If you’ve watched the Grand Budapest Hotel, you’ll remember a very desirable dessert called Courtesan Au Chocolat. It looks regal and elegant and fragile. Believe it or not, it’s a pretty heart dessert, but elegant all the same.
Many people debate about what makes a great hamburger. I recently learned from my southern friends that Duke’s mayonnaise is the only mayonnaise to use on a hamburger or any sandwich ever. After being challenged to try it, I’ll say they are right. Why is Duke’s mayonnaise so good? Anyway, no matter what secret ingredients people swear by, I think we all can agree it’s the small touches that take a hamburger from good to amazing.
Do yourself a favor. Go to the flea market or Home Goods or whatever and buy yourself a small, 8 inch cast iron pan. Do it for no other reason than to make yourself a giant cookie. If you want to be fancy, make sure you also have some vanilla ice cream to put on top.
Holiday recipes are not exactly designed with nutrition in mind. And why should they be? Live a little! Still, you need to get those vitamins in during the cold winter months. Potatoes and Squash Au Gratin is the perfect solution – just douse those vitamins with starch and cheese. Problem solved.
I’m feeling pretty done for the holiday season with make things from scratch. Thank goodness for The Fresh Market. They have so many items that require little to no prep, and look amazing for all your holiday needs. And, they have one of my absolutely most favorite things: ready-made baked brie in puff pastry. It’s the best!
This beef kofta dish melts in your mouth and sticks to your ribs. It’s the kind of dish that you want seconds and thirds, but have to be careful – it can be a bit heavy! The flavors and smells of beef kofta brings be back to a time of utter independence.
What’s better than a bundt cake? I mean, I love making these extravagant layer cakes – LOVE! It’s an art. It takes skill. But sometimes, you just don’t have the time to do artwork. Or maybe you did, and it just didn’t turn out. Hello, bundt cake! Even better, let’s boogie with a chocolate chip bundt cake. Mix the ingredients, pour in a bundt pan, bake. It looks beautiful!
Low on cash, time and skills? This pan-fried chicken recipe has got your number! Confession: I’m not a chicken thigh lover. I’m just not. I can enjoy a chicken leg every once in a while, but for the most part, I’m a chicken breast sort of girl. However, I love the way dark meat pieces look when seared in a cast iron pan. It’s so elegant-looking, and yet it has that farmhouse chic thing going for it.
Pies are a thing of beauty, and it seems they are so hard to make. You have to do the crust just right. Maybe you want to par-bake the crust first, maybe no, who knows? The filling is typically pretty easy, but you have to do something fancy on top. Then you put it in the oven and just hope and pray nothing moves and everything browns evenly. Then the pie has to cool, and when it finally does, you cut into it with bated breath, and oh no. It’s all soupy inside. *sad face* Enter individual apple pies.
Is there anything better than a warm cinnamon roll? And what else could be more appropriate during these divine Autumn days then pumpkin cinnamon rolls? Autumn in North Carolina is a childhood dream come true. Leaves, smells, scarves and pumpkin everything make my heart happy. After living here a while, I realize that autumn is so much more than a California girl’s seasonal dreams. The humidity and the mosquitoes go away. That means more time outside with your family, more memories to make.
