baby, it's cold outside.

It's supposed to be a chilly, windy and rainy 49 degrees in our neighbourhood this weekend.   I feel the need to stay under the covers with a toque and mittens for weather under 60 (how I survived 20 years of icy Canadian winters, I don't know) so I was ecstatic when my husband suggested we pick out a couple bottles of wine, hop on the couch and stay warm under the blankets for the weekend. 

Whatever your plans, wherever you are ... keep warm!

dinner for two.

Just a simple Tuesday night dinner for two, inspired by Elizabeth Bard.  I had no idea what I wanted for dinner when I stopped by the market after work so I picked up these ingredients intent on making shrimp tacos, spent a few minutes talking to my favorite market friend (I see him on a daily basis, sometimes twice) and headed home. At the last minute I switched out the tortillas for lettuce wrap, and served the dish with a side of Mexican rice. It's definitely a refreshing, tasty dinner that's easy to prepare on a weeknight, I highly recommend it!

btw... I have to admit that I switched out the corn tortillas I originally planned to make in favor of the lettuce wrap because I also made chocolate chip cookies and I wanted as much room as possible to enjoy a couple with a giant glass of milk.  I'm so full now they might have to wait until tomorrow, but at least I was thinking ahead. Right? 

cookie monster.

This is exactly how I feel today, all I want is a delicious cookie (or two) and a giant glass of milk.    Did you see the Muppets on Top Chef last week? Instantly one of my favorite quickfires because I love the Muppets, and as Anthony Bourdain (who I also love) said, it was fun watching "Angry Dale" being challenged by Cookie Monster.

sweet hearts.

I baked these cookies for Valentine's Day, but I'm always in the mood for a little love and sweetness so it's never too late to share these little cuties with you.  I was cooking for a group of preschoolers with a variety of food allergies, so I made these dairy & gluten free cookies using Cherrybrook Kitchen's gluten free sugar cookie mix, rice milk and vegan butter spread.  Using a smaller cookie cutter, I cut out a smaller heart in the middle of the cookie and filled it with a red dough I prepared and let sit for 30-40 minutes beforehand (The colored dough was easier to work with after sitting). I usually don't bake dairy free and I thought the results were pretty spectacular, almost reminiscent of my favorite Pillsbury sugar cookies. The texture was SO similar, you couldn't even tell it was food allergy friendly. I'm definitely going to try this mix again with a classic sugar cookie (including my favorite danish creamery butter, milk and a little bit of sugar sprinkled on top).  

Happy Friday :)

roasted beet salad.

Looking for a quick and simple salad to compliment your dinner?

Wrap 4 small beets in aluminum foil, roast in oven for 45 minutes at 400F. Sprinkle sugar over walnuts in a small skillet, stirring constantly until sugar begins to caramelize. Take beets out of the oven and allow to steam in the foil for 10 minutes before removing skins and slice beets into bite size pieces. Add goat cheese and candied walnuts to taste. 

An extra treat that's always fun? Using a mandoline, slice one of the beets into thin pieces and place at the bottom of the serving dish.

black swan.

I'm seriously tempted by these Alexander McQueen feather sandals I saw on gilt today, they're very black swan. What do you think?

image via gilt

bhldn.

Anthropologie launched their new bridal site BHDLN yesterday, and among the many things I've fallen in love with already (exhibits one, two, three and four), this necklace is on the top of my crush list.  I think I've found a new sweet spot and it makes me want to get married all over again. 

Will you marry me, again?

image via BHLDN

my kinda weekend.

It's always hard to get back into work mode on Monday, don't you agree? Especially after long leisurely weekends that include an impromptu drive up PCH to Neptune's Net for shrimp tacos, late night tapas at Cobras & Matadors, margarita's with a side of movie trivia, lots of time by the beach watching surfers and a couple of deliciously fantastic homemade meals.  It was definitely my kinda weekend, what was the highlight of yours?

happy valentine's :)

whoopie, it's Friday!

A quick post, because I spent way too much time enjoying dipping bread into the white wine sauce from the mussels we had as an appetizer tonight, and now it's time to catch up on some work. I wish you all a wonderful weekend, part of my mine will definitely involve enjoying a great meal (or two) and some quality time with my husband, and trying my hand at these Valentine Whoopie Pies that I found on foodgawker. Happy early Valentine's! xoxo ... naat. 

image via Tracey's Culinary Adventures.

chocolate chip almond biscotti.

Over the weekend I used this recipe for orange flavored biscotti that I found over at Cupcakes & Cashmere. This biscotti brings me back to my childhood, when I would find a Terry's milk chocolate orange in my stocking on Christmas morning, have you ever had one of those?  I loved breaking them open, but the orange & chocolate combination? Not so much.  However, every time I bite into one of these chocolate chip biscotti now, I wonder how it was ever possible to not love this combo!  

Notes:

• I started with 3 cups of Bisquick gluten free baking mix.  The recipe calls for 3 1/4 cups of all purpose flour, but I find I need to use less of the GF baking mix as a rule, and it's easier to add than take away.
• If you are making this with a GF mix, I would use a small pan and bake one loaf at a time.  The dough tends to spread out more than it's gluten-filled counterpart.
• I added 1/3 cup of mini chocolate chips to the batter along with the 1 cup of chopped almonds.

new york steak (with a balsamic marinade).

I'm a firm believer that food tastes better when prepared and enjoyed with good friends.  But there was a moment on Friday when I seriously questioned my belief after realizing I had offered to take charge of the main protein for dinner with two of our good friends and the words, "how does New York steak sound?" popped out of my mouth.  What was I thinking? I'd never cooked steak before, yet there I was standing at the butcher's counter reaching for the freshly packaged steaks I had just ordered.   I walked home (I love living that close to the market) wondering, "is it possible that even if a meal is horrible, can good company and a bottle of wine make it better?" After they were finished marinading I said a little prayer to the food gods, poured a glass of wine and hoped for the best.  After a satisfying mussel appetizer and a couple of good-natured jokes about takeout on speed dial, I plated the finished steaks and we sat down to eat the main course.  Whether it was the company or beginner's luck, the steaks were amazing (prepared medium) with fresh greens and a spicy shrimp & scallop ceviche.  Since we had leftover salad, yesterday I pan seared a tilapia fillet, added it to the tomato and asparagus greens and enjoyed a light post-workout lunch.  What do you do with leftovers after a big meal?

Some other highlights from the weekend? A horror movie marathon on Saturday (Dawn of the Dead and the 2004 remake of Nightmare on Elm St.), a new episode of Big Love, Spanish coffee at Urth and homemade chocolate chip biscotti (pics tomorrow). 

BTW... For the steak marinade I placed a small shallot, 5 cloves of garlic, soy sauce, butter and balsamic vinegar into a blender and blended on medium for 15-20 seconds.  I eyeballed the liquid ingredients and used about a 1/4 cup of melted butter to start.  As I blended the ingredients, I added more of the soy sauce, butter and balsamic vinegar as necessary for taste and texture.

t.g.i.f.

via Valley & Co.

Is it just me, or does this look ah-maz-ing? I spent some time perusing Food Gawker tonight and I'm currently debating which of these three recipes I want to make this weekend:

Cookie + Kate's Chocolate Macaroons

Smitten Kitchen's Almond Biscotti (dipped in chocolate)

Phodography's Chocolate Brioche

I need something to balance out all this chocolaty goodness, so I might try my hand at a lemon dessert as well (maybe a tart or a macaron). Check back on Monday to see what I came up with!


What are your plans for the weekend? 

blue & white.

While we were enjoying a rainy bike ride up PCH Sunday morning (above), my parents were waking up to the icicles left behind by the latest snow storm (below). I love how the color palettes in both pictures are so similar, despite the fact they were taken on opposite coasts in drastically different climates. I wouldn't mind waking up one morning to 30cm of snow, because you know what that means ... snow day! I am long overdue, by about 6 years, I wonder what my boss would say if I called out for a snow day tomorrow... 

soup on demand.

Every time I tell you about Wahoo's chicken tortilla soup, I can barely stay awake long enough to finish the soup let alone take a picture. I'm telling you, this tortilla soup is what you need if you have a cold/flu/allergies/rainy day blues/extra time on a Sunday to lounge around. On Sunday afternoon I was still recovering from our morning bike ride up PCH, so I took advantage of the rainy weather, went to Wahoo's for a cup of soup and ordered Sex and the City 2 on demand. Sadly, I was disappointed in the movie but the soup was wonderful (as always).  For those of you who don't live near a Wahoo's, I'll post my homemade version of the soup later this week.

btw... This is the blanket I mentioned here, I love the funky details on the blanket like the little gold buttons you see here.