Speakeasy Speak
After our trip down to Philly and our stop at Franklin Mortgage and Investment Co, we were inspired. Not only because the cocktails completely intoxicated us but because we love the history of it all, the period of Prohibition, Speakeasies, special cocktails. So we did some research and came up with this gift idea, Honeyed-Ginger Syrup and Candied Ginger to mix and garnish cocktails hidden away inside a book. I (Caroline, that is) am a firm believer in presentation, so when giving a homemade gift like honeyed-ginger syrup and candied ginger is fun in itself but how much more fun is it to get it in great packaging?
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Eat Your Heart Out: Heart Sandwich Cookies
Looking for a V-day treat? Look no further. We’d probably eat anything that was slapped together with Nutella, but these heart-shaped cookies have the added bonus of being especially tasty AND adorable. We put them on our “to-bake” list the minute we saw them in Everyday Food. As long as you have a heart-shaped cookie cutter, they’re pretty easy to make. Just don’t save ‘em till the last minute (we learned from experience!), the dough has to chill for two hours before you can roll it out. The cookies have a not-too-sweet taste (the 1/3 cup whole wheat flour is a nice touch) and the course salt in the dough makes that layer of chocolate-hazelnut spread taste even better (who knew that was possible?). As usual, Martha’s come through with a winner. These are way too good to be relegated to Valentine’s fare. Heart-shaped or not, we’re making these puppies are gonna perennial. Continue reading Eat Your Heart Out: Heart Sandwich Cookies…
happy happy joy joy
We love good company and along with the good company, we like a good drink. And what better way to get a group of great ladies together to eat, drink, and be merry, than a little “Happy Hour” at our house?
Let me just give you a bit of history about how we gathered these lovely ladies. One of the things about living in New York is that you realize it’s a small, small world. One person knows someone who another person knows who knows you, which is how we came up with the idea of “Ladies who Brunch.” Lisa and I love brunch and if we could have every meal be brunch we would. We also realized we knew a lot of amazing, ambitious, creative, rad ladies who all knew each other peripherally, so we decided to have a little gathering to bring them all together. And voîla! “Ladies who Brunch!” was born. As much as we love brunch, however, we decided to shake things up and nothing does that quite like a stiff cocktail or ten. Hence the launch of Happy Hour.
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Lovin’ from the Oven
Here’s that DIY food gift guide in Bust Magazine that I promised you yesterday. Some packaging tips and really great and easy recipes for making that special something for your special someone.
Click on image to enlarge. Also, you can download those labels by going here!
Rooty toot toots and rummy tum tums!
In our household, come holiday time, we like to get into the festivities. We set the mood with a tree and lights, play holiday music and sip hot apple cider while we bake our favorite treats to give as gifts. This weekend, I made gingerbread men, sparkling ginger chip cookies (from 101 Cookbooks), and our favorite granola courtesy of Souther’s Mom.
Now, surely you veteran cooks and bakers know this already, but seeing as we just made this discovery, we feel the need to share: A kitchen timer is key to baking the BEST cookies; no burnt men, no brown bottoms, just golden deliciousness. So if you’ve been skipping out on using a timer, trust me, it’s worth it. Your mouth will thank you. Want to make some gingerbread men of your own? Click through for the recipe.
Continue reading Rooty toot toots and rummy tum tums!…
Bag it up!
We always love gifts, giving them, receiving them, and if its something to eat, even better! When I went down to Richmond and Asheville I wanted to take something I could give to the people who were nice enough to host us. So I baked up some of Souther’s mom’s famous granola and made these tiny feed bags to put it in. The bags are easy to make and you can fill them with homemade cookies, candy, popcorn, or whatever else you can think of.