Nigella Lawson is, and will always be, one of my absolute favorites. Not for her recipes but her simple approach and awesome attitude towards cooking and life in general; recipes will never be prepared the same twice, and that’s ok (I’d like to think there are other, bigger metaphors in that). I saw her make something along these lines (via rerun on Youtube), but switched things up to make it seasonal (trust me, I tried my darndest to find plums!). 

French Toast: 

4 slices of stale wheat bread

2 eggs

2 tbs. brown sugar 

1/8 tsp. fresh nutmeg 

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 

1/2 tsp. almond extract 

Pear compote: 

1 unripe pear (I used Bosc), sliced

1 tbs. butter

1 c. cranberry juice 

1/4 c. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon (ground! In the video she uses sticks, but I prefer ground)

In a sauce pan on medium, stir sugar, cinnamon, butter and cranberry juice until the sugar is disolved. Add pear slices, and turn down to low. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes, until tender. 

For toast, whisk together all ingredients (except for the bread!). Soak each slice of bread for a minute or two on each side (dense french toast is where it’s at). Heat up a griddle, and cook until each side is golden brown. Serve with hot pear compote over the top! 

NOTES AND SUCH: Most importantly, use an unripe pear! There really isn’t too many delicious, ripe pears in grocery stores right now (as they are out of season), and this is a great way to use fresh fruit during the dead of winter. In Nigella’s video, she talks about stirring sugar before turning on the heat— to tell you the truth, I’m not sure if that’s a real thing or not (it maybe effects the way the sugar caramelizes? I don’t know!). Maybe next time I’ll test it! 

Happy holidays and new year! I took this past week off to enjoy the festivities (and eat my weight in sugar daily). And I was absolutely spoiled this year! I think my two favorite things I got for Christmas were my new Instax Mini and a 50mm lens for my DSLR! Thanks Mom and Dad. Anyway, it’s officially winter! I’ll try not to bore you guys with an onslaught of stews and root vegetables. 

1 large head of cauliflower

1 onion, chopped

2 tbs. butter

3-4 cups of vegetable broth

White truffle oil, to taste. 

In a large pot, saute onions until in butter translucent. Add chopped cauliflower and roast until it starts to brown. Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Cook until the cauliflower breaks with the touch of a spoon. 

Take the soup off of the heat. Using a blender, puree soup until creamy. Put back on the stove to reheat, and add salt and pepper as needed. When serving, drizzle with white truffle oil. 

TIPS: Delicious! And so easy… It took me about 30 minutes to make from start to finish, including clean up. Be careful with the amount of truffle oil you use— you only need a little bit (or else it’ll get waaay too strong). WINTER SOUPS, AHOY! 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! It’s the last day of fall, and my last recipe is JUST in the nick of time. SO, I’ve gotten a few requests for christmas-time cupcakes. To me, the holidays equal twinkling lights, pine tree candles, red wine and maybe a glass of eggnog to top the night off. Last year my mom made wonderful homemade eggnog which gave me the inspiration for these! Top with a little bit of cinnamon and you have yourself a wonderful, festive, untraditional dessert… 

Cupcakes: 

1/2 c. butter

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 shot of rum

1/2 c. eggnog

Frosting:

1 shot of rum

1 c. butter

1/4 c. eggnog

Powdered sugar to taste (I used about 3 cups)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs. Mix all dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Slowly add a third of the dry ingredients to the wet,  stopping to add some eggnog/rum. Once it’s all combined, scoop into a lined cupcake pan. For frosting, whip butter, rum and eggnog until smooth. Add powdered sugar in 1/2 c. increments until you achieve desired flavor and thickness! Make sure your cupcakes are completely cool before frosting. 

Notes for the coolest cupcakes: CUPCAKES! I love em. Despite the small amount of eggnog added to these, they tasted QUITE like the holiday drink! I think the rum and the cinnamon helped. The cupcakes were delicious, but a little dense. The next time I might leave out a 1/4 cup of flour or so to see if that would help. Other than that, top with a cinnamon stick and enjoy!