Looking Forward To It

I was flipping through Country Living (like the new size, wish they chose another font though) and I saw that there are three new cookbooks that I simply must have...

First up, is Ina Garten aka Barefoot Contessa's How Easy Is That? I love her. Many of you might remember my telling the story of how I got so excited when I saw her husband in Laguardia. I almost ran up to him just to have him tell his wife that a crazy girl with a southern accent loves her. Comes out in October.

Second is Sarabeth's Bakery. I love Sarabeth's in NYC and this is supposed to contain many of her excellent pastry recipes. Comes out in mid-October.

Third is one called Harvest to Heat which features the recipes of some famous chefs with a focus on using local ingredients and artisans. I think this is an excellent way to put emphasis on eating locally and paying attention to where your food comes from and how much energy is expended to get the food from the source to your table. This one is already out.

Can't wait to pick them all up!

I Want To Go See...

The Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen at MOMA in NYC.

via

It is an exhibit on the evolution of the kitchen in the 20th century from kitchens hidden in basements to the centerpiece of the home as it is today.

Check it out here. Runs until March. Hopefully I will be there before March to see it.

Key Lime Cupcakes... Yum!

Last week I posted about these delicious cupcakes...

I told Chris to choose which ones he wanted out of the three recipes I posted and he selected the Graham Cracker Cupcakes with Key Lime Icing. I made them on Friday and they are delicious. It is the oddest recipe for cake EVER but it turns out great and they are delicious.

Cookbook Roundup

Part of my new focus on life has been simplification. I think that goes to all elements of life including material things. Clutter is stressful so I try to reduce that as much as possible.

Several years ago I was a cookbook fanatic. I bought tons of cookbooks. I had stacks and stacks. After we moved into our house and subsequently didn't sell it like we planned, I decided that I have make do with the limited storage I have. My stacks of cookbooks had to go.

I narrowed those cookbooks down with one rule in mind. If there are less than 5 recipes in the cookbook I use, then I type the recipes into my computer (I use MacGourmet) and sell the cookbook on ebay or at a bi-annual consignment sale.

Obviously too I have had to curb my cookbook buying. Now with all of the online recipe resources I can find most recipes online and I reserve my cookbook buying to particularly special books.

As you can tell, I still have quite a few favorite cookbooks lining my bookshelves. These are my favorites:

Anything by Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa)

Paula Deen Celebrates

Nigella Bites

How to Be a Domestic Goddess

Martha Stewart's Cooking School

Anything by Elie Krieger

The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone

Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child

How about you? What are your faves?

How do you quell your material obsessions like books or cookbooks?

Sweet Corn Pasta

Friday night I had my aunt and uncle over for one of my signature dishes, Sweet Corn Pasta.

This is probably my favorite thing to make in the summer and especially when corn is at its freshest. It is an adaptation of this recipe from Union Square Cafe in NYC. I highly recommend it. It's delicious!

Cupcakes!

Today I am at home under the horrible tyranny of my endless stomach issues so I had a lot of time to be on the internet and while I was visiting Deliciously Organized I heard about Bake N Blog. Staci Edwards enlisted her fellow bloggers to make these amazing cupcakes from Ming Makes Cupcakes. Don't these look amazing!

I want to make all of these immediately but I am definitely going to try at least one this weekend. What about you? Don't these make you want to start baking?

Martha Stewart Cooking School: Pasta Marinara

So I bet you guys had forgotten by quest to cook my way through Martha Stewart's Cooking School. If you did forget you are not alone because I forgot too. It dawned on me this week that it has been months since I cooked anything out of that cookbook. I decided to change that.

I have always wanted to make my own red sauce. A good one. I decided a good place to start was Martha's Marinara Recipe.

And here's the finished product. It was super easy with just tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. It was delicious too.

Happy Weekend!

Recipe: Strawberry Icing

This is going to be short because my arms are aching from being beat to death by Jillian Michaels via DVD.

I made chocolate cupcakes with strawberry icing for Mother's Day and I have to say that the icing was amazing. It's tastes just like strawberry ice cream. Here it is...

Strawberry Icing

2 Sticks Butter, Softened

3.5-4 Cups Confectioner's Sugar

5 large Strawberries, quartered

Milk

In the bowl of a blender or food processer, add the strawberries and pulse until pureed. Strain through a fine mesh sieves to remove any seeds. Set aside.

Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the strawberry puree and then the sugar, 1 cup at a time until it hits the desired consistency. If the frosting isn't creamy add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until creamy.

A Surprise Party

Friday night my sister and threw a very small surprise party for my mom who is turning... well it's her birthday we will just say that. We did everything ourselves and unfortunately I did not take good pictures of the party. I was so busy and then once everyone got there I completely forgot. Anyway, here are a few of the party.

We used this cute garland from Martha Stewart. Excuse the picture it was taken by a 7 year old. She was more on top of the picture situation than I was.

We also used these pom poms from Martha Stewart. We hung them in front of the windows outside and placed a few around the house.

This is the menu.

Here are a few recipes. Now of course I didn't take any pics of the food either but I searched online for some similar photos.

Cucumber Sandwiches

1 Loaf of White Bread

8 oz Cream Cheese

1 1/2 Tbl Mrs. Dash Original Seasoning (don't judge me)

1 Cucumber, Sliced Thin

Using a round cookie cutter, cut the bread into circles that are a similar diameter to your cucumber. Set aside. In a small food processor, combine the cream cheese and Mrs. Dash until well blended. You can add more dependent on taste. Spread the cream cheese mixture on one side of the bread and top with a cucumber. Voila!

Mar-a-lago Key Lime Pie

Oprah featured this recipe a few months ago and I have been dying to make it every since.

Check it out here!

Recipe: Drunken Spaghetti

This is one of my favorite red sauces. It's adapted from Ina Garten's red sauce in her Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe that is available on her site. It's vegan (check the wine you use) and delicious....

1 Yellow Onion, chopped

2 Cloves of Garlic, minced

Olive Oil

1 Cup Chianti

28 oz. Can of Crushed Tomatoes

1 Tbl Fresh Oregano, chopped

1 Tsp Fresh Thyme, chopped

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Salt (optional)

Pinch of Sugar

Basil, chiffonade, for garnish

In a large saute pan, heat 1-2 Tbl Olive Oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook 3-5 minutes until onion is soft. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the Chianti and bring to a simmer and cook until almost all liquid is dissolved. Add the tomatoes, reduce heat to low and bring to a bubble. Stir in the herbs and salt and pepper. Once the sauce has reached the desired taste. Add a pinch of sugar. Serve with your favorite long pasta and garnish with basil.

Vegan Recipe: No Bake Cookies

Truth be told, I have had a hard time on my vegan journey in the past two weeks. I grew really bored of the food I had depended on to get me through the first month and I found myself cheating. A lot. I have decided that to get back on track I need to change up what I am eating and focus on converting some of my favorite treats and recipes. I really found myself needing something to satisfy my sweet tooth. I went online and found a recipe for no bake cookies. The recipe was horrible! The good thing was I immediately made my own cookies and invented a brand new recipe that is super easy and really good.

Notes on the Recipe: You can substitute soy milk for rice milk. As for the sugar, try to use some sort of vegan sugar. Maple sugar is good. If you want to be bad, use white sugar. It will work the same.

I Have Conquered!

I am proud to say I knocked another of my Before 30 To Dos off of my list. All vegans avert your eyes! I made Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon. No kidding. I did it. It took for-ev-er but I did it.

My family was nice enough to eat lunch at 2:30 PM although I started cooking at 10 and it was delicious I must say. All of that work and the layering of flavors really pays off. I have to say it's a lot of work but not nearly as difficult as I anticipated. It just takes patience.

I decided in order to reduce the possibility of a meltdown I would have everything sliced, diced, minced, mashed and dried before I even started and that made the cooking much easier. Julia is sneaky though. There are actually two shorter additional recipes that you have to cook for the Boeuf Bourguignon but they aren't too hard and just take a bit of time.

Anyway, I am proud to say after using every mixing bowl, spatula and dish towel I have I made Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon!

On a side note, I was so excited this weekend when I found my blog mentioned on one of the HGTV blogs! So exciting. Now it was simply a quick link and mention on a post I did about tiffany blue rooms several months ago but super exciting nonetheless!

The New Lonny Is Out! Yay!

I hit 200 followers on the blog! Yay!

Have a Happy Monday!

Easter Lunch Recipes

Chris and I enjoyed a small Easter lunch with our immediate family. Here are two recipes that are our Easter lunch standards:

Disclaimer- not vegan recipes, at all. Lots of dairy ahead. :)

Let me preface this by saying I have magical asparagus powers but these are my tips to have pretty green crisp asparagus.

Step 1. Hold the asparagus by the tips with two hands. Press your thumb onto the underpart of the asparagus and bench the asparagus until is breaks. Line that piece of asparagus up with the remainder of your asparagus and cut the ends off of the asparagus according to the piece you just snapped.

Step 2. In a wide shallow saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Meanwhile, fill a large mixing bowl with water and ice and sit next to the stove.

Step 3. Once the water is boiling, working in batches if necessary, add the asparagus to the water. Cook for 3-4 minutes. After a couple of minutes the asparagus will turn and intense green color.

Step 4. Pull it from the water and plunge it into the ice bath. This will halt the cooking.

Step 5. Assemble on a plate. You can sprinkle it was kosher salt and serve or you can serve it with hollandaise. ENJOY!

Now onto recipe #2.

Let me preface this by saying, this recipe is a total cheat but just don't tell anyone and gladly accept the praise for this easy semi-homemade recipe. This is my husband's favorite dessert so I devised this recipe to make it much easier on myself.

INGREDIENTS

1 Store Bought Pound Cake, cut into cubes

Large container of strawberries, sliced

Juice of 1/2 Lemon

1/3 Cup Sugar

1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar

8 oz. Heavy Whipping Cream

The evening prior (if serving for lunch) or the morning of (if serving for dinner), combine the strawberries, lemon juice and 1/3 granulated sugar in a mixing bowl. Stir until combined. Place in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 4 hours. Stir every few hours if can.

In the end it will look like this.

Combine the powdered sugar and whipped cream in a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

In a trifle dish (or in individual goblets), place one layer of the cubed pound cake. Top with 1/2 of the strawberry mixture making sure to add half of the juice. Top with one half of the whipped cream. Repeat with remaining pound cake, strawberries and whipped cream. Garnish with a strawberry or mint.

You can serve it immediately but if you let it sit for 1-2 hours it will be even better.

Recipe: Lemon Basil Shrimp

I am working on becoming a semi-vegan (still eating seafood). Mainly I am trying to cut out all red meat, chicken, pork and dairy. I created this incredibly simple recipe last weekend and it's super fast and really good. You can serve it over quinoa, orzo, whole grain pasta or rice.

Lemon Basil Shrimp

Serves 2

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

4 Thin Slices of Lemon

1 Pound Shrimp, shelled and deveined

2 Cloves of Garlic, minced

Salt

Pepper

Chopped Basil for Garnish

Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the slices of lemon and shrimp. Add minced garlic. Cook until shrimp is pink. Do not overcook. Add salt and pepper to taste. Move to bowl or use to top pasta or rice. Sprinkle with basil.

The Best Cookies Ever

If you've ever stayed at a Doubletree Hotel you know about those amazing cookies they give you at check in. (Yeah I know I'm giving up sugar) Anyway, they are amazing. I went online on a quest to find the recipe and it turns out the recipe is a pretty well guarded secret; however, I found this recipe at FoodGeeks and it's pretty close. Try it. They are amazing.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 C Rolled Oats

2 1/4 C All Purpose Flour

1 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tsp Salt

1/4 Tsp Cinnamon

1 C Butter, Softened

3/4 C Brown Sugar, Packed

3/4 C Granulated Sugar

1 1/2 Tsp Vanilla

1/2 Tsp Lemon Juice

2 Eggs

3 C Semisweet Chocolate Chips

1 C Chopped Walnuts

In a small food processor, pulse the rolled oats until ground. In a medium bowl, mix the oats, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, sugars, vanilla and lemon juice until well blended. Add the eggs one at a time. Stir in the dry ingredients. By hand, stir in the Chocolate Chips and Walnuts. Refrigerate dough (overnight is best, but 30 minutes will do the trick). Roll into large balls (about 1/4 cup each). Place on a silpat or greased baking sheet. Bake 16 minutes or until golden brown but soft. Keep in an airtight container.

Delicious!

Entertaining Essentials

I have a little entertaining drawer. My goal is to fill it with anything and everything I can possibly need to entertain. When I was in law school we had a dinner club with some friends and I remember being so stressed out every time we had to host because I didn't have everything I needed. Over the past year and I half I have loaded up on pretty good arsenal of entertaining supplies. Although I could still use a few more things.

We entertain pretty regularly. We have friends or family over for dinner at least once or twice a month and I love it. But the reason I love to entertain is because I stick to basics. White plates. White and silver serving pieces. Fresh Flowers. It makes entertaining very easy. Here is what I use every time I entertain....

My entertaining drawer filled with serving utensils, pillar candles for candlesticks, filled votives (perfect for a tablescape), white napkins, cocktail napkins, barware, etc.

I have a good supply of red and white wine glasses.

White platters make food look so much better. I also love the small silver bowl from Pottery Barn and this big silver bowl was a wedding gift and perfect for bread. I love the footed pitcher.

Fresh Flowers in a pitcher or glass vase.

I still need to stock up on more items. I really want a few of these caterer's boxes from Pottery Barn filled with white plates and extra flatware.

What are your entertaining tips?