This and That

This made me laugh.

Lemony chicken and orzo soup FTW. (I skipped the leek and the dill, and it was still delicious.)

Marimekko Target collaboration.

Saw this band yesterday night. So pretty/sad.

Quiz: Can we guess your age and income, based solely on the apps on your phone? (This was so wrong about me, but oddly flattering and fun. Under 32?!? Why thank you, Washington Post!)

Such a pretty swimsuit.

(Image via Pinterest)

This and That

Consider me intrigued.

It was never a dress.

Crazy about quinoa.

Cute necklace.

Derby weekend always makes me want one of these.

Colorful leggings.

(Image via Pinterest)

This and That

A parody of Serial.

Free holiday tag download.

Long exposures of firefly trails.

People reading poorly chosen books in public.

Pretty: DIY rosemary wreath gift toppers.

Cool posters.

Cinnamon rose rolls with frosting.

(Photo via Pinterest)

My Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes

It's finally cold in Austin! Which means it's time to start planning what'll make the cut for this year's Thanksgiving menu. And also time to put together this year's music playlist.

When my sister and I both lived in Brooklyn, we made a habit of listening to Dolly Parton every Thanksgiving. Because it seemed appropriate? Actually, I'm not sure why. But I do know there's nothing like standing in a tiny, warm kitchen with a spatula-mic in your hand singing along to “Jolene” with your sister with the smells of a turkey roasting and pumpkin desserts cooling swirling all around you.

So what I'm saying is that, this year, I'll be most thankful for Dolly. Obviously. And also maybe these pretty great recipes that I've turned to more than once during the holiday season.

Two-hour turkey and gravy.

Sausage and apple stuffing.

Martha's macaroni and cheese.

Roasted Brussels sprouts.

Pancetta crisps with goat cheese and pear.

Pumpkin cheesecake with caramel swirl.

(Image via Pinterest)

This and That (Featuring Peggy Olson and a Secret Bookstore)

The evolution of Peggy Olson.

Love this: Professor Astro Cat's Frontiers of Space.

A secret bookstore in NYC.

Cute dress.

Craving mushroom bourguignon and butternut squash lasagna.

A little llama costume.

(Image via Pinterest)

Halibut with Sliced Potatoes and Wilted Spinach

We recently moved and I'm still in awe of our new kitchen. A stove with four burners that work properly! A deep sink! An island with places to put things on! I know this might make our old kitchen sound like a dump, but it really wasn't. It was just tiny.

So this is the first meal that I'm blogging about from the new digs. It's nice for things to be settled and back to normal. Well, normal with four burners that work, a deep sink, and a kitchen island.

This dish is good. And simple. Like life should be in the summer. If you like fish, definitely give it a try.

Halibut with Slice Potatoes and Wilted Spinach
Serves 2

Ingredients
1 baking potato
1/2 pound halibut
Sea salt and pepper
Olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
1 bunch of spinach

Directions
Preheat oven to 450. Peel and thinly slice the potato. Slice halibut in half. Line baking pan with a sheet of parchment paper. Place the potato slices in a few layers on top. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with some olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes.

Take out and place halibut halves on top. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Roast about 15 minutes longer.

While halibut is baking, mince garlic and chop up spinach leaves. Add two tablespoons of olive oil to a large skillet and cook garlic for one minute on medium-low heat. Then add spinach for a few minutes or until it begins to wilt. Season with salt and pepper.

Divide roasted halibut and potatoes among plates and serve the wilted spinach on the side.

(Adapted from Epicurious)

This and That

Eight different ways to make eggplant parmesan.

So sweet and sad.

ban.do sale today!

A sea of ceramic poppies. (via It's Nice That)

Use onion skin as a Band-Aid! (via exPress-o)

Vintage surfing photos. (via swissmiss)

(Image via Pinterest)

Three-Cheese Eggplant Calzone with Tomato Dipping Sauce

Long time, no recipes! I have been crazy-busy with editing and writing for work, and also recovering from a weird lung infection that made me feel like I was having a heart attack 24/7. I wish I were exaggerating that last bit, but no. An EKG was involved in my diagnosis and everything. It was kind of terrifying in that way only having a medical mystery become your life is. You start hanging out on WebMD so much that everything seems like it could possibly be happening to you, and then your husband has to cut you off because you end up in tears one afternoon because you're convinced you have cancer. Yeah, it was like that.

Anywho! I am finally feeling better now, and I took a half-day to do some much-needed long-lunching (at Titaya's), comic book shopping (at Austin Books and Comics), and blog posting (right here).

So, basically, all you need to know is that this calzone absolutely rules. And that you should use a pizza stone if you have one for a nice crunchy crust base. And that when you're feeling sick and awful, a nice warm calzone goes a long way into making you feel better.

Ingredients
Calzone
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium eggplant, cut in 1/4-inch thick slices
Salt and pepper
Pizza dough (I used half of this D:ALS recipe for mine.)
1 cup ricotta
1 cup grated mozzerella
1/3 cup grated parmesan
Dried oregano
1 egg, beaten

Sauce
1 cup diced tomatoes, strained
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced
Red pepper flakes
Pinch of sugar
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Directions
Calzone
-Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Arrange eggplant slices on a baking sheet coated in olive oil. Season eggplant with salt and pepper. Roast for 16 minutes, flip over, then roast for 8 more minutes. Let cool.
-Roll your pizza dough out to about 12 inches wide. Mix ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan in a medium bowl, then season to taste with salt, pepper, and oregano.
-Stir the cooled eggplant into the cheese mix. Then pile it down the center of your dough. Pull the sides of the dough over the center cheese mound, then press and squeeze the sides closed.
-Brush the calzone with the beaten egg.
-Bake for 15 to 20 minutes (on a pizza stone if you have one), until golden.

Sauce
-While the calzone is baking, simmer the tomatoes, salt, garlic, some red pepper flakes, a pinch of sugar, and the red wine vinegar in a small pan for 5 minutes.

-Serve the calzone with the sauce on the side.

(Adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook)

This and That

Such a cute tank to make.

Need to check out the new Raven + Lily store.

Fiona Apple on a French superhero TV show.

Like this water bottle.

The story behind a recent New Yorker poem.

How to make Italian sodas, my beverage of choice in college.

(Image via Pinterest)

This and That

These beautiful flower prints.

Just tried this broccoli, cheddar, and wild rice casserole from Smitten Kitchen.

First kiss.

Twenty-eight sleep remedies, including Calm.

How to open a banana.

Idina Menzel, Jimmy Fallon, and The Roots sing together.

Amazing emoji video.

An epic spelling bee.

Cool curtains.

(Image via Pinterest)

Meyer Lemon Cream with Crumbled Graham Crackers and Sea Salt

Quick and easy dessert time! This recipe is extremely lemony and simple and I love it. 

We cut a lemon pie at our wedding instead of a cake. That is how much I love lemony desserts. Which is funny because I absolutely abhorred all things lemon when I was little, especially lemonade. Lemonade was the worst. And probably from an evil hell dimension back then. But, you know? Pretty tasty now. And so is this lemon cream.

Meyer Lemon Cream with Crumbled Graham Crackers and Sea Salt
5 servings

Ingredients
3 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice (from 2 Meyer lemons)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
1 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream
6 graham crackers, crumbled (or more depending on how crunchy you want it to be)
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
Sea salt

Directions
Cook eggs, sugar, and lemon juice in medium pan over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently until thick. Transfer mix to a blender and blend on low. Then add butter a few pieces at a time and continue to blend on low until completely mixed. Pour lemon curd (that's what you just made) into a bowl, cover, and stick in the fridge for at least 2 hours to chill completely. Before serving, whisk in cream. Layer lemon cream mixture and crumbled graham crackers in a few layers in small ramekins or bowls. Finish by topping with some more graham cracker crumbles, lemon zest, and a little bit of sea salt.

(Adapted from Bon Appetit)

Pancetta, Goat Cheese, and Pear Crisps (aka, My Favorite Easy App)

When I was an assistant at Epicurious (Almost ten years ago! Time, you sure did fly.) and answering all the recipe- and cooking-related questions that came into the website, I would go through their online archive in my downtime, searching for things I might be interested in making after work or on the weekend. (And also, ostensibly, looking for typos of course.)

Back then, I had just started to build my own personal archive of keeper recipes, and this was the first appetizer I threw together in my tiny Greenpoint railroad apartment on India Street that made the cut. These crisps have made an appearance at almost every Thanksgiving and Christmas since. They were also there the first time I ever cooked for Chris when we started dating. And it's the perfect thing to make for dinner parties or potlucks when something more challenging or time-consuming is also on your docket.

Pancetta, Goat Cheese, and Pear Crisps
Serves 2 to 4

Ingredients
1/2 pound pancetta, thinly sliced
2 to 3 ounces of goat cheese
1/2 pear, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces

Directions
Heat oven to 400 degrees, and then cook pancetta (laid out with no overlapping) on a baking sheet for 12 to 14 minutes, until crispy. Remove from oven and let the pancetta cool on some paper towels. When cool, layer a spoonful of goat cheese and a pear slice onto each piece of pancetta and serve.

Butternut Squash Lasagna

Have you ever cooked a dish that took way longer than you expected? The first time this now-funnily-but-then-frustratingly happened to me was my junior year in college when boldly attempting a Jamie Oliver lamb dish that ended up taking five and a half hours. (I think it was similar to this one.) Yeah, we ate dinner at 11:30 that night. But it was worth it.

I'm definitely better at anticipating prep and cook times nowadays, but for some reason it took me over two and half hours to make this butternut squash lasagna. When I thought, Tops, maybe a little over one.

But, again, it was worth it. And maybe you can chop up butternut squash faster than me, and perhaps also without breaking a sweat? You win then. Maybe the moral of this story is that when recipes take way, way longer than you expect, they will always be amazing? Yep, mm-hmm, I'm sure that's it.

Ingredients

3.5 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

3 tablespoons canola oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

4 cups milk

2 tablespoons dried rosemary

3 large garlic cloves, minced

1/2 stick unsalted butter

4 tablespoons flour

9 lasagna sheets (the no-boil kind is fine)

1 1/3 cups Parmigiano-Reggiano

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat butternut squash in oil and spread in one layer in a baking pan. Season with salt, and then roast for 10 minutes. Then stir and flip the squash before roasting for 10 more minutes, until tender. Remove from oven.

2. Bring milk to simmer with rosemary and heat for 10 minutes. Pour milk through sieve into a bowl to extract rosemary when done. Set aside.

3. Cook garlic and butter in a saucepan over low heat until softened. Stir in flour and cook for 3 more minutes. Pour in milk and heat for 10 more minutes while whisking until thick. Then stir in butternut squash, and some salt and pepper to taste.

4. Pour 1 cup of the sauce into the bottom of your lasagna pan. Cover with 3 lasagna sheets. Spread half of remaining butternut squash sauce over sheets and top with 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano. Repeat with one more layer of sheets, sauce, cheese, and end with a final layer of lasagna sheets.

5. Beat heavy cream and salt in a mixer until soft peaks form. Completely spread cream mix over final layer of lasagna sheets and top it all with the remaining 1/3 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano.

6. Reduce heat of oven to 375 degrees. Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for 10 more minutes, until golden on top. Let stand a few minutes before serving.

(Adapted from Gourmet)

This and That

An infinite staircase.

Can you read people's emotions? (I got a 29 out of 36.)

So dorked-out excited about the Doctor Who Christmas special.

Bunny alarm clock.

Pumpkin s'more doughnut muffin.

15 recipes every parent should know.

(Game of Thrones print image via Nan Lawson)

This and That: Halloween Edition

Ten simple masks to make.

DIY striped Halloween candlestick.

No-carve pumpkin decorating.

Gingersnaps and pumpkin ice cream sandwiches.

Fashion icon halloween costumes for kids. (The Grace Coddington one is adorbs.)

Pumpkin pie smoothie.

Temporary tattoos for Halloween.

Printable Halloween party invitations.

(Image via Pinterest)

Easy Lemon Tart

At first glance, this recipe seemed really odd to me, basically because of the adding an entire lemon, rind and all part. But I am a sucker for any recipe of under ten ingredients that looks like it might brighten an otherwise dessert-free weekday night. And then after making it, I realized that the odd part is actually the brilliantly simple part. Lesson here: Never judge a recipe by its ingredients, y'all. It just might surprise you.

Ingredients
1 large Meyer lemon, cut into 8 pieces
1 1/4 cups superfine sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
Pie crust (your choice) (This would work though.)

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Put the first five ingredients (everything but the crust) into a blender. Blend until you have pulverized all the lemon pieces.
2. Pour into pre-baked crust.
3. Bake 35 minutes, and then cool on a wire rack.

(Adapted very slightly from The Food52 Cookbook)

Tomato and Zucchini Gratin

Summer, where did you go? You technically ended this past weekend, but it just got breezy and beautiful in Austin. It's still in the 90s. You're doing a really poor job of convincing me that it's autumn actually. So. This side tastes like a protest to the end of you. Which is perfect because until I'm cozily wearing that orange polka-dot sweater I bought at Madewell on impulse even though it was nearing one hundred degrees outside I refuse to act like you're gone.

Tomato and Zucchini Gratin
Serves 4

3/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/3 cup Parmesan
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Salt and pepper
1 large zucchini, thinly sliced
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced

Mix Panko, Parmesan, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in bowl and season with salt and pepper. Heat the rest of the olive oil in ovenproof skillet over medium heat, and add tomato slices. Cook, turning once or twice, for about 5 minutes. Layer zucchini slices and then Panko mix on top of tomatoes, then bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

(Adapted from Bon Appetit, August 2013)

Spinach Pasta Dough

You should make spinach pasta dough at least once in your life. Why? The gorgeous color! 

Right after you pour the blended spinach and egg mixture on top of the flour, it looks like a pretty, fuzzy, vibrant green mold is growing on top of a white-sand beach. Seriously. I'm not crazy. I know that sounds like crazy-person talk, but look:

Spinach and egg mixture, pre-blending.

Then blended and poured on top of flour.

Gorgeous, moldy green sand dunes! I love it.

Spinach Pasta Dough
Makes about 1 pound

8 ounces fresh spinach
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed and for redusting
1/2 teaspoon salt

Special equipment: Pasta maker and blender

-Steam spinach for 2 minutes until softened. Let cool and then squeeze out liquid with paper towels.
-Puree spinach in your blender (or food processor). Add eggs and yolk to spinach mixture and blend to combine.
-Combine spinach/egg mixture, all of the flour, and salt in your stand-up mixer bowl. Mix 30 to 45 seconds with flat beater on low speed. Then replace flat beater with dough hook and knead on level 2 for 2 minutes. Remove and then hand-knead for 2 more minutes. Cover and refrigerate dough for 1 hour.
-Divide dough into 6 to 8 pieces, about 1 centimeter thick. Flatten each piece and then feed through pasta roller attachment, refolding and feeding through 3 or 4 times at setting 2 until the dough is smooth and the width of the roller. Redust dough with flour as needed. Increase roller setting to 3, and continue refolding and feeding dough through the rollers 2 more times to flatten further. Repeat at settings 4 and 5.
-Replace pasta roller attachment with fettuccine or spaghetti attachment and feed your beautifully green pasta sheets through. Or use to make some sort of tasty ravioli. Or a green lasagna! Your call.

(Adapted from a recipe in the KitchenAid booklet and also one from Martha Stewart)

Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Every time I make this sauce to serve with spaghetti or chicken, I wonder why it's been so long since the last time I whipped it together. It's that good. And takes less than 10 minutes. So: WIN.

Last night we had it with homemade spinach spaghetti, and yep-po! Delicious. And also Christmas-y in appearance, which is always a plus.

Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce
Serves 2

1/2 tablespoon butter
1 large shallot, minced
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil (or substitute with fresh, if you didn't somehow manage to kill the basil plant your mother gave you)

-Sauté shallot in butter for 1 minute.
-Add whipping cream, white wine, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil. Bring to boil. Cook 6 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.
-Season with salt and pepper to taste.
-Serve with pasta of your choice or over chicken.

Maria Carmen's Carbonara

My mom does not like to cook, but she cooked for us all the time growing up. This was very confusing to me as a teenager. But why can't we just order Chinese? Pasta? Again?

Then I realized her hatred of cooking was less than her hatred of us eating fast food all the time. So basically, she gets an Awesome Mom Award for putting endless hours behind the stove doing a chore (!) she sort of despised all for the love of her girls. *Moment of silence for all mothers everywhere taking one for their teams*

Here is one of her delicious recipes that we all loved back in the days of Rainbow Brite and sticker books, and continue to make as adults now for our own families. 

Ingredients

12 ounces bacon

10 ounces frozen peas

1 pound spaghetti

4 eggs

1 cup parmesan

Freshly ground pepper

Cut bacon into 1/2 inch pieces. Cook until done. Set aside. Meanwhile microwave the peas with a few tablespoons of water for four minutes or so, then drain. Mix together the eggs, parmesan, and freshly ground pepper (to taste). Cook spaghetti in a pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup of the water and temper the egg mixture. (This will help you avoid getting scrambled eggs in your pasta.) Drain your spaghetti and add the egg mixture, followed by the bacon and peas.