Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I say it every year, but each year seems to be busier than the last. Well, this is the last year that I’m saying it – I know next year is going to be crazy busy. We moved in the final days of 2012, so the first half of the new year will be spent getting settled into our new house, and getting ready to welcome our first child, a daughter due in early March.

Blogging Goals: This time last year, I had hoped to get in the habit of posting twice a week in 2012. I started off strong, but a combination of visitors, travel, and first trimester laziness meant that I slacked off quite a bit in late spring/early summer. I didn’t start posting again regularly (weekly), until fall. I know that 2013 will be a lot of change for my husband and I, but I’d still like to continue to post at least once a week throughout 2013. I think that’s a manageable goal, don’t you?

I also want to continue to work on my photography. I upgraded to a DSLR after Thanksgiving, so now I need to take the time to learn how to use it, find my light, and style my photos. I do think I improved in 2012, but I want to continue improving! I’m hoping to do my own sort of Project 365 so that I’m using my camera every day and maybe take a photography class next summer to helop me rewch this goal.

In the Kitchen: My bucket list for 2012 included making perogis, stuffed cabbage, homemade pasta, caramel, tiramisu, and bagels (although the list could go on forever). I did make stuffed cabbage with my mom, although I didn’t blog about it. And for the first time ever, I made caramel (for salted caramel hot chocolate mix) without burning it! I’ll continue working on the other items on this list next year.

Off the Bookshelf: In 2011 I had set the following goals for myself for 2012:

  1. Read all of Jane Austen’s works (6  books, 1 short fiction, and 2 unfinished fiction)
  2. Read the Lord of the Rings series. I love the movies, I just need to start the books!
  3. Read the Eragon series
  4. Read Paullina Simon’s Tatiana & Alexander Series.

I did read the Tatiana & Alexander series. I loved the books so much that I had to review it in three posts: The Bronze Horseman, Tatiana & Alexander, and The Summer Garden.

I didn’t get to the other books because as soon as I found out that we were moving, I started reading mysteries and books that I knew I would want to donate instead of moving. This means Jane Austen’s works, the Lord of the Rings series, and the Eragon books are still on the list for 2012.

Do you have any goals for 2013? Any recipes on your bucket list for the year? Any books you’re excited to read? Please leave a comment – I’d love to hear what you’re looking forward to in 2013.

MixedCon

This past weekend was amazing. I got to attend my first foodie conference! The first ever Mixed!

Mixed was hosted by Paula of bell’alimento and Susan of Doughmesstic. The conference was held at the Mountain Lake Hotel in Virginia. Look familiar? The classic movie Dirty Dancing was filmed here. I was beyond excited. Since I arrived on Friday with plenty of time, me and my new camera went on a Dirty Dancing walking tour (photos here). I was happy to have the opportunity to test out my DSLR.

I was a little nervous at the start of the weekend – so many talented foodies and photographers and I had never met any of them in person. There were five women, my “internet friends” that I have been chatting with online for quite some time, that I immediately met up with. The six of us (Heather from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks, Lynsey from Lynsey Lou’s, Maeghan from The Way to His Heart, Stephanie from Brownies and Blondies, and Amy from What’s Brewing in the Kitchen) hit it off, sharing stories about our families, homes, and of course cooking and baking, like we were old friends. We met and mingled with fellow foodies throughout the weekend – everyone was so nice! And it was awesome to meet some foodies that lived relatively close to my hometown.

Saturday was filled with lectures and activities. Bree Hester of Baked Bree spoke about food photography (and took professional headshots for us!); Tami Hardeman from Running with Tweezers spoke about food styling, Lenny Ferreira of Chez Us spoke about videography, and Heidi Larsen of Foodie Crush spoke about creating an ebook. There were two interactive sessions – Marian Poirier of Sweetopia gave a demo on decorating holiday sugar cookies before we got to decorate our own and Duff Goldman, Mary Smith, and Elena Fox of Ace of Cakes led us in cake decorating using Duff’s own line of gear. I had a blast, even if my cake wasn’t the prettiest out there. 🙂

Finally, I can’t say enough about the fantastic sponsors that Paula and Susan lined up for this event. These companies (and their representatives who participated in the conference) made it a fantastic experience for one and all. Thanks to them, I had a tasty lunch for my long drive home (the Wisconsin Cheese brie, arugula, and fig jam sandwich was amazing) and I now have a new favorite snack (the tortilla chips from Way Better Snacks are like crack – and healthy too!).  I came home with a huge bag of swag from Hershey, Oxo, KitchenAid, and Dixie Crystals Sugar, Real Butter, Dreamfields Pastas, Attune Foods, Lucky Leaf, Duff, and Stoneyfield, just to name a few.

Finally, the event was not without thinking of others. Oxo matched raffleticket purchases, with all proceeds going  to Cookies for Cancer. Participates also went home with a tin, encouraging them to Bake It Forward – to whip up some baked goods, send them in the provided tin which will be registered online, and then send the goodies to someone who needs a smile.  The idea is that the recipient will eventually send it to someone else, spreading kindness and smiles to those who could use it.

The weekend was fabulous. I thoroughly enjoyed my first food blogger conference. I learned a ton and met some amazing people. Thanks again to Paula and Susan for organizing such a wonderful weekend!

Place Your Bets (& Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies)

I’ve been feeling bad because I’ve been kinda MIA here lately. It’s been a busy summer – we had no power for almost a week, lots of travel to see my new niece and attend my future sister-in-law’s bridal shower and bachelorette, work, and training for the 60-mile Susan G Komen walk this fall, among other things. On top of that, I’ve been super tired. It’s no joke. There’s been a couple of weekends where I woke up, had breakfast, dozed on the couch all day, had dinner, and went to bed. I’ve had zero energy to spend cooking or baking – which worked out since food hasn’t really appealed to me either. I’ve spent the summer eating like a 6-year old – apple sauce, graham crackers, peanut butter sandwiches without the crust, and frozen pizzas. Oh yeah, and I’ve had zero interest in reading.

Although my schedule is still pretty chaotic, I’ve been feeling much better over the past couple of weeks. Thank goodness the first trimester is over. Yep, you read that right. My hubby and I are expecting our first baby! Hazelnut is due to arrive in early March, and we’re thrilled. We just finished telling all of our family, friends, and coworkers.

I’m not going to lie, it’s a little awkward telling people… especially telling all the guys that I work with. I ended up telling everyone with food. I sent the entire team an email asking them to come place their bets. Pink and blue sugar cookies were waiting for them. You’d think a team of analysts would be able to figure out what the cookies meant, but the team was not on their game that day. I had to explain the cookies to more than a few of them…. no, they’re not for a horse race (there wasn’t even a horse race in the area that week!!!); yes, there’s a reason the cookies are colored; no, the sprinkles are not some secret code…. Oh yeah, it was amusing. Needless to say, the cookies were polished off. Most of the team voted for twins, a boy and a girl, because they wanted seconds (and thirds).

Decorating & Serving Notes: I love these cookies, not only because they taste better than the cookies I am obsessed with from the grocery store, but because they’re so versatile. I made them for our Clue-Themed Halloween Party with plain white frosting and the murder weapons drawn on and colored the icing orange and used leaf-sprinkles as favors for Thanksgiving.

Super Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies

Adapted from Hostess with the Mostess via Annie’s Eats

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients for the Cookies:

  • 4½ c. all-purpose flour
  • 4½ tsp. baking powder
  • ¾ tsp. salt
  • 1½ c. (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1½ c. granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 5 tsp. vanilla extract

Ingredients for the Frosting:

  • 3¾ c. confectioners’ sugar, sifted
  • 4 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 5-6 Tbs. milk (more if needed)
  • food coloring, if desired
  • sprinkles, if desired

Make the Cookie Dough: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until soft and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. With the mixer still running, beat in eggs, one at a time. Scrape down side of the bowl and return mixer to medium-high speed. Add vanilla. Scrape down sides of the bowl.

Reduce speed to and sprinkle in baking powder and salt. Continue to sprinkle in flour, half a cup at a time, until fully incorporated. Scrape down sides of mixer as needed.

Cover and chill cookie dough for 1 hour.

Make the Cookies: Preheat an oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and begin portioning out cookie dough: use a 1-inch cookie scoop to portion out dough. Roll dough into a ball and place on the prepared baking sheet. Use the palm of your hand to flatten dough slightly. Continue portioning out cookie dough in this manner, placing dough about 2 inches apart.

Bake 10-12 minutes, until cookies are set and edges are just beginning to brown. Do not overbake! The cookies should be very pale in color.

Allow cookies to cool 5 minutes on the baking sheet before moving a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the Frosting & Frost the Cookies: Place sifted confectioners’ sugar in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in melted butter, vanilla extract, and 5 Tbs. of milk. Whisk together until frosting is smooth. Frosting should be thin enough to spread but thick enough so that it won’t move much after you frost the cookies. Add additional confectioners’ sugar or milk if needed to adjust consistency. Whisk in food coloring, if using.

Using a butter knife or offset spatula, frost cooled cookies. Decorate immediately with sprinkles, as frosting will set a little bit as it sits. Allow to sit for an hour for the frosting to set.

Store in an airtight container until serving. Cookies will keep and stay soft for several days.

Power Outage!

Severe thunder storms this weekend completely derailed weekend plans. We lost power in the middle of the night on Friday and almost 72 hours later, still do not have power restored.

So what do you do when there’s no power in 100+ degree heat, when the weather service advises you to say indoors in the air conditioning?

You stare at the downed trees in your yard. You can’t clear them because they’re too big to cut with a hand saw and your chain saw is electric.

our backyard

You wander the maze of your neighborhood trying to figure out which streets are blocked and if you can get out.

road blocked, 1 block away from our house

You cry because you know that you won’t get out any time soon… not with this massive tree laying on the power lines a block from your house.

omg. enough said.

You take a trip to Barnes & Noble…. and buy another cookbook that you don’t really need, along with a couple of new books that will overflow your bookshelves a little bit more.

Bought: The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook, Apron Anxiety and The Sweet Life in Paris

You become extra thankful for good friends… spending the day three days at Camp Karen with a bunch of friends – watching Madagascar and Cars II, watching the hubby play video games, charging your phones/computers, and drinking… a lot. You also partake in nap time, snuggling with your favorite 2-year old.

You show off your new drool-worthy cookbook and get suckered into making cookies. Thanks to Lindsay Landis from Love & Olive Oil for an awesome cookbook. It’s not often where I can look through a cookbook and want to make every single recipe in it. In fact, I don’t think that’s ever happened. Until now.

making chocolate whoopie pies with a chocolate chip cookie filling

You reorganize your Pinterest boards. Instead of having one giant recipes to try board, I’ve split it up into courses. I need to start pinning more savory dishes instead of just desserts.

new boards, by course

You attempt to save some of the food in your fridge and freezer…. either using friend’s fridges/freezers and by grilling for a crowd.

Thanks to all of our friends who helped out over the past few days, and who will be helping out in the days to come. It sounds like we’ll be at least another two days, if not longer without power. Send happy thoughts our way as we mooch off of friends and try not to make ourselves crazy.

A Citrus Martini & Channeling Ina in the Hamptons

Slightly sweet and slightly tart, this Citrus Martini showcases 4 beautiful winter fruits in a light and refreshing cocktail. 

Slightly sweet and slightly tart, this Citrus Martini showcases beautiful winter fruits in a light and refreshing cocktail. 

The beginning of June was a whirlwind of travel for me – 4 states in 10 days. I got to hold my niece for the first time (I’m an aunt!) and attend my future sister-in-law’s bridal shower. I spent the time in between hanging with my parents, reading (the Graceling Realms series and The Little Giant of Aberdeen County), and playing in the kitchen.

But for one brief day, I got to channel the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten. You see, my uncle just bought a place out in the Hamptons and Mom and I went to visit. We got up really early in the morning. We planned to arrive mid-morning, beginning the day with a couple stops for bagels and the makings for this Citrus Martini (Ina’s Juice of a Few Flowers) on the way. Unfortunately, fate was against us. Mom plugged the wrong town into mapquest and we ended up lost for over an hour. So no martinis for us.

While we missed out on morning martinis (don’t judge – mimosas are acceptable for breakfast/brunch, so these should be too!), but I did get a little Ina tour. We drove by Ina’s house, although we kind of debated about which one it was. And we took a quick trip to Loaves and Fishes, one of the stores Ina shops at. The shop carried absolutely beautiful pieces of silverware, serving pieces, and linens. It was a bit out of my price range, but I enjoyed meandering up and down the aisles, drooling at all the pieces I’d like to take home. I could have easily come home poor.

Even though I didn’t get my cocktail in the Hamptons, it was one of the first things on my list to make when I returned home. It was even better than I expected… slightly sweet and tangy, but not definitely not tart (which I expected based on the grapefruit, lemon and lime juice in the recipe). While I enjoyed my martini martinis as an evening cocktail, this would also make a fun alternative to a brunch mimosa.

Slightly sweet and slightly tart, this Citrus Martini showcases beautiful winter fruits in a light and refreshing cocktail.

Recipe Notes:

  • This is a recipe where it’s best to use freshly squeezed juice. It’s worth the extra few minutes.
  • This recipe can be scaled to serve a crowd. Combine the juices in a pitcher ahead of time (you may find that you want to strain the juices through a cheesecloth if too much pulp is in there). Refrigerate until serving. Mix juices and vodka in a cocktail shaker with ice and serve fresh.
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Slightly sweet and slightly tart, this Citrus Martini showcases beautiful winter fruits in a light and refreshing cocktail.

Citrus Martini

Slightly sweet and slightly tart, this Citrus Martini showcases beautiful winter fruits in a light and refreshing cocktail.

Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 1
Calories 198 kcal

Ingredients

  • 1/4 fresh lemon
  • 2 Tbs. granulated sugar
  • 1 oz. freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 1 oz. freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
  • 1/2 oz. freshly squeezed lemon
  • 1/2 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 2 oz. good quality vodka

Instructions

  1. With fresh lemon, cut off a little slice to use as a garnish. With the remainder, rub along rim of a martini glass.
  2. Sprinkle sugar on a plate. Dip rim of martini glass in the sugar, twisting and rotating a bit to ensure that sugar coats rim.
  3. Combine all juices and vodka in a cocktail shaker. Top with ice and shake vigorously until martini if thoroughly chilled. Pour into prepared martini glass.
  4. Garnish and serve.

This recipe was adapted from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics p. 37. Affiliate link to the cookbook below the pin!

Slightly sweet and slightly tart, this Citrus Martini showcases beautiful winter fruits in a light and refreshing cocktail. 


This post was updated with new photos in March 2019.