Food + Wine

D.I.Y IRISH CREAM

…because we better learn quick how to make the things we love.

I really don’t want to go into any coronavirus details. Do you? You’re getting all of that elsewhere and we need to just start thinking of this as a new normal for the time being. I mean, stay the hell at home, but we don’t need to get into everything here, right? You don’t come here for that anyway.

So it’s probably no secret that I’m a super prepare-er and planner and keep my kitchen and home stocked with back-ups all the time. Just on a normal week. My oldest and bestest friend in the world sent me a text over the weekend…

How are things? I feel like you’ve been training for this moment your whole life. 😍

I laughed at that for, oh… about 7 minutes. (We can all still joke and laugh now, right? Let’s not stop that. I mean, stay the hell at home, but let’s make sure we still find joy in things.)

So, yeah. Guess there’s never been a secret about my ways.

But I don’t stock up in, like, a freaky hoarder way… but more in a ‘well, we just don’t know what’s gonna happen and I’d rather be prepared for anything and then relax through life knowing I got it covered’ sort of way.

I also like making my own versions of things at home… and I know I’m not necessarily normal in doing any of these things. I like that I can control what’s in the things I’m eating or drinking, and I can feel better about all of it. Not just because the ingredients are likely to be more fresh and better in a homemade thing, but also because I truly feel proud and all around elevated making my own stuff.

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March 17, 2020 by
Food + Wine

Spatchcock Chicken, Re-visited . See Also Spatchcock Turkey

Ok, won’t be long here as this is sort of a post to remind you of old posts, but then putting them all together in one cohesive new post. Ya dig?

On my IGTV today, you see me demo how to Spatchcock a chicken, which is also something you can do for your Thanksgiving turkey! Same exact method, just a bigger bird in need of a bigger roasting space. That’s all.

Spatchcock. Ok, so Spatchcock is essentially to flatten it, or sort-of butterfly it. More surface area gets exposed to the heat contact, creating more yummy crispy bits, the breast won’t dry out, and it cooks in about half the time.

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November 21, 2019 by
Food + Wine

COCONUT COFFEE CAKE

When I was younger, I thought Coffee Cake had coffee in it. Otherwise, why call it Coffee Cake? It’s like hey – here’s a Chocolate Cake. But yeah – there’s no chocolate in it. Why would you think there’s chocolate in this chocolate cake, dummy? No, no. It’s just cake to have with chocolate. It’s just plain cake.

silly.

And then I made it one time in college from a recipe off the back of an Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix box. I was poor. Living alone. At our beach house (yeah, don’t feel too sorry). And my daddy was coming to visit, so like a good southern girl I wanted to have something for him when he got there. All I know is that I had all the ingredients needed to make that boxed coffee cake, and I was so proud.

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November 10, 2019 by
Food + Wine

Our Picadillo

I know you’re used to seeing a staged professional food photo here, but this post is bringing something different to the table, so you get my thumb.

If you saw my Instagram story yesterday (on my highlights as ‘our picadillo’ now), you watched my daughter and I make dinner together. I make dinner with the family a lot… it’s not a unique thing that it happened, but yesterday I just felt like documenting it from inception to the finish line. I’ve started letting my kids have more control and ownership over our family meals. I have them pick a country or region in the world, and then we make a dinner inspired by that place. Sometimes it involves my kids closing their eyes and pointing to a world map, and sometimes it’s just because my daughter made a new friend from Puerto Rico.

And that’s what brought us to our dinner yesterday.

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November 7, 2019 by