Citrus Squares

I’m on a constant quest for the perfect lemon square. I love the combination of tart and sweet. Now, this recipe is a mix of citrus fruits so it’s not technically the perfect lemon square. But I was drawn to it because it uses blood oranges, which are so pretty and tasty. This recipe is sweet, just a bit tart, and has a nice blend of yellow and pink colors. I think it’s the perfect non-traditional Valentine’s Day dessert.

The reason it’s perfect is because of the balance of tart and sweet. I think it mirrors the opposite ways people feel about this holiday. Some people are very anti-Valentine’s Day and some people love all the decorations, chocolates, and flowers. I’m lucky that Ryan is so accommodating because I both dislike and want to celebrate Valentine’s Day, all at the same time. Yes, I think going out to a fancy dinner is an important thing for couples to do, but why do I have to go out when it’s going to be crowded with an over priced prix fixe menu? So he took me out last week to a place I really really wanted to go, even though it was in Bethesda. And he buys me flowers because even though I don’t want fancy plans, I want pretty red roses that make me feel girly. So, I want it both ways and that’s why citrus squares are perfect.

Flan

Happy Three Kings Day! If you’re not familiar with Three Kings Day, it’s also called the Epiphany and you can read about it here. To summarize though, Three Kings Day is the 12th day of Christmas and it’s when the three kings (or wise men) found Jesus and brought him the gold, frankincense, and myrrh. It’s a holiday celebrated by lots of different cultures, especially in Latin America.

To celebrate this year, I decided to have a dinner party for 10 people in our tiny apartment. I invited three of my former coworkers, their significant others, my parents, and my brother. It was a tight fit (Charlotte and Craig had to bring chairs and a table), it was a little hot (I had to open the sliding door), and we used every single dish we own – but it was a blast and I’m so glad to have thrown a little party to catch up with friends and family.

Brown Sugar Spice Cookies

It’s October! And I know it’s too early to go crazy over Halloween, but I can’t help myself. October means that I can put up my holiday decorations without feeling like it’s too early.

I love holiday decorations. From October to February you can be sure there is some sort of decoration in our apartment.  Holiday decorations make me feel happy and festive. Why treat holidays like any other day when there’s the opportunity to make things look colorful and special?I have things to hang on the door, towels to go in the bathroom, centerpieces for the kitchen table and much much more. And of course, I also have things for baking (Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Easter cookie cutters). A few weeks ago I added to the collection while I was shopping with two college friends. I found a four-pack container of Halloween sprinkles.

Popcorn Cookies

Friends, let me be honest with you. This recipe is surprisingly delicious, and I’ve been holding on to it for months. Now, you might be saying, “popcorn cookie? that sounds ridiculous why would I want that!” But you do! So I’m sorry I’ve been holding out because you’re gonna like this recipe.

I got this recipe from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. I’m a big fan of hers, but when I saw this recipe I was skeptical. But I had to know what it would taste like. And it’s amazingly good. Salt, sweet, crunchy, buttery – WHAT COULD BE BETTER?! I shouldn’t have been skeptical, Smitten Kitchen came through and this recipe is lovely. I’ve brought it to two workplaces and the cookies always get devoured. It’s a yummy surprise cookie and you should make it and wow people in your life.

Grapefruit Brûlée

I set fire to a grapefruit! It was awesome. And also delicious and fancy. And the fire was totally safe.  Let me tell you about it.

Over the weekend Ryan and I had dinner with some friends who were visiting from out of town, and they were telling us all the DC things they were going to do before they left. The next day they were going to Farmers, Fishers, Bakers on the Georgetown waterfront, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I was jealous. I know some people who had just ok experiences there, but I really loved their brunch. I think it’s a pretty sizable buffet with a diverse array of choices. For example, there’s chocolate chip waffles, carved meats, Bloody Mary’s, chips and guacamole, and brûléed grapefruit.

Birthday Recap and FUNNEL CAKE

It was my birthday last week! I had so many eating and cooking celebrations that I must share them with you. And then I’ll end with an awesome recipe for funnel cake. Yeah, that’s right, funnel cake!  Anyway, I’m someone who loves birthdays. I love making a fuss, hanging out with friends, celebrating a lot, and eating large amounts of sweets. And since I’m self involved and still want to talk about my birthday almost a week later, I want to share with you my adventures.

Growing up, birthdays were celebrated by opening presents and eating cake first thing in the morning before going to school/work. Naturally, I insisted that Ryan and I do the same. Ryan woke up all groggy and sleepy, but he did sing me happy birthday and shared a piece of cake with me. I made the cake myself: it was yellow cake with a strawberry raspberry filling and a lemon buttercream frosting. Ryan had volunteered to get me a cake, and even said he would make me a cake, but I decided I would have more fun making a cake. I was inspired by a cake we had at our wedding from Sweet Eats Cakes, that was just to die for. My cake wasn’t nearly as good as hers. The frosting and filling (both of which I made!) were yummy but I over-mixed the batter so the cake came out a bit dense. It was tasty, but I had the most fun putting it all together.

Chocolate Lava Cake

When I was growing up my brother and I got to pick where we wanted to go for our birthday dinner. We could pick whatever meal and whatever kind of place. I grew up outside of Baltimore so sometimes it was a pit-beef dive and many times it was a crab feast at home. But a number of times we went to Roy’s. Roy’s is a Hawaiian fusion restaurant in downtown Baltimore, and the food is really good, but the molten chocolate lava cake is to die for. Sometimes I would pick Roy’s, sometimes Eric would pick Roy’s, and sometimes we’d both pick Roy’s. Our birthdays are only three weeks apart but that lava cake was WORTH IT. Ryan and I even went to Roy’s with our parents the day we got engaged. I have no idea what we had for dinner, but we had lava cake. And yes we were newly engaged, but we didn’t share, because yeah, it’s that serious.