Gingerbread Spice Dutch Baby

I tried another wonderfully simple recipe from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook:

Ingredients:

2 large eggs
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon molasses
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground ginger
Pinch of ground cloves
Pinch of fresh grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Maple syrup, serving
Powdered sugar, serving 

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the eggs in a blender and blend until smooth and pale in color. Add the brown sugar, molasses, flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, salt, and milk and blend until smooth.

Melt the butter in a 9-inch ovenproof skillet over high heat, swirling it up the sides to evenly coat the pan. Pour the batter into the skillet and transfer to the oven. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pancake is puffed up. Remove from the oven, dust with powdered sugar, and drizzle with maple syrup.

Kehinde Wiley

So inspired by painter Kehinde Wiley.

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

One of my very favorite places.

Tomato Soup

This soup is so easy to make and the perfect thing to make if you have any extra tomatoes.



























Tomato Soup
3 pounds plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large or 4 small cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1/4 teaspoon dried
1/4 teaspoon (or more to taste) dried crushed red pepper
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Make soup: Preheat oven to 400°F. Wrap garlic cloves in a tight foil packet. Place tomatoes, cut side up, on large baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper (I used 1 full teaspoon of Kosher salt). Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil. Add foil packet of garlic to tray. Roast until tomatoes are brown and tender (garlic will be very tender), about 1 hour. Cool slightly.

Unwrap garlic packet and peel cloves. Transfer cloves, tomatoes and any accumulated juices to a blender or food processor and pulse machine on and off until tomatoes are a chunky puree. Transfer tomatoes to medium pot and add thyme, crushed red pepper and stock and bring to a boil Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Remove from heat and adjust seasonings to taste.

Bishopville, SC

Jersey Girl in Colorado: Skiing

So happy Laura and Benoit were able to visit us in Colorado. We checked out Winter Park together and had a great time. The Après-ski drinks were the best.

Après-ski

Creepy dude in the facemask

A Bachelorette in the City

Recently I  visited New York for Laura's bachelorette party. We took a fun class at body + pole, had an amazing dinner at Dos Caminos, and ended the night at a karaoke place somewhere in Koreatown.

I can't wait for the wedding in May!