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!
picture and recipe from the fabulous emily schuman @ the cupcakes and cashmere blog
cupcakes and cashmere strikes again. miss emily is so lovely and smart. her blog always inspires and encourages me to try new things…and throw a party! because, well…why not?
this time, my eyes settled on homemade nutter butters. genius.
just to be transparent here, i go through a big tub of chunky peanut butter every single week. i am sure that i am single-handedly keeping the whole foods pb segment going with my weekly purchases.
anywho…back to cookies. nutter butters pretty much take the cake when it comes to grocery store cookie aisle purchases. i could eat a sleeve without batting an eye. but then, all that processed gobbledygook tends to leave my tummy feeling less than happy. now i could just have one or two and be okay. but who can stop at one? that is is silly talk. go for the gusto, am i right? i know they use all those preservatives and concoctions to give them a longer shelf life…but really? i mean, how long do they need to stay fresh after you’ve opened them. like, three, maybe four days tops? i don’t know about you but when there are cookies present in our home, they don’t last long. hubby and i get the job done. no preservatives necessary. maybe if i were stocking up on snacks for my fallout bunker and wanted to make sure i had some peanut buttery morsels around for during a 2045 nuclear attack…
so, a real food recipe – with ingredients that i can pronounce and purchase without any chemistry necessary – that i can make in my own kitchen is the solution here. a cookie that has the perfect balance of crunch and creamy and salty and sweet. with ingredients like peanut butter and eggs. you know the perfect treat that i don’t feel {as} badly about eating a handful at a time.
a few days backmiss elinor, hubby, and i grabbed some early dinner with my folks at st. francis. it was mighty tasty. there is just something about heading to a restuarant on the earlier side and making the most of the evening. it usually gives us license to try more dishes and double up…you can’t beat a happy hour deal, am i right? and in this case, i am talking a big ol’ gourmet burger with a side of hand cut fries for seven bucks. #winning.
the springtime weather was particularly springy and the restaurant opened up the side of the restaurant so there was a perfect breeze while we dined. elinor sat in her little seat just playing away while we sipped some good wine and noshed on baked goat cheese with crusty bread, french onion burgers, chicken salad sandwiches, and radish/bacon/garden pea/buttermilk ranch salad. good stuff. and so local and fresh. it was a simply delightful meal with great company. happiness and satisfied tummies all around.
happy monday folks! how was your weekend? we had the bestest weekend. lots of time outdoors as a family and plenty of yummy food. have i mentioned how much i love springtime? perfect. it doesn’t get much better than this…
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.
lately, i have been feeling all things french. simple and lovely decor with a hint of opulence. interesting patterns. classic style. soft and sweet scents. a petit and bold espresso to start the morning. a nice glass of red at the end of the day. simple and sophisticated recipes…with lots of herbs and vegetables and of course, butter. and did i mention pastries and bread and cheese? yum.
so imagine my happiness when i was able to feed my desire for french frou frou by participating in a french cooking class with a few gals this past weekend. complete with mother sauce and tarte tatin. scrumptious. recipes and plate snapshots will be shared here soon. {my hubby is kind of dying to taste all the dishes so i need to get on that} and i am thinking that i will serve these little guys as the perfect opening number…
image and recipe from the delightful and brilliant erin gleeson and the forest feast blog.
simple and delicious. quintessential french. and butter. oh, the butter.
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?
happy monday! still no baby around here…
but, we sure are having fun waiting for her to arrive. lots of little tasks getting checked off the list, lots of time for sleeping in and movie watching. and lots of time for cooking and eating. this weekend, my sweet man whipped up that long-awaited pregnancy pasta that i was bragging about a few days back. and yes, it was everything that we dreamed it would be.
let me assure you that we did more than just eat pasta this weekend. but, those are the only pics that are making it onto today’s post. because yes, it is worthy.
okay. nursery? check. diapers? check. car seat? check. stroller? check. clothing? check. pregnancy pasta? check.
now, show yourself, baby!
{let the preparations begin}
{garlic}
{crisping up the prosciutto with the aromatic garlic olive oil}
{charlie’s crazy eyes while coco spins…they really like their “shoot-oh” as ben calls it}
{bubble, bubble}
{whisking that carbonara sauce like a madman}
{strands of creamy goodness}
{final touches}
{the final plate. about two point three seconds before my fork dove in}
image courtesy of tylerflorence.com
so, we are big fans of tyler florence. see here and here. he makes good food. the recipes seem super gourmet and the ingredients are incredible. but…you can do it! and the final dish always turns out perfectly. he has the unique gift of being able to bring chef-style preparations and restaurant-quality dishes to life. at home.
he is our go-to guy.
many, many, many months ago. waaayyy pre-preggo. hubby and i were perusing the pages of cookbooks and he stumbled upon an amazing pasta recipe. we are talking pancetta carbonara, folks. to die for. the subtitle for the recipe was “a.k.a. my wife’s pregnancy pasta”. hmmm. ben looked at me with joy in his eyes and said “won’t that be fun to make when you are pregnant?!” and so, the recipe was filed away under “someday”.
well, “someday” has officially arrived. and my sweet hubby [man, i have a good one] is going to whip up a giant bowl of this rich, creamy, comforting goodness. i can’t wait to dig in! and yes, there will be drool-worthy pictures to come. if the real thing looks anything like the professional shot above, we are in for some tasty stuff.
oh, i am just so in love with this blog.
such striking images.
such yummy food.
such warmth.
such happy moments.
such a remarkable chronicle of all the lovely things in life.
please, please…check out roost blog. you will get lost in it. what an inspirational and aspirational place to visit.
