tuesday things, vol. 9
my favorite instagrams this week
A few things I’m thinking about, reading, or loving right now:
- Can emotional intelligence be taught?
- What do y’all think of the new iPhone 5S? Having a fingerprint sensor on the home button instead of a login password seems cool, but also kind of worrisome in this era of hackers and NSA spying, right?
- I am dying laughing over this!
- Interesting look at where higher vs. lower income families spent money in 2012: “Thinking about the future is a form of luxury.”
- Important stuff here friends.
- This looks absolutely delicious, but I feel like it it would be best as a cold-weather meal. Autumn, can’t you just hurry up??
- I am obsessed with the Andy Warhol Perrier bottles. Totally fun and chic!
xoxo
texas burgers
The calendar may say that summer is coming to a close, but our patio thermometer doesn’t agree one bit. Since we have a few more weeks of prime grilling weather ahead of us, here’s my recipe for my favorite burgers.
My friend Travis introduced me to the joys of caramelized onions in the hamburger patty more than a decade ago. I added peppers to the mixture when I moved to TX. And if we were going to go to the trouble to sauté a few things before cooking the burgers, why not throw bacon in the mix?
You could skip the ground pork if you want to, but I think you’ll become a convert once you try it. It gives them such a rich flavor and keeps them from getting dry because of the higher fat content.
So grab a cold beer and a chair on your deck. Enjoy these last few weeks of late light and warm nights. Cheers!
Texas Burgers
2 lbs. ground beef (90/10)
1 lb. ground pork
6 strips bacon, cooked and diced
1/2 poblano pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. steak seasoning
2-3 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Sauté the diced onions in a skillet for 5-6 minutes. Add the diced poblanos and cook for another 5-6 minutes.
Add the onions and peppers to a large bowl with the ground meat, minced garlic, diced bacon, steak seasoning and Worcestershire sauce. Using your hands, mix until combined, but do not over mix.
Form into 9 patties, pressing a dimple into the middle of each one. The dimple is important because the middle will swell up while cooking, so this will make a uniformly sized burger. Grill over medium heat for 12-15 minutes, until the middle is pink. Cook longer for a medium-well burger.
tuesday things, vol. 8
my favorite instagrams this week
A few things I’m thinking about, reading, or loving right now:
- First things first! I added a recipe index to the site for easier navigation. You can access it from the menu on the top right. Let me know what you think!
- Boozing by country.
- This is a fun site with deconstructed sandwiches that represent each state.
- I’ve been streaming the iTunes Festival shows for the past few days. There’s some good stuff on the lineup – check it out.
- Beautiful.
- Have you seen this heartwarming commercial?
- I always buy Gulf shrimp in order to support Louisiana fisherman so I didn’t really need an excuse to avoid Asian seafood, but here’s a good one. Eeew.
- OH EM GEE. I cannot wait for the new Phillip Lim for Target collection!
xoxo
party veggie cups
This is not a recipe. Its just the easiest thing ever.
I had a trunk show for my cute college friend Cassie recently to showcase her amazing jewelry designs. Check her out!
I served moscato mojitos, wine, and light bites. And instead of putting out a veggie tray and dip, I filled little plastic shot glasses (available at party stores) with hummus and stuck a few slices of bell peppers and carrots in them. That way, people could easily pick them up and carry them around while chatting and looking at the jewelry.
You don’t have to use hummus — you could use Ranch dressing or Freda’s White Bean Dip or whatever else you feel like. This would also be an easy way to serve apples and peanut butter or other similar snacks at a kid’s birthday party.
No matter what, the best part about this is being able to double dip with impunity. #winning
tuesday things, vol. 7
my favorite instagrams this week
A few things I’m thinking about, reading, or loving right now:
- Do you know how to make the perfect cup of coffee?
- Interesting read about the average length of a night’s sleep around the world. I’m like the Japanese but I wish I was more like the Chinese.
- Does this really work? Am I killing myself for an hour at the gym when I could be doing the same thing in 7 minutes?
- I love ice cold beer, but I think this is sort of weird… (h/t Whitney)
- Two weeks into the semester and it has begun.
- I have chills.
- We had this for dinner on Sunday night and it was awesome. So easy to throw together – I think it will become a weeknight staple. Next time I will add a few vegetables — I’m thinking carrots and bell peppers.
- A funny website for random facts. Did you know ketchup was invented by Chinese sailors?
- This looks like the perfect autumn bag for work / school. Lovely.
xoxo
mug brownies
Whit was in rural Mississippi most of last fall for work so I had lots of solo meals.
I feel guilty even proceeding to complain about all of the eating alone because I had access to a full kitchen and Whole Foods, while Whitney had to choose between Waffle House and Piggly Wiggly for every meal.
But complain I will because cooking for one isn’t always the easiest thing. Portion sizes, do you hear me?
One night after dinner I was craving something sweet but didn’t want to make a big dessert as I knew I’d just end up finishing it myself. I googled “individual dessert” and a million results for microwaved desserts in a mug came up.
Friends. This is life-changing.
You can make any number of desserts, start to finish, in less than three minutes. Dangerous knowledge.
Here’s one such recipe:
Mug Brownie
2 tbsp. butter, melted
2 tbsp. water
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. cocoa powder
4 tbsp. flour
In a coffee mug, combine all ingredients. Microwave for a minute and 15 seconds. Allow to cool slightly then top with ice cream or whipped cream.
tuesday things, vol. 6
my favorite instagrams this week
A few things I’m thinking about, reading, or loving right now:
- I’m really into fruity drinks this summer and this one looks right up my alley. I’ll be trying it this week for sure!
- Truly the highlight of last week was getting to spend time with my friend Courtney when I was in Dallas for school. To top off all of the lovely drinking and catching up, we had the best chicken fricassee pot pie. What was I to do but come home and try to replicate it? So I did. And then we loved it so much, we had it for dinner Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday night, and Monday night. No lie. Recipe coming soon.
- LSU FOOTBALL SEASON IS HERE, MY FRIENDS. Deck yourselves out accordingly.
- Favorite party trick? Cheap wineglasses. We stocked up on dozens of IKEA glasses a few years ago, and now I don’t give a hot damn if someone breaks one or two at a party. Which is pretty much inevitable with the wine drinking…
- Interesting piece about the economics of pricing lobster and wine.
- This looks like a light, refreshing lunch. Perfect for the dog days of summer.
- Yes. This. Especially # 2 and #16.
grilled eggplant & tomatoes
The farmer’s market is my favorite part of summer.
Sure, the abundance of kale and leafy greens in the winter is wonderful, and the harvest of apples and Brussels sprouts make autumn eating lovely. But there is nothing like the bounty of summer’s fruits and vegetables, is there?
These are the days when I can’t keep enough tomatoes on my counter or berries in my fridge. I love the sweet white corn, the wide variety of bell peppers (purple! white!), and the summer squashes. I let my peaches ripen until the skin is about to split and then eat them standing over the trash can so the juices can dribble down my chin.
This recipe epitomizes summer. The fresh herbs and tomatoes brighten up the roasted eggplant, and the creamy goat cheese rounds it out beautifully. Throw a few steaks on the grill this weekend and cook these eggplant medallions next to them. Then pour a glass of rosé and dinner is served.
Grilled Eggplant & Tomatoes
1 large eggplant
Olive oil
1-2 ripe heirloom tomatoes
1/2 c goat cheese
2 tbsp. fresh basil, julienned
salt and pepper
Slice the eggplant into 1/2″ rounds. Lay them on a paper towel and sprinkle salt on each side. Set aside for 20 minutes. The salt will draw out the excess moisture and the eggplant rounds will be covered in small beads of water. Blot dry with a paper towel. Brush the slices with a thin layer of olive oil on each side.
Slice the tomatoes into 1/4″ rounds.
Heat grill to medium-high. Place eggplant on grill and cook for 5-6 minutes. Flip, then top with the tomato slices and cover the grill for 5-6 more minutes. Add a tablespoon or two of goat cheese on top of each tomato and close the grill for one more minute so it softens. Remove from the grill and top with the julienned basil, salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
tuesday things, vol. 5
my favorite instagrams this week
A few things I’m thinking about, reading, or loving right now:
- Most convocation speeches are just self-gratifying for the speaker, but this is one of the best I’ve ever read or heard…. What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness.
- The cuteness! I can’t stand it!
- I love looking at the finalists in this contest every year. Amazing stuff.
- Have any of you ever tried this to keep your guacamole from turning brown?? It sounds like a good trick!
- I hate working out. It takes every fiber of my being to get up and go meet my trainer. And sometimes, even that isn’t enough. So articles like this are a good motivator. I love my brain and kinda want it to stick around for a while.
- I love when products are made in the good ole US of A, but there are just some things that Americans just haven’t mastered. No longer is prosciutto one of them. This was an interesting article about a couple that is making the special ham in Iowa.
xoxo
rosé sangrias
Hey oh! Here’s the answer to all of your problems.
Tired? Sangria time.
Heartbroken? Sangria time.
Frustrated with work? Sangria time.
Also, had a normal day? Or a great one? Sangria time.
See? It works no matter what the situation. That is because bubbly pink drinks are like God’s way of showing us love in the summertime.
Rosé Sangrias
1 bottle Sofia rosé*
1 bottle Candoni Moscato d’Italia*
2 tbsp. fresh orange juice
4 tsp. fresh lime juice
1/2 + 1/4 c. simple syrup
1 lime, sliced thinly
Combine the first four ingredients in a pitcher. Add 1/2 cup simple syrup and taste. Add the remaining simple syrup if you would like the drinks sweeter. Garnish with a thin slice of lime.
*These sangrias are my best attempt at mimicking my favorite drink at a cafe near my house. Its the same little gem that serves the Moscato Mojitos. This is a bit of an odd recipe because I’ve only gotten it to taste like the ones at the restaurant when I use these specific brands of moscato and rosé. But feel free to play around with it!
Is there any wine left? 