Jessica Merchant's Blog, page 343

Tuesday Things.

1. I’m posting a late night Tuesday things from the sick house, as I was hit with the stomach flu on Christmas Eve morning. We haven’t left the house in three days, had barely any food in the fridge over the duration and officially missed every Christmas festivity we’d been looking forward to for months. It was such a bummer, but at least we cuddled (read: slept like the dead) on the couch together under the lights?

2. So I’m craving all sorts of things since I couldn’t eat for 72 hours but these chocolate espresso vegan cinnamon rolls are at the top of my list!

3. This week is like the summer mindset for me. I always look at it as vacation and am shocked when Eddie’s like, um, I have to work. Or that I still have to do work. Wait, what? Don’t we just permanently have summers and the week after Christmas off like we are 12 years old?

4. Every year that I’ve created a vision board has ended up being an AWESOME year. I love it.

5. Since I’m starting to feel better, I think I’m going to read a Christmas book super quick this week and am considering the Seven Days of Us. Have you read it?!

6. I caved and watched the Christmas Prince on Netflix last week while wrapping. And tonight I might end up watching Fuller House. I’m into really good bad TV right now, as usual. And ah – The Affair comes back on soon! YES.

7. Pretty sure that I’m going to attempt the 10 (5?) minute meditation thing starting TODAY. Okay, maybe tomorrow. Any tips? Favorite apps? Help. But I neeeeeed it.

8. P.S. all of our fancy Christmas outfits… went to waste. And I was so sick that I didn’t take any pictures until late Christmas day and by “pictures” I mean one picture. So I’m thinking we just need to have a fancy night out this week? For four?

The post Tuesday Things. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

Get a FREE WEEK of Sweet Peas Meals!

Hey hey!

To kick off 2018 on the right foot, we’re offering a totally FREE one week trial to our menu planning service, Sweet Peas Meals!

We have had such an amazing time creating this community and the meal planning tips and tricks that I’ve learned through the members have been priceless! Your trial will start the first week of January (HELLO!) and you’ll get all the goods that members get to test it out. FUN!

And starting tomorrow, I’ll be back with some killer eats for New Year’s Eve! 

The post Get a FREE WEEK of Sweet Peas Meals! appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

2017 Recipe Disasters.

Happy day after Christmas… aka, my annual recipe disaster post.

For the eighth year in a row, I’m showing you all the stuff that I totally failed at in 2017. Or, half of the stuff, let’s be real. There were LOTS of things, let me tell you. Why do I think I can just throw all the flavors together? Make all the things?

The first half of the year, I was photographing my next book and finishing a few recipe tests which led to TONS of major fails. The second half, I was trying to get a bunch of recipes ready for when Emilia was born and anytime I attempt to make tons and tons of recipe at once, it’s never good. So let’s get to it! Oh and…

for previous recipe disasters, see:

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

These horrific spirals that are supposed to resemble a version of cinnamon rolls are actually a recipe in my next book… but don’t worry, I perfected it. I swear. Don’t worry!

Because these above are pretty much the grossest things I’ve ever seen.

This is another recipe for the book and it’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted: FRIED BURRATA. But, uh, the photo above? It totally looks like a chicken breast gone wrong. Right? I can never look at it the same way again.

This was a sad attempt at a burger with a lot of liquidy toppings (why?!) that made it one giant slop pile mess.

OMG omg. Could this bread BE any more dry? I mean, how disgusting is this? I attempted to make some Irish brown bread for Saint Patrick’s Day and it was a massive fail. In recipe development and in appearance. And taste. Ick.

Cringing just looking at that.

A big pot of pulled pork, noodles that are overcooked and soaked up all the tomato sauce that I attempted to make from scratch and with the wrong kind of cheese for sure.

Sounds so good, doesn’t it? Taste like nothing. No flavor. Whomp whomp.

Not even sure that I can explain this hideousness. I mean, seriously? Whyyyy.

As much of a grapefruit lover as I am, this grapefruit avocado slaw was SO awful. Like so, so disgusting, The flavor was just way too sour.

This is what most cakes I bake look like. YEP. I think I don’t have to use a recipe and then THIS happens.

Oh! Just last week I tried to make those pretzel hug things, but I used cookies and cream kisses. I couldn’t press them m&m into the top and also couldn’t even sandwich them together and they looks so embarrassingly bad. FUN.

I know that I had even more fails that then above, but these are the lucky ones that were captured on camera. Hopefully 2018 will be a little more forgiving in the kitchen!

So tell me – what was your biggest recipe fail of 2017?

The post 2017 Recipe Disasters. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

Merry Merry!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

We’re going to spend the long weekend snuggling and celebrating this wonderful season!

Thank you so much for being here. I appreciate you like whoa. xoxo

The post Merry Merry! appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

Tequila Christmas Sunrise with Homemade Grenadine.

Cheers to Christmas morning!

A few weeks ago I alluded to a slightly stronger morning beverage that could be super celebratory for the holidays and well, here is our tequila sunrise for Christmas morning! Look at those lovely layers. So cold and delish.

Weirdly enough, I’m a huge tequila fan. I love it, most likely due to my love for margaritas and palomas. So this is right up my alley. Mimosas are delicious but I may be changing my morning tune now to a teeny shot of tequila.

There’s a first time for everything!

Last month I asked in my Tuesday Things what you guys did for breakfast on Christmas morning. We’ve never had a big breakfast because we have a HUGE amazing meal super late on Christmas Eve and then another incredible one on Christmas Day. So breakfast would usually be the orange cinnamon rolls from a can. And Christmas cookies, of course.

Soooooo many cookies.

That was when I was a kid though, and ever since Eddie and I have been married, we haven’t done anything specific for breakfast because we also now have to eat TWO Christmas Day dinners. Oooomph. Half the time I don’t even eat breakfast because I have to mentally prepare myself for a massive meal around noon and another one around six.

But! This year, I want to make it super special for Max, so I think I will get up early and make up some quick cinnamon rolls (or prep them on Christmas eve morning) and probably do the mimosa thing. The mimosas for us… not for Max. You know.

I’m going to save these sunrises for the day after Christmas or even New Years Day, when we don’t have to run around all day!

Because LOOK AT THEM! Ahhhh.

Also… homemade grenadine! When I was making this drink, I wondered if homemade grenadine was even a possibility and it was. Better yet, this is made with pomegranate juice. That makes me so happy because not only do I love it, but it’s also in season! So we’re seasonally drinking those festive jewels.

It can be made ahead of time and any extra can be stored in the fridge. Completely obsessed with this syrup for sure now.

And can we talk about how crazy I am over the color of these beauties? So super fun and festive. No reason these can’t be on your table come the 25th!

Print Recipe





Did you make this recipe? Leave a review »







Tequila Christmas Sunrise with Homemade Grenadine

Yield: makes 1 drink, is easily multiplied

Ingredients:

grenadine

1/2 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 lemon, juiced

tequila sunrise

4 to 5 ounces orange juice
2 ounces tequila
2 to 3 tablespoons grenadine
luxardo cherries for garnish (splurge!)
rosemary for garnish



Directions:

grenadine

Place the pomegranate juice and sugar in a saucepan and heat over medium heat. Whisk until the sugar dissolves, then bring to a simmer and let it bubble for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon juice and let sit until it cools to room temperature and is syrupy. This stores great in a the fridge for a few weeks.

tequila sunrise

Fill a glass with crushed ice. Shake the orange juice and tequila together in a cocktail shaker with ice for 30 seconds. Pour over the crushed ice. Drizzle in the grenadine. Top with a few cherries and a sprig of rosemary to be festive!

All images and text ©How Sweet Eats.







Did you make this recipe?

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag #howsweeteats. You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page.

I appreciate you so much!

Party in a glass, for sure.

The post Tequila Christmas Sunrise with Homemade Grenadine. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

My Favorite Things Holiday Giveaway: Win a $250 Nordstrom Gift Card! [Winner Announced!]

[The winner of the Nordstrom giveaway is below. Please send me an email at howsweeteats [at] gmail [dot] com with your mailing address!

Kristina S who said “My favorite color is lime green!”]

Thank you so much for all of your excitement over the last two weeks with the giveaways! We’re wrapping things up today with a final giveaway to my favorite place to shop… Nordstrom! They have basically everything (and, uh,  the best customer service of all time!). If you need an idea of what to buy with this card… let me just give you a list. Hahahaha.

This giveaway is not sponsored and is given by me. Thank you all so much for reading in 2017! You’re the best. xo

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

Follow @howsweeteats on Instagram and Facebook. Leave a comment (with a valid email address so I can contact you!) on this blog post telling me your favorite color.
 For a second entry, pre-order a copy of The Pretty Dish and leave a second comment saying you did so. If you already have preordered with a giveaway last week, just leave a comment saying you did so! It would mean THE WORLD to me if you preordered this book. You can find the book on amazon, barnes and noble, books a million and indie bound. Simply forward your confirmation email to theprettydishorders [at ] gmail [dot] com along with the the mailing address that you’d like the plate to be mailed to and the name or message you would like on the plate (if any)! If you have already preordered the book before today (thank you!!!), you are included too! Send your same details to the email with your order confirmation. Please note that the book plate will be arriving in the spring, and should be there before your copy of The Pretty Dish arrives on March 20th!

This giveaway will run for 24 hours and the winner will be announced back here at the top of this post tomorrow morning.

[The winner of the Nespresso machine giveaway is below. Please send me an email at howsweeteats [at] gmail [dot] com with your mailing address!

SallyT who said “At last by Etta James. THANK YOU!!!!!!”]

The post My Favorite Things Holiday Giveaway: Win a $250 Nordstrom Gift Card! [Winner Announced!] appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

My Favorite Things Holiday Giveaway: Win a $250 Nordstrom Gift Card!

Thank you so much for all of your excitement over the last two weeks with the giveaways! We’re wrapping things up today with a final giveaway to my favorite place to shop… Nordstrom! They have basically everything (and, uh,  the best customer service of all time!). If you need an idea of what to buy with this card… let me just give you a list. Hahahaha.

This giveaway is not sponsored and is given by me. Thank you all so much for reading in 2017! You’re the best. xo

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

Follow @howsweeteats on Instagram and Facebook. Leave a comment (with a valid email address so I can contact you!) on this blog post telling me your favorite color.
 For a second entry, pre-order a copy of The Pretty Dish and leave a second comment saying you did so. If you already have preordered with a giveaway last week, just leave a comment saying you did so! It would mean THE WORLD to me if you preordered this book. You can find the book on amazon, barnes and noble, books a million and indie bound. Simply forward your confirmation email to theprettydishorders [at ] gmail [dot] com along with the the mailing address that you’d like the plate to be mailed to and the name or message you would like on the plate (if any)! If you have already preordered the book before today (thank you!!!), you are included too! Send your same details to the email with your order confirmation. Please note that the book plate will be arriving in the spring, and should be there before your copy of The Pretty Dish arrives on March 20th!

This giveaway will run for 24 hours and the winner will be announced back here at the top of this post tomorrow morning.

[The winner of the Nespresso machine giveaway is below. Please send me an email at howsweeteats [at] gmail [dot] com with your mailing address!

SallyT who said “At last by Etta James. THANK YOU!!!!!!”]

The post My Favorite Things Holiday Giveaway: Win a $250 Nordstrom Gift Card! appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

Puff Pastry Breakfast Pizza.

My obsession with puff pastry has taken a new savory turn.

Pretty sure that my last dinner dish request would be pizza, in a very predictable and cliché manner. I want pizza in any and all forms and especially for breakfast. My unsophisticated palette is like, okay, pizza all the time, every day.

I really don’t get sick of it. Is that embarrassing? Do I sound like a 15 year old boy? Maybe.

Breakfast pizza isn’t a new thing here. My all-time favorite is this burrata breakfast pizza and OH MY WORD is that stuff good. It is absolutely to die for. Burrata on pizza is innnnncredible.

But what it probably comes down to is that I just really love eggs on pizza. Saying it like that sounds semi-gross, but what I mean is just crack an egg on top of my pizza before throwing it into the oven.

It’s dreamy. That yolk is SO delish.

So! Puff pastry breakfast pizza is now a thing.

This is a super easy recipe that can be thrown together for a holiday brunch. Unfortunately, it’s not like a casserole where you can prepare the dish ahead of time (um, tater tot breakfast casserole anyone?), but with the puff pastry, it’s super quick and simple since it’s not like you have to wait for dough to rise.

On this baby goes:

Sharp white cheddar cheese! I can’t ever get enough. Havarti would be amazing too.

Bacon bacon bacon. I like to crisp it up just slightly so it gets even crunchier in the oven.

Some sort of green herb, like cilantro or chives!

You could totally add sausage too, if you’re into that kind of thing. I am not, mostly because: fennel seeds. They are the worst. Ever. In the universe.

The puff pastry crust is just my favorite thing ever because it’s crispy on the outside but light on the inside and so flakey. It’s like a giant slab of faux-croissant and then we put breakfast things on it.

Even if you don’t want this for breakfast or brunch, holiday time or not, it would make an awesome quick dinner that feels slightly fancy on a weeknight. I really love to make this pepperoni pizza on puff pastry crust and this is the breakfast version of it.

Heavenly, right?!

Print Recipe





Did you make this recipe? Leave a review »







Puff Pastry Breakfast Pizza

Yield: serves 1 as a meal, serves 4 as brunch

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

2 sheets thawed puff pastry
8 slices bacon
1 large egg + 1 teaspoon water, whisked together for an egg wash
6 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, freshly grated
6 large eggs
freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons fresh snipped chives, for topping



Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Set the puff pastry out to thaw if it has been in the freezer.

Heat a skillet over medium-low heat and cook the bacon. You can chop it up to cook quicker or your can fry it in slices. You want it almost completely cooked – the fat rendered – but not burnt or crispy because it will still crisp up a bit in the oven.

Place the puff pastry sheets on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Very slightly roll up the edges of the pastries to create a big of an edge for the crust. Brush the eggs with the egg wash.

Sprinkle the grated cheddar over both pastries. Add on the bacon, whether it’s in slices or chopped. Crack each egg separately into a bowl, then gently pour it onto the pastry. Sprinkle everything with black pepper.

Bake the pizzas for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the pastry and cheese are golden and the eggs are set. Remove the pastries and sprinkle them with chives. Slice and serve!

This can serve one person as a whole meal, but if it’s part of a larger brunch or breakfast spread, you can serve two to four!

All images and text ©How Sweet Eats.







Did you make this recipe?

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag #howsweeteats. You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page.

I appreciate you so much!

Cheesy squares for all!

The post Puff Pastry Breakfast Pizza. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

My Favorite Things Holiday Giveaway: Win My Favorite Nespresso Machine! [CLOSED]

Hi hi!

Today we’re talking CAFFEINE! I’m giving away my favorite nespresso machine that makes coffee AND espresso! This thing gets quite the workout in our house. Especially right now!

This giveaway is not sponsored and is given by me to show you my looooove.

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

Follow @howsweeteats on Instagram and Facebook. Leave a comment (with a valid email address so I can contact you!) on this blog post telling me what your favorite song of all time is.
 For a second entry, pre-order a copy of The Pretty Dish and leave a second comment saying you did so. If you already have preordered with a giveaway last week, just leave a comment saying you did so! It would mean THE WORLD to me if you preordered this book. You can find the book on amazon, barnes and noble, books a million and indie bound. Simply forward your confirmation email to theprettydishorders [at ] gmail [dot] com along with the the mailing address that you’d like the plate to be mailed to and the name or message you would like on the plate (if any)! If you have already preordered the book before today (thank you!!!), you are included too! Send your same details to the email with your order confirmation. Please note that the book plate will be arriving in the spring, and should be there before your copy of The Pretty Dish arrives on March 20th!

[The winner of the Le Creuset dutch oven giveaway is below. Please send me an email at howsweeteats [at] gmail [dot] com with your mailing address!

Erin who said “I preordered!! Jessie Spano- caffeine pill excited!”]

The post My Favorite Things Holiday Giveaway: Win My Favorite Nespresso Machine! [CLOSED] appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

My Favorite Things Holiday Giveaway: Win My Favorite Nespresso Machine!

Hi hi!

Today we’re talking CAFFEINE! I’m giving away my favorite nespresso machine that makes coffee AND espresso! This thing gets quite the workout in our house. Especially right now!

This giveaway is not sponsored and is given by me to show you my looooove.

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

Follow @howsweeteats on Instagram and Facebook. Leave a comment (with a valid email address so I can contact you!) on this blog post telling me what your favorite song of all time is.
 For a second entry, pre-order a copy of The Pretty Dish and leave a second comment saying you did so. If you already have preordered with a giveaway last week, just leave a comment saying you did so! It would mean THE WORLD to me if you preordered this book. You can find the book on amazon, barnes and noble, books a million and indie bound. Simply forward your confirmation email to theprettydishorders [at ] gmail [dot] com along with the the mailing address that you’d like the plate to be mailed to and the name or message you would like on the plate (if any)! If you have already preordered the book before today (thank you!!!), you are included too! Send your same details to the email with your order confirmation. Please note that the book plate will be arriving in the spring, and should be there before your copy of The Pretty Dish arrives on March 20th!

[The winner of the Le Creuset dutch oven giveaway is below. Please send me an email at howsweeteats [at] gmail [dot] com with your mailing address!

Erin who said “I preordered!! Jessie Spano- caffeine pill excited!”]

The post My Favorite Things Holiday Giveaway: Win My Favorite Nespresso Machine! appeared first on How Sweet Eats.