cute dresses

I am slightly obsessed with this designer right now-
Voom by Joy Han












Her stuff is at Double Dutch too.

These are sooo Elizabeth Taylor in Butterfield 8....

italy II

italy

I just back from Italy- it was really really nice to go back. (I studied abroad in Sorrento many years ago) We stayed in Praiano-- a small town just past Positano on the Amalfi Coast in a villa perched high up on a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was awesome. You can see all 217 photos, including the kitchen, here if you like. I did quite a bit of cooking there and am including two recipes... they aren't exactly recipes though, because they are painfully simple, but tremendously delicious.

recipes:

homemade pasta
This is hardly a recipe- just start with a pile of flour and a pinch of salt I use about a cup per person and make a well in the center. Crack in an egg for each person . Whisk the eggs with a fork and slowly start pulling in flour from your pile until you have a nice dough. (there will be flour left over) Knead the dough a bit and then run through a pasta machine or roll out with a rolling pin and slice thinly (as pictured) Let dry out a bit (I rarely have the patience to really do this) and drop into a pot of salted boiling water. When the noodles float they are done- it should only take a few minutes. Toss with olive oil, fresh tomatoes and basil. Yum.

fennel with sorrentine lemon
Again this isn't exactly a recipe but it's my new favorite snack. Thinly slice a bulb or two of fennel either with a mandoline or with a knife. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice from your villa lemon tree... that's me eating my fennel salad on the villa balcony at sunset.

happy easter!

meatball cupcakes

Ok, so meatball cupcakes may seem odd... but they were for my friend Virginia who makes meatball sculptures so it made perfect sense. She also had a squirrel phase during which I made her polka dot squirrel cupcakes... These are chocolate cake, salt caramel swiss buttercream, homemade truffles for meatballs and jam for sauce.

rose scented champagne cocktail

It so happens that my birthday is on valentine's day and consequently, I have always loved making paper valentines and holiday inspired food. I am a sucker for heart shaped anything in february. I am also slightly obsessed with champagne cocktails- they just seem like the epitome of glamour. So I made this drink on my birthday with fancy rose champagne (I also feel compelled to drink things that are pink on valentines day) and some rose scented vodka that I have had kicking around for awhile. You could probably substitute rosewater if you didn't want to make the vodka... but why go to the trouble of hunting down rosewater when you can make your own?

rose scented champagne cocktail

* handmade demerara sugar cube (recipe follows) demerara
* 1 tsp. rose scented vodka (recipe follows)
* dry rose champagne (I used veuve cliquot… it’s my birthday!)
* organic rose petals (to garnish)

Place a sugar cube in each champagne glass. Sprinkle with teaspoon of rose vodka and fill with champagne. Garnish with rose petals.

handmade demerara sugar cubes

* 1 cup demerara sugar
* 1 tsp. meringue powder
* 1 tsp. water

Mix sugar and meringue powder in a bowl. Add water and mix with you hands until sugar is evenly moist. (it should be the texture of wet sand) Shape into cubes and set on cardboard to air dry for about eight hours.


rose scented vodka
This is one of the first infused liquors I ever made.

* rose petals (from 2-4 roses- use whatever you have)
* 1 litre of vodka

Put the roses and vodka in a container. I use those throw away tupperware containers, but you will need to keep the vodka reasonably out of the light, so use something dark if that concerns you. Alternatively you can pour out some of the vodka from the bottle and put the roses directly in, but you will end up with much less vodka and it's hard to get stuff out once it goes in. Let sit out of direct sunlight for as long as you have patience-- at least a week or two ideally more. the longer it sits the stronger it gets.

valentines