Art of the Bar

I love a fun (and stocked) bar. 

A few bottles of your favorite liquor, a decanter with wine or glass jar filled with whiskey, some fun lowball glasses and a bar book make up a perfect bar cart.

When I was first looking for a bar cart, about a year ago, I had a really hard time finding one that I loved. I ended up getting the below butler stand and tray which ended up working out perfectly.

Recently I have seen a ton of great and affordable bar carts. (see links below)

I just may have to invest in another one for the den! You can never have too much space for cocktails, right?

Porter Bar Cart

Wood and Brass Finish Bar Cart

Foxed Mirror Bar Cart

Parker Mid-Century Bar Cart

Wooden Bar Cart

Libations Bar Cart

Resources

Butler Stand

Large Rectangular Tray

Whiskey Bottle with Wood Stopper

Gold Wrapped Glasses

Pineapple Drink Stirrers

Scrappy's Bitters

Riedel Wine Decanter

The Art of the Bar: Cocktails Inspired by Classics

Winter ONEderland

Yesterday was my friend's son's 1st Birthday Party. 

The theme was Winter ONEderland. How cute and apropos considering this frigid weather we've been having. She did such a cute job with all of the little details.

The lunch was right out of a ski lodge.  She served mac & cheese, chicken pot pie and chili, and had a hot chocolate station and an array of wintry sweets for dessert.

To add to the sweet smorgasbord I made s'mores cupcakes. 

They were adorable and delicious!

recipe below.

What you'll need:

24 cupcakes

Frosting

Box of honey flavored Teddy Grams

Bag of large marshmallows

Hershey chocolate bar, broken up

Directions:

Make 24 cupcakes, chocolate or vanilla. I used vanilla.

Frost cupcakes.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

On a baking tray roast large marshmallows for about 5 minutes, until they get a little golden.

As soon as they come out put on top of each cupcake.

Squeeze in a little teddy gram in the marshmallow. I thought it was cute to use Teddy Grams since it was a 1st Birthday but  you can most certainly use regular gram crackers and break them into smaller pieces.

Put one piece of Hershey's chocolate behind the marshmallow.

Try to make as close to eating time as you can, they marshmallows tend to harden up as time goes on.

I got the adorable red tartan plaid baking liners on etsy.com

They went perfect with the theme! 

Harper holding hands with the adorable Birthday boy!

Harper's Room!

I finally got around to snapping some shots of Harper's Bedroom to share.

I loved decorating her room. I mean what could be more fun then a girly little girls room?

 My favorite part is the butterfly orb that hangs over her crib. I found it on etsy before she was even born. It was the first thing I purchased for her room and worked the room around it. 

Everything in her room comes from different places (resources below). I did my research trying to find sites with more reasonable prices. For example, I knew I wanted a leather pouf as an ottoman for her rocker but couldn't justify spending $450 at Serena & Lilly. I found basically the same exact one on amazon for half the price. The website 20x200 has great affordable art. I found the adorable baby lamb print on there and brought it to a local shop to get it framed.

What do you think? Do you want to climb into her crib for a siesta? 

Resources

Restoration Hardware Baby, bedding

Restoration Hardware Baby, Voile Quilt & Pillow

CB2, Big Dipper Floor Lamp

Restoration Hardware Baby, Table Lamp

Land of Nod, Simple Dresser

Land of Nod, Time to Turn in Crib

Land of Nod, American Rocker

Overstock, Natural Flokati Wool Shag Rug

Ikram Design, Leather Pouf

20x200, Baby Lamb Art

Etsy, Butterfly Orb

The big harumph, Every Day I Love You Print

Playroom!

Room by room our house is starting to come together. 

My focus the past few weeks has been the playroom since this is where Harper likes to spend most of her time, especially when friends come over. 

There are still a few odds and ends that need to be done before it's totally complete but it's turning into a perfect place for Harper to play and "create".

What do you think so far?

Resources

Land of Nod, Up Against The Wall Paper Holder and Bin

Land of Nod, Head in the Clouds Pillow

Land of Nod, Pink Lighten Up Pendant

ColetteBream, Star Shaped Pillows

Snappy Design, Dress Up Sign

Urban Outfitters, Zigzag Rug

PB Kids, Cream Sherpa Chair

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

Yes really 40 whole cloves of garlic!

It is delicious and I promise not as scary as it sounds. 

I made mine over some smashed potatoes and spinach but I also recommend having some crusty bread on the side so you can sop up every last bit of garlic sauce. 

It is that delicious! 

What you'll need:

40 cloves of garlic (I bought the pre peeled garlic, much easier then peeling 4o cloves yourself)

1 chicken cut up (8-10 pieces)

Handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup heavy cream or whole milk

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

salt & pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 

Pat the chicken dry with paper towel and season with 1 teaspoon salt &  1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Heat the oil in a dutch oven until very hot. Place chicken skin side down and cook until very well browned, about 10 minutes.

Transfer chicken to a platter skin side up and set aside. 

Remove the oil from the pan except for about 1 tablespoon. Add in all 40 garlic cloves and cook for a few minutes, till browned. Make sure not to burn!

Add in the chicken stock to de-glaze the pan. Scrape up all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan and into the garlic. Add in the chopped parsley and cream & stir. 

Return the chicken to the pan, skin side up and remove from heat. 

Cook COVERED in the oven for about 25 minutes, or until the juices run clear. 

Take out of oven and remove the chicken to a separate plate. 

Using a potato masher (or whatever you have handy) mash the garlic in the dutch oven and then stir in the unsalted butter. 

Plate the chicken. I made it over mashed potatoes with spinach. Drizzle the garlic sauce on top of chicken. There should be enough left over sauce to serve on the side. (Trust me, people are going to be using every last bit of sauce, it's that good.)

Serve immediately and enjoy!

Easy Peasy Quiche

We had friends over this Sunday for an early brunch. 

Eggs are always a good idea but since I didn't want to be standing there cooking while the company was over I decided on a quiche. It's easy to make before and then just re warm when everyone arrives.

It only took about 15 minutes to prepare and then 45 minutes in the oven.

Mushroom Onion quiche with Swiss & Gruyere Cheese 

What you'll need: 

1 - 10" deep dish frozen pie crust

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 small onion, chopped

8 ounces sliced mushrooms of your choice (I used baby Bella)

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup grated Swiss cheese

1 cup grated Gruyere cheese

Pinch of paprika seasoning 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Melt the butter in a small pan. Add the onions and saute over medium heat for 5 minutes. When they begin to soften, add the mushrooms, salt, pepper and thyme. Saute about 5 minutes more until onions are translucent. Turn off the heat.

In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, milk and flour and whisk well.

Spread half of the grated cheese over the bottom of the unbaked pie crust. Then spread the onion & mushroom mixture on top. Pour in the egg mixture and then sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

Garnish with paprika and Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 45 minutes or until solid in the center. Serve warm.

To go with the quiche I made deviled eggs and a simple arugula salad with grape tomatoes and shaved parmesan cheese. And of course brunch would not be complete without mimosa's. 

While I was preparing our brunch Harper & Benjamin were preparing their own brunch in the play kitchen. 

The White Russian

I have found my new favorite winter cocktail.

My sister in law made White Russians post dinner on Thanksgiving and I have been hooked ever since.

Half cocktail, half dessert, it totally hits the spot and is just what I need after putting Harper to bed after a long day. 

White Russian

Fill a Low Ball glass with ice. I like to using one XL cube. I have the King Ice Cube Tray which comes in a ton of fun colors. 

1 oz. Vodka

1/2 oz. Kahlua

1 oz. Half & Half

Stir Well

Garnish with chocolate shavings and enjoy.

Happy Weekend!

Glimmer-Wrapped Glass from anthropologie

Pineapple stirrer from C Wonder

Lunch date!

My friend and her new little baby boy came over for a lunch date this week. It's been frigid outside so I wanted to make something that would be light but also keep us toasty.

I put out a platter with tuna, string beans, artichokes, roasted red peppers, avocado, white beans, kalmata olives and hard boiled egg. 

On the side I served up a warm bowl of tomato basil soup with a crusty piece of sour dough bread to sop up every last bite.

Soup is such a great and easy lunch or even dinner served alongside a salad. 

What are some soups you have tried making this winter?

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

recipe from Ina Garten

What you'll need:

3 pounds ripe tomatoes, cut in half 

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons good olive oil

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon crushed pepper flakes

1 (28-ounce) canned plum tomatoes, with their juice

4 cups fresh basil leaves, packed

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1 quart chicken stock

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss together the tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread the tomatoes in 1 layer on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes.

In an 8-quart stockpot over medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the butter and red pepper flakes for 10 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes, basil, thyme and chicken stock. Add the oven-roasted tomatoes, including the liquid on the baking sheet. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Use an emulsion hand blender to get to desired smoothness. Taste for seasoning. Serve alongside some crusty bread.

Snow Day!

Our first snow storm of 2014 left us with almost a foot of snow. 

One of my New Years resolutions was to eat healthier however who really craves a salad when it's snowing and 9 degrees out. So, my healthy eating went on the back burner this weekend and I decided to make chili. 

Topped with sour cream, diced onions, chives and shredded cheddar cheese, it made pushing my resolution back a week well worth it! Paired with a Blue Moon Winter Ale it was truly the perfect snow storm meal! It may not have been great for my waistline but was definitely good for my tummy.

recipe below. 

What you'll need:
1 pound ground beef (I used 90% lean)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 teaspoons finely chopped jalapeno peppers, seeds removed
1 (28) ounce can diced tomatoes (I used San Marzano)
1 (15 ounce) can chili beans
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
In a large saucepan combine the beef, onion and green peppers and saute until beef is browned. Drain the excess fat. Add the can of beans, chili powder, garlic, cumin, jalapenos, tomatoes, salt & pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Top with sour cream, chopped onion, chives and shredded cheddar cheese.
Serve with a bowl of tortilla chips and a winter beer on the side.

Happy 2014!

Happy New Year!

This New Years we had over our friends and their son and had a nice low key evening. We nibbled on a ton of appetizers and had a lot of decadent desserts post midnight. 

For cocktails (what's New Years without a festive drink?) I rimmed champagne glasses with gold sugar I got from dellcovespices and filled them with prosecco and pomegranate seeds.

I found these "Pop Fizz Clink" balloons on etsy from The Flair Exchange and the Happy New Year Garland at The Land of Nod

For one of the many desserts, I baked cupcakes with gold sprinkles. I got the gold confetti plates at The Land of Nod as well.

Harper and Hunter had so much fun playing together and almost made it to watch the ball drop. 

Wishing everyone a fabulous 2014 filled with much health and happiness!