strawberries

buttercream

champagne

strawberry champagne cupcakes for Mother’s Day

recipe here!

Spaghetti & meatballs has to be one of my ultimate favorite dishes – it’s so comforting and delicious and always hits the spot. The problem is, it isn’t always the healthiest of options so I’ve come up with a sneaky cheats recipe that is *almost* as good as the real thing (especially if you mix in some fresh mozzarella at the end)… check out the recipe on TDM! :)

This week on The Daily Muse I whipped up a comforting baked pasta dish, using only ingredients I had in the freezer and pantry already. The result was a creamy mexican pasta dish that is seriously yummy and so simple to make… easy enough for a weeknight dinner, but it would be fantastic for a party as well!

You can find the recipe here!

I think these might be my finest creation to date…. Cadbury Creme Egg Rice Krispies Treats

Hop on over to TDM to check them out!

(get it?! HOP!! ha ha ha, I crack myself up)

Chocolate + Guinness + Whiskey + Salted Caramel

In cupcake form.

Need I say more?

Have a happy (and safe!) St. Paddy’s Day Weekend everyone!

I’m a big fan of green juice, but it’s so darn expensive. Little bottles like the ones you see above are over $10 each at a juice bar – craziness! And, since I have a tiny kitchen here in SF, there is no way I could fit a massive juicer on my countertop. There’d be no room for anything else! Luckily for me (and now, you) you can whip up a batch of green juice pretty quickly easily using your blender. I love love love my vitamix which makes everything incredibly smooth, but it should work with any blender, you may just need to blitz a few more times to get the right consistency.

Start by chopping up your fruit and veggies:

• 1 lemon
• 1 english cucumber
• 3-4 celery stalks
• 1-2 green apples (depending on how much sweetness you want to add)

Throw them into your blender with 3/4 cup of water and blitz away.

Now, add your greens:

• big handful fresh parsley
• 2 big handfuls fresh spinach
• 1 big handful fresh kale (you can omit this if it seems to hardcore for you)

Finish with a big pinch of cayenne pepper. This sounds a bit odd, I know, but it gives the juice a nice kick.

Your juice will be really thick at this point, so you’ll need to thin it out a bit. Grab two bowls and pour the juice into the smaller of the bowls. Take a cup or two of juice at a time and add a 1-2 cups of water and re-blitz in your blender until you’ve reached a consistency that seems more juice-like than smoothie. Pour this into your second bowl and keep going until you’re done with all your juice. Pour into whatever small containers you have on hand and you’ll be good to go.

UPDATE : If you still find the juice too thick for your liking, use a sieve and use the bottom of a spoon to ‘push’ all of the juice through from the veggie solids.

Voila! That’s it – green juice to get you through the next few days!

I’ve made a version of these before, but these are my new and improved recipe, with step-by-step photograph instructions. Slightly fiddly, since they have quite a few ingredients and steps, but well worth your while, I pinky swear!

Hop on over to The Daily Muse to check them out!

I love the Oscars. As D says, it’s like my Superbowl.

BTW, can we stop for a second and talk about how great is Jennifer Lawrence? She just seems so normal. And poor thing, falling again going up to accept her award. Love her. Can’t wait for Catching Fire…. squeeeeee!

(Image courtesy of Tumblr, enthusiasticeffietrinket)

I also love throwing Oscars parties. Well, let’s be honest, I love any excuse to throw a party.

For this year’s Oscars I tried to be all clever and such with my food choices. Example A: Silver Linings Slutty Brownies. I originally was planning on making them from scratch, a la Gaby Dalkin, but then the weekend got away from me so I went with the original filthy recipe by The Londoner. Chocolate chip cookies + double stuffed oreos + and then an extra thick brownie layer. Major hit.

Also on the menu? Artichoke go F*#k Yourself Dip. I would normally not be so crude, but if you’ve seen Argo you’ll get where I was going with this one. Super easy – just buy your favorite artichoke dip, mix in greek yogurt, then serve alongside some deliciously crunchy kettle chips.

D & I picked up some of the most unbelievably creamy buratta from Cowgirl Creamery at the Ferry Building.

But of course it had to be Oscar themed. Le Mis Poor Man’s Bread & Cheese – yeah, I was pushing it but that’s okay. It was tasty. Just squeeze some lemon juice on top, drizzle with olive oil, and finish with a cracking of salt.

Last up, Frankenweenies ‘n Blankets – buy mini smoked sausages and wrap in puff pastry. I cut the puff pastry into long triangles (cut into three rectangles first) and wrap up starting with the straight end.

My friends each brought an appetizer – Jim & Michelle showed up with a huge square of pizza (in 2 boxes) from Golden Boy which was pretty awesome.

I also had everyone bring a bottle of $20 red wine so we could do a little wine tasting contest whilst watching.

We had Oscar Ballots.

It was very serious business filling these out, I tell you.

We also had bingo.

With prizes of course.

(I didn’t win)

Best Oscar party yet.

Can’t wait for next year’s!