There are some scary vegetables out there. You know, the ones you pass by every time you’re at the grocery store because you’re just not sure what to do with them, or if you’re like me, you’ve been told they just don’t taste very good. Case in point? Brussels Sprouts. If we played a little game of word-association when I said “Brussels sprouts,” you would probably think, “stinky, green, something mom made me eat before I could have dessert.” Am … Read More
Peanut Butter-Butterscotch Blondies with Salted Peanut Butter Cream
I wasn’t planning on posting anything until after the weekend, but this idea was nagging at me all week, begging “bake me!” And now I’m glad I didn’t wait, because it would be cruel and unusual punishment to withhold this recipe from you all. Seriously, this is without a doubt the best recipe to come out of my kitchen in an awfully long time. One of my favorite food trends to surface in the past year has been kosher salt … Read More
Basic Bread Dough
In the last two months, I’ve had a revelation. It started with a loaf of cranberry walnut bread from Great Harvest, and after one bite I was immediately filled with regret. I, like almost everyone else, had been buying generic, mass-produced, whole-wheat bread from the grocery store and was eating my way through life, ignorant of how deliciously different freshly-baked bread tastes. This revelation was followed by another, equally important one. Baking bread yourself can be every bit as easy. … Read More
Craft Project: Cookies
Anyone who knows me would be able to tell you that Hobby Lobby is the bain of my existence. I have a very passionate love/hate relationship with the place. Sure, I find myself spending hours browsing through aisles upon isles of paper, fabric, stickers, and ribbon. In my mind I am Martha Stewart. I will buy those craft supplies, hurry home, and any number of beautiful hand-made cards, floral arrangements, and customized lamp-shades, after which I will step back, admire … Read More
Spinach and Shrimp Crostini with Mozzarella
As a food editor at Better Homes and Gardens, it’s my job to think about food all day – planning, photographing, tasting, testing, and writing. So despite my love for all things food, when I get home at the end of the day, actually making myself dinner takes more than a little effort. Throughout the day thoughts of what I could do for dinner with the items at home float through my mind, but when I kick off my shoes … Read More
Cooking School: Butternut Squash
If you’re like me, it took you a while to attempt to cook a butternut squash. Maybe it’s something you reserve only for the holidays, or maybe, you would rather just run away and not think about these mysterious looking winter squash. I’m right there with you, because for years I preferred to leave the cutting and roasting of squash in more capable hands. Fortunately, you all can learn from my mistake, because there is no reason not to make … Read More
Homemade Cranberry-Almond Granola
I don’t know about you, but I’m a sucker for specialty grocery stores and the health-food sections of regular grocery stores. Countless hours of my life have been spent wandering through isles, transfixed by pretty packaging and obscure, high-quality ingredients. There are many instances when I believe it’s worth the splurge. Cheese, seafood, olive oil, certain cuts of meat? Totally worth the splurge. But no matter where I buy my groceries, the absurdly high price of granola (even the cheapest … Read More
Spiced Cranberry Shortbread
Settled in to life in the new apartment? Check. Job started and life in full-swing? Check. Living budget established? Check. Mastering the art of grocery shopping on a budget while being a foodie? Well, let’s just say I’m working on it. Don’t get me wrong, there are many great things about growing up, graduating, and living on my own, but one thing I’m really going to miss? The charge account at our grocery store back home, billed directly to mom. … Read More
Spiced Black Bean and Turkey Soup
Winter is here in, in a BIG way, and based on the weather forecast for the rest of the country, chances are temperatures have been lingering well below average no mater where you are. It’s so terribly cold here that even making a trip to the grocery store (which for me is less than a half a mile) takes an extra kick in the pants, usually from my stomach growling ‘feed me!’ Not all too long ago, I used to … Read More
Everyday Meatloaf
Last night I had one of my friends over for dinner to catch up, and while we were together the subject of my blog got brought up. If you knew my friend Cassie, and maybe some reading do, she would probably tell you that she can not cook. Personally I think she is probably being a bit too hard on herself, but one thing is for certain: she would never brag about her cooking skills or knowledge of anything kitchen-related. … Read More
Oat-Pudding
This post marks a first for Espresso + Cream because it’s the first time I am posting in my new apartment. I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am about this. No longer will I be a bogging nomad, jumping from kitchen to kitchen, because I have a kitchen and dining room of my very own! The kitchen is quite small, the dining room is actually a table in my living room, and I am currently storing … Read More