entertaining

i really adore throwing parties, combine that with my love for cooking and it is a deadly week-long prepping/planning event. for the past couple of years, we've had just a few people over for new year's eve dinner and drinks. everyone spends the night and we wake up super early and head into downtown san francisco. it's nice to be up before everyone else (bloody marys and baileys spiked coffees in hand). the streets are empty with the exception of the fallen hats, lone sequins and the occasional 'couple' still adorning their party gear from the festivities of yesteryear. that is until we make it to our destination - and that is where we meet our people. but i digress. interested in the menu and decor from the famed low-key new years eve party.

look.

no.

further.

m e n u

spicy, smokey slow cooked beef brisket sliders with jalapeno slaw and homemade pickled onions. black forest and gruyere pastry thumbprints. bacon, parsley stuffed mushrooms. warm fennel seed spinach dip. fresh marinated mozzarella and heirloom tomato skewers. cream of onion soup. ... recipes to come...

d e c o r

my new owl (a bargain at $4) and flowers from a friend...

all the food out, ready to party....

new year's eve = sparkle

flowers that look like fireworks and my love thistle

....more

wouldn't this totem go great in my cabin? yep, still not over the cabin.

thanks (again) to the jealous curator who led me to the amazing work of Denise Kupferschmidt

cabin fever

i moved yet again which means that i am deeply obsessed with interior design, style and inspiration. i'll leave you with one (of many) styles i'm wishing that i could pull off. total cabin fever....i want it all: the clothes, interior, even the snow. crazy, i know.

black friday

actually, i despise black friday. huge crowds of people willing to crush each other to death for a half price hd tv is truly american consumerism at its worst. did you know that some stores are opening at 3am to appease these lunatics. honestly, after copious amounts of turkey and wine i don't understand how people can get up so early. so to counteract the strip mall shopping that will hit its stride at the end of the week, i leave you with some images from edinburgh. a vintage shop and the most amazing hat shop i've ever been to.

fabhatrix. fab indeed.

as i begin holiday shopping, i will keep these 2 shops in mind.

bitter and sweet

81 degrees in oakland on this fine mid november day warrants a new salad creation. so here goes:

beets, blue cheese, radicchio,

drizzle white balsamic, drizzle olive oil, pepper,

drizzle honey, rock salt

it's an odd combination and certainly not for everyone but i really enjoyed the bursts of bitter and sweet the radicchio and honey delivered. not to mention it has the most beautiful RED color.

serve this bleeding salad with this serving set from anthro. xo

fennel soup

this soup is so good. loosely adapted from an epicurious recipe, this is really an amazing illusion of creaminess without a drop of cream or milk. it's so clean, and modern, it begs to served in this mid-century modern tureen.

3 large fennel bulbs sliced (6 cups)

1 leek, white and pale green parts sliced

1 HUGE shallot, diced

6 tablespoons of butter

a splash of extra dry sherry

6 cups of chicken broth

teaspoon fennel frond (or more to taste)

3/4 cup of packed, raw baby spinach

saute the fennel, leeks, and shallot in the butter until translucent (about 10 minutes?). add splash of wine cook another minute or so. add the broth and frond and boil for 30-35 minutes.

after the fennel is very tender turn off the heat. let cool slightly before pureeing in the blender (don't skip the cooling, that soup is hot! believe me). Puree in batches. During the last batch add the raw spinach. the heat from the soup will cook it sufficiently. add it all back to a pot and heat back up on low.

enjoy.

this soup is seriously good. next time i will try low sodium chicken broth because it is otherwise very healthy!

renegade craft fair

the renegade craft fair is here! despite moving this weekend i am finding room to fit a quick trip into the city for the etsy filled fair. time to grab cash and some batteries for my holga.

balls

turkey meat balls. my first attempt at turkey meatballs were a success. although adding bacon to anything pretty much guarantees success.

here you go: cook 5 pieces high quality bacon until crisp. let cool & crumble. mix italian bread crumbs, grated parm, fresh minced garlic, 1 lb ground turkey, 1 egg, dried oregano, salt, soy sauce (i know, its weird but i love the salty, and meaty flavor it gives), hot sauce (again, weird but i use a louisiana style hot sauce which is essentially salt, vinegar, and hot pepper) and the bacon. after well incorporated, form 2 inch balls. heat oil in pan at med-high. fry balls each side ~5 minutes each (don't let them burn). I couldn't get them to cook through without burning so i baked them at 350 for 10-15 until they were cooked. raw ground turkey is gross. after they've been cooked through add red sauce to pan that you fried them in (you may need to wipe out) and heat on medium, add cooked balls, continue cooking all for about 5 minutes and presto! easy, homemade meatballs.

long lunch

yes. and by lunch i mean wine. there is nothing i love more than spending an afternoon drinking wine, eating bread & olives and pretending that i live anywhere but where i actually do. me gusta barlata!

diner

how to have the perfect morning? go to a breakfast joint that serves up diner style food with high quality organic sustainable ingredients. this morning after dropping off someone at oakland airport my friend called me for brekky. 6:30 am. i'm in. we soon realized that nothing was open. thanks to yelps "open now" feature we discovered that the adorable bette's oceanview diner was open and slangin' corn beef so good that it was featured on diner, driveins and dives. check out the perfectly poached egg. are you kidding me, bette? i love you.