Oscars Night!

The Oscars are tomorrow! Every year for as long as I can remember, the Oscars were a special event I never missed. My eyes would be glued to the TV, scanning the red carpet for all my favorite Hollywood stars. Of course, Oscars night was another reason in my house to eat! We usually had Chinese take-out. But this year, I'm dressing up some classic treats we can always count on during any Blockbuster hit: Popcorn and Candy!

 

Truffled popcorn

 

1/2 cup popcorn kernels, popped

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup truffle oil

1 cup grated parmesean cheese

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

pinch of sugar

1. Place popcorn in a bowl, add butter and oil, and toss to coat. Add parm and sugar and season with salt and pepper.

Candy Bar

"Twix bar"- 3 layers of shortbread, caramel, and dark chocolate, sprinkled with maldon sea salt.

 

For the Shortbread:

2 cups of flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup unsalted butter, room temp.

1/2 cup of sugar

 

For the caramel:

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 cans sweetened condensed milk

4 tbsp light corn syrup

 

For chocolate layer:

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 tsp. light corn syrup

1/2 cup butter

optional- sea salt for sprinkling

1. In a bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder.Set aside.

2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add flour mix and just mix until dough comes together. Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper and lightly spray. Press dough evenly into dish and bake at 325 for about 18 min or until shortbread is golden. allow to cool.

3. For the caramel, combine butter, sugar, corn syrup and condensed milk in a saucepan and stir on medium heat until it cooks to an amber cool. Pour evenly over shortbread and allow to cool in the fridge so it sets before pouring the chocolate layer over.

4. Melt the chocolate, butter, and corn syrup over a double boiler. When completly melted and hot to the touch, pour over the caramel layer and sprinkle with sea salt. Allow to cool and set completly, then cut into desired shapes.

 

 

Valentines Day has always been one of my favorite holidays. Some think its cheesy, and in many cases it can be, but I just see it as another reason to celebrate! I love all things heart-shaped, glittery, and sweet (no surprise there). Since I was a little girl, I always loved crafting my own Valentines cards and baking for the people I love in my life.

I often work with a local company around the holidays for their marketing purposes and I thought these classic sugar cookies decorated with royal icing make a lovely statement.  

SPRINKLED WITH LOVE

Polka dot ribbons for polka dot cookies. Every little detail counts!

I love the delicate, decorative edges!

CABIN   FEVER

 
survival Guide for a snow Day
 

 

Keep your Tootsies warm with vintage booties and boyfriend socks from J. Crew

       

I've been using this Aveda moisturizer all winter-it is so creamy and luxurious!

 

 

 

Cabin Fever got you feeling rather itchy? Make an ultra-moisturizing body scrub with ingredients you already have!

 

                                             

           Brown Sugar                Olive Oil                                            Honey

 

 

 

A cassoulet turns this blustery blizzard into a cozy night in.

 

 

You will need wine. Doesn't matter how cheap or fancy, just lots of it.

 

 

 

Light a candle and dive into a new book. I'm reading Pippa Middleton's Celebrate for some new party ideas! 

 

 

 

 

I wish shoveling translated to frolicking in the snow in luxurious furs. A girl can dream, right?

 

 

So, the blizzard has started making its way towards the Northeast, and Boston has declared a state of emergency. I've been inside all day but all is good because I decided to pass the time by re-creating a grilled cheese sandwich I recently sampled from a food truck in Boston. Roxy's Gourmet Grilled Cheese  delivers an outstanding product. Why? Beacause they take a classic American favorite and update it with a twist, using fresh ingredients like carmelized onions and guacamole, without losing sight of what matters most: the perfect amount of gooey cheese between the most perfect two slices of buttery toasted bread.

You will need:(for 2 sandwiches)

 Fresh Guacamole (I made a quick version using half of a tomato, 1 avocado, clove of garlic chopped, splash of lime juice, and salt and pepper.

4 slices of white bread
5 slices of Applewood Bacon, cooked and roughly chopped.
Cheddar Cheese
Muenster Cheese
Butter

Melt about 2 Tbsp of butter in a large saute pan on medium heat and toast bread until golden brown on each side.

Cheese. Bacon. Guac. More Cheese. Top with bread. Place another skillet on sandwiches to press firmly, for a few minutes.

Done.

I've been loving ginger in all forms this season. It is warm and soothing on a cold day, and the health benefits aren't so bad either. Ginger helps aid digestion, curbs nausea, improves circulation, and is a great overall cleansing agent.There are some great chewy ginger candies available at the store, but I love it so much I just had to make a big batch at home.

 

  

Candied Ginger

You will need:

1 lb. ginger, peeled and sliced thin

4 cups of sugar (plus more for coating)

4 cups of water

pinch of salt

Candy Thermometer

(If you don't own a thermometer, you can still do this. Just keep an eye on the pot and when the liquid is the consistency of thin honey, its ready!)But if you plan on making other candies, working with chocolate, etc, a  digital thermometer will really be useful.

 

 

Just Ginger, sugar, and water. This is so easy! Seriously, you probably have ginger somewhere buried deep in your produce drawer in the fridge. And I would hope you have some sugar. If you don't have water, I suggest you find another kitchen?

 



























Peel the ginger with a spoon (like this^) instead of a veggie peeler. You will have a much easier time getting in all those nooks.

Slice the ginger very thinly and place in a large pot, add enough water to cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 min. Drain and repeat process one more time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mix the sugar and 4 cups of water in the pot, a pinch of salt and the ginger. Cook until the temp reaches 225 F. Remove from the heat and drain. You can save the syrup to make a fancy cocktail. If you want to coat in sugar, do so while the sugar is still hot. The candied ginger can be stored at room temp in a sealed container for a few months.

 

 

 TA -DAAA!

 

 

Southern Red Velvet

My sister comes home this week from a semester abroad in South Africa. She is so adventurous! I'm making this occasion extra special with her favorite cake, Red Velvet. I used this recipe for the delicious filling, but frosted the cake with the classic cream cheese frosting.

The Cake (batter divided among 4 separate 8 in. cake pans)

2 3/4 cups cake flour

1/2 cup unsweetend cocoa powder

1 tbsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

 3 tbsp red food coloring

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

 1. Preheat oven to 350. Whisk flour and the next 4 ingredients together and set aside in bowl. Beat butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar until blended and fluffy.

2. Add eggs 1 at a time. Add food coloring and vanilla ON LOW SPEED so the red doesn't splatter everywhere on your expensive kitchen chairs (oops).

3.  On low speed, alternate between flour mixture and buttermilk (start and end with flour mixture). Divide batter evenly among cake pans-I always weigh each pan with the right amount of batter to ensure each layer is the same size.

4. Bake for 10 minutes, rotate, then bake for another 12 minutes. Let cool completly then remove from pans to cool on wire rack. When completly cooled, assemble layers with coconut filling. I use an ice cream scoop (about 3 scoops for each layer). Freeze at this point (wrap in plastic wrap) then allow to thaw and frost when you are almost ready to serve.

 The Frosting

1 1/2 sticks of unsalted Butter, softened

3 bars (8 0z. each) of Cream Cheese, Softened

3 cups 10x Sugar

2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

In stand mixer paddle butter and cream cheese until completly blended and smooth. Add powdered sugar, then vanilla, careful not to overmix at this point.

Special tip:

Freezing cake ahead of time before frosting and serving ensures you will have a more tender, moist crumb. Also, it will be much easier to decorate a cake pulled from the freezer than one you just assembled. So if possible, bake your cake layers, let cool, and after assembling layers with filling, wrap tightly in plastic and freeze at least overnight or up to 1 month.

•  

 Pink Birthday Cake

 

You are lying to yourself if you've never wanted a pink cake. What I love most about this recipe is that no food coloring is involved. Instead, raspberry puree gives this plain buttercream a rosy hue.

 

 

For the cake: (3) 8 in cake pans, sprayed and lined with parchment paper circles


4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 boiling water
3/4 cup full-fat sour cream
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups All-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp.
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated  sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
3 egg yolks (Save the whites for the buttercream)
3 whole eggs


1. Place chopped chocolate and cocoa in small bowl and pour boiling water over, allow to steep for a minute and then whisk mixture to combine thoroughly. Whisk in the sour cream and vanilla and set aside.

2.  In a bowl combine flour, salt, and baking soda and use a whisk to combine together.

3. In mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. On low speed drizzle oil into mixture. Add eggs and yolks one at a time until fully incorporated.

4.With mixer on low speed, add flour in 3 parts, alternating with chocolate mixture. You should start and end with the flour mixture. Don't overmix-after you have added the last flour addition, stop the mixer and with a rubber spatula, scrape the bowl and blend by hand.

5. Divide the batter evenly among the 3 prepare cake pans and bake for about 25 min at 350, or until the tops of the cake spring back when lightly touched. When the cakes are done cool in their pans on a wire rack. When completely cool, use a mini offset spatula and gently slide around inside of pan to loosen cake out. Make sure cakes are completely cool before assembling.


I made an Italian Meringue Buttercream and then folded in the raspberry puree. To make the puree, simply mash and strain about 4 cups of  raspberries so you dont get those annoying little seeds in the frosting. Fold in the puree after the buttercream is completed.