The Best Thing I Had In My Mouth - Beer Bread

Over the weekend, my friend made this amazing beer bread.  This was the first time I had beer bread, and I must admit I fell in love.  It has a buttery, crunchy exterior and a dense, chewy interior.  Here is the recipe he used.  Best thing I had in my mouth!

Check out some things I made last year:

-Tomato and Parmesan Omelette
-Lime Squash
-Mexican Scrambled Egg Tacos
-Potato Pancakes
-Banana and Walnut Pancakes

Chopped Salad

I am currently obsessed Jamie Oliver's chopped salad from his Food Revolution cookbook.  I have been throwing it in my weeknight menus for the past couple weeks and loving it.  This could easily serve four, but I have no problem eating half of it.  Jamie's recipe calls for olive oil and two avocados, but I think it is just as delicious and healthier to remove the olive oil all together and reduce the avocados to just one.  Overall, the salad is crunchy, creamy, slightly tangy, and has a bit of heat from the mustard and scallions - a great combination!

New Year's Resolutions

A lot of people don't do New Year's Resolutions because they ultimately fail at them.  I actually like them though, and see them as a long term goal instead of a whole new lifestyle by the first of the year.  Last year I decided to make all the recipes in The Clinton Street Baking Company Cookbook.  I ultimately failed, but made a ton of them.  I actually lost interest in the book, because some of the recipes just seemed off.  The book still makes the best pancakes I have ever made though!  I also made a conscious effort to be more aware of my environment.  I got rid of my use of paper towels altogether, and started making my own cleaners.  So easy!

This year I want to learn how to make bread and also explore all the awesome bread in New York.  To counterbalance the carb-fest I am also going to try to get more into juicing (BluePrint Cleanse inspired me)!  Check out these two amazing pages from New York Magazine.  I am definitely going to be slowly checking off these breads as I try them!

Check out these New Year's Fritters we make every year.  Or my Great Grandma's Nut Rolls.

Happy New Year's Eve!

Here is my holiday card I sent my friends and family to start the New Year.  I am making The Honey Badger cocktail tonight.  Have a good one!

Lovey Dovey Herb Prints

My best friend got me this adorable herb print, who happens to be made by friend Abby!  If you know someone who loves to cook this could be the perfect gift.  Abby also makes these cute holiday prints, and has a fun blog called Lovey Dovey.  Click here to check out her Etsy shop.

Have a good holiday!

Peppermint Bark

This weekend I made Martha Stewart's peppermint bark.  I love how festive and pretty it came out, and it just takes three ingredients: white chocolate, peppermints, and puffed rice cereal (Rice Krispies - duh).  I was intrigued with the addition of Rice Krispies as I had never seen that in a peppermint bark recipe,  and I really think it adds something unexpected to the treat.

The Best Thing I Had In My Mouth - Doughnut Plant Marzipan Doughnut

I know I write about the Doughnut Plant a lot, but come on, it is so good.  I love their creative flavors, and since it is fairly close to the new subway stop I take, I can't help but see what they frying up in there.  Because it is the holidays, they are serving up some very special holiday flavors.  I stopped in for their gingerbread doughnuts, and unfortunately they were out, but the counter girl assured me that the marzipan doughnut was the best and her personal favorite.  With her enthusiasm and the doughnut's adorable star-shape, it was hard to say no.  So I took it home, wolfed down a Chipotle burrito, and then dove into this.  And yes, it was delicious.  If you are in New York, go try one for yourself.

If you are thinking about some food-related gift ideas, click here and here.

And if you are looking for some stand-out cookie recipes for the season, click here.