The Wall Street Journal “Off Duty” section is one of my favorite parts of the weekend — they’ve hired a incredibly talented group (at least a few ex-Domino folk). Sarah Karnasiewicz has an amazing article this weekend on springerle cookies, complete with recipes. I’ve picked up a couple of these cookie molds over the years, but have never actually made the cookies … until now! I bought the mold below from House On The Hill ($44) and can’t wait to get baking. I’ve heard these cookies can be hard to make, but, that just means lots of extras for us to eat here in the Design Scouting test kitchen.
I found this table setting yesterday in a November 1955 issue of House Beautiful — I was inspired by the simple use of leaves (magnolia?) and oranges. And, of course, the huge fruit and rooster arrangement is pretty awesome. I hope everyone has an amazing Thanksgiving, complete with lots of pie, of course!
The latest dessert obsession around are Coconut Bliss Chocolate Bars; I love that they are organic and only have four ingredients. These are surprisingly chocolaty and rich, enough so that Tim has started sneaking them.
I recently discovered that Tim and Alex love pancakes… like LOVE pancakes. So, I’ve been making pancakes most weekends. I use the basic recipe from the Joy of Cooking but instead of milk I use a mixture of keifer and water (mostly because we never have milk in the house). The pancakes are a bit like buttermilk pancakes. I have a fairly large collection of maple syrup – some ten unopened bottles – mostly due to the generosity of friends and family who still live in Vermont (it is a good gift!). Most people give us Grade A but the deep dark secret of the sugaring world is that Grade B is so much tastier — deeper and complex.
This recipe for cacio e pepe from Saveur is delicious. I used lots more cheese than they called for but it was warm, cheesy and a perfect fall dinner.
Kosher salt, to taste
1 lb. pasta, preferably tonnarelli or spaghetti
4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper, plus more
to taste
1 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano
3?4 cup finely grated Cacio de Roma
1. Bring a 6-qt. pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta; cook until al dente, 8–10 minutes; reserve 1 cup pasta water and drain pasta. Meanwhile, heat oil in a 12″ skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add pepper; cook until fragrant, 1–2 minutes. Ladle 3?4 cup pasta water into skillet; bring to a boil. Using tongs, transfer pasta to skillet; spread it evenly. Sprinkle 3?4 cup each Pecorino Romano and Cacio de Roma over pasta; toss vigorously to combine until sauce is creamy and clings to the pasta without clumping, about 2 minutes, adding some pasta water if necessary. Transfer to 4 plates and sprinkle with remaining Pecorino and more pepper.
This brioche bread from Balthazar makes amazing, buttery, flaky toast. I bought it on an impulse while stocking up for Irene and we’ve been hooked since. We keep it in the freezer and cut a slice and pop it in the toaster when we need our warm buttery fix. Highly recommend!
This weekend: making these easy and delicious tomato tartlets and battening down the hatches. The last tomatoes of summer are on sale at my local Whole Foods. Why does summer always feel so fast?
Post east coast earthquake, pre Irene I decided it was time to up our emergency preparedness. This four person “honey bucket” kit cost $76 (expensive, but on the more reasonable side — some kits cost over $200!). I remember talking to friends after 9/11 and the blackouts in NYC and what they recommended I put in our emergency stash might surprise you: creature comforts. Instead of candles and radios and packets of water, what they missed most was booze, chocolate and cigarettes. So, in addition to the “honey bucket” I’m stocking up on wine, chocolate bars and some toys for Alex (and diapers and wipes, of course). What do you stock up on for emergencies? A friend I spoke with last night has photocopies of important papers (birth certificates etc). We haven’t done that, but we probably should.
Looking ahead to the weekend, I’ll be cooking these salads: kale caesar and broccoli and cauliflower; catching up with my husband who has been in Zurich for the last few days and trying to savor the last few days of summer.
I recently discovered avocado oil (I like the Spectrum brand); it is great for high heat cooking (turns out you really shouldn’t saute with olive oil). Bonus: Avacado oil is insanely delicious in salad dressing.
Joanna did an amazing series of posts on motherhood by creative moms last week. I really enjoyed Jenny Rosenstrach’s post on juggling work and life. I hadn’t known about her blog Dinner: A Love Story and now it is a daily read. Jenny (a former Cookie editor) writes about what she cooks for dinner for her family — but the blog is about so much more than that if you haven’t read it. In her posts I feel like I finally have that wise older sister that I’ve always wanted (being a first born isn’t easy!). There is so much sage advice about motherhood and parenting gently embedded in the posts. And, these clams look amazing! We’re headed to the mountains of North Carolina (Alex and I will be there two full weeks!) and I’m planning on making these.
Photos courtesy of Dinner: A Love Story
I’ve been baking a lot recently and my current cookie obsession are these Chocolate Chocolate Shortbread Cookies. My friend Nancy first introduced me to them. Her tip to me, and mine to you, is this: use the fanciest cocoa powder you can find and some fancy salt (I use that “pink” salt). It really really really makes a difference. I made these for a friend at work who had a long awaited milestone to celebrate. I busted out the Japanese tape and stamps on an old Burdicks chocolate box (and this is a tiny peek at my desk at work).
This “herb salt” is tasty. $6.50 at health food stores.
Happy Valentine’s Day! I thought I’d re-post the Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies (which garnered Design Scouting a Saveur Magazine “Best of the Web!). Recipe here.
