Joy Wilson's Blog, page 101

Steak and Stout Pot Pies

You know how some people have therapy dogs that they put charming little vests on and cart around to make their world, and really all of the world a better and more peaceful place?  I have therapy pie.  

No vests.  Certainly nowhere near as adorable as a tiny Chihuahua or a friendly-faced labrador… but my goodness, the calm they inspire is second to none.  

These pot pies are inspired by a few things (besides my need for therapy): 

•  Last year’s trip to London has me dreaming every few weeks about warm, savory, meaty pies with flakey pie crust.

Continue reading Steak and Stout Pot Pies at Joy the Baker.

Let It Be 2017!

We’re supposed to have clinked our champagne glasses, and dusted the dirt or flour off our hands as 2016 has come to an end.  These firm endings and stark beginnings always feel like a lurch to me (and Mariah Carey would agree, amiright?) .  A little bit like stepping on the gas pedal and looking in the rearview mirror at the same time.  That’s an unsafe analogy, so let’s be careful to look back knowing that we’ve got some good work and big love to look forward to in the new year.

Continue reading Let It Be 2017! at Joy the Baker.

Hoppin’ John Veggie Burgers

I’ve had a visual in my mind the last two weeks of this heck of a year.  It’s a horse, with me on it (imagine Beyoncé on a stallion and that’s me in my own mind), galloping fiercely towards the end of this year.  It’s not that the end of this dang year has me feeling aaaaanything like Beyoncé, it’s just that I’m trying to make it to the end with passion, and grace, and strong thighs.

Continue reading Hoppin’ John Veggie Burgers at Joy the Baker.

Baked Brown Butter Champagne Doughnuts

Not but three years ago I can remember stressing about what black dress I was going to shimmy into for New Years Eve.  This year… lemme tell ya… I’m honestly more concerned with which pork tenderloin recipe I’m going to try, and if my potatoes are going to be baked or fried.  Listen, priorities shift.  I’ll likely be in very cozy pants and socks, in the kitchen with an oven full of pork and a glass full of champagne.

Continue reading Baked Brown Butter Champagne Doughnuts at Joy the Baker.

Let It Be Sunday!

Hello my friends!

I hope this finds you having a joyous, memorable, and restful holiday weekend.

I’m spending a short time in Los Angeles with my family, soaking up the quality time and taking in all the classic family stories like… the time I cried nonstop on a roadtrip from Northern California back south… the time my dad fell on my on a San Francisco bus and I was so deeply embarrassed I couldn’t deal… reminiscing about the purple casserole my mom made the one time and we’ll never let her live it down… you know, just the classics.

Continue reading Let It Be Sunday! at Joy the Baker.

Kitchen-Made Bath Salts

I know we’re busy- we’re at the end of one of those bonkers weeks (bonkers year, really!).  I’m just stopping in with a few things you might add to your grocery list in case you’re anything like me and you’ve forgotten a gift or two.  Give a bath.  Give a bath and take a bath (because lordy if we don’t all need a treat or two this time of year).  

Here are a few soothing bath blends you can toss together yourself, with your own street-smarts and thoughtfulness.

Continue reading Kitchen-Made Bath Salts at Joy the Baker.

Fruit Cake Rugelach Cookies

We’re in the thick of it.  We’re in deep. 

There’s no use fighting the heaps of cookies, the balls of popcorn, the piles of chocolate bark, not to mention the pound of toffee I just devoured… it’s the holiday season and really the best way to show our deepest sentiments is with golden baked sugar in some form, right? 

These Fruit Cake Rugelach are a play one a holiday pink (or is it white?) elephant, that dreaded dense and oddly moist loaf of fruit cake.

Continue reading Fruit Cake Rugelach Cookies at Joy the Baker.

Buttery Eggnog-ish Candied Popcorn Balls

I swear… the holidays bring out the best in me.  

By the best, I’m specifically referring to each of the kitschy, crafty and resourceful Girl Scout badges I earned between the ages of 8 years and 16 years of age. Those were some of my best years.  Let’s not call it peaking early because all you have to do is ring a holiday bell and all of those cross stitching, stained-glass-cookie-making, and popcorn crafting come bubbling right back to the surface like I haven’t ignored them for the last 50 weeks.

Continue reading Buttery Eggnog-ish Candied Popcorn Balls at Joy the Baker.

King Arthur Flour Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls

There are a few things I need in order to make Christmas morning feel exactly like Christmas morning.  There’s the smell of my dad’s Christmas church sweater (it’s maroon wool, maybe 20 years old, and he always looks handsome in it).  I need a whiff of the perfume my mom sprays on before we go to church on Christmas morning.  And I need the smell of something cinnamon-y coming from the oven come early afternoon.

Continue reading King Arthur Flour Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls at Joy the Baker.

Let It Be Sunday!

Hello dear friends!  

We’re in the crunch of it, aren’t we?  Have you done all the things you might need to do, like mail those holiday cards? (Mine are on the floor next to my bed, half written, almost done, thank you Minted!) Have you shopped and crafted and shipped and geez… my answer is No.  Not yet.  I’m getting there… but first let me watch this episode of 20/20 about JonBenet Ramsey because priorities.

Continue reading Let It Be Sunday! at Joy the Baker.