Pumpkin Spice Latte

I love everything about Autumn, the colour aesthetics, the comfy clothes, and even the weather. Autumn is when I want to be surrounded by all things Hygge! Now I know that it isn’t a trend anymore, however, I think we need that sense of coziness this year more than ever! The kind that makes you feel like all is right with the world.

While we can’t gather with our friends and family right now, Hygge will help us make the most of our time with our loved ones at home. Family movie nights, game nights, or just simple, funny conversations over dinner is more than enough to make you have that sense Hygge.

True hygge will come naturally to you. Like laying down on the sofa with a good book in your comfiest lounge wear and fuzziest sox! The fuzzier the better!

You’ll find it in things like a good cup of Hot Coco, or even a good home made Pumpkin Spice Latte!

I came across a flexible recipe from Pottery Barn of Pumpkin Spice Latte! I thought I’d share it here incase any of you need to find a little more comfort this year. I have to say though, the sugar content in this recipe seems to be a bit high, so I would start with a teaspoon instead of a tablespoon and then add another teaspoon if needed. I will have mine with almond milk and might add a pinch of cinnamon to the mix!

Enjoy!

French Onion Soup

As the weather is getting cooler I find my self craving soup … So thought today I’d  share a recipe that I love and that’s my ultimate comfort food!  Although this is a very easy one it actually takes a lot of time. I don’t mind though because my family loves it… I have adapted this one from a few recipes I’ve come across on pinterest.

Here we go:

Ingredients

• ¼ cup butter, unsalted
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 pounds yellow onions, cut in half lengthwise and sliced ¼ inch
• 1 teaspoon sugar or sweetener
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons Cognac or Worcestershire Sauce
• 3 ½ cups organic beef broth
• Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
• French baguette, sliced ¾ inch thick along a diagonal
• 1 ½ cups (or more) Gruyère, swiss and fontina cheese.

Instructions

1. You start by caramelizing the onions
2. Melt the butter and olive oil in a Dutch oven or something similar over medium-high heat, keep stirring.
3. Add the onions, stirring to coat. Spread them out in as even a layer as possible, sprinkle with sugar and cook, stirring as needed to keep the onions from sticking. Continue to cook until the onions are soft, deep golden brown and smell fragrant and sweet, this takes about an hour!
4. Once your onions are caramelized sprinkle them with the flour and stir to coat. Add the thyme, Cognac or Worcestershire sauce, two large pinches sea salt and a few grinds of pepper. Stir again and allow to cook on low for a few minutes.
5. Add your beef broth and simmer over low heat for 30-40 minutes. This allows the flavors to develop and your kitchen will smell devine!
6. While your soup is simmering, toast your bread on a baking sheet under the broiler. Watch it carefully! Toast until brown on each side. I sometimes rub a bit of fresh galic on the bread but not always.
7. Ladle the soup into small broiler-safe, bowls. Top with several bread slices and then top with ¼ of the cheese mixture or more if you like. Broil on a baking sheet until the cheese has melted and has started to bubble and brown.
8. Serve immediately.

 

Note

Add a bit more water or broth if you feel this recipe is too thick!

 

Book of the Week: Missoni Family Cookbook

Francesco Maccapani Missoni, the son of Missoni’s creative director, Angela Missoni, has been collecting family recipes for some time. In The Missoni Family Cookbook, he shares those delicious, well-guarded family recipes. This book invites you right into their dinner parties which they are known for through the fashion circles especilly during fashion week!… I havent recieved mine yet… I cant wait to try a few recipies especially the Gnocci verde!

Via Assouline

 

Tom Ford’s Pecan Pie for Thanks Giving

 I found this simple pecan pie recipe by the designer Tom Ford and thought that I’d give it a try this Thanksgiving… Usually, the simple recipes always end up becoming my family favorites! So let’s hope that my kids would be pleased with this one 😉

Ingredients
1 cup of white Karo syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbs flour
1 cup pecans

Method
Beat the eggs and sugar together, add flour, then syrup, vanilla, and pecans. Pour into a 9in prepared pie shell. Bake in an oven at 150°C for one hour.

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate xxx

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Burrata and Tomato Zoodles Recipe

Summer has almost started in Oman and nothing says summer dinners to me like Burrata … and pasta! But since pasta is a bit heavy on the calories side we have replaced it with zoodles (my new obsession)…  I found this recipe via this blog and have made different versions of it but feel that if you are trying zoodles for the first time this recipe would be a good start. It takes about 20 minutes and is one of my favorite comfort food, minus the carbs. Before you start make sure you buy a good spiralizer. Trust me you won’t be able to live without it 😉

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic
4 medium tomatoes
1-pint cherry tomatoes
1 large zucchini or 2 small zucchini, spiralized
1 large handful fresh basil
1 ball burrata
salt and pepper to taste
extra virgin olive oil to taste, if desired

Heat up the olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic. Cook, stirring often, until lightly golden. Add the medium tomatoes, cover, turn on medium high and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and carefully, using the back of a wooden spoon, crush the tomatoes into a sauce. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook until the sauce is bubbling and has reduced slightly.

Add the zoodles, tossing, until cooked through and tender, 2-3 minutes. Turn the heat off and garnish with torn basil and burrata. Season with salt and pepper and finish with extra virgin olive oil, if desired. Enjoy!

The recipe and pictures via Iamfoodblog

Tory Burch’s Weekend Brunch

Croque Madame has always been one of my favorite comfort food. I have tried many recipes but this one from Tory Burch is my favorite and has become a staple in my kitchen the past few weeks. The only thing I do differently is that I use smoked turkey instead of the ham!

 

I haven’t mastered this one yet…. but its so good…You must try them both.

Happy Weekend everyone!

Christian Marclay’s Fondue

Swiss-American artist Christian Marclay who has won many prizes (which includes The Golden Lion for the best artist at the Illuminations exhibition at the 54th Venice Biennale) has a great fondue recipe ..  My close friends and family love fondue so I thought of trying this one out with them and find out if his fondue is as good as his work!!!

Ingredients
(Serves four)
1 garlic clove peeled and crushed, to rub the fondue pot
1 tbs cornstarch
300ml white dry wine, such as Fendant from the Valais region
400g Gruyère, grated
400g Vacherin Fribourgeois, cut into pieces
black pepper
pinch of nutmeg
a small glass of kirsch
loaf of bread (700g) cut in cubes

Method
Crush and rub the inside of the fondue pot with the garlic clove, then discard. Dissolve the cornstarch in the white wine, and mix until boiling on the stove. Slowly add the cheeses and melt slowly on a low flame while continuously stirring with a wooden spatula. Season with pepper and nutmeg and add the kirsch. As soon as the mix becomes creamy, put it on the table heater just before it boils. Maintain the fondue at the same temperature on the heater. Stir in the pieces of bread and eat. Diners should keep stirring the pot regularly to maintain the unctuous texture.

Note: Don’t forget to rub your caquelon with garlic.

Ralph Lauren’s The Polo Bar brownie

There’s no doubt that Ralph Lauren is an arbiter of classic American style, and now the same can be said about classic American cuisine, too. Since opening The Polo Bar in New York City at the end of 2014, Lauren has been responsible for one of the hottest tables in NY. Many of the restaurant’s comforting yet elevated dishes have been vetted by the designer himself. The restaurant’s eponymous brownie is quite popular. Made with decadent Valrhona chocolate and topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce, it embodies the wholesome yet indulgent ethos that the iconic designer stands for… I wanted to share this recipe because my kids love brownies and we make them for school sales all the time…. I haven’t tried this one yet but I can’t wait to do so soon… let me know if anyone of you out there tries this one out 😉

Ingredients (serves 12)
680g Valrhona Caraibe 66 percent chocolate
340g butter
1,020g brown sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
10 eggs
90g Valrhona cocoa powder
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
255g plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
350g walnut halves, cut into 4 pieces
200g Valrhona 70 per cent chocolate, chopped

Method
In a bain-marie, melt the Caraibe chocolate and butter. Keep it over hot water until ready to use. In an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, combine the melted chocolate mixture with brown sugar – the mixture will look separated. Mixing on medium speed, add the vanilla and eggs, one at a time, slowly, to emulsify. It will still look separated. As you add the last egg, the mixture will all of a sudden turn into a beautiful, smooth and shiny mix. Mix for a further 90 seconds. This last bit of mixing adds some volume to the eggs, which assists in developing the beautiful crackly crust that is the hallmark of an awesome brownie. Add the cocoa powder, salt, flour and baking powder, mixing by hand until almost combined. Stir in the walnuts and chopped chocolate just to combine. Bake at 160°C for 45 minutes. Allow the brownies to cool completely. When cold, cut them into 7cm x 7cm squares. To serve, warm the brownie in the oven for 4 minutes, then dust lightly with icing sugar. Place in the center of a small plate. Add a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, decorate with chocolate curls and serve with warm chocolate sauce.

The Glowing Green Smoothie

I have been obsessed with my NutriBullet … it honestly isn’t like the other blenders and if you haven’t tried it yet then you really are missing out! What truly sets NutriBullet apart from the rest is its incredible extraction abilities with its exclusive Bullet cyclonic action, specialized blades and powerful motor, it converts any vegetable, fruit, nuts, and seeds into an exceptional liquid smoothie…

I have tried many green smoothie recipes and was so happy to come across Kimberly Snyder‘s Glowing Green Smoothie. Drink one GG smoothie a day – packed with fruits and vegetables – and feel the effects that real, unprocessed, nutrition-extracted whole food can have on your health and well-being… I have been feeling more energized and been feeling that my immunity is much better than before… there is no miracle here! You have to drink it every day to see the benefits!!

Thought I’d share the GG smoothie recipe here but do try out different ones till you find one or two that you can stick to!
Ingredients
1-2 cups very cold, filtered water
¾ pound organic romaine lettuce, rough chopped, about 1 head
½ head large bunch or small bunch organic spinach
3-4 organic celery stalks halved
1 organic apple, cored, seeded, quartered
1 organic pear, cored, seeded, quartered
1 organic banana, peeled
½ fresh organic lemon, peeled, seeded
bunch organic cilantro with stems (optional)
bunch organic parsley with stems (optional)

Instructions
Place water, romaine, spinach, celery, and optional ingredients, if using, into the Vitamix container in the order listed and secure lid.
Starting the blender on a low speed, blend until smooth.
Gradually moving to higher speeds Add apple, pear, banana and lemon to the blender and blend until smooth.

Note:

Kimberly encourages to mix and match your greens and fruit. Vary this recipe with kale, chard, arugula, and the like. Just avoid melons, as they don’t combine well with other produce.

This recipe is freezable!

Book of the Week: Dinner with Jackson Pollock (Assouline)

Jackson Pollock the artist needs no introduction—but perhaps lesser known is Jackson Pollock the gardener, baker, and entertaining dinner-party host. From starters and entrees to side dishes, breads, and desserts, Dinner with Jackson Pollock features more than 50 recipes collected from handwritten pages scrawled by Jackson; his wife, artist Lee Krasner; his mother, Stella; or traded among their many friends in the town of Springs on Long Island, interspersed with Jackson’s masterworks, still lifes of Pollock’s home, and beautiful photographs of each delectable recipe, plus delightful tales from Jackson and Lee’s family and local friends, for a truly unique and insightful portrait of a great artist.

Here is one of the recipes from the book

Pea Salad with Russian Dressing

This recipe comes from Pollock’s own mother, Stella, which she kept in a red faux-leather book together with other handwritten recipes and newspaper and magazine clippings. Serves 2 to 4.
Ingredients

For the Salad:
2 cups fresh baby spring peas, shelled
1⁄2 cup American cheese, cut into small chunks
3 tsp onion, finely chopped
3 tsp sweet pickles, finely chopped
8 pecans
2 cups shredded cabbage, if desired

For the Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
4 tbsp chili sauce
1 tsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp red onion, very finely chopped
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 dill pickles, chopped
Salt and pepper

Directions:
This salad may be combined all together in a large bowl before serving, or the elements layered individually onto the plates before adding small dollops of dressing. To make the dressing, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.