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I just recently discovered HBO Go and Showtime Anytime. I can watch all of my favorite shows, any season, anytime I want. Obsessed. Naturally this discovery deserved a good marathon accompanied by a bottle of wine and food. Since I chose Sopranos, lasagna was the natural choice.I'm not normally a huge fan of lasagna. There always seems to be a unpleasantly dry and so
My brother and sister-in-law had there "wedding" last weekend. Really it was a vow exchange. There is this goofy thing you can do in Colorado, where only one person needs to be present. Proxy wedding for the win! Lucky for them, the family knows people in Colorado. That person being my dads BFF and grooms man from back in the day. So needless to say they wanted to exchange their vows and throw a b
I'm back! It has been a shamefully long time since I have posted on this here blog and a lot has happened in that time. My senioritis procrastination situation really came to bite me in the past two months of my absence. Despite my heightened procrastination, I made it through my last semester of college with flying colors. That is right, I'm a UW-Madison Alumni now, which is weird to think. It is
I'm going to be in a wedding! A bridesmaid to be precise! I don't know much about weddings. The last wedding and reception I attended was when I was like 5. We are lucky I remember that (I don't remember my childhood, much less what I did 3 days ago). Now I am in the wedding! We call it a wedding, but really its a statement of vows, or both. There never was a wedding or exchange of vows, whoops. S
What is your favorite kind of cookie? I asked my sister-in-law that same question and the response was one I wasn't really expecting. Or maybe I should have because she is a bit of a selective eater. Her response was sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate chips. What do you even call that, when the major ingredient is missing? Sometimes the odd stuff is the best stuff, so s
So a few weeks ago, I got a very exciting email. I found out that I had won Heather Baird's cookbook, Sprinklebakes! I couldn't believe it! I have entered a couple giveaways on blogs before but I have never won. I was never too disappointed because before this email, I had never won any raffle. Ever. One time in elementary school, we had bingo night and I won there, but that is beside the point. O
Food and I have not been getting along lately. There has been a lot of cooking and eating, but will sub par success. Failed attempts at the perfect pumpkin Bourbon bread pudding (determination pays off people). Restaurant meals not meeting my highly anticipated expectations. Burning cookies.Buying the same smoked butterkase, on two separate occasions, for a Badger Cheese Club Meeting, and I c
Yesterday was my dad, the "Big Man's", birthday. In our family we don't go all out or anything for birthdays, but we did all head over to Mom and Dad's house to have a nice family dinner. Mom had to work late yesterday and my offer of making dinner was turned down because it would've apparently taken too much time so we ended up ordering pizza for dinner. As a nice little side to
I'm back! That's right, my last post was in May, can you even believe it! I spent 8 weeks this summer in Europe studying abroad in Toledo, Spain and then doing a little backpacking as well with my fellow blogger Emily. When I got back in mid-August who knows what happened because I had been wanting to cook and bake the entire time I was in gone. For some reason it took unti
People have been asking me a lot lately how school is going. My response is usually its been going for three weeks too many. That is right people, can't a girl just be ready to be done with school? We have all been there, right? The best part of my semester, maybe the second best class ever taken at UW-Madison, is my 50 minutes of relaxation twice a week. It is pretty awesome. We stretch, relax, c
My mouth has been watering for fall food flavors since August! I've been waiting patiently to make apple pie for weeks! I finally decided it was a good time to buy some apples for this tasty treat. My boyfriend and I made sure to buy the best of the best apples for this recipe. The only place to go for those, is the Madison Farmers' Market! The absolute best stand for apples has to be Ten Eyck Orc
I know, I have been MIA for way way too long. I'm sorry. You all really have no idea how anxious it makes me when I fall behind on posting. It feels like I'm letting you all down. I also like to believe I have loads of faithful followers.My excuse? The end of summer, birthdays, my birthday, work and too much fun. It was all squeezed in last mintue. Then school came and at the exact same time, my c
Awhile back my boyfriend's mom found a recipe in a Penzey's spices magazine she wanted to try. Knowing how much I like to be in the kitchen, she photocopied this recipe for a poppy seed cake and gave it to me. So, when my boyfriend and I decided to visit his parents this past weekend, I had to make this cake for them! I always get nervous baking for anyone. There is so much pressure I put on
My excessive eating and fine wine drinking didn't stop when I got back from California. Why you ask? The sister-in-law came back a few days after us. She only got to stay for a few days before heading back to California and then to Texas. Then she finally gets to come home forever and ever or at least until she goes off to grad school. Probably somewhere cool like Harvard or Oxford. Smarty pants.T
It has been a long while since I have wrote a post or cooked anything at all. Like the peach gallette, made it over a week ago. I have good reasons though. I wasn't cooking; instead, I was eating my way through San Francisco. Fair reason? I think so. Eating amazing food. Drinking delicious Californian wine. Yum! It was pretty amazing, which helps me forget what a giant cow I feel like, a
This is completely unrelated to this sandwich, but who else loves grapes as much as I do? When I ran to the store to buy some bread for this sandwich, I bought two bags of grapes. Only one of them made it home with me. I ate the rest as I drove. That is probably not natural, huh? I just love grapes so much, like candy.In other life news I rode my first century bike ride, that is a 100 miles. It ac
This summer I started nannying for a wonderful family. I'm normally there for a full day multiple days of the week. Being such a great family, they said I can help myself to any of their food for lunches or whenever I get hungry. And that is when I discovered these! I only tried one (because I still don't want to hoard their fridge and pantry) but it was delicious! I never asked for the recipe but
Who has been watching the Olympics like it is their job? I know I have! If you aren't watching, you are missing out. These delicious vegetable cakes made the perfect meal to kick off the Olympics. It is the closest thing to making you feel like your are there watching the games and not on your tele.Moving right along to these delicious vegetable cakes. These are traditional English food, usually m
Over the weekend, my boyfriend and I spontaneously decided to have lunch at Fratello's, a super good restaurant (one of my favorites) that is in my hometown, Appleton. Fratello's has two locations in Appleton and one in Oshkosh. I recommend going to any of them if you ever get the chance. Besides great and unique food, the atmosphere is classy and romantic. Another bonus is tha
My parents had their Monday night crew of friends over this week, and of course I jumped on the opportunity to show off my mad kitchen skills. They were going to order pizzas. Why do that when it is so easy just to throw some homemade ones together?I got to be creative with two and my mom made two. Whenever my mom and I try to cook in the kitchen together these days, it turns into a bit of a compe
Ever notice when you are really bored, it always seems like everyone is out of town or unavailable? Then all of a sudden everyone wants to get together at the same time. Woah, where was everybody last week when I was bored? All sorts of fun stuff is now being slammed into one week. No time to catch your breathe, just overwhelming fun. Then the cycle repeats itself. That is how the past week h
Why flourless you ask? Well, this weekend my family is coming down to Madison for Art Fair on the Square and I wanted to make a sweet snack that we all could munch on when they stopped by my apartment. However, many recipes are off-limits for this bunch because my aunt cannot eat gluten. I was never really aware of how many things actually contain gluten. Looking at what I eat daily, I know I eat
Summer is the season of the s'more and everything else that is wonderful. Like canoe camping. Last year was my first time camping, ever. It was a pretty big deal because I don't really do nature. The main reason is that I have a serious irrational fear of frogs. I rather come face to face with a coyote in the woods than a frog. Seems a bit rash, but it is true.My roommate and two of our friends de
These are the best doughnuts I have ever made! They may be close to the best doughnut I have ever had, or at least right up there. This is saying a lot because I love doughnuts. AKA I eat and try loads of them, whenever I get a chance.These make the perfect alternative to cake, when you plan to celebrate a birthday at 10AM. Although, I am not above eating cake for breakfast some people are. Put ca
Booyah, we made it to our 100th blog post! Brittany and I spent a lot of time contemplating what this epic post would be. Since it had to be epic, it reminded us of the Epic List. As many may know, the four of us who contribute to the blog met three years in the dorms. While living together, our guy friends made a list first. But we wanted to top them! So, the Epic List was born. It is, for o
Has anyone else been watching the Olympic trials? I caught synchronized diving the other night when it was a bit slow at work. It is some crazy cool stuff. I'm especially excited to watch the swimming Olympic trials. I even know someone who will be swimming, crazy! It was also just brought to my attention that the Tour de France starts Saturday. That is right, I like to wa
Swim lessons just started up and I've been a bit busy and trying to get into a new routine. You know how that goes, right? It is only a small change and doesn't really take up much time, but it seems to throw off your whole game. Maybe I am just in a bit of a slump. Work has at least forced me into a working out routine. Riding your bike to work plus some for the win! Now its time to kick the slum
Earlier this week I found out great news from my boyfriend - he got a raise at work! He deserved it and I couldn't be prouder of him! I wanted to celebrate so I asked him to pick a dessert that I could make. With some deliberation, we decided on white cupcakes with chocolate chips and Ghirardelli chocolate frosting. The last time I made white cupcakes, found here, I thought they were a little too
If you could be any animal, what animal would you be? I have never ever had a good answer to that question. Sure, I got the height, uncoordinated, awkwardness of a giraffe, but that always felt like a predictable default sort of answer. Not very unique, but it may be a close second.The other day I was having dinner with the family and my mom blurts out that she would like to be reincarnated a
I was just having one of those weeks. The one's where you think there is no way Friday will come and the Universe seems to be laughing at you struggle. Yup, that sums up my week so to turn it around, I made these. I was just browsing recipes and once I feasted my eyes upon this recipe, I knew my week could only get better. C'mon, its a cookie...and a brownie. And it's made with chocolate, lots of
The roomie and I went on a Target run the other day. Honestly I don't remember what we needed in the first place, but we for sure left with more junk than we needed. Target, the best place ever. Anyways, we were in the refrigerator aisle, with the Jell-O. Turns out she really likes the Jello-O Mousse Temptations. Personally I think they are sick. Your spoon leaves a perfect indent where you scoope
It is doubtful that anyone cares that we have had a onslaught of cookie and baked good posts as of late. Maybe it is the weather? The temperatures have been cool and pleasant, making it perfect for turning on the oven. Actually the weather has little influence on my turning the oven or not. It actually may get more use during the summer.If you feel like you can't do or have something, it jus
So yesterday while I was at work I was thinking about how it is less than two weeks until I leave to study abroad in Spain for the summer, and boy am I excited!!! The only problem is that being away for two months means two months of not cooking and baking, so I figured I should try to get in a couple of good posts before I leave.I decided I wanted to bake a dessert so when I got home from w
June just came out of nowhere! This year has flown by, which also implies my summer is dwindling too. I've got a long list of things I want to accomplish this summer too. Who knows it may be one of my last in Madison? That decision is a long ways away though, lets focus on the summer list:Find a hostess or waitress job. Check, cocktail waitress to be precise!Raise $4,000 for the MS bike ride. Only
For Mother's Day this year I volunteered to make dessert for our family dinner and asked my Mom what she wanted me to make. She said anything with rhubarb. Ironically, I had just been telling my roommates about how I was going to buy rhubarb the next time I went to the farmer's market and make a strawberry-rhubarb pie. I borrowed Brittany's pie pan and off I was making my first e
Challah back ya'll! This bread is awesome and you must try making it. I made this the other week to test out a recipe, give it a dry run. It was this months Daring Bakers challenge, hosted by Ruth from Crafts of Mommyhood. I wanted to try to a recipe other than what was supplied, hence the practice recipes and dry runs. A bad habit of mine is to not read the full recipe, just look at ingredients a
This is one of my all-time favorite chocolate desserts for more than one reason. It is super simple, has little ingredients, and a rich flavor. However, it's at the top of the list because it is close to my heart. This recipe was rarely made for special occasions or on holidays. It was a recipe my mom would make for my sisters and me when we needed a pick-me-up or when we all craved some delicious
Summer is officially here. The rest of the world and calendar may disagree with me, but it is here in full force for me. I had big dreams for a "its summer, lets celebrate with this bomb-tastic ombre cake" blog post. This post is not an ombre cake and school has officially been done and summer started last week Thursday. Can you say recipe failures? The post was going to go something like celebrat
Summer weather is finally here to stay and so is this chicken. My dad LOVES this chicken. It has pretty much become a staple in our summer repertoire. Is it bad that I made this for mothers day, last weekend, when it is my dads favorite? My mom doesn't dislike, so I will go with its okay. Since this dinner was truly a family affair, it was rough trying to snap some pictures. My brother was hoverin
Little known fact, I have been craving potato salad since January and the wait was worth it. This was amazing! The weather finally looks like it is going to stay warm and sunny, just in time to study for finals! If you know me though, finals are not going to stop me from taking advantage of the beautiful weather and mothers day. I know it probably sounds like I made this without tak
The weather today is gorgeous, so Nate and I decided to do some studying outside. I'm in finals studying mode and a little treat while studying is always good for the brain and provides me with a little extra motivation. What better treat to enjoy on a warm, sunny day but a smoothie (or maybe a cold beer)! These are the ingredients and approximate measurements that I used when ma
I have been planning to make these cupcakes all week, by Thursday night all the anticipation turned into was me craving a real margarita. On a Thursday night, you can't say no to that craving and needless to say giving in made the wait for these guys a lot less painful. Not only is tomorrow Cinco de Mayo but Mifflin Street block party too. These were perfect for my more classy weekend plans. I don
This recipe is one I remember from high school. We only had it a few times, but it made a place in my memory. We would have it when the family was busy but still wanted a dinner we could all sit down and spend time with each other for a bit. It has great flavor but it is extremely quick with few ingredients and little prep time.It is a great spin to an already great sandwich. The garlic adds a spe
It is rhubarb season! There are so many things you can do with rhubarb and I adore the tartness of it in deserts or savory dishes. This tart is simple, easy and elegant. It looks like you put a lot of work into it but didn't, making it perfect for guests.The hardest part of this dish is cutting the stalks on a large enough angle to make them big beautiful slices. It could have been that my stalks
The Daring Bakers' April 2012 challenge, hosted by Jason at Daily Candor, were two Armenian standards: nazook and nutmeg cake. Nazook is a layered yeasted dough pastry with a sweet filling, and nutmeg cake is a fragrant, nutty coffee-style cake.I was planning on being ambitious and making both of these, but then my procrastination for doing school work caught up to me. I was pretty excited to make
Whenever I go to a mall, an Auntie Annie's soft pretzel is always hard to resist! However, since I have been in college, I rarely go to a mall, especially since I don't have much time or money for it. This can be problematic, because then I go through soft pretzel withdrawals (even my boyfriend experienced it, too). When I was younger, I remember my parents making soft pretzel dough in our br
I have been counting down the days to the first Madison Farmers Market all month and it finally came!! My roommate and I are going big this year, and we got a wagon for all our market goodies! Go big or go home right? I got rhubarb, asparagus, spinach, pumpkin butter, green onions and my weight in pastries. It was a wagon full of success. The BEST thing I got though was morel mushrooms. On th
This recipe is the ultimate comfort food for me! It became that way freshman year of college. Anytime I would visit home or family came my way, I would get a delicious homemade loaf of my sister's banana bread, normally made with chocolate chips (the best way to make banana bread, of course!)This week when I just wasn't feeling bananas but had a bushel, I decided it was time to try to get my siste
I have learned to tolerate mushrooms. I have never enjoyed them before now and would always pick them off my veggie pizza or ask them to be taken out of my dish at a restaurant. I'm not sure if it was the thought of eating fungus or the texture, but I hated them. I have realized though that mushrooms appear in many healthier recipes and that maybe I should start eating them. &nbs
Our April 2012 Daring Cooks hosts were David & Karen from Twenty-Fingered Cooking. They presented us with a very daring and unique challenge of forming our own recipes by using a set list of ingredients!With an onslaught of schoolwork lately and being in Portugal last week, I didn't think I was going to have time to do this challenge. I was really excited about it though, especially
