Fair warning: this is a tough one to make. But, that said, it is well worth it for a special day. In regards to giving you a taste review, I will follow up tomorrow, after the recipient has had a chance to enjoy it!
Posts tagged #recipes
An Attempt at New Year's Resolutions
I decided I should challenge myself for 2015 and attempt to go through my mom's recipe notebook and make all the recipes in it. I would also love to capture what happens throughout the process. There is a very good chance that a very good portion of those will go VERY poorly. Why you may ask? Read on to find out...
Family Recipes I Cherish | Banitsa
The recipe for one of my favorite Bulgarian traditions for New Years - banitsa with fortunes. Adapted for the American wheat fillo I could find in the store!
Back to Basics | Mom's Cake
After a long and exhausting week, going back to the old days of mom making my favorite cake is exactly what one needs. And since mom is about 5,000 miles away, the next best thing is making the cake myself! A great and easy recipe to sweeten anyone's day...
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups of sugar
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- Raw almonds
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, beat eggs and sugar for about 3 minutes. In a small bowl, combine yogurt and baking soda. Add yogurt to eggs and sugar and continue beating. Add oil. Lastly, add flour and baking powder, one cup at a time and beating continuously until well blended. Sprinkle almonds on top.
Prepare your pans by greasing them and dusting them with flour. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Just make sure you don't open the oven for the first 20 minutes or else they will deflate! Enjoy!
Pins to Inspire: Jan 28 | 14
This Week's Inspiration via Pinterest
- An inspiration display system that is so simple, it's genius.
- A DIY display rack that seems like a great and fun project for the office.
- These stuffed animals make me wish I still collected stuff animals.
- DIY night stands that are practical and beautifully simple.
- Cozy texture and color combination for a winter outfit.
- Beautiful styling of some mini layered cakes.
- Oh, happy feet!
- A clever AND pretty solution to any cord mess.
- A beautiful way to keep your recipes organized and handy while cooking.
Stay warm, friends, and Happy Tuesday!
Brie & Pear Crescent Rolls
Ingredients
Brie Cheese
Crescent Rolls
Halved Pecans
Honey
Pear
An Easy and Delicious Appetizer
I found the recipe for these crescent rolls on Pinterest and I thought they would be a nice and quick appetizer for any occasion. The original recipe calls for apples, but as I was grocery shopping, I just couldn't resist the pears and I thought they would make a great pairing with the cheese.
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°. Roll out the crescent rolls on a baking sheet. Peel and cut pear in half then slice into 1/4" pieces. On top of the wide side of the crescent roll, layer a piece of brie, a piece of pear, top with two pecan halves and drizzle with honey. Roll the crescent rolls and bake for 10 to 12 minutes until golden.
Try with a glass of Chardonnay and enjoy!
Rosemary and Toasted-Caraway Shortbread
Ingredients
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½” pieces
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary, plus whole leaves
1 large egg, beaten to blend
Coarse sanding sugar (for sprinkling)
Over the winter break, I made these rosemary shortbread cookies for a second time (the first time was for Thanksgiving) and they came out as delicious as ever. Until I tried this recipe, I had never made cookies that combine rosemary and caraway seeds (for some reason, I always thought it was a meat spice?!?). And even though the spice combination is rather unexpected, the resulting taste is really refreshing! Double bonus points for how easy they are to make!
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°. Toast caraway seeds in a small dry skillet over medium-high heat, tossing occasionally, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Coarsely chop; set aside.
Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, and salt until very light and fluffy, 7–10 minutes (beating air into butter makes for tender shortbread). Reduce speed to low and add flour, caraway, and 2 tsp. chopped rosemary; mix just to combine. Dough will look shaggy and a little dry (it’s not!).
Press dough into two 8”-diameter cake pans. Brush with egg, sprinkle with sanding sugar, and top with rosemary leaves.
Bake until shortbread is golden brown and sides pull away from pan, 20–25 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let cool in pan before turning out and cutting into wedges or bars.
Do Ahead
Shortbread dough can be made 1 month ahead; wrap tightly and freeze. Shortbread can be baked 1 week ahead; store wrapped tightly at room temperature.
A few months back, a co-worker of mine convinced me to join my company's Spartan Race team. He didn't talk it up much: he mentioned it's a long-ish run with a few fun obstacles. You know, no big deal. Something someone who runs as much as me should complete more than easily (read, you don't really need to train for it). Ha ha ha.