Friday

For some reason this week seemed very long despite the fact that it was only 4 days.  I am so happy Friday is here.  Though the week dragged a bit, I will say that it is hard to believe that we are almost half way through October.  I realized how quickly the holidays are approaching and that I need to get my travel booked, which kind of blew my mind. I can't wait to spend some time at home over the next couple of months...it's been forever. 

In other news, I bought my first bag of candy corn this week, which also means my first candy corn induced stomach ache is probably right around the corner.  I have always loved this little seasonal delight and I don't care how artificial or tooth-achingly sweet it may be.  It reminds me of chilly evenings and the smell of pipesmoke, both of which I love.


Mmm...Harvest Mix

Tonight I am kicking off the weekend with drinks with one of my favorite ladies and then tomorrow we are heading up to Philly to stay with a friend and get pumped up for the Eagles v. Lions game on Sunday.  I've never spent much time in the Philadelphia area, which is kind of a crime given how close it is, so I'm excited to get a little taste of what it's all about.
 
Have a great weekend everyone!

Spiced Pear Muffins + Cake

Today I want to tell you about what I brought to Chapel Hill for breakfast on Saturday morning.  This recipe is so good that I have made it in two different formats since Friday.

The recipe comes from The Kitchn and in its original form it is for muffins, spiced pear ones to be exact.  They are one of the best things I can remember baking.  The blend of spices, the juicy, just-coming-into-season pears, a combination of whole wheat and regular flour, and a crispy cap of cinnamon sugar bake up into a muffin that is even better than it sounds. Apparently they can be made in advance and frozen for months to be reheated at will, which is a possibility I may just have to explore.

Seriously...make these

With the day off on Monday I had a little time on my hands and an idea kicking around my head to turn these muffins into a cake and so I did. I made the exact same recipe and added a half cup of pecans.  I then poured it into a buttered 9-inch round baking pan lined with parchment on the bottom and baked it according the same instructions as the muffins, keeping an eye on it every 10 minutes or so, until a toothpick came out clean.  I don't remember the exact baking time though I think it was in the ballpark of 25-30 minutes.

 

The rest went into work with Greg - I couldn't be trusted...

Once the cake had cooled completely, I flipped it out of the pan and frosted it with a simple cream cheese frosting, recipe courtesy of the indomitable Martha Stewart, and added pecans for garnish.  It was the ideal dessert for Monday's chilly weather.

Whatever format you choose, I hope you will try this recipe soon.  Twice is not enough for me!  Another suggested addition is crystallized ginger, which is one of my favorite baking ingredients, so I think another iteration is just around the corner...

Long weekend

The road trip got off to a bit of a rocky start on Friday when Greg's car was held hostage at Mr. Tire for a state inspection that lead to a new tire and two new brakepads.  The car was supposed to be ready at 3:00 pm and we finally rolled out of there at 7:30 pm.  Being trapped at Mr. Tire at 7:00 pm on a Friday night watching a Hoarders marathon was definitely the low point of the weekend and probably the month. Luckily, the rest of the weekend was wonderful once we finally made it to Chapel Hill.
 

We managed to snap a photo before we got too sweaty and sunburnt!

Saturday got off to a great start with mimosas and a breakfast tailgate ahead of the early kickoff.  It was great to finally meet Katie's grad school friends, all of whom were really friendly and fun.  We arrived at the stadium a few minutes after kickoff and it was boiling hot.  About 2 minutes into the first half, we decided that we would retreat to a bar at half time to watch the rest of the game with cold beers.

Blue Ridge Blueberry Wheat at Top of the Hill

The game didn't go so well for the Hokies, but everyone was graceful about it and the day was fun nonethless.  From the bar, we went home for a very necessary nap.  It is amazing how much a day in the sun takes it out of you. Once we had recharged a bit, we headed out to Katie's favorite bar in town, which is certainly worthy of the distinction.  It had just the right energy level, a cozily trendy atmosphere, and fantastic cocktails to boot.  Definitely one to remember.

Bowbarr

The trip back on Sunday was blessedly less eventful than the way down.  We had a low-key evening of catching up on laundry and other things around the house.  Having an extra day off yesterday made the weekend even better.  I spent most of the day in the kitchen cooking and baking, which is one of my favorite ways to spend a cold, gray day.  We had friends over for dinner last night and finished up with weekend with beef stew and a couple bottles of red wine. 

I hope your weekends were lovely and have a great short week everyone!

Hittin' the road!

As I was packing our suitcase last night I realized that it has really been awhile since we've been out of town.  I have loved stringing together so many weekends at home but I am very excited for a little road trip this weekend.  We are headed down to Chapel Hill, NC to visit one of our best friends who is in the second year of a master's program down there.  I have heard that it is absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to spend the weekend with Katie.  Oh, and did a I mention there is a football game?  Are we sensing a theme here?


Being Greg's co-pilot is one of my favorite things

I'm trying out a new muffin recipe for the breakfast themed tailgate tomorrow morning so I'll sure to report back on that and the rest of our trip next week.  I also somehow forgot that Monday is Columbus Day so the three day weekend is an unexpected (and welcome) bonus.  Have a lovely long weekend everyone!

Fall ritual

I had a lovely little date with my brother Russ last night at Graffiato in Chinatown catching up about his first full week on the client site for his new job and debriefs from the weekend.  Everything was delicious, perhaps even more so because he treated, which kind of of blew my mind after years of dinners and drinks with the broke college student he so recently was.  I'm so proud of his transition to post-grad life and very happy to have him in DC for a couple more years.  Being able to spontaneously catch up over a meal or drinks is a luxury that I try to never take for granted.

After dinner we wandered over to Bed Bath and Beyond with the mission of finding the perfect, fall-smelling candle.  I like doing these types of errands with my brother because he does not mind that I need to smell every candle (even ones that I'm not considering that day) and deliberate way too much over whether I buy the jar or the tumbler version of whatever Yankee Candle I finally select.  He even manages to be (or seem) amused by my silliness, which I greatly appreciate.  In the end, the winner was "Autumn Wreath," and I have to say that it was not much of a competition as Yankee Candle seems to have cut down the distribution of some my other favorite seasonals, like "Harvest" and "Farmer's Market" in favor of new, overly sweet smelling pumpkin-y varietals.  Yes, I am a person who takes scented candles seriously/personally, so there you have it.

After all that hemming and hawing, I have to say that I am very happy with the selection after burning it for a few hours last night.  It has a warm, spiced-cidery scent that makes our apartment feel very cozy, so I can check this ritual off of my seasonal to-do list.  I am very much looking forward to curling up on the couch tonight with some takeout to watch the Presidential Debate in my newly fall-scented apartment. What are some of your favorite fall rituals? Any other crazy candle ladies/gents in my camp?

Cheese Straws

This morning got off to a comically bad start.  I missed my normal alarm (and the back up one) so the first word out of my mouth was f*****ck as I leapt out of bed to frantically get ready and grab a cab to Union Station to catch the MARC to Baltimore.  It was raining, which meant 395 was backed up, so the cab took forever and was more expensive than usual.  This was made worse by the fact that the cabbie added $30 in tip rather than $3 on my credit card...thank God I checked the receipt.  He ended up paying me the difference in cash but the resulting delay meant that I had to sprint through Union like a maniac to hop on the 7:45 train, which is a full 25 minutes longer than my normal 7:20 (the joys of local vs. express). To add insult to injury, I tried to purchase my ticket home along with the one for this morning and the machine ate the second ticket and I had no time to straighten it out with Amtrak. UGH!

You are probably wondering what that has to do with cheese straws and the answer is: absolutely nothing.  I just had to get that off my chest before extolling the virtues of this wonderful party snack.  The good news is that that day can only get better from here and cheese straws certainly don't hurt.

Sorry for the lack of "after" picture - it was night time when I was baking and these went quickly the next day!

These are another homerun adapted from Deb of Smitten Kitchen and were one of my contributions to the tailgate this past Saturday. They require just 6 ingredients, most of which you probably have in your pantry and fridge, and bake up into something that tastes like a Cheezit with a kick, only 100 times better.  The only thing I tweaked was the amount of red pepper flakes (adding a little bit more) but otherwise her recipe is perfect. Definitely use good, extra sharp cheddar (there are so few ingredients that this does make a difference) and try to roll them as thin as you can because they do puff up as they bake.  Deb calls them her new favorite party trick and they are definitely one of mine.  I hope you love them too!

The weekend

Happy October!  I know that Fall technically starts in September, but once October rolls around, I really feel like we're in the thick of it.

The weekend was very full and fun.  We kicked it off with dinner around the corner with an old work friend and then spent the rest of the night gearing up for Saturday, cleaning, baking, etc. I have couple great new recipes to share later this week.


Kickoff!

We started our football Saturday early by hosting a large group for brunch and Bloody Mary's before heading up to FedEx for the the tailgate. I was reminded yet again how delicious Pillsbury biscuits are in a pinch for an easy brunch item...it had been far too long since I indulged that guilty pleasure.
  

Losing isn't so bad when you spend the day with some of your favorites

It was an absolutely perfect day for tailgate and we had a blast catching up with friends before the game and munching on a huge spread of food.  Sadly, the tailgate turned out to be the best part of the day since the Hokies (and my Hoos) had a bit of a rough day on the field.   All in all, it was still a great day.
  

Pumpkin cake and milky English Breakfast tea are the perfect start to October

Yesterday afternoon we popped out to Greg's parents to see his sister and her boyfriend one more time before they headed home to NJ.  His mother baked an amazing pumpkin cake with pecans and chocolate chips (need the recipe for this as well!) and sent us home with a couple of pieces, one of which I am happily enjoying for breakfast this morning.  The rest of the day was quiet, partly because I am feeling a cold coming on and felt the need to just lay low.  Still feeling sniffley this morning but ready for the week ahead.
 
Happy Monday!