lovely things thursday + the afternoon light

The afternoon light on my beautiful Glassybaby,  the amber bottles I found while thrifting recently and a few See's Candies Halloween chocolates made their way into this shot as well!  Hope you have lovely day!

Bite size

The New York Times had a tiny cupcake on the front page of Dining today from Baked by Melissa.  The last few times we were in NY we managed to stop by quite a few times.  They have 5 locations conveniently sprinkled around the city and just seem to appear right when you need a little treat.  They are hard to resist.  Everything is turning up in bite size from popsicles to cannoli's. 

This inspired me to make a few mini treats. . . everything in size tiny is just so much cuter.

The New York Times, Wednesday, October 26, 2011

more butternut squash + salad

Ina Garten's roasted butternut squash salad with warm cider vinaigrette reminds me of the warm spinach salad of the 1980s.  It was on every menu and they typically served it table-side so the spinach would not wilt.  This salad is made with arugula, butternut squash and dried cranberries...a perfect fall salad.

I actually used leftover butternut squash that had already been roasted.  Put it on a baking sheet, added a few dried cranberries and roasted for about another 5 minutes.

The salad dressing is right out of the pantry.  I had everything on hand which is sort of evident because I probably would have purchased fancy cider vinegar and apple juice if I had to make a special trip...but with these simple ingredients it makes this salad over the top delicious!

Just a gentle toss and this salad is ready!

"Yes Please"

I asked my daughter over morning coffee if she would like to go to LA for the day and her reply was, "yes please."  Good answer, because sometimes it's just a good idea to get out of the hood...our familiar surroundings.  It's not all that easy to do in Southern California.  It was actually less stressful to go into Manhattan when we lived about 40 miles outside the city in Connecticut.  LA traffic...it's as bad as everyone says it is...period.  Still, there's much to see and experience in Los Angeles.  My daughter Madeline and I love to shop and eat, so that's what we did in LA on this beautiful October day.

We found ourselves complaining that putting in two quarters only registered 15 minutes on the meter.  Wait a minute...that's only $2 per hour.  Aren't we used to spending $15 an hour in some midtown NYC parking garages?  Why are we complaining?  They even make it as easy as inserting a credit card and adding minutes.  Okay, maybe there's a few things good about LA.  We had a good laugh about a Woody Allen quote Madeline heard from her AP English teacher.  It goes something along the lines of "the only cultural advantage that LA has over New York is that you can turn right on red."

We had lunch at Chin Chin in Beverly Hills for less than $20 and brought some home.  This part of BH seems, at least to us, off the beaten path and far less typical of what you might think of Beverly Hills.  Madeline is embracing the preppy style and I have to say I am loving it!  Jewelry:  Helen Ficolora "M" charm necklace, acorn locket on long chain, Madewell, bracelets, H&M, TAG Heuer watch, her dad's.

The corner of Beverly and Charleville.  Dimsum at Chin Chin.

What she's wearing. . . Prep head to toe starting with a Burberry sweater of mine from like 15 years ago, her little brother's Ralph Lauren shirt, Coach bag, a recent Thrift store find, cut off shorts from American Eagle Outfitters and  Sperry Top-siders.

We ended our day by strolling through the Farmers Market and a little shopping at The Grove.  There is so much going on here on a Saturday evening.  We heard live music from Midnight Train and there was an outdoor movie going on as well.  So how did you spend your Saturday?

It's soup season

I love fall and I love to cook in the fall...it's not exactly soup weather here in Southern California, but the temperature did dip below 70°, so soup is on the menu!

 One of my favorites is Butternut Squash Soup.  The ingredients are simple and I think it's the Dean & DeLuca Chili Powder Blend that makes all the difference.

This time I made home-made croutons to go with the soup.  In the freezer I had an assortment of left over bread, including a cranberry bagel.  I cut the bread into cubes, drizzled a little olive oil and added some dried herbs and baked in a single layer for about 20 minutes in a 400° oven.

A lot of the flavor also comes from slow roasting the squash.  I use one large or 2 medium butternut squash and peel, seed and cut into 1 inch dice.  I mix it together with course sea salt, freshly ground pepper and olive oil.  Place on a baking sheet and bake until tender, turning once.

While the squash is baking...Dice one large onion, 2-3 shallots and three cloves of garlic.  I use a 7 1/4 quart Le Creuset which is the perfect size for this soup.  Saute all the vegetables in olive oil until soft, season with salt and pepper and add 1 tablespoon of chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, 1/2 teaspoon cumin and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne. Add about a tablespoon of all-purpose flour and stir constantly for a few minutes until it's almost like a paste.  Be careful not let it scorch.   Then add 1 quart hot vegetable broth.  You can use chicken broth, but we prefer vegetable stock in this soup.  Add in a tablespoon of tomato paste and simmer for about 30 minutes.  While still hot, blend until very smooth with an immersion blender or blend in small batches using a regular blender.  If using a regular blender, remove the small inner cap and cover with a clean towel.  Right before serving, you can add a little milk.  It's delicious without it, so we usually skip it.

apple pie in size x-small

Using a little extra pie crust from the chicken pot pies I made mini apple pies. 

I recently found these little dishes at IKEA.  They measure only 3 1/2 inches across and are about one inch deep.

I made them the way my mom made apple pie. . . except I used only one granny smith apple, a tablespoon of cinnamon sugar, a tablespoon of brown sugar, a little bit of butter and a cube of sandwich bread for each dish.  Using the left over pastry, I cut 8 circles using Williams Sonoma set of eleven decorative cutters.  I chose one slightly larger than the dish.  Placed one in each of the four dishes and put a little of the brown sugar in the bottom of each.  Then divided the apple mixture and placed a cube of bread and a tiny bit of butter on each and placed the pastry on top.  Using the tines of a fork, I crimped the edges, cut three slits in each and brushed with egg wash, sprinkled a little pink sea salt and baked for about 15 minutes.

 Making only four individual small servings allows me indulge in one of my favorite fall treats...without any guilt.  And with no leftovers, I won't be tempted to have another piece with my coffee in the morning.

Ina's chicken pot pie + Juliska

We were looking for a recipe for chicken pot pie when we concluded that you just can't improve on Ina Garten's recipe.

With the exception of frozen peas and pearl onions, it's all fresh ingredients.  We even used home made chicken stock.  We don't always have the time for this, but since it was the weekend...

Once the chopping is done, it comes together pretty quickly....but then it needs to bake for an hour!

 The recipe says to divide the filling equally among four bowls.  I used large Juliska ramekins and it made nine individual servings.  The bowls hold about 11 ounces to the top.  This still seemed like a generous size serving.  Also, to cut down on the calories a bit I cut a pattern for the pastry to fit just inside the ramekin as opposed to cutting it larger and fold over the bowl as the recipe calls for.  I purchased these bowls at the Juliska flagship Store in Stamford, CT.   This beautiful store is very close to the Stamford train station and they have an adorable cafe.  It's worth the trip from NYC.  It's about 45 minutes on Metro North from Grand Central Terminal.  There was an excellent feature in Matchbook Magazine.

When I was cleaning up the dishes I noticed how beautiful the light was coming into the kitchen.  I love cooking in the afternoon.