Drunk on Bonboneri

Looking back on my Cincinnati visit last month, I realize again and again how blessed I am to have such wonderful family and friends! Although I haven’t posted pictures yet, or edited them, or even taken two seconds of my time to upload them to my computer (yikes!) I want to share one of my favorite moments I had while visiting home.

Meet my childhood (and current) neighbors, Maria, Julie, & Laura! We had the most fabulous time at the Bonboneri and here are the photos to prove how happy we were! After the sugar high we all experienced, Julie and Laura tried their legs out on my mother’s bicycle! A cute way to end and extremely cute day at the bakery/cafe!

If you aren’t familiar with Cincinnati’s jewel, Bonboneri, let me teach you.

1. close your eyes
2. smell butter, sugar, sweetness, absolute comfort
3. picture pink ribbons, bright pastry case lights, cookie jars, and decorative cakes
4. hold a hot cup of opera cream coffee in your hands while you devour a freshly baked Parisian-style macaroons
5. enjoy pure laughter and joy with your close friends, neighbors, and mom!

In the Kitchen

Today I’m making some food in our tiny little European kitchen with the help of Julia Child! While I was home, mom got Julia & Julia from the library for us to watch. I have to say, I really liked it! I didn’t however like the young Julia, but I don’t think you are supposed to (?) I feel bad even saying that, but she was kind of a wreck. I guess the allure of the movie was older Julia, her life and trials in France and getting her book published! It does make you want to cook, or at least be able to make a signature dish, or if you’re like me, it makes me think of my grandparents on the Stacey side, my mom, and dad! I’ll admit Joseph is a better cook than me, but I still like to pretend I’m a Julia in the kitchen!

Thrifty Kitchen – Bialetti Mukka Express

How much is your kitchen worth? This week we found another treasure amidst the trash! A Bialetti Mukka Express cappuccino maker! Yes! I’ve switched to decaf, but the aroma still wakes me up and makes me just feel good. Bialetti sells them for $89, but we only dished out $3.95 for ours! We also found a Scene it? Harry Potter 2nd Edition game set, so you can imagine how we spent our evening!

Other thrift store kitchen items:

• Krups waffle maker
• Apple Peeler
• Pasta Machine
• Dutch Oven
• French Salam Teapot
• Skotch Coolers/Thermos
• West Bend Art Deco Chrome Penguin Ice bucket
• Sushi Container
• Ice Cube Trays
• Bowls, tea tins, mugs, cups, glasses, galore!

Friday Night Lights – Rockies vs Cubs

I love a Friday night baseball game! Can you believe we are wearing sweaters and rain jackets in late July? I love Colorado!

Above: Joseph, Jon, and Jeff. Below: A pretzel for Kari (with Funacho from Cincinnati), me eating the wonderful pretzel and cheese, Seth’s big dog. It’s all about the food, baby!

Thrift Store Finds – Tea

I’m enjoying my Earl Green tea. I have recently acquired an antique tea tin from Jacksons of Piccadilly, in which I keep my tea freshly waiting for me every morning and afternoon. I love the thrift store because A. I can drop off the unwanted, clearing my flat for future finds, B. my undesirables become new treasures for someone else, C. it is the ultimate form of recycling, D. it is easy on my wallet!

What are some good finds you have come upon at the thrift store? Anything that should be featured on Antiques Roadshow? Memories from childhood? Your favorite coffee mug?

Lazy Summer Day

1. Penguin Classics Little Women and Cranford 2. Lemon Granita/Limoncello and lemon tree painting, 3. Freaks and Geeks Complete Series, 4. USPS Abstract Artists Stamps, 5. Iomoi Personal Stationary, 6. OPI Coney Island Cotton Candy

I don’t know what’s on your list for a hot lazy summer afternoon, but I’m taking it easy while I can. I don’t own these pretty Penguin Classics, but I’d love to sit in the garden and tuck into Cranford (one of my favorite Brit classics!) or Little Women, which reminds me of my dear sister-like cousins! Did you watch Freaks and Geeks when it was on TV? I’m revisiting this classic with some of my new favorite actors – hello James Franco!

Joseph has decided to make his own limoncello with the extra lemons hanging around the house. I’m looking forward to an ice cold cocktail in our courtyard before the summer ends. I can close my eyes and pretend I’m sitting under a lemon tree in Italy!

Summer is a great time to slow down, skip e-emails, and write a personal letter. Who was the last person you got a letter from? Have you sent an old friend a little hello via snail mail? Now is the perfect time to pick up some cool stamps at the post office and remember the good old days of hand-written salutations.

Save Room – Nectarines

I love the moment when Joseph comes home from work swinging two large bags of fresh fruit and veg through the door. This week in our house we have lemons and nectarines. Although the best way to eat fruit is right off the branch, I like to enjoy my summer fruit in various ways. Sometimes it is simple, like berries with cream. If we want really decadent complicated desserts, we’ll just hop over to Jaren’s house!

Tonight I’m making nectarine cupcakes! They turned out perfectly! The only catch is that I got the recipe from Living August Issue, and it isn’t posted on the web yet. Like Jaren, I too am obsessed with culinary websites like Oh Joy Eats, Mark Bittman, Bon Appetit, Gourmet, and our favorite, Smitten Kitchen! You can read some of SK’s nectarine recipes here! Happy baking!

image via Flickr Souvlaki for the Soul

Baseball Night

Thanks, Kelly, for joining me in a girls night out at Coors Field! The rain was kept at bay while we indulged in gourmet dogs and local brews at It’s Brother’s in Lodo, and cheered on the Rockies in our J.Crew purple & grey ensembles. It turned out to be a beautiful cool night, with the threat of thunderstorms constantly moving around us. The Rockies didn’t look too good last night, but little did we know, they would turn it around and take the W for the game. Look for yourself! I told Kelly, it is rare I feel really patriotic about being American, but when it’s the 7th inning stretch and everyone around you is singing Take Me Out to the Ball Game, I can’t help but feel generations of my family before me singing the same song, enjoying the same traditions… even though when I sign that song I still think of the Reds, my hometown team that I’ll always cheer for!!!

Thanks, Courtnay, Rob, and Hannah for the tickets! I love a good baseball game! Next time, I hope we can all go together! Miss you and see you at dance this week!

Kitchen Traditions – Pretzels and Beer Cheese

I love my pretzels! If you grow up in Cincinnati, it is required you consume and enjoy any soft, crispy salty, doughy, knotted morsel known as the Bavarian pretzel. I devour these German delights whether at a baseball game, concert, festival, or at home with a cold beer.

I like to make these Bavarian-style pretzels from the NY Times. I have a variation on the last part – instead of using lye, I turn to Alton Brown’s recipe which boils the cold pretzels in baking soda H2O mixture, brush with 1 egg yolk and tbs H2O, salt, then bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes. I ONLY use the boiling/egg bit at the end from Alton Brown – everything else is NY Times.

In Columbus, Ohio, (see past posts here) you can visit Schmidt’s (where Joseph and I had our FIRST DATE!) – order their famous pretzels. I DREAM about these pretzels and wish I could somehow recreate them in my kitchen. You can see a clip of Schmidt’s HERE from Man vs. Food. Although they focus on the sausage, it is still fun to watch the video.

To add to this already delicious snack, you can make my Aunt Kathy’s Midwestern-style beer cheese.  Wikipedia says it is a Kentucky invention, and I assume that is very true, but Cincinnatians love it too! It is our family tradition to have it at every gathering! We traditionally serve beer cheese in a rye bread bowl, a quintessential Cincinnati bread, but you can also try dipping homemade pretzels in your beer cheese.

Aunt Kathy’s Beer Cheese

What you’ll need:

• Brick of Cream Cheese
• Kaukauna Sharp/Extra Sharp Spreadable Cheddar Cheese
• Soy Sauce or Worcestershire Sauce
• Garlic Powder or Garlic Salt
• Light Beer (or whatever you have in the fridge)

What you’ll need to do:

1. Cream the cream cheese and sharp cheddar cheese spread together in a bowl. I like extra sharp tangy cheese, so I like to add either extra sharp cheddar spread or more of the sharp cheddar if you can’t find the other. Either way, it is really to taste so add as much as you’d like! For a mild easy crowd pleaser, add 1 brick of cream cheese and 3 small cups of sharp cheddar spread.
2. Add a few dashes of garlic powder/salt to taste.
3. Splash in soy sauce OR Worcestershire sauce to taste. I add more that 5 dashes.
4. Mix all together while adding beer, a few dashes at a time. You don’t want to use more than 1/2 can, or it will begin to thin.
5. Chill in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. Dig out a hole in your rye bread bowl, fill with beer cheese, putting the pulled bread into another bowl. Sprinkle paprika on top of beer cheese.

4th of July Photos

Grilling 101

If you are in a pinch and need some ideas for the grill this afternoon, look no further! NY Times is featuring The Minimalist’s 101 Fast Recipes for Grilling HERE! Happy grilling and eating!

Ohio ♥ Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams

Thanks, Simplesong, for the heads up about Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams! I’m from Ohio, lived in CBus during college, and LOVE LOVE LOVE anything from my home state of OH-IO! You can read their cute blog, Salty Caramel, right HERE!

Some of their flavors include:

Salty Caramel
Initial notes of burnt sugar give way to mouth-watering saltiness. A perfect salty sweet balance.

Queen City Cayenne

Rich chocolate reveals back-of-the-throat spice. Finish is tingly and complex.

Pistachio & Honey
Pure and true pistachio flavor; very lightly sweetened for a savory finish.

Bangkok Peanut
Complex blend of hot, salty, savory and sweet melt for a satisfying treat. Peanut butter and toasted coconut give way to lingering spicy finish.

In the Kitchen – River Cottage Bread Handbook

You already know I’m obsessed with Hugh and the folks over at River Cottage. Now you (and I) can make all of those delicious breadie goodies from RC’s own Daniel Stevens. And as you also know, I am obsessed with NY Times T Magazine, the source of this picture and information! Here’s the actual T Mag article:

There’s something oddly exhilarating about baking a great loaf of bread. But unless you’re a seasoned baker or a no-kneadist, it’s not a feeling you get to experience that often.

Kitchen Goddess

My dear friend, Jaren, always has the most wonderful and entertaining summer (any season, really) get-togethers at her charming house. Whilst searching the web for Father’s Day ideas, I came across this lovely little collage from Antrhopologie (there are good Father’s Day gifts at Anthro too)! But it reminded me of Jaren, the kitchen goddess, her amazing cocktails, food, and kitchen aromas. She is a girl of many talents, math genius, artist, gardener, baker, pianist, sewing extraordinaire, wife, and now the proud owners of two little Bostons! So a big thank you to Jaren, for always being the perfect hostess and always inviting us to your lovely home! Long live summer!

Play with Your Food

What does your day at work look like? If you work at Whole Foods, it may look like this: