Well, Tartlets, in case you haven't noticed, new posts are a little more intermittent these days. Remember that concussion I mentioned awhile back? Yeeaaaah. Turns out, it didn't go away as quickly as I had originally thought. I had a relapse in mid-January, and I was told by various doctors that the only cure is rest and time. This unfortunately means that I'm restricted from most of my blogging activities until I'm fully recovered, which...
Paprika Shrimp with Smoked Gouda Polenta is this Northern girl's answer to Southern Shrimp n' Grits. I may be biased, but I think it's even better than Shrimp and Grits -- mainly because it's ready to eat in 20 minutes. A little side note before we begin You guys, I'm going to stop trying to get ahead in my blogging life. This is the second time I've made plans to cook and photograph a month's worth of blog recipes in one weekend, only...
I know I said I wasn’t going to post anything else Christmas-y on the blog this month. However, I couldn't help myself. All you Christmas celebrants -- have you planned your Christmas menu yet? I finally decided what we should make...mostly. I always have second, third, and fourth thoughts about the menu. If you're like me and still weighing your options...CONGRATS. You're now done. Because this Raspberry Thyme Chicken is the...
Although I had a difficult time writing the review for Two Steps Forward, I had a very easy time deciding on my book-inspired recipe. Zoe, Martin, and the other pilgrims sleep at a variety of lodgings throughout their pilgrimage, and while meals are provided at some places, they often have to make their own in hostel or boarding house kitchens. In these situations, most pilgrims eat alone, but if a few are staying at the same place, they’ll...
Fig and Pepper Bread is the easy, homemade, artisan bread you never knew you wanted this fall. Get ready to fall in love, Tartlets, as I take you on a bread-making adventure. Why is Fig and Pepper Bread the book-inspired recipe for First Frost? If you've read First Frost, you know why I picked Fig and Pepper Bread for this book-inspired recipe. For those of you who haven't read the book yet: Get on that. It's a great book. Fig and Pepper Bread...
You guys, this is a fancy recipe. So, break out the company plates 'cause you’re gonna want to show this one off with your best china. I'm sure some of you are already drifting away from this post because you think "fancy" means "difficult," but that is NOT true. Stay with me. I promise that this is not going to be scary. Just really, really pretty. And tasty. The main character of Daughters of the Lake, Kate, goes to stay with her cousin...
One of the things I love about Emily Giffin’s novels is that she really captures the soul of whatever city or town she sets her story in. I was excited to see that All We Ever Wanted is set in Nashville, which I became more interested in since my close friends moved down there a few years ago. We’ve yet to visit them, but we hope to adventure with them in their new city soon. Honestly, given how much the food scene in Nashville has grown...
Everyone knows that the best part about Ikea -- apart from it not being a haunted Orsk store -- is the in-store restaurant. There's just something exciting about grabbing that tray, standing on the line cafeteria-style, and being ladled up a giant spoonful of steaming Swedish meatballs smothered in gravy. That's what makes an Ikea trip so great -- you can spend the entire day there, wandering around and being fed a hot meal without ever...
This Cioppino may be the best meal I've made all year. For reals. Seafood lovers, you are in for a TREAT. Even before I decided that I was going to keep reading The Immortalists, I knew I wanted to make a dish that related to San Francisco. Simon is the first sibling you meet in The Immortalists, and his story quickly takes him to The City by the Bay. His love of SF and the freedom he experiences there is what made me fall in love with this...
The hardest thing about these Easy Ground Beef Gyros is figuring out how to pronounce them. Gyro. Is it "Jy-roh"? Or, is it "Guy-ro"? Maybe it's "Year-roh? I’ve been to Greece, and I still don’t know how to pronounce "gyro" correctly. (To be fair, I didn't see gyros on any menus there, so I didn't have the opportunity to inquire about its pronunciation). I think it’s the last one ("year-roh"), but please do NOT quote me on that. I have...
