maple blueberry scones

My Momma K is having a birthday today! Yup, it's my momma's birthday and I don't even have a cake for you today. Fail. Pretend there's a candle in that scone up there, please!

For those of you who know my momma, please be sure to wish her a happy birthday! For those who don't know her, well, you're missing out on a good lady.

She's the kind of mom who mails me boxes of Girl Scout cookies and funny cards, just because. She's the kind who will drink too much red wine and refer to herself as Betty Badass…even though she'd never hurt a fly. She's the kind who will watch Project Runway with me every week (even though we live hundreds of miles apart) so we can text each other our opinions the entire time. And she's the kind who will choose everyone else's favorite cake for her own birthday.

So, momma, I owe you one birthday cake of YOUR choosing.

But in the meantime, I offer up these scones. Because when I was first learning to bake you would always try my scones and claim to like them…even when certain other members of the family (cough cough dad) gave them the side eye and referred to them as the "big, ugly cousin of the muffin." (Poor scones…)

Thanks for being wonderful, momma! Happy birthday to you!

maple blueberry scones

ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, but into small cubes
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
3/4 cup cold buttermilk
1 cup fresh blueberries
3 Tbsp buttermilk for brushing the tops of the scones before baking
granulated sugar for sprinkling on top before baking

directions:
Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, pinch of nutmeg, and salt. Cut in butter (using your fingers or a pastry cutter) until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Work the butter into the dry ingredients until some of the butter flakes are the size of peas and some are the size of oat flakes. In another bowl, combine egg, maple syrup, and milk and beat lightly with a fork. Add to flour mixture all at once, stirring enough to make a soft dough. Fold in the blueberries.

Turn out onto a floured board and knead until just combined. Roll or pat out into a 1-inch thickness. Cut into 2-inch rounds using a round cutter. Reshape and roll excess dough to create more scones with dough scraps. Place on prepared baking sheet. Brush lightly with buttermilk and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve warm. Scones are best the day they’re made but will keep up to five days refridgerated.

Yield: 10-12 scones

Source: Joy the Baker

maple bacon brussels salad with cranberries and gorgonzola

Brussels sprouts are clearly having their moment right now, their fifteen minutes of fame. They're everywhere. Sautéed, roasted, deep fried, any way you can imagine. I'm gonna go ahead and jump on the brussels sprout train; however, I'd just like to first point out that I liked brussels sprouts before they were cool. My momma served them up boiled when I was a kid and my five-year-old self was all over it. Momma and I were clearly ahead of the brussels sprout game.

In hindsight, I think I may have just liked that they looked like little baby heads of lettuce…but whatever.

Maybe it's all these delicious brussels sprouts recipes popping up on Pinterest or maybe it's just childhood nostalgia, but lately I've been hankering for brussels sprouts in a big way. Like daydreaming about brussels sprouts all day. Yeah, not normal. But, hey, it's healthier than my usual daydreams, which tend to involve Five Guys burgers and brownies.

And all those daydreams added up to this here salad. Brussels sprouts sautéed in bacon grease and maple syrup and mixed with dried cranberries, gorgonzola, and crumbled bacon. Basically, brussels trashed up in the best way possible. I could eat this every day forever. Yeah, it's that good.

maple bacon brussels salad with cranberries and gorgonzola

ingredients:
1/2 pound thick-cut bacon, chopped (about 5 slices)
1 pound brussels sprouts, stems removed and sliced
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup gorgonzola, crumbled

directions:
Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add the bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crispy, about 5 to 6 minutes. Reserving as much of the bacon grease as possible, remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel to remove any extra grease.

Add the brussels to the bacon grease still in the skillet and stir to coat. Cook until the brussels begin to soften, about 5 minutes, then stir in the maple syrup. Cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, then season with the salt and the pepper.

Remove skillet from heat. Add the bacon back into the skillet along with the gorgonzola and dried cranberries, stirring to combine. Transfer to a plate or serving dish. Refrigerate leftovers.

Yield: 2-4 servings as main dish, 4-6 as side dish

Source: adapted from How Sweet It Is

chocolate cherry cake

I made you a Valentine's Day-ish cake!!! (With a horrible photo to boot!) You're welcome. :)

My own Valentine's Day has already come and gone. But that doesn't mean I can't force chocolate goodies upon you, right? Okay, good.

The BF and I celebrated an early Valentine's Day this past Friday night so, naturally, I was on a mad dash to the mall Friday afternoon for the perfect gift. Actually, being so unprepared for a holiday is very un-Katy-like and it caused me more anxiety than I'd like to admit. I'm the girl who has birthday and holiday gifts purchased a month in advance. I don't know what happened this time around. I must be losing my edge.

Anywayssss, I made the vital mistake of going shopping with my friend (who is a nanny) and her three charges, a toddler and twin baby boys. Let me just say that we were only at the mall for about two hours but during that time we had a near-miss bathroom accident and some full-on excitement-induced nausea in Build-a-Bear. I've officially learned my lesson. Never again will I wait until the last minute.

But the story has a happy ending. I got a dang gift and our early Valentine's Day was a success.

Whether you're planning on celebrating Valentine's Day with a significant other or with friends (or just boycotting it altogether) might I suggest this decadent chocolate cherry cake? Chocolate + cherries just seems like the perfect Valentine's Day combo. And this cake is ridiculously easy to whip together. Aside from the less-than-desirable chore of cherry pitting, this cake batter comes together in one bowl and in less than ten minutes. So if you're a "wait 'til the last minute" kinda gal (or guy), this low-maintenance cake might just save the day.

chocolate cherry cake with chocolate glaze

ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp vinegar (or lemon juice)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
2 cups cherries, pitted and halved

chocolate glaze: 
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp hot water

directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add the vanilla extract, vinegar, oil, and water. Using a spatula, mix the batter until smooth. Stir in the cherries.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool to room temperature.

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate. Stir in hot water and vanilla extract and mix until smooth. If the chocolate appears to seize up, keep stirring. After a few minutes, it will turn into a workable consistency.

Spread the icing lightly onto the cooled cake and garnish with cherries.

To store for longer than a day, place the cake into an airtight container and chill in the refrigerator.

Yield: one 9-inch cake

Source: Pastry Affair

caramelized onion risotto with rosemary and gorgonzola

Ugh. It's so hard to make risotto look appetizing. Bright colors? Good lighting? A variety of brightly colored herby garnish? Sorry, still looks gross.

Risotto is one of my favorite cold weather dishes to cook because it's endlessly adaptable, it cooks up on the stove in a half hour and it's just comforting. Yesterday, after trudging around all day in what was predicted to be "up to an inch of snow" but actually turned out to be five inches, dropping my gloves in a public toilet (why????), and neglectfully forgetting to wear snow boots, this risotto was the only thing that could make everything better.

However, blogging about said risotto is another matter entirely. This is why I typically keep risotto to myself. But, well, that's just selfish. So I'm here today offering you a fabulous risotto recipe and some mildly adequate pictures of it.

You win some, you lose some, amiright?

But here's the important thing about this risotto. It has a holy trinity of deliciousness. I'm talking caramelized onions. And gorgonzola. AND my main herb, rosemary. It's not a recipe for good breath. But who cares? It's winter. It's snowy. And I want some dang carbs heaped up in a bowl of deliciousness. Perhaps alongside some of these perfectly crusty and ridiculously easy crusty chicken thighs. Or perhaps just straight from the pot to my mouth because who has time for chicken when there is risotto???

caramelized onion risotto with rosemary and gorgonzola

ingredients:
3 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 large or 3 medium yellow onions
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1 clove garlic, minced
5 cups chicken or vegetable stock, warmed
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

directions:
Heat the butter and oil in a large nonstick sauce pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Cut the onions in half and then slice them into 1/8-inch thick half-rounds. Add the onions and sauté for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 more minutes until the onions are browned and caramelized. Add rice and sauté until well coated with oil, about one minute. Add the garlic and sauté one minute longer.

Add 1/2 cup stock and stir continually until almost absorbed. Repeat until all broth is incorporated, cooking and stirring until the rice is “al dente," approximately 30 minutes. Keep a close eye on the risotto throughout this process and stir frequently.

Add rosemary, and then add salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving, add the crumbled gorgonzola cheese. Stir just enough to incorporate, leaving larger pieces of cheese intact throughout the risotto. Serve immediately.

Yield: 6 to 8 as a side dish, 3-4 as a main dish

Source: Sprinkles & Champagne original

the skinny on stitch fix

So I broke down and ordered my first Stitch Fix. Some of my peeps have been asking me about it and I thought it might be easier to just explain it all here. For those of you not in the know, Stitch Fix is a personal styling service done through the mail.

Here's the quick rundown: You fill out a survey about your style, budget, and sizes, pay a $20 styling fee, and they send you a hand-picked selection of five items. You have three days to try everything on, see what you like, and go through endless internal debates (or maybe that's just me). Keep what you like and send the rest back. The $20 styling fee is applied to whatever you keep and, if you keep all five items, you get 25% off everything.

When you refer others to the service, you can rack up credit towards your purchases. So if you decide you want to give it a try, here's the link.

Okay, we got that out of the way. So here are the goods!

Fate Elyse Striped Sheer Sleeveless Top I'm a sucker for white and navy stripes and I'll wear this with everything.

Sanctuary Rizzo Skinny Ponte Pants I didn't anticipate loving these, but these pants are my new wardrobe staple. They're like a cross between leggings and skinny jeans.

Sweet Rain Roger Asymmetrical Zipper Jacket I really loved this jacket, but it was just a little tight. Like a motorcycle jacket, but in a comfier fabric.

Collective Concepts Melandry Button-Up Tab-Sleeve Blouse Love the color of this one and the overall style, but it was a wee bit short on me. I must have a long torso?

41Hawthorn Walt Striped Skirt This skirt was the perfect fit and cut. At first, I thought this skirt was navy and kelly green, but it was actually black and green. I would have kept it, but I was scared off by the black and green combo.

I went back and forth debating several of these pieces. Ultimately, I decided to keep the navy and white  striped blouse and the black ponte pants. I would've kept the jacket and the blouse as well, had the fit been right and I'll always be sad that the skirt was black instead of navy. But, overall, I'd call this first box a success!

I'm trying to watch my spending so I didn't sign up for the monthly shipments (yet), but I'll definitely order again in two or three months. Again, here's the link if you're interested. Let me know if you try it. I'm nosy and want to know what you get!