On Christmas Eve, my fiance and I traveled up to his family's home in Alexandria, Va., where I tied on an apron to cook with my future mother-in-law.
Miss Margaret is quite the gourmet cook, but even she had never tackled puff pastry and invited me to join her in recreating the New York Times' Fig and Stilton Cheese Tart for our Christmas Eve feast.
We started out by cutting onions in long slices, shaped sort of like parentheses, and I plucked sprigs of rosemary.
I also crumbled a wedge of Stilton blue cheese -- very, very creamy.
Meanwhile, the onions slowly caramelized in butter and sugar for 30 minutes, before I added sherry vinegar to pull up the brown bits. *We would have used more sherry vinegar than the recipe calls for.
Miss Margaret has a bountiful fig tree outside that yields so many green figs, she gives them away to restaurants. They were very ripe and had been frozen, so they were practically oozing. She sliced the figs in half while I was crumbling the cheese.
Once the onions were finished, we placed them in bowls with an egg mixture, then, using a fork, placed the onions in the center of a sheet of thawed puff pastry, leaving an inch to create a border.
Seriously. How gasp-worthy beautiful is that tart? Gotta love natural light, something my apartment has never seen.
Then we both brushed the remaining egg mixture along the sides of the pastry.
The most fun part: pinching the corner up around the center.
Finally, we popped them into the oven to bake. Fair warning: the egg will spill a little, so we had to do a little clean-up after that, but Miss Margaret said it would be just fine.
Ta-Da! And I helped!
In all seriousness, the tart was a masterpiece in terms of loveliness. It was maybe the most gorgeous, magazine-worthy item I've made.
Flavor-wise? Well...that's a bit of a different story. The recipe said it could be served fresh out of the oven or at room temperature, so we put some plastic wrap over it and left it out for half the day, then tried it as an appetizer. Room temperature was not so great; it definitely needs to be at least warm.
Also, we would have added some salt or more Stilton to counteract the sweetness of the ripe figs; the flavor of the cheese got a little lost. The consistency of the puff pastry was great, however, and the onions tasted just right.
Videos Relacionados:below I show related videos and not so related to this article.
TitleCourgette, goats cheese & toasted pine nut tart recipe by Gizzi Erskine
Pastries are one of my favourite things to eat, but generally they are fairly heavy and not so hot for your waistline. This tart uses minimal pastry and is rammed full of zingy summer flavours that are lighter on the lips. Make it for supper and use the leftovers for work.
Check out this and other recipes from Gizzi Erskine at http://bit.ly/bbblhrecipes
Title:Black Pepper Blinis Pancakes with Horseradish Cream (Tesco Recipe Video)
A recipe video for you to follow along with. For this and many more ideas head to www.tesco.com/grocery
{my thinkpad isn't lonely now that the internet is back}
Oh, hello there friends! The SE's are now back in the 21st century. Luckily I had a half day at work, and I was able to meet my knight in shining armor between 3-5pm. Who's that, you ask? The Comcast internet installer of course. We've been living in the dark ages for almost a month now, and I'm sure I came incredible close to losing it several times.
Recently I realized that we're a hash over 90 (92 to be exact) days from the wedding, and I'm beginning to panic. There was so much time spent enjoying our "fiance" glow, and relishing in all that is wedding idea gathering (or researching as I like to call it). But guess what? It's time to buckle down and make some decisions. Ahem- Mr. SE if you're reading this...that means you marching your fanny down to Men's Wearhouse and picking out some tuxes!
Luckily Mama SE is making another trip to Nashville this weekend, sans my dad, and we'll be doing a lot of lists, charts, and timelines. My favorite! Mom and I are going to make a game-plan of how to get different diy projects done, and delegate tasks for everyone to handle. If you are close to me- look out- I might have a task for you too!
So that was a random word vomit of what's been on my mind the past couple days. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some laundry to put in the dryer and a dog that needs to go out.
That's me, probably around Easter 1993 or so. You can take a girl out of ballet classes, but you can't take ballet classes out of the girl! I hope you all have a lovely Easter!
Friends, thank you for taking this journey with me! Our wedding weekend officially starts today and I couldn't be more excited. For those of you who have spent countless hours g-chatting with me and figuring out the perfect option for every single aspect of the wedding, to the bridesmaids that have flown all over the east coast for showers and bought gorgeous dresses, thank you.
These past eleven months of being engaged have been such a special time with Mr. SE, certainly not void of hiccups (but who's engagement isn't?), and we're so happy to have reached the finish line.
This is what our next couple days look like:
Today MassageFinish assembling seating chart (which I CAN'T wait to show you) Cookout for family and friends at our house
Friday Nails Bridal Luncheon Check into hotel Rehearsal/Rehearsal Dinner Saturday Marry the love of my life!
And for my sweet, wonderful Nashville bloggy friends who are attending the wedding- I cannot wait to see you on Saturday!
Signing off for the last time as MISS Sarah Elizabeth! xoxox
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I'm sure everyone's dying to hear the fashion opinions of a blogger who usually writes about cooking fails, but bear with me: Awards shows are my crack.
In a previous life, my goal was to become an entertainment reporter and in preparation, I read Entertainment Weekly like it was the Bible from 1994 to 2009 (I only stopped getting it because someone -- cough, sean -- didn't renew my gift subscription). I've watched the Golden Globes and the Oscars every year since at least 3rd grade, so I have a freakish institutional memory for awards shows. Also, I have a weakness for movie stars, montages, acceptance speeches and lifetime achievement awards.
All of that combined means, you can expect some awards show blather from me. But enough of that babble, onto my fashion picks!
Best Dressed
Emily Blunt, in Dolce & Gabbana, looked ethereal and delicate and pretty. The dress looked like a tutu reinterpreted as a gown and I sighed when I saw it.
I love, love, love how sparkly Anna Paquin's Alexander McQueen gown is, but her teeth always drive me insane, as does her Southern accent on True Blood.
I was so happy to see Maggie Gyllenhaal in a dress (by Roland Mouret) that not only fit, but brightened up her face and made her look elegant. She has a tendency to look dumpy, but not last night.
Penelope Cruz's Armani Prive gown seemed to capture her perfectly: the black lace is a nod to her Spanish heritage and the hair and shape recalled Rita Hayworth in Gilda. Perfect.
My girl crush Marion Cotillard looked gorgeous in a green Christian Dior dress. I loved that color; very subtle, very sexy.
Sandra Bullock looked radiant in this subtly sexy gown by Bottega Venetta. I also love that she thanked her make-up artists!
On the Fence
I just wasn't sure about Drew Barrymore's Atelier Versace gown. I liked the color, I liked the sparkle, and I can even stand the ruffle on the shoulder. But the one on the side...hm. It looked like a sparkly growth.
I dislike Chloe Sevigny on principle, so it's hard for me to support anything she wears. But this Valentino dress had beautiful movement; I just wasn't sure about the ruffles coming from the top on both sides. She looks like a manta ray.
Most Improved
Tina Fey looked adorable in this 50s-style Zac Posen dress and I loved her shoes, too. She almost always wears some boring black sheath, so it was great to see her try a different shape, a pattern and something fun.
Sean exclaimed "She looks great!" with genuine surprise when Christina Aguilera appeared in this delicate-yet-futuristic Versace gown. She looks so classy and grown-up; in recent years, she had kind of devolved into caricature of herself.
Worst Dressed
Jennifer Westfeldt, designer unknown. This dress looked like it was cobbled together by someone hoping to hit all the trends in one dress: it's black! It has a dinner plate-sized ruffle/rosette! It has lace! It's a lot of look with not a lot of focus.
I can appreciate different and avant-garde, but I don't see any merit to Julianne Moore's Balenciaga dress. It looks dumpy and the color does nothing for her.
Glee's Jayma Mays is so cute and is from my region (SWVA represent!), but I just couldn't love this Badgley Mischka dress, which looks like the top of a bridesmaid's dress combined with a spiderweb.
Jennifer Aniston: C'MON. Does she look hot? Yes. Is this a beautiful dress? Yes. But she wears black to EVERY EVENT EVER. She's a gorgeous girl with a smoking body and doesn't look her age even remotely. Black makes her look like she's in mourning.
I want to be very clear: I LOVE Christina Hendricks. I think she's the definition of a knockout and I like the shape of the Christian Siriano dress. It's very Marilyn Monroe. But the color and something about the ruffles remind me more of 80s prom dresses or something out of Madonna's early 90s videos. It seemed almost costume. I just wasn't feeling the color at all.
So there you have it. Agree? Disagree? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Take it to the comments, ya'll.
This isn't the first time I've posted about my wedding shoes. It's been an ongoing saga. The previous Nina shoes didn't work out, and I decided that closed-toe shoes would be too hot for our August affair.
So after ordering 7 pairs of shoes from Zappos (free shipping both ways = amazing), I have finally found my wedding shoe. She's so pretty and perfect and I just love how secure she makes my ankle feel. It goes without saying that we're a perfect match made in bridal heaven. She's currently a lovely shade of white satin, but she'll be sporting a more stylish look on our wedding day.
I'm going to have the shoes dyed at Peabody Shoe Repair in Hillsboro Village. Bridesmaid Nicole (former pageant queen- woot!) assures me that dyeing shoes is safe, as she did it all the time for pageants. I trust her- as of now.
Here are my precious/sassy wedding shoes... Elga by Nina
Did it take you a long time to find your wedding shoes? Or did you know exactly what you wanted ahead of time?
Part 2 of this Snippet & Ink-inspired shoot from Millie Holloman and Salt Harbor Designs is an open house that took place at The Balcony in Wilmington, North Carolina. Photos from the love shoot were hung around the venue, and the party continued the vintage citrus theme...
Mmmm.... how amazing does this cake look? By Nicki's Cakes.
Thank you so much to Millie and Jennifer for sharing both of these shoots with us - it's so much fun for me (and I hope for everyone else, too), to see how a Snippet & Ink inspiration board can translate to reality!
This is sort of a mini-inspiration board - it just worked better this way than with any of the other images I tried to fit into it. Sometimes less is more...
If you're a winter bride who loves lavender, how about a bouquet of dried lavender, wrapped in soft velvet ribbon? After the ceremony, treat your guests to dessert and champagne (I'm dead set on bringing this type of reception back, can you tell?). Gingerbread linzertorte is a perfectly appropriate, yet totally unexpected, winter wedding "cake." Each dessert certainly doesn't need to be color coordinated, but the table also doesn't have to look like a middle school bake sale. Arrange things thoughtfully, maybe with a small vase of flowers, and let this table of sweets be the focal point in the room. Unless you're lucky enough to hold your reception in a room with a working fireplace - that would be the perfect focal point for a winter wedding. You'll have one less thing to worry about if you skip the party favors, though you might make small glassine bags available for guests to take some chocolate truffles home with them.
So what do you think? Can you still get a sense of this wedding with only 6 images?
Mood: sweet and simple Palette: gingerbread, faded lavender, rosé
{click image to enlarge} Top row from left: winter bride and groom from Brides, champagne coupes filled with rosé and chocolate truffles both from Martha Stewart Weddings Row 2: gingerbread linzertorte from Martha Stewart, dried lavender bouquet with velvet ribbon photo by Elizabeth Messina, snow-topped church
Things are winding down here at Snippet & Ink - this is the last inspiration board of 2009! I've still got a few beautiful posts lined up for you, though, before heading out for the holiday. Later this morning, I'll be posting a beautiful shoot that Janie Medley, Courtney Spencer, Katie Stoops, and some other talented folks put together just for us! It's full of winter and holiday inspiration for a wedding or dinner party, so don't miss out on that. Also, don't forget to enter in the Ban.do giveaway before Thursday at midnight!
wedding planning ideas, developing a wedding checklist, organizing wedding flowers, catering, photography. wedding planner is a professional who assists with planning and organization of weddings