New Photos

One of my very best friends got married last weekend and I was honored to be a bridesmaid. Here are some photos Ben and I (okay, mostly Ben) took from the event and the weekend we spent in the country. On another note, I'm feeling MUCH better, so I'm starting to get back into my cooking.

Crickets

I haven't done a very good job at keeping this blog updated since I've been pregnant and one reason is because I've done little to no cooking at all. Blame the hormones. All I want is rice or brussels sprouts or mac and cheese or ice cream or bagels. And I'm too tired to actually look up a recipe, shop for all the ingredients and then cook. Usually b/c I'm STARVING by that point. So, I'm not abandoning this blog, I'm just on a little hiatus until I'm feeling up to cooking again. I'll post a few random things here and there since my blog used to be random, but then turned more towards cooking/baking/eating/nominess. So back to the randomness!

Here are some pretty shots I took at my BFF's bridal shower this past weekend in NYC.

Pretty Peonies

Favors: floating candles that looked like apples!

Gift table... there were WAY more gifts after I took this pic.

With the beautiful bride to be!

Cutest little pup, Tallulah

So True

Yup... that's about right ;)

Avocado Chimchurri Bruschetta

Sorry for the absence... I've been busy being pregnant! YEP! :) Anyway, back to what I like to talk about most, FOOD! I've made this recipe twice now and everyone loves it! It's a fantastic appetizer, particularly if you are an avocado fan, and if you aren't then I feel sorry for you.

Avocado Chimchurri Bruschetta

2 Tbs. lemon juice
2 Tbs. red wine vinegar
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped cilantro, minced
1//4 cup chopped fresh parsley, minced
3 minced garlic cloves
2 avocados, peeled, pitted, and cubed
1 baguette, sliced and toasted (I've used both white and whole wheat baguette)

Combine the garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, oregano, and black and red pepper in small bowl.
Whisk in the oil until thoroughly combined, then stir in the herbs.
Gently toss the avocado cubes into the sauce.
Spoon the avocado and sauce mixture onto toast slices.

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie

Look at this giant cookie Ben made me. It was oh so delicious!

March Madness

I haven't posted b/c I've been busy with this!!

Enjoy all you foodies :)

Baked Brie Bites

My go-to appetizer to please any party goer is baked brie. It's cheap, easy and ALWAYS a hit. There has never been a time where I didn't end up with an entirely empty plate. So when I stumbled across this gem of a recipe while perusing an amazing food site, Tastespotting.com, I knew I hit the baked brie lottery! I decided to make it when my friends Abby and Zack came over for some drinks. Zack doesn't like jam, so I made some without (I know, he's crazy!).

Crescent Brie and Raspberry Bites
by Taste and Tell

1 tube refrigerated crescent rolls
Il de France brie (I am not a brie snob, so choose what you wish)
raspberry jam

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a mini muffin pan.

Unroll the crescent dough. Separate into 4 rectangles by pinching 2 triangles together. Slightly flatten out rectangles. Cut each rectangle into fourths, making 16 smaller rectangles.

Arrange dough in the mini muffin pan, forming small cups. Cut brie into small pieces, about 1/2 - 1 teaspoon each. Put one piece of brie in each crescent cup. Top each with 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of raspberry jam. (Definitely do not overfill your cups, no matter how tempting.. they will runneth over!)

Bake in preheated oven for about 10 minutes, until crescents are golden brown and cheese is bubbly. Remove from oven. Serve warm.

I think I could've cut these into even smaller pieces for the bites. More brie, less bread.

I prefer a rind-less brie.

See.. definitely could've gotten more bites out of that dough.

These pieces of brie may have been a little aggressive. Next time I'll go smaller.

Jam and jam-less.

They came out a little messy b/c of over filling, but I think next time I will experiment with baked brie balls! I'll just fold the dough completely over!