find a recipe!

A Life From Scratch.

A Life You Adore Around A Table You Love.

Playdates + baking = great things

/ By / 6 Comments

A new tradition has been established between a dear friend and me. Somehow at the end of our crazy weeks we come together to bake. After our conference calls have been completed and the crackers that the boys like have been picked up at Target and the obsessive stops at the J Crew sale have been made and the swim lessons are done and work has been (hopefully) finished (to pay for the obsessive J Crew stop) and the to do list has been dwindled down just a bit and the grocery shopping for dinner has been picked up and the wine has been chilled for a few moments in the freezer it is time to bake. Best therapy ever.

This blog was established to be a creative outlet for me in the kitchen. I was quite certain going into this that it would do just that. And that’s all I wanted out of it. What I did not expect was to have it bring me closer to people. To neighbors, strangers, friends I’ve known for years – friends I’ve known for months. One in particular that I have mentioned from time to time in posts is my dear friend, Catherine. I refer to her as my ‘editor’ as she is diligent about reading through each of my posts thoroughly and then consistently sends me a very kind email correcting where I was wrong. It is greatly appreciated.

Through our ‘baking’ play dates we have bonded over testing recipes, over wine, as well as over tantrums. L has found two great friends in Catherine’s sons. They are amazing boys and together are already establishing traditions of their own. Somehow they got in the routine of swapping pj’s. They are currently in a super hero phase. I literally saw Catherine’s youngest transform into his alter ego of ‘Super Man’ when he put on the pajamas and then proceeded to run around the house like a crazed person. It was awesome!

The boys are getting into the baking process as well. Today we were out of cream, so Catherine had to go out. At that point the running around the circle of the family room stopped and all three superheros decided they wanted to ‘help’ me at the same time. Ok then! Trying to get 3 boys under 5 to wait their turn and then perfectly measure 4 cups of flour? More wine please.

The point in all of this is that they are getting into it. Catherine’s youngest loves and requests the blueberry muffins. Her oldest wants to help us mix things. L loves to chop as well as crack eggs. As we swap stories from our week and they play and then we hear screaming from the basement followed by ‘you can NOT hit your brother with a bat’ as well as ‘ok I’m going to give you two choices. 1. You can stop whining and I will continue to play with you or 2. I will just go home’ (L…really??) it is comforting to know that something is slowly baking to perfection in the double oven.

Well, if you’ve stuck with me through reading all of the above, you are certainly due for one special recipe. And this is it. This recipe was a part of the ‘challenging’ myself in the kitchen aspect of this blog as I have never made scones before. I was a tad nervous – especially with the dough part. I’ve watched Ina do it flawlessly on TV many times before but could never envision myself doing it quite as nicely. As I handled the dough it really wasn’t scary, at all. The whole process came rather natural – whew! It’s funny how things can happen like that. Why did I wait so long to try?

Make them for (or with!) a special friend and enjoy together.

Cranberry Orange Scones
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. 4 cups plus 1/4 cups flour
  2. 1/4 cup white sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
  3. 2 TBS baking powder
  4. 2 tsp salt
  5. 1 TBS orange zest
  6. 3 sticks unsalted butter, diced
  7. 4 eggs, lightly beaten
  8. 1 cup heavy cream
  9. 1 cup cranberries
  10. 1 egg, light beaten + 2 TBS milk for egg wash
  11. 1/2 cup + 2 TBS powdered sugar
  12. 4 tsp freshly squeezed orange juice
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Combine the 4 cups of flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest in mixer. Add in butter and mix slowly until the butter becomes 'pea sized.' Whisk together the 4 eggs and the cream. Slowly pour into the mixer until just combined. Toss the cranberries in the remaining 1/4 cup of flour. Add to the dough and combine.
  3. Dump the (very sticky) dough onto a floured surface. Don't worry, this is the fun part! Flour your hands and create a nice ball. Flour your rolling pan and roll until about 3/4's of an inch thick. Using a floured 3 inch pastry cutter cut out the scones and place on the baking sheet.
  4. Combine the last egg with the milk and brush lightly on top of each of the scones. Sprinkle with sugar and bake for about 20 minutes.
  5. Combine the scraps from the dough, form another ball, and repeat the process. You should end up with roughly 20 scones.
  6. Once the scones have cooled, combine the powdered sugar and orange juice to form a glaze and drizzle over the top of the scones.
Adapted from Ina Garten
Adapted from Ina Garten
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

Ok Catherine – I’m ready for my errors on this post. I’m expecting a lot tonight.
Courtney

P.S. Some snapshots from the baking play date! Superheros included:


‘If I’m going to eat a burger…’

/ By / 13 Comments

It’s going to be this one.

If you haven’t figured out by now, I have a sweet tooth. Scratch that – I have sweet TEETH. It’s a bit of a problem if not properly balanced out with extreme healthy eating when it comes to my meals. I have to admit – I am quite disciplined. Extremely healthy breakfasts (aside from the sticky buns), almost always a salad for lunch, and a homemade dinner where I can control the quality/quantity of ingredients. Not bad.

But then I have moments where I just HAVE to have a burger. Since it’s rare it better be amazing. I’m not going to waste the opportunity on driving through Culvers. No way. I’m making my own brie/blue-rugala burgers.

What on earth are those? Well, they are a combination of a few things: 1. Rachael Ray’s original recipe titled ‘Blue-rugala Burgers’ and 2. M’s refusel to grow up and join the adult world’s absolute LOVE of blue cheese so we need to purchase TWO excellent gourmet cheeses, blue and brie. Way to keep the grocery costs down M.

But wait! The burgers don’t stop at the cheeses. The meat is flavored perfectly, there are slowly caramelized onions with spicy dijon mustard and brown sugar, and to top it all off, peppery arugula to sit on top. Or, as my editor’s husband would say ‘salad that tastes like dirt.’ Honestly – why am I dining with these people? Catherine – let’s go out.

Blue/Brie-rugala Burgers
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. 1 1/2 lbs ground sirloin
  2. 3 cloves garlic, mined
  3. 3 TBS worchestershire
  4. Handful of parsley, chopped
  5. 2 onions, sliced
  6. 2 TBS olive oil
  7. 2 TBS butter
  8. salt & pepper
  9. splash of water
  10. 1 TBS light brown sugar
  11. 2 TBS spicy dijon mustard
  12. Good quality brie cheese
  13. Good quality blue cheese
  14. Arugula, enough for 4 hamburgers
  15. 4 buns, toasted if you prefer
Instructions
  1. Mix meat, garlic, worchestershire sauce, and parsley together lightly with a fork. Form 4 patties.
  2. Heat large skillet over medium low heat. Melt the butter and olive oil together. Add in the onions, season with salt & pepper, and cook over low heat for 20 minutes. Add in the splash of water, brown sugar, and mustard. Stir to combine, heat through, and then turn off heat.
  3. Meanwhile, heat the outdoor grill or indoor grill pan. Cook the burgers over medium heat for about 8 - 10 minutes. The last minute put a thick slice of the brie cheese and a thick slice of the blue cheese on each of the burgers. (Unless you are M. In this case he won't even touch the blue cheese going on to my burger. Sigh.) Toast the buns at this point if you'd like.
  4. Top the cheesy burgers with the caramelized onions and 'clean' arugula.
Adapted from Rachael Ray
Adapted from Rachael Ray
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

Totally worth logging in some miles on the treadmill. Totally.
Courtney

L’s chopped pecan cookies

/ By / 5 Comments

A long Monday at the salt mines. I couldn’t wait to get home to bake. The butter and eggs were already on the counter, thank you MB. L is funny – most of the time he ignores my baking with the occasional ‘why do you ALWAYS have to do that’ when the mixer is swirling around. Good question. But today he was all about it. I barely had my coat off and his stool was pushed up against the cabinets ready to go.

‘What are we making mom?’
‘Well, I was thinking chocolate chip cookies. With pecans. I bought a lot of pecans and would like to use them.’
‘Ok, peanut butter too right? For daddy?’
‘Ummm….no. I wasn’t planning on that.’
‘Daddy will be mad.’
‘I doubt that.’
‘He will.’

I then distracted him with some chocolate chips and we were good to go. Things were going well – all the ingredients were, for the most part, making it to the mixer and there were no egg shells in the batter. Things turned a bit south when the pecan chopping process began. I already got through the two cups when L pulled the stool around to help me. He grabbed, what I thought, was one of our very dull every day knives. No problem there – chop away dude. A few moments later I realized he was slowly and diligently chopping the pecans with one of our very NOT dull steak knives. Now daddy might be mad at that. Disaster avoided though – all 10 fingers were still in tact. Whew!

These cookies are chewy and crunchy all at the same time. If you love pecans you’ll love them. You can of course substitute walnuts. Bonus, there is only ONE stick of butter in these cookies. What a nice change of pace from my typical 2 sticks. Ok fine, yes, (sometimes) 3 sticks.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. 1 stick unsalted butter
  2. 3/4 cup sugar
  3. 1 cup light brown sugar
  4. 1 tsp vanilla
  5. 2 large eggs
  6. 1 1/2 cups flour
  7. 1 tsp baking soda
  8. 1 tsp salt
  9. 1 cup oats
  10. 12 oz chocolate chips
  11. 2 cups pecans, chopped
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in vanilla and mix, then eggs one at a time and mix together. Add in sifted flour, baking soda, and salt slowly. Stir in oats, chocolate chips, and pecans by hand. Drop by just the TBS onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
  3. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes, depending on your oven.
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

Spending the time with L baking these and enjoying them together is just what I needed on this particular Monday late afternoon.

Thanks L,
Courtney

‘Occasional’ Sticky Buns

/ By / 11 Comments

Before we proceed: these are not, by any means, a healthy way to start your day. If you are looking for that please head on over to the homemade granola bars or the banana crunch muffins. Those are both completely acceptable forms of breakfast for your normal day to day routine. These are not.

We were at brunch while on vacation when I saw M consume a sticky bun in lighting fast speed. I’m don’t think he even made it to the table to eat it – more of a ‘grab from the serving table and inhale on the way back and hope no one is looking’ kind of thing. But I was. I’d never seen him eat something so sweet so fast. So of course my first Saturday home I had to replicate.

I LOVED how this recipe turned out and it will for sure become a ‘staple’ in our home. I will always try to have the ingredients on hand to whip them up in case a good friend stops by or a neighbor deserves a treat. They are everything a sticky bun should be – warm, gooey, melty, chewy. With a glass of (I’m thinking skim) milk they are the perfect occasional treat for breakfast.

'Occasional' Sticky Buns
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. 1 stick unsalted butter
  2. 1/3 cup light brown sugar
  3. 1/2 cup peans, chopped in large pieces
  4. 1 package frozen puff pastry, defrosted
For the filling
  1. 2 TBS unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  2. 2/3 cup light brown sugar
  3. 3 tsp cinnamon
  4. 1 cup raisins or cranberries
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place a 12 cup muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
  2. Mix together the stick of butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 rounded tsp of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle the pecans evenly among the muffin cups on top of the butter/sugar mixture.
  3. Lightly flour a wooden/stone surface. Unfold 1 sheet of puff pasty with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet lightly with the melted butter. Leaving a 1 inch border on the puff pasty, sprinkle with 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1.5 tsp of cinnamon and 1/2 cup of raisins/cranberries. Starting from the left side slowly roll the pastry snugly finishing the roll with the seam side down. Trim both ends of the roll. Slice in 6 equal pieces and place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pasty for a total of 12 sticky buns.
  4. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden brown. Allow to cool for 5 minutes only then invert the buns onto the parchment paper. Spoon out any of the filling that did not fall out. Yummmm.
Adapted from Ina Garten
Adapted from Ina Garten
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

I’m thinking plain whole wheat toast with fruit for breakfast tomorrow…
Courtney

83 degrees to 33 degrees. Time for some comfort.

/ By / 10 Comments

Tuesday morning I was sunning myself in 83 degrees. Tuesday night I was dragging my luggage through the parking lot at O’hare with the wind/rain/ice hitting me at a balmy 33 degrees. Awesome. Why, again, do we live here? We seem to ask ourselves that question yearly and yet we never move. Hmmm.

The past 2 days have been a bit of a system shock. Snowy weather + no food in the house + back to the saltmines = one slightly cranky Courtney. Time to get myself to a better place. Beautiful hydrangeas on sale at Fresh Market? Yes please. Comforting bowl of Italian Wedding Soup? On it.

I’m obsessed with this recipe. It definitely falls in my ‘top 5’ soup category. I find it really fun making teeny tiny little meatballs – they are super cute. And the ‘body’ of the soup comes together very easily so it doesn’t take long before you go from chopping away to sipping comfort. Let’s hope this melts the last of the snow on the ground away….I can see tulip bulbs!

Italian Wedding Soup
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients for meatballs
  1. 3/4 lbs ground chicken
  2. 1/2 lbs italian chicken sausage, casings removed
  3. 2/3 cup fresh bread crumbs
  4. 1 egg, lightly beaten
  5. 2 garlic cloves, minced
  6. 3 TBS milk
  7. 3 TBS freshly chopped parsley
  8. 1 cup freshly grated parmesan
  9. salt & pepper
Ingredients for soup
  1. 2 TBS olive oil
  2. 1 large onion, chopped
  3. 6 carrots, chopped
  4. 4 celery stalks, chopped
  5. 12 cups good chicken stock
  6. 3/4 cup good white wine (use the bottle you are sipping on!! Yum)
  7. 1 cup small pasta (stars, noodles, whatever you prefer)
  8. 1/3 cup freshly chopped dill
  9. cooked meatballs from above
  10. 12 ounces fresh spinach or kale, whatever looks freshest
  11. salt & pepper, to taste
  12. more parmesan, for sprinkling on top
Directions for meatballs
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Mix above ingredients together with a fork until just combined. Drop by the TBS onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 30 minutes. It should make about 30ish small meatballs.
Directions for soup
  1. Heat olive oil in large soup pot over medium heat. Saute onion, carrots, and celery until tender, about 8 minutes. Pour in stock and wine and bring to a boil. Lower heat, add pasta, and cook for 7 minutes. Add in dill and meatballs and simmer for a few minutes. Add in spinach/kale and allow to cook for another minute. Add salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls immediately and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Adapted from Ina Garten
Adapted from Ina Garten
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

I REFUSE to put on my winter coat again.
Courtney

P.S. These changed my day and I love things like that so had to share – I hope they brighten yours:

Top