If you open my cupboards you will find boring black plates and bowls- and then peeking out from the black a random pink heart plate and a red heart bowl. Completely random, but they were a Valentine’s Day gift from my sister circa 2011 that still perfectly perk up my collection, that I really love. Sometimes, those silly unexpected gifts can be the very best. (The day those cheap Target keepsakes crack will be a sad, sad day.)
Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love, but not just the love between you and your man. Sometimes, your girls need some love, too. Here are some fun finds: 1.Paper to Petal – A fun craft book and flowers that wont die. Win win. 2.Fun socks from Target, that she can rock all year long. 3. These Sephora fragrance samplers are awesome. Not only will all of those little bottles last you quite awhile, but when they are gone you can take your favorite it and swap it out for a FULL bottle! 4. Mugs are my favorite, and I’m swooning over these two from West Elm. Check out those dreamy handles! 5. A pretty, girly scarf that wont break the bank. 6. If you are looking for something really special check out Whimsy and Spice’s Valentines Day gift box filled to the brim with their famous sweets.
When it comes to sweets and especially baking of any kind Shan is by far your girl. When it comes to a dessert that feels more like cooking with no precise measurements or exact timing, I can handle that (most of the time). This dish combines the simplest of ingredients into something sophisticated and sexy. Honey, cheese and fruit – add a glass of wine and what more would a person need? Someone to share this pretty little dessert with of course.
Obviously the star of this dish is the pear. Be sure to select a ripe yet firm piece of fruit. As far as the honey is concerned if you happen to have an exotic flavor on hand this would be the time to use it. I have a collection of Waxing Kara honeys whom Alicia from Sophie Design Boutique so graciously sent me. They are incredibly delicate in flavor, worth saving every drop for a dish as elegant as this is.
This is a simple matter of halving, coring and roasting a bit. Trust me, this is ridiculously easy.
How cute are those little pear halves snuggled up to each other?
Roasting anything in balsamic vinegar has to be good. The smell alone is worth the trouble.
Just looking at these images have me salivating. I cannot begin to explain my love of a dish like this. The creamy ricotta with the warm and sweet roasted pear is an amazing combination on it’s own. But then there’s that honey, it flirts with the cheese and fruit while the black pepper adds just a bit of spice. A seductive way to end a meal with your favorite person.
Preheat oven to 400°. Put butter into a glass loaf pan and bake until just melted, 2 to 3 minutes.
Swirl butter in the dish to coat the bottom completely, then arrange pears, cut sides down, in a single layer in the dish. Roast until tender, about 20 minutes. Gently turn over pears, drizzle vinegar over top, and roast until very tender, 15 to 20 minutes more. I knife should easily insert when done.
Transfer pears to serving plates, spooning a bit of the ricotta alongside each. Spoon over some of the cooking juices, drizzle pears and ricotta with honey, sprinkle pepper to taste, and serve.
Gnocchi has been on my “learn to make” list for as long as I can remember. Now that I have had a go at it all I can ask myself is why on earth I have not been making this for years? This was a happy place for me. The something missing in my bag of stress relieving tools. Welcome to my life gnocchi, we will be visiting often.
This dish has to be one of the most unassuming yet divine things I have created. Take a look at those ingredients. Nothing crazy, nothing hard to find. Looks like a winner already to me.
I have to admit I am a virgin at baking my pricked potatoes on a bed of kosher salt. The salt draws out the moisture to ensure these spuds are nice and dry for light and fluffy dough making. Don’t skip this step.
The recipe calls for sending your potatoes through a ricer or foodmill. I own neither and really that’s fine because I do not need more things in my kitchen. Knowing there had to be an alternative I did a little research a voilà – cheese grater works! And it did, fabulously.
There are quite a few steps in gnocchi making but I promise they are all simple (go back and look at those ingredients). Like most doughs you do not want to overwork it or add too much flour. As soon as a smooth dough forms you need to stop. Don’t knead one or two more times for safe measure. Your dough will become dense and the gnocchi will not be the perfect little pillows of potato pasta they should be.
Dough snakes – why didn’t anyone ever tell me how fun it is to make dough snakes?! Let’s be honest, I should have known. This is the cooking equivalent to Playdo snakes after all.
There’s those pillows. By this point you will be feeling giddy and anxious. It’s a good thing, I promise.
As if making gnocchi wasn’t enough there is brown butter to savor. That smell, just as it turns nutty – heaven.
Throwing my gnocchi in the boiling water had me a little nervous. What if they don’t float was the biggest concern. They did, and I 1-Mississippi’ed, 2-Mississippi’ed my way to 30.
Sage and brown butter sauce is a simple recipe I have encountered many times yet for whatever reason had not tried till making this gnocchi. It’s the perfect way to coat the gnocchi without taking away the simplicity of the dish. Sometimes less is more, the Italians do that best with their cooking and we should thank them everyday for that.
Don’t you want to dive in? With the exception that I could not drink the wine this little bowl of pasta is an ideal meal in my book.
Valentine’s day is looming which means romance is in the air. This was specifically made with a dinner for two in mind. Start off with a caprese salad of sliced fresh mozzerella, tomatoes and fresh basil (drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar) and you have a satisfying yet not too heavy meal to romance your main squeeze with. What about dessert you ask? No worries, I’ve got you covered. Stay tuned later today for something just as simple and even a little sexy for the final act of your feast.
¾ cup plus ¼ cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 large egg
For the sauce:
3 tablespoons salted butter
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 sage leaves, thinly sliced
½ cup shaved and/or coarsely grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Pour a mound of kosher salt onto a rimmed baking sheet. Prick the potatoes all over with a fork and nestle them in the salt; this prevents the potatoes from browning and draws out their moisture. Bake the potatoes until fork-tender, about 90 minutes. Let sit until just cool enough to handle (this is very important).
Halve the potatoes lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a potato ricer; discard the skin. Press the flesh through the ricer, foodmill or large slot cheese grater onto a floured counter or cutting board; let cool 3 to 4 minutes.
Spread out the potatoes slightly. Beat the egg with ½ teaspoon salt in a small bowl and drizzle over the potatoes.
Sprinkle the potato mixture with ¾ cup flour and knead until a smooth dough forms, adding up to ¼ cup more flour if the dough is sticky. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest 10 minutes.
Lightly flour your surface. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll into "snakes," about ½ inch in diameter. Cut into ½-to-1-inch lengths with a butter knife; transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and lightly dust with flour.
Make the sauce: Melt the butter in a large skillet over high heat. Cook, stirring, until the butter develops brown flecks and smells nutty. Watch it closely to keep the butter solids from burning. Remove from the heat.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the gnocchi; wait until they float to the surface, then simmer 30 more seconds. (Taste one to make sure it's cooked through - should not taste raw potato or flour.) Return the brown butter to medium-low heat. Scoop the gnocchi from the pot with a spider or slotted spoon, transfer to the skillet and toss until some of the brown-butter flecks stick to the gnocchi. Add the red pepper flakes, sage and a few tablespoons of the gnocchi cooking water; toss again. Remove from the heat and add half of the cheese. Divide among bowls and top with the remaining cheese.
I’m finding all sorts of uses for my empty MessMakerBaker jam jars. Last week it was Valentines day crafts, and this week it is these sweet little servings of pudding! Banana pudding is about as American as apple pie, and it’s certainly easier. All alone, those nilla wafers are (in my opinion) gag-worthy, but add some heavenly fluff and they are a perfect match. We came across this recipe last week on Ring Finger Tan Line, a blog we have both come to love due to her witty humor and brutal honesty. Her version included caramel sauce, and I was hoping mine would too- but three failed caramel recipes later, I threw my white flag. They would have to be fabulous, sans caramel. (Don’t worry, they were. Although, the caramel sauce would have really put these over the edge!) It was one of those strange nights where you mess up everything you make (and for me, question if I should really be telling other people how to bake, with steam coming out of my ears in frustration.) I have made caramel several times in the past, but on this particular night it was just not in the cards for me. I’m just glad that the pudding made it out alive.
In your mixer, beat sweetened condensed milk and water for a minute or so, and then add the pudding mix and beat for two more minutes.
Transfer to a smaller bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
In a large bowl on medium speed, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the pudding mixture until combined.
In a large bowl, or whatever you choose to serve your pudding in, layer the wafers, bananas, and pudding. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 8 hours before serving.
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Insert spoon. Devour.
Seriously, these are little. Go have another.
We have covered many diy masks in almost a year of this blog. All I have loved for various reasons, all worth using again and again. I hate to say that I have a favorite but admittedly I do and this would be the one.
Raw honey by itself makes for one fantastic mask. I will spare you the thorough science of why it is so great (because quite honestly I don’t get it myself) but I do know it contains antibacterial agents which combat acne as well as reduces redness and leaves skin feeling hydrated. What I didn’t know is that by simply adding cinnamon to your honey you tremendously boost the acne fighting power. Clear, hydrated, glowing skin – who doesn’t love the sound of that?
Before you go and rub some honey and cinnamon on your face, there are a couple of things you should know. First of all not all honey is created equal. I highly recommend local raw honey. Check out health food stores as well as farmer’s markets for your best selection. Secondly, we are unfortunately not all fit for this mask. Some people have sensitive skin that will react in defiance to this combination so testing on a small, discreet area is very much suggested. Otherwise you may end up looking like Kelly did when she used Screech’s anti-acne miracle cream (really showing my age here but seriously, they just don’t make good tween programming like Saved by the Bell anymore):
Now that you have your raw honey (and have tested your skin) you can make your mask. This could not be any simpler:
1 tablespoon of raw local honey
1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Mix ingredients in shallow dish.
Using your fingers apply mask to clean dry face.
Leave on for at least 15 minutes, 30 would be even better.
Rinse and enjoy the silkiness.
For me using this mask before bed works best but you could easily apply in the morning as well. It is a little sticky and may drip so be sure wrap a towel around your shoulders. As long as your skin is not sensitive this could be used daily, twice daily if you are trying to fight some really stubborn acne. For routine maintenance though, 3 times a week should be sufficient.
