All posts tagged: recipe

Easy Gatherings with Uncommon Goods

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This post was created in partnership with Uncommon Goods, purveyors of unique and wonderful things! I cannot believe that we are halfway through September, which means only two more weeks until my favorite month and my favorite season of the year! Seriously, after a long, terribly hot summer, I am so ready to crawl out of my self-imposed indoor seclusion and get reacquainted with the world again. I think every September I go through a kind of nesting syndrome. In January, I’m ready to throw everything away–remember my attacks of minimalism?  But by September, I’m ready to decorate EVERYTHING. But here’s the thing they don’t tell you about minimalism: after a few years of it, you come to the realization that you don’t have any things! I know…that’s kind of the point. But after I while, I’m starting to get the feeling that I want to be surrounded by a few more pretty things. So, it was perfect timing when Uncommon Goods reached out to me to collaborate on this post. At first, I was actually paralyzed with indecision. You …

BA’s Best Bread – A step by step review

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  I’m not normally a person who obsesses over things. But when I received a copy of the February issue of Bon Appetit in the mail, I couldn’t stop obsessing over the cover photo. In the photo was the darkest, crustiest loaf of homemade bread, nestled in the cast iron pot it was baked in and the article inside promised a homemade bread that would rival those found in professional bakeries. The recipe was daunting. In fact, it was a recipe that would fill a weekend.  I’m more of a mix-up-a-batch-of no-knead bread kind of woman, not a woman who spends an entire weekend kneading dough. But as the months went on, I couldn’t quit this bread. The magazine kept appearing on my desk, its cover photo beckoning to me.  Once it landed on my kitchen counter, I knew there was no point in resisting anymore. So, finally, a couple of weekends ago, I tried it. The bread was high maintenance–just as I knew it would be. It stretched the boundaries of what I thought bread …

It’s Cherry Season! Sweet and Savory Cherry, Mint and Pistachio Salad

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It’s that time of year again when I gorge myself on ripe, sweet cherries! I just can’t walk by a display of cherries in the grocery store without buying a bag, because it’s the one time that they won’t completely break the bank! Have you seen them priced at $9.99 per pound before? I have and it freaks me out. So, I exercise restraint throughout the year and go cherry crazy right about now. During cherry season, you’ll find me with a bowl of cherries tucked in my lap and munching away contentedly with no need to do anything further to distract from this lusciously sweet treat. Plain cherries are just fine with me, but I suppose if I wrote a blog post about a bowl of cherries, you might look at me a little funny. Recently, on the way to work I was listening to an episode of The Splendid Table as Jen Stevenson, co-writer of the book, The Picnic and member of the Portland Picnic Society (well, of course Portland has a picnic society, doesn’t your town?) was discussing …

Valentine’s Day Shrimp and Grits with Broccoli Rabe and Pancetta

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Psst…!  I don’t wish to alarm you, but Valentine’s Day is right around the corner!  Now, before you panic and grab your phone to try and make a dinner reservation, allow me give you a better option:  a totally fussy, outright gourmet restaurant-worthy dinner lovingly prepared in your own kitchen!  I don’t know about you, but I think that a home-cooked dinner beats going out to an overpriced, crowded restaurant any day!  First and foremost, I will warn you that this recipe will take some extra time and a few steps.  You will dirty not one, but a few pots and pans. After you’re done, your kitchen will likely look like a tornado hit it, and for this, I apologize. But, this is a special meal, and I promise you, it will be so delicious, your sweetie will happily volunteer to do the dishes for you!  Plus, no long wait times, overwhelmed servers and outrageously priced prix fixe menus! I think it’s a win-win! This recipe is a take on a traditional Southern classic – shrimp …

Spicy Blood Orange Margarita

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You might be wondering why I’m having a margarita on National Pie Day.  Well, other than that fact that any day is a good day for a margarita, it’s mainly because my attempt at making pie crust this week drove me to drink.  Fresh from my stellar artisan bread success over the weekend, my starry-eyed self ran to Homegoods on Monday and bought a bundt cake pan and a tart pan (the two piece type that has a removable bottom).   I planned to break in that tart pan by making an amazing quiche from scratch with a blind-baked homemade crust.   I raced home from work and immediately began making a series of rookie mistakes.  First off, I didn’t thoroughly read the recipe all the way through.  I had assumed that the pie crust dough would be the same as a dough I had experimented with over the summer, so I didn’t notice that the recipe I had chosen required a two hour rest period in the refrigerator!  No matter, I thought, I’ll just …