BLT benedict

Good bread, bacon, butter and avacado. These are a few of my favorite things. When you put them all on the same plate you really cant go wrong. I saw this recipe in Southern Living and immediatly took the magazine to my mom and said can we pleaseeeee have this for dinner. Soon. Or maybe now.

The recipe says to just spread mayo on the bread but then it isnt really BLT benedict now is it? Hollandaise is such a great and easy sauce to make, and its pretty much just butter so how could you go wrong?

When you put the tomato avacado relish (which is tossed in garlic and balsalmic vinegar) on top it really cuts through some of the butter and it makes you feel a little bit better for eating it.  The bread is soft and chewy and the crispy, smokey, salty bacon on top with the fried egg, buttery hollandaise and the bite of the vinegar in the relish. One word - YUM. Im drooling.

The BEST brownies ever. Seriously.

I was craving some fudgy brownies and after they got out of the oven I couldnt wait to take a good picture,  I had to take a bite.

SO good.

After I had a moment with my brownie I managed to take a good picture. Like everything delicious in my life this recipe also came from Tartine. If you dont have that cookbook trust me when I tell you that you have to go buy it right now. These brownies are different from any other kind that I have made before because you beat the eggs and sugar untill they form a thick ribbon then you fold in the melted chocolate and  flour. As unconventional as it may or may not be for brownies it seriously makes the most perfect fudgy brownie. They are best when eaten right out of the oven with a glass of freezing cold milk.

Fried ravioli

Just when you thought ravioli couldnt get any better. You coat in bread crumbs and fry it and all of a sudden its the best thing in the whole world.

And it couldnt be easier to make. Buy some already made ravioli at the grocery store, if its frozen ( which mine was) par boil it. Par boil just means to boil it till its half way cooked and basically just not frozen anymore. If its fresh just coat it in buttermilk and coat it in some Italian bread crumbs. Heat your oil and fry em up! Serve them with some marinara. I added a spoonfull of mascarpone cheese to my  marinara so it was nice and creamy. Not that I needed the extra fat or anything, but seriously it was SO good. So so so good. You really should go make this right now, and then bring some to me. Okay? Thanks!

Christmas in February?

No, no, no, Im not making a huge Christmas meal in February. I just want to tell you about all the delcious things that I made for Christmas and Thanksgiving.  I have a really big family and every Christmas/Thanksgiving we all go out to my Grandmothers house and eat, and eat, and then we eat some more. We also have a dessert competition every year. This year instead of making a decorated cake like my past winners:

I decided to make something that was just delicious: Chocolate mousse cake

Now, I regret to inform you that I didnt not win this year. The very first year that I lost. Good thing I didnt have my acceptance speech written out ( no it isnt really that kind of a competition.)

The cake is delicious, however. It is also from Tartine and Im convinced that there isnt anything in that cook book that isnt delicious.

And what Christmas would  be complete without some Christmas sugar cookies.

These are made from a basic buttery - shortbread like sugar cookie recipie and the cookie cutter is from Williams Sonoma. As if Williams Sonoma needed any help taking my money they had to come out with cookie cutters that you can change to spell out almost anything. I have not only the Christmas ones but also the everyday ones. You know, for all those everyday spelled out sugar cookie needs. And that doesnt even make sense!

Blackberry pie

On tuesdays I only have one class and it usually gets out early. ( YAY!) Harry's Farmers Market just so happens to be on my way home from school. So, I have started the tradition of stopping by Harrys when my class gets out early. I do this  because 1) I love Harrys and  2) They have really good samples and my class is after lunch. As I was wondering the fruit section I came across some lovely blackberries. I continued my wonderings and spent way too much money. When i got home I made some basic buttery pie dough. Lets get to the good stuff, I took the blackberries, cooked them in lots of butter, blackberry wine and brown sugar. Once they were good and juicy i added some corn starch to thicken it up and let that cook down. Let me just tell you it smelled heavenly in my kitchen. Butter, and blackberries. Yum. Pie dough in the pan, blackberries, butter, pie dough on top. Into the oven. Once it gets golden take it out and eat while hot with a cup of milk and icecream. Thats not an option, its a requirement.

A slow, delicious, gluttenous death by butter

On friday I started the morning off in the kitchen, and then i didnt leave the kitchen till saturday. Why, you ask? Well, I was making croissants for a dear friend that I work with. You see, I started a tradition of making things for my friends on their birthdays. ( how nice of me right?) Several months ago she told me what she was asking for. Croissants. If you have never made croissants before, let me just tell you they take a whole lot of time, and a whole lot of love, and a WHOLE lot of butter.

Thats 12 sticks of butter for those of you who have some trouble counting. Well I did make two different batches so thats only six each, Im sure that doesnt make you feel better about your waistline, but still.

One thing that makes all of  my slaving away in the kitchen worth it is to see how happy delicious food makes people. No, im not being cocky either ( maybe a little) but anytime you take time to put love and lots of butter in something it will turn out great and it will be much appreciated. And as a butter lover, I speak from experience. I have made many lifelong friends from bribing them with food.

Just how delicious were these croissants? Well im so glad you asked! They were heavenly. Its a recipie from a bakery in San Fransico called Tartine. Its my dream to someday work there or go there or eat there or maybe live inside the bakery. If I did that though I would weigh approximatly 900 pounds, and I might be ok with that.

Here is photographic proof of deliciousness: