Dating in Dallas

Hello my lovely followers, I want to thank you for sticking with me even though I rarely post these days. Life has been a whirlwind, after getting married, moving, and other life realness blogging got pushed to the back burner.

I have to admit I’ve missed blogging terribly, I’ve missed the routine and creativity and the ability to interact with all of you fine folk. So in an attempt to be more diligent about posting I figured I would start blogging about date days/nights. Since those are my favorite days. Dane and I share quite a love for food and drink, so I have a feeling this blog will pretty much write itself.

To start off the series I figured we’d start with the most important meal of the day: Breakfast! In order to break up routine the hubs and I have decided to try one new restaurant every other date. We decided to do a breakfast date at Yolk.  We’d been eyeballing this place for a while and finally took the plunge today. my handsome husband’s second love is coffee and yolk got this snob’s slurp of approval

I’m boring so it was just water for me. But how cute is that carafe?Dane’s meal was The Yolk All Star Combo that he upgraded the pancakes to have the Nutty Monkey Pancakes. The eggs were cooked exactly how Dane likes them, bacon was crisp, the sausage was well seasoned and didnt look like a skimpy dog treat (a common occurrence at many a breakfast joints) the maple syrup had been warmed which is always a nice bonus and the pancakes were fluffy and packed full of peanut butter, banana, and chocolatey goodness. No complaints to be had here.

The Yolk’s Chicken and waffles. A bacon waffle, fried chicken, and sausage gravy…Does it get any more southern than this? Well if the chicken had been better yes. Now I thought the waffle was perfect, crispy outside and cloud like fluffiness inside, the sausage gravy was good, but my biggest complaint was against the chicken, the breading wasn’t quite crispy enough to hold up to gravy (a true southern sin) and the seasoning fell a little bit flat. As a Texan I can be bit snooty when it comes to southern staples like fried chicken. All in all I enjoyed my meal, but next time I’d probably just order the waffle sans chicken.

Dane and I certainly enjoyed Yolk, the waitstaff is friendly and attentive, but doesn’t come by your table every two seconds, the interior was fun and hip, and the servings are large so if you wanted to split an entree it could easily be done. I would say Yolk would be an excellent casual breakfast date spot. You don’t feel the need to get too dressed up but if you want to impress your date and wear something a little nicer you absolutely could. The environment isn’t romantic so its very much a no pressure date. Which can be needed sometimes.

So will Dane and I be going back? Yes we will. We enjoyed our time there and the food was pretty good, we’re excited to explore the rest of the menu and see how that stacks up against what we ordered originally.

Again thank you guys for sticking it out and bearing with my dry blogging spell. Let me know if this is a series you’d like to keep seeing. If you’re familiar with the Dallas region be sure to share what recommendations you might have. We’re always looking for more Date night ideas. Cheers!

 

Redmond Goodies!

Well folks we are in the middle of “Holiday Tango” as I like to call it, we just finished with Thanksgiving and might still be living off of leftovers and we’re prepping for Christmas, the most wonderful/stressful time of the year. With all that stress and craziness happening might I suggest Redmond to help calm your nerves?

I’ve been fortunate enough to collaborate with the incredible company that knows being natural and organic doesn’t mean sacrifice. In fact they have some of the most luxurious products around.

Let’s start with their personal care products, the mud based toothpaste may sound less than appetizing but it leaves your teeth fresh from the dentist fresh and the flavor is stellar, I know the lemon is probably meant for the kiddies but why let the kids have all the fun ya? Seriously this stuff tastes like lemon drops. But if you like a more classic minty flavor the wintergreen is perfectly invigorating. The facial mud far surpasses any conventional face mask I’ve ever used, the hand and body soap isn’t drying but you can definitely tell your hands are clean. The bath salts are well incredible. I mean what beats a nice long soak in the tub this time of year? And Redmond has a wonderful raw clay powder that can be taken supplementary as well as used in making your own face masks, or if you’re amazing like my mother toothpastes, soaps, deodorants, etc… So when it comes to personal care Redmond has got you covered.

Now on to my first love, the creative outlet I always come back to, and get obscenely excited about…Food. I love food and cooking  (most days) and nothing makes cooking more exciting than having wonderful seasonings. I have already been enjoying the heck out of my Redmond seasonings. Salt is an obvious staple for any cook, but what sets this brand apart is that they provide you with a pure salt, no anti clumping agents that are actually Cyanide (kind of scary what a little research uncovers). Oh and now that Christmas is right around the corner you’ll probably be hosting dinner parties, or attending potlucks, and the seasoning salt, garlic salt, and onion salt really add a whole new life to your run of the mill dishes. I’ve especially been loving the garlic salt on popcorn, its so good!So whether you’re in need of a little pampering or want to add some variety to your cooking I highly suggest you check out Redmond, and when it comes to gift giving I’ve never known anyone to dislike gifts that are practical and luxurious, and to help with the gift giving Redmond has variety packs to choose from.

Hope I was able to help you get through the Holiday tango with a little brand recommendation, and I’ll try to get some fun recipes on the blog for you to use too. Cheers and Happy Holidays!

 

Best Ever Egg Sandwich

Hello my loves I thought a might share a fun recipe with you all. I’d consider myself a foodie and I really love unique eats and fussy french dessert recipes and the like, but sometimes you just gotta step away from the frills and fuss. Some days you just don’t feel like tackling a 20 ingredient 3 hour recipe. Sometimes you just want something you can throw together and have it taste amazing, and in my opinion this sandwich fits the bill.

• Ingredients
• Eggs
• bread
• salt & pepper
• olive oil
• butter
• tomatillo salsa
• cheddar cheese
• garlic clove

I start out by prepping with the most important aspect of any sandwich, the bread! As you can see I was cooking for 3. Drizzle a little olive oil on one piece of bread, then on the opposite piece place your cheese. Now set aside while you cook your eggs.
I used to have the hardest time making a fried egg, it seemed absolutely impossible and I always ended up with a scrambled mess. Turns out I never had enough oil in my pan and I had the heat up way too high! So oil your pan with whatever you prefer butter, olive oil etc… my family and I love Kerrygold, and heat your pan to low. Now its time for the eggs! I understand that not everyone can afford to eat naturally or you just don’t buy into the crunchy mother earth image it brings to mind. But I can honestly say when it comes to eggs the more natural the better. Caged chickens who scarcely see the sun and eat a diet of nothing but corn produce some really gross eggs, in fact I used to think I didn’t like eggs because of that.But I have recently been converted to an egg eater when my family and I started buying eggs from Vital Farms.  What makes these eggs so delicious is that their hens are pasture raised, not to be confused with pasteurized, I actually saw another brand advertise pasteurized eggs and was rather confused…are they heating these eggs up? Is that what they’re saying? Vital Farm’s chickens are eating precisely what nature intended, as well as being provided with best dark leafy greens year round, so even during these upcoming fall and winter months you’re still guaranteed to have the most beautifully rich orange yolked eggs ever! Turns out I just wanted my eggs to taste like real eggs, I urge you to give this brand a try, they’re so good. Who knows you may be converted into an egg eater like me?

Okay now that you’ve got your egg in your heated skillet (preferably cast iron) its time to season. Just a little salt and pepper is all you need. Speaking of salt I just recently discovered that the old brand of Kosher Salt my family and I had been using had trace amounts of cyanide in it. CYANIDE In our food!!! Needless to say that was remedied quickly by switching over to Real Salt. No cyanide just honest to goodness flavor.

I never want to come across as that judgmental crunchy hippie type, but I do want to encourage you to be an advocate for your health and research your food. Yes this does mean you might have to make sacrifices and stop using your favorite brands, and even buy more expensive alternatives, but I bet you’d rather pay it at the grocery store than the doctor’s office.Okay well after a while your egg will start looking like the picture above and now it is time to turn your oven onto broil, toast your bread, and flip that egg over! Cook to your desired yolk hardness. I like my yolk a little runny for this particular sandwich, it really adds a whole other level of flavor!After the cheese has melted and your bread is a golden brown take your toast out of the oven, and rub a clove of garlic on the oiled pieces of bread. Now finish off with a couple of spoonfuls of tomatillo salsa and you’re done! Voila! The Best Ever Egg Sandwich!

I really hope you all enjoyed this post and that you try the sandwich for yourself. If you do, be sure to let me know, how did you like it? Did you add your own spin on the recipe? What are some of your favorite easy go to dishes? I’d love to hear from you.

Happy Wednesday!

Pinterest Recipe Success!

Hey guys, so lately I’ve been wanting to incorporate more of my interests into my blog, don’t worry I will still be doing fashion posts, but I thought it might be fun to share more about my first real passion: FOOD! I’ve always had a real love for food. I enjoy eating, cooking, and even shopping for ingredient, well not always shopping for them, weekend grocery store trips are a special kind of hell. But most of the time I do enjoy perusing the grocery store looking at ingredients wondering how I could change them into something incredible, another fun place to peruse for food inspiration is Pinterest. However Pinterest has some notoriously bad recipes so you know you’re always making a bit of gamble when you choose to tackle one. But I am happy to report the Caramel Apple Hand Pies recipe is fantastic! I needed to bring something to a potluck, and me being the wannabe Martha Stewart I am opted for individual pies, because they look Martha impressive but theyre simple enough for even the most basic baker. 

Ingredients:

For the dough:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup cold sour cream

For the filling:
2 cups small diced (peeled) Granny Smith apples (Approx 3)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
8 store-bought soft caramels, roughly chopped
Egg wash (1 egg lightly whisked with 1 Tablespoon water)
Crystal sanding sugar (optional)

Start off by whisking all of your dry ingredients together, then cut in your butter, I usually prefer a pastry cutter but you can use a fork, whisk, or even your hands. Cut in the butter til your mixture resembles wet sand, then stir in your sour cream.

Once you’ve incorporated the sour cream turn dough out onto a well floured surface and knead til mixture comes together. If the dough is too sticky to handle you can always add a little more flour. 

After you’ve finished kneading your dough, roll it out to an 8″ x 10″ rectangle, fold into into thirds, turn dough 90 degrees and roll it out again into an 8″ x 10″ rectangle and fold into thirds. Wrap your dough into cling film (I didn’t have any so I used wax paper and foil) and let chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes while you prep your apple filling.
Peel your apples, if you’re one of those people fancy enough to peel an apple in a single winding strip congratulations I am overcome with jealousy at your skills haha. Once you’ve peeled your apples chop them into little cubes and place in a mixing bowl. As you can see my apple cubes are not as uniform as they ought to be…this is what happens when you need your knives sharpened. Then add your lemon, cinnamon, sugar, and flour to your apple filling.Stir thoroughly Preheat oven to 425 degreesRemove the dough from the fridge and roll it out to a 14″x 14″ square onto a well floured surface.Then cut out your desired shapes, I opted to 3″ hearts, cut out as many pieces as possible. Re-roll the scrap dough and repeat the cutting process. (you should have approximately 20 cut outs) Place 6 pieces of dough onto either a silpat or parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Unwrap your caramels and chop them into bits about the size of the apple pieces.Spoon your apple mixture into the middle of your dough leaving enough room for the border, then add a sprinkling of your chopped caramels. The original recipe also called for a sprinkling of large flake sea salt but I opted not to, its whatever you prefer. Then top your pies with a piece of dough. And crimp with a fork to ensure closure.Then brush each pie with the egg wash mixture and make three slits in your pies with a sharp knife.

Top your pies with a sprinkling of sugar and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before serving and your done!Everyone who had one of these pies loved em myself included, the crust was so delightfully flaky but not dry and sweet apple and caramel filling just knocks it out of the park so they’re a definite repeat. I would also like to experiment with different fillings or perhaps even pair them with ice cream! The possibilities are endless really. If you give em a try let me know how you like em! Happy Baking everyone!

 

P.S. I had a bit of apple mixture left over and used it to top pancakes and oatmeal and both pairings were a big hit with my family, so if you end up with extra apples too you might also want to give these pairings a try.

“We’ll Always Have Paris”

WARNING! this post contains a lot of pictures! If you have very little patience for people who feel the need to over-document events in their life this post is not for you!

Hello Guys! Sorry I’ve been MIA for a while, but I have a good excuse…I was helping plan my 20th! Ya I guess that may not be a great excuse…but it’s my party and I’ll slack off if I want to. So normally I never do anything terribly over the top for my birthdays, but for my 20th I wanted to do something with a bit of umph, a fun, slightly glamorous, but still laid back-ish in style party. So I decided I would throw a French (Parisian) inspired dinner party, with some of my closest friends. I had such a blast planning, cooking, and spending time with my great friends! I am sort of a foodie so this party was the perfect excuse for me to cook all of the fussy dishes I wouldn’t normally prepare, like French Macaroons, those are some work! But lucky me I have a loving family so I didn’t have to do a lot of the work on my own. So enough talking I am sure you would much prefer to see what my party looked like so here ya go.

We strung up lights and set the table in the living room, so we had plenty of space.

This is the gorgeous flower arrangement my mother put together, might I add she said she has “never done arrangements before”. So even without training or practice my mother puts Martha Stewart to shame!

These are the awesome posters that we found for 60% off!

We decided to even decorate the front door area!

Our adorable little sandwich board. PS mommy wrote this! How cute is her handwriting?

Now for my favorite part…the food! These are the French Macaroons.

The gorgeous red fondant raspberry cake my mommy made me. Isn’t she just the best?

The delicious cheese tray.

Tapenade in endive leaves.

Our entire cocktail menu. Bloody Mary’s, tapenade in endive, cheese tray, and prosciutto wrapped around cantaloupe and asparagus. It was all incredibly delicious.

Quite possibly the most delish dish I have ever made…Boeuf Bourgingon and mashed potatoes. It was so good my mother who really detests beef, loved this meal like crazy!

Tea and coffee break. I of course had tea yummy 🙂

Then onto dessert cake and Shirley Temple’s.

Gifts! My sweet mommy got me real pearls for my 20th! Cute thing was when she gave me my gift I was wearing my fake pearls 🙂

This necklace was given to me by my very best friend (we’ve been inseparable for the past 11 years). This necklace is either from the late 50’s or early 60’s. And I am not ashamed to say when she gave me this I got pretty choked up.

I also got some other fabulous gifts too, I made out like a bandit, I received some lovely perfume (which I am wearing right now) and some great cards and cash (you can never go wrong with cash is all I am saying).

My great friends and lovely family honestly made this one of the most special birthday’s ever! I love you guys.

So I hope you guys enjoyed my post! And if any of you want the recipe to anything feel free to ask. Have a super happy Monday and a great Valentines. Love you!

 

Turkey!!!

I’m sure I will end up doing a full post about our Thanksgiving feast this year, but since I’m fighting off some serious tryptophan right now I will share the picture of what I made this year…The turkey! I must say it turned out beautifully! Happy Thanksgiving!