What Should I Eat? 6

Look at this food. Oh my gosh. Go to the Flying Biscuit and get it all, as soon as possible. It's so freaking good. If you go on a weekend, call ahead, because there's usually about an hour wait. However, the above is a pancake with peach compote, grits, a biscuit, eggs, and bacon. The biscuits here are fantastic. They are huge and the texture is like a pillowy cloud. I like them with just butter, or they have homemade apple butter, which is also incredible. THE GRITS. Oh my goodness. If you're from the South, I'm sure you'll agree that restaurant grits are often lackluster. THESE ARE NOT. They are creamy and buttery and so good. Love.

I cannot recommend this place enough.

Fall Salmon Salad

After two or three weeks of sweet food, I finally have something savory, something light, something healthy. Look, veggies and fruits. Omega 3s. Protein. Hooray.

Caramelization. Praise.

So, we all know that when you fail an exam, oversleep, give a bad interview, Remember Me doesn't end the way you want it to....you don't want salad. You want chocolate. Preferably in ice cream form.

Speaking of which, does anyone else like the movie Remember Me? It's Robert Pattinson playing a character that doesn't sparkle, and I really like him. And the movie. It's sad though. And for whatever reason, I watch it even though I've seen it, and I just hope for a different ending. And eat candy. And cry.

Bottom line? This salad is really good. Maybe not comfort-you-when-you-cry good. But it's good.

Salmon Salad
Ingredients
1 salmon filet (I think mine was like 6 oz.? they sell them at the Publix counter)
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp maple syrup
2/3 pear, sliced thin
3 handfuls spring mix (the lettuce stuff)
1/8 cup quinoa (not really necessary, but I like it a lot)
3 tbsp red onion
balsamic dressing
salt and pepper

1. Rub the mustard and syrup onto either side of the salmon.
2. Transfer the salmon to a pan over medium heat. Cook for about 5 minutes on the first side. Flip, then cook for about 4 minutes on the other.
3. Dice the cooked salmon, and add to a plate with the spring mix, pear, and quinoa.
4. Add the red onion to the pan (don't clean it between this and the salmon). Cook for about 3 minutes, until soft. Add to the salad.
5. Salt and pepper the salad and add dressing to taste. Enjoy!

Christmas in October!!

I got myself nice things and I'm excited to tell you about them. Hooray cookbooks.

The above is Rachel Khoo's My Little French Kitchen. I've decided that my next endeavor is going to be to learn to cook French food. I'm incredibly excited. Everything in this book is gorgeous, she's gorgeous, her book is gorgeous. I love it and can't wait to make it all. I ended up dog-earing basically every recipe. It's divided into chapters by region of France and I love that.

I also bought Julia Child's books. Don't worry, I'm not about to go all Julie & Julia on you (even though that movie is totally worth your time), but I do sort of think it would be fun to cook all the way through these. They start at the bottom and work up, teaching you all the basics. Love.

I love food. I love cookbooks. Kimmie out.

As American As...

Being my friend is sort of weird and also sort of fun (I hope). You end up getting texts asking "hey, do you like {insert whatever thing I made way too much of}?" and then if you say yes, I appear at your apartment with whatever the thing is. Or I invite you to come over and eat with me. Because the fact of the matter is, I love cooking, I love food. But I don't eat enough to finish whatever the thing is usually. So I cook, I eat my portion, then I text people and give them my food. What a time to be alive.

Does apple pie smell like autumn to anyone else? As soon as I started peeling apples and sprinkling cinnamon, it was like the spirit of autumn had entered the kitchen and joined me.

While it was in the oven, I felt so cozy and warm. Apple pie is a gift, friends. Give it to yourself. You deserve it.

As for that crust? I bought one. I feel a little guilty, considering that I can make a homemade crust. But I didn't have the time or desire or materials. So instead I bought one. Don't hate me. Use any crust recipe you want, or buy one like I did.

Apple Pie
Ingredients
1 pie crust (like a top and bottom one)
4 Granny Smith apples (about a pound)
1 2/3 cups sugar + 1 tbsp
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 tbsp flour
juice of one lemon
2 tbsp milk

1. Peel the apples and slice them thinly.
2. Place in a bowl and add the 1 2/3 cups of sugar, cinnamon, flour and lemon juice. Stir gently until apples are coated. Let sit for ten minutes.
3. Put filling into crust. Add top crust.
4. Slice vents into the crust. Brush with milk and sprinkle the remaining sugar on top.
5. Bake at 425 for 45 minutes. Enjoy!

S'more Pull Apart Bread

So, I'm in a phase of my life where I bake things at odd hours. This bread was made at midnight. And it's delicious. I then realized that I didn't need to eat the entire loaf, so I took it to Bible study the next night, where it was devoured very quickly.

Guys, this bread is gooey and sweet and sticky and wonderful. I highly recommend making it. You won't be able to eat a ton of it; it's very rich, but you'll want to. It's so good. 

Pull apart breads have been all over Pinterest for the last few years, so I'm sure you've seen them. But I decided I wanted one that was different. Chocolate, with a little buttery crunch. And then this happened. Make it, eat it, share it, love it. Treat yourself.

S'more Pull Apart Bread
Ingredients
1 pizza dough (like the Pillsbury kind)
1 stick butter (I like salted)
6 graham crackers
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup mini marshmallows

1. Line a loaf pan with foil, making an overhang on each side. Melt the butter and drizzle about half of it in the foil, making sure it gets into the corners/on the sides.
2. Unroll the dough and pour on the remaining butter, spreading it all over.
3. Crush the graham crackers, leaving some larger crumbles too. Scatter around the dough.
4. Add the chocolate and marshmallows to the dough.
5. Cut the dough into twelve rectangles. 
6. To get them into the pan, I propped mine on its little side and then stacked the pieces. This gets sort of messy, but you can do it.
7. Scatter any spilled toppings on the top of the bread.
8. Bake at 425 for 17 minutes. Enjoy!

What Should I Eat? 5

I think the lesson at this point is this: if you get food with me at a local place, you will end up being mentioned on my blog. I went to La Tienda on Wednesday night with my friend Sarah, and here we are discussing that now.

La Tienda is small, and I feel like it's not super well known? That being said, the people that know it, LOVE IT. I have fallen into that camp. 

So, some pro tips: the menu is huge and semi-overwhelming for indecisive people like me. I like their burritos because they're huge, like two meals usually. That being said, I don't eat very much, so it might not be the best estimate for you. I like the carne asada (steak), and they come with beans and rice on them too. Get the chips and salsa. They're delicious, and the salsa tastes great on burritos. Those sauces you see up top? I don't think the green one is all that spicy, but the red certainly is. Both are tasty.

There's also not much parking at this place? So I guess just pray for parking. I recommend going during the week or at least during the day. Weekend nights don't go so well. Have fun.

Carrot Cake

Caaaaaaaake

My mom's birthday was earlier this week, and as always, she requested carrot cake. This is the recipe we've been using for years and years, developed to perfection.

Batter full of chunks.

My dad and I adapted it from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, and have been working to perfect it for the last I-don't-even-know-how-many years, which has been hard since neither of us actually like this cake.

And now, here it is. It's moist, it's chunky. I frost it with cream cheese frosting because that's what my mama likes. Do what you wish, but that's how we do it 'round here.

Carrot Cake
adapted from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
3 cups shredded carrot
1 cup golden raisins
6 oz walnuts, chopped

frosting
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla

1. Stir together dry cake ingredients.
2. Blend in oil.
3. Add eggs one at a time.
4. Stir in all other cake ingredients.
5. Pour into two 9-inch round cake pans. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
6. For frosting, blend together all ingredients until smooth.
7. After cake has cooled, frost and serve.

Happy birthday Mom!

A Few of my {current} Favorite Things 2

1. Yoga. It's relaxing. It's energizing. It's fantastic.
2. These cookies. Chai tea is one of my favorite things and oh my gosh. Can't wait to make these.
3. This cake. Wow.
4. This pasta.
5. Sweet tea.
6. This video series. I'm not really sure why watching them make drinks is so satisfying, but it is.
7. Culver's. It's a burger place, apparently from Wisconsin? But it's delightful.
8. Ben & Jerry's Phish Food. It was BOGO last week. Praise.
9. BLT fried rice. So weird, so intriguing.