It's Been a While...

Have you missed me?

Life has gotten in the way a little bit too much again in this first month of the new year. But don't worry. I'm still here. While I'm still playing catch up, to tide you over, I'm including a hodge-podge of links and tidbits for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Momofuku Milk Bar Compost Cookie

This month is not only the start to the new year, but also the month of my birthday. This one was a big one. I was so spoiled that not only did my mom bake me the Flour bakery birthday cake, but I also got the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook AND cookie mix. So this weekend I made the compost cookies. All you have to provide is butter, an egg, and some pretzels and potato chips. The recipe begins with creating graham cracker crumbles - something I would've never imagined making for a cookie recipe. According to some of the reviews I read online, a lot of people who have made them at home have had some difficulty with the outcome being really flat crunchy cookies. Mine did flatten out a bit from the original ball shape, however, they weren't exceptionally flat or overly crunchy. For a first attempt, they came out just right - a delightful combination of salty and sweet. Just how Christina Tosi would want it. Up next: corn cookies! 

A new take on Pioneer Woman's Creamed Spinach
Another thing I tried my hand at this weekend (gotta balance out the sweet somehow, right), was making creamed spinach. I had a bag of spinach taking up space in my fridge which I had intended to use to make a salad. Instead, it endlessly sat in my fridge until I finally fated it to become creamed spinach. Not wanting it to go to waste, I set about making Pioneer Woman's version, with a few twists of course. Instead of sauteing the spinach in butter, I opted for a splash of white wine, also sitting idly in my fridge. And, in addition to the spinach, I added a sprinkling of roasted red peppers. I think my roux got a little too thick, however the end result was still delicious.

"The Trip"

On a random night in, I decided to have a date night with my Netflix. Ok, fine so this is the case less randomly than I might be willing to admit. Browsing through the new releases, I came across a film called The Trip. The description promotes it as a mockumentary about a foodie road trip, which is the main source of the plot, but as with most things relating to food, the inspiration is so much more than that. I thoroughly recommend it for a watch. If not for the element of foodie exploration, than at the very least for all the Michael Caine impressions or Muppet references. You just never know what can and will happen when two people sit down at a table together to enjoy a meal. The conversations, and dishes, are endless.



Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream - The "Super" New Collection

I can barely contain my excitement. Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams has a new collection. The theme surrounding it is being sneakily described as "cake-saturated". While the flavors within the collection haven't been disclosed yet, just browsing the pictures on the Jeni's blog site will be enough to get you salivating. Think hand-piped meringues from the bake shop and brilliant colors achieved with all-natural food colorings (beet and black carrot powders). Does it get much better than that? No it does not. Try to resist - the new collection won't be released until Feb 3.