FOOD.

Amaretto-Cranberry Kiss and Grilled Cheese with Sundried Tomato, Mint, and Pistachio Pesto

Didn't do happy hour this Friday, so I figured I'd make my own little happy hour treats.  For the drink I used this recipe.  I used the Disaronno I usually keep around for mixing with hot cocoa, some 100% cranberry juice with no sugar added, Ketel One because it's sturdy and trustworthy, and some fresh squeezed OJ we had in the fridge.  Pretty good drink... probably not one I'd order at a bar because I'm generally not a fan of sweet or fruity cocktails.  But whatever... nice to try something different every now and then.

For the sandwich I used this recipe (love this guy's recipes!!), with some minor variations.  I thought I had basil, buuuut I didn't.  So I used some fresh mint from our backyard in the pesto instead of basil, and didn't use any extra greens in the assembly.  Also, instead of pine nuts, I used pistachios (obvi... this is me we're talking about).  I finally got a chance to use the grill/griddle combo contraption I got from Tuesday Morning forever ago before moving out to Arizona, and voila! Shmancy grilled cheese!!   

Bon appetit. 

These Things That Are My Dreams

Rather short one because I don't remember much.  I was back in London and apparently my friend Mischa had an awesome designer loft there.  So we were planning to meet up with other people to go out to dinner, but first I stopped by Mischa's to get ready.

Me: "Hey, can I use your hair iron?"

Misch: "Yeah, it's in the bathroom.  By the toilet.  Not the decorative one with the zen garden inside, the other one."

Me: "Cool, thanks."

So we get ready and leave, and suddenly we were in the lobby of the hotel where we're meeting people.  Apparently I was staying in this hotel and had to go grab something from my room.  On my way back down I awkwardly come across someone hoarding tiny bars of soap from the maid's cart that was parked outside a room, and in the way of reassurance or something, I come out with:

"Haha, hey, hey, no worries... it's not kleptomania if they'd give it to you for free anyway, right?"  [Really awkward silence... Other person does not look reassured... I look down and exeunt rather swiftly.]

Fin.

Pinspiration.

In this series of beautiful-pics-to-remind-you-that-life-is-incredible: 

 pitter-patter hearts, pitter-patter feet, pitter-patter rain, taking the plunge, to the point, on the porch, peonies, piercing, patience, pride, playful, painted, puckers, planes, and always and above all: passion.

 All via Pinterest.

Style Samples

I was thinking of starting up a general style section on here, and a friend gave me the impetus I needed to go ahead and do it (thanks Beets! :)  I call it "style samples" because I honestly don't even remember the last time I paid full price for anything, and my style is usually a mishmash of stuff from all over the place (including what I like to call the "Shop of Mom"), so this is more of a sample of stylish items that inspire me.  Enjoy!

1.  Anthropologie Araca Pencil Skirt, $148

2.  Eugenia Kim Honey Vintage Sisal Sunhat, $319 (the scarf keeps it from flying off your head, which can easily happen with big floppy hats)

3.  Industry of All Nations Lace-Up Espadrilles, $32

4.  Tarina Tarantino "Liberty Loves Company" Multibead Lincoln Bracelet, $70 (love this tongue-in-cheek patriotic line of hers)

5.  Anthropologie Agate Age Earrings, $148

6.  St. Tropez Skin Illuminator in Gold, $15 (actually have this and it's amazing... summer's just around the corner!)

7.   J. Crew Trench Motorcycle Jacket, $168

8.  Jenni Kayne Suede Instep Band Pumps, $450

9.  OPI I'm Not Really a Waitress, $5.25 (still the best red around)

10.  Alexander Wang Slouchy Belted Pants, $745 (love the idea of wide leg pants with a simple fitted tank.... or a slouchy cream suit with gold statement pieces)

FOOD.

Spicy Thai Noodles with Ginger Peanut Dressing

 I used this recipe.  It's really quick and easy and perfect for the middle of the week (not to mention delicious).  The whole thing probably took me an hour from start to finish.  I don't know what the recipe means when it says "10 minutes."  I mean, it's not Top Ramen.  Thank you, oh woman whose name I want even though I cannot pronounce it, for making all us normal folk feel inadequate.   With the look in your eyes, I have a feeling you can cook this meal, wash the dishes, pound a quart of coffee and read War and Peace all in under 10 minutes. 

I couldn't find "chile oil," so I cut up a chile and dropped it in oil and heated it over the stove, then scooped out the chile pieces and saved the oil and voila: chile oil.  I used this fancy buckwheat pasta I got at a great little food shop/deli in Pismo.  The only thing I would point out about this recipe is that the sauce is THICK.  It's not the kind of sauce you can "pour" over the noodles.  I tried to mix it with the pasta in a bowl, but then just decided to put the pasta back on the stove with the peanut sauce mixture and a dash of soy sauce to loosen it all up a bit, and that worked out well. 

I put the whole thing in one dish to make it family style.  The skewers won't really stand up in the pasta, but no biggie.

Bon appetit.

FOOD.

Pistachio-Crusted Chicken with Herbs and Mustard Cream Sauce
 and
 Couscous with Dried Apricots, Currants, and Pistachios

So, in celebration of the Annual Pistachio Conference last week and getting a new ranch named after me (kinda neat), I decided to bust out with the pistachio recipes.  For the chicken, I used this recipe, with minor changes (as usual).  I didn't use dill at all because I don't care much for it and it always gets stuck in your teeth anyway.  For the mustard cream sauce, I didn't use wine, but just started off by cooking the shallots in a bit of olive oil until they softened a bit.  Also, last week I turned all my heavy whipping cream into whipped cream for my pavlova, so I just used the leftover whipped cream I had set aside from that, which I think saved some time since you have to wait for the sauce to thicken anyway.  Seven minutes was not enough time in the oven... I think I put it in for 25 minutes.  Anyway, the chicken was pretty amazing (I was a bit worried because I couldn't tell if I was hearing cries of terror or joy coming from the kitchen, but it was apparently the latter... and my mom won't stop asking me for the recipe).

The couscous was so-so.  I used pearled couscous because I like the texture and prefer it to the kind that looks like wet sand.  The other kind is better with a tagine rather than as a side dish anyway.  I accidentally doubled the apricot because I was distracted (it was hot so I opened the kitchen door and one of those giant mosquito-looking things* was floating around and slamming itself against every light in the kitchen... anyway, I was only making half the recipe because I wasn't planning on feeding the entire block, so I should have used 1/2 cup apricots).  I didn't have cinnamon sticks so I just used ground cinnamon.

Now, you might say, "Why, AzPie, it's all very well that these two recipes both have pistachios in them, but they don't seem to mesh very well flavor-wise," to which I'll respond, "You know, you're absolutely right, they don't," feigning the concern of someone who gives an iota of a fuck.

Eat up.  Both recipes are healthy and nutritious and delicious.

Bon appetit. 

*More on bugs:  I googled "mosquito eater" to see what those bugs are even called, and apparently they're called crane flies.  I won't post a pic.  Those things should not be seen up close.  Also, I had to go out in the yard to pick mint and rosemary, and I noticed something I haven't paid attention to since grade school.  I was barefoot because I couldn't find any flipflops around, and had to daintily and fearfully prance around some bees that, for whatever reason, were just chillaxing on the ground.  This is a really irritating thing bees do sometimes, typically when they're not feeling so alive anymore.  The problem for people like me who are terrified of experiencing a bee sting for the first time is that you can never be quite sure what's going on (eg., if the bee is going to suddenly decide to take flight right as you're passing by-- they always kind of look ready to go or like they're deciding what to do).  Anyway, yeah, it reminded me of grade school when bees would do that not-flying-but-just-lingering-dangerously-close thing, typically in the pool ("It's still alive! No look! It's swimming! Drown it! Or maybe just get it over to the filter thingee! No no the other direction! Here, let's try to get it on this leaf and then we can just--NO! STOP PUSHING IT TOWARDS ME!")

Anyway... yeah, I'm so exhausted that I don't even know what on earth I'm writing anymore or why.  Night night.

Pinspiration.

In this series of beautiful-pics-to-remind-you-that-life-is-incredible (yeah, I'm doing two of these in a row... haven't been home to cook and haven't had any noteworthy dreams, so here):

great dress (maybe raise the back a tiiiiiiiiiny bit?), breaking through, sad Star Wars kid, happy Star Wars kids, I want to sit here with a big mug of tea and a blanket, Kevin Spacey (wtf? really? not bad...), big human and tiny human meet, Audrey, dancing sheep, Thai iced tea with boba (or as I called it all through undergrad: lunch), meeting adjourned, and Persia meets Pepsi (from photographer Shadi Ghadirian).

All via Pinterest.

Pinspiration.

In this series of beautiful-pics-to-remind-you-that-life-is-incredible:

dedication, time, sass, whispers, breathing, grace, grammar, glamour, God I hope that gets me by, and hell yes she did.