“Hey Marisa - Make that guacamole stuff that isn’t really guacamole. That stuff is AMAZING.”
I’ve heard this probably ten times this summer and I’ve made it every. single. time. because husband is right. This stuff is the BEST.
Yet another gold star should be awarded to the folks over at Two Peas & Their Pod because this Avocado Feta Dip in the most incredible summer appetizer. It’s like “fluffy cloud guacamole” - Light, airy, guacamole with a marked zip of feta and heat from the jalapeno. Beyond the taste, the best part of this recipe is that it involves a little chopping but the food processor does the rest. No cooking, no heat, five minutes, and all the YUMS.
Avocado Feta Dip
From Two Peas & Their Pod
2 avocados, peeled and pit removed
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced jalapeño
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Pita chips, veggies, bread, crackers, etc. for serving
Place the avocados, feta, onion, garlic, jalapeño, cilantro, and lime juice in the bowl of a food processor or in a blender. Blend until creamy and smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Scrape dip into a bowl and serve with pita chips, cut up veggies, bread, or crackers.
Poor thing didn’t used to be. You’ll have to trust me on this one because A. I didn’t like the door in its previous state so didn’t care to photograph it, and B. I didn’t think a How To guide on restoring a front door would be helpful until about halfway through. In short, we learned A LOT.
We originally wanted to simply paint the door a shiny black, but we realized that it was in some serious need of repair and DIY love. Most of the windows were cracked, paint was peeling, the wood had some pretty heavy cuts, bumps, and bruises, and the hardware was so tarnished that I didn’t even know it was brass.
My husband, now dubbed “Project Pat,” and I came to the rescue.
First, we wanted to use person, animal, and environment-friendly agents to get this paint off. We settled on Citristrip to remove the first few old coats of paint, and SmartStrip to tackle the heavy-duty, original paint from a hundred years ago.
The Citristrip worked pretty quickly - We let it rest on the paint for an hour or so before scraping away what we could. Then, we moved onto the heavy duty stuff:
We used Dumond Peel Away paper with the SmartStrip to extend the “rest time” so it could work effectively. We let it rest for nearly 10 hours like this:
We literally put the stuff on at 11pm on a Friday so we could wake up bright and early the next day and tackle that mess. So, 8:00am the next morning, the scraping began:
Seven hours and some Advil later:
You should have seen us try to get that stubborn paint off. We must have looked like crazy people to neighbors walking by. Piper had had enough of us, too.
At this point, Pat took the door out back and carefully removed the glass. Each of the 12 glass panels were held in by four wooden slats. Once those were out and carefully labeled (1T, 1L, 1R, 1B, and so on and so forth), we had some food and passed the heck out.
THING WE LEARNED #1: I seriously can’t stress the importance of labeling everything when doing a home renovation - Whether it’s door hardware or wooden slats for a door, we learned the hard way that just because they fit in one door or window, doesn’t mean they’ll fit in others. We had to call our handyman in for a day just to get our doors in the house (yes, all of them) to close properly because we mixed things up. So, moral of the story, buy plastic bags and label that stuff.
So at this point, we had a 95% stripped door and 48 beat-up wooden slats in front of us. I made myself useful at this point and helped Pat sand and prep those slats for paint:
Paint layer 1 of 3 (Yes, three coats of paint for these suckers. I hate them):
While those were drying, Pat finished off the door sanding (there was a LOT of sanding involved here) and threw on the first coat of the Fine Paints of Europe system - An oil primer/undercoat.
We let than dry overnight and then...more sanding:
Then some wood patching...and more sanding. You guessed it.
Time to flip that baby over and put the glass in! We were working with a glass-less front door for about two weeks, so this was a very exciting chapter in the process. Pat carefully hammered the newly sanded and painted slats in, but we broke a few pieces of glass in the process. Even labeled, those slats really didn’t want to have any part of the door. I can’t imagine how hard it would have been if we didn’t label. Nightmare fuel.
THING WE LEARNED #2: Always buy more glass than you think you need.
We didn’t use any caulk/window sealant because our door isn’t exposed to water and the elements, plus, we didn’t want anything to drip onto the primer coat on the other side. Just tried to avoid more sanding at this point. We did use these guys though. They’re awesome:
Alright, so windows are in. Now time for the first coat of actual paint. Sounds fab, right? Right. Except that you have to sand that, too. We had to wait a little more than 24 hours after this first top coat for it to be dry enough to sand.
Pretty freaking awesome, though. At this point, we thought...”Ok, this is worth it.” The door should be moved inside for the last, pretty coat to avoid humidity, dust, bugs, small children, cats, raccoons, etc.
We have a small place, so...we made it work:
THING WE LEARNED #3: Be prepared to sleep on the couch a lot because, you know, you don’t technically have a front door.
We let the door dry for 36 hours or so, and then we removed paint tape and reinstalled the door hardware. Project Pat is now pretty darn knowledgeable about the inner workings of doors, by the way. Forgot to mention that we got all that tarnish off with pure acetone, several rounds of Brasso/Wenol, and a final hit of a Dremel.
We obviously still need to find some mail slot hardware that works and matches, but in the meantime :):):):):):):):):):):)
Now, I haven’t done a ton of digging on this, but I don’t think that Boston Cream Pie:
Is from Boston
Has cream
Is a pie
But I do know that it:
Is delicious
And easy
...which is really all I care about. This is my father-in-law’s favorite pie (cake?) so I made it for him this past Father’s Day. As we enjoyed it, my husband said “This might be my favorite, too.”
Like father, like son.
I’m not joking when I tell you that there’s about 10-15 minutes of actual work to put this together. When done, the flavors are far more complex than the recipe and it looks like it was a lot harder to make than it actually was. Hello new favorite dessert recipe!
Beat pudding mix and 1 cup milk in medium bowl with whisk 2 min. Stir in COOL WHIP. Let stand 5 min. Meanwhile, cut cake horizontally into 2 layers with serrated knife. (I used two 9-inch cake pans and made equally sized cakes, instead of making one cake and cutting it in half.)
Stack cake layers on plate, spreading pudding mixture between layers.
Microwave chocolate and butter in medium microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 min. or until butter is melted; stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended. Add sugar and remaining milk; mix well. Spread over cake. Refrigerate 1 hour.
This is another one of those Blue Apron recipes that completely blew us out of the water. While we don’t always make the arepas (stuffing all of this into a tortilla is just as good), it is the perfect way to liven up our weekly dinner routine and it’s one of Pat’s favorite meals. I’ve used the quick-pickling recipe below for so many other meals, too - Turns out pickled red onions are pretty much good on everything.
Also, don’t be phased by the long directions. Blue Apron is VERY specific and descriptive. It’s not scary. You can make this recipe once and make shortcuts for the next time around, but good to do it all the way through on the first go round.
Arepas de Carne Molida with Avocado and Pickled Jalapeno
From Blue Apron
Carne Molida Spice Blend
2 Parts Ancho Chile Powder
2 Parts Chipotle Chile Powder
2 Parts Garlic Powder
2 Parts Ground Cumin
2 Parts Ground Coriander
2 Parts Mexican Oregano
1 Part Cocoa Powder
1 Part Ground Nutmeg
1 Part Cornstarch
Arepas de Carne Molida
8 Ounces Ground Beef or Bison
1 Cup Masarepa
3 Ounces Radishes
1 Avocado
1 Lime
1 Red Onion
1 Large Bunch Cilantro
2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Jalapeño Pepper
2 Teaspoons Carne Molida Spice Blend
Wash and dry the fresh produce. Cut off and discard the stem ends of the radishes; thinly slice the radishes into rounds. Quarter the lime. Pit, peel and slice the avocado; toss with the juice of 1 lime wedge to prevent browning. Peel, halve and thinly slice the onion. Pick the cilantro leaves off the stems; discard the stems. Thinly slice the jalapeño into rounds. (For a milder dish, remove and discard the seeds and ribs, then thinly slice the jalapeño). Immediately wash your hands and cutting board afterwards.
In a small pan, combine the jalapeño, sugar, vinegar and half the onion. Heat to boiling on high. Once boiling, cook, stirring occasionally, 1 to 2 minutes, or until the liquid is slightly reduced in volume. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool.
In a large pan (nonstick, if you have one), heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the ground beef. Cook, frequently breaking the meat apart with a spoon, 2 to 3 minutes, or until just cooked through; season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Wipe out the pan.
In the pan used to cook the beef, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the remaining onion and as much of the spice blend as you’d like, depending on how spicy you’d like the dish to be; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 1 to 2 minutes, or until softened and fragrant. Add the cooked beef and the juice of 1 lime wedge. Cook, stirring occasionally, 1 to 2 minutes, or until thoroughly combined. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool slightly. Wipe out the pan.
OPTIONAL AREPAS:
In a large bowl, combine the masarepa, a big pinch of salt and 1 cup of lukewarm water. Stir until just combined (the dough should be damp and easy to shape). Using wet hands, divide the dough into 4 equal-sized balls. On a clean work surface, carefully flatten into ¼-inch-thick rounds.
In the pan used to cook the aromatics and beef, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the arepas and cook 2 to 4 minutes per side, or until golden brown and cooked through. Divide between 2 dishes. Top with the finished beef and avocado. Garnish with the radishes, cilantro and as much of the pickled jalapeño and onion as you’d like. Serve with the remaining lime wedges on the side. Enjoy!
SEE YA LATER, BROWN BACKSPLASH. (The picture above is actually the tile without the final grout work, but I’m being impatient and wanted to post this.)
Check out the before:
Yep, that’s brown tile with a rainbow sheen. It was like the upper and lower cabinets become one, single brown piece of kitchenness. All the props in the world to my husband and mother-in-law who installed the backsplash originally after gutting an old-1960′s kitchen, but we needed to lighten everything up a little.
First, we had to take a hammer, chisel, and some MAJOR eye protection and chip off the glass pieces. It took us about 5-6 hours to get it all down.
Next, came sanding and some big time face mask usage.
Already looked better! That Steam Shark in the corner of the picture above got a lot of use that night. No pictures of the next phase, but Pat and I went in with a patching mortar and filled in all of our holes from the chisel action. Then came the last round of sanding.
Finally, after borrowing a wet-saw from a friend, Pat finished up the tile, using a white, thin-set mortar and this grout in Delorean Gray. LOVE. IT.
Ah...Oscar parties. The “Super Bowl for Chicks,” as they say. The time where us girls get together and eat our faces off...except this time around we ate gluten-free lasagna and Twix Caramel Popcorn, which is basically the equivalent of ordering a Big Mac but with a Diet Coke to “save calories.” Whatever though, it was awesome.
I came to the party armed with two different popcorns - Truffle Parmesan and Twix Caramel. Despite the “can’t miss it” aroma of the truffle, the Twix Caramel was the winner by a landslide. For such a decadent and delicious snack/dessert, it was surprisingly easy to whip together. So easy, in fact, that I’m never going to buy caramel popcorn again, as I can make my own at home now for a quarter of the cost.
I found the Twix Caramel recipe at Two Peas & Their Pod, the same blog that gave us the amazing Pesto Chicken Rollups (HOW HAVE I NOT BLOGGED ABOUT THOSE, YET?). Two Peas & Their Pod, consider this a big high-five for a job well done from me and my husband. YUM.
Both recipes are below!
Twix Caramel Popcorn
From Two Peas & Their Pod
5 quarts plain air popped popcorn
1 cup butter
2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
20 "fun size" Twix candy bars, chopped
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted-to drizzle over popcorn
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Place popcorn in a large bowl and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla extract. Pour caramel in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat. Gently stir until all of the popcorn is covered.
3. Place popcorn on two large shallow baking sheets and bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, for about an hour. Remove popcorn from oven and let cool completely.
4. Break popcorn into pieces and mix in chopped Twix candy bars. Drizzle popcorn with melted chocolate. Let the popcorn sit until chocolate hardens, about 30 minutes. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
Truffle Parmesan Popcorn
From Allrecipes
4 teaspoons white truffle oil
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 (3.5 ounce) package microwave popcorn, popped
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, to taste
Place unopened package of popcorn into center of microwave oven; cook on High power until the bag fills with popped corn and the pops occur about 2 seconds apart (1 1/2 to 4 minutes, depending on oven's power).
Open hot bag carefully and pour into bowl. Toss with truffle oil, Parmesan, and parsley, in that order; season to taste with sea salt.
NOTE - I altered the original recipe linked above, which asks for oil, Parmesan, and parsley to be mixed together before adding the popcorn, and then sprinkling the mixture over the top. The oil and Parmesan clumped together at the bottom of the bowl and had zero interest in hanging out with the popcorn. The popcorn felt left out and the whole batch was a bland mess. On the next try, I introduced the oil to the popcorn first and mixed, then the Parmesan, then the parsley. Everyone was happy and it was delicious!
I cannot BELIEVE how easy, flavorful, and delicious this recipe was. In fact, I swear I made it more difficult because I just didn’t understand how achieving such things would be possible with so little effort.
This recipe should almost be called “Green Chicken Chili” with the addition of Hatch Green Chiles (my new love). They add a depth of flavor that isn’t usually found in white chilis - Those little cans are full of spice and savoriness. I recommend making this any day of the week, but when, you know, it actually starts getting cold in December (hello 65 degrees outside) it will knock your socks off.
Enjoy!
White Chicken Chili
From Robyn Stone - Add a Pinch
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
4 cups chicken stock
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 (15-ounce) can white beans, drained (I used Cannellini Beans)
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chilis, with liquids from chilis
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
Add chicken to a 4-quart, heavy bottomed Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat. Add chicken stock and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Shred chicken with two forks and then add back to the liquid. (My chicken got weirdly foamy and was quite fatty. I simply took a large spoon and skimmed most of that off.)
Add garlic and onion to stockpot, white beans, green chilis, dried oregano, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and chopped fresh oregano. Stir until well-combined. Taste for flavor and adjust to your preference.
Simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes. (I simmered for over an hour and it was still delicious!) Remove from heat and serve.
I threw some Monterrey Jack cheese and sour cream on top and good LORD it was good.
Wait...what now? I know. There we were sitting around the table and all the guys tackled the kale salad for seconds (and a few thirds). Kale is...ok...sometimes...so my eyebrows always raise when it becomes the hit of the table. This one is 100% worth sharing.
I didn’t grab the recipe on my way out but when I got home I typed “Thanksgiving kale salad goat cheese” into the Google machine and found it immediately. Top Hit: “Kale Salad with Cranberries, Almonds and Goat Cheese.”
Like the Butternut Squash Gratin, this bad boy can be made ahead. An already dressed salad that you can make ahead? Oh yes. Kale is so wound up and tough that it needs some time to sit in the dressing and relax a little. The recipe calls for the dressing to sit for 10 minutes, but I let it chill for about 30 minutes and still thought it could use time.
Kale Salad with Cranberries, Almonds and Goat Cheese
Emily Farris - Food and Wine
1/3 cup sliced raw almonds
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced shallot
1 garlic clove, minced
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 bunches of kale, rinsed and dried, ribs and stems removed, leaves thinly sliced crosswise
1/3 cup dried cranberries
4 ounces goat cheese
Preheat the oven to 400º. Spread the almonds evenly on sheet a pan and bake for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Whisk together the vinegar, orange juice, mustard, shallot and garlic for the dressing. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
In a large bowl, toss the kale, toasted almonds, dressing and cranberries. Let sit for 10 minutes, then crumble with goat cheese and serve.
Ah yes, the dreaded make-ahead vegetable side dish. Every time I go to a potluck and am asked to bring the veggie, I scratch my head and wonder where to start. You don’t want anything too heavy, making veggies ahead of time is hard (hellooo droopy asparagus and mushy broccoli), and who knows if you’ll have time to use their oven. ACK.
In the spirit of the season, I wanted to incorporate a little homestyle savoriness to the side. I found this Butternut Squash Gratin recipe and thought it might just do the trick. Fortunately, it did!
The recipe calls for two kinds of squash - Butternut and Kambocha - but I could only find Butternut. It also says that you need two small squash (no measurements), which I hate, because what does that mean? Our definitions of “small” could be totally different. I used about 36oz of Butternut squash in a 12″ cast iron pan. Lastly, Whole Foods has apparently never heard of “Mace” so I substituted 1/8 tsp. of nutmeg.
Despite the feeling that I was totally winging it with this recipe, it turned out so well and heated up surprisingly nicely! Come to think of it, this would be an excellent addition to a Thanksgiving table.
Squash Gratin
Recipe courtesy of Food Network Magazine
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I used 36 oz. of cut squash total)
1 small kabocha squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground mace (or 1/8 tsp. nutmeg)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup grated gruyere cheese (about 2 ounces)
Read how to break down and cut the squash below! I bought prepared squash and still had some chopping to do, but it saved a lot of time!
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and thyme and cook, stirring, until the onion softens, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the butternut and kabocha squash (or just butternut) in a large microwave-safe bowl with 1 cup water. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave until the squash is just tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and add the squash to the skillet along with the garlic, mace, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring, about 3 minutes. Add the broth and cook until it is mostly absorbed, about 5 more minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and cook until slightly thickened, 2 minutes.
Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in the microwave and toss with the breadcrumbs, parmesan and parsley; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle over the squash, then top with the gruyere. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until golden, about 30 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.
How to break down butternut squash:
Cut about 1 inch off the bottom end with a chef's knife. Scoop out the seeds.
Hold the squash against your body and remove the skin with a vegetable peeler; chop.
How to break down kabocha squash:
Quarter the squash with a chef's knife, then scoop out the seeds.
Put each quarter flat-side down and cut off the skin with a paring knife; chop the squash.
I’ve shared before and after pictures for every room but I didn’t exactly show how we got from our start to our end points. I documented the whole renovation process but didn’t take much care into organizing my photos or even photographing the same spot over time, which makes seeing the progress a bit more difficult.
After taking a good look at my pictures, I realized that YES I did in fact take pictures of one particular spot throughout the process:
The dining room was an actual cave before we got started. The amount of patching needed to get the plaster smooth was essentially enough to prime the wall. You can also see the the 1st coat of primer on the oak trim in the second picture, the 2nd coat on in the fourth, and the full paint complete in the fifth and sixth. The few glimpses of the french doors in the back are pretty remarkable. You can also see how excited I was to put things on those shelves (before furniture, even!) - Which I’m definitely still figuring out.
Like I’ve said, it’s amazing what ten coats of paint, new floors, windows and lighting can do for a spot.
We are in the heart of football season, friends. The time of tailgates, watch parties, cold beer, hot cider, and OH MY GOD THE FOOD. While we don’t go to many tailgates these days - I live with a justifiably disgruntled Redskins fan and I’m a Packers fan, so, that’s hard to get to - we love having people over for games and basically eating our faces off.
I have a few tried and true recipes that don’t take long to whip up should people stop by, but these mini meatball sammys are my absolute favorite: They don’t take much time to make and cook, don’t leave a huge mess, and are completely delicious. I have to hoard some for myself because when I put them out, they disappear.
Pioneer Woman Mini Meatball Sandwiches
2 pounds ground chuck or ground beef
1/2 cup panko or other breadcrumbs
1/2 cup milk
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 large jar marinara sauce
12 dinner rolls or slider rolls (King’s Hawaiian are my fave)
2 cups grated mozzarella (or quartered slices of provolone cheese!)
Watch how to make this recipe!
Mix the meat with the breadcrumbs, milk, garlic, salt and pepper, and knead the mixture together with you hands. Roll into heaping tablespoon-sized rolls.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 1 minute. Add the meatballs between the onions and brown for 1 minute. (You might have to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your skillet.)
Pour in the jar of marinara and shake the skillet gently to mix. Put on a lid and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
When ready to serve, cut each dinner roll in half. Place a handful of grated mozzarella on the top and bottom of each roll. (I prefer using quartered slices of provolone cheese! It’s easier to handle than the shredded mozzarella and melts beautifully. I simply open the lid and place the cheese on top of each meatball, close the lid for 30 seconds, and voila you’re ready to go!) Spoon a meatball with the sauce onto the bottom bun; top with the top bun. Serve immediately!
Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/mini-meatball-sandwiches-recipe.html?oc=linkback
Full disclosure: This is my mom’s handiwork. I tried to deviate from our tried-and-true recipe once and added molasses and other weird stuff and it didn’t hold a candle to my mom’s take on the Williams Sonoma recipe.
I checked out their recipe online and it’s changed a little since they first published it many years ago. I guess Williams Sonoma wrote on their original version as much as my mom did:
Since my mom’s little tweaks have worked so well, here is our slightly edited version:
Williams Sonoma Pumpkin Pie
*If you want to make the pretty leaves with these, make 25% more pie dough! The recipe below does not include enough for the leaves.
For the dough:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 Tbs. cold vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces
3 Tbs. very cold water
1 egg, lightly beaten (not included in recipe above but we use it!)
For the filling:
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup heavy cream
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
4 tsp. all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
Pinch of salt
Lightly sweetened whipped cream for serving
For the whipped cream:
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 Tbs. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Mom's notes before we begin:
Do not use metal pie plate
Use a 9" glass pie dish - NOT deep dish
BUY FOIL
To make the dough, in the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, salt and sugar and pulse to blend. Add the butter and shortening and process in short pulses until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the ice water a little bit at a time and pulse until the dough just begins to come together in a rough mass. Transfer the dough to a work surface and shape into a 5-inch disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours.
Position a rack in the center of an oven and preheat to 425°F.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 12 inch round about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie dish, fit the dough into the dish and trim the edges, leaving a 1/2 inch overhang; reserve the trimmings, if desired. Fold under the excess dough and, using your thumb, decoratively flute the edges. Using a fork, gently poke holes in several places on the bottom of the crust. For a fanciful touch, roll out the trimmings and, using small leaf-shaped cutters, cut out the leaves and place on a separate, parchment lined cookie sheet. Freeze pie dough and leaves for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Line the piecrust with parchment paper or aluminum foil and fill with pie weights, uncooked rice, or dried beans. Place the pie dish on a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the parchment and weights and bake until the crust is light golden brown, about 5 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely, about 30 minutes. Place the cookie sheet with the leaves in the oven and cook until golden brown, about 5-8 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside - The leaves are added right before serving. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
Meanwhile, make the filling: In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, cream eggs, egg yolk, flour, salt, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg and cloves and whisk until smooth. Pour the filling into the cooled piecrust.
Bake at 325°F until the filling is set, about 50 minutes, covering the edges of the crust with foil if they get too brown. Transfer the pie dish to the wire rack and let the pie cool completely, about 4 hours, before serving. When out of the oven, arrange the crust leaves on the pie as desired.
Accompany each slice with a dollop of whipped cream.
To make the whipped cream, in a deep bowl, combine the cream, granulated sugar, and vanilla. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream mixture until soft peaks form and the cream is billowy, about 2 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve or for up to 2 hours.
All the rooms in this 1930′s rowhouse are pretttttty much where we’d like them for the time being. We have all sorts of plans for every room (each one currently has its own, independent to-do list) and we can’t wait to knock some walls down but for now, I think we did pretty well. We are tackling arguably fifteen years of deferred maintenance during this crazy renovation process, so while every night we play the “What can we check off the list?” game, with that new living room and oversized pillow calling my name, I think I can handle it.
For yet another scary reminder of the house when we moved in, here was the living room:
And now:
Check out Piper paying me no mind and focusing solely on Monday Night Football. That’s my girl.
There’s the Classic Gray (Benjamin Moore, OC-23) again. It’s such an awesome color - It absolutely looks different in every room. Sometimes it looks like a cool, light gray (like in the Guest Room), and other times it looks like it has warm undertones. Adding to the warmth are these babies:
These Pottery Barn Francis Sconces in Polished Nickel added the perfect touch to the room. Despite the picture above and below where they look like they’re actually on fire, they give off a beautiful soft light in the room. As a side note, I didn’t think that a soft light could be achieved with LED bulbs, but I stand corrected. LED, FTW.
Just a wee bit better. Seriously impressed by the balancing skills of that Solo cup on the couch though.
We have “eat, sleep, breathed” this reno for nearly eight weeks but it took this post and the pictures above for me to realize how much we’ve gotten done. It’s also taken about this long for us to feel settled and feel at home. It’s a strong, so very good feeling.
Now, off to practice my jumping skills so I can fill those top shelves. No clue where the ladder is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
I’ve had this Ikea cart for years and while useful, compact, and easily moved, it was just...meh. Raw wood and no hardware made it a purely functional piece that just didn’t fit well in the new home. When Columbus Day rolled around and I was home alone (Because who else has Columbus Day off? NO ONE.), off to the hardware store I went with an idea in mind and Pinterest pictures in my arsenal.
I taped ‘er up and started with the stain first. I went with a half pint of the Minwax stain in the Jacobean color - Dark wood color with gray undertones that I thought would work well with the new dining room furniture. Here it is after two coats:
I liked it so much that I thought about staining the whole thing instead of painting the bottom white, but after some thought (read: lots of phone calls to family for opinions) we thought that white wouldn’t make the cart look “heavy” in the room. We’re going for “light” here.
I picked up some flat enamel indoor house paint and had at it:
Not bad! After it dried overnight, Pat and I slapped on two coats of Minwax Gloss Polycrylic to seal that pretty stain in. I chose the Polycrylic over the usual sealant because it has a low odor and dries quickly. Lastly, I added a handy dandy handle for some pizzazz, but it also makes it easier to grab and roll where I need it.
Here’s what it looked like before, as my husband was running out. Again, this is well before we moved in:
Amazing what a can of paint can do for a space. We also sanded and glazed the original 1930′s oak floors, painted the radiator, and installed new windows. The wall color is Benjamin Moore’s Classic Gray (OC-23), which looks different in every room at every time of day. We’re going to add artwork, another bedside table, and a rug to the space, but it looks so good and different that I figured it deserved it’s own before/after post.
