Favorite Dress of the Night

Mila Kunis in Elie Saab Haute Couture

Baked Potato Soup

Virginia was colder than I'd like it to be today so I decided to stay in and make something warm. I was close to choosing a Paula Deen recipe that included heavy whipping cream and bacon drippings, but I opted for a Cooking Light version instead. I'm so glad I did.

Cooking Light's All-Time Best Soup

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups soup, 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons onions, and about 1 tablespoon bacon)

Ingredients

• 4 baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 3 ounces)
• 6 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
• 1 cup (4 ounces) reduced-fat shredded extrasharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 3/4 cup chopped green onions, divided
• 6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
• Cracked black pepper (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes; coarsely mash.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Place flour in a large Dutch oven; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes). Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup cheese, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.

Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onions. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Ladle 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 8 bowls. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons onions, and about 1 tablespoon bacon. Garnish with cracked pepper, if desired.

A Little Obsessed: Kim Gordon's Watercolors

I'm so inspired by Sonic Youth's founder, Kim Gordon's series of "noise paintings" depicting her blurred vision of the audience from the stage. She describes what it's like to perform,

"I’m trying not to look directly at anyone in the front so the spell of concentration won’t be broken. Instead they appear as a collective mood."

Gordon's series also inspired inky prints for Cacharel's Spring 2011 womens wear. You can purchase her book of water colors here.

Happy Valentine's Day!

image via flannelanimal

Artist Profile: Debora Oden

Debora Oden was a printmaking professor of mine at SCAD. She taught me to love fibrous Japanese paper, chaotic mark making, and mono chromatic color themes. Her personal work is so very inspiring. She mainly uses a process called etching. Basically, she scratches a glass plate and fills the scratches with ink. Then she rolls the glass plate through a printing press onto paper. She explains the wild marks that are found in her pieces by saying,

"My prints are a record of my movement through place—the back and forth movement of the press, the folding and arranging of paper, of the rhythmic repetition of a tool scratching a plate, the scraping and wiping of ink. It is about the litany of inking and printing, the hand over hand movement as I strain to turn the wheel of the press, the clang and the roll of the press bed as it breaks free from the pressure of the roller. This print process structures my uncivilized marks and allows my work to contain both passion and grace. "

Last Minute Valentines

Maybe it's too late to send valentines out through the mail, but you can still send some love via Kate Spade's BMINE e-cards. I especially like a valentine that can combine love and bacon.

Game Day Recipe: Super Easy BBQ Pulled Chicken Sliders

Okay, so this isn't really a recipe because all you do is buy things and combine them. That being said, it is also really easy to make.

Ingredients:
Rotisserie Chicken (Found in the Deli section of most grocery stores)
BBQ Sauce (It's worth it to spend a little more on good sauce, I like Stubb's Original)
Mini Buns

1. Pull the chicken from the bone and add to a glass baking dish

2. Combine chicken with bbq sauce and bake for 20 minutes at 400°

3. Serve chicken with mini buns or biscuits

Go Pack!

Arrested Development Paper Dolls

It's been almost five years since the last episode aired, and I'm still hanging on to any Arrested Development action I can get. Will there really be a movie in 2012? Probs not, but at least illustrator Kyle Hilton created these paper dolls to hold me over for a bit. See more on Paste.

Holy Snowstorm!

More snow tomorrow? Hopefully it's all hype, but PA has been pretty ridiculous to drive in this week. Below is a photo of today's massive snow attack as seen from space.

Images via NASA

Desktop Wallpapers for February

So excited it's finally February. Not only is it the month of love, it's also one month closer to spring! To celebrate, I'm giving away free desktop wallpapers. Double click any of the images below to download the high resolution version. Enjoy!

XXXO
Andra