Merry Christmas!

I have been lucky this year to be able to enjoy the Christmas season - oh the joy of not having finals to worry about!  Our first Christmas together started with us getting our first Christmas tree, a North Carolina Fraser fir, the Sunday after Thanksgiving.  Then, I made the first batch of Christmas cookies with my new friend Caitlin. A few weeks later, we drove up to Columbus to see Peter's family, and I made a second batch of Christmas cookies that included Spritz cookies with the new Spritz maker Jessie's family got me for my bridal shower.  I have such good memories of making them with her at her house as a kid!  The Double Chocolate Peppermint Crunch cookies were so good and easy, too.  I made them again once I got to Seattle.

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

I love getting Christmas cards! 

We got a huge snow storm the week before Christmas.
I'm enjoying living someplace with real seasons!

Bryce with the tree we harvested from the pasture.

The weekend before Christmas, Peter left for a 5 day camping trip to Death Valley and Mojave Desert, and I finished up work before flying to Seattle the next week.  We had a wonderful, quiet Christmas with my family in Mount Vernon.  I went to Calico Cupboard, my favorite brunch place THREE days in a row, spent time with Betsy, Becca, and her fiance Steve, and Peter finally got to meet Carmen's husband, Dusty, when the two of them, Brittany, her husband Thad, and Peter and I met up at the Conway Tavern.  Peter and Bryce got to ski Mt. Baker, too.  Merry Christmas!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

After a wonderful Thanksgiving with Peter's family in Syracuse, we returned Sunday and set up our tree.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

This year we spent Thanksgiving at Peter's grandparents house in Syracuse, NY along with his parents, brother Gabe, and Uncle George.  This was a tough Thanksgiving as it was our first without Peter's Aunt Mary, who passed away from pancreatic cancer in July.  Despite the grief, it was wonderful couple of days with family. 

My love of pie

 Drew Kelly for The New York Times

The New York Times recently ran an article about the growing popularity of pies, and pie-only restaurants.  As many of you already know, I looooooove pie.  So much so that we had pie instead of cake at our wedding.  I have fond memories of spending weekend nights in high school - nerd alert! - baking pies (banana cream and lemon meringue were my favorites) and watching movies with girl friends.

In the last few years I've gotten comfortable with making fruit pies, but now I'm motivated to try some new types.  And it's been years since I've made a lemon meringue!

And of course, some gratuitous wedding pie photos:

All photos by Carmen Valentine Design

San Juan Islands architecture

One of my favorite places in the world is the San Juan Islands.  I saw this slideslow in the NYT the other day, and was blown away.  It's honestly a bit too modern for my taste (I think I'd want something a little cozier and rustic), but I love how it is built into the rock.

Spicy Pumpkin Soup and Zucchini Bread

Last week I made this Spicy Pumpkin Soup and it was a huge success!  Just the right amount of heat and curry flavor to balance to creaminess.  I know this sounds cheesey, but the taste had a lot of "depth" that I enjoyed.  I ended up making my own curry powder out of coriander, tumeric and cumin. 

I also made a Zucchini Bundt Cake, which wasn't bad, but I don't think I'm a huge fan of zucchini bread to begin with.  But if you do like zucchini bread, then this was a good recipe; very moist and not too sweet. 

Spicy Pumpkin Soup Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• Pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)
• 3 (15 oz) cans 100 percent pumpkin or 6 cups of chopped roasted pumpkin*
• 5 cups of chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarian option)**
• 2 cups of milk
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Method

1. Melt butter in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add spices and stir for a minute more.
2. Add pumpkin and 5 cups of chicken broth; blend well. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Transfer soup, in batches, to a blender or food processor. Cover tightly and blend until smooth. Return soup to saucepan.
4. With the soup on low heat, add brown sugar and mix. Slowly add milk while stirring to incorporate. Add cream. Adjust seasonings to taste. If a little too spicy, add more cream to cool it down. You might want to add a teaspoon of salt.
Serve in individual bowls. Sprinkle the top of each with toasted pumpkin seeds.
Serves 8. 

Homemade Pizza

Last week, Peter and I made pizza so we could have leftovers in the days leading up to his OB/GYN shelf exam.  Peter has an excellent pizza dough recipe, thanks to our bread aficionado friends Dave and Jamie, but I looked up some toppings ideas from Bon Appetit, and we were not disappointed!

Wild Mushroom Pizza with Carmelized Onions, Fontina and Rosemary

Fig, Proscuito and Arugula Pizza with Gorganzola Cheese

Small town Missouri wedding

Suprise, suprise - there is another wedding on Stylemepretty that I love.  Although this wedding seems more honest and low-key than some of the hoity-toity weddings Stylemepretty often features. 

Some of my favorite parts (all photos by The Parsons):

the small town middle of nowhere-ness!

 the group photo in front of the church!

the bouquets! oh the flowers!  I love her reaction. 

This is how I felt when I saw the incredible bouquets Elissa made for our wedding.

 the german social hall!

 

 the bride's dress!

 the bridesmaids' funky necklaces!

  the postcard guestbook!

 the grandparents!  Apparently this couple got married in the same church their grandparents got married in 69 years earlier.

All photos by The Parsons, who are also the founders of Don't Give Up Project. 

Tailgating on Lake Washington

I have never been to a UW football game.  That needs to change soon.

According to ESPN's list of the 10 best tailgates, University of Washington ranks at #4:

"4. Washington. ESPN says it’s not that the stadium is so fantastic or the tailgate is so nuts; it’s the quality of the tailgate. While everyone else in the country (with the exception of the #1 pick) is munching on hamburgers, brats, hot dogs and beer, the good people at Husky Stadium are enjoying wild salmon, Dungeness crab and microbrews. On the lake. Yeah, Lake Washington sits right next to the stadium, so up to 12,000 people can hang out on the lake and enjoy the game. Some people actually stay the whole weekend. And the University is more than accommodating of this setup – just before kickoff, the University supplies a shuttle to the people on the lake so they can make it to the stadium in time to see the game start."

So Bryce, get on it.  I'm adding "tailgating on a boat for a UW game" to my life list. 

Kate and Josh are married!

This past weekend I traveled to Rehobeth, DE for my law school roommate's wedding.  It was my first trip to the Delaware beaches, and the weather was perfect!  It was also great to see all my law school friends again.  The wedding ceremony was incredibly meaningful as Kate and Josh combined their Catholic and Jewish backgrounds.  We had an incredible time at the reception, and, in true law school style, the night ended with Taco Bell!

Bay Bridge to the Eastern Shore.

Bridal brunch at Kate's amazing beach house.

 We got to visit Cooper who I have missed dearly...

and the beaches.

Beautiful evening for the ceremony under the fall leaves.

Vandy law table

With the happy and beautiful couple!

Kate is too skinny so I feed her fried pickles.

Spencer delivers Taco Bell.

I hope Kate doesn't kill me, but this photo is awesome. I love you!

Apple Cider and Maple Creme Tarte

This tarte was a lot of work, but from my very small taste this morning, it is delicious. Its tart-ness almost reminded me of an apple version of a lemon bar. For how hard it was to find maple sugar (I had to order it specially from amazon.com), the final product is lacking the maple-ness I was expecting. Next time I'd add less cider, or add more maple sugar or extract. On another note, careful when boiling apple cider! It bubbles up and overflows very quickly!

Apple Cider and Maple Creme Tarte by Bon Appetit

Crust
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, diced

Filling
1/2 gallon fresh apple cider or cold-pressed apple juice
1/2 cup maple sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 drops imitation maple extract

Crust
Blend flour, powdered sugar, and coarse salt in processor 5 seconds. Add butter and blend until dough comes together in moist clumps. Gather dough into ball. Press dough evenly onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Cover and chill crust at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake chilled crust uncovered 10 minutes. Using back of fork, press bottom of crust to flatten (do not pierce). Continue to bake until crust is deep golden brown, pressing again if bottom of crust puffs, 16 to 18 minutes longer. Cool crust completely.

Filling
Bring apple cider or apple juice to rolling boil in large pot over high heat. Boil until bubbling thickly and reduced to generous 3/4 cup, stirring occasionally, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.

Grind maple sugar to powder in spice mill, blender, or mini processor. Transfer powdered maple sugar to 4-cup glass measuring cup; add cream, eggs, 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt, nutmeg, extract, and 3/4 cup cooled cider reduction and whisk to blend well.

Place tart pan with crust on baking sheet; set on rack in oven. Pour in filling. Bake tart until filling is puffed and cracked around edges and gently set in center, about 33 minutes. Transfer tart to rack and cool to room temperature, 1 to 2 hours.

Potential dog breeds?

Peter and I have been talking about our hypothetical dog lately, and I spent a lot of time this weekend on petfinder.com.  It seemed like every dog I showed Peter he didn't like...I grew up with Goldens, but Peter isn't a fan of how "needy" they can be.  Today, on our way home from the local farmer's market, we ran into a couple walking their two dogs, a Bernese Mountain dog (breed I love, but way too big), and a Golden-looking white fluffy dog.  I was prepared for Peter to disagree with me on how cute it was, until the woman said it was a Hungarian dog, the Kuvasz.  Sold!  Check out how cute these dogs are:

The downsides are that 1) it's a fairly rare breed so it would be difficult to know what their temperament would really be like, and 2) we wouldn't be adopting or rescuing from a shelter, which is something I feel really strongly about...

Go Steelers!

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fall hike

Last weekend we took a day trip to the Red River Gorge area of Eastern Kentucky and did two hikes. Pictures are from our first hike, up Pilot Knob.  Afterward we drove into the Daniel Boone National Forest and hiked around Natural Bridge. It looked a lot like an Eastern version of the arches we saw in Arches National Park in 2008. 

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pumpkin cupcakes | smitten kitchen

I also made these last night and they were a huge hit.  Peter took them into the hospital toady, and I brought the rest to work. 

Pumpkin Cupcakes With Maple–Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from David Leite

Yield: 17 to 18 cupcakes

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for greasing pans
1 cup firmly packed dark-brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk mixed with 1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin

Frosting
Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Make the cupcakes:
1. Preheat the oven to 350° (175°C). Line a cupcake pan with 18 liners.
2. In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and pepper into a medium bowl.
3. Add the eggs 1 at a time to the mixer, scraping down the sides after each addition. Alternate adding the flour and milk mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat in the pumpkin until smooth. Scoop the batter among the cupcake liners — you’re looking to get them 3/4 full. Rap the filled pans once on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on racks completely.

Make the frosting:
In a stand mixer beat all the ingredients on medium until fluffy. To assemble the cake, frost the top of one cake, place the other cake on top. Frost the sides and top, swirling decoratively. Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes to set up frosting.

Kale and Roasted Vegetable Soup Recipe | Simply Recipes

Kale and Roasted Vegetable Soup Recipe from Simply Recipes

I made this last night and everyone loved it! The sweetness of the butternut squash and carrots really balances out the bitterness of the Kale.

Ingredients

• 3 medium carrots, peeled and quartered lenthwise
• 2 large tomatoes, quartered
• 1 large onion, cut into 8 wedges or 4 or 5 slices
• 1/2 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick wedges
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 6 cups or more of vegetable broth*
• 4 cups of finely chopped kale
• 3 large fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 15 oz can of Great Northern white beans, drained

Method

1 Preheat oven to 400°F (reduce heat by 25°F if using convection oven). Brush rimmed baking sheet with a thin coat of olive oil. Arrange carrots, squash, tomatoes, onion, and garlic on sheet. Drizzle with more olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Roast vegetables until they are brown and tender, stirring occassionally, about 45 minutes.
2 Cut squash and carrots into 1/2 inch pieces; set aside. Peel garlic cloves; place in food processor. Add tomatoes and onion; puree until almost smooth. Pour 1/2 cup broth onto the baking sheet; scrape up any browned bits. Transfer broth and vegetable puree to large pot. Add 5 1/2 cups broth, kale, thyme and bay leaf to pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat. Simmer uncovered until kale is tender, about 30 minutes.
3 Add carrots, beans, and squash to soup. Simmer 8 minutes to blend flavors, adding more broth to thin soup if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaf.
Can be made a day ahead. Serves six.

Pink and Turquoise wedding colors

I love this wedding featured today on Stylemepretty.  The combination of berry pink/red and turquoise is so bright and cheery. 

Eric Kelley Photography

Eric Kelley Photography

Eric Kelley Photography