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homemade {whole wheat} baguettes.

April 23, 2012 in Food Matters Project with 14 Comments

I’m feeling very French today. Making baguettes, drinking wine, eating Brie and such.

This was my first time making bread. Real bread. And by the way, it felt damn good.

Baking homemade bread is one of those things that just makes you feel like a total baller in the kitchen. Though I’m sure many bread recipes are difficult/annoying/require a bread machine, this one is nothing of the sort! All you need is a food processor – and even that’s not completely imperative, as Bittman points out, you can still make it without one.

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how-to: chocolate-dipped biscotti.

April 18, 2012 in Sassy in the Kitchen, Sweets + Treats with 10 Comments

Biscotti is one of those classic desserts that seems to be appropriate for any occasion.

Holiday gifts, housewarming gifts … breakfast. :)

Even people who don’t like dessert will probably take a liking to biscotti. It’s not overly sugary, and even if you’re entirely averse to sweets, you can customize these bad boys using your own favorite ingredients, making them as sweet – or un-sweet – as you want.

And, hellllooo … dipping stuff into coffee is, like, super-fun.

I got the brilliant idea to make biscotti for two of our good friends who recently hosted a housewarming party (and had also just gotten engaged – double the celebration!). My first thought was a bottle of Patron XO Cafe, our group of friends’ beverage of choice – and then I thought, biscotti! I wasn’t really sure what they were into in terms of desserts, so I figured this fabulous coffee-themed gift would please pretty much anyone.

I’m telling you: Biscotti (bonus points for pairing it with coffee-flavored tequila) is the solution to any of your “I want to make them something special, but I’m just not sure what they like” situations. We all have those situations, don’t we?

Yes, we do! Which is why I’ve got another episode of Sassy in the Kitchen for you today – so that you can see for yourself how totally easy this is.

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homemade grandma’s pizza.

April 16, 2012 in Food Matters Project, Main Dishes with 18 Comments

I’m fairly certain I’ve discovered the best possible scenario to end my week.

This week, next week – every week. For the rest of my life. Friday nights won’t ever be the same.

Yes, this is kind of a big deal. You’ve heard me talk about making pizza at home before – it’s one of my favorite things to do. The pizza provides a meal to feed us, but it’s the activity of making it that brings something else to the checkered tablecloth-covered table.

I’ve officially named this pizza dough recipe, chosen by Niki for this week’s episode of The Food Matters Project, our new Friday night meal plan. Now, this is not a thin crust pizza – which is usually my favorite, or should I say, is what used to be my favorite. What I’ve learned is that you need a pizza oven to get that perfectly thin and crispy crust. I’m over trying to perfect that at home now that I’ve discovered this beast of a dough.

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tangerine semifreddo + salted almond brittle.

April 13, 2012 in Dinner Party Worthy, Sweets + Treats with 4 Comments

Looking for an absurdly delicious take on the classic “Creamsicle” flavor combination?

I thought so.

The second I saw this recipe, I was in. I wasn’t exactly sure what a semifreddo was, but I took a look at the ingredient list and figured that eggs, sugar, and heavy cream wouldn’t fail me – and a little tangerine love? Yes, please.

A semifreddo is really just a fancy Italian word for a frozen custard type of dessert. This recipe is actually quite simple – yolks, sugar, and citrus come together for a custard, the whites are beaten into a meringue-like cloud with the rest of the sugar, and cream is whipped into, well, whipped cream! They’re all folded together and frozen in layers with what happens to be the very best part of the recipe, which is the salted almond brittle.

Yes – it is the salted almond brittle that takes this one over the top. Without it, we’d be facing a super-creamy dessert with lots of fresh tangerine flavor – thanks to the quick sauce that’s added just before serving – but also a very sweet dessert. I actually added just a touch of lemon to the tangerine sauce to give it a little extra tartness, because my tangerines were oh-so-sweet. This way, we’ve got the holy flavor trifecta happening: salty, sweet, and tart. Holla!

In addition to bringing the salty vibe to the party, the brittle also provides that crazy-necessary element of crunch. Between the plush, ice-cream-like texture of the semifreddo (no ice cream maker required!) and the salty-crunchy goodness of the brittle, this dessert has it all.

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rosemary-garlic roasted leg of lamb.

April 11, 2012 in Dinner Party Worthy, Main Dishes with 1 Comment

There’s something inherently fabulous about serving a roast when you’re entertaining.

It’s got a lot to do with the presentation. Plop that baby onto the center of a pretty platter, and surround it with potatoes that just so happen to cook beautifully (and conveniently) underneath the lamb, and you’re basically done with dinner. It’s really like a centerpiece – and I do believe it’s best served buffet-style, so that everyone can simply and easily serve themselves and marvel at your pretty centerpiece all at the same time.

If you’ve had rack of lamb, then maybe it will be hard to tear you away from those brilliantly tender and flavor-packed lollipops of meat – but I can assure you, a whole leg is definitely the way to go for a dinner party. Cheap? No. Cheaper, for a lot more meat? Yes.

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spring vegetable {goat cheese} dip.

April 9, 2012 in Dinner Party Worthy, Starters with 9 Comments

Oh, how I love a hot and cheesy dip.

Typically reserved for our football gatherings in the fall and winter, you can imagine my delight when I stumbled upon a cheesy dip designed for the spring. A hot and cheesy dip packed with fresh flavor from all of my favorite spring vegetables? Yes, please.

Now, don’t me wrong: This dip is  still creamy, cheesy, and totally dreamy – thanks to the béchamel base it starts with, and plenty of white cheddar and goat cheese. The goat cheese makes for a perfect pairing with spring vegetables like asparagus and artichokes – which make for a perfect pairing with – drumroll, please – wine! Yes, wine. It can be done, and it can be done well.

If you’re not into wine – or, let me rephrase – if you’re into drinking wine but don’t know too much about it, spring veggies like artichokes and asparagus are a no-no when it comes to vino. They contain certain chemicals that can make the wine taste off, or even rancid (especially red wines).

You can imagine the predicament I found myself in here. I was obsessing over two things: a springtime dinner party, and a wine pairing dinner party. But how could a springtime dinner party not pay homage to all of the fabulous vegetables springtime has to offer? I’m not one of those super-fussy people who say X wine must be served with X food, but at the same time, if I’m hosting a wine pairing dinner party, well, then the pairings need to make sense!

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spring {wine pairing} dinner party.

April 6, 2012 in Complete Menus, Dinner Party Worthy with 4 Comments

It had just been too long since my last dinner party. Yes, I’ve been crazy-busy – but that doesn’t mean my love for entertaining has to suffer. We’d been meaning to see a couple of friends of ours for an eternity, so what better way to reunite than over fabulous food and vino?

Spring {Wine Pairing} Dinner Party Menu

As I’ve been getting more and more into wine, I figured this was a perfect opportunity to host my first wine pairing dinner. Gone are the days when I used to be able to drink anything as long as it was under $10 a bottle. Don’t get me wrong – there are still plenty of inexpensive bottles out there that I’m more than happy to drink. But as I’m not learning, all are not created equally. Let me know if you guys are interested in learning more about wine here. Your wish is my demand! Plus, I really love to drink talk about the stuff. I’m certainly not an expert – but we can learn together, right? When you think about it, it’s the closest thing I may get to having an actual drink with many of you, so cheers to that!

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methodology: growing long, healthy hair.

April 4, 2012 in Methodology, Product Junkie with 5 Comments

Lately, I’ve been fielding a lot of questions from people about my hair.how to grow long, healthy hair

What’s my secret? How do I get it to grow so long?

I wish I had an answer for everyone, but the truth is that there is no magical solution. I’m afraid that much of it is genetics – some people have hair that just grows. Like a weed. And I happen to be one of those people.

Please don’t be mad.

Because while there’s no top-secret magic pill you can take, there are things you can do to help speed the process along. And the longer it grows, the more you’ve got to take care of it – if you want it to look halfway decent – so here are my tips for doing so!

Trim regularly, but not too much and not too often. You’ve likely heard people tell you that if you want long hair, you need to trim it regularly. This is partly true and partly false. No one wants raggedy ends – so when they start to split, you should get a trim. Otherwise, you could end up with hair that’s difficult to brush or comb, which may result in losing hair. Not a good look. However – and this is a big however – you don’t want to trim too much hair off at a time, and you don’t want to trim too often. Hair is already dead, if that makes any sense, and so cutting it is not going to change whether it grows more or not. The trimming is just about keeping it healthy. Frazzled ends, no matter how long your hair is, aren’t sexy on anyone. My hair grows fast, but I still only trim every 12 weeks, when I do my color.

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shrimp + white bean cassoulet.

April 2, 2012 in Food Matters Project, Healthy Eats, Main Dishes with 12 Comments

When my BFF Keely chose “Cassoulet with Lots of Vegetables” as her pick for The Food Matters Project, was I surprised?

Nope!

This was one of the first recipes I made from the book, before I even started the project. And, yes, as the saying goes – great minds do think alike.

The first time I made it, I followed the recipe in its original form – filled with white beans, sausage, and tomatoes – which can be found on Keely’s fabulous blog, here.  It’s a delicious meal, and I would absolutely make it again. It’s the kind of recipe you can make once and then use the same method again and again with different ingredients. I actually puréed the leftovers the first time I made it, and with the help of a little truffle oil, transformed it into an incredible spread for crusty French baguettes. Oui, s’il vous plaît.

The style of this recipe is similar to last week’s pick, a riff on coq au vin, in that they are both French countryside-esque of meals. It’s hearty, soul-soothing food – and while I’m totally into that in the cooler months, I wanted to brighten things up here, just like I did last week.

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rhubarb-strawberry icebox pie.

March 30, 2012 in Sweets + Treats with 5 Comments

This pretty pink ice cream pie is totally not my fault.

I mean, how can you look it in the eye and not want to make it? It’s pink! And pretty!

I blame springtime. This time of year, I want to make pretty pink desserts. With rhubarb. And strawberries.

Well, that’s kind of a lie. Because this is the first time I’ve ever actually purchased rhubarb from the store and made something out of it. But, it’s not a complete lie – because I’ve always wanted to.

Just in case you’re unfamiliar, rhubarb is that pinkish-greenish celery-looking stuff that yes, happens to rear its stalky head this time of year. You probably hear that it’s paired with strawberries a lot, in desserts. It’s true. It happens.

It happened here, and I’m quite happy about it. I spied this rhubarb icebox pie in Bon Appétit a while ago, and saved it for this perfect moment. Well, the funny thing is that the moment turned out to be more perfect than I could have imagined.

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