Stress baking {+ a recipe}

I've mentioned it before, but I'm a bit of a stress baker.

The last few days have been a bit stressful for me and my family, 

so I decided to bake my stress away this weekend.  

Plus I wanted to try out a few recipes for a friends' bridal shower.  

All the bridesmaids are bringing a dessert for the dessert bar.

First, I made thin mints for my Valentine.

{Recipe from here - it was super easy and only took 3 ingredients}

With my mom's help, we made french macarons.

{Recipe from here - we quadrupled it.}

This recipe is incredibly forgiving.  

{fyi - use a bigger tip than this, you hand will thank you later}

And even though we did everything wrong, sifting the meringue powder with the almond meal, using wax paper instead parchment paper on one of the cookie sheets, 

we still managed to get a plate full of delicious Nutella filled cookies.

I think we'll make these for the bridal shower but with a variety of fillings.  Miette's book has some great recipe ideas.

Because there are 2 days on the weekend, I then decided to make Miette's graham crackers.  

I found the recipe while looking at the macaron fillings.  We had the the ingredients sauf one substitution.  No biggie.

Graham Crackers

slightly adapted from Miette

Ingredients:

 - 1 cup all-purpose flour

 - 1/3 + 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour

 - 1/2 tsp kosher salt

 - generous 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

 - 2/3 cup butter, at room temperature

 - 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

 - 2 tbsp honey (we didn't have any honey so we substituted agave)

 - raw sugar, for sprinkling

Directions:

Sift together both flours, salt, and cinnamon.  Set aside.

With an electric mixer, combine butter, brown sugar and honey and beat until fluffy, for about 5 minutes.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in 3 batches.  Beat until just combined.  Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 days.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Unwrap the dough and place between two sheets of waxed paper.  Roll out dough into about 1/4 inch thickness.  The recipe suggests using a 3 1/4 inch scalloped cookie cutter for about 2 dozen cookies.  I wanted them a bit smaller so we used 3 inch, 2 1/2 inch and 2 inch cookie cutters, obviously we got more than 2 dozen.

Place cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet about a 1/2 inch apart. Sprinkle with raw sugar.  Bake until golden brown, about 14-16 minutes.  Transfer to wire rack to cool.  Store in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

P.S. After baking you could also crumble these up to use for a homemade graham crust for cheesecake or tarts.

Enjoy!

What are your best stress relievers?

LMF

cold weather {must-have}

Was anyone else freezing watching the polar bear plunge on the Bachelor this week?  

I felt chilled to the bone!

So I gathered a few of my favorite cold weather essentials.  I know you're thinking - what does a girl from California know about winter. But anyone who's ever held my hand or felt my toes through socks will admit that I know cold.

Must-have:

1. My brothers delicious hot cocoa recipe.
2. The perfect throw - personally I love the plush and faux fur throws found at Restoration Hardware.
3. Beauty - Kiehl's Ultimate Hand Salve and Kate Somerville's Quench - the most amazing product I've ever found.
4. A hot water bottle - don't laugh, I'm serious. I first discovered these when I lived in London and I don't care if it's old womanish but there is nothing better than being wrapped in your favorite throw with a cup of hot cocoa and a hot water bottle at your feet.  Nothing.  It's also nice to throw under the covers to warm your bed for you. :)  This is the one I have, but I'm thinking of getting one of these on sale at RH.  Seriously, you can't have too many.  Dan and my brother both use them when they're at my house. :)
5. Cashmere socks - my favorite are from The White Company, but you can find them pretty reasonable priced at Nordstorm too.
6. Cuyana cape - I was lucky enough to win this from a recent giveaway over at Caitlin's blog, Sacramento Street.  It arrived on Christmas eve and may have been the best present I received.  Everyone in my family tried it on and they all want one now, including my brother.  
7. And who can survive winter with lip balm.  Honestly, I'm not too picky.  I think the best lip balm is the one that you have with you.

stay warm!

LMF

Tylney Hall - Hook

When I was living in London, one of the places I "visited" was Hook in North Hampshire, England.

I use the term visited loosely as this is not a place that I would have thought to travel too.  I was there for work.  Most of us who were on international rotations in the London office were sent out on the client work that was outside of the city, which was considered less desirable.  

I didn't mind though.  I got to see parts of England I never would have and got to know the train system fairly well.  There were weeks I arrived back at my flat in London on Friday night only to pack, do laundry, repack and leave again early Monday morning.

As I was catching up on Downton Abbey last night, I was reminded of the place we stayed at in Hook: Tylney Hall. 

Unfortunately, I don't have too many photos.  But I do love these wintery sciences I managed to take during one of our weeks there.

Before our team went out there, it was kind of a joke around the office that we would be spending a couple weeks out of the year in Hook.  Apparently, it is not known for being one of England's great tourist destinations. And the hotel where the team had stayed previous years wasn't anything to write home about.

One night at a work dinner, I got to chatting with my engagement partner.  He mentioned that one of his favorite places that he'd ever stayed happened to be right outside of Hook.  Not knowing the price, he asked why we didn't stay there.

I immediately jumped at my chance and asked if I could book the team there if there wasn't much of a price difference.  Perhaps, because we were there in the winter months, the cost wasn't much more.

The rooms were all unique and adorable, exactly as you'd picture that English countryside charm.

My favorite part was the enormous breakfast they'd lay out every morning in the dining room. 

(Of course, my favorite would be the food.)

via

Tylney Hall in summer

via

Totally Downton Abbey, right?

LMF

Breakfast for Dinner {book review}

I got a new recipe book. :) These sorts of things make me smile.  

I finally got to sit down with it last night and go through it.  I honestly have no idea what I want to make first.  Everything just looks so delicious.  And so different than what I had expected.  This is definitely not just a bunch of frittata and pancake recipes.

Bacon fried rice will be made asap.  

I don't know why I've always been intimidated by this, but this recipe looks really easy!

Egg and chorizo burritos made with sweet potato and spinach with an avocado lime sauce. Yum!

Now I've never really understood the appeal of chicken and waffles (I'm not knocking it, I just haven't tried it); but I can definitely get on board with chicken and biscuit waffles.

Throughout the book, there are easy basic recipes: homemade pizza dough, savory and sweet crepes, homemade pita dough, how to make raviolis, how to poach an egg. Love that.  I've always wanted to make my own raviolis.  Is that on anyone else's bucket list? (hello?)

And lots of sauces: easy marinara, cream cheese and artichoke dip, avocado cream sauce, buttermilk ranch.

When we were in Dallas a few months ago, I had the most delicious shrimp and grits. I had to keep pushing Dan's fork off my plate.

 If anyone knows where to find them in Northern California, I would love to know.  This recipe, with andouille sausage, butternut squash and kale chips. looks amazing.  My Dad's been asking for it, since he saw the book.

Bacon Jam.  At first glance this sounded a bit weird.  Then I read the suggestions - spread on a hamburger, on biscuits, on crackers with stinky cheese.  Look again. Always look again.

Isn't this crepe cake pretty?! I love this idea.

Just in case you can't read this, it says: chocolate peanut butter glazed banana bread cake. 

Mocha ice cream with biscotti crust, "e un espresso per favore", and I'm in heaven.

I honestly don't know which dessert to make first.  They all look so amazing.

They suggest pouring this chocolate maple fudge sauce over not only ice cream, but pancakes too.  Yes!

And of course, who can have breakfast without cocktails (???).

Breakfast for Dinner, From the lovely Lindsay and Taylor of love & olive oil, is on sale on February 12, 2013 but is available now for pre-order here.

Enjoy!  And come back and let me know your favorite recipe!

LMF

Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Rolls {recipe}

I admit, this is a completely selfish post.  

I love these cinnamon rolls from Pioneer Woman. Her recipe makes about 40-50 rolls.  My only problem with making 50 cinnamon is that I would eat 50 cinnamon rolls.

So I've taken to making 1/2 a batch.  But for whatever reason, I cannot do the math while I'm baking them and have ended up throwing out way too much dough.

So I'm writing down 1/2 the recipe for myself, and thought I'd share.

Full disclosure - the only thing I've adapted here is the icing.  Her icing is delicious, she uses coffee and maple extract (which I would substitute for high grade maple syrup), but I'm a traditional girl and I love a vanilla icing on my cinnamon rolls.

I made these last weekend for Tahoe and they were perfect for our snow weekend!

{breakfast in Tahoe}

Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Rolls [1/2 recipe]
Yield: 20-25 rolls
Ingredients:
Dough:
 - 2 cups whole milk
 - 1/2 cup vegetable oil
 - 1/2 cup sugar
 - 1 packet active dry yeast
 - 4 cups all purpose flour, plus 1/2 cup extra
 - 1/2 tsp baking powder, heaping
 - 1/2 tsp baking soda, scant
 - 1 tsp salt, heaping

Filling:
 - 1 cup butter (2 sticks), melted
 - 2 tbsp cinnamon
 - 1 cup sugar

Icing:
 - 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
 - 1/4 cup whole milk
 - 3 tbsp butter, melted
 - 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)
 - dash of salt

Directions:

To make dough:
Heat milk, vegetable oil, and sugar on stove just before the boiling point.  Let cool until mixture is lukewarm.  I usually pour it in the kitchen aid mixer bowl to help it cool a bit faster.

Check that the mixture is the right temperature - about 100-110 degrees.  I don't have a thermometer so I test it by putting my finger in it.  If it's too hot for me to hold my finger in it, it's too hot for yeast.  Don't let it get too cool either though.  When the mixture is ready sprinkle is dry yeast and give it a slow stir.  Let sit for about 7-10 minutes until it gets a bit foamy / bubbly on top.  Note - the weather outside and how warm your kitchen is may effect this timing.  I have no idea why.

Add 4 cups of flour.  I use the dough hook on my mixer but you can mix by hand as well.  Mix until incorporated.  Then cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm area.  I turn my dryer on and set the covered bowl on top.  Let rise for about 90-120 minutes.  Again, the timing depends on the weather outside and how warm your house is.

Combine 1/2 cup more flour and baking powder and baking soda.  Stir into mixture.  At this point you could cover the dough and refrigerate for a couple days until you wanted to use it.  When you go to use it again, after rolling out the dough and making the rolls, let them warm to room temperature before baking.  This will make them rise a bit more.

To make rolls:
Melt butter.  Combine cinnamon and sugar in a bowl and set aside.

Sprinkle the surface you will be rolling out the dough on generously with flour. Roll the dough into a 30 x 10 inch rectangle, roughly, no need to be exact.

Pour the melted butter all over the dough. Use a pastry brush (or your hands) to make sure it covers all of the doughs surface. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixture all over buttered dough.

Starting on the 30 inch side farthest from you, roll the dough in a relatively tight roll towards you.  When you get the end, pinch the seam to the roll to seal it.

Because we were traveling the next day, at this point, I wrapped the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerated them.  I stored them in the coolest part of the car for our 3 hour drive.  When we arrived that night, I cut them into rolls and placed them in the baking dish and left them on the counter to rise a bit again overnight.  They didn't rise as much as the usually do but they were still delicious.  See photos below.

baked after refrigerating rolls

baked right away

To bake:

Cut rolls into 1 inch thick slices and place in buttered baking dishes.  Leave some room in between them as they will puff up in the oven.  Let rolls sit for 20-30 minutes to rise.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, until the rolls are light golden brown on top.  It took 23 minutes in Tahoe, apparently it's the mountain time, everything's slower.

To make icing:

Combine everything in a bowl and stir until incorporated.  Taste, and add more of any ingredient to your liking.  Too sweet? - add a bit more milk.  Not sweet enough? - add a bit more sugar. You get the picture.  It's hard to mess this part up.

Generously drizzle icing all over rolls as soon as they come out of the oven.  Your house will smell amazing. Make sure to invite friends over so you can button you pants the next day.

LMF

Cabo da Roca, Portugal

I had a weird day yesterday.  

January 2007 - Cabo da Roca, Portugal - the most western point in Europe, next stop U.S. of A!

It was one of those days when you realize nothing will ever again be as it once was. 

And for a minute it made me just a bit sad.

For some reason it's so much easier to look back and idealize the past.  

We've been there, we've done that, we know what to expect.

I took a moment yesterday to wander back through the photos of my past, 

beautiful, gorgeous amazing places I've been with absolutely amazing people; 

people who've help make me who I am today. 

People and places and trips that I am so grateful for.  

And photos that make the memories come rushing back.

And then I stopped.  

And I turned my attention to girls night with pizza and champagne 

watching Vampire Diaries (don't judge).

Life is good.

LMF

Easy and delicious chili and bacon cheddar scones {recipe}

I made this in Tahoe last weekend and everyone loved it.  I loved how easy it was.

  

You know how I know it was easy?  

I made this after an exhausting day of skiing and I had an absolutely awful migraine. 

If I can make this with a migraine, it's got to be easy. (Side note - if anyone has any good cures for migraines or altitude sickness I would love to hear them!)

I did have a little help though.  Dan was my sous-chef and chopped everything up for me. :)

Chili

Ingredients:

 - 2-3 tbsp olive oil
 - 1 large onion, diced
 - 1 large red bell pepper, diced
 - 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
 - 1 serrano chili pepper, minced
 - 1 jalapeño pepper, minced
 - 1-1 1/4 lbs ground beef (optional: substitute ground turkey)
 - 3 tbsp chili powder
 - 3 tsp cumin powder (only 2 tsp if using ground turkey)
 - 1 tsp garlic powder
 - 1 tsp onion powder
 - 2-3 pinches cayenne pepper
 - 2 tbsp tomato paste
 - 1 28oz can petite diced tomatoes
 - 1/2 cup of beer
 - 1 15oz can kidney beans, rinsed
 - 1 15oz can black beans, rinsed
 - salt and pepper to taste

Optional garnish:
 - greek yogurt (or sour cream)
 - cheddar cheese
 - avocado
 - hot sauce (Tapatio)

Directions:

Heat olive oil in large pot.  Cook onions and bell peppers until tender, onions will be translucent.  Add a bit of salt and pepper.  Add garlic and peppers and cook for additional 5 minutes, until softened.  Add beef and using wooden spoon break up meat into small pieces.  Cook until meat is no longer pink, approximately 7 minutes.

Stir in spices and cook for another minute.  Stir in tomato paste, diced tomatoes with juices, beer and beans.  Slowly bring mixture to a boil.  Once boiling, simmer chili partially covered for approximately 30 minutes, stirring every so often.  If you want thicker chili, let simmer for longer.  Taste, and add salt, pepper, or chili powder as necessary. Serve with any, or all garnishes listed above.

I served it with bacon cheddar scones from annie's eats.  These are delicious!  They are perfect with soup or chili but also delicious served alongside eggs for breakfast or brunch.

Enjoy!

LMF