Brunch: Savory Bread Pudding

S: Yesterday, Chris bought all the ingredients for me to make the savory bread pudding recipe from my Food52 Cookbook for the Sunday brunch we were planning on having with friends on the downstairs deck this morning. It turned out to be amazing and awesome and all of those other super positive a-words that you can think of. More than highly recommended for brunch. (Also note: I have a fiancé who volunteers to go grocery shopping for me when I am busy running around town with my maid of honor searching for the perfect wedding dress. Have I mentioned he's awesome? Also, finally found a dress! More on that later.)

For the chevre, I went with a firm goat cheese called Pantaleo from Sardinia that Chris bought at Antonelli’s Cheese Shop. (He purchased two different kinds of cheese, so that I could pick which one I thought would work best. That's an indicator of how much he loves me and also of how much we both love cheese.) The cheese is aged a minimum of one hundred days and is ridiculously delicious.

From the Food52 website.

Savory Bread Pudding

3 cups diced bread (I used whole wheat.)

4 large eggs

1 egg yolk

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup whole milk

4 ounces chevre, finely crumbled (Pantaleo)

3 ounces prosciutto, diced

1 teaspoon fresh thyme (Used dried thyme, half the amount.)

2 shallots, minced

4 crimini mushrooms, sliced

Cracked pepper, to taste

1/4 cup shredded gruyere or parmesan (Parmesan for the win!)

Toast bread cubes in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes, stirring halfway through. Leave oven on at 350. In a bowl, mix together eggs, milk, and cream until thoroughly blended. In a 9x9 square baking pan, toss together bread cubes, prosciutto, shallots, mushrooms, thyme, and pepper. Gently stir in chevre. Pour egg mixture over bread cubes. If desired, garnish with a shredded cheese, such as parmesan or gruyere, for a golden crust. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes.

 Not as perfect looking as the Food52 photo, but delicious nonetheless. 

(Recipe and top photo via Food52; other photos by Sandra)

DIY Monogrammed Wedding Vase

S: I saw these painted mason jars recently on Pinterest and decided to do something similar for our upcoming wedding next year.

I used white spray-paint, a Central Market Organics spaghetti sauce glass jar, and a free font from Lost Type. Print and cut out the initials and ampersand you want to use, then use double-sided tape to affix them to the clean jar. Then spray-paint two or three coats. Peel off the letters and let dry. I also accented the top with some blueberry Divine Twine. Perfect for flowers, straws, or pens by the guestbook.

Materials:
-White spray-paint
-Glass jar
-Neat font
-Double-sided tape
-Divine Twine

Junot Diaz at BookPeople

S: We met Junot Diaz the other night! He's a funny, intelligent, witty, cool guy all rolled into one awesome writer. And he curses a lot. You definitely would not be getting the full picture if I failed to mention that.

When Chris and I walked up to him, he told us we were "young cuties" and asked about our lives. I kind of fell in love with him, and actually squealed with delight when we were back in the car and I realized he had signed our book with: "For Sandra & Chris / love supreme / Junot Diaz." SQUEAL. Amazing night. Thanks, Junot!

The squeal-inducing signature page of This Is How You Lose Her

Us and Junot

Fujifilm Instax MINI 25 Instant Camera

S: For my birthday a few weeks ago (which was epic, by the way. We basically celebrated for two weeks straight, including a bar crawl in our eastside neighborhood, seeing Casa Blanca on the big screen for the first time at the Paramount, and then, of course, zip-lining in the rain near Lake Travis. Why not?), Chris got me this AMAZING instant camera. I have really been loving the way it captures light and also the more obvious instant-ness of it.

More info on the camera here. More about the awesomeness of Humphrey Bogart here.

This and That

Do Your Best banner. That's the kind of motivation I like to see.

The Internet map. Neat!

Cute custom dolls.

Fox letter opener.

Love the color of these yearly planners. Pretty!

Need?

Or want?

Man apologizes to cat by building him a cardboard box palace. So sweet!

Cassette wallets! 

(Image via tumblr)

Moonrise Kingdom: Raccoon Patch

S: Chris and I decided a while back that we are going to be Suzy and Sam from Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom this October 31. We both loved the movie, love getting dressed up for Halloween, and so why not, right? (I made a Pinterest board for inspiration here.)

I already got a pink dress with a Peter Pan collar and a pair of binoculars for my get-up, and Chris bought a coonskin cap from Etsy a few weeks ago. Now: patches! We bought some star and number patches (55) from a craft store on South Lamar, but didn't really find anything as sweet and adorable as the raccoon patch Sam has on one pocket. So with the help of this awesome London blog Me and My Polar Bear, I made this earlier today:

So cute I'm dying!

(Top image via Wes Anderson tumblr)