Friday, August 31, 2012

Anthropologie style session

 Welcome to your exclusive, inside look at our Anthropologie Style Session.

This event was "invite only," totally glam, and catered by yours truly.

did i freak out a little? yeah. did i slop greek yogurt and purple potatoes all over myself in the back room and try to act cool about it? yeah. was it so overwhelming trying to impress a group of women that work at the prettiest, eye candy store on the planet (besides Williams-Sonoma)? oh yeah. but we did it. we really did it, and it was SO much fun! take a look...
white sangria: a dry, white wine mixed with ginger green tea- infuse with fresh limes and lemons.
 the display: just missing the potatoes when this was photographed. ;)
 Honey Basil Melon Balls: fresh cantaloupe and honeydew, steeped in fresh basil, honey, whiskey & cinnamon overnight.
 Tomato Tarte Tatin: fresh roma tomatoes stewed in balsamic, brown sugar & butter, baked underneath a rich tart crust and finished with fresh oregano & sea salt.
 Momma & Daddy's Spinach Pies: flaky, biscuit dough filled with spinach, onion, lemon juice & cinnamon.
Sidney's 'Bills Chocolate Mousse:' deep, dark chocolaty, creamy goodness, finished with golden sprinkles.
 our handmade Recitherapy business cards! thank you, Nicole, for your tireless hand-written work of love. ;)
 Chocolate dipped Benton's Bacon: pretty self-explanatory and pretty much to die for. i used semi-sweet chocolate for the dip, it contrasts nicely with the saltiness.
Purple Mashed Potato Martinis: a creamy blend of purple fingerling potatoes, salted butter and beet root juice. poured atop greek yogurt and finished with extra-sharp cheddar & chives.
 and Lauren begins!
go girl! showin' off those KILLER pants that I'm dying to have.
 yours truly over there, photographing pathetic iPhone snapshots while our beautiful Ashtin is taking big girl photos.
It was a fabulous event. Couldn't have asked for a better staff to work with, a more loving crowd of hungry and shop ready women, or a better friend than Lauren. What a joy it was to create tasty, pretty treats for these girls! I'm so grateful they asked me! And I'm so grateful to share it with you here on Recitherapy. Thank you for your sweet little notes and comments, encouraging me through the planning process! Your support means the world and keeps my hands akneading!

Enjoy these recipes and send photos my way when you make them!


Tomato Tarte Tatin: adapted from La Tartine Gourmande blog
  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
  • roughly 2lbs roma tomatoes, sliced in half. (i say roughly because you'll use as many as will fit sliced in half in your skillet)
  • 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • fresh oregano
  • sea salt
  • pepper
for the pastry:
  • 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 4 Tablespoons sugar
  • 4 Tablespoons butter, chilled
Make your pastry! It needs to chill for 1 hour so do that first. Put the flour and sugar in food processor and pulse until combined. Add the chilled butter and 1-2 Tablespoons cold water and pulse until it resembles coarse crumbs and begins to clump a little. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Get out and set aside an 11 or 12 inch tart pan with removable base and a rimmed baking sheet. In a large skillet, big enough to hold all the tomatoes, melt the butter and dissolve in the sugar. When the mixture starts to caramelize, add the tomatoes, cut side UP. Lower the heat and cook until the tomatoes start to release their juices, about 10 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Leaving the juices in the pan, arrange the tomatoes in the tart pan, completely filling it, cut side UP. Sprinkle with fresh oregano, salt and pepper, and if you so desire, spoon a little of the butter mixture over the tomatoes.

Roll out the pastry dough to your desired thickness and cut around it to make an 11 or 12 inch circle. Place it over the tomatoes and tuck in the edges. Puncture the dough with a fork all over the top. Carefully, place the tart pan on top of your baking sheet and place in the oven. Immediately reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for 30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.

Once the tart has cooled for 5 minutes, gently release the dough from the sides of the pan with a butter knife, place a large plate over the tart and gently, with oven mitts, flip the baking sheet and tart upside down, releasing the tart right side up onto the plate. Garnish with lost of fresh oregano, sea salt & pepper. Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil on top to serve.
And you end up with this gorgeous thing!

No apologies for the photo heavy post! It was about time we had some proper beautiful shots of all this lovely food and I'm enjoying it! I hope you have as well and I hope it's inspired you to make a few of these goodies yourself!
XOX and happy weekending!

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Thai Basil Cucumber Smoothie

I'm calling this "Thai" because it tastes like a drink you'd order at a Thai restaurant. I didn't actually use Thai basil, I used regular sweet basil. ANYWAYS- You're gonna want to try this. It's the perfect, refreshing pre-dinner drink to have when your stomach is starting to rumble at 4:00 and you know you've got another three hours to wait. ;) (that said, it's not necessarily heavy, but it's super flavorful and will do a number on your taste buds)

Gauge your amounts based on your preference to each ingredient. I happen to love everything I put in it so I went ape.

Fill up your Vitamix with a giant handful of fresh basil, stems, flowers and all. If you have them, toss in a few frozen basil cubes as well (they sell those at TJ's if you've never tried them- they're great). Pour in one half can coconut milk and a generous helping of almond milk. Slice up one whole cucumber and toss it in. I took a bit of the skin off because it was getting pretty bumpy in certain spots, but left most of it on. Squeeze in some agave or honey, we used agave and toss in two big handfuls of ice. Blend until smooth and enjoy!
This could also be served as a pre-dinner "shooter" if you were having friends over for Pad Thai or even take-out! Just pour it in cocktail glasses or even long shot glasses and garnish with a fresh sprig of basil!

** in other news... the photos have arrived from the Anthropologie style event I catered the other night! i will be posting those tomorrow along with the menu and a few of the recipes! so be sure to stop by when you're having your coffee break tomorrow for a little inspiration! ;)
xox

p.s. if you don't have one of these babies, invest in one. it's completely revolutionized my kitchen life.