Tag Archives: foodie fav

Foodie Fave: Champagne Jello Shots

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Ok, guys. We’re about to get next level with jello shots – champagne jello shots! The minute I saw this post from Sugar and Cloth I knew I had to share it with you all. Especially with New Years’ Eve right around the corner, these are the perfect compliment to that champagne glass in your hand. Cheers, darlings!

  • 8 oz Champagne or Cava
  • 4 oz Gin
  • 2 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 oz simple syrup (quick recipe below)*
  • 2 packages Knox gelatin
  • Edible gold leaf for garnishing (optional)

Combine the simple syrup and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well, then pour into a medium saucepan and sprinkle with gelatin. Allow the gelatin to soak for two minutes, then heat over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the gelatin is fully dissolved (about 5 minutes).

Remove from heat and add the gin and Champagne, stirring well to blend. Pour into a very lightly greased loaf pan and chill until fully set, several hours or overnight.

Turn out the set gelatin onto parchment paper, then slice carefully (a thin knife works best) into rectangles or squares.

Garnish with edible gold leaf using a paintbrush (use one you can reserve for food only — you don’t want paint chemicals in your food!). Gold leaf crumbles and sticks to things (like fingers!) easily, so be gentle — just pull off tiny corners with the brush (they will stick), then place them gently on top of the gelée squares.

*If you don’t have simple syrup here is a simple easy recipe. In a small sauce pan over medium high heat, add 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup water. Bring it to a simmer. Watch it closely for roughly 5 minutes until it has a syrupy consistency.

champagne-jello-shots-colleen-jeffers-10

*Photo: Sugar and Cloth

Happy Eating (and Happy New Years’!), XO.

Foodie Fave: Butternut Squash Galette

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There’s just something about these galettes – we can’t get enough of them! Probably because they’re so damn easy to make (and eat). And because you can fill them with whatever your little heart desires. We found this savory gem of a galette on Matt Bites. It’s perfect for brunch, a quick lunch, or a cute app at a dinner party. (And how gorge are his pictures?! #goals). 

Dough:

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • Pinch salt
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten

Filling:

  • 1 large baking apple, such as Rome Beauty or Cortland
  • 1 small or 1/2 medium butternut squash (about 3/4 pounds), halved, seeded, and skin on
  • 1 small yellow onion, peeled, root end trimmed but intact
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
  • 1/3 cup crumbled Stilton or other blue cheese (about 1 1/2 ounces)

For the dough: Pulse the flour and salt together in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse about 10 times until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal with a few bean-size bits of butter in it. Add the egg and pulse 1 to 2 times more; don’t let the dough form a mass around the blade. If the dough seems very dry, add up to 1 tablespoon of cold water, 1 teaspoon at a time, and pulsing briefly. Remove the blade and bring the dough together by hand. Shape the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

For the filling: Halve and core the apple. Cut each 1/2 into 8 wedges and put them in a large bowl. Slice the squash and cut the onion into wedges so that both are as thick as the apple wedges, and add them to the apples. Add the butter, rosemary, and thyme and toss gently to combine. Season with salt and pepper and toss again.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch disk. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet and brush with mustard. Starting 2 inches from the edge, casually alternate pieces of apple, squash, and onion in overlapping circles—if you have extra pieces of one or another, tuck them in where you can or double them up until to use all the filling. Fold and pleat the dough over the edge of the filling. Bake until the crust is brown and the apples, squash, and onions are tender and caramelized, about 55 minutes. Scatter the cheese over the filling and bake until melted, about 5 minutes more. Cool the galette briefly on a wire rack. Cut into wedges and serve.

GALETTE_550px

Happy Eating, XO.

Foodie Fave: Prosciutto, Caramelized Onion and Potato Frittata

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You know how sometimes you just scroll around the internet of things and end up on some awesome site? I was doing this is a little while back and ended up on a beautiful foodie site called Two of a Kind. As I was reading about the author, Alison, I realized I had actually worked with her a little while back! #SmallWorld. It’s a pretty cool feeling when you discover another side of someone, this one being a mutual passion – fooood.

So, as we like to do every month, we’re featuring Two of a Kind as our Foodie Fav! Alison’s latest frittata – prosciutto, caramelized onion, and potato looks divine. We can’t wait to dig in!

  • ¾ pound Dutch yellow potatoes
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 small yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh chives, plus more for garnish
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 6 large eggs
  • 3 slices prosciutto
  • 6 ciliegine (small mozzarella balls), quartered

Fill a small pot with water and add the potatoes, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are easily pierced with the tip of a knife, about 8 minutes. Drain; when potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove and discard skins and slice into ¼” rounds.

Heat olive oil and butter in a 9″ oven-safe fry pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until caramelized, 8-10 minutes. Add the cooked potatoes, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the chives and parsley, stirring to combine.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and season with salt and pepper. Add eggs to a fry pan and cook, gently stirring the mixture constantly with a silicone spatula for about 15 seconds. Smooth the top and cook until the bottom is golden brown and the top is slightly set, 4-5 minutes. Sprinkle prosciutto and ciliegine on top. Move to the broiler for 5-7 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and slide the frittata onto a cutting board or serving platter. Top with more chives, cut into wedges and serve warm.

Prosciutto-Caramelized-Onion-and-Potato-Frittata

Happy Eating, XO.

Foodie Fav: Cinnamon Twists

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Valentine’s Day is coming up (don’t act like you forgot gentlemen) and while flowers are really nice, we’re pretty sure your girl wants some sweets too. Cue these super easy and super cute cinnamon twists from Lil Luna. So easy, even a man can make them. (Yes, we went there.) Throw them in a Ball jar to make them gift worthy and you’re as good as gold. Ok, maybe not gold. You should probably go get her that gold necklace as well, just to be safe.

  • 1 can crescent rolls
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 3 tbsp melted butter

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a baking sheet. Roll out the crescent rolls so they make four rectangles (as opposed to the triangles they want to be), pressing the inner edges together to bind them. Mix your sugar and cinnamon together and set aside. Brush 3/4 of your melted butter on to two of the rectangles, and sprinkle with 3/4 of the sugar mixture. Take the two un-buttered rectangles and lay them on top of the sugar coated ones, pressing the edges to seal them.

Cut both rectangles in to six strips (I found a pizza cutter is the easiest way to do this). Brush on the remaining butter and sprinkle with remaining sugar. Lil Luna suggests baking them for 8-10 minutes but I found that mine actually took around 20 to get a nice golden brown. I was able to try a bite of them at the party and they really are heavenly!

Cinnamon Twists

 

Happy Eating, XO.