february fourteenth

Happy Valentime's day to my sweet, kind, funny, hunky husband! Hooray for our first married lover's day! You are the sugar in my coffee, the icing on my cupcake, and the love of my life. Basically you are the best! Happy vday and happier 11 months + 1.

yours truly, forever and ever,

your wife

xoxo.

burro, burro much ecard via kate spade's bmine gallery.

notoriously late and definitively in love

So, although I am extremely tardy, I just wanted to report that I had a magnificent 4th Valentine's Day with C.

In the morning I was greeted with a lovely bouquet of miniature tulips and a breakfast in bed (swoon) of scrambled eggs and wheat toast (by request).

After breakfast he surprised me with a clue to our first destination. I opened an awesome Piet Modrian glass (a nod to our first date) that he had purchased for me at the MoMa store the week before. We were headed to the Nasher Sculpture Center for a morning of museum browsing. While shopping in the museum store, he surprised me with my second clue for our afternoon activity. It was a little pin with a hotdog bicycling on it (so cute!) I hadn't ridden a bike in 15ish years and he was going to teach me! (Note: The bf is an avid bike rider.)

After the Nasher we headed to one of our favorite little cafes, Breadwinners, and shared a late lunch. We spent a little over an hour just before dusk riding bikes, and amazingly I didn't hurt myself (despite my apparent attempts at taking out parked cars.) After bicycle riding (it was pretty chilly-notice the roaring fire in pictures below) we headed indoors to cook our Valentine meal.

Recipe time. I like to get my culinary juices flowing with a little bubbly. This time it was pink, in honor of the day.

I started by baking the lava cakes, figuring that although they did not take much time, they would still be enjoyable at room temp. (Note: We had to bake the cakes for twice as long as the recipe called for and even them, I had to work a little microwave magic to get them solid enough to eat with a fork.)

In the meantime, C sauted up the chicken for our bbq chicken pizza. The pizza dough had been rising all day and as soon as the cakes came out, the pie went in. (That's my man. Such a hottie.)

While the pizza baked, I reduced a little bit of basalmic vinegar on the stovetop. I had never done this before, and the aroma was quite pungent. Not C's favorite smell. We also threw together the salad and used the basalmic reduction as dressing and as a drizzle over the pizza. (Note: This makes the pizza a little soggy. I might use less next time.)

Sooo good. I am wishing for a slice of that pizza right now.

After dinner we curled up in front of the fire to watch Funny Face and enjoy our favorite part, dessert.

My plate before...


And after...

SUCH an amazing day and amazing way to spend time with the man I love. Nothing fancy, but very "us."

P.S. My Valentine's present to him was a handmade (by me!) framed reproduction of the famous hipster glossary/record cover For Characters Who Don't Dig Jive Talk and a vintage skeleton key with a note reading "Key to my Heart." Because he has it, obvs.

oh lovely day

Happy Valentine's Day, my lovelies! Hope it is fantabulous. 

And I leave you with this:

 "You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -Dr Seuss, the man himself.

P.S. Also, I encourage you to rock out this three day weekend. I plan to. Yippee!

Kiss me via Kate Spade. 

valentines foodie: part two

So, Glamour has been touting this magical recipe as the be all-end all to yumminess that makes him want to propose since 2004. I am not sure if I believe all that baloney, but I will reprint it here in case you want to give it a shot.

Engagement Chicken
(Adapted from Marcella Hazan's More Classic Italian Cooking)

1 whole chicken (approx. 3 lb.)
2 medium lemons
Fresh lemon juice (1/2 cup)
Kosher or sea salt
Ground black pepper

Place rack in upper third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Wash chicken inside and out with cold water, remove the giblets, then let the chicken drain, cavity down, in a colander until it reaches room temp (about 15 minutes). Pat dry with paper towels. Pour lemon juice all over the chicken (inside and outside). Season with salt and pepper. Prick the whole lemons three times with a fork and place deep inside the cavity. (Tip: If lemons are hard, roll on countertop with your palm to get juices flowing.) Place the bird breast-side down on a rack in a roasting pan, lower heat to 350 degrees and bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and turn it breast-side up (use wooden spoons!); return it to oven for 35 minutes more. Test for doneness—a meat thermometer inserted in the thigh should read 180 degrees, or juices should run clear when chicken is pricked with a fork. Continue baking if necessary. Let chicken cool for a few minutes before carving. Serve with juices. Serve with veggies/starch of your (his) choice.

Ed Note: I would suggest adding 10-15 additional minutes to the cooking time. Nothing says "I love you" like pink, undercooked chicken.

Recipe and pic via Glamour.

spreading the love

This one goes out to all my faves: my neverending, always loyal, ever lovin' girls. Only one more day...

And one for the bf, too.

A little note via Kate Spade last year, via Unruly Things, via Lena Corwin. Puddles via Coco+Kelley.

valentine's foodie

Loverly food for an evening full of love. Yummy. After a day of surprises from the bf (he won't tell me what we are up to!), this is what I will be serving my honey on Saturday night.

BBQ Chicken Pizza –Time: 15-20 minutes prep, 20 minutes in oven

2 tablespoons olive oil
Butter for pizza dough
Crushed garlic spread for pizza dough (or sub garlic butter)
1/2 pound chicken tenders
2/3 cup barbecue sauce (recommended: Sweet Baby Rays)
Flour, for dusting surface
1 (13.8-ounce) package pizza dough (recommended: Pillsbury Classic)
3/4 cup shredded Gouda or crumbled Goat Cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced (opt)
Thinly sliced mushrooms (opt)
2 Thickly sliced Roma tomatoes (opt)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken tenders and sauté until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat. When chicken is cool enough to handle, dice chicken (yields a little over 1 cup). In a small bowl, toss chicken with 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce. Set aside.

On a floured surface, roll out dough and place on a greased sheet pan or round pizza pan. Shape to fill the sheet pan, pinching edges. Spread thin layer of butter and garlic (or garlic butter) and remaining barbecue sauce evenly over pizza dough. Sprinkle Gouda/Goat cheese, 1/2 of mozzarella, Parmesan, onions, and chicken over top. Top with slices of tomato and remaining mozzarella. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese bubbles. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and cut into pieces.


Leafy Salad –Time: 5 minutes
Toss Red Leaf lettuce (similar to Romaine) with thin slices of pear, pine nuts and shavings of parmesan cheese. Drizzle with balsamic or raspberry vinaigrette.

OR

Low Country Salad –Time: 10-12 minutes
Toss mixed greens with thin slices of sweet red apple, lemon infused goat cheese (at Central Market), and barbequed cashews. Drizzle with mustard vinaigrette immediately prior to serving.

Mustard Vinaigrette
Finely chop one whole shallot. Soak in one tablespoon Chianti Red Wine Vinegar for 5-10 minutes to lessen the onion flavor. Mix equal parts olive oil and Chianti Red Wine vinegar (about 3 tablespoons each). Vigorously stir in one tablespoon spicy brown mustard. Add shallots mixture. Add pinch salt and black pepper. Add additional vinegar or olive oil to taste. Shake or vigorously stir before pouring over salad.


Molten Chocolate Cakes (serves 2) –Time: 20 minutes prep, 7 minutes in oven

You can make the batter ahead of time and refrigerate it, just increase the baking time by two minutes.

1 1/2 tablespoons butter, plus more for the ramekins
1 1/5 oz. chocolate
1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus 1 teaspoon
2 1/5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons crème fraîche
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (for crème fraiche)

Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Generously butter two 4 oz. ramekins.

Melt the butter and chocolate together in a small glass bowl set over a small pot of simmering water. Let it cool a bit while you whisk together the egg, egg yolk and 1/2 cup of confectioners’ sugar in a separate bowl. Whisk in the melted butter and chocolate and then the flour.

Fill the ramekins and bake for 7 minutes. The edges and top should be just set.
Meanwhile, whisk the crème fraîche together with the remaining teaspoon of confectioners’ sugar and the vanilla. (or substitute whipped crème or caramel/chocolate sauce drizzle)

Remove the cakes from the oven, let them cool for a few minutes. Invert onto dessert plates and serve each with a spoonful of crème fraîche or ice cream and caramel/chocolate sauce drizzle.


Bon Appetit!



BBQ Pizza adapted from Sandra Lee. Salads by moi & roughly adapted from Central Market Cooking School class. Chocolate cake adapted from Gwennie's GOOP. Picture of adorb Kate Spade VDay ecard via Smitten.

valentine's attire

Anyone have $498 (on sale at Gilt Groupe, from $1550) to lend me for this shiny, sassy Valentine's frock? I would greatly appreciate it.

love is a serious mental disease

Love him? Put it in writing. Here are a few Vday cards from etsy to help you.

Love is a Serious Mental Disease, OneGirlTwoDogs

From the Heart, Farouche

You and Me , ParAmourDesigns

Crazy Love II, Up Up Creative

Geek Love, Paper Stories

Today I Will Be Happier, Studio Mela