There are few things in life that I love more than a summery, light pasta dish. My favorite to date is this Silver Palate recipe with brie, basil, and tomatoes marinated in a garlic/ olive oil infusion then dumped over boiling hot, fresh linguene noodles.  god- please forgive me, folks. I’m now drooling at my desk…  Anywho. This One Pot Wonder tomato basil pasta recipe looks equally impressive. Click through for full recipe and more photos.  bon appetit! // found thanks to E’s Pinterest page 

There are few things in life that I love more than a summery, light pasta dish. My favorite to date is this Silver Palate recipe with brie, basil, and tomatoes marinated in a garlic/ olive oil infusion then dumped over boiling hot, fresh linguene noodles. 

god- please forgive me, folks. I’m now drooling at my desk… 

Anywho. This One Pot Wonder tomato basil pasta recipe looks equally impressive. Click through for full recipe and more photos. 

bon appetit! // found thanks to E’s Pinterest page 

Let’s be honest with one another… does anything scream summertime quite like ripe peaches? I don’t think so.  This Peach Melba recipe is certainly one I’ll be test driving soon (sans corn syrup).  [photo and recipe c/o Bon Appetit] 

Let’s be honest with one another…

does anything scream summertime quite like ripe peaches? I don’t think so. 

This Peach Melba recipe is certainly one I’ll be test driving soon (sans corn syrup). 

[photo and recipe c/o Bon Appetit] 

I’m fairly sure I posted this recipe way back when I first started my blog. Some things have grown and changed since then— but this remains one of the H house favorites. And when B requested this for dinner in celebration of Cinco de Drinko Mayo, I happily obliged.  Smoky Beef Tacos The players:  2 to 3 tablespoons chopped canned chipotle chilies in adobo  3/4 cup of Simply Heinz ketchup (or other natural/ organic ketchup of choice) 1 to 1 1/3 cup of water (depending on how much sauce you’d like) 8 garlic cloves, pureed with chilies  coarse salt and ground pepper 1 boneless beef chuck roast (about 3-4 pounds), excess fat trimmed flour tortillas (6-inch), lightly toasted The play-by-play:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a small food processor, pulse the garlic and the chilies until finely chopped. Then, in a Dutch oven stir together chili mixture, ketchup, 1 cup water, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cut beef into 4 equal pieces. Add to pot, and turn to coat. Once each side is browned, cover and transfer pot to oven. Bake (covered) until beef is fork-tender about 2 1/2- 3 hours.  Transfer beef to a bowl. With a large spoon skim off and discard fat from cooking liquid. Shred beef with two forks and moisten with cooking liquid as needed. While I’m shredding the beef, I usually have Mr. H heat the tortillas in a dry skillet until warm (no one wants a crispy taco).  Serve with sliced avocado, Cojita cheese, extra sauce (that the meat was braised in), a dollop of Greek yogurt and a tomato/ corn relish on the side.  [original recipe c/o Martha Stewart] 

I’m fairly sure I posted this recipe way back when I first started my blog. Some things have grown and changed since then— but this remains one of the H house favorites. And when B requested this for dinner in celebration of Cinco de Drinko Mayo, I happily obliged. 

Smoky Beef Tacos

The players: 

  • 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped canned chipotle chilies in adobo 
  • 3/4 cup of Simply Heinz ketchup (or other natural/ organic ketchup of choice)
  • 1 to 1 1/3 cup of water (depending on how much sauce you’d like)
  • 8 garlic cloves, pureed with chilies 
  • coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1 boneless beef chuck roast (about 3-4 pounds), excess fat trimmed
  • flour tortillas (6-inch), lightly toasted

The play-by-play: 

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a small food processor, pulse the garlic and the chilies until finely chopped. Then, in a Dutch oven stir together chili mixture, ketchup, 1 cup water, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
  2. Cut beef into 4 equal pieces. Add to pot, and turn to coat. Once each side is browned, cover and transfer pot to oven. Bake (covered) until beef is fork-tender about 2 1/2- 3 hours. 
  3. Transfer beef to a bowl. With a large spoon skim off and discard fat from cooking liquid. Shred beef with two forks and moisten with cooking liquid as needed. While I’m shredding the beef, I usually have Mr. H heat the tortillas in a dry skillet until warm (no one wants a crispy taco). 
  4. Serve with sliced avocado, Cojita cheese, extra sauce (that the meat was braised in), a dollop of Greek yogurt and a tomato/ corn relish on the side. 

[original recipe c/o Martha Stewart] 

Though Saturday evening was a wash, Friday evening was quite spectacular. 

We caught up with dear friends over cocktails @ Rutledge Cab Company where I discovered the greatest Gullah Gimlet that has ever graced the Earth and then high-tailed it The Macintosh for the most consistently fantastic meal I can remember. 

Let me preface the experience by saying this- I was totally bananas in my overzealous excitement during my jaunt to Husk. So much so that, looking back, I realize that overall I was pretty disappointed with the experience. Half of my joy with food is the taste- and the other half with the experience itself. So, yes, I raved about how wonderful everything tasted [minus Mr. H’s duck which he still claims ruined game in his eyes forever] but our experience sucked. The service was sub-par and the waitress hardly wanted to talk to us… much less dive into the creative behind the dishes and the reconstruction of the SC grains that has become Chef Sean Brock’s calling card.

thumbs up for the meal thumbs down for the service

All that to say that Macintosh delivered on BOTH fronts. The food was so good that I literally put down my phone to really enjoy every bite. Thus- no photo of our second course. Blake had the Deckle and I the Pork Shoulder. And while I could carry on about both for hours, I won’t. If you’re ever in Charleston, take my firm suggestion to skip Husk and go straight to The Macintosh. And order the “Mac” potatoes. And unbutton your pants because those damn things are so decadent you’ll want to lick the Le Creuset dish they are served in. 

image

first course: fried pork brik dough with meyer lemon aioli ((in retrospect, I wish we had also tried the ramp cavetelli)) 

image

the finale: peanut butter and flourless chocolate cake with salted caramel infusion. yes, those are peanuts sticking to dark chocolate covered mound. holy caloric intake, batman. 

Also a must-visit? Stars Rooftop and Grill Room. They have wine on tap [and I repeat- Wine. On. Tap] and one of the best views of the city. Enough said (& thanks for the rec, Jenny).

I believe that the best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, that white certainly can be worn before Memorial Day, that a good laugh can turn around even the grayest days, and that no proper birthday celebration is complete without a cake. And candles. Obnoxiously large, multi-colored candles.  Also, that cake looks like a doll cake. In reality it was a behemoth double layer, yummy cake that clearly served more than my Barbie collection. Do better working with angles next time, Elizabeth.  [shakes head at self]  Carrot Cake The players: (for the cake part) 2 cups sugar 1 cup veggie oil 4 organic brown eggs 2 cups King Arthur unbleached all purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon cinnamon a little more than 2 cups of grated carrots (for the icing part— aka the best part)  stick butter (softened)  1, 8 oz. package cream cheese (softened)  1 pound powdered sugar 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 1 cup Pecans (chopped. or if you’re me, pounded with a meat tenderizer)  The play-by-play: (for the cake) Preheat the oven to 350. Cream the oil, sugar, and eggs in a stand mixer. In a separate, large bowl, sift together flour, salt (don’t forget the salt. I did. oops), baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. With the mixer on, slowly add the flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture and mix just until combined. Fold in carrots with a spatula.  Spray 2 round cake pans with Baker’s Joy.  [sidenote: have you ever heard of Baker’s Joy? it’s the shit. go get some. back to the show-] Pour batter into the two greased bans and bake at 350 until done (about 25-35 minutes). I like to tap my pans on the counter rather aggressively to get out the air bubbles. Plus it’s great for working out any frustration you might have. [Not that I speak from experience or anything.] To see if the cake’s finished, you can do the fork test or give the pan a swift jiggle. If the cake moves, it’s not finished baking. Once done, remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack.  (for the icing) Chef’s Note: if you’re like me, you may actually prefer MORE icing to cake ratio and in that case, you should double the icing recipe. Because you only live once, right?! In a stand mixer, cream the vanilla extract, butter, and sugar together. Once combined, slowly add in the powdered sugar. Then mix in the nuts (which, if I’m being honest, were way more fun to pound with a meat tenderizer than they were to chop in a refined fashion).  Once cake is cooled, place bottom layer on a platter. Spread icing on and then place second layer on top. Ice the cake completely (top & sides) and don’t worry about being perfect. Because no matter what you do, this cake will taste magnificent.  Recipe only slightly adapted from a Pioneer Woman original. 

I believe that the best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, that white certainly can be worn before Memorial Day, that a good laugh can turn around even the grayest days, and that no proper birthday celebration is complete without a cake. And candles. Obnoxiously large, multi-colored candles. 

Also, that cake looks like a doll cake. In reality it was a behemoth double layer, yummy cake that clearly served more than my Barbie collection. Do better working with angles next time, Elizabeth. 

[shakes head at self] 

Carrot Cake

The players:

(for the cake part)

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup veggie oil
  • 4 organic brown eggs
  • 2 cups King Arthur unbleached all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • a little more than 2 cups of grated carrots

(for the icing part— aka the best part)

  •  stick butter (softened) 
  • 1, 8 oz. package cream cheese (softened) 
  • 1 pound powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup Pecans (chopped. or if you’re me, pounded with a meat tenderizer) 

The play-by-play:

(for the cake)

Preheat the oven to 350. Cream the oil, sugar, and eggs in a stand mixer. In a separate, large bowl, sift together flour, salt (don’t forget the salt. I did. oops), baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. With the mixer on, slowly add the flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture and mix just until combined. Fold in carrots with a spatula. 

Spray 2 round cake pans with Baker’s Joy. 

[sidenote: have you ever heard of Baker’s Joy? it’s the shit. go get some. back to the show-]

Pour batter into the two greased bans and bake at 350 until done (about 25-35 minutes). I like to tap my pans on the counter rather aggressively to get out the air bubbles. Plus it’s great for working out any frustration you might have. [Not that I speak from experience or anything.]

To see if the cake’s finished, you can do the fork test or give the pan a swift jiggle. If the cake moves, it’s not finished baking. Once done, remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack. 

(for the icing)

Chef’s Note: if you’re like me, you may actually prefer MORE icing to cake ratio and in that case, you should double the icing recipe. Because you only live once, right?!

In a stand mixer, cream the vanilla extract, butter, and sugar together. Once combined, slowly add in the powdered sugar. Then mix in the nuts (which, if I’m being honest, were way more fun to pound with a meat tenderizer than they were to chop in a refined fashion). 

Once cake is cooled, place bottom layer on a platter. Spread icing on and then place second layer on top. Ice the cake completely (top & sides) and don’t worry about being perfect. Because no matter what you do, this cake will taste magnificent. 

Recipe only slightly adapted from a Pioneer Woman original. 

this weekend: I ate more than one cheeseburger (exhibit a above; the east coast solution to zero In-N-Out Burger locations) made my most favorite & time consuming dinner  & pie (who could forget that pie) wore flat sandals (yes, me in flats) and enjoyed every. single. second of it all because isn’t that what weekends are truly all about?  well, that and having trouble buttoning your pants on Monday morning

this weekend:

I ate more than one cheeseburger (exhibit a above; the east coast solution to zero In-N-Out Burger locations)

made my most favorite & time consuming dinner  & pie (who could forget that pie)

wore flat sandals (yes, me in flats)

and enjoyed every. single. second of it all

because isn’t that what weekends are truly all about? 

well, that and having trouble buttoning your pants on Monday morning

an extinct pizza and a single tear

I know I carried on yesterday about how I try very, very hard to keep my diet as clean as I can

but sometimes I cave and am stuck drooling over my very favorite pizza of all time [the BLT ‘za from CPK]

only to discover that it’s no longer on the menu!!! What the what?! Say it ain’t so, guys!!!

image

rest in peace, my fair pizza friend (photo via)

& in other news— time for me to get my ass into the kitchen and replicate this, stat!

What’s your all-time favorite pizza?

image

I feel slightly guilty that I’m taking even an iota of credit for finding this recipe. So let’s be clear here, gang. I had a couple of requests last night after posting this picture on Instagram and I’m happy to oblige— but I didn’t create this. At all. I simply read the package I picked up at the grocery store, followed the directions [for the most part at least] and out came this SUPER easy Tuesday night dinner. 

So without further adeau…

McCormick’s White Chicken Chili

The players: 

  • 1 tablespoon oil (I used vegetable; olive oil has too much flavor to use in a dish like this)
  • 1 pound of organic chicken, sliced into 1/2” cubes
  • 1 (19 oz) can of cannellini beans, undrained 
  • 1 packet of McCormick’s White Chicken Chili Seasoning Mix
  • 1 1/4 cups of water
  • avocado
  • 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper (can be omitted- we like spicy foods @ the H house)
  • shredded Pepper Jack cheese (or other cheese of choice)

The play-by-play:

Add oil to skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for about 5 minutes (until no longer pink). 

Stir in seasoning mix and then add water. Stir until incorporated and then dump in the can of (undrained) beans. Very important- don’t drain those beans! Bring mixture to a boil and the reduce heat and cover. Cook 10-12 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Transfer to serving dishes and then top with avocado and cheese. 

Enjoy!

[just to reiterate  this recipe is not an EPH original and the McCormick version can be found here] 

Ps- the yellow chair is a vintage favorite of mine (inherited 4 of these beauties from my Momma) and the basket was a wedding gift (the Beachcomber High Rectangular // from Pottery Barn). the wine was Pillar Box Red. 

food! for the week! this is progress, people!!!

I finally decided to make life a tad easier on myself. No, I didn’t pick out all my outfits for the next 5 [work] days. Nor did I break out the iron and smooth out all my clean, wrinkly clothes (and pillowcases) yesterday afternoon. 

Come to think of it- I still have quite a bit on my “to do” list at the homestead. 

But at least I have dinner pre-prepped for the next few nights. As I saute and sliced my goodies for dinner last night, I decided that I might as well kill TWO dishes with one stone & keep my fridge stocked for the next couple of days. Because as I quipped last week, it’s been a slight struggle getting dinner cooked and on the table before 9 pm in the H house as of late. 

Here’s to hoping that these 2 goodies— Chicken [& biscuits!] Pot Pie & my favorite Italian soup (which Blake doesn’t enjoy quite as much as I do; more for me, biscuits for him)— allow me less chaos at feeding time.

image

White Bean, Pancetta, & Tortellini Soup 

The players:

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 6 oz pancetta, chopped
  • 2 large shallots, chopped
  • 3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 15-oz can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 bundle of Swiss chard, well rinsed and cored
  • 6 cups organic, low-sodium chicken broth (I always use Pacific)
  • 1  9-oz package cheese tortellini
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

The play-by-play: 

In a large soup pot [dutch oven] heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the pancetta and cook until crisp. Then add the carrots, shallots, and garlic and cook until veggies are translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the beans, Swiss chard, and broth. Bring the soup to a boil over medium-high heat then reduce to the heat to a simmer for 8-10 minutes.  Add the tortellini and cook until pasta is tender.  Season with pepper and serve.

[photo c/o Cookin Canuck & recipe (slightly adapted) from a Giada original found in Everyday Pasta] 

buzzfeedfood:

Could we interest you in a Shamrock Shake full of Jameson? 

Get the recipe here

Relevant to both the fact that I tried my first Shamrock Shake on Saturday afternoon [thumbs up] and the whole yet to meet a milkshake I don’t like argument.

it appears to be food day on this here blog…