thursday and friday i spent the majority of the day catering. the people i work for are incredibly talented when it comes to taste and presentation, and i think being around all the party planning has put me in quite the domestic mood. as if i need the extra influence. so i spent my friday night baking chocolate chip pumpkin cookies and carving pumpkins. i'm sensing a theme here. i love pumpkin flavored things. pie, cookies, bread, lattes. and after a good run with the marley dog on saturday afternoon i headed over to the wittes' house for the kelly & joel congrats on getting married party. we tried to keep it as unbridal showery as possible. we had a fire pit and grilled burgers and hot dogs. roasted s'mores and bobbed for apples. there was a general theme, of course. when have you ever known us to throw a party that didn't involve some sort of hokey plot. so in honor of the couple gettin' hitched we donned our cowboy boots and hats and sipped beers around the campfire. it was a good excuse to decorate. practice for the holidays. man i love playing hostess. good times. especially the finale. a good round of vacuuming.
the evening was capped off by a uncw reunion. the galloway girls piled into the nut for a late night of chatting and catching up. it's been years since the five of us were all in the same room at the same time. amazing. sunday morning was brisk and wonderful. fall is finally here. i can't wait to make chili and cornbread. and bake. looking up new recipes. yummy.
i hit the trails at the wwc again. this time on foot. i went by myself and figured it best to leave the bike behind when i'm on ny own. i just pictured myself flipping over the handlebars and lying there in the path until another rider happened along. some things are best done in the company of others. but running is me time. i strapped on my ipod and took off on the main trail looping around to pick up the carpet trail. running up and down the hills, jumping over roots, off rocks, the concentration, the music pumping. good afternoon.
marley and i took advantage of the nice fall weather and camped out in the backyard. makes me antsy to get out on the road. the fresh air. the sun rise. i love it. my cold nose poking out of my cozy. down sleeping bag. curled up next to the marley dog. that's a perfect moment to me. i'm gonna hang on to that one.
i'm off to be productive. a contributing member of society. is there such a thing as a professional pumpkin carver?
::pumpkin chocolate chip cookies::
ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
(you can substitute ginger, nutmeg and cloves for 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice mix)
2 cups (12oz bag) milk chocolate chips (i recommend ghirardelli whenever possible)
heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray or line with parchment paper.
using a mixer, beat the butter until smooth. beat in granulated and brown sugars, a little at a time, until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. beat in eggs one at a time. mix in vanilla and pumpkin puree. in a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. beat dry ingredient mixture into batter in thirds. stir in chips. scoop heaping tablespoons on to prepared cookie sheets (allow for spreading room between cookies). bake for 15-20 minutes or until cookies are browned around the edges. remove sheets from oven and let cookies rest for two minutes. remove with a spatula and finish cooling on wire racks.
::rosemary foccacia::
ingredients:
pizza dough (fresh or frozen)
fresh rosemary
extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt
cracked black pepper
i use prepared pizza dough for this recipe. if you would like to make your own, have at it. but i prefer the easy preparation and the awesome result. this is one time where you get something for next to nothing.
heat oven to 400 degrees. lightly flour counter and spread dough into rustic shape. allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes to fluff back up (this creates yummy bubbles in the crust) spread surface, generously with extra virgin olive oil (e.v.o.o. to all you rachel ray fanatics). pull rosemary leaves of the stem and chop coarsely. sprinkle over pizza dough. pinch kosher salt and cracked black pepper over dough. to taste. bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. snip into pieces with kitchen scissors and serve warm.
table salt, pepper and dried rosemary can be substituted. i just prefer the fresh and the melty quality of kosher salt. enjoy.
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