Madeleines

At the moment, I am sitting in an incredibly charming little coffee shop in New Oxford, Pennsylvania, writing my blog in Microsoft Word.  Though this little shop is adorable - with classic oak and marble counters, a patterned white tin ceiling, and tiffany-style lamps – it does not have internet access. 

When Paul has business in certain areas of the country, I try to tag along so we can visit friends and family we wouldn’t otherwise get to see.  Luckily today we are not that far from home, just a couple of hours.  While he is out on meetings, making friends and charming people with his delightful English accent, I chose to hunker down in this cute shop, with its lovely view of the town center and its slightly dilapidated but historic buildings, Christmas wreaths and garlands draped on the wrought iron fences, and American flags flying proudly on every corner.

The longer I’m here the more I can tell how odd it is that I am here, a stranger, quietly sitting at her computer staring at pictures of food.  Every time the door opens, a little bell rings and the new customer is greeted cheerily by name, either by the employees or the other customers.  The barista behind the counter seems to know what most people want before they order it.  I’ve heard of places like this, but have never gotten to sit and experience one.  I have made the mistake in the past of referring to this area as “the country” to one of its residents, but there is a decidedly slower pace and familiarity that you don’t easily find in the city or its suburbs.  The people are cheery, happy to run into one another, and I can feel their positive energy reaching me even though I sit away from them, quietly at my table, typing away.

This wasn’t the recipe I had in mind for today, but the slower pace of life around me is telling me that madeleines are what I should share with you.  Madeleines are a delightful cookie-cake hybrid, fluffy and sweet with a touch of lemon, but they require patience and a slower pace.  You can’t rush a good madeleine. 

Like so many things lately, I found this in one of the dozens of Cooking Light magazines my friend Eleanor gave me.  I promise not all of my recipes will be from CL, but they’re a great resource, especially at a time of year when people are more conscious of what they’re eating while trying to make their food festive and sweeter than usual.

Kale Pesto

I don't know about you, but I like kale.  I always buy too much and often can't find ways to use it all before it becomes, well, unusable.

I also love pesto.  I love it on pasta and sandwiches, tofu and potatoes, for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I have found the solution to my kale conundrum.  This is a great recipe!  And it's SO EASY!  I first made this kale pesto and put it on a pizza with goat cheese and olive oil, almost exactly as the recipe called for.

Delicious.  

I've made it since then and have used it on whole wheat pasta with hot italian sausage, and I plan to spread some on slices of fresh baked toasty bread and top it with scrambled eggs and thin slices of pancetta.  Maybe a sprinkle of parmesan on top.  Now I'm hungry. On to the food.

Sparkledoodles

Behold, the Sparkledoodle!

That is what I have decided to call it.  You heard it here first!  (As far as I can tell...)

Snickerdoodles seem to be making a comeback this holiday season.  I have seen them all over the internet, including an adorable red and green version that got me rethinking the batch I was about to make.  My snickerdoodles needed to be festive, special, even fun.

My snickerdoodles needed to sparkle.

Like any good glitter-lovin' gal, I happened to have sparkly food stuffs on hand.

I went to my favorite trusty snickerdoodle recipe and got crackin'.  

Guinness Mac n' Cheese

Paul has been uber supportive as I've embarked on this whole food blog journey.  He's helped me upgrade from a point-and-shoot camera to a DSLR and been just as passionate about learning how to use it as I have.  He dutifully eats whatever I make, even if it bombs.  He doesn't try to stop me from pacing around as I wait to find out the result of my latest FoodGawker.com submission.  (15th blog was the charm!  Woo hoo!)

I'm not very good at being romantic or putting my feelings into words, so I try to say thank you with food.

When I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it for Paul.  He loves beer.  He loves pasta.  It was no surprise that this was a big hit with him.

If you do not like beer, this recipe is NOT for you.  It starts out cheesy and creamy but has a malty, bitter finish.

I was going to say that this is the perfect dish for the men in your life, but that's pretty unfair to all of my kick-ass girlfriends who love dark beer.  This is a delicious comfort dish for the beer lover in your life.

Did I mention it's from Cooking Light?  Yeah, everyone's a winner here.

Holiday Sweetmeats

Sweetmeat is a weird word.

Depending on the culture you're in, it can mean very different things.

For the western world it is "a piece of candy or a piece of fruit covered in sugar," or "a food rich in sugar."  (Thanks, Merriam-Webster!)

Well, there is not a drop of fruit in these little darlings, but I would definitely say that they are rich in sugar.  If you're looking for a healthy dessert or treat, this is not for you.  If you're looking for the perfect holiday coffee companion, you are in the right place.  

If you like giving food gifts around the holidays you might try cutting these into tiny squares and pairing them with a small bag of coffee.  Delish!

Chickpea Curry

When I'm away, Paul eats more fast food.  When Paul is away, I eat more delicious vegetarian dishes.  He's out tonight and we all know what that means:  Pajama pants, Love Actually, and a delicious vegetarian dinner.

Two weeks ago, my bestie Eleanor caught me looking at her Cooking Light magazine.  To our mutual happiness, she sent me home with a massive stack of Cooking Light magazines.  Once in my possession, I knew that if I opened one I would lose at least half a day to the stack and I had too much to do with Thanksgiving and the Advent Workshop approaching.  Both are now successfully behind me and as a reward I spent half of yesterday with magazines all over my floor, armed with sticky notes and a pen, blissful in recipe heaven.

I have a lot of food magazines that I've collected over the years, most of which have been read cover to cover but their recipes remain untested.  

It ends tonight!  

For my first magazine dinner, I decided to go with a gorgeous curry that was insanely fast to make.  It literally takes less than 10 minutes.  It's mild, creamy, and incredibly satisfying.  

Cheesy Spinach Pull-Apart Bread

Our friend Lindsay was home for Thanksgiving break from her first semester of college and we wanted to have her over to hear about what's been going on in her life.  We stocked up on Diet Coke (her favorite) and I wanted to make something fun to pick at while we chatted.  

I found a very intriguing recipe for pull-apart bread but wasn't a fan of a lot of the ingredients.  In a moment of boldness, I decided to change them!  The result was fantastic.

This is a great appetizer, game-day party snack, movie night nosh, or girls-night treat.  It takes a little time to put together, but it's serious fun when it's done.