Bar Accompli

Perusing my favorite design blogs, books and magazines I come across a covetable bar almost weekly.  The perfect bar is a mix of spirits and whimsy, a medley of tchotchkes and taste.

Target debuted the ideal bar cart this holiday season.  The burnished gold finish gives the piece a festive flair.

The Target cart has been featured in magazine spreads and fashionable homes galore.  I've placed it in my virtual shopping cart half a dozen times.  Each time my fingers hovered hesitantly over the checkout button.  "It's too big" cried a nagging voice in my head.

I wanted a bar.  A hollywood regency bar on a bargain basement budget and one that wouldn't overwhelm my tiny office (aka the fox den)  Oila, enter Target's diminutive gold and faux bone accent table!

Bar Cart Styling Tips

Choose items that feature variations on a single shade or design motif:  I used gold and polka dots. Petit prosecco bottles play off the blingy theme.  Gold dots grace the interior of a gorgeous porcelain camellia bowl and rainbow colored ones adorn a book cover.

I spray painted a wicker basket a punchy champagne gold and used it for storage.

Add an element of surprise:  The "Hello Darling" letterpress print adds a playful unexpected touch.

Pick your poison: and make it pretty! Midori, chambord and patron feature among the array of lovely liquers I assembled.

     

       xo

Ladies Who Lunch

I like spaces that are both aspirational and accessible, opulent yet...dare I say it cozy.  BG is such a space.  Designed by the brilliant Kelly Weastler, the domed chairs, fresh palette and outstanding cuisine make BG well worth a visit.  

Go in the springtime.  The restaurant boasts breathtaking panoramic views of Central Park.  BG is located on the seventh floor of Bergdorf Goodman along New York's Fifth Avenue.  For reservations call (212) 872-8708.

This illustration captures the charm of the space.

Lobster mac n cheese, asparagus soup and deviled eggs.

Lobster salad with avocado & champagne vinaigrette.  

Soho's long-awaited Ladurée tea salon has finally arrived from Paris. Entering Laduree is like stepping onto the Champs Élysées, albeit via Broadway.  Laduree specializes in rainbow hued macarons and haute-couture desserts.  The salon serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner  and everything is absolument délicieux.

Lavender Shortbread

I have a weakness for sweets with savory or herbal flavors.  A hint of rosemary or even a subtle floral accent can make your favorite dessert even more aromatic and decadent.

Adapted from a James Beard recipe, these shortbread have a velvety texture that comes from using ultra fine confectioners sugar and just a touch of honey.  Roll these sweet treats in lavender vanilla bean sugar, available at your local spice shop, to enhance the yumm factor.

Lavender Shortbread

1/4 tsp salt
2 sticks of butter
1 tsp lavender honey
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/8 cup lavender vanilla sugar


Cream the butter, sugar, honey
and salt until thoroughly combined.

Add the flour to butter mixture and knead until smooth.

Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to about a 1/4 inch in thickness.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Cut the cookies and roll their edges in lavender sugar.

Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Fudgy Chocolate Cupcakes

These super moist chocolate cupcakes were the byproduct of a series of happy accidents...

Chocolate Cupcakes 

1 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup hot coffee

Fudgy Chocolate Frosting

1/3 cup Ghiradelli chocolate

3 cups confectioners sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup milk

Honey Honey Suga Suga

The madeline, a petite french cake, originated in the Lorraine region of northeastern France.  I love french pastry.  Madelines, macarons, the secret to such delights is more alchemy than chemistry.           

     

Deceptively simple in texture and shape, it took me a while to get these right.  The key ingredient: honey.  Don't scoff.  I certainly did, initially at least.  

Honey as an ingredient evokes those infamous Upson daiquiris from Auntie Mame, a vile concoction only a passel of babbity, bourgeois, bigots would consider imbibing.  

In this case however, honey enhances the citrus in the cake and imbues it with a sublime sticky sweetness.  I'm in love!  

Madelines
(recipe from Rachel Khoo's "Little Paris Kitchen")

3/4 cup  sugar

3 whole eggs

1  1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

zest of 1/2 lemon

4 teaspoons honey

4 tablespoons whole milk

confectioners sugar for dusting

1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 5 tablespoons soft unsalted butter

Whisk the butter, sugar and eggs until pale and fluffy.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Fold the flour into the butter mixture, then add the honey, lemon zest and milk.

Whisk until smooth.

Add the batter to your tin and drop a ripe raspberry in the center

Bake for 5 minutes at 375′ then turn the oven off for 1 minute, turn the oven back on at 325′ and cook an additional 5 minutes.

Cheese-atarian

I've been subsisting almost exclusively on veggies....ok veggies and carbs smothered in cheese. This must stop! Seriously!

Lunch today was sautéed kale, black beans and mac and cheese. That's not too bad.  But it seems like every time i see a nice wholesome veggie i feel an uncontrollable urge to drape cheese over it. Good cheese...we're talking Gruyere béchamels here.  It's a strange and delicious compulsion.  I shall reform. I must.  Bridesmaid bootcamp starts tomorrow!

Baked Mac & Cheese
1 egg
2 cups milk

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup cheddar

4 tbsp breadcrumbs

1 box elbow macaroni
1 cup shredded gruyere & swiss


Cook pasta and set aside.  Bring milk to a simmer.  Add butter and gruyere.  Whisk gently until well blended.  Whisk in egg until mixture is smooth.

Add white sauce and pasta to a medium baking dish.  Stir until pasta is completely covered with sauce.  Top with cheddar  and breadcrumbs.  Bake for about 20 minutes.

ps: it's rather gratifying to know my food pics look way better than Martha Stewart's.  i still love you Martha!

Roasted Acorn Squash

Many of my friends are Pioneer Woman enthusiasts so it is with some embarrassment that I confess I have never made a Rhee Drummond recipe before today.  But oh what a recipe!

Dreyer Farms has been offering local seasonal produce in Cranford since 1904.  I recently received a generous array of Dreyer's goodies and I've enjoyed preparing and consuming them all week.

I confess I felt very veggie ignorant going through my Dreyer's box.  I had to use google to identify two of the squash varieties therein.  Once I figured out that the pumpkin-esque green squash was acorn squash the next challenge was how to prepare it...enter inspired pioneer woman recipe. This dish was not only fresh, seasonal and local, it was also extraordinarily delicious.

bon appetit!
dani

• 1 Acorn Squash
• a pinch of Kosher Salt 
• 2 tsp of butter
• 2 tsp Brown Sugar
• 3 tsp Pure Maple Syrup

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Halve each squash, then scrape out the seeds. Place the halves, flesh side up, on a baking sheet and sprinkle each half with salt.

Add butter to the center of each squash followed by brown sugar. Drizzle squash with maple syrup.

Pour 1/2 water in the bottom of the baking pan.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 30-45 minutes, or until squash is golden brown.

In the last 5 minutes of baking, turn on the broiler and allow tops to get a little more brown and the butter/sugar mixture to bubble.