monday mania.

It's Monday already. Brutal! But to start you off this week, here are some links to jump start the week....

• According to Test Kitchen, which Ben and I watched a little bit of this weekend, this is the best paper towel holder out there. 

• This Politico piece, Putin's Real Long Game, about Putin and Russia has been stuck in my head since I read it last week (hat tip to Ben for this recommended read). 

• This makes me love Wendy's. So great.

• I have a weak spot for pitchers - so here is a handsome looking one in case you need a gift at some point soon...

• NYTimes did a highlight piece on NoMa and Union Market in DC a couple weeks ago, here it is in all its glory - Historic Designation Sets Stage for a Washington Market District's Future. 

• Need some new recipes for 2017 - this Bon Appetit - 40 KitchenAid Recipes that Stand, Mix and Deliver should help with that. 

And last but not least, we are headed to Yosemite in two weeks to get away from the TV, avoid all things inauguration and to talk with the trees. If you have any recommendations - send my way, I would love to hear!

crack pie.

Scott came for a visit this week and guess what he brought?! The Momofuku Pie Mix - Crack Pie!!!!!!!

My enthusiasm right now might be confusing to those of you who haven't tasted the Momofuku Crack Pie and/or for those of you who haven't heard me talk about it. It is unbelievable. Ben and I tried it a couple months ago at a food festival and there just aren't words to describe how good it is. This is not exaggeration. So, you can imagine our excitement when Scott rolled up to our house with this. The Crack Pie itself sells for $44 (absurdly expensive!) and it is also up in NY which is probably best for the two of us. But now we have the mix. We can't wait to make it and I promise we will report back soon....in the meantime, do yourself a favor and buy yourself a slice of crack pie the next time you are in NY and then think of me and thank me later! Oh yeah...and thank you Scott!

P.S. It also turns out that the Crack Pie recipe is everywhere now - including Bon Appetit here, the cooking channel here, and Momofuku puts every recipe on their website to everything they sell here!

caked.

I came home late last night and decided to make this Rasberry Almond Coffee Cake that Cup of Jo had posted a while back!  It's good stuff and I recommend it. Below is the full recipe - enjoy!

For the streusel topping:
1/3 cup chopped almonds
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 tbsp. butter

For the cake:
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
5 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. almond extract
1 cup frozen raspberries

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

To make the streusel topping: In a small bowl, combine almonds, brown sugar and 3 tablespoons butter. Using your fingers, work the butter into the sugar and almonds until blended.

To make the cake: Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the 5 tablespoons of butter. Using either your fingers, a pastry blender or two knives, work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Don't allow the butter to melt or form a blended paste with the flour.

In another bowl, whisk together the egg, milk and almond extract. Pour over the flour mixture, and stir until just barely combined. Add the frozen berries, and fold in until just mixed through.

Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan. Top with the streusel topping, distributing evenly. Bake for about 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for ten minutes.

acai it.

Molly and Rags tipped me off to acai, and specifically acai bowls and smoothies a while back. In case you are looking for something to mix up the smoothie/breakfast/health routine - this might do it for you. Apparently, Sambazon is the big producer you can find here in the US...you can find it at Whole Foods and it comes in frozen sections that you throw into a blender with fruit to make a smoothie or mix up to make a bowl. It is good stuff!

Here is what an acai bowl looks like...

...and in case you are in DC and want to try one out before you head over to Whole Foods to stock up, they said the juice bar at Body Smith Gym on 14th Street makes a great Acai Bowl.

friendsgiving.

It's officially holiday season people! And with that in mind, we had a great friendsgiving on Saturday with good friends. Great food (as Ben keeps saying "everyone really brought their A game"), good company, and a new baby - can't get better!

Our space is a bit tight for more than 6 - but it ended up working.

And in news, remember last year when I by mistake spray painted a leaf? No? Really? You don't? Yeah, that's ok (in case you care enough and want to remember - click here) - anyway, I decided to spray paint leaves to use as place cards.

Oh yeah, and for the cocktail of the evening, we went with a Bourbon-Cranberry Shrub Cocktail. It was fantastic - highly recommend it. (I actually found it in Martha Stewart Living this month, but I can't find it online - so the full recipe is below).

I also copied this chalkboard design. I didn't have time to do the download and template - so I just free-handed it...turned out fine!

And Ben dominated the turkey scene. It was fantastic.

Not to mention the mashed potatoes, jello mold, and mac n' cheese. Em brough amazing corn pudding and apple pie. Erin/Josh brought this fantastic pureed broccoli side and a chocolate cream pie. Val came in strong with cranberry sauce and these amazing little cinnamon muffins I have been eating every morning since. And Doug/Kate came with sauteed greens, enough Dolcezza for 2015 and of course, baby Charlie!

And after dinner, we played Cards Against Humanity to close out the night!

Recipe: Bourbon-Cranberry Shrub Cocktail

1 cup of fresh or frozen cranberries

1 cup of sugar

1 cup white-wine vinegar

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of bourbon

2 tablespoons of seltzer

1. Combine cranberries, sugar and vinegar in a pot. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; let cool completely. Refrigerate up to 3 weeks. 

2. For each cocktail, fill a rocks glass with ice. Stir in bourbon, seltzer, and 2 tablespoons shrub liquid. Add 1 tablespoon shrub cranberries; serve immediatly. 

circling back.

Oy vey. Sorry everyone for the hiatus. Life has been busy and stressful the last couple of weeks. That said, I saved some links to share with you all and figure that might get us back into the swing of things. First, this Wall Street Journal interview with Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Also, Humans of New York took pictures at the MET Gala and I love the little snippets (also on the second to last one - you can see the Beckhams in the background...).

This Pilsner bottle opener would be a great gift, wouldn't it?  I made this Berry Skillet Cobbler last weekend when we had some friends over for dinner, and it turned out well. And what do we think of this halter romper?!

buttermilk biscuit.

I just made these buttermilk biscuits. I love a good buttermilk biscuit with just a little butter and on this cold, snowy day, it's the best cozy snack.

skillet cookie.

When Ben moved back to DC he brought his cast iron skillet with him. Fortunately, around that same time, there were a bunch of cast iron dessert ideas popping up all over pinterest. Wednesday night, Caroline, Justin and Sarah came over for dinner, so I tried out the below recipe and it was a great success. So easy and fast and so good....

2014.

I love a mid-week holiday! We had a great new years eve/new years day. Timmy and Amanda stayed over on their way back down to Florida. We fixed up some beautiful steaks and this eggplant with buttermilk sauce from our Plenty cookbook. It was just how we like to ring in the new year, with best friends and a great dinner. Timmy and Amanda also brought their dog in for the night. Dodger is the full dog to come into the house and it made me want one. We also took a long walk around the neighborhood and up to the Capitol on New Years day. Hope you all are loving 2014 so far!

roasted chicken + bread salad.

For all of you out there itching to make the Roasted Chicken + Bread Salad from Zuni's Cafe that Ben made on Sunday night, I present to you the recipe and directions from Smitten Kitchen. Go forth and eat well!

It is so good and worth the work...

squash game.

Who's excited for spaghetti squash season? I am. And, I made this Roasted Squash with Herbs and Parmesan last night.

fruits & oats.

My Vitamix is still one of the best things that has happened to me in 2013 and in the spirit of sharing, wanted to pass along this great smoothie. Martha Stewart just put up this link on her ten most-pinned smoothies and one of them is the Hearty Fruit and Oat Smoothie below. Love love love it. I added some flax seed for good measure to it and highly recommend!

smitten.

Alison made these spaghetti squash tacos last weekend for dinner and I am still thinking about them! She found the recipe in the Smitten Kitchen cookbook (great gift by the way!) a while back and my god are they good. I forgot to take good pictures, but here is the recipe online if you don't have the book and are in the mood. I swear you won't regret these...and healthy too!

salad queen.

Our friend Sarah is the queen of salads. She invites me over for a BBQ now and I immediatly wonder, will she be making salad? When she is like "let's grab a drink or dinner", I think, why don't you invite me over and make me salad?! If she ever asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I would be like, "hey Sarah, why don't you make me salads for lunch every day this year". Seriously.  They are so good.

She told me last year her secret is to just add more ingredients. Pack that salad bowl full of stuff!  Anyway, I have been craving salads and vegetables for the last couple days. And last night on my walk home, I got the brilliant idea to ask her for more salad secrets and figured I would share with all of you her sage advice.  You're welcome!

"Alright do you want a sweet salad? more savory? I would go with either a romaine/spring mix blend with beets, pistachios, apple, pear and goat cheese OR romain/spring mix with cherry tomatoes, hearts of palm, artichoke hearts, olives, feta. Dressing for the first: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, honey, salt and pepper. Dressing for 2: olive oil and balsamic glaze drizzled over top." 

banana bread bliss.

Uh. I don't even know how to start this, so let me just go ahead and say it. I just made some of the best banana bread ever. Seriously. It is so good! Thank god I did not make two loaves. I am afraid what I would do by myself in this apartment with a whole loaf to myself! And thankfully, I had promised our tech guy at the office that I would bake something for him and I thus can't eat it all. Go buy yourself some bananas and make it. I am including some pictures of my glorious bread and the recipe below (I found it a while back on A Cup of Jo). 

Ingredients: 
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups mashed ripe bananas (from about 3 bananas)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons bourbon
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chunks

• Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8x4-inch or 9x5-inch loaf pan. Set aside. 
• In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. 
• In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. 
• Add eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute between each addition. Stop the mixer, scrape down sides of the bowl, and add bananas, lemon juice and bourbon. Beat until well incorporated. 
• Turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture all at once. Beat until almost incorporated. Stop the mixer and remove the bowl. Add the walnuts and chocolate chips and incorporate the last of the ingredients with a spatula. 
• Batter will be thick. Spoon the mixture into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.