Layered Bean Dip

Cooking:

So, last weekend, law school besty texted me with a simple question:  what's a fun thing to bring to a Super Bowl party that's not too intense as far as cooking?  That's right up my alley, of course.  When I told her about this bean dip, she asked if it was on the blog.

The answer, of course, was NO because I have been remiss in my blogging.  I suck.

This dip doesn't.  And it's easy.  A layer of beans.  A layer of salsa.  A layer of corn and onions, then a layer of cheese.  You could add more layers, I don't care, but put the beans on the bottom and the cheese on the top to seal in the goodness, and you'll be good to go.

I like this hot, because everything sort of oozes together and gets all creamy.  I've topped this with avocado and sour cream, in the past, and it's wonderful.  And I haven't, still wonderful.  And perfect for the Super Bowl.

Reading:

I am becoming well-versed in the snark of Simon Doonan, and I love every minute of it.  His latest, The Asylum, is no exception.  He is funny, he tells great stories about himself and the wonderful world of fashion, and he seems to know EVERYBODY which I love.  It's like having a best friend who's friends with famous people but with whom you are not actually friends.  For someone like me, who is actually a friend of the friendless, this is perfect.

Wearing:

The H and I are going to the South Beach Wine and Food Festival in a couple of weeks, and I need these:

Christian Louboutin via Neiman Marcus

These will be perfect for meeting my NEW best friend, Alex Guarnaschelli, and brunching at Tongue & Cheek.  I can't wait.  The countdown is on (14 days, for those who are counting).

Pizza Dip and Divergent

Cooking:

The H is CONSTANTLY requesting things that are not particularly appealing to me, specifically the inclusion of pepperoni in everything.  Don't get me wrong, I like a greasy pepperoni pizza as much as the next girl, but I don't believe that pepperoni would improve upon everything else in the food-iverse.

Pizza Dip

1/2 package of pepperoni, diced, plus additional for layering
1 package chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2, 8 oz packages fat free cream cheese
1/2 large red onion, finely chopped
1 jar pizza sauce
Mozzarella cheese (sliced or shredded)
Toasted baguettes

 Combine the chopped pepperoni, cream cheese, onion, and spinach and spread into a square baker.  Top the mixture with a layer of pepperoni, followed by a layer of pizza sauce and then a layer of mozzarella.  Bake at 350 for about half an hour, or until hot and bubbly. 

Reading:

That is a terrible photo of a great set of books.  I have a lot of thoughts on this series, most of which are vaguely spoiler-y so I won't go into them.  But I will say this:  if you liked The Hunger Games, the Divergent series (comprised of Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant) is better.  Much like The Hunger Games, these books have a slightly heavy-handed (in my opinion) commentary on society and the government, but the characters are really well-rounded and Veronica Roth truly does them justice from beginning to end. 

Wearing:

VC Signature Peony Pump via Shoebox

After trying on a million pairs of shoes at Nordstrom, I finally settled on these (though I really, really, REALLY wanted these Rag & Bone booties, I didn't succumb to temptation), and they've been in heavy rotation ever since.  They are well-worth their relatively modest price and they go with everything! 

And the booties will be mine soon, I assure you.

Baked Chicken Taquitos

Have a mentioned things have been crazy?

Oy.

But I can't leave you hanging for much longer, peeps, so I present to you baked chicken taquitos.

Preheat the oven to 350 and combine the following:

4 cooked, shredded chicken breasts,
6 oz. softened cream cheese,
4 oz. shredded Mexican blend cheese
half a jar of jalapenos
1 can rotel (I used the super spicy stuff)
white pepper, cayenne, chili powder, salt, and cumin to taste

I piled my "stuffing" onto a small corn tortilla, rolled it up, placed it on my baking sheet and baked them for about 20 minutes.

The results were cracked and crispy and totally delicious, if not particularly lovely to look upon.

Unlike these.

Valentino via Neiman Marcus

These are lovely.

Quickie Friday: Black Bean Salsa

Sometimes, I just need to be able to throw something together in less than 5 minutes to fulfill a craving.  This dip was created in just such a moment.

I combined a can of Rotel tomatoes (the habanero, because I like the extra heat) with a can of drained and rinsed black beans, three garlic cloves, and lime juice in the food processor.  I pulsed it all together until I liked the consistency, added a little salt and white pepper to taste, and that was it!  Easy peasy - and it looks much more complicated than it is.

As do these . . .

Prabal Gurung for Target

I have loved some of the Target collaborations (and loathed others) and while I haven't had a chance to check this one out in person, these shoes lead me to believe that I would fall on the loving side.

French Onion Soup

In the grand scheme of re-blogging recipes that I've blogged before, I bring you French Onion soup.  The previous version was delish, don't get me wrong, but this version was better.  Much better.

Mind you I didn't change the recipe.  No siree, I used the same recipe as my original post.  I just put more love into it.

And more love means better pictures.  Obviously.

I also sprung for really good gruyere this time around, which I believe made a big difference, as well.  The melting, flavor, everything were just . . . better.  Second time's a charm?

The F and I had this on New Year's Day and it was a perfect bonjour to 2013.

Bonjour . . . French onion soup . . . are we sensing a theme?

Saint Laurent via Saks

I am really hoping for a Parisian honeymoon, and I am quite certain that a Parisian honeymoon can't happen unless I own these shoes.  Just think, I can say Bonjour to France while wearing my Saint Laurent's and eating this soup.  Oui?

Quickie Friday: Taco Cups

What is as simple as throwing some taco meat into wontons, in a mini muffin tin, and heating it through 5 minutes before your favorite college football team officially gets sent to the National Championship?!

Nothing, that's what.  Here's the recipe:

1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup refried beans (I used my non-refried refried beans)
shredded cheese of your choosing
copious spices (I used white pepper, cayenne pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and a little bit of oregano) to taste
Wonton wrappers

Brown the ground beef, add the seasoning and beans, heat it through, plop tablespoons of the meat mixture into wonton wrapper-lined mini muffin cups, top with cheese, bake at 350 for 15 minutes and WATCH YOUR TEAM WIN!!!

I am excited, peeps.  January 7th can't come soon enough.

What did come soon enough is EVERYBODY knocking off the fabulous Isabel Marant sneakers.

via

Seriously?!  What is this world coming to?  Oy.

Quickie Friday: French Dip Roll-Ups

Hello, my name is Ash, and I'm addicted to Pinterest.  I do, however, pin with a purpose, and that purpose is primarily to find food that I can make when football is on TV and I don't feel like spending a lot of time in the kitchen.

These french dip roll-ups require three ingredients:  deli-sliced roast beef, a cheese of your choosing (I have made them with both provolone and pepper jack), and crescent rolls.  If you like, whip up some au jus on the side (Knorr makes a cheap packaged version that is great when you're cheering on the Crimson Tide and not cooking for real).  Roll the crescent rolls up with cheese and meat inside, bake according to the directions (375 for about 12-14 minutes) and you're all set. 

Another thing making my life easier:  the Neiman Marcus + Target collection.

Derek Lam

These slippers are fab and at a totally reasonable price point.  I snagged myself these Carolina Herrera Travel Bags and fully intend on going back for more.  There's nothing better than a good collaboration!

Loaded Potato "Chips"

Don't you just hate it when one of your favorite bloggers disappears for no good reason?

Obviously this is an attempt to compliment myself, but it must be done.  Truth be told, my mother and aunt were in town and we were busy gallivanting around the bay area, shopping and eating delicious things.

These loaded potato chip-like things came to my attention on pinterest, and as a non-potato eater I thought they might be worth a try, since they're so covered in stuff.

I boiled my potatoes about a minute too long and they started to fall apart, slightly, but it didn't hamper my determination to pile lots of stuff on them.  So pile I did.

And then I piled some more . . .

And then we ate.  And I wasn't a fan.  But my good 'ole midwestern, potato-loving F adored these, and his big appetite did not leave a chip on that baking stone or a drop of ranch in the bowl.  Next time I think I would add more stuff to them, spice them up a bit, but if you like loaded potatoes these are for you.

And since those are for you, these are for me!

Jimmy Choo via Bergdorf Goodman

It's only fair.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

All of my regular readers know that football season is big business around our house.  You can find us cheering for Notre Dame on Saturdays and for the Bears on Sunday (or the Raiders if you're the F, but that's not important).

Regular readers also know that we love our food spicy, so it should come as no surprise that I put a total of 10 large jalapenos in this dip.  From both a texture and a heat perspective, I think it was the right choice.

I based my recipe on this recipe, but I obviously used many more jalapenos and I substituted fat free sour cream for the mayo (a decision that I strongly recommend).  I also used substantially less of the topping than the recipe indicated, with great results.

The dip turned out great and I would definitely make it again.  I honestly didn't think it was spicy enough, but that's easy to remedy with additional jalapenos (or I may even add hot sauce).

I would also probably add more bacon because, really, who doesn't love more bacon.

I am worried that having such gorg wedding shoes is going to turn me into some sort of Fendi-aholic.

Fendi via Barneys

Between the wedding shoes and these, I'd say it's a totally reasonable and understandable addiction, wouldn't you?

Quickie Friday: Cheesy Spinach Dip

I am a lover of all things spinach.  Combine that with cheese and you have a winning combination, in my book.

I threw a block of 2% velveeta, 10 oz. of frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed dry, of course), a block of fat free cream cheese, and two cans of Rotel (the habanero kind) into my crockpot with cayenne and white pepper (plus a little salt) and set the whole thing on low.  Let me tell you, peeps, it was DELISH.  And couldn't have been easier.  We had this dip with whole grain tortilla chips and whole grain pita bread slices, and it was perfect.

On Wednesday I signed up to take my first class at Above the Barre Fitness and I am super excited.  I know not, however, what to wear, especially on my feet.  A little googling led me to these:

via
Have any of you ever taken a barre class?  Any tips or tricks?  I'm going in blind . . . and completely out of shape.

Buffalo Chicken Rolls

My love of buffalo chicken has been discussed around these parts before (see here, here, and here) so when I stumbled upon another buffalo chicken recipe, this time on pinterest, I had to give it a try.

I shredded two chicken breasts (that I had boiled) and coated them, heavily, with Frank's Red Hot Wing Sauce.  It's important to let the chicken sit in the sauce for awhile, and stir it regularly, because it is very absorbent and you want the chicken to be as buffalo-laden as possible.

I laid out my wontons and, in one corner, placed bean sprouts (for crunch), some of the chicken, and a little bit of crumbled bleu cheese.

I baked them, on a preheated baking stone, at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes.

And the result was nothing short of wonderful.  They were light, crisp, extremely flavorful, with just the right amount of crunch from the sprouts and zing from the bleu cheese.  We had ours with a football full of ranch for dipping (naturally).

Because buffalo chicken is a staple in our diet (particularly during football season) I thought it perfect to feature a shoe that is staple in one's wardrobe.  Behold the simple, pointed-toe pump.

Jimmy Choo via Saks

Now, obviously, the tangerine color makes it a little more of a standout than a staple, but given that I live in Florida and that color tends to pop against tan skin, I think they're entirely appropriate as a go-to pump.  No?