sweet potato gnocchi

With sage, chestnuts, and brown butter. I made these once before and they are super yummy - sweet and nutty, tasting like fall. Somehow the last batch were more elegant - these turned out a little more large and lumpy-lookin'. Let's call it "rustic." This recipe is from the October issue of Gourmet magazine 2009. (RIP) Be aware when frying sage that your neighbors will think you've been smoking pot all day.

marshmallows

So, I was so enamoured by the marshmallows I bought in Madison, I decided to make them for Christmas presents this year instead of cookies. Time to practice! I found a great recipe online, which worked really well. I had a super-delicious brunch at Southport Grocery and Cafe yesterday: A chorizo, goat cheese and arugula omelette - yum! They also have a gorgeous little market there with all the fancy food things I love, so I bought some rose water (among other things). My marshmallows were raspberry-rose flavored, and I added a few drops of red food coloring to make them pink. So purty! I am very pleased with myself, as I don't often make candy and when I do, it usually becomes a sticky disaster involving serious burns and a good deal of cursing. I tried a marshmallow in a cup of Vosges "La Parisienne" drinking chocolate,which is really thick and rich - just like Maxim's. It melted into a gooey delicious chocolate-marshmallow soup - the best treat on a cold November day.

patchwork pillow, cheese extravaganza

I've been really bad about not posting because I was totally distracted by the anticipation of and participation in A Super Rad Wisconsin Cheese Weekend with a couple of my cheesemonger friends. We went to the Wisconsin Cheese Originals Annual Festival in Madison, where we tried lots of delicious cheese (Rush Creek Reserve - hooray! If you like stinky, gooey, washed-rind cheese, this is the one for you) and shopped at Fromagination, pictured above. Aside from lovely cheese, they also carry these beautiful marshmallows from a company called Butter. I bought some rose flavored ones and devoured them all myself. What a great weekend! We had some great meals at Nostrano and Sardine and just pigged out generally. Then I came home and made this little pillow from bits and pieces of all the lovely fabrics I've been collecting. I put it in my shop on Etsy, and I will definitely be making more.

halloween cupcakes



I made some chocolate mini cupcakes for a Halloween party - with this recipe. I  love anything mini as well as anything orange. I made my own frosting with 8 oz cream cheese, 1 stick butter, a little orange zest and a little fresh orange juice (about 1/8 of an orange), a box of confectioner's sugar and some red and yellow food coloring. Happy Halloween! I'm going to watch some zombie movies now.

pumpkin pie

With real punkin'! I used this recipe for the filling - except I cut the pumpkin in half and roasted it at 375 for about an hour instead of boiling it. Pie is best for breakfast, don't you think? I also made roasted pumpkin seeds from this little pumpkin and the Jack-O-Lantern, but I forgot to take a picture before we ate them all. I will do another batch for sure. 

business cards

A couple of dog sketches for some new business cards I'm having made by Invited Ink. The proofs look great! I wanted something specific to the pet portraits. Also, I added a listing for the paintings to my Etsy site, just for the time being, until I make a portrait-specific website. It's:  http://www.rugs.etsy.com/

squash soup

I just ADORE my new wooden recipe box from Rifle Paper Co. in Florida. I had to wait a long time for it, but it finally came! Now I just have to fill it up with delicious recipes. This Fall I've been making a lot of soups, including a super healthy acorn squash soup:

1 acorn squash
1/2 onion
1 clove garlic
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
olive oil
butter
salt
pepper
curry powder
cinnamon
1 cup (or so) chicken stock
splash of milk

Cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Lightly grease cut sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place squash halves cut side down on a piece of parchment paper on a rimmed cookie sheet and poke holes in the rind with a sharp knife. Bake at 375 F for about an hour or until soft when pressed. Roughly chop onions, garlic, carrot and celery. Sautee in a little (2 tsp) butter or olive oil until tender. Add a little curry powder and cinnamon if you like. Allow cooked squash to cool somewhat before scooping out and adding to sauteed vegetables. Add chicken stock and a little milk until the soup has the desired thickness. Simmer slowly until the carrots and celery are really soft, then blend to a smooth consistancy - I used an immersion blender that my mom gave me. It is a Cuisinart and it works great. Season to taste with salt and pepper. I like a ton of black pepper!

bulldog

A memorial portrait of Pudge the bulldog, for a friend. What a cutie! I need to set up a wesite for pet portraits, will post a link when I do so.

apple pie

Made an apple pie (well, 2, actually) for the Bucktown Apple Pie Contest this past weekend. Plus a practice pie. So I guess that makes 3 pies, phew! They gave me a mug for participating, one of those hefty diner-type ones, I love it. The top picture is my practice pie. I put a lot more apples in the final product, the lower picture. I won't print the recipe, since it is a contest and I will be tinkering with the recipe for next year. I will say however, that there is a ton of good sharp cheddar in the crust. Yum! I made the semifinals, plus both my pies had been devoured by the time I got to their table, so I was pretty pleased overall. It was such a cool event, you can buy a slice of any of the other pies - and eat it with vanilla ice cream! I tried a delicious sheet pie with a gorgeous flower pattern in the crust. Needless to say, I have consumed an obscene amount of pie in the last few days.

Cottage Pie

Another reason to welcome colder weather: heavy filling foods. I make this a lot in the winter. I don't really use a recipe, but will try to record how I make it as best I can.

1 lb. ground beef (from Cedar Valley Sustainable)
2 carrots
1 stalk celery
1/2 onion
2 large russet potatoes
5 tbsp. butter
1/4 c. milk
2 tbsp. flour
1 c. stock (I used chicken this time)
salt and pepper to taste
dash of worcester sauce

In a large pot, boil potatoes until tender (I poke them with a skewer to check). Meanwhile, brown ground beef in a pan over medium heat. Chop celery, carrots and onions and add them to the pan. Add salt and pepper (and worcester) to taste, lower heat and continue cooking until vegetables are tender. By the way, you can use whatever vegetables are handy, I often include peas. Mash together 1 tbsp. butter and 2 tbsp. flour with a fork, then add paste to meat mixture and stir in with a wooden spoon. Add stock and cook until mixture thickens. Place meat mixture in the bottom of a baking dish.
Make mashed potatoes: Drain potatoes in a collander, then, using kitchen towels to handle hot potatoes, gently peel them with a knife or your fingers. The skins should come right off. Mash potatoes with remaining butter (add as much as you like, I'm just estimating 4 tbsp.) and a splash of milk, just so as to get the right fluffy consistancy. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spread mashed potatoes over mince, I used a fork to make the wavy pattern. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes, until the sides start to bubble or the top gets browned. I usually make it ahead and just leave it at room temp until ready to bake. It might need less time if you are putting it in while it's still hot from the pan, or more time if it's coming from the fridge. Yum Yum!

finished stripey sweater

I finished my oversized stripey sweater, yay! The Berocco Vintage Chunky was great to work with and is machine washable, too. The sweater is huge and cozy and knit up very quickly. I knew there was a reason not to mourn the end of the summer: sweaters!

spiced sugar cookies

Chewy, faintly spiced and not too sweet:

1 1/2 c sugar
2 1/2 c flour
1 c butter (room temp)
3 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar, then add vanilla and egg yolks 1 at a time. In a separate bowl, mix all other ingredients. Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet mixture. Form dough into small round balls and bake on parchment lined cookie sheet at 350 degrees F. until cookies are browned around the edges, 10-15 mins. or so.

flamingo mitts

Made these cute hand mitts for a friend of mine who used to have hair this color and who also happens to have a penchant for flamingos. She is very dear and going through a tough time, so I wanted to make her something snuggly and soft. This yarn, Blue Sky Brushed Suri, is wonderfully fluffy and I really enjoyed working with it. The pattern (quick and easy - loved it) came from Nina, a lovely little knitting shop here in Chicago.

stripey sweater

I have been liking a lot of the patterns in Vogue Knitting recently, especially this cool oversized stripey sweater. The pattern calls for Bergere de France yarn, which seems to be very difficult to find in the states. So why do they keep doing this in an American magazine? The last sweater I made from Vogue also called for the same yarn. Frustrating. So, rather than try to track down this elusive stuff, I opted to order some lovely Berroco Vintage Chunky from Webs. I think I did a pretty good job of matching the colors, at least I am very happy with how they appear in real life. I just received it in the mail, and it is very soft as well as machine washable. I am excited to knit with it for the first time, we'll see how it goes!

vintage fabric finds

Haven't been posting since I was in Maine for a few days. While there I found some nice vintage fabrics and a bunch of hankies. The second fabric has a very cool pattern that imitates the look of patchwork blocks, which I think could be used to make a make a clever quilt. I was wondering if I might use the hankies in a quilt as well, if I layered them on top of plain white blocks. I think I'm beginning to develop a hankerchief addiction.

another horse dress

I guess I really like horses, because I made another horsey dress. I found this cool corduroy on sale at Joann's. I have a better picture of the dress on the dressform, but I just liked this one with Pete doing yoga in the background.

chocolate chip cookies

Simple, but yummy:

3/4 c sugar
3/4 c packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 c flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 c butter
1 tsp baking soda
2 c chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar together in electric mixer. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time. In a separate bowl, mix flour and baking soda. Add flour mixture gradually to wet mix until just blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoonfulls onto parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 350 f. for about 10-15 minutes, until browned at the edges. I like them more crisp and therefore brown all over. My husband likes them chewy, so I cook some 'til just the edges are brown.

colette chantilly #2

This is the second version of the Colette Chantilly dress that I made. I went 2 sizes down this time, but it was still too big! I think I have to take it in around the bust a little more, but I still think it is a very nice pattern and a pretty dress. I just wish the sizes worked better for me.

fried chicken dinner

This month we got a whole cut-up chicken in our meat share from Cedar Valley Sustainable Farm. I have been wanting to make fried chicken for a while, but hacking up a whole chicken has seemed somewhat daunting, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Ordinarily, I'd just dust the chicken with flour, salt and pepper, but Jon's love for KFC inspired me to try to make an extra crispy crust. This is how I made it:

Soak 1 whole cut up chicken in 1/2 gallon buttermilk and about 1/2 c salt and some pepper for a few hours or overnight.

Remove chicken from brine and place pieces, a few at a time, in a large ziplock bag with about 2 cups flour seasoned with salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder to taste. I probably used about a teaspoon of each.

Dip coated pieces in a slightly beaten mixture of about 2/3 c milk and an egg yolk, then return to bag for a second coating of flour.

Meanwhile, heat about 1 c vegetable oil and 1/2 c lard or shortening in a heavy cast iron skillet over medium to low heat.

Place chicken pieces (a few at a time) in skillet and fry slowly for about 1/2 an hour, until brown and crispy all over. Try to avoid turning too often or the crispy batter will fall off. Drain on paper towel-lined plate.

I also made some tasty drop biscuits using this recipe. For both the chicken and the biscuits I used  homemade lard - yum! The book that taught me how to render the lard is called "Jam it, Pickle it, Cure it" and it is a great resource. I am out of lard now, so I will have to make some more and take some pictures as I'm doing it. Needless to say, this was not the healthiest meal I've ever made, but we had a salad to go with it...as if that makes up for all the lard. Ha!

cornbread

I found a great cornbread recipe here. I also add about a cup of shredded cheddar which makes it super moist and delicious. Seriously, this is the best cornbread ever. I like it toasted (or burnt?) for breakfast.