Baking with Bhutanese
First Time Making Snickerdoodles!
Josh and I have befriended a few Bhutanese families that are here as refugees from Nepal. It’s been such a wonderful experience for us, to be able to help them settle into their new home, and introduce them to American culture. On another outing, we learned that they girls really liked snickerdoodles. What better way to introduce them to this simple, delicious cookie than to have them over to make some from scratch?
Salted Caramel Mocha
Starring... Caramel Sauce, Cocoa, and Rock Salt
Anyone who knows us well enough knows we’re not huge fans of Starbucks. We’re not opposed to patronizing them from time to time, and I even used to work there. Any of you loyal fans (or employees - sorry Elise!) out there that may be reading this, I understand they must be doing something right or there wouldn’t be a billion of them on the planet. However, I’ve found them to be slightly disappointing over the years, and we’ve had more luck with smaller lines of coffee. So when I tried the Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate and thought that it came up lacking (tasted more like a doughnut than salt, caramel, or hot chocolate), I knew we could do better making it at home.
Table 219
Amazing Dessert at Table 219
Josh and I discovered Table 219 the other night. A tiny little spot on Broadway in Capitol Hill, Table 219 offers classic comfort foods with a bit of flair. We came away knowing we had found a new favorite restaurant.
Grilled Peaches with Butter Brown Sugar Sauce
Grilled Peaches. True Goodness.
For our amazing Lamb, Steak, and Veggie Barbecue, we had to have an equally worthy dessert. When my dad said he had some really good peaches and asked if I wanted to grill them, I knew it was my moment to shine.
Specialty’s Chocolate Chunk Peanut Butter Cookies and Chocolate Soy Milk
Happy Snack
This evening, Josh surprised me with a cookie from Specialty’s. Not just any cookie. Knowing my weakness for chocolate and peanut butter, he brought home a Chocolate Chunk Peanut Butter Cookie.
I did a little dance.
Potato Curry
Glorious Spices
I found a very inspiring recipe for Potato Curry in Mangos and Curry Leaves. There were some elements of it that I wasn’t crazy about (the smell of turmeric kind of makes me shudder) and some things I just didn’t have on hand (black mustard seed? I can find that where?). However, I did follow a great deal of it, and the meal turned out amazing.
Molly Moon’s
Outside of Molly Moon
I discovered Molly Moon’s through a long-lost classmate’s blog. I was digging around online for some cool food blogs for inspiration and networking, and came across The Tasting Menu. After reading a bit, I realized I went to school with the gal who writes for it! Crazy small world. One of her posts mentioned that she was going to be creating ice cream for Molly Moon’s, and I thought I’ve got to try this place out. Dana was always a good cook, and while at 17 the rest of us were reading the directions on the Top Ramen package, Dana was hosting dinner parties that consisted of several courses and name cards. If she’s still creating 10+ years later, it’s got to be good.
Baklava
Baklava
I am not a baker. I enjoy cooking because of it’s creativity and lack of rigidity. You’ll notice most of my recipes are a bit vague and leave lots of room for play! This recipe, however, is so worth the “baking” precision I usually avoid. I found the original in a cookbook, and played with it, tweaking it a bit every time, until I came up with this final result. It’s the most amazing baklava I’ve ever tasted, and I’ve had several people say the same! *unapologetic bragging* Read more…
