Archive for Miscellaneous
If You Can Make That You Can Make This: 5 Easy Labor Day Desserts
Posted by: | CommentsMy Labor Day cooking tends towards the simple – basically burgers as often as I think I can get away with them, and for dessert I want to stay in a relaxed holiday mood, to expend as little effort as possible to get the biggest reward. I want my desserts to look spectacular, to taste summery and delicious, and in honor of the occasion, I want as much red white and blue as I can muster.
I’m a believer in a theme, a fact which can occasionally sucker me.
On the last big American holiday of the year, the 4 of July, I was charged with bringing dessert to the party. Being British, I was anxious to please, so I sought advice and was told, “Oh everybody has flag cake on the 4 of July. Not having Flag Cake would be like not having chocolate eggs at Easter”.
Speaking as one whose Christmas would be entirely ruined if there was no Christmas pudding at the end of the meal, I am sympathetic to food expectations when it comes to holidays, and I was determined that my flag cake would do my adopted country proud.
I had never heard of flag cake before, but a quick internet search educated me. I tracked down a recipe. I bought the enormous tin that the recipe required. I carried bags of berries home from the fruit stand. I had several practice runs at the cake and decoration thereof. Jon drew a flag template for proper berry placement. I bought a wooden board to fit the enormous confection, then a box to fit the board, and then I heaved it on the ferry across the river to West New York (New Jersey) and set it down on the picnic table that my friends had erected on the shore with a great view of the fireworks.
“Is that a flag cake? Somebody made a flag cake? I’ve never actually seen one of them before. Would you look at that. Actual flag cake.”
Please Help! Fixing a Stuffed Mushroom Disaster.
Posted by: | CommentsAs many of you know, I’m taking the month of August to be vegan. I have reached heights of dizzying success! I have also reached the depths of despair (not an exaggeration. I miss steak terribly.) Mostly, I’ve netted somewhere in the middle. Like with the following recipe, which I’m hoping our lovely readers – more talented chefs than I – might help with.
In short, I really wanted to try and make some kind of stuffed mushroom. And I was so very close to making something delicious. Alas – I did not. I’m hoping that if I post my ingredients, someone out there might help me out with ideas to make it better. Because this was simply just an amalgamation of vegetables that tasted like…an amalgamation of vegetables. I teased this post last week, but am about five days late in actually posting it. So…sorry about that.
- Artichoke hearts (the ones I used were from the actual artichoke)
- Portobello mushrooms
- Cherry tomatoes
My cooking process and photos after the jump. Read More→
Labor Day BBQ Recipe Ideas
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Heading into labor day, we’re on a hunt for the best BBQ recipes – side dishes, main dishes, desserts, drinks, the works! Do you have a good recipe you want to share? Email us! Today’s recipe comes from one of our favorite blogs, Ramshackle Glam. In one of today’s posts Jordan Reid gives the recipe for her favorite potato salad – YUM. Potato salad is always a crowd pleaser!
Check out Jordan’s post here for the whole recipe.
Photo courtesy of Ramshackle Glam.
YAY! Weekends: Road Trip Across New Mexico: Santa Fe and the Gruet Winery
Posted by: | CommentsA few weeks ago, my BF and I packed our bags and headed to New Mexico to celebrate my good friend Steph’s wedding. I’d never been to New Mexico before, and the BF had only driven through it, so we decided to turn it into a vacation/adventure. We researched and researched, and came together with a very good itinerary that had something for us both: national parks for him, wine and fancy hotels (at a steal!) for me. We ventured to Santa Fe, the Petrified Forest National Park, spent a few days in Albuquerque and stayed in a hotel frequented by old Hollywood stars of the Wild West movies in a town called Gallup. This will be a two part post, filled with recommendations of what we enjoyed the most, and what you may also enjoy, if you’re planning a road trip, or long weekend to New Mexico.
The Bishop's Lodge
Day 1: Santa Fe:
DIY In-N-Out Burger! At Home! For Real!
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Delicious hamburger photo courtesy of A Hamburger a Day.
Lia’s vegan for the next 25 days. I, very un-nicely sent her this link yesterday. It wasn’t on purpose. It’s just that I was so excited I forgot she was trying to be a vegan. Because, really, who can live without cheese and bacon?
I was never one for food – until recently. And now I eat it all.the.time. I can talk to you about the wonders of a McDonald’s chicken nugget, a taco bell bean burrito, or Sonic’s pepper poppers forever. But the one thing I still don’t eat from fast food places is burgers. Unless, of course, its an In-N-Out buger. Then there’s no question what I’m ordering.
However, In-N-Out burger hates the East coast. So what’s a girl to do? Follow “A Hamburger a Day’s” instruction’s from their food lab and recreate a perfect burger in your own home, of course! AMAZING!!! This will be my new favorite DIY project. Check out the instructions and commentary at A Hamburger a Day’s Burger Lab.
Hanging Frames – Light Enough to Hang Anywhere
Posted by: | CommentsPosted by Erin…
Earlier this year I moved into a new apartment where my bedroom is in a second floor loft space, overlooking the family room. Due to a combination of my claustrophobia and sheer laziness, we decided to hang a curtain to separate the rooms instead of having one of Manhattan’s famous prefab walls built – the same walls that turn every two-bedroom Upper East Side apartment into a convertible three-bedroom. I’m a sound sleeper, so not having a wall doesn’t bother me at all. ..except for the fact that it makes hanging things on the walls nearly impossible. My very handy, sweet boyfriend hung the curtains from the ceiling for me, but warned me that rods definitely couldn’t support that much weight. With a lack of wall space, I found that I had very little surface area to hang picture frames, vintage posters, or the decorative hooks that I used for my faux pearls and grandmother’s purses. After thinking about this situation for a short while, I found the perfect solution to combat the photo problem and help give my room more personality.
I love the look of picture frames that hang in a row, like these from Target, but knew that they would be way too heavy. Eyeing some Grosgrain ribbon, I was determined to recreate the look of the frames, minus the weight. Checking out my finished project, I think I did a good job!
Read More→
Apartment Gardening: Take Three
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Gardening - take three.
Up until recently, I was doing pretty good with my indoor garden. Then, unfortunately, my primary plant – basil – came down with a mysterious case of “white dots all over it.” I couldn’t find any potential diagnoses on the Internet and afraid to use it in anything, I let it die. But I’ve brought back the entire effort from the dead – pun intended – with a new approach. (FYI, the oregano plant, as you recall from the veggie pizza post, continues to do just fine.)
For the second time around, I picked up a long planter and some potting soil from the local florist. In it, I placed thyme, rosemary, sage and re-potted a new basil plant as well. After a week’s worth of watering, I noticed yesterday that some shoots were starting to form! Very exciting. More on this effort as take three continues. In the meantime, here are some photos!
Summer Cocktails with Fresh Mint and Basil
Posted by: | CommentsThere’s nothing better in the summertime than a fresh, fruity cocktail. 
With my garden bursting full of fresh mint and basil, I was on the hunt to find a killer drink recipe using both. I tried out two different recipes (one I improvised, shocking, I know), and forced/asked my friends to test them. The results? Both were delicious. Strong – but delicious.
For those who like a minty-fresh cocktail:
1 large strawberry
2-3 large mint leaves
1 part vodka
3-4 parts lemonade
Cut the strawberry up into small pieces. Muddle the strawberry and mint together. Add to a shaker with ice, along with the vodka and lemonade. Shake well over ice until very cold. Pour over more ice. Serve!
For the basil cocktail… Read More→
Handmade Greeting Cards
Posted by: | CommentsI’ve discussed my obsession with handmade greeting cards before: I just can’t get enough. There
is nothing I love more than sending a handwritten note in the mail – except for getting one, that is. When I was at a local art store in Brooklyn a few weeks ago, I found some really beautiful, brightly colored Origami paper that I decided JUST HAD to be used on greeting cards. Knowing that I still had a few blank cards leftover from the last time I made cards, I picked up the paper and the wheels in my head began spinning.
Making these cards was so easy – I used only:
- blank note cards and envelopes
- Origami paper
- Elmer’s glue
- Scissors – both a wavy, scrap-booking scissor, and a regular straight scissor.
We Made: Martha Stewart’s Red, White and Blueberry Berry Trifle – with a Twist!
Posted by: | CommentsHow did you celebrate the fourth of July? I went to my parent’s house for a family BBQ, and managed to talk my mom into trying some new desserts from
the Martha Stewart slide show we featured last week. My mom and I both love berries in dessert, so we decided to try the Red, White and Blueberry trifle, with two twists: we would use angel food cake instead of the recommended pound cake (we prefer the lighter texture of angel food cake) and we would add strawberries in addition to raspberries and blueberries, and increase the amount of fruit we used.
The recipe was extremely easy to follow, and the trifle was amazing! Our guests seemed to enjoy it as well (or perhaps they were just being polite?). This is a great dessert to bring to a summer cookout, and we highly recommend using angel food cake (a box mix prepared beforehand or store bought) instead of pound cake. Try checking out Costco or BJ’s to get large quantities of berries at a cheaper price then you may find in your local grocery store.
You can get the recipe on Martha Stewart’s website here, and our step-by-step pictures follow after the jump.
Dear San Francisco,
Posted by: | CommentsThank you for letting me visit your city. But I wish you would have told me to bring a coat and closed-toe shoes. Love, Erin.
I’ll have a much more lengthy recap in a few days, along with a few suggestions of things to do, should you be planning a trip here, but here’s my two favorite parts of my trip so far: Enjoying some wine with good friends and finding a restaurant with the BEST NAME EVER. It says it all.
