apple brandy

here's a quick and refreshing cocktail inspired by a drink from jg domestic that i tasted on a recent trip to philly. it went perfectly with the hickory smoked georgia pecans with maple & bacon! we used apple brandy from harvest spirits for this libation - they are located in the hudson valley and apparently give tours and tastings at their distillery. sounds like we need to take a road trip soon!

The Philadelphia

makes 1

1 oz high quality gin

1 oz apple brandy

1 tbs meyer lemon juice

2 tsp maple syrup

3 1/2 oz club soda

1 sprig thyme

1 slice of apple

in a cocktail shaker, combine gin, brandy, lemon juice and maple syrup with ice and shake well. pour into a high ball glass, top with club soda and stir. garnish with thyme and apple. enjoy!

asparagus

a quick hello and a beautiful bowl of spring green asparagus soup to warm up from the grey days we've had recently (even though the sun is shining this afternoon). it's super simple and a great way to use up extra vegetables.

we're excited about a project we're working on with uppercase magazine - can't wait to share! have you seen jen's new project, the makers? all the creative people in brooklyn and what they're making are so inspiring! also, have you seen this behind the scenes video from ban.do? fun, sparkly and pretty as always.

Roasted Asparagus Soup

serves 2

4 cups coarsely chopped asparagus

3 cloves garlic, smashed

1 onion, coarsely chopped

1 tbs olive oil

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup heavy cream or milk

salt & pepper

preheat oven to 400 degrees F. toss asparagus, garlic, onion and olive oil on a sheet pan and season with salt and pepper. roast 20 minutes or until tender. transfer to a food processor or blender and add stock and cream. puree until smooth and season to taste. serve warm or chilled.

snow day

today is a great day to stay inside and play in the kitchen as the view outside turns into a winter wonderland. we know everyone in nyc is sick of the snow but the beauty and stillness of the white powdery stuff is still exciting to these west coast kids! cookbook santa was very good to us this holiday and we have loads of inspiration to share. a few books at the top of our list that we received are noma, tartine bread, my sweet mexico, and baked explorations. the oatmeal sandwich bread recipe for today's post comes from another wonderful cookbook, good to the grain, filled with recipes that bake with whole grain flours. it's a perfect loaf to toast, smear with butter and jam & nibble with a cup of tea on this snowy day. enjoy!

Oatmeal Sandwich Bread

(from Good to the Grain)

makes 1 large loaf

1 pkg active dry yeast

3 tbs unsulphered molasses

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups bread flour

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted & cooled

1 tbs kosher salt

add 2 cups warm water, yeast and molasses to the bowl of a standing mixer. stir, allowing yeast to bloom for about 5 minutes, until it begins to bubble. add flours, oats and butter to the yeast mixture. stir together with a wooden spoon, cover with a towel and let sit for 30 minutes. attach the bowl and the bread hook to the mixer. add salt and mix on medium for about 6 minutes or until the dough slaps around the sides of the bowl without sticking. if the dough is sticking at any time, add one or two tablespoons of bread flour. the dough will be soft, supple and slightly tacky.

scrap the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times. put the dough into a greased bowl and cover with a towel. let it rise for about one hour or until it's doubled in size.

to shape the dough, scrape onto a lightly floured work surface. press down, working into a square shape and depressing any air bubbles. fold the dough down from the top to the middle, then up from the bottom to the middle. next, bring the newly formed top and bottom edges together and pinch the seam in the middle, sealing the seam with your fingers. pinch the sides together and roll the shaped dough back and forth, plumping it so that it's evenly formed and about the size of your loaf pan. place the dough in a greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan and press it gently into the corners of the pan. cover and let it rest for about 1 hour or until dough rises to half it's size or puffs up over the edge of the pan.

preheat oven to 400 degrees F. bake for 40 minutes, rotating halfway through. the loaf is ready when the top crust is dark as molasses and the bottom crust is dark brown. give the top of the loaf a thump to see if it sounds hollow. remove the loaf from the pan and cool for at least 2 hours on a baking rack.

martha

a quick hello and some fun updates on what we've been up to in the new year! the images above are from work andrew shot in the february issue of martha stewart living - delicious in season tangelos and a curry dish from the lovely lucinda scala quinn. also check out our chocolate pretzel tart featured today on the martha blog taste of the test kitchen.

excited to share a beautiful chocolate project i styled this week with photographer jason varney. had a fun time in philadelphia, including a wonderful dinner here and of course a few cheesesteaks here and here.

we're excited to watch football this weekend but even more excited to eat pork at cochon 555! happy friday!

fine cooking

just stopping in to say hello! almost forgot to share the december/january issue of fine cooking that i styled! the fabulous croquembouche on the cover was shot by the talented miki duisterhof and the sweets & sparklers feature was so much fun to shoot at the gorgeous home of photographer pernille pedersen. it's a great story and gave me loads of fun ideas for a champagne and dessert party - the apple, fennel and cheddar cheese straws were SO delicious!

have you seen the redesign of jen's blog, nectar & light? love it!

the new amsterdam market this sunday is all about our favorite things - coffee & chocolate!

looking for some holiday gift ideas? check out a few of our favorite blog gift guides - a cup of jo, design sponge, simply photo & sassy radish, plus these beautifully put together gift baskets from one of our favorite stores in brooklyn!

have a happy weekend!

chocolate & pretzels

as you're busy planning your thanksgiving menu, here's a little treat to make you drool! after thursday, when you need a break from all things pumpkin and turkey, try making this rich, salty, sweet dessert. this recipe is adapted from an old issue of Food & Wine magazine and we decided peanut butter was a perfect addition to the pretzel and chocolate combination.

check out the latest post in our mad props series here - a warm german scene with gold crackle plates, weisswurst and sauerkraut.

finally got to the new amsterdam market for the smorrebrod table 2010 and the rye bread project which was great! also got to meet fellow big leo food stylist Heidi Johannsen and taste some of her delicious and beautiful tea from Bellocq.

Chocolate Pretzel Tart

serves 8

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cups coarsely crushed pretzels

3/4 cup confectioner's sugar

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 egg

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

3/4 lb bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 tbs maldon sea salt for garnish

in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter with 3/4 cup pretzels and confectioner's sugar on low speed until creamy. beat in flour and eggs. add remaining 1/2 cup pretzels and mix, leaving some pieces intact. flatten the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 30 minutes.

preheat oven to 350 degrees F. roll out the dough between the sheets of plastic wrap to a 12-inch round. peel off the top sheet and invert dough over a 10-inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom. press the dough into the corners and patch any tears. trim the overhanging dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes. line the shell with parchment and pie weights or dried beans and bake 30 minutes. remove the parchment and bake 8-12 minutes more or until firm and set. let the shell cool completely. using a small offset spatula, spread the peanut butter into a thin even layer and refrigerate while making the chocolate filling.

in a medium saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer. turn off heat and add chocolate, let stand 5 minutes. whisk until completely smooth. let filling cool slightly before pouring into the shell and smoothing with spatula. sprinkle with sea salt and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours.

pickled

we've pickled stuff before here and have been working for months on our own classic dill pickle recipe to share but here are two new pickled things we recently came across. lately we can't get enough vinegar, lemon juice or anything acidic - don't know exactly what this means but the honeycrisp apple kimchi with jowl bacon at momofuku ssam bar we had at dinner a few nights ago was a great way to satisfy our craving! the recipe for spiced pickled beets is adapted from this book and reminds me so much of the pickled beets that found their way onto our dinner plate many nights growing up. the pickled fennel is adapted from an old Food & Wine magazine recipe and we're still trying to figure out how to work it into an ice cold martini recipe!

Spiced Pickled Beets

makes 1 pint

1 1/2 pounds raw beets, unpeeled

2 cups red wine vinegar

1 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1 bay leaf

1 cinnamon stick

2 whole cloves

6 whole black peppercorns

1 teaspoon salt

wash the beets and trim the tops, being careful not to cut into the beets. leave roots intact. add the remaining ingredients to a large heavy bottomed stainless steel pan and bring to a boil. reduce to a simmer, cover and simmer 1-2 hours or until beets are tender when pierced with a skewer. left the beets out of the liquid and cool. peel and slice into 1/4-inch slices. pack into a pint jar and top with strained cooking liquid. keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Pickled Fennel

makes 1 pint

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup rice vinegar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons sugar

pinch ground cloves

pinch ground cinnamon

1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored & cut into matchsticks

in a shallow dish, combine water, vinegar, salt, sugar, cloves and cinnamon and stir. fill a jar with fennel and cover with liquid. refrigerate overnight and serve lightly chilled.

sweet paul

we have been holding our breath with excitement for the last few months since we were asked to be contributors to the wonderful magazine sweet paul!! for those of you who are not familiar with him, paul is an amazing talented prop and food stylist who we are happy to share a agency with. he started this fantastic magazine and this holiday issue is issue 3 of many to come. and well, today is the day, we can share and see our fun little holiday brunch spread, complete with a great layout and surrounded by a great cast of photographers, stylists and writers. please click to visit the new issue and check back soon for updates full of recipes and photos.

white ale

we've mentioned our love of belgian-style white ale before here, and especially the adorable owl on the hitachino label. while reading grub street a few weeks ago, we saw that alton brown shares our love for this great japanese beer! so when we came across this recipe from an old issue of Food & Wine magazine using white ale, we knew it would be right up our alley. the recipe is from Sang Yoon, owner of the awesome gastro pub Father's Office - an institution with two locations in southern CA. thinking of the amazing beers on tap paired with their famous burger makes us miss the sunshine state a little! make sure to serve these mussels with a big spoon and lots of bread to mop up the delicious sauce.

Curried Mussels in White Ale

serves 4

2 tbs vegetable oil

1 tbs thai red curry paste

6 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tbs grated fresh ginger

1 large fresh lemongrass stalk, bulb only, smashed & chopped

2/3 cup mirin

15 oz coconut milk

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 tbs asian fish sauce

1/2 cup basil leaves

2 12 oz bottles white ale

2 lbs mussels, scrubbed & debearded

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

in a saucepan, heat the oil. add red curry paste, garlic, ginger and lemongrass and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. add mirin, coconut milk, soy sauce, fish sauce and basil leaves and simmer for 15 minutes. strain the red curry sauce into a bowl.

in a large saucepan, bring ale to a boil. add mussels, cover and cook over night heat, about 5 minutes. discard any mussels that do not open. divide mussels between four bowls. add the red curry sauce to the ale and boil about 1 minutes. pour sauce over mussels and sprinkle with chopped cilantro. enjoy!

simple supper

here's a quick recipe for a very simple meal to whip up for lunch or dinner that's loaded with amazing middle eastern flavors. it's based on the herbs and spices in traditional lamb kofte, which are basically kebabs, and is served with a few easy accompaniments, like store bought hummus and pita, that make for a super quick meal for those busy weekday evenings.

also, we've been busy working on lots of great projects like shooting for martha stewart living & styling for the nest over the past week - can't wait to share these with you! we're excited to watch this starting on wednesday and maybe we'll have to eat one of these during the game.

Lamb Meatballs

makes 20

1 lb ground lamb

1 small onion, chopped

1/4 cup crumbled feta

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tbs paprika

1 tbs ground cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp olive oil

4 persian cucumbers, thinly slices on a mandolin

1/4 cup greek yogurt

juice of 1 lemon plus wedges for garnish

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

salt & pepper

preheat oven to 350 degrees F. in a medium bowl, combine lamb, onion, feta, mint, parsley, garlic, paprika, cumin, cayenne with a big pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper. mix well with your hands until everything is incorporated. form into about 20 small meatballs by rolling between the palms of your hands. heat olive oil over medium high heat and sear meatballs on all sides, about 5 minutes. transfer to the oven and cook 10-12 minutes or until done.

while meatballs are in the oven, in a small bowl combine cucumbers with yogurt, lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. serve with meatballs with cucumber salad, sliced red onions, lemon wedges, warm pita & your favorite hummus. enjoy!