I was looking for a warm, fall-ish dish to make for a pumpkin-carving party and came across a recipe for brussels sprouts. There are million brussels sprouts recipes online and I liked this one because it combines pancetta and blue cheese and is served warm. It seemed perfect.  There are variations of this recipe that call for regular bacon or walnuts, roasting instead of sauteing. This recipe was delicious and it would be great served as a side dish.

The Huffington Post’s Food section included this recipe from the Suburban Gourmet (@suburbangourmet)

Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta, Garlic, Pine Nuts and Blue Cheese

1 Pound Brussels Sprouts, trim bottom and cut in half
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
4 to 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
salt and pepper
4 oz. Pancetta, small dice
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup blue cheese, crumbled

In a large pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil and then add the pancetta. Cook on medium until the pancetta is crisp. Remove from the pan. Add the Brussels and a couple more tablespoons of olive oil. Season with the salt and pepper. Cook for 5 to 9 minutes on medium until golden brown and just turning tender. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute.

Remove from the heat and toss into a large bowl. Sprinkle with the pancetta, pinenuts and blue cheese. Serve immediately.

Happy Halloween!

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Recently, I invited a couple of friends over for the afternoon so we could eat, drink and catch up with each other. I haven’t been cooking much these days and was anxious to get in the kitchen and try out some new recipes. Of course the first place I looked was my recent Bon Appetit magazine – I flipped through and easily saw a handful of recipes (from the July 2012 issue) I’d love to try but settled on two: Roasted Beets with Hazelnut Vinaigrette and Burrata (cheese!) and a Blackberry Salad.

Both were delicious but I’m partial to the beet-hazlenut-burrata combination. The beets were mildly sweet and we ate it with toasted baguette slices.

The blackberry salad has a mild flavor. I combined it with a spring salad mix. It was good but if you are looking for a strong flavor profile, you may want to consider adding additional herbs or balsamic vinegar.

Roasted Beets with Hazelnut Vinaigrette and Burrata

Ingredients

Vinaigrette

• 2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons minced shallot
• 1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
• 6 tablespoons hazelnut or grapeseed oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

 
Salad

• 2 pounds small golden or candy-stripe (Chioggia) beets (15-20 beets), tops trimmed
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 8-oz. rounds of burrata or fresh mozzarella, halved or quartered
• 4-5 large fresh basil or sorrel leaves, cut crosswise into 1/2″ ribbons
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts

Preparation

Vinaigrette

• Combine vinegar, lemon juice, and shallot in a small bowl. Stir in mustard. Gradually whisk in oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

 
Salad

• Preheat oven to 375°. Toss beets with oil in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a 13x9x2″ baking dish, cover tightly with foil, and roast beets until tender (a toothpick should slide through easily), about 40 minutes. Uncover (careful of the steam); let stand until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes. Peel beets (use a paper towel to help rub off the peel), then quarter them. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

• Toss beets with 1/4 cup vinaigrette in a medium bowl. Arrange burrata on a serving plate. Season with salt and pepper. Top burrata with beets; drizzle remaining vinaigrette from bowl over. Garnish with basil and hazelnuts.

Read more here.

Blackberry Salad

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pint fresh blackberries, halved if large

 
Preparation

• Whisk oil, herbs, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Vinaigrette can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Let return to room temperature before continuing.
• Gently fold in blackberries.

Read more here.

 
 

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 My amazing letterpress Guy, Alex, from Coeur Noir lured me to Brooklyn to his studio for my wedding invites. Well, actually, one of the stylists that works with my company had these fatty, beautiful thick letterpressed cards that I had to have.  My wedding invites were all that I could have hoped for. (Alex still runs Coeur Noir, but now also has a new venture, Graymarket. Super cool.)

While killing a little time before my meeting, I visited the Bedford Cheese Shop, up the street from his building, and headed down to Whisk, a super cool kitchen store with kitschykitchen things only a Brooklynite could find. Cupcake hole cutters? Equipment to make madelines? Whatever you need, they’ve got!

And I found out that they opened a Manhattan location as well. Not in New York? Visit Whisk online to get your goods.

Visit Whisk at:

Enjoy!

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I ran across Beecher’s Handmade Cheese in Flatiron when I was walking around in what could only be described as excruciating heat in NYC. The kind where you’re sure you are not smelling particularly fresh, but everyone around you is smelling the same way. I’m talking about awful. One of the biggest reasons that my husband didn’t want to move to NYC (kid you not) is that he was convinced he’d sweat through his clothes before he got to work. I told him it was nonsense, and that the subway cars were air conditioned (usually), and he’d dry off by the time his stop came. On this day, I sympathized.

I was looking desperately for a place with AC. Anywhere I could fake like I was looking at merchandise, and dip out once I got cool. And I saw Beecher’s. As a devotee of Murray’s Cheese and Artisanal, I was skeptical. But the location seemed nice and the AC was pumping. When I stepped in I saw, a little bit away from the door, a free sample of a cheddar cheese that they make in house. I walked in a little further. I saw the charcuterie and olive counter, and I stepped in a little more. At that point, the cheese aroma had taken over, and I knew I was going to explore.

I have to say I found it interesting. Definitely bigger than the cramped Murray’s, and a little less pretentious than Artisanal. And they not only age cheeses on site (I’ve been to Murray’s cheese caves, and they’re super cool…), but they make them there also. You can visit these cheesemaking kitchens. They have a cafe where you can watch the cheesemongers do their thing, or have wine in the cellar overlooking the cheese caves. This sounds like a perfect date if you happen to be dating a fellow lover of cheese. I am not in that situation. Of course you can also just buy cheese, charcuterie and accompaniments there, but there’s a lot more to explore. In the Cellar, they offer an “award-winning” mac and cheese. I’m always game for a mac and cheese sampling.

Visit Beecher’s At:

900 Broadway
New York, NY 10003
212.466.3340

Enjoy!

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Blue was in full effect the first few days of NYC Fashion Week. Powder blue to teal blues showed up time and time again. And the home goods arena was no different. Blues creeped in there as well.

Enjoy!

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So I’ve never really been a cupcake person. I always flipped through cupcake wars on Food Network, and have to admit I have never seen an episode of DC Cupcakes on TLC. Magnolia in NYC? Eh. Big deal they were on Sex and the City. Crumbs? Too much frosting. Once I moved to DC, Red Velvet, Sprinkles and Georgetown Cupcake seemed like much of the same.  I was starting to think that DC was just cupcake obsessed. I thought NYC had moved on to its obsession with dessert food trucks serving belgian waffles, natural ice cream and crepes. And then I walked past Georgetown Cupcake in SoHo last week. Seriously? What the hell was up? I decided to go in. Could it be that my jaded, never-impressed with anything, especially if it’s from another US city New Yorkers knew something I didn’t? It was cute. It smelled amazing. And you know what? I got one. And it was delicious. There may be something to this craziness after all.

Visit Georgetown Cupcake in SoHo at 111 Mercer Street (between Spring and Prince)
New York, NY 10012. Want to learn how to make Georgetown Cupcake’s Red Velvet cupcakes? Check it out here.

Enjoy!

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