Buttermilk Roast Chicken

I have spoken, on occasions prior (here and here come to mind) of my love of Smitten Kitchen (and I am BEYOND STOKED for Deb's cookbook to come out), so when I saw this recipe for Buttermilk Roast Chicken it became immensely obvious that I needed to try it.

I made my own buttermilk and put the chicken in the marinade 24 hours before roasting.  I would've liked to have let it soak for another day, but I literally saw this recipe and made it the next night.

I don't cook with paprika often, and when I do I'm always reminded that that's silly.  I love paprika.  And the combination of it with the garlic and buttermilk in this recipe is DIVINE.

The chicken roasted so perfectly and was so tender and full of flavor that I kicked myself for not making a billion other recipes that I have bookmarked from Smitten Kitchen.  This was a reminder to do just that.  Soon.

Similarly, I also love the B Brian Atwood line and would like to remind myself to purchase each and every pair from the collection.  Including these:

B Brian Atwood via Bergdorf Goodman

Sensible budget (much like sensible eating) be damned.

Gettin' Corny

Last Friday, this recipe for sour cream cornbread wtih aleppo appeared on my favorite cooking blog, smitten kitchen.  When I saw the title, I admit that I had no idea what aleppo was, but I did know that I loved Marcus Samuelsson on Top Chef Masters and that I would try this recipe anyway . . . without the aleppo.

I substituted (a heaping) 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper for the aleppo (which I'm confident I couldn't have found anywhere near my apartment), as suggested in the notes before the recipe.

My oven bakes terribly unevenly (I can't WAIT to own a place where I can have decent appliances) so this didn't turn out as well as I would've liked (meaning that it cooked perfectly on the ends and, despite 10 extra minutes in the oven, only browned on one side and remained doughy in the middle).

The outer edges, that were baked through, were delicious in spite of my oven's inadequacies.  The BF informed me that this didn't have as much flavor as the boxed cornbread that I've made in the past, but I think he was wrong.  This tasted better.  It had a kick, but wasn't too spicy, and it was tender and delicious.  I think it would've been better with honey butter, but I'll try that next time, when I have an oven to bake a decent loaf!

With my trip to The Vegas a mere 3 and 1/2 days away (Thursday!  WOO!), I have over-the-top shoes on my mind.

Givenchy via Barneys

These fit the bill for me.  Crazy leopard print, amazing cut-outs, and a high (but not too high) heel for roaming the strip.  Perfect!

Starting the New Year Off Right: Monkey Bread

Happy 2011 everyone!  My new years eve was low key, and involved many hours of Mario Brothers and The Tudors.  I managed to stay awake long enough to watch the ball drop . . . barely.  But only because I knew what awaited me in the morning . . . monkey bread!

Well, it didn't really await me, since I had to whip it up once I woke up in 2011, but the preparation was well worth it.

I used a pizza cutter to slice my dough into 64 pieces (approximately . . . I'm not a counter) and as Deb, over at Smitten Kitchen suggested, I browned my butter before dipping the dough into it, and then the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture, and it created a wonderful nutty flavor that was just wonderful.

I didn't make the glaze quite right (mine was a little lumpy), and I made a little bit too much of it, but it tasted really good so I'm not complaining.

The BF, who loves all things sweet, wasn't crazy about this delicacy.  I couldn't believe it!  If I had dipped the dough in melted peanut butter cups, I think he may have changed his mind.  Oh well . . . more for me!

The new year is, I hear, a time for making resolutions.  So I have made a few. 

1. Stop being lazy and finish my Couch to 5K.  It started at couch, for goodness sake, how hard can it be?!
2. Try new cooking techniques that I'm scared of.  I tried a souffle.  It wasn't a total disaster.  Now try something else.
3. Continue getting straight A's in "library school."
4. Buy myself one fabulous (yet timeless) pair of shoes (or maybe not just one).  Maybe these:

 Yves Saint Laurent via Nordstrom.

They seem like a good starting place for 2011, to me!  Happy New Year!

Let (me) Eat Cake!

Sorry for the absence, peeps, I have been VERY busy the last few days, eating, baking, spending quality time with my mom, and spending money.  Lots of money (but all for FABULOUS things so who gives a damn, right?!)!

Yesterday, for the big birthday celebration, mom helped me make a buttermilk spice cake with maple cream cheese frosting.  I haven't baked a cake since my "cake phase" in the 9th grade (at which point I ate, I kid you not, a cake a week.  I caked myself out.) so I was excited to give this a go and it was DARN TASTY.

I used 1 and 1/2 times the amount of spices in the cake and made 1 and 1/2 times the frosting (because of all of the layers) but I was very excited with how well it turned out!

I also baked my cakes at 325 for about 28 minutes, because of the dark color of my cake pans.  If you have light cake pans, I would follow the recipe.

I'm not going to lie, icing this cake was a bit of a disaster (as you can see).  Even in my cake phase, I didn't frost layer cakes (my cake-happy self simply made my cakes in a 9x13 pan and iced the top, which is a LOT easier) but trying to frost this cake was actually kind of fun, and it looked so nice when it was all sliced up.

Yes there are crumbs in my frosting.  Yes my layers look a little . . . unkempt.  But this tasted so good that I didn't care!  And the BF, who doesn't like cake, really liked it!  That is a feat in itself, for sure.

These Seychelles boots (in black, of course) were my birthday gift to myself.

And I can now cross "non-slutty over the knee boots" off of my "to purchase" list for the fall.  HOORAY!

Blue(berry) Muffins

I have a confession:  I love muffins.  Another confession:  back in December, I made some muffins that sat on the counter for a wee bit too long, and almost killed the BF because he didn't think to look closely at said muffins before taking a big bite.  I won't disgust you with the details.

Since then, I haven't made muffins and thought that if I were to make muffins again, I would need a new recipe.  Cue Smitten Kitchen and the perfect blueberry muffins.  These are WONDERFUL and so easy to make.

I used frozen blueberries and, because sometimes I don't read directions closely enough, my muffins turned VERY blue because I let my blueberries thaw first.  It certainly didn't affect the flavor, though.

All warm and slathered with butter they were, as promised, perfect!

Whilst eating these perfect muffins, Arnie, the BF and I snuggled in for a mini-marathon of the Tudors and I couldn't help thinking about how much MORE I want a pair of over-the-knee boots after watching that show.  There's something fabulous about a soon-to-be queen (or plain old trollop, depending on who was asked) wearing over-the-knee boots with an enormous riding dress while galloping through the woods.  All the boot-thoughts led me to these:

Image via Nordstrom.

Elizabeth and James.  Fabulous.  And SO SO SO out of my price range.  For now . . .

Cubed, Hacked, and Delicious

My absolute FAVORITE foodie blog (I have absolute FAVORITE other blogs, usually that relate to fashion and interior design) is Smitten Kitchen.  The author, Deb, is absolutely charming and endearing in her delivery, she has an adorable child whom she sometimes shares photos of, and she cooks and bakes things that I could only dream of making.

I decided to try her cubed, hacked caprese today, for our Saturday football appetizer, and it did not disappoint.  I love all things related to tomatoes and cheese (especially fresh mozzarella) and this recipe is no exception.

That's the salad all mixed up.  YUM.  I decided to toast some french bread, then drizzle it with olive oil and rub it with garlic, before piling the amazing mixture on top.

The BF informed me that, while he found this treat to be tasty, he couldn't feel it clogging his arteries and, therefore, it doesn't count as football food.  Fair enough.  The BF also informed me that I spent too much money on cheese for this recipe ($15 is hardly too much for fresh mozzarella, I say).  Those opinions aside, the BF loved it as much as I did and this recipe will definitely be kept in my ever-growing recipe collection.  Thanks to Smitten Kitchen for introducing me to such an amazing recipe!

Shoes!  Well, it's Saturday.  Which means two things:  slippers and football, so . . .

GO IRISH!  And how stinkin' cute is Arnie, seriously?  She is the commander of cute.