city beer hall

we've gone to City Beer Hall, Albany NY before a few times for drinks and always liked the joint (it's in an old historical building, adorable, and has a great selection of drinks and big open patio). they have a great loooooking menu that i've always wanted to try, and today we finally did for brunch (they have brunch on both Saturdays and Sundays which is pretty much unheard of in Albany - at best, there are a few places that have it on Sunday).

they had a burger on the menu - hand packed grass fed beef with aged cheddar, fresh baked buns... YEP! the burger looked delightful, and was super tasty. just a touch of salt/pepper seasoning that i could tell, and the rest of it was just pure meat city. unfortunately they overcooked it a tad (i asked for medium rare, got it cooked medium with juuust a touch of pink), but luckily that did not affect the taste or juiciness too much. i would definitely come back, esp in hopes that next time the temp is cooked as medium rare. the fries were hand cut and fried delightfully - equally on par with the great burger. 

recipe: oreo cheesecake bars

i needed a very quick but yum dessert for a Hannukah party i was going to - i found these on foodgawker.com and they looked deLIGHTful. the recipe i snagged was from Table for Two - it was as quick and as delish as i had hoped. they actually just tasted like a gigantic oreo, albeit with a slight cream cheese tang. 

ingredients list: 

crust:

- 23 Oreo cookies

- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

cheesecake:

- 12 oz cream cheese, room temp

- 6 tbsp. sugar

- 6 tbsp. sour cream, room temp

- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

- 1/4 tsp. salt

- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk

- 12 Oreo cookies, roughly chopped

to make: preheat oven to 325F degrees, and line a 8x8 inch baking dish with parchment paper (making sure it overhangs a bit so that the entire thing can be easily removed later).

to make the crust, finely grind the 23 Oreos until they are smooth crumbs. add in the melted butter and pulse until the mixture is fully incorporated and resembles wet sand. pour mixture into the prepared baking pan, pressing down crumbs into an even layer. bake crust for 10 minutes, then set aside. 

in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium high until light and smooth. mix in the sugar until well-combined. blend in the sour cream, vanilla, and salt, then gently mix in the egg and egg yolk until well-incorporated. gently stir in the chopped Oreos. 

pour cheesecake batter over the prepared crust. bake for 40 minutes, or until cheesecake is set around the edges but slightly wobbly in the center. let cheesecake cool to room temperature (about 1 hour), then refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving. 

recipe: pumpkin muffins

i haven't updated this in a while seeing these pumpkin muffins were made a week after Thanksgiving, using the leftover pumpkin pulp i had hanging around in the fridge. i had snagged the recipe from Smitten Kitchen, almost verbatim except for the oats i added in for a lil extra somethin'. it was a very simple/quick recipe, and they  came out great- light & delish. 

ingredients list: 

- 1 & 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp pumpkin-pie spice
- 1 & 1/4 cups plus 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp oats

to make: preheat oven to 350F degrees. prepare muffin pan with shortening or paper liners.

stir together the pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, 1 & 1/4 cups sugar, baking soda,oats, and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then stir in the flour mixture until just combined. in another bowl, stir together the cinnamon, remaining 1 tbsp sugar, and 3 tbsp oats.

divide batter among the muffin cups until about 3/4 full, then sprinkle tops with cinnamon/sugar/oats mixture. bake until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. done!

Maesri pad thai sauce

i found this little gem of a sauce on a trip to the asian (primarily thai) market near work. it came with a complete how-to recipe on back - while i couldn't follow the quantities (they were metric) and didn't have bean sprouts or asian chive, i rolled with what i had. 

we sauteed some chicken, then shrimp & mushrooms in an onion & cilantro flavored olive oil and few dashes of chili oil, threw in some dried chilis, and an egg before dropping in the sauce and rice noodles. a little salt & pepper and bing! easiest din ever. 

it had a great flavor - sweet, teeny bit of spice, not overpowering at all. while ours didn't look like the typical pad thai we'd get out, it was a charming lil din - well worth grabbing a jar for quick weeknight eats. 

CCK Chinese Restaurant

the one thing we didn't get to do in San Fran that was on my must-do list was to hit Chinatown and have some dim sum. when we got back i tried to find a few places in Albany that had it, only to learn that really none do. Yips is our go-to Chinese place, and they had it on their menu... only to inform me that they stopped serving it as no one ordered it... baaah! after a little digging online, i found CCK which apparently not only has it on their menu but was Yelped as the best Chinese restaurant in Albany. it's very unsuspecting from the exterior (it's located on the borderline of ghetto-Albs), but it's very quaint and cute inside. 

we ordered the dim sum sampler - i can't recall exactly what everything was... Spring Rolls, Dumplings (which were slightly blackened on the bottom - oh-so-good), Shrimp -something or others- and some type of Pork wonton that was quite yum. we also got the steamed pork buns as an app - i've seen them on every menu but never tried them - carpe diem. loved them.

we both got crab as our entree - i had the Crab with Curry and kyle had the Crab with Ginger and Scallion. we assumed it would be a dish with a few scant pieces of crab, but we served these awesome whole crabs simmering in some banging sauce. the curry was nice & spicy - enough to get the sniffles but not enough to drown out the dish, and was stuffed with yum veggies. i didn't try K's, but the it smelled awesome with the hot fry they did to the garlic & scallions... yum city. 

we would def go back - they had a lot of specials that were not on their menu but are very diff that what the typical Chinese restaurants in the area serve. on top of that - they are super reasonable. the crab dishes were $9.95 each - they were on special, but even still that anywhere else would be at least the $13-$15 range. 

third annual black friday pizza

third annual Black Friday pizza. it is exactly what it sounds like... pizza made from thanksgiving leftovers. this year was much the same as others (gravy for sauce, mozz, sauteed mushrooms, garlic, turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce...), however we added in thin sliced potatoes since we didn't have any mashed potatoes. mother of delicious, it was fantastic. 

we had it with a bottle of Chandon Sparking Red wine that we had brought back from Napa months ago and were saving for t-day (the champagne tour guide said it was excellent paired with t-day fair)... it was just as good as i remember. sparking red is so unusual it's a total mouth party to have a nice dry red in bubble-mode. fantastic. i just wished they sold it outside of CA :-/

recipe: pumpkin ale cheesecake

so i'm a big fan of The Beeroness blog, however i have had yet to try anything from her site. her Pumpkin Ale Cheesecake with Beer Pecan Caramel Sauce suuuper caught my eye for Thanksgiving baking. mother of mother. it was a fun desert and even though i'm not huge on pumpkin pies, i def enjoyed this. 

ingredients list:
cheesecake:
- 9 standard sized graham crackers
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 4 tbsp melted butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 16 oz cream cheese, softened
- 4 eggs, room temp
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmet
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 & 1/4 cup pumpkin ale (i used Blue Moon Pumpkin)
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp flour

caramel sauce:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup pumpkin ale
- 1/4 cup corn syrup
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup cream
- 1/3 cup pecans

to make: prep a spring form pan with parchment/grease and set aside. in a food processor, add the graham crackers and brown sugar, and crush until it becomes all crumbs. add melted butter and process until it resembles wet sand. dump into the bottom of the prepared spring form pan, and press down until it is firmly compacted. set aside.

preheat oven to 350F degrees. in a large bowl, add the brown sugar, white sugar, and cream cheese and mix until well combined. one at a time, add the eggs and vanilla, carefully mixing until well combined. 

in a separate bowl, mix the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, and mix until combined. add pumpkin puree mixture to sugar/cream cheese mixture and stir gently until fully combined. add the beer until combined (note: the batter will be VERY liquidy at this point). sprinkle the flour over the bowl, then stir until just combined. pour batter over the prepared crust.

bake at 350F, adding a water bath if desired,  for about 1 hour or until the center no longer jiggles when you shake the rack the cheesecake sits on (be very careful not to over bake). chill until set, about 3 hours. for best results, chill cheesecake overnight before serving. 

to make caramel sauce, add the sugar, beer, and corn syrup to a saucepan and stir over medium high heat for about 1 minute. reduce heat to low and allow to boil about 10 minutes with a temp around 230F on a candy thermometer. add the butter, pecans, and the cream, and stir until combined. allow to cool to room temperature before serving. 

recipe: almond cookies

i have had a major thang for almond cookies lately. ever since having them from Daily Planet in Poughkeepsie, NY, i've been mildly obsessed. that obsession was renewed when i tried the Almond Pillow cookies from Fresh Market - enough to almost replace the italian sugar cookie which currently holds my favorite cookie ranking. MMMMM.

after seeing almond paste for sale in a specialty shop (maybe Fresh Market?), it was go-time to finally make them for T-day. i used a recipe from Pegasus Legend - What's Cookin with a slight tweak, and was not disappointed. not only that, but they are shockingly EASY to make. aaah. the only downside is that they are pretty expensive to make, otherwise... PERFECT. love. 

ingredients list:  
- 8 oz almond paste
- 2 egg whites
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup confectionary sugar
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1 cup silvered almonds (roughly)

to make: preheat oven to 300F degrees. mix together all ingredients except the silvered almonds, and stir until fully incorporated. take rounded teaspoonfuls of dough and roll into the silvered almonds. drop the almond covered balls onto parchment-lined baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.  

bake for 20-25 minutes in preheated oven, until bottoms appear slightly golden. when finished baking, remove to a wired rack immediately. sprinkle with additional confectioners sugar if desired. 

recipe: oven roasted asparagus

earlier this week, hell froze over. i voluntarily BOUGHT a green vegetable (besides peppers which make a lovely accompaniment to many a quesadilla and asian dish). but. whenever i'm served asparagus as a restaurant, i always have a few nibbles OR eat it all, as it's usually prepared quite lovely. i was in Fresh Market last weekend and they had the most adorbs looking asparagus... so what the hay. i bopped around a few recipes before i found my cooking temps, though i would love to try grilled if it wasn't so sh!tty outside. 

result was good - i actually liked it, AND ate it all. i have a lot left and will eat it again (though i could never eat this or any veggie any night). we had made this on the side of char sui and ginger lemon rice - it didn't 100% go with the asian theme we had going, but it kinda worked all at the same time. 

ingredients list:

- asparagus (i cooked 10 pieces for 2 of us)

- garlic powder

- olive oil

- pepper

- garlic salt

- parmesan cheese

- lemon juice

to make: preheat oven to 400F degrees. arrange asparagus on a nonstick tray (or parchment/foil) and drizzle with a few dashes of live oil. sprinkle with garlic powder.

bake for about 12 minutes, flipping it once mid-way. it should be fork tender when it's done. when finished roasting, sprinkle with pepper, garlic salt, parmesan cheese, and lemon juice & serve. easiest side on earth. 

Blue Spice - Nov 2012

we hit up Blue Spice Thai restaurant in albany, ny a few weeks ago (i've been terrible about updating this lately) - it's a place i've been wanting to hit for a while, and luckily they popped up a groupon deal a short while back. while the service we had was admittedly a little slow, the meal we had was pretty darn good.  

i ordered the Blue Spice Duck which was nice and crispy and fatty (as it should be) and sweet & sticky. it was served with veggies and rice which made for a fabulous little mouth party. it was so long ago i can't give it much deeper of a description, but i remember it all on a positive note. sorry for the lame description, but in short, i would go back. 

recipe: veal saltimbocca

last week Price Chopper had super-thin veal cutlets on sale. i've never noticed them in the store before, but the sight of them brought back lovely memories of my first and only veal saltimbocca experience, and they had to be mine. mmm mmm veal spell.

most saltimbocca recipes i found online called for the veal to be rolled with the proscuitto and cheese, but i left it flat for fear of the rolled meat not cooking through with a quick pan fry. the recipe i went with (with a few mods) was snagged a recipe from Epicurious.com who originally snagged it from Bon Appétit, circa 1990. vintage eats.

ingredients list:
- 3 veal cutlets, pounded flat
- 1 tsp dried sage
- cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 thin proscuitto slices
- 3 fontina slices (i actually used asiago)
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 4 tbsp butter, divided
- salt

to make: mix flour, onion powder, garlic powder, cracked black pepper, & garlic salt in a shallow bowl. dredge each piece of veal in the flour mixture, shaking off excess & reserving mixture.

melt 2 tbsp butter & 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. add veal and cook first side 2-3 minutes, until golden. flip veal, then top with a slice of proscuitto & a slice of cheese. allow to cook for a total of 2-3 minutes, until golden, covering during cooking process. when finished cooking, transfer to a warm plate, cover, and set aside.

add wine to skillet and bring to a boil, until liquid is reduced to about 1/4 cup, about 8 minutes. reduce heat to low, and whisk in remaining butter one tbsp at a time. season with additional salt and pepper to taste. if needed, thicken with reserved flour mixture.   

pour sauce over finished veal and serve.

recipe: turkey and hot sausage chili

a little fall cookin today... i've never really dove into the chili realm since i'm not big on beans, but it is a nice comfort food every now & again. i used Emeril's recipe from foodnetwork.com, blipping the beans and adding a little extra seasoning. it came out very good (i had 2 bowls :), but was missing a little something something to become my official go-to recipe - i think next time i'd swap out the turkey meat for beef and add a jalapeno or 2 for extra spice. 

 

ingredients list:
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 12 oz hot italian sausage (either ground sausage or removed from casings)
- 2 tsp Emeril's essence (if you do not have this seasoning blend, he posts are recipe for it here)
- 1 & 1/2 cups onion, diced
- 1/2 a green bell pepper, diced
- 1 poblano pepper, seeded & diced
- 5-6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 & 1/2 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp seasoning salt (or more to taste)
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp taco seasoning
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 (12 oz) lager beer (i used Yuengling)
- 1 (28 oz) can chopped tomatoes (including their juice)
- fresh chopped cilantro
- shredded monerey jack cheese (about 1/4 cup per bowl)

to make: in a large pot, brown turkey, sausage, and Essence seasoning, stirring until the meat is no longer pink (about 6-8 minutes). add the onions and peppers (bell & poblano) and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. add all remaining seasonings and garlic and cook for 1 minute. add in beer and tomatoes and stir until combined, then bring to a boil. reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for about 1 hour, stirring occassionally.

remove from heat and add in cilantro. serve in bowls with a big pile o cheese on top.

recipe: ithailain meatballs (thaitalian?)

love thai. love meatballs. lovin up on some thai meatballs seems only natural. i couldn't find a great looking recipe from my normal go-to sights, but a google roulette drew up 2 lovely-sounding recipes: one from Can You Stay for Dinner and Sarah Laurence. i fused a little bit of them both - end result was so yumz. they had a touch of kick but it didn't drown out the ginger zing - fun lil din. (you just can't think of meatball meatballs (italian) while you eat them b/c it will severely trip you up. thinking of thai wonderfulness, they are little balls of heaven : )

ingredients list:
- 1 lb lean ground turkey (99%. if you use anything less add more breadcrumbs)
- 3/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
- 1 green onion, finely chopped (plus more for garnish)
- 2 tbsp fresh chopped basil
- 2 tbsp red curry paste
- 2 tsp fresh grated ginger
- 2 tsp garlic, minced
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp asian 5 spice
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 egg
- salt & pepper to taste
- oil for pan frying (i used vegetable oil with a touch of ginger oil)

to make: add all ingredients EXCEPT oil in a large bowl and mix together until incorporated. roll mixture into 1-inch balls.

in a large pan, heat about 2 tbsp vegetable oil and fry meatballs until fully cooked through, about 7-8 minutes, flipping at least once during cooking process (note: adding a splash of ginger oil to the frying oil gives the balls a BIG hit of ginger - perfect fit if you have it on hand. sesame oil would also be a nice add)

i served this with a thai peanut sauce, though sweet chili sauce or other sweet-spicy sauces would also work well.

Campbell's Thai Green Curry Sauce Mix

i'm never a huge fan of buying pre-packaged sides/sauces/anything, but this Campbell's Thai sauce caught my eye when i was shopping. i've been wanting to make green curry sauce for a while, but most recipes call for fresh kaffir leaves which apparently are non-existent in Albany NY. in the meantime, this little packet was a pleasantly surprising bandaid.

we cooked chicken and shrimp and sauteed green pepper, onion, mushrooms, and mixed it a bit of additional spice (crushed red pepper) into the sauce. served it over rice noodles. the sauce mix actually had a great flavor to it - nice & sweet but still spicy & savory. would have it again.  

Bros Tacos, Yonos, & Genoa

over the past month i visited 3 restaurants/eateries on my gotta-try-em list in Albany.  for 2 of the 3, i was either too distracted or it was too fancy to snap a pic. so... all i have are delicious memories.

Yonos we hit up for our 12 year anniversary. i had the Indonesian Sampler Plate which consisted of Chicken Sate, Vegetable Lumpia, Bakmi Goreng, Pork Tenderloin, Beef Short Ribs, Jasmine Rice, Krupuk, Acar, Sambal, and Peanut Sauce. it's the ADHD of plates. i loved every part of it except the Acar, but i don't really like veggies or pickled things, so that's no surprise : ). for dessert we had the chocolate praline creme brulee which was so decadent. it tasted like a fancy version of eating undercooked brownies (which doesn't sound like a compliment, but believe you/me it is). best part of this place is that they pay attention to the tiny details - 2 amazing butter selections for your 3 choices of bread, a ottoman for your purse so it doesn't touch the floor, amuse bouche of a cold asparagus and caviar soup, you name it. for a 5* restaurant in albany, it's on the top of the list. 

Bros Tacos i've seen seen a lot recommended for albany restaurants on various blogs, or as a reco as best cap city tacos. my bff & i hit it up this past weekend (or last weekend?!).  i had one Carnita Taco (slow cooked shredded pork, onions, cilantro, salsa verde and cojita cheese) and one Fried Shrimp taco (beer battered/fried shrimp, topped with pico de gallo, salsa roja, pineapple and bros tacos crema). had it with a side of rice (no beans!!!). we both really liked what we had, particularly how fresh the ingredients were and the good selections of fresh cheese (no crappy packaged shredded standard cheddar), BUT... thought they weren't the "best ever" which was our impression walking in. and i know that's lame to say - they made (i believe) fresh corn tortillas, but i found the tortilla a bit try. might have had better luck with the flour tortilla - maybe that's what my issue was? idk. i would definitely go back as they have a lot of fun items on the menu and i liked them, but i wouldn't go out of my way as many other Albanians do.

hot pastrami silf

Genoa Importing i've heard from every person in Albany how amazing it is. it was right down the street from my old school, but some how i never made my way there. HOLY COW. i went with Kyle and my BFF and we decided to do a 3-way split on each of our 3 subs. we had a Mad Cow (prime rib, melted meunster, lettuce, tomato, horseradish mayo), the A-Rod (hot pastrami and corned beef, swiss, red onion & russian dressing served on triple decker rye), and a chicken & ham sub with other-delicious-extras-that-aren't-currently-on-the-menu-BUT was amazing sub. one thing about Albany is that it doesn't have any delis (and the few that do suck) - this place blows even a metropolitan area deli out of the water. frankly these sandwiches are all i can think about now, and am kind of happy i didn't try them back in college or i would have easily hit a freshman 15. tip my hat to these fellas.�

the Big E

this week we went to The Big E fair which is a lot of fun but so stressful in the sense that there is SO MUCH amazingly delish and unhealthy stuff to eat, if you pick wrong and fill up fast and waste your appetite, your day is ruined. STRESS. 

i was so hungry, taking a decent picture was 0
on the list. so saraaaay.

i showed up way-hungry but wandered across the whole place before finally finding "the one". in the Massachusetts building, there was a local cheese company that was dishing out grilled cheese. specifically, cheddar with horseradish cheddar, bacon, and tomato grilled cheese. HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLL yes. after a long (2 minute?) wait, this gooey cheesy delish bugger was SO well worth the wait. hands-down the best possible pick i could have made. 

Kyle & i split some fried oreos after that from the Beignet truck which were fab. i filled up with sugar tummy after that and stopped my food quest (the cheese curds have escaped me once again), but i feel like the grilled cheese was so amazing, it didn't even matter. mmmmmnnn. 

Creo'

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recipe: chicken and potato bake

i had taken drumsticks out with the intention of making some red chicken curry tonight, but it's so nice and fally out i wanted something a lil more comfort-foody today. i couldn't find any recipes that spoke to me and decided to just free-ball this one and throw some chicken and potato-friendly things in a pan. i had zero expectations, but this actually had a ton of flavor and was yum city (even if the picture doesn't look so yummy : ). super easy too which i'm always a fan of during the week.

update 10/7: made this again, but swapped out the rosemary for dried sage and baked at 400 degrees (the higher temp roasted the potatoes a tad more and made the sauce even thicker). even better!

ingredients list (serves 2)*:
- 4 chicken drumsticks, skins removed (thighs or breasts would also work)
- 3 medium red potatoes, diced into 1-inch cubes
- 1/2 small onion
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp (roughly) olive oil
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- salt & pepper to taste
- cornstarch

*mushrooms would also be yumz in this if you had them on hand.

to make: preheat oven to 375 degrees. place potatoes, onion, chicken and garlic into a small baking dish. pour in wine, lemon juice, and drizzle with olive oil, then season with thyme, rosemary and salt & pepper. bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven. half way through baking, flip chicken and stir potatoes, and remove some of the liquid to make a cornstarch slurry. stir cornstarch mixture back into the dish and continue cooking for an additional 30 minutes. by the end of the hour, the cornstarched wine sauce should be thick enough to be a nice gravy.

recipe: roasted red pepper tomato sauce

din din last night, inspired by the gigantic red peppers i bought for $.99 at a lil farm stand down the street - woot! i intended to make a red pepper cream sauce, but for unbeknownst reason a grocery store run didn't happen yesterday so we had to make due with what was on hand. 

the Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Sauce recipe from twopeasandtheirpod.com fit the bill with what we had so we gave it a whirl... result was good, but missing something. it was very fresh, but the peppers need a bit more pep in the salt realm (and this is after adding a fair amount of salt). if it was paired with some cooked down sausage, it would probably be enough to round out the flavor which is how i will prep the leftover sauce. 

ingredients list: 
- 3 large red bell peppers
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion,chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes (i used Hunts Fire Roasted)
- 1 cup packed fresh basil, coarsely chopped
- salt and freshly ground black pepper

to make: roast peppers over gas flame, under the broiler, or on the grill. roast for about 10 minutes, or until peppers are completely black. place peppers in a zip lock bag to allow to sweat for a few minutes. peel the charred skins from the peppers, remove the seeds, and roughly chop. 

in a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. add onion and saute for 2-3 minutes, or until soft. stir in garlic for 30 seconds, then red peppers and diced tomatoes. cook for 10 minutes over medium-low heat. add fresh chopped basil and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

puree the sauce in a blender until mostly smooth. add more salt and pepper if needed, then serve with pasta. 

recipe: snickerdoodles

i love little snickerdoodle cookies. classier than a sugar cookie, but too silly to be fancy. and usually they can be made without having to run to the store for any ingredients, so they're a good lil go-to. i also made these last weekend, and they were delish as per usual. if you follow the recipe to a T, taken from Mrs Sigg's Snickerdoodles recipe on allrecipes.com, you can't go wrong.  

ingredients list: 

• - 1/2 cup butter, softened
• - 1/2 cup shortening
• - 1 & 1/2 cups white sugar
• - 2 eggs
• - 2 tsp vanilla 
• - 2 & 3/4 cups  flour
• - 2 tsp cream of tartar
• - 1 tsp baking soda
• - 1/4 tspn salt
• - 2 tbsp white sugar
• - 2 tsp cinnamon

to make: preheat oven to 400 degrees. cream together butter, shortening, 1 & 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and vanilla. blend in the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls, about 1 inch big.

mix the 2 tbsp sugar and the cinnamon, then roll balls of dough into the cinna-sugar mixture. place 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. bake 8-10 minutes until set but not too hard. remove to wire racks to cool. 

recipe: s'mores brownie bars

i was looking but a quick but comfort-foodie dessert to make for last weekend, and the s'mores brownie bar recipe from Serious Eats.com was a perfect lil fit. i had attempted s'mores brownies once before (i want to say 2 years ago), and when it came time to broil the marshmallows on top, 1 minute on the oven was 1 minute too many... i kind of lit the whole tray on fire. after letting them burn out and leaving me with a tray of char, i had put that idea aside for a while until this past weekend. seemed like a good time to try a new kind and give them a go. 

they came out really yummy, which was a very pleasant surprise for how quick/easy they were.

ingredients list:
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (10 whole rectangular crackers)
- 1/4 cup (or less) graham crackers, roughly crushed
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar
- salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips, plus more for topping
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp instant expresso powder
- 1 & 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup flour
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 3 cups mini-marshmallows

to make: preheat oven to 350 degrees. grease an 8 in square baking pan and set aside. 

grind graham crackers in a food processor until they become fine crumbs. melt 4 tbsp butter. add melted butter, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1/4 tsp salt to crumbs and pulse to combine. press into bottom of prepared pan.

melt chocolate chips and remaining 4 tbsp butter in a small bowl in the microwave, stopping every 15-20 seconds to stir. allow to cool, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.

in a large bowl, mix melted chocolate, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, eggs, espresso powder, vanilla, and 1/4 tsp salt. add flower and baking powder and mix until smooth. pour batter into prepared pan. bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes up with a few moist crumbs attached (being careful not to over bake). 

top with marshmallows, additional chocolate chips, and crushed graham crackers. return to oven for an additional 3-5 minutes, until marshmallows start to get a little golden brown. 

allow to cool about 1 hour before serving, cutting with a very sharp knife as the marshmallow topping will be very sticky. 

recipe: red skinned potato salad

this was the potato salad i used for last weekend's bbq - it's taken from allrecipes.com, the Red Skinned Potato Salad recipe. i modified it slightly, omitting the eggs and adding in a little extra seasoning than what it calls for. i don't eat potato salad, but it seemed like it went over pretty well and is a good repeater recipe.

ingredients list: 
- 2 lbs new red potatoes
- 1 lb bacon
- 1-2 green onions, diced (green & white parts)
- 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
- 2 cups mayo
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tsp dry mustard powder
- 1 tbsp pickle juice
- 1/2 tsp paprika

to make: bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. add potatoes and cook until tender but still a bit firm, about 15 minutes. drain and set in fridge to cool. 

place bacon in a large skillet, and cook over medium high eat until medium brown. drain*, crumble and set aside (note: CRISPY bacon works best in this recipe). 

chop the cooled potatoes into small cubes (roughly 1/2 in), leaving skin on. in a large bowl, mix together the bacon, onion, celery, mayo, salt & pepper, mustard powder, pickle juice, and paprika, carefully fold in the potatoes, being careful not to mash them up.  chill for a least an hour before serving.  

*i had reserved my bacon grease to add it into my burger patties... um YUM.