I can’t walk past an Anthropologie without going in. Fact of life. Moth to a flame and all that. Anyway, during one of our recent pit stops into the Santa Monica location, we spotted this book and had. to. have. The KitchenAid ice cream maker needs some love! But we didn’t buy it from Anthropologie. Cuz we’re cheap. We got it from Amazon for like half the price.
So. The ice cream. We made the Sweet Corn and Black Raspberry first. It was insane. Corn ice cream might sound kinda weird but it was amazing. Sweet and creamy, with a ribbon of sweet-tart raspberry sauce.
We’ve got plans for many, many more batches of ice cream. Check out some of the flavors on Jeni’s website. Anyone want to come share a pint?
- Jessica
These delicious coconut sandwich cookies made me the queen of the office today. Thank you, Martha!
A couple weeks ago, we grabbed Martha’s Holiday Cookies magazine from the grocery store on a whim, and I’ve slowly been baking my way through it. Today’s tasty treats received rave reviews… in fact I think they might possibly be the best cookies I’ve ever made, ever…
Continue reading…
My mom tore this recipe out of a Sunset magazine back in 1997, and she’s been making this apple crisp ever since. The recipe came from the bakery at the Los Rios Ranch apple farm in Oak Glen, CA… a tiny speck on the map about 250 miles north of San Francisco. It’s been a family favorite for years, and I bet it will become a favorite in your family, too!
Continue reading…
It was getting close to 8:00 and we still hadn’t even started thinking about dinner. We walked to the grocery store (it’s basically right behind our house) and walked around somewhat aimlessly, picking up a few of the essentials as we roamed the aisles.
“Know what sounds good?” I asked, rhetorically. “…breakfast for dinner.”
And we figured if we were going to cook up some bacon and eggs anyway, we might as well go the extra step and make breakfast sandwiches. You know, because we have this thing for sandwiches. So we grabbed some maple bacon, cheddar cheese, and sourdough (already had eggs at home). Twenty minutes later we had toasty melty bacon-y goodness. It was awesome.
That is all.
- Jessica
Still not perfect, but definitely better. I think this recipe might be my winner. I overbaked them just slightly, but the color, flavor, and texture were an improvement over my last attempt. And the vanilla bean cream cheese frosting is AMAZING. If I add just a little extra buttermilk and take the cupcakes out of the oven a bit earlier, I think I’ll be golden. It was also one of my first attempts with a pastry bag, which definitely helped in terms of presentation, but maybe I’ll play around with the different tips to see if one of them results in a prettier shape.
Anyone want to come help us eat these? ‘Cuz all this experimenting is so not good for our waistlines….
- Jessica
Let me be clear. I’m a fairly skilled baker. My cupcakes/cookies/pies/bars are consistently met with resounding praise at both my office and my husband’s.
But for some reason I just can’t crack the code of Red Velvet. And it’s supposed to be in my blood! My grandma is WAY more Southern than Paula Deen. She cooks with just as much butter, and she doesn’t have a fake tan. So there.
Anyway, I don’t get this. I used this recipe, and based on all the stellar reviews I thought I had found a winner. After limited success with other recipes in the past, I was pretty excited about this one. But I just took a bit of my finished product and… meh. What happened? Was it because I used 1% milk instead of whole? It was such a small amount, so it shouldn’t have made much of a difference. Maybe it was because it’s crazy hot in L.A. tonight and I could barely distinguish between the temperature in my kitchen and the internal temperature of my oven. Don’t get me wrong, they’re still pretty tasty. But that perfectly moist, chocolatey, deep red cupcake– true red velvet–eludes me. And I kinda sorta promised I would make red velvet cupcakes for a friend’s wedding. What was I thinking?!
So I need your help. If you’ve had success with a red velvet recipe, please share! I know someone out there has to have a good one. I have about a month to experiment.
Thanks y’all!!!
- Jessica
P.S. the cupcake pictured above is not one of mine. It’s actually from the kitchen sink blog, and Kristin used Chockylit’s recipe… which looks like it might be a contender. It’s backed by a lot of research! But I’ll wait to hear from you guys first…
The combination might sound a little odd, but the result is surprisingly yummy! It’s creamy yet refreshing, slightly earthy and not too sweet. The color is lovely. Plus it’s kinda healthy! Avocados have omega-3s, so you can justify the indulgence (sort of).
Continue reading…
Our dear friend Jennifer made a special request for my coconut cream pie recipe, so here it is! This pie was surprisingly easy to make and pretty darn delicious. I do have to say, though, that it’s even better after being refrigerated overnight. Enjoy!
Continue reading…
So these are the cookies I tweeted about yesterday. Dark Chocolate + Caramel + Sea Salt. For the love of all things good and holy you must make them. But don’t say I didn’t warn you about the inevitable gut bomb you will experience after you indulge. You have no power against it.
Continue reading…
Every month I look forward to getting my Real Simple magazine. Yeah, I know it’s meant for 40-year-old ladies with kids. Call me an old soul. I don’t care. I love me some Real Simple. Remember that episode of Parks and Rec where the whole office goes hunting and Ann just goes so she can “get her Real Simple magazine on”? She went up like 10 points in my book, right there.
What, you guys don’t watch Parks and Rec? …You’re missing out on life.
Aaaaanyway, there’s a really yummy easy recipe in the June issue and I thought I’d share it with you…
Continue reading…
