there are just soooo many mouth-watering, finger-licking, nibble-icious blogs out there! how to choose… well, if you are anything like me, you just hit them all. here are a few of my very favorite sites for all things culinary and yum.
do you have favorite food blogs? do share. you can never have enough…
p.s. a big thank you to my devoted research assistant, ben. most of these came from his personal blog collection. mwah!
this was a great weekend. we had lots of sunshine and a lovely breeze.
and we kicked things off with big bowls of spicy goodness from good ol’ chipotle. that place is just so darn good. spice and flavor. and meat. oh, you tasty barbacoa, you.
and then, we wrapped up the weekend {and celebrated cinco de mayo} with a little fiesta with ben’s family. with refreshing homemade sorbet and everything! i’m talking mango + lime sorbet with a sprinkling of ancho chile powder to add some warmth. increíblemente deliciosa. what a relaxing day. street tacos and fresh salsas…oh yes, and hanging out with our baby girl. a baby girl who is looking older and older and less baby-ish each day. sigh.
as some of you may recall, my chef ben decided to set a new year’s resolution for himself - to become baker ben. he normally isn’t too keen on the baking arts. cooking fine cuisine, yes. making up tasty recipes, absolutely. but for some reason he has always left the baking up to me. not that he isn’t into baked goods. he is a cookie fiend. but, he prefers preparing a savory entrée over frosting a layer cake.
so, when he decided to take on the baking realm, naturally, he started with the tough stuff. delicate and intricate and temperamental macarons. way to ease into things, chef. and naturally {slash sickeningly} he killed it. i mean, he totally killed it. and as a result, i have eaten WAY TOO MANY of these little pretties. i can’t wait for the next round. baker ben said that he will make some intense chocolate for me so i expect those to last all of three hours.
{step 1}
create the candied grapefruit peel with star anise and vanilla bean
{step 2}
whip the egg whites to create the merengue and then gently fold in the other ingredients. including a perfectly measured amount of food coloring to create a vibrant pink-orange hue.
{step 3}
melt the white chocolate for the ganache. add in the campari to give it that citrus zing.
{step 4}
assemble the cookies
{step 5}
refrigerate the cookies for 24 hours to let the flavors meld.
AKA endure the brutal wait until you can FINALLY eat the long-awaited cookies. {darn those french and their delayed gratification} but let me say, it is more than worth the wait.
and then…you eat as many as you can handle before slipping into a sugar coma. amazing
oh brian malarkey. you culinary conceptual genius, you. thank you for gracing us with one of your restaurants here in the desert. we thank you.
so my hubby ate at the original searsucker when he was in san diego for his boys weekend. he came home and bragged about the best brunch ever. and yes, pregnant me was very jealous of his gastro good time. but then! we discovered that mr. malarkey would soon be opening a searsucker in scottsdale {insert happy dance here}. we waited for what felt like forever… long enough to have a baby even. and then we finally stopped by for some brunch. well, it was really something. totally lived up to all my man’s bragging.
so, when we were planning our sans baby date night for this week {thank you grandparents!} we decided to give te dinner menu at searsucker a go. good move, us. it was amazing. we didn’t even touch the real entrees, we just dabbled in small dish land. and oh my. so darn yummy. dare i say, scrumtrulescent? yes, i dare say that. we tried quite a few dishes and took our time savoring each one. so much fun. and so tasty. if you are a local…go here. and go here often. it will rock your world people.
here’s what we had:
house made cinnamon infused bourbon + lime + ginger beer + bitters
cheddar puffers
nuts + spice + salt
duck fat fries + tomato jam
chicken + waffle + frank’s
shrimp “spicy” + bacon grits
and p.s. the menu descriptions are deceptively simple…what lies underneath is total creativity and flavor complexity. i love that the menu is totally chill and then when you taste the dish it is like “woah!” for example: nuts + spice + salt = spice coated roasted nuts with a salty sweet, crunchy glaze. they were the yummiest nuts i have ever had. plain as that.
it is officially sunshiney time in arizona. yes, indeedy-do. and that is my sad little sunburned face. pink forehead. red lips. melasma cheeks {thank you residual pregnancy hormones} looking good lady, looking good.
this past saturday morning, i decided that i would take advantage of the gorgeous weather and go on an extended run. elinor was enjoying her heavy morning nap. and my sweet hubby was kind enough to hold down the fort so i could get some one-on-one time with the pavement. it was glorious. sunshine. cool breeze. vibrant blossoms. springtime scents. it was prefect. and 11 miles later, my legs were starting to get heavy and it was feeling really good with that runner’s high and all. plus, i had worked up a nice, cleansing sweat and soaked up some vitamin D.
oh, but silly me. i forgot that when you haven’t really soaked up any serious rays in months and months and months, anything longer than an hour in the sunshine will inevitable crisp you up pretty good. desert sun, you don’t mess around. and now, thanks to my lack of spf-ing, i have a super cool v-neck tan line AND a band on my left arm where my iPod was strapped on. so, i kind of look like i’m rocking a red and white body chevron pattern. nice.
a very happy monday to you. you know those weeks when you planned on getting a bunch of stuff done and then you realize that you have plans every night so you add it to the to-do list for the weekend and then the weekend arrives and somehow the days just fly by and then all of a sudden it is sunday evening and you are thinking hmmm…i should really check on my checklist…but, nah. it was kinda one of those weeks. so i feel like i am a bit behind already on this monday morning. but, that’s okay because we had a fabulous week and lived it up this weekend. but, don’t worry. i have big plans. i am coming for you, to-do list.
two very happy faces + a chocolate shake + a handsome man who takes his burger selection very seriously + a her burger + a him burger + a bag of to-go treats from sweet tooth fairy. cupcakes & sugar cookies + sunday concert at church + some sparkly lipstick, wavy hair, bright baubles, and a neon-pastel v-neck + a sweet little face with such bright and active eyes.
this was a good weekend. we enjoyed some much-needed scheduled nothing and got a bunch done. this is such a busy season. so when we have a few hours to relax together, plan together, check stuff off the ol’ to-do list together, and eat yummy food together it is perfect.
even though much of the weekend was spent driving here and there and doing thing after thing…we were able to spend some time outside in the delicious springtime sun while savoring some tasty plates, sipping on refreshing beverages, and licking on cones of cold, creamy goodness. yup. it was amazing. it doesn’t get much better than this…
me and my bearded, specs wearing man + a sweet little peanut chilling in her stroller. feet up. tongue out. + a grapefruit beverage at windsor + cheddar biscuits with gravy and sausage + yes. i had brunch dessert. toasted coconut and double chocolate ice cream from churn. the place is right next door…it is meant to be. + miss elinor with her “please papa, please may i have some sausage?” face
how was your weekend? are you ready for monday?
yesterday was a good day. a very good day. after months of studying and preparing, my hubby passed his series 7 exam. he is now officially a licensed and certified smarty pants. wahoo! and what a load off! no more study sessions. no more stress. he did it. he is in the club now.
and may i just say how proud i am of him? i would like to mention that i am married to a very smart and capable person. there is a lot of brainpower there. and he is sickeningly good at test taking. you know those people who can cram and ace the test? that’s him. but instead of just stuffing info into his brain and regurgitating it, he took this very seriously. he learned. he practiced. he tested himself and taught himself. he actually comprehends it and can carry on a conversation about the intricacies instead of just listing words and copying definitions. what a great example. and you know what? he aced it. like, 90% aced it. and he did it half the time alloted. now that’s just showing off. yup, he is one of those. i hated those guys in college. the ones that seemed to effortlessly breeze through the exam while i was still over-thinking the third question. it is so funny how different we are. i take it slow and dissect. and ben has such confidence and can just pick an answer. and his gut answer is the right one. he earned this. big time. he should have been confident – he knew his stuff. and now, he can bask in the glow of a well-deserved victory.
what am i getting at here? my man gave us a super excuse to celebrate with brats and duck fat fries and some gelato. thanks hubby! i knew all the weird finance facts in that phonebook you studied would pay off…
elinor had her own little party in her bugaboo. she propped her feet up and sucked her thumb. even mozart the monkey got into the fun. he did backbends and everything!
and would you please look at these two? just too cool.
and oh my heart-melting cuteness. this might be my new favorite picture. look at that handsome man and his little girl. also, how deliciously nibble-licious are elinor’s cheeks? and look how fixated she is on the gelato bowl… soon, little one.
sometimes, God uses the most interesting of people, places, or things to speak into our lives. recently it was ben affleck, at the oscars, gold statuette in hand. he spoke about his marriage during his acceptance speech and it just got me thinking about the true meaning of marriage. and then i read this article. good stuff.
yes, there are moments of fairytale bliss - birds chirping and swirling around, flowers in bloom, forest creatures singing, glitter and clouds, and such. but then there are hard days. hard weeks. hard months. hard years, even. times that are trying. seasons of sickness. poorer instead of richer. when the “worse” part of those vows stares you in the face, knocks the wind out of you, and becomes real. but i must say that i agree with mr. affleck, “it’s good. it is work, but it’s the best kind of work.”
my God + my hubby + me the three of us work at it together. but it’s the best kind of work.
and in those moments of bliss make you understand that God is true to His promises. and then you just let out a contented sigh as you bask in the blessings of God. grateful that He has given you someone to walk with and talk with and cry with and laugh with in this life. He is a good God. He is a kind and sweet God. and He has given me a husband who loves me deeply with the love of Christ and who really truly likes me. we enjoy each other’s company and have so much fun together. and as long as we keep walking with our Savior…that love grows truer, our life together is a blessing to others, and the work pays off.
holy smokes folks! chef ben made the yummiest tapas-esque meal the other night. it may sound a little bit like a lame potluck sidedish, but no sir! these deviled eggs were to die for! big time flavor in bite-sized {well, three bite-sized for me} vessels. once again, he grabbed the smitten kitchen cookbook and flipped through page after page of yum, settling on these tasty guys. they are sprinkled with crispy prosciutto and salty marcona almonds. i mean, come on!
seriously, they were amazing. we paired them with a vibrant,spicy, and deep rioja from our wsj wine club collection {loving that, by the way}
it was so much fun to pop these guys while sipping on a perfectly paired red. i love flipping the mundane on its head and making it something memorable…and my fabulous chef did that for us this week. boring old eggs made amazing. and a typical tuesday night became an {unexpected} smashing evening of relaxing and savoring and celebrating all the little good things in life.
let’s do this again.
