sugar rush

oh halloween.

favorite holiday? maybe. but i say a lot of things are my favorite so that word doesn't hold very much weight.

most memorable holiday? most definitely.

in elementary school it was all about the costumes {made by mom, of course}: snow white, rocker barbie {not her real name and it's killing me because she was my favorite}, wilma flintstone, catwoman.

middle school came with more specific memories attached to the costumes: a mod lady, britney spears {"what's a britney spear?"} & a she-devil {and the fire ants that got stuck in my fishnets}.

dressing up continued into high school and made the usual sexy turn in college {where i was a pirate, dorothy, and a gangster}.

one halloween tradition that escaped was the unadulterated consumption of candy. {i was rationing from an early age. my stash was going to last longer than anyone else's.}

don't get me wrong, i did the candy swap and indulged a little, just never full overload.

this year i told myself all bets are off.

i laid down some ground rules {who am i without rules, really?}. i can eat as much as i want. {i don't have to be healthy today, it's halloween. plus, if i really want to, i can work in the healthy around the candy.} i have to stick to what you get trick-or-treating. no fancy trader joe's peanut butter cups. no chocolate covered espresso beans. snickers, heath bars, almond joys, reese's peanut butter cups. one of my favorites was always the caramel apple lollipop, and, fortunately, i have had one on hand.

{the one exception to the trick-or-treat candy rule: gummy candy corn from williams-sonoma. i don't like the original and it's so connected to halloween, it must be included}

the candy plan was going fine...until my body realized something wasn't quite normal. my tummy didn't feel so hot. i really hadn't had much candy. just more than i ever eat. still, not much.

i guess that's how kids feel if they're the type to plow through their candy bags in one go. i guess i'll take that into consideration for next year.

and now i'm just left with a huge stash...well, truth be told i had an unconsumed candy stockpile. so really i'm not far from where i started.

{please note: i am in no way saying that i'm done with candy for the day}

in addition to costumes and candy, i love the pumpkin tradition.

nothing quite says halloween like carving a pumpkin and roasting the seeds.

hubby-to-be and i planned on picking one up from the grocer last weekend {not from a patch, though that would be my childlike preference}. unfortunately, we were out in the pre-noreaster raininess and the only pumpkins out were cold and wet and so was i so my desire wavered.

instead i made seasonal baked goods to represent the missing pumpkin.

pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (from the knead for speed).

and pumpkin pecan scones.

the cookies were one of the weirdest recipes i've worked from. and good grief were they labor intensive. reducing pumpkin puree was quite a feat. and i don't know if i can quite say that i was doing it right.

my cookies also didn't turn out nearly as beautifully as the did on knead for speed.

what i can say is: they were delicious.

pumpkin-y. chocolate chipp-y. pie spice-y. delicious.

though not a carved pumpkin, they're perfect warm up for halloween.

priorities

this topic comes up every time we have to make a wedding decision. more specifically, it comes up when it's time to loosen the purse strings for wedding decisions.

prioritizing at work. never a problem. i always kept a notepad on hand to keep prioritized lists.

prioritizing at home. natural and obvious. we discuss what needs to be done and what we want to do and work it out.

prioritizing for the wedding. err...everything can't be a priority. can it?

high priority: photography. we love our photographer and her work. item number one to stretch the budget, if necessary, to accommodate.

high priority: food. we love food. we love to eat. we love to cook together. we want our guests to enjoy things we love. fortunately we can be a bit flexible with the specifics to stay within budget. it doesn't have to be the most expensive entree to be delicious.

high priority: lighting. often overlooked. always important. at least when you're planning an evening wedding outside. what's the point of the rest of it if you can't see. {i'm also addicted to  a beautiful chandelier outside}

high priority: paper. paper sets the tone. it's the first part of the wedding your guests see. if done well, it says something about the couple. i have always loved stationery. i've often said i'd love to own a paperie. and, since the start, hubby-to-be has appreciated beautiful paper, the difference between stock and custom invitations. we want something special. we want our guest to say "wow". we want our guests to keep our paper {we do}.

i have the save-the-date pictured in my head. clearly. unfortunately, i haven't seen anything like the picture in my head. fortunately, i am creative and imaginative and have thought of something that feels like us...unfortunately, i am not an artist. i can barely sketch to save my life {though my cards my suggest otherwise}. we also haven't united on what we want from an invitation. we need intervention. we need a designer. someone that can create what my mind sees and someone that can offer us an invitation that we both love.

we initially found a few promising options. one pricey but beautiful. two a bit more simple but better priced. after meeting the latter two we were trepidatious. neither had prior work that quite fit our vision. our low-confidence prompted a logical question from hubby-to-be: do we just go with the other option and just spend more {ahem. double our paper budget. ahem. without including programs or menus or place cards...ahem.}?

answer: we can't. it's far too easy to flex up the spending. however, a budget is a budget for a reason. whether or not we can spend more definitely does not translate into should spend more.

solution: the search for the perfect fit continues. this next contact is promising. more than promising. i'm almost giddy. face-to-face meeting to come. fingers crossed.

one priority for last week was clear: using some of my peaches so they don't go to waste.

one priority i can happily say i accomplished. in the form of...

sunday, october 23rd: Peach Crumble Scones

yield: 8 scones

for the Scones:

1 1/2 cups peaches, chopped

2 Tablespoons brown sugar, divided

2 cups flour

generous 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and chilled

1/2 cup candied pecans

2/3-3/4 cup buttermilk

1 Tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

The night before preparing the dough, combine the peaches with 1 tablespoon brown sugar. Cover and refrigerate overnight, until ready to use.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, remaining tablespoon sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Pulse to well combine. Add the butter. Pulse to form a coarse meal with pieces of butter no larger than pea-sized. Transfer mixture to a separate mixing bowl. Add the candied pecans. Toss to evenly distribute. 

Drain the syrup from the peaches through a mesh sieve into a liquid measuring cup. 

Add the drained peaches to the dough base. Toss to evenly distribute. 

Whisk the buttermilk and vanilla into the peach syrup and very slowly stream the mixture into the dough base, mixing gently until the dough just holds together {i went too fast again. you shouldn't be shocked by this point. learn from my haste}. Turn out onto a work surface or sheet of plastic wrap. Knead gently to pull in any crumbs. If prepping in advance, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Pat or roll dough into a large disc, about 3/4-inch thick. Fold in half or thirds and pat out to 3/4-inch thickness. Fold in half or thirds one more time. Pat into a disc about 1-inch thick. Brush entire top with egg wash and top with crumble. Cut into 8 wedges. Arrange on baking sheet.

Bake 22-26 minutes or until golden, turning halfway through.

for the Crumble:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Mix to evenly combine. Stream in the butter. Mix until mixture forms a crumble.

note: this makes more than enough for the scones.

priority: happy belly

achieved.

deprived

another week, another long overdue post.

i know you've just been craving a new scone recipe. more breakfast {or brunch} deliciousness hot out of the oven.

well...i've got nothing for you!

last weekend we had more adventures in dressing the mr. for the wedding {not ours, mind you}. this time we were heading to boston so between my getting dolled up and us getting out of here without blowing our whole day i didn't have time to make any saturday. {fortunately, we had some frozen zucchini cheddar biscuits that we enjoyed topped with perfectly runny eggs}

you might be wondering why i didn't make my dough ahead of time as i often do. well, because i had the wonderful notion to use some peaches that we've had for a while and, as with apples, i didn't want to make them early and ruin the dough with leeching peach juice. so there you have it. no scones.

i guess i could have made them sunday...we decided on our scrumptious croissants instead. {and they were divine}

i did make a little something last week. just not the baked sort.

the afghan, dinner sort.

earlier in the week the mr. and i picked up some reasonably priced lamb at the grocer {a rare find}. as is usual for us, we planned on finding some kind of indian recipe in which to use the meat. i didn't find a whole lot of variety {at least not much variety that had even somewhat available ingredients}. the mr. chose the first one he saw: afghan beef korma {found here}. 

last friday he was working late so i took the extra time to get the dish started early so it would be perfectly tender and all ready when he got home. i definitely took some liberties with the recipe: obviously using lamb instead of beef {so much more flavor and it works so well with the spices}, adjusting the amounts of yogurt and such, adding some ground coriander for brightness...i just tasted as i went and adjusted to preference.

it went over fabulously. it didn't have the heat that i normally like in my indian but it did have a lingering warmth. served with some perfectly cooked rice, delicious naan, and a great red blend, it was a terrific end to the week.

in the cards for this weekend:

*baked ziti

*peach scones {sunday, fingers crossed}

in memoriam

wednesday, my good friend's father lost his battle with ALS {lou gehrig's disease}. a family lost a husband, father and grandfather. the world lost a great man.

Charles "Harpo" Ebert and wife, Robin

i had the pleasure of meeting Harpo at a wisconsin cook-out in florida. at the time, the physical affects of his disease were only apparent in his speech. he was warm and beaming. his daughter said he wasn't angry because God blessed him with a great life.

one month ago, hubby-to-be and i got to wisconsin to visit my friend and her family. i can honestly say i have not met a more kind family, so much heart and love. they opened their arms to us. they found a place in our hearts. i was fortunate to see Harpo again so recently and i was warmed by how much family and love surrounded him.

i'm proud to have known him, even if only briefly.

my heart broke for his family wednesday, though i have faith that he is whole again in Heaven.

i have since donated to the cause. if you're able, i ask that you do too. for Harpo.

a reason to celebrate

note: this post was meant for much earlier this week. and then intended for yesterday (friday). but the day was quickly lost to the gym {only trip of the week. oops.} and cleaning. and afghan cuisine {friday night's dinner. low and slow.}

do you ever just get in a holiday mood?

my sister used to say her favorite music was christmas music. she literally wanted to listen to it at all times. march. june. july. it really didn't matter the time of year she was always in the spirit.

my other sister dated frosty the snowman. he was her boyfriend and there was no arguing that point. he, however, was only around during the holidays.

between the weather shifting into a cooler gear {though since it has shifted back} and the recent time with family hubby-to-be said he was in a holiday mood. so how did we address the christmas craving?

with home alone, of course.

and big, greasy {not so much greasy, because nice slice is soooo delicious} slices of pizza. {the combination of which has become a bit of a holiday tradition for us}

i put on my christmas jammies and we got comfy on the couch. i can't wait for the holidays...but they'll be here soon.

another reason to celebrate?

national fluffernutter day!!

now, i must admit i had every intention of sharing this information with you so you could celebrate the fabulous holiday. i certainly know i love an excuse to consume more peanut butter.

so how did we celebrate that one?

with fluffernutter scones, of course! {finished under the broiler with some fluff}

saturday, october 8th: Fluffernutter Scones

yield: 8 scones

2 cups flour

3 Tablespoons sugar

generous 1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon baking powder

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and chilled

generous 1/2 cup peanut butter chips

1/2 cup white chocolate chips, divided

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Pulse to well combine. Add the butter. Pulse to form a coarse meal with pieces of butter no larger than pea-sized. Add 1/4 cup white chocolate chips and pulse to chop slightly.

Transfer mixture to a separate mixing bowl and add the remaining white chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Toss to evenly distribute. 

In a liquid measuring cup combine the buttermilk, peanut butter and vanilla. Whisk to evenly combine. Slowly stream the peanut butter-scented buttermilk into the dough base, mixing gently until the dough just holds together. Turn out onto a work surface or sheet of plastic wrap. Knead gently to pull in any crumbs. If prepping in advance, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Pat or roll dough into a large disc, about 3/4-inch thick. Fold in half or thirds and pat out to 3/4-inch thickness. Fold in half or thirds one more time. Pat into a disc about 1-inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges. Arrange on baking sheet. Brush tops with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake 22-26 minutes or until golden, turning halfway through.

Remove the scones from the oven and set the broiler to high.

While still warm, smear the tops with marshmallow fluff and return set under the broiler. Broil until browned to preference - keep an eye on them it only takes about a minute.

Enjoy!

we ordered more croissants {can't resist a sale} so we had our traditional sunday breakfast, followed by a day full of football.

monday was a little rhody holiday. i say that because it doesn't seem that anyone else had columbus day off work/school {except the mail man}, while in this state, not only was there no work, there were weekend-long festivals...the italian heritage is slightly out of control in these parts. {not a complaint from me. i'll take the food and the italian markets.}

we celebrated in style. literally. we popped into j. crew to find something for hubby-to-be to wear to his step-brother's wedding. i got a little fashion show and he got some food for thought. 

this weekend we're off to boston to hopefully finish that wedding-wear duty...we'll see how that goes.

wish me luck!

an apple kind of weekend

saturday morning started with tender toffee apple scones and was followed by some unsuccessful shopping at bloomie's for friends & family. {though, bloomie's comes with the added bonus of fresh veggie juice and a chicken salad wrap}

{missed photo op: i took this shopping opportunity to don my new bright blue j brand "jeans" - and my delicious black booties...love}

sunday started with more veggie deliciousness.

i call this gem: a good morning kick in a glass
1/3 lemon
1 inch ginger (small piece)

2 beetroot leaves

1 cup spinach
1 cup parsley
1 small jazz apple

create two bundles with each the parsley and spinach. wrap each bundle with a beetroot leaf. juice it all together.

the result is spicy and tart and yummy. wakes ya right up!

then it was off to the orchard for the last honeycrisp day of the season.

last time the conditions were beautiful. this time a little less than. i opted for a long sleeve shirt, jeans and my "fireman" boots. the mister went with shorts and a polo. no jackets for either of us. no check of the weather.

upon arrival it's chilly...and misty...i feel awful because our trip was the result of my prodding. we started, as we did last time, with a cup of coffee and a cider donut each. then we made our way out to the misty fields to make the most of it.

to start, the tractor that pulled up for us was the only one that wasn't covered {we could have walked but the mister thought the tractor would be faster an we wouldn't be as cold...no so much}. the seats were wet but we survived. into the fields we chose the first row of honeycrisps to begin our adventure. the end of the row had been thoroughly picked, but i surmised that people would assume that everyone else picked through the row and not venture further in. i was right. honeycrisp heaven. he finally had to firmly urge me out of the row to make sure we had room for the other sorts. 

our next stops: 

*honey gold: golden delicious with a blush. grabbed a couple

*macoun: the farmer man said they'd be the crunchiest we'd ever tried. they looked like macintosh - my least favorite. we had to try them...the result was a bit tart like a granny smith and it had the snap that we love. grabbed a bunch

*golden delicious: they looked more like the ginger golds that i loved. grabbed a few.

*mutsu: more like a granny smith? we didn't try them, but grabbed a bunch - some, absolutely massive!

41 apples in total.

Do you know what 41 apples looks like?

that. plus we have a little more than 10 left from last time. as we were walking from the field, the mister commented that we could probably fit one more apple in the bag. too bad we were only near the kinds we didn't like. plus we were damp, frozen fingered and ready to go.

one more stop in the kitchen for some cider and more donuts for home consumption {plus one for the road for the mister and an impulse pumpkin whoopie pie for me} and we were homeward bound.

at home we warmed back up with hot cider and indulged in a lazy afternoon of football (and scrabble).

dinner {and missed photo op #2}: homemade ribs. mmmm.

good weekend.

saturday scones: what to do with an apple

we decided to go back to the apple. but, always wanting a new version, we couldn't decide what accent we wanted for this apple experience.

we eventually landed on butterscotch and white chocolate chips.

fast forward to saturday morning: i rise early {-ish. not exactly early for me. but early for normal people's saturdays.} i get right to the kitchen, having not prepared the dough in advance. i find my bag of butterscotch chips, snip it open, pop one in my mouth to confirm our scone decision, and decide i'd prefer a different direction.

toffee.

the inspiration: during our journey to wisconsin we traveled to cedarburg for a "wine & harvest festival." in cedarburg there was a lovely confectionary called amy's candy kitchen. the place should have been called "amy's caramel apple heaven." my favorite momma-pal and i had to have one. she opted for the reese's pieces, i for the pecan dark chocolate. oh. my. word. {spoken a la shirley temple in curly top} 

i didn't actually dig into my apple until we returned home from our vacay and thank goodness the apple survived (completely perfect). the apple was crisp, the caramel was buttery, the chocolate was rich, and the pecans were...salted! a surprise. a delight! sweet and salty!? this is love. {and inspiration}

saturday, october 1st: Toffee Apple Scones

yield: 8 scones

1 medium green apple, peeled, cored and chopped

3 Tablespoons sugar, divided

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups flour

generous 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and chilled

1/2 cup toffee chips

1/2 - 2/3 cup buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In a small bowl, combine the chopped apples, cinnamon and 1 tablespoon sugar. Toss to combine. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, the remaining sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Pulse to well combine. Add the butter. Pulse to form a coarse meal with pieces of butter no larger than pea-sized.

Transfer mixture to a separate mixing bowl and add the toffee chips. Toss to evenly distribute. 

Strain any liquid formed in the apples into a liquid measuring cup. 

Add the apples to the dough base. Toss to distribute. 

Add the buttermilk and vanilla to the apple liquid in the liquid measuring cup. Whisk to combine. Slowly stream the buttermilk into the dough base, mixing gently until the dough just holds together. {seriously - add it slowly, especially when using a moist fruit like an apple. i used too much.} Turn out onto a work surface or sheet of plastic wrap. Knead gently to pull in any crumbs. If prepping in advance, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

note: i don't like making any kind of apple scone in advance because the liquid continues to leach from the apples into the dough.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Pat or roll dough into a large disc, about 3/4-inch thick. Fold in half or thirds and pat out to 3/4-inch thickness. Fold in half or thirds one more time. Pat into a disc about 1-inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges. Arrange on baking sheet. Brush tops with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar and just a touch of finishing salt (like maldon or fleur de sel).

Bake 22-26 minutes or until golden, turning halfway through.

Enjoy!

note: adding pecans didn't occur to me at the time, but would be a fabulous addition. candied pecans even better!

p.s. since my scones are really my own, i haven't quite worked out the right leavening for each. trial and error. i'll get there.

(back to the) saturday scone: cranberry white chocolate chip

vacation pictures. i've never been good at removing myself the moment to capture it.

this hasn't changed.

i will take time out to cook/bake. feeding people is so rewarding.

the only photo from this vacay (at least, the only one i took) is evidence of the food that i baked.

saturday, september 24th: Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Scones
yield: 8 scones

2 cups flour
3 Tablespoons sugar
1/2-ish teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
1/2 cup white chocolate chips, divided
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk and vanilla. Add the cranberries. Chill until ready to use.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugars, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Pulse to well combine. Add the butter. Pulse to form a coarse meal with pieces of butter no larger than pea-sized. Add 1/4 cup white chocolate chips. Pulse a couple times to chop the chocolate a bit and combine.

Transfer mixture to a separate mixing bowl and add the remaining 1/4 cup white chocolate chips. Toss to evenly distribute. Remove the soaked cranberries from the buttermilk into the flour mixture. Toss to distribute, breaking up any clumps. Slowly stream in the buttermilk, mixing gently until the dough just holds together. Turn out onto a work surface or sheet of plastic wrap. Knead gently to pull in any crumbs. If prepping in advance, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Pat or roll dough into a large disc, about 3/4-inch thick. Fold in half or thirds and pat out to 3/4-inch thickness. Fold in half or thirds one more time. Pat into a disc about 1-inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges. Arrange on baking sheet. Brush tops with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar {again, i used my sparkling sugar}.

Bake 20-24 minutes or until golden, turning halfway through.

Enjoy!