I Am... Mini Puff Pastry Apple Rose Recipe
Do you guys ever see stuff on Pinterest or Facebook and become obsessed? It happens to me quite a lot, probably because I look at so many food photos. But it's rare that I keep thinking about it and thinking about it until the point where I actually make it. I have so many recipes tagged that I want to make, but because I'm always acquiring new ideas and recipes, I hardly ever actually make the things I intend to. Well, that changed with these little puff pastry apple roses.
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I Am... Slow Braised Japanese Chashu Pork
I get absurdly nostalgic around the holidays, even for things that happened just a year or two ago. I feel just as much for the memories formed just a short while ago (as short as last week!) as I feel for cherished, barely remembered childhood memories. I'm the sentimental sort – I cry at happy/sad commercials, I'm constantly taking photos in order to commemorate the everyday, and I am always reminiscing, sometimes even in the moment.
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I Am... The Ultimate Meat-Lovers Pizza
Happy December! I'm so excited it's finally here: the perfect month to cozy up, listen to Christmas music, and eat pizza. When I was a kid I had an obsession with pepperoni pizza. The thing is, I didn't eat it all the time – nope, I was obsessed with it because I never got to eat it. My parents' pizza of choice was always Hawaiian. And while I loved (and still love) the combination of savory ham and sweet pineapple on pizza, I wanted a taste of the unknown. I wanted what I didn't have.
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I Am... 2015 Holiday Gift Guide
Happy Friday! It's the day after Thanksgiving and that means it's time for leftovers and the start of the holiday season! My eyes get extra sparkly right around now because it really is the most wonderful time of the year. Just a couple more days until the beginning of my all time favorite holiday season – the season of food indulgence and gift giving. I’m obsessed with gift giving and I really really love gift guides so, here we go, these are my picks for 2015.
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I Am... Sweet and Sour Crispy Chicken Strips
Mike and I spent the last week or so in Iceland and I'm completely smitten. I feel like this country has it all: gorgeously fluffy sheep, black sand beaches, glaciers, and an increased chance of seeing the aurora. We had been kicking around the idea of visiting Iceland for while and I'm so happy that we finally did. It's otherworldly here.
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I Am... Sunday Brunch: Tuna Melt Waffles
Are you guys fans of tuna? I used to be obsessed with tuna fish sandwiches in elementary school, until someone made fun of my smelly lunch. I was pretty sensitive as a kid, so after that I only ever ate tuna sandwiches at home. But, it wasn't really too much of a problem, because tuna sandwiches are really so much better as tuna melts! Who doesn't love tuna and melty cheese on toasted bread?
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I Am... Thanksgiving Turkey Five Ways
I know this guy whose family used to eat a turkey dinner every month. I'm talking oven roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, the entire works. He used to complain about it, but it sounded (still sounds) like heaven to a turkey lover like me! But, now that I think about it a little more, it probably wasn't a traditional turkey dinner at all. It's a lot more likely that they ate it turkey rice style, a popular regional Taiwanese way of cooking turkey. To them, turkey didn't equal Thanksgiving the way it does in North America. To them, turkey was delicious, regardless of the time of year, probably because it was a taste of home.
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I Am... Sweet and Savory Cheddar Cheese Muffins
Sometimes I see little kids at the mall with their parents and it brings me right back to when my mom used to take me along with her to run errands. I used to be bored out of my mind. I didn't at all understand why or how my mom could spend what seemed to me hours, picking out fruits and vegetables – or worse yet – household stuff. There was a silver lining though – errands always ended with a trip to the library (yes, I was a nerdy kid) and a stop for cheddar cheese muffins.
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I Am... Sunday Brunch: Bacon and Egg Gua Bao
Have you guys had bao before? It's kind of a catch all term for steamed buns – you know the kind that you see at dim sum in the steamy baskets, or maybe at your favorite Chinese joint, with pork belly tucked in? Bao come in all shapes and sizes but I'm especially fond of the fold over variety. When I see them, all puffy and fluffy, just waiting for fillings to be stuffed in, I get a little giddy thinking about the multitude of possibilities out there.
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I Am... Scoobi Doo Pasta with Burrata and Tomatoes
Did you guys know that spiral macaroni (cavatappi) is also known as scoobi doo? I find that completely hilarious and cute. It makes me want to eat spiral macaroni all the much more now that I know that it has a cutesy name. Pet names for pasta aside, this pasta dish is a last summer hurrah. I know we're in the thick of fall (and winter is coming), but I still see clamshells of hot house tomatoes at the store. The other day I caved and bought a package of rainbow cherry tomatoes because they brought a smile to my face.
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I Am... All Edges Brownie Cookies
There's something about baking cookies that makes a house super warm and inviting. Mike and I are back home after being away for a little while and I've fallen in love with our house all over again. I love knowing just exactly where everything is and seeing all the little ways we've made our house a home. After unpacking (my most hated chore, up there along with packing and folding laundry), I whipped up a quick batch of these cookies from the cookbook of the ever talented Samantha of Love, Cake.
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I Am... Dim Sum Barbecue Pork Buns
I don't know about you guys, but these days I don't have the opportunity to make as many new friends as I did when I was younger. The older I get, the harder it is to really connect with people. Maybe it's because I'm a crotchety old lady, or maybe it's because life is so much more complicated than, "hey, come over after school and play." Still, every once in a while someone comes along who I fall in friend-love with. Full disclosure: if I like you, I tend to latch on with a fierceness that I'm afraid can be a little bit alarming.
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