Chocolate Lemon Pie for Pi Day

Happy Pi Day! I don't have a typical post for today, because I wanted to introduce you to a new project. For a while I'd mused about the idea of starting a food blog, I even had the name all picked out, but never felt like I'd have the time and energy to get it off the ground while still running this blog. Then last year my mom said she wanted to start a food blog, and that she'd do it with me. I was anxious to get the ball rolling, registered a domain, and got things set up with blogger (clearly, I'm afraid to leave my comfort zone). There was an attempt at a cheesecake recipe and then... nothing.

I forged on, learning the nuances of getting a food blog set up - apparently all the cute recipe card widgets are in the Wordpress only club - but I did eventually find a template I could use that would be pinterest friendly. My only still persistent technical problem is that I can't get the domain to redirect without the 'www' - as it turns out the instructions I followed six years ago when I set up my domain don't work presently. If anyone knows how to fix this, message me please!

That was a year ago, and no amount of badgering on my part seemed to get my mom to embrace the blog. However, it was not something I was ready to let go of, and since I'm back home again, I traded nagging for insistence. I demanded she choose a recipe for Pi Day, and she chose the Connecticut native pie, Chocolate Lemon. She did the baking, while I took care of the technical aspects of photographing, editing, and formatting the post. She wrote the copy.

I'm determined to make posts on the food blog weekly, with the focus largely being on classic family recipes, the ones my siblings and I would always be calling my mom for, the ones which feel like home.

Anyway, I hope you will check out Cooking In Cashmere and give it some love!

Recipe: Kahlua Fudge

The very first time I made this fudge, I accidentally made brownies.
To be fair, I was (one) a teenager who'd never made fudge before, (two) cooking by myself, and (three) the recipe for the fudge was on the same paper as the recipe for the brownies, so I just started reading the wrong one without realizing.

I figured something had to be amiss when I started adding eggs and flour and preheating the oven, but at that point I just had to follow through and make the brownies. They were delicious all the same, but really, I'm more of a fudge girl, so this is the recipe I'd like to share.

What's in it:
1 1/3 cups sugar
7 ounces (one jar) marshmallow fluff
2/3 cup evaporated milk (The 5oz can is in truth, just shy of 2/3 cup, but I wasn't going to buy the bigger can and then throw the rest away.)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup Kahlua
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips (I did all semisweet, because the bags of milk chocolate chips actually have less in them for the same price as the semisweet. And I refuse to be taken advantage of in the grocery store.)
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Putting it together:

1. Line an 8" square baking pan with foil.
2. In a 2 quart saucepan, melt the butter, and add sugar, fluff, evaporated milk, Kahlua and salt.
3. Bring to a rapid boil, stirring constantly for five minutes. You may want to consider some sort of protection for your hands and clothes at this point (especially if you haven't taken outfit photos yet). Molten sugar is bound to jump out of the pan and get on you. My hand got burned, but you wont see the scar in my photos, I'm photoshopping it out.
4. Remove from heat, and add all the chocolate you haven't eaten yet. (I know you've been snacking.)
5. Stir until melted.
6. Add nuts and vanilla. And possibly another tablespoon of Kahlua if you like your candy extra boozy.
7. Pour into prepared pan. Get someone to help you do this. That pot is crazy hot!
8. Refrigerate until firm. Waiting is hard, use this time to lick all the remaining fudge out of the pot.

Yields two pounds.

And before you know it, that is all that will be left.

Recipe: Curried Chicken Salad

I've decided to do another recipe post, because this is a recipe that I am constantly making, and continually craving. The mixture of sweet fruits with spicy curry makes this chicken salad so unique and tasty.

There is this little restaurant/antique shop called Anna's Temptations which serves a really great curried chicken salad. Thus, the inspiration for this recipe was born.

I like mine extra spicy and tend to add a lot of curry, so depending on your love of the spice, you might want to add it in a little at a time. You probably don't need two kinds of curry powders either, but if you've got em...

Also you should note that this is the first time I've ever made this and actually made a note of what the quantities were - typically I just eyeball it and adjust until it tastes right. However I thought if I was going to write this out as an actually recipe it might not be very well received if I just said, "Here is what you need, put in as much or as little as you want."

I've also substituted apple for pear, walnuts for almonds, dried cranberries for raisins - it's really all good.

You will need:
1 1/2 pounds of split chicken breasts
1 apple (I like Gala)
2 ribs of celery
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup of mayonnaise
1 teaspoon sweet curry powder
1/2 teaspoon hot curry powder (or to taste)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil chicken breasts for approximately 20 minutes. (You can add a rib of celery and a small onion while it cooks to make broth for soup. Which is like a bonus meal.)

2. Wait for your chicken to cool enough that you can handle it, and take all of the meat off the bone. Cut into bite size pieces. Throw into a mixing bowl.

3. Wash, peel, and chop the apple and celery. Put that in with the chicken.

4. Coarsely chop the walnuts, put those in too.

5. Add the dried cranberries. I like to put more of a rounded quarter cup.

6. Throw in all your spices, and your mayo. Combine, and taste.

7. Put into a croissant, or if you have them, those seasonal cranberry english muffins are perfection.

Recipe: chocolate, cherry & walnut biscotti

What is going on here? This isn't a food blog. Still, this weekend we had a snow storm, and since weekend looks have become the life blood of my outfit posts (thanks winter solstice) my not getting dressed all day puts a cramp in my having a style post to share. 

To make it up to you, I've prepared two cooking posts, a review of a camera bag, and a post about my closet. I can diversify if I feel like it.

On to the food. This is the second time I've made these particular biscotti, and they are pretty darn good. I got the recipe from an issue of Cooking Light from a million years ago and made a couple small changes.

Good news, one biscotto (who the heck knew that was the singular of biscotti?) only has 81 calories.*

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chocolate chips



1. Preheat oven to 350°

2. Combine flours and salt in a bowl, stir well.


3. Beat sugar and eggs with a mixer at high speed until thick and pale (about 4 minutes).
Add oil and extracts, blending well.


4. Add flour mixture at a low speed until just blended.
Stir in cherries, chocolate and nuts.


5. Divide dough in half, shape each portion into a 10" log on the baking tray, flatten to 1" thickness.
Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the tray and let cool for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°.


6. Cut each roll diagonally, supposedly into 20 slices.


7. Place slices cut side down on to baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
Turn cookies over, bake for 10 more minutes.
Cool on a wire rack.


8. Enjoy.

*Allegedly yields 40 cookies. I got something like 27, so I guess that changes the calorie count a bit.

How to spend an entire month's budget in one weekend

In September, I felt like I had to prove to myself that I could have a budget, and shop, and stay within that budget, and be perfectly happy. I was determined and I was successful -- just look, I had $34 left over.

So October first arrives with my new $80 of possibilities. It was my best friends birthday and we celebrated in a very low key manner. It involved ice cream, Burn Notice, and TJMaxx.

Even though the trip to TJ's was mainly to get things for her (gorgeous pair of Steve Madden boots and and an oversized cream colored blazer by Calvin Klein), I of course found a few things for myself...

First, this gorgeous pencil skirt by Tahari marked down to $30 with a MSRP of $178. Fits perfectly.

 

Then I found a leopard print sweater. This was clearly a must have. It's Calvin Klein and was $25.

And finally, this belt, marked down to $10, which looks like it probably came attached to a dress and got separated. Not super fancy or nice, but it looks just like the belt I wanted from Delia's that I never did get since it sold out.

On Saturday I heard that a local shop, Coco's on the Green was having a "fill a bag" sale. How can I resist? Especially when it means getting really expensive pieces for $5?

Okay, so these pants didn't work out. But they seemed so cool. They were Banana Republic and were silk and made in Italy! I had to try them on.

The top was a winner however! The label says Premise and it's also 100% silk. (Made in China though).

 

This wool blazer was another amazing find -- MaxMara, made in Italy, hot pink silk lining.

  

This red blazer I was on the fence with -- but it was fill a bag, so I stuffed it in. It's by United Colors of Benetton and was made in Romania. 

The three items ended up costing $5 each. And they were also giving away red velvet cupcakes. I'm pretty sure I could have had one even if I didn't buy anything but still. They were homemade by the shop's owner and were really good.

I couldn't pass by the Gap and not notice the extra 30% off everything sign. I am weak. I went in and looked for my fedora. The light colored one was gone, but this guy was still there and had been marked down to $12. For $8.40, I couldn't let it go.

So, there you have it, it's the third of October and I have spent $88.40. I think I'm going to bring back that top I bought last month at TJMaxx since I haven't worn it yet.

I think that shopping is very much like any other addiction, and once you start doing it, it's hard to stop. The more I bought, the more I wanted to buy. Good thing I didn't go to the mall.
Unless I return a few things, I have $25 left for the rest of October. And that's only since I was so good last month. But I don't have as much self control as I wanted to believe.

Now, to make this post even longer -- outfit photos!

I've pretty much gotten out every pair of boots now, these slouchy ones are a favorite. So comfortable!

I gave my dark green nail polish a try, it's from Avon.

What to do with those lion earrings? Why not put them through button holes?

Chloe does not like fake walking for outfit photos. 

I made pizza for dinner tonight, which took me forever because I am the worlds slowest chef, hence my later than normal post!

They came out really good though -- fresh tomato, since they are still covering 90% of the usable counter space in the kitchen and we are running out of things to do with them.

 

And a new recipe that I got from my friend Bethany at More Fruit Please, a caramelized onion and pear pie, with three kinds of cheese, walnuts and honey. Very tasty.

But I don't want to take photos for your silly blog, I want to go for a walk!!!

The Rundown

Top Premise - Cardigan American Eagle - Jacket Free People - Leggings TJMaxx - Boots Kohls - Belt Kohls? - Bag Big Buddha - Earrings Thrifted - Ring The Cavernous Jewelry Box

If I were in Stockholm

It's Sunday again. How did that happen? And the last weekend in September no less. Christmas things are already out in stores, which is really not helping!

This morning I spent a while on the pages of Stockholm Street Style, and I wanted so badly to have that effortless, messy hair, fabulousness of many of the girls who you find there.

I really want to plan another trip to Europe. Badly. Who wants to come with me?

The only truly productive thing I managed to accomplish this weekend was to make Harvest Loaf, a spiced pumpkin bread with chocolate chips. Probably my favorite thing to bake in the fall, this bread is unbelievably moist and delicious!

I wanted to share the recipe, but I wasn't in the mood to type it up, so here is a scan of my yellow, food covered recipe.

The Rundown

Skirt TJMaxx - Top Too old to remember - Jacket H&M - Boots Migliorini - Necklace Gap - Sunnies Aldo