EAT DRINK PRETTY: May 2010

Friday, May 28, 2010

Blueberry scones

I made blueberry scones last weekend for a lovely brunch I had with two girlfriends. I adore weekends where there is time in the morning to bake muffins or scones. There is something so warm and comforting about sitting down to a lazy breakfast.

I've come to realize how important/helpful it is to read reviews of recipes. These scones were very good, but I made a few modifications based on what I read in the reviews. I've incorporated those changes in the recipe below. The scones were by no means perfect, for some reason they came out a bit flatter than I would have liked, but were still very moist and tasted great.

Blueberry Scones (adapted from All Recipes)

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, chilled
1 cup fresh blueberries
3/4 cup half-and-half cream
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2.Cut butter into mixture of flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest and salt. Add blueberries and toss to mix.
3.In separate bowl beat together cream, vanilla and egg, and slowly pour into dry ingredients, stirring with rubber scraper until dough/batter forms.
4.Using the drop method, drop heaping spoonfuls on to a greased and lightly floured cookie shoot and sprinkle tops with sugar.
5.Bake on ungreased sheet about 20 minutes at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Serve warm!!

The original recipe called for kneading the dough and on a lightly floured board, shape each half into a 6-inch round then cut into 6 wedges. The reviews all said the batter was too wet to be handled which is why the drop method is recommended. I also found the batter to very very wet. I supposed this could also be handled by adding more flour.

I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! Mine will be spent at a cabin with friends, then a date night with my honey and having my family over on Monday. The weather in MN couldn't be more perfect! What are your plans?

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Recipe index and more...

I am taking a break from a regular post today because I am working on a recipe index for the blog. The index will help you find recipes faster and will hopefully provide some inspiration for you in the kitchen!

I am about a third of the way done with the index and this project has made me realize that I bake way too many cupcakes and there is no question where the extra few pounds have come from over the past year. I hope you enjoy the recipe index, it will be complete early next week.

Also, I received the Eat Drink Pretty dessert table photos from Sewell Photography yesterday! The photos are gorgeous and I can't wait to post them (sometime within the next week or so...)

Thanks so much for stopping by Eat Drink Pretty!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Recipe index

Appetizers/Starters

Bread

Breakfast

Dessert

Drinks

Indian

Main Course

Salad

Side Dish

Soup

Chicken enchiladas

Now that there is daylight until later in the evening, I can photograph some of the delicious meals I've been making for dinner! The other week I made chicken enchiladas adapted from a Tyler Florence/Food Network recipe. These enchiladas were really good but I did make some minor modifications to the recipe. I added 6 chipotle chiles instead of 4 (add even more if you like it spicy!) and next time I would probably omit the corn. I am not a huge fan of savory and sweet combined and the corn gave the enchiladas a bit of a sweetness.

Chicken Enchiladas (adapted from Food Network)

Ingredients

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast
Salt and pepper
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon Mexican Spice Blend
1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
5 canned whole green chiles, seeded and coarsely chopped
4 canned chipotle chiles, seeded and minced
1 (28-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
16 corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce, canned
1 cup shredded Cheddar and Jack cheeses

Garnish: chopped cilantro leaves, chopped scallions, sour cream, chopped tomatoes

Directions

Coat large saute pan with oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken over medium heat, allow 7 minutes each side or until no longer pink. Sprinkle chicken with cumin, garlic powder and Mexican spices before turning. Remove chicken to a platter, allow to cool.

Saute onion and garlic in chicken drippings until tender. Add corn and chiles. Stir well to combine. Add canned tomatoes, saute 1 minute.

Pull chicken breasts apart by hand into shredded strips. Add shredded chicken to saute pan, combine with vegetables. Dust the mixture with flour to help set.

Microwave tortillas on high for 30 seconds. This softens them and makes them more pliable. Coat the bottom of 2 (13 by 9-inch) pans with a ladle of enchilada sauce. Using a large shallow bowl, dip each tortilla in enchilada sauce to lightly coat. Spoon 1/4 cup chicken mixture in each tortilla. Fold over filling, place 8 enchiladas in each pan with seam side down. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated 350 degree F oven until cheese melts. Garnish with cilantro, scallion, sour cream and chopped tomatoes before serving. Serve with Spanish rice and beans.

Do you have a good enchilada recipe that you can share? Comment on this post or send an email to eatdrinkpretty@gmail.com.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Love shoot: Kimber and Chas

I have a super sweet engagement shoot to share today sent by Melissa Oholendt Photography. Melissa just celebrated the one year anniversary of her photography business yesterday and I have a feeling there are many successful years to come.

This engagement sessions is sweet, soft and completely lovely. A little about they couple; they met singing on a church praise team and decided to form a band together and fell in love. So sweet! The shoot took place near Park City, Utah.

Isn't the lighting amazing??

This one is my favorite. Which one is yours?

Thanks to Melissa Oholendt Photography for sharing this shoot with us!

Monday, May 24, 2010

Cupcakes in nut/souffle cups

I baked these cute cupcakes in nut/souffle cups over the weekend. My sister and I picked up the cups at Michaels while shopping for items for her upcoming wedding. (The cupcakes and frosting were made from a mix and store-bought frosting, big time cheating. Oh well.)

I was mostly interested in figuring out how to bake cupcakes using these cups instead of cupcake liners. A muffin pan is not necessary, you simply put the cupcakes on a baking sheet and fill up 2/3 full.

One note, these don't peel away easily like cupcake liners. You either have to eat these cupcakes with a fork, or cut the cup using a scissors.

I piped the frosting using a large round tip.

I tried a different decorating method and spread the frosting on top with some pink sprinkles.

I also baked blueberry scones on Saturday, post to come later this week. Did you have any fun baking adventures over the weekend?

Friday, May 21, 2010

Cupcake topiary

{Photo credit: Kristen of Miss Prissy Paige}

I've seen quite a few topiaries lately, are they becoming somewhat of a trend??? Check out this adorable cupcake topiary sent to me by Kristen of Miss Prissy Paige blog. Kristen made this topiary for Mother's Day. If you are inclined to make one yourself she has a full tutorial on her blog.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Tomato, basil and goat cheese tartlets

I made these tomato, basil and goat cheese tartlets last weekend inspired by a recipe from the last Whole Foods cooking class I attended. Click here for the recipe. I made a bunch of modifications including swapping out the olivada (the olive, garlic, thyme and olive oil puree) for tomato and basil and used herbed, crumbly goat cheese instead of goat brie. I used a small wine glass (or maybe it was a champagne glass?) to cut out the circles.

These were awesome and really simple appetizers. Puff pastry is my new best friend.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Adorable pies in jars

Are you ready for total pie cuteness overload? I made these pies in jars last Friday on my day off from work after finding some inspiration from the blogosphere. I was thrilled that not only were these super easy, but they are delicious and the freaking cutest thing I've ever seen.

I purchased the mini canning jars from Ace Hardware (12 jars for $9.50) and used a pre-made unbaked pie crust (near the pillsbury biscuits in your grocery store). For the filling I used a strawberry rhubarb filling from Simply Recipes. The filling is very easy and a great way to use rhubarb, which is very much in season right not.

Strawberry Rhubarb filling (adapted from Simply Recipes)

Ingredients

3 cups rhubarb stalks cut into 1/2 inch pieces (Trim outside stringy layer of large rhubarb stalks; make sure to trim away any and discard of the leaves which are poisonous; trim ends.)
1 cup strawberries, stemmed and sliced
1 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons of quick cooking tapioca (I used Minute brand tapioca)
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of grated orange peel

Method
Mix the rhubarb and the strawberries with the sugar, tapioca, salt, and orange rind. Let sit for 10 minutes.

For directions on how to assemble and bake the pies in jars, check out Our Best Bites blog.

I even attempted a mini lattice pattern...didn't turn out that great but still pretty cute!

I made a few of these mini pies in jars and some of the tops sunk in or the filling oozed out. I think you have to be very careful about only spooning the solid filling into the jars and avoid too much liquid. Also, be sure to not put too much filling into the jar or it will overflow while baking.

I had some extra pie crust and strawberry rhubarb filling so I made some pie pops, instructions courtesy of the always amazing Bakerella. These were also super easy and perfect, little bites of pie. Can you stand the cuteness???

Make these pies in jars and pie pops! They were both incredibly easy but has a major wow factor. They would be perfect for any baby/bridal shower.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Real wedding: Ashley and Scott, October 2009

{Photo credits: Top row: whitebox weddings, Brides. Second row: jasmine star, The Knot, pen carlson. Third row: carly mccray, melissa jill, tec petaja bottom row: instyle weddings, jasmine star}

Ashley and Scott had a gorgeous wedding filled with traditional elegance in their hometown, Eau Claire, WI. Ashley found the above inspiration board on Fabulous Planner blog that helped bring her vision of a formal, romantic wedding filled with deep jewel tones to life. Ashley is a colleague of mine and it is no surprise that her wedding was super stylish. Best of all, you can tell from the photos that this was a wedding where each and every guest was out on the dance floor having a blast.

The lovely photos were taken by Wendy Woods.

Gorgeous Ashley + handsome Scott = a very cute couple

We would all be so lucky to look this good on our wedding day!

How amazing are those callas?

Ashley had red uplighting throughout the reception which brought a warm glow to the room.

A vase made of ice, very cool.

Pretty centerpieces.

Vanilla cake with raspberry filling and light whipped icing. Yum.

See what I mean about everyone having fun?

Ashley and Scott had a photo booth brought in (it was made by one of our coworkers).

Thanks to Ashley for sharing her beautiful wedding!

Monday, May 17, 2010

Love shoot: Kat and Drew

If you are a regular visitor (thank you!) of Eat Drink Pretty you know by now that my younger sister recently got engaged. Katie and Drew are getting married in September with a small and intimate wedding that is very budget-friendly. They didn't want to spend money on engagement photos so I volunteered to take them.

The photos are by no means great but I am happy with them because they capture the essence of Katie and Drew; a sweet, good-natured couple that are very much in love.

The photos were taken with a Canon Rebel XSI and a 50 mm 1.8 lens. I don't have editing software so they are straight out of the camera, not to mention that the lens is brand new and I don't really know what I'm doing with it.

Regardless, here are the photos and the cute, newly engaged couple. Do you have lovely engagement photos that you would like featured? Submit them to eatdrinkpretty@gmail.com.

We incorporated a few props into the shoot including a cut-out heart, a baby's breath bouquet and a black and white gingham blanket.

The photos were taken at a nature center where the couple got engaged. It was a gorgeous spring day.

I purchased the baby's breath at the farmer's market for $5/bunch. Katie and I made the bouquet in about 5 minutes. We trimmed the stems, wrapped in floral tape and finished it off with a black ribbon. Katie is going to have a baby's breath bouquet on her wedding day so it was good practice. I love how simple and sweet this bouquet is, best of all it cost about $6.50 to make!