things i will make when you come over

let me explain.

i have a file of recipes i keep under the heading “entertain.”

“entertain” means: only make this when a lot of people come over.

in the moment that i save the recipe, i have the sanity to think…oh my, this looks amazing but don’t ever make this just for the two of you. you know, protecting myself from gluttony.

 

so…here are some ideas if people are coming over:

 

goat cheese balls with herbs, pecans, & bacon

 

cheesy artichoke bread

toffee crunch cupcakes

pumpkin pie french toast

cake batter pancakes

maraconi with blue cheese, figs, and rosemary

 

honey-soaked feta

 

 

 

reeses’s cheesecake brownies

 

why i bake

there is laundry to do and a house to clean and news releases to be written and what am i doing?

i am searching furiously for a good how-to on sugar cookies and piping and flooding royal icing. i bake when there is a lot going on. a habit i picked up in college.

when there is a lot to do, i look for something to bake. cooking and baking have this complete start-stop. beginning, middle, end. at first they are ingredients, then there are lots of steps, and then there is a nice result at the end.

when a cookie is made or a cupcake is frosted, you can’t go back. you can’t undo and restart. you can’t analyze it further or re-write it better.

when i am baking i am alone. with written instructions that don’t talk back or make other suggestions or tell me i am wrong. there is no one to impress. this sounds heartless but some people are energized by being around a big group. i am energized by being alone.

when i am done, i don’t have to turn my baked goods in anywhere. anyone who gets them is pleasantly surprised, rather than expectant, as with the nature of work. and if i messed them up? fine. no one knew they were coming anyway.

i get a renewed sense of confidence. somehow, i think that if i could make these cookies well, i surely can plan an event or be a good friend/mom/wife. i can quickly and efficiently show myself i can actually do something. well.

that is why i bake.

here are some of my favorite baked things:

olivia’s oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

chocolate chip cheesecake brownies

classic crumb cake

peanut butter cookie pie

cream cheese pound cake with blackberry sauce

flourless chocolate cake with chocolate ganache

chocolate-dipped cupcakes

free ad space trade

hey this looks fun.

Want free ad space for your blog or etsy shop this month? Email me (morgan [dot] c [dot] norris [at] gmail [dot] com) a 150×150 px ad along with the link to your blog/etsy and I will post it here if you’ll post mine!

This bright idea came from Becky. She’ll do the same for you this month also.

family night{best of blogs}

we are having a family night.

we will pick up dinner from somewhere and eat it at home. that’s right. we may even drive through somewhere. pretty sure we haven’t done that since I was pregnant.

we will play.

maybe we will watch supernanny and watch crazy families to feel good about our parenting.

it will be great.

see? so excited.

Here are some great posts from other people this week:

Friends

• where I work
• 77/365
• you want to read this post. i promise then this one to see who she’s talking about and this one to see how it started and this one to see why

DIY

• window frame jewelry tutorial
• recycled sweater pants

Recipes

• chocolate silk pie
• chicken noodle soup casserole

The Best of Blogs {Part Two}

Here’s last week’s blog round-up!

Our Food:

• {Monday} dinner at the Hagers – Chicken Pot Pie from Nicole, delicious.
• {Tuesday} sausage and spinach stuffed portobello mushroom caps – this recipe but with half chicken sausage and half sauteed spinach
• {Wednesday} Smoked turkey BLTs
• {Thursday} calzones – this recipe, but shaped like a calzone
• {Friday}  chicken and black bean flour tostadas (flour tortillas, smeared with olive oil and baked at 400 for about 10 minutes, topped with refried black beans, shredded chicken, shredded chicken, diced tomatoes, and pepper jack cheese,

Other People’s Food:

• This DIY Sports Drink for kids (um, or adults pleeease!) recipe allows you to make your own gatorade or powerade -type drink, for a fraction of the cost!
• Also DIY, Design Sponge has a great post on DIY herbal sun teas and simple syrups. Have herbs growing in your garden? Like tea? Look at websites like Yogi Tea, or Mighty Leaf. They list the hers in their teas usually just under the tea’s name. Grab those herbs and start playing with them! Remember that they’ll likely list the herbs that they use most in the tea, first, and the amount of each herb will lessen as you go down the list!
• Tomatos are in season, which means they’re ripe and cheap. Smitten Kitchen’s Scalloped Tomatoes recipe looks like a fantastic summer treat.
• And finally, my next brunch is just waiting for this Creme Brulee French Bread Casserole from the Foodie Bride.

Things That Aren’t Food:

• You should go to this site ASAP if you (or any special man in your life) is good with wood. It gives you supplies lists and plans to make tons of awesome furniture. Those plans and a can of spray paint (i love spray paint) and you could have a great room!
• Look at this beautiful pantry-esque cabinet, complete with matching jars and items likely from bulk bins. Ahhh.
• I love this bathroom. I am thinking of painting our guestroom/office a blue or teal.

Original post: http://saltimbocca.wordpress.com/2010/08/04/the-best-of-blogs-part-2/

The Best of Blogs {Part One}

I think I will do this weekly, and it’s going to get me back to blogging. The Best of Blogs will be a post with links and tidbits of things I have found through the week, along with what recipes we ate at home that week (because I don’t just serve banana bread and cookie pie for all of our meals).

Some of these people are friends, and others I wish were friends. I will likely write about each one like I know them. There are so many things I see each week that I would love to do or recreate or experience, but there’s never enough time, so if I share them with you, perhaps you’ll find one that suits your day. Some are food-related, some are not!

Our Food:

• {Monday} Chicken Fettucini Alfredo (very not-homemade with a jar of Classico Sauce), iceberg wedge salad, and bread
• {Tuesday} Chicken BLT Sandwiches on Hawaiian rolls, Steamed cauliflower, and pineapple.
• {Wednesday} Lettuce Wraps (recipe coming soon)
• {Thursday} Chicken BLTs again (whoops), more pineapple, and more wedge salads
• {Friday} Out: Central Market – salads on the deck

Other People’s Food:

• Rebecca Crump at Ezra Pound Cake made “First Electricity Bill of the Summer Sangria.” My summer will not end without making this. It looks fantastic! Full of summer fruits and flavors.
• The Snickers Caramel Cheesecake Cookies at Picky Palate look like a treat. She turned the standard candy bar into a cheesecake and a cookie at once. Not everyone can do that.
• You likely either love kombucha, or hate it, but if you haven’t tried it you should, so that you know which camp you’re in. If you love it, you can make it yourself thanks to Food Renegade. Instead of $3.50/bottle, you’ll pay something like $.10 and that is a big price difference.
• Stephanie had a good post this week on 10 Things to Do With Basil, if your basil plant is out of control like mine is. She also writes a blog for Greenling!

Things That Aren’t Food:

• I am learning to sew (meaning, last weekend I sewed two pieces of fabric together under the supervision of someone who can sew on a machine that was already threaded and ready to go…I have a lot of progress to make), and I want to make one of these…someday
• Someday our little girl will need a bed – look how cute and resourceful this one is!
• I sprayed my nice, Seventh Generation All-Purpose Cleaner bottle dry, and used this recipe to fill it back up for pennies!