a truly midcentury meal

so yesterday I told you I was sautéing onions for a turkey meatloaf. Thankfully the onion mixture could sit in the fridge overnight because the meatloaf turned into today’s project instead when I realized at 8:00 that I was out of several ingredients and that it took 1 1/2 hours to bake!!! But nonetheless the meatloaf was a success along with homemade mashed potatoes (my secret?once their boiled, put them in the kitchen aid mixer they will be creamy dreamy!!!) and green beans with bread crumbs & honey roasted almonds. Check out yesterday’s post for the link to Ina’s delicious meatloaf. And the secret to perfectly scrumptious moist uncracked meatloaf? Put a pan of hot water on the bottom shelf of the oven! Who knew?!

that cold green goo

got a little too much sun? keep your aloe in the fridge for an extra cooling effect as you rub it on your sunburn! Not only does it cool the burn, but it moisturizers and prevents peeling!!!

makin’ meatloaf for my man!

Jeffrey will be home soon…how many times have we heard Ina say that?! So since she always takes such good care of her hubby I figured I’d do the same and make him a turkey meatloaf! So Im sautéing onions with thyme and s&p right now, follow up pics to come! Here’s Ina’s recipe if you want to spoil your man too!

motivation.

A friend of mine has been going through a rough time lately and I made this for her using my most favorite app. If you haven’t checked out the rhonna app on iTunes you are seriously missing out for all your photo editing needs. But caution, it’s super addictive and has sooooo much to choose from you could waste countless hours creating greatness. some people think inspirational sayings are dumb. I’m not one of those people, I think they can be inspirational. Do I have them plastered on every wall so that it looks like kirkland’s threw up in my house? No. But they’re nice to look at every once in a while. That is all.

the best thing you’ll ever taste. seriously.

this almond cake recipe is something that I came up with (and after much trial and error perfected) out of my love for pignoli cookies. its rich, moist, fluffy, not too sweet, and has the delicate lovely flavor of almonds! you have to try it and you should seriously consider yourself to be extremely privileged right now because I am about to give you the recipe…

LORI’S ALMOND CAKE

 

2 sticks butter, softened, more for buttering pan

1 cup sour cream, at room temperature

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups sifted cake flour (you can use all purpose flour but trust me the cake flour just makes it so much lighter and delicate, you should be able to find it in the baking aisle in a box, my favorite brand is this one

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

7-oz tube almond paste, cut into small pieces

4 egg yolks, at room temperature

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

Confectioners’ sugar, for sifting over cake

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter sides and bottoms of one 9-inch springform pan; line sides and bottoms with parchment paper. Butter the paper. (You may forego the parchment paper as long as you are generous with the butter on the pan itself.) Mix together the sour cream and baking soda in a small bowl. Sift the flour and salt into another bowl. 2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the almond paste, a little at a time, at medium speed, and beat for 8 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, and mix until incorporated. It will look curdled; don’t worry. Blend in the almond extract and sour cream mixture. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, just until blended. 3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake about 1 hour. It is done when you press the top and it returns to its shape, and also shrinks from the sides of the pan. Remove from the oven and place on a baking rack to cool in the pan. When ready to serve, sift confectioners’ sugar on top and slice like a pie. Behold the celestial magesty of this cake!

it’s not a party without caketinis!!!!

this was by far my best caketini concoction to date. here’s the down side…I didn’t really measure I just poured! But you’re a smart girl (or guy) you can figure it out, and maybe you like yours a little strong or a little weaker, this is your opportunity; no harsh numerical guidelines to stick to. Be free! Ok back to the drink recipe…

Caketinis

Milk
Cake vodka
Creme de cocoa
Vanilla cake mix
Sprinkles
Powdered sugar

Take a plate and stir a small amount of powdered sugar with a few drops of milk to make a quick icing. Fill other plate with some nonpareil sprinkles. Dip the rim of glass into icing then carefully dip into sprinkles (if you go too fast they will run and the rainbow colors will become a purple mushy mess) Set aside. In a martini shaker with ice add liquid ingredients to your liking as well as a small amount of cake mix. Shake vigorously (this is important to make sure cake mix is incorporated and not lumpy.) Pour into glasses and serve immediately. But before you take a sip don’t forget to Instagram this delicious beauty!

orange makes a kitchen happy!

not your momma’s pb&j

got a sweet tooth and a hankerin’ for some childhood nostalgia? then you’ve come to the right place! these are my most prized (and popular, especially with my eight year old niece mahal) culinary creation. I know it may sound a little weird but I promise you these pb&j cupcakes are the greatest things ever. don’t believe me? make them for yourself! I’d give you the recipe, but then I’d have to kill you…. ok fine, I’ll fork it over. (food pun intended)

LORI’S PBJ CUPCAKES
– makes 12 to 14 large cupcakes or 24 minis –

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (kosher only people, its the best)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 (or so, go slowly and check the consistency) cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
a bunch of grape jelly

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line pans with cupcake wrapper…or don’t, live dangerously!
cream together butter and sugar. in a separate bowl sift flour, salt, &baking powder together. once sugar and butter are nice and fluffy add the eggs in one at a time make sure they are well incorporated. add vanilla. add flour mixture one scoop at a time, alternating with the milk. you may need less milk, you may need more. play with it! next spoon, scoop, or squirt, whatever you want to do, that grape jelly into cupcake tins. bake for aboooout 12 minutes. just keep an eye on them, every oven is different. cool on wire rack when golden brown. when cooled make holes in the center (I like to use a little apple corer like this one because it makes the perfect size spot for that jelly to hang out. fill each hole with a generous amount of jelly. (I guess you could use strawberry, or really any flavor you like, or even an assortment! I like to use purple sprinkles to let people know its grape jelly or red for strawberry and so on and so on.) also a b&tb tip; this recipe is a wonderful, flavorful, and moist plain base to use for really any flavor cake or cupcake.

PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING- once you’ve made your own you’ll NEVER go back to the can, yek!
– makes 2 1/2 cups (you can double this if you want, who doesn’t love frosting?!)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup chunky peanut butter
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 tablespoon milk (a few drops more if needed)

In a large bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. On low speed, slowly add 1 cup sugar, then a few drops milk. Increase mixer speed to medium-high, and mix thoroughly. Add remaining sugar and a few more drops milk if necessary. Increase mixer speed to high, and mix until frosting is fluffy and reaches a good spreading consistency. Put into a piping bag (or my favorite b&tb tip, a large Ziploc bag! but it MUST be Ziploc, the generic ones aren’t strong enough, they will rip on the seam and you will have a major icing seepage issue on your hands, literally! ha I crack myself up.) pipe generously onto cupcakes and sprinkle with purple sugar crystals, chopped peanuts, whatever your heart desires. now this next step is VERY important. take a cupcake and place it between your thumb and ring finger of your dominant hand. open your mouth as wide as it will go and insert cupcake. bite down. rub your tummy and go mmmmmmmm as you enjoy the deliciousness!

a love letter

trash to treasure

found this old dresser at a yard sale for $15. the faux bamboo look was super popular in the 60’s and 70’s and they truly don’t make ’em like they used to! (b&tb tip: when looking for old furniture always open the drawers and see if there is a dovetail construction, this is imperative in the quality of the piece and will let you know that a)its most likely an older sturdy piece and 2)it will be around even longer!) this was originally a bland beige color with a darker tan trim, sort of a French provincial look. but one of the most important things you must have when looking at used furniture is IMAGINATION! don’t just glance at something and immediately write it off because its not your style. as a teenager when my mother and I would tirelessly be shopping for clothes to fit my awkward “not a junior anymore but not a woman yet” shape, her number one phrase was, “just try it on.” it was annoying at the time but so very true. the same applies here but more in a mental sense, try it on in your brain, thinking about the possibilities that a little sanding, varnish, or paint could do, look beyond the surface. we had this dresser in the shed for a while waiting for the perfect use and finally when we decided to turn a spare room into a his/hers office I realized it would be perfect to hold the printer, paper, and other things as well as be a nice pop of color in the room. but what color? I headed to our trusty local Lowe’s and purveyed their assortment of spray paints. (I prefer Valspar, they have the best coverage, color selection, and a nice comfy grip for your hand) ALWAYS buy more than you need and return what you don’t use, nothing worse than running out of paint mid project. I knew I wanted to do bold black and white stripes in the office and needed a pop of color to go with it. something girly yet masculine. hmm…finally I landed on a nice glossy Kelly green. tomorrow I’ll show you the finished wall and Kelly green DIY wall art too but today we’re focusing on the dresser. so the rest is pretty simple, I carried the dresser outside, gave it a light sanding, wiped it down, and then went to town with the spray paint. (sometimes you may want to replace the old hardware with a new more modern set, that’s a great cheap & easy way to give an old piece a facelift but in this case I loved the Asian inspired bronzed hardware so I kept it!) the result was pretty fabulous. what do you think?