happy halloween.

celebrating today in small ways ... 

drinking a pumpkin spice latte

eating a bit of halloween candy

carving a pumpkin late tonight 

hope you all have a happy wednesday

and a happy halloween :)

Quiche!

Quiche is so freakin' good - and that's a fact. 

If I didn't run the risk of eating the entire thing myself I would make a quiche weekly. Side note: yt doesn't like eggs ... or breakfast foods of any kind really ... it's basically impossible to go to brunch and for this, i like him just a tiny bit less.  

Back to quiche. It's so easy to make - which adds to the pure splendor of this dish. You buy a store bought pie crust {or make one from scratch if you're into that ... I'm not}. Then, you mix eggs and some of your favorite meats, veggies, and cheese in a bowl ... Pour that bowl of goodies right into your store bought pie crust and voila! You have a super tasty meal. 

Quiche lorraine is my favorite of all the quiches. It focuses on the good stuff ... bacon. Side note: Emory also likes quiche lorraine, because it means she gets a tiny bit of bacon with her breakfast. She also likes eggs - one up on yt ...}. 

I could ramble more about my love for quiche {particularly this quiche}, but instead I'll just show you some pictures and give you the recipe. You're welcome.  

Here's what you'll need ... 

1 store bought pie crust 

3 eggs

3/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup heavy cream

8 pieces of bacon, chopped 

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 cup swiss cheese, grated 

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp nutmeg 

Here's what to do... 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out pie crust into pie dish and bake without any filling for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. 

While pie crust is baking, cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until nice and crispy. Set aside cooked bacon on paper towel. Pour out all bacon grease from the skillet, except for approximately 1 tablespoon. Over medium heat, add onion to bacon drippings in skillet and cook until onion is soft and translucent (about 5 minutes). 

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, heavy cream, cooked bacon and onion, cheese, salt, pepper and onion. Pour into prepared pie crust. 

Cook at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until quiche has set and browned slightly on top. 

my instagram from sunday brunch. i served up this quiche alongside my favorite pumpkin apple bread with honey butter and pumpkin butter, a simple bowl of fruit, and mimosas! 

halloween throwback

a silly little post this monday

of some of the costumes i've sported 

through out the years. 

i was kind of cute 

and then extremely awkward

and now i'm somewhere

 in the middle of the two :)

Cookbook winner + Friday.

Happy Friday!

It's not just any Friday, its the Friday before halloween. Have you all stocked up on Halloween candy? Eaten your fair share of Candy Corn? Put the finishing touches on your costume? Carved up a pumpkin? I like halloween but I don't love it. It's kind of up there with New Years Eve on the "too much hype" scale. I always have felt so much pressure to come up with a creative costume that I then find myself annoyed with and uncomfortable in... all night long - does any one else feel this way? I'd rather watch a scary movie and consume bite size candy bars. Gosh, I'm old and boring. 

Anyhoo - for those who are dressing up, what are you going as? 

Lastly, I'd like to announce the winners of the Smitten Kitchen Cookbooks... they are {drumroll}...

Thank you to all who entered! Can't wait to cook up each and every recipe in this book :)

They've been purchased.

Are you sick of hearing about booties yet? Tell me that sentence doesn't make you laugh just a little bit... I'm talking about shoes here people! Get your mind out of the gutter.

They have kind of been my obsession over the last few weeks and I finally bought the perfect pair! After debating over the color choice, I went with brown. I decided that they really hit the mark on the casual look I was going for, and while black is probably the "safer" choice, I just loved the saturated brown of this particular pair. 

Once they arrive on my doorstep in 3-6 business days, I see myself wearing them with jeans and cords, skirts and tights, button downs and sweaters - so yeah, pretty much everything. My favorite part about them has got to be the wide ankle - super flattering for bigger booties :)

See what I did there .... 

GET YOURS HERE.

Also, I'll be announcing the winner of the Smitten Kitchen giveaway tomorrow. Last chance to enter!

Sweet Potato Flatbread

Sometimes recipes are concocted from a lack of groceries and a lack of interest to go shopping for said groceries. Call it laziness or call it creativity - but either way it resulted in an amazing flatbread in my kitchen this week. 

I couldn't get over how well the flavors worked together - the sweetness of the potatoes and onion + the saltiness of the cheeses + the earthy the herbs = happy taste buds. I also couldn't get over the pretty colors that topped my homemade whole wheat crust. Bright orange, bold purple, and deep greens made this pizza almost too pretty to eat. Almost. 

I really love cooking. Just in case you didn't know. 

yum. 

Here's what you'll need... 

for the pizza dough

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 packet yeast 

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil 

for the toppings

1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped 

1/4 large red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

1/4 cup mild white cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola 

1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Here's what to do... 

Add yeast, honey, and warm water to bowl of a stand up mixer, fitted with dough hook attachment. 

Let yeast begin to react, about 10 minutes. 

Add salt and olive oil, and then slowly add flours, leaving 1/4-1/2 cup of all purpose flour aside for kneading dough. Once flour has been incorporated and dough is smooth and elastic, remove from bowl and incorporate remaining flour while kneading. Once dough is very smooth, place in a large bowl and allow to rise for about 1 hour. 

Once dough is done rising, knead down and roll out to form flatbread {shape doesn't matter!}. This is enough dough for two large flatbreads/pizzas. 

While dough is rising, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add chopped sweet potato, onion, garlic and sage to large roasting pan and coat with olive oil {salt and pepper to taste} and toss. Roast for about 25 minutes, until sweet potatoes are cooked through {easily pierced with a fork}. 

Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees and bake rolled dough for about 10 minutes, until slightly browned. 

Remove from oven and top flatbread with cheddar/parmesan cheese and then sweet potato mixture. Sprinkle gorgonzola over pizza and finish with parsley. Bake for 15 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly and crust is nicely browned.

Baked Apple Chips

I grabbed a big bag of apples this week, and for a few reasons {namely tight fitting pants}, needed to use them up without involving a stick of butter {I'm talking to you: French Apple Pie, Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars, and Apple Pie Cookies}. And yes, I realize you can eat an apple without altering it at all, but what's the fun in that? 

My solution? Baked Apple Crisps. With just three ingredients, none of which were butter, these were the perfect subtly sweet afternoon snack! I especially like the way they look - rustic and simple. With their speckles of cinnamon, and star shaped center, they are pretty enough to be plated on this antique gold edged plate. Just be sure to set aside enough time - these chips take a while to bake to a crisp. 

Here's what you'll need... 

3 apples {I used honey-crisp} sliced thin with a knife or mandolin 

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon sugar 

Here's what to do... 

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. 

Toss sliced apples in cinnamon and sugar in a large bowl until evenly coated. 

Line apples on baking sheet lined with parchment paper, being sure not to let apples overlap. 

Bake for 2 hours until apples have lost all of their moisture. Apples will crisp even more as they cool. 

Note: a few of my apples burned on the edges because I got impatient and turned up the heat a bit towards the end. I will say, while this wasn't planned, I didn't mind the slightly charred taste that this added. If you don't like that taste, I would advise to not turn the heat up and practice the art of patience!

P.S. Thanks to all who entered the Smitten Kitchen cookbook giveaway! If you haven't entered, you still have two days. A winner will be chosen on Friday so enter now. 

smitten kitchen: cookbook giveaway!

Happy Monday! I'm kicking off the week with one of my favorite giveaways on the blog to date. 

If you haven't heard of Smitten Kitchen, I'm sorry you've been missing out. You should head over immediately and be prepared to drool over every single concoction that comes out Deb's kitchen. From the sweet, to the savory, to main meals, simple snacks, and decant desserts, this woman has it covered. One thing is obvious, she has a love for food, and it's evident in every single recipe. 

Needless to say, I was beyond excited when I heard Smitten Kitchen was expanding beyond a blog - to a book. A cookbook - filled with so much goodness. I'm looking forward to making:

a butternut squash and caramelized onion galette, sweet peas and shells alfredo, tomato scallion shortcakes with whipped goat cheese (pictured on the cover), cheddar swirl breakfast buns, and pretty much the entire sweets section which includes things like - salted brown butter crispy treats, buttered popcorn cookies, chocolate hazelnut crepe cake, and a s'more layer cake. Basically, Deb's a genius. 

So - I'm giving away three cookbooks! 

Let's keep things simple: To enter, please make sure you're following Simply Irresistible - then leave a comment here letting me know one of your favorite Smitten Kitchen recipes {it could be something you've made, something you're dying to try, or something you heard would be in her cookbook}. The official release date is October 30th - and I'm hoping to get these to you just prior to then. 

I'll choose a winner Friday morning {10/26}. Good luck!

I'm still on the hunt ...

I've been wanting a pair of casual booties for a couple of months now... I want something I can wear with jeans and cords, but also with a casual dress or skirt - a pair that kind of goes with everything. I also don't want to spend a fortune, so I had a hard time splurging on the Madewell booties I posted about earlier... they are adorable and pretty perfect, but just a little too much for me right now. I'm loving the DV by Dolce Vita options below - they do the trick without breaking the bank.

Do you have a favorite? I'm having a hard time narrowing down these options ...

top: Joust ($129) // Ciaran ($129)

bottom: Rodge ($149) // Jackal ($79 - on sale!)

I kind of love them all. 

Whole Wheat Honey Apple Muffins

Sometimes halfway through a recipe {that I've completely changed and butchered} I think to myself: "DAMN, I've messed up and this is going to taste like absolute crap." 

This recipe is so far from the original that I'm not even going to site it. I added a few ingredients {like a big dollop of honey} modified most of the measurements {like changing the original 1/2 cup of vegetable oil to a 1/4 cup because I realized that's all I had after already having measured out all of the dry ingredients}, and threw in another egg and some extra yogurt at the end- just because. 

The batter was looking a little sticky and dense - and that's when I thought to myself "why am I even going to cook this mess".. but I'm so happy I did because I wound up with the most moist and tasty muffins. And, to top it off, they're pretty healthy!

I also think that the true test of muffin success, is a muffin that remains moist for a few days {because obviously then I can eat them for breakfast all week long...} and these were just as good on morning #2 ... and I ate two. Success. 

Here's what you'll need ... 
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/3 cup non fat honey greek yogurt*
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped

Here's what to do... 
In one bowl, mix together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
In another bowl, mix together the sugars, vegetable oil, eggs, honey, and yogurt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and then fold in your chopped apples.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and firm to the touch.

And when you're ready to eat, spread some honey apple butter from Trader Joe's over these bad boys.. because it's really good. 

LATELY

here's a little glimpse of what i've been up to lately via instagram.. 

homemade pumpkin bagels // pumpkin beer // a big pot of fondue for date night // pumpkin ice cream

indoor s'more bars // indulging in a breakfast sandwich // french apple pie // baked pumpkin donuts 

lots of pictures of the pup - sleepy // silly // training // running .... i love her.

diy menu cards // a sleepy wedding guest // a gorgeous bright bouquet // a fall outfit 

follow along via instagram here!

an easy peasy {pizza-y} friday

It's Friday! The end of the work week for most {congrats to all of you for making it through another one}. For me it's the start of two days of weddings - but I cannot complain because I kind of sort of love my job these days. Saturday night I'm off at a decent hour, and am having some company over for homemade pizza, wine and a movie - pretty much my favorite way in the entire world to spend an evening {really, there's no competition}.

So since Fridays should be the easiest day of the week.. I'm keeping today's post easy and asking your advice on a seriously important matter. How do you top your pizza? I want to know your favorite topping combinations because I'm running out of ideas over here {yes, that's how often we eat pizza}!

Pizza one is obviously going to be the brussels sprout pizza I have been drooling over, but I'd like to make a second because one pizza is never enough - options are important {especially when referring to outfits or pizza}. Tell me what cheeses, meats, veggies, etc you put on yours!! I'd love to be inspired..

something ...

TO THINK ABOUT TODAY .

"

"

i kind of couldn't agree more. after having a few conversations with a few friends, lately i've realized that most people {myself included at times} - are so very caught up on outside perceptions. 

whether its what to say, or what to wear, or where to eat, or what to eat , or how much money to make, and then how much to spend, and how we divide our time, among friends, and family, and significant others - there seems to be this unspoken formula of perfection that we're all trying to attain ...

so on this wednesday i'm challenging you {and myself}, to just do what makes us happy. and forget the rest. 

French Apple Pie

There's a mental list of recipes that I need to make it through each season. It's a small list, and usually includes childhood favorites, foods that make our home smell like a scented candle, or something that includes a specific seasonal ingredient. In this case, it's for all of the above reasons that apple pie is on that list each fall. 

Growing up, one of our neighbors used to bring over a freshly baked apple pie each September. It had a buttery, crumbly, top and was filled with ooey gooey apples. It was perfectly balanced with sweet and tart notes and begged to be topped with a dollop {or a very large scoop} of vanilla ice cream. 

I had to re-create it. So - I reached out to this neighbor and she was kind enough to send me the below recipe for French Apple Pie. I made an eight inch pie, but used the topping recipe for the nine inch pie.  Does that move really need explaining? I think not. 

someone wanted in ... 

happy fall, friends!!

Boring Black ..

Do you know what I hate most about winter? Black tights. Well actually, I hate the short days, and the kind of constant gloominess, and the precipitation where its raining and snowing at the same time - more than I hate black tights. But, wearing black tights three+ times a week makes me hate them a lot by January. Sure they are flattering, and easy to pair with basically any outfit, but they are also super boring. 

So, I'm challenging myself to branch out a bit in the tights department this winter. I'm going to mix in some pattern {polka dots are a personal fave} but floral prints and paisley also work. I'm also going to add in some texture - not only to switch things up but also because they basically whisper "I'm comfortable and cozy" from within their neat little packaging. And lastly, I'm purchasing a few tights with bright color - pink, purple, blue, yellow... take your pick! 

J.Crew Dot Tights,Vivienne Westwood Aztec Tights, Zara Lace Flowered Tights, J.Crew Tiny Dot Tights, Zara Studded Dot Tights, Gap Pointelle Tights, J.Crew Ribbed Tights, Merona Ribbed Tights

Candy Corn.

Yesterday I posted about brussels sprouts and today I'm posting about candy corn, because obviously both are part of a well balanced diet. I bought my first bag of candy corn yesterday, and opened it yesterday around 5:30PM when we all needed a little pick me up at work ... instead we all wound up with a bit of a tummy ache. Candy corn is one of those candies where there is a fine line between "just enough" and "I ate too many". We decided that line is crossed at about 5-8 candy corn, depending on your tolerance for sugar. 

So, if you can't indulge in the real deal - try out one of these candy corn inspired treats! Or do both because it's October and that's all the reason you need ... 

Candy Corn Cake in a Jar, Candy Corn Jello Shots, Candy Corn Macarons, Candy Corn Cupcakes, Candy Corn Striped Madeleines

I actually like ...

... brussels sprouts. Who knew? 

I tried to give this veggie a try last year {despite its bad reputation} and after careful consideration decided that they just weren't my thing. After eyeing a few recipes with brussels sprouts in them recently, I decided they deserved another shot - and whatdyaknow, they're pretty good! I roasted a bunch last evening with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic, and while they were originally meant to be dipped into a cheesy fondue pot,  I wound up eating almost the entire bowl cheese free. 

Now, I realize that the majority of these recipes contain either bacon or cheese, but don't shoot the messenger, apparently brussels sprouts taste best alongside these tasty ingredients... that pizza is on my "must make in the immediately future" list. 

But let me remind you, I feel in love with them simply roasted sans cheese and bacon :) So friends, are brussels sprouts your friend or foe? Are you willing to give them a try?

Bacon, Brussels Sprout and Goat Cheese Pizza, Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Dried Cranberries and Israeli Couscous, Grilled Cheese with Pickled Brussels Sprouts

Pesto Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Brussels Sprouts Pesto

Baked Pumpkin Donuts

Here it is... pumpkin recipe number one of the season! Hopefully, there will be many more to follow and I'll be sharing them all on the blog. I've had my eye on donut pans for a while (obviously something everyone should have in their kitchen) and made the purchase a few weeks ago. While I was originally going to make cinnamon sugar donuts, I decided that these would be enhanced with the addition of pumpkin (duh). 

If you don't have a donut pan, don't fret. You can just as easily make these in a muffin pan (and then you'll feel a lot less guilty eating them for breakfast!)

Here's what you'll need... 

For Donuts:

1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoons ground cloves
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup milk

For Coating:
1/2 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup sugar
1-2 tablespoons cinnamon (more if you're a cinnamon lover)

Here's what to do... 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl mix together flour, baking powder, salt and spices and set aside.  In a large bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer) whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla and pumpkin, and milk until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the mixture until combined. Do not over mix. Using a pastry bag or a small spoon, fill donut cups almost all the way but not overflowing. Allow them to bake for 12-15 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack. 

While the donuts are cooling, melt butter in microwave and add mix cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Brush donuts with melted butter and then dip into cinnamon sugar mixture. Serve immediately. If you are not serving immediately, skip the butter/cinnamon sugar mixture until you are ready to serve.