get started. My first muffin was the Buttermilk, Cheese and Bacon Muffins. What doesn't sounds good about that? This little baked delight is reminiscent of a biscuit, but so much easier. No rolling or cutting required. What makes this an extra special treat is the gooey, melted cheese in the middle. It is an unexpected element that ads depth and flavor. I would pair this muffin with a good soup, stew or even on its own.

Buttermilk, Cheese & Bacon Muffins
{Courtesy of Cupcakes & Muffins}

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup grated parmesan
1/2 chopped cooked bacon
4 tsp snipped chives
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 stick butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 oz, camembert, cut into 12 pieces

Makes 12 Servings

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a muffin pan. Sift flour & baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Stir in parmesan, bacon and chives. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients. Combine buttermilk, butter and egg. Stir into dry ingredients until just combined. Spoon into each muffin cup until each cup is 1/3 full. Add a piece of the camembert to each muffin and top evenly with remaining mix. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the center of the muffin springs back when pressed. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or reheat gently before serving.