Jessica Merchant's Blog, page 373

Greek Yogurt Lemon Loaf.

It’s one of my favorite sights to see.

Just look at that perfect lemony loaf slice! The only thing prettier might be bundt cake perfection.

This cake falls under my favorite dilemma of… is it cake? Or is it bread? Because if it’s cake, then it’s for dessert only. Unless you want to break the rules and have it for breakfast. But if it’s BREAD. Then it’s fair game. Snackage whenever possible. Breakfast, after lunch, before dinner. We can play the banana bread game and pretend like it’s good for us since it’s packed with citrus.

Oh! And yogurt. Don’t forget that one. This is just full of probiotics so I can’t imagine why you don’t want to consume it.

It’s also super simple! One bowl, no mixed necessary.

AND we use coconut oil. The health factor is blowing my mind.

Little baby hands below. I will never get sick of it.

I know I know – I JUST made the lemon pudding cake. It’s true that the lemon pudding cake might be my favorite lemon dessert ever. It is unreal. It’s soufflé-like and light and exactly what you crave if you don’t want chocolate but you do want dessert.

It just got me stuck on the lemon train! I can’t stop loving lemon desserts, and it’s only growing since it’s getting warm outside and I’m craving light and airy and fluffy things.

PLUS, with Easter coming, I always love to make a fruity or coconutty dessert (don’t worry… one of those is coming right up!) AND a chocolate dessert. So you have the best of both worlds. I need one bite of each and then I’m set for the day.

Okay just kidding. I need, like, four bites and THEN I’m set for the day.

The best balance of light dessert and delicious dessert. Making it verrrry hard to stop at one slice.

ALSO. What if we toast this? What if we make french toast with this? There are so many things we can do, I don’t even knooow.

But being a lemon loaf purist for the moment, let’s just… eat it straight.

Greek Yogurt Lemon Loaf

Yield: makes 1 loaf

Total Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain greek yogurt (full fat or 2%)
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 lemons, zested
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

lemon icing

1 lemon, zested
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice



Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan generously.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt and the sugar until combined. Whisk in the eggs, lemon zest and vanilla extract.

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet, mixing until full combined. Use a spatula to fold the coconut oil into the batter, folding and stirring until the oil is incorporated completely. Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes, or until the center is set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove it gently and set it on a cooling rack to cool completely. Once cool, pour the icing over top. Let the icing set for 20 minutes, then slice and serve!

lemon icing

Whisk the zest, powdered sugar and juice together in a large bowl until smooth. Pour it over the cake once cooled.

[adapted from queen ina]

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

So mad this isn’t in front of me right now.

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Tuesday Things.

1. We survived the first day of our kitchen remodel! Totally not terrible yet. We did so with burgers on the grill, grilled veggies annnnd some annie’s mac and cheese. I’ve been worried because, you know, Eddie doesn’t consider cereal to be dinner. Hello. I do. Always.

2. How freaking fantastic does this Detroit style pizza look?!

3. I’m totally not a fan of April Fools (see also: I’m no fun and also don’t care about Halloween) but am curious about what the worst way you’ve been fooled is?! The first year Eddie and I were married, my brother’s convinced me that one of them had been arrested and it got me for a good 18 hours before I realized it was April 1.

4. However, I do love Easter and want to know how to make super fun tie dye, marble-like eggs. Teach me the ways!

5. If you want to feel super old. I think #26 got me the most. Also, pogs should have made the list.

6. Okay, I’m dying to know what you thought about this episode of GIRLS? I loved it. Also, if you watched the inside the episode after, it tells you everything so we know exactly what it means! Also loved Homeland. If Rupert Friend doesn’t get an award for his acting… I mean. Also loved Billions. And Walking Dead. And Big Little Lies. Eeeep. I might have loved it as much as the book even with the few changes.

7. The Victoria Beckham release at Target this weekend… yes? No? Should I be waiting at the door at 8am with bells on?

8. It’s sort of like real life The Notebook. Tears.

9. My life is complete because Max FINALLY likes mac and cheese. He hasn’t been interested in it until now. And the best part is that he calls it “max’s cheese.” I die.

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March Favorites: Lifestyle.

Happy April! Below are a bunch of things I loved and used throughout the month of March. I’d love to hear your faves!

I have read a ridiculous amount in the last few weeks. I ended up going down the Colleen Hoover rabbit hole and even though I normally do not care for most young adult books, I really loved Maybe Someday. Her characters are so well written that it blows my mind. It’s so inspiring and at the same time completely intimidating because I’m like, how could I EVER write a character so complex? I also really liked Swear on This Life. What are you reading now?!

Hummingbird Glass Straws. We’ve had stainless straws for a few years, but I hate that I can never really see in to tell if they are clean or not. I found these straws after watching Catherine’s smoothie snaps on instagram (they are so inspiring!) and love these. They come with a little brush to clean them too!

Pitaya Plus packs! Speaking of, we are back on the smoothie bowl and smoothie train bigtime. Max loves them so much. Pitaya is definitely my favorite ingredient (hello neon pink) and I buy mine at Whole Foods. It’s so good!

I can’t believe I’m going there, but my favorite show all month has been GIRLS. I know I’ve ripped the show apart since it’s been on and have basically hate watched it since day 1 (I can’t stop!) but I am just LOVING something about this last season. I can’t miss an episode.

My next obsession is… socks. These no show socks by Stance to be exact. Eddie has worn Stance socks for a few years and I was really excited to find these no show ones for women. They are perfect for the Nike Juvenate sneakers that I love and also so comfortable. They don’t slip  at all.

Blank NYC Suede Moto Jacket in Pink and in Mint. Okay, so this is sort of cheating because you guys know that I love these jackets to begin with. Eddie got me one for Christmas and I love it so much. So! When I saw they had mint AND pink? I could not resist. I absolutely freaked out over them. They are so comfortable, work in all sorts of weather and just so nice. Just look at the reviews!

I feel like a broken record because I mention this candle all the time, but the Voluspa Macaron is the BEST slightly sweet but not overpowering scent. I just bought a new one to burn while our kitchen is being remodeled and always forget how much I love this. I also think it’s the perfect spring scent in home!

Raw Sugar Lemon Hand Soap. New Target find! This stuff smells like exactly what it says: lemon sugar. I’m obsessed with having this in the kitchen right now… even though our kitchen is currently down to the studs.

Ed Sheeran’s new album, Divide. I love listening to his music because it always reminds me of right around the time Max was born. I’m also really loving this Big Little Lies playlist on spotify!

[none of this is sponsored, just like to talk about things that I discover and love over the month. i purchased everything myself unless it was a gift from a family member or friend. tell me your faves! there may be a few affiliate links above. love love.]

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Veggie Fajita Sheet Pan Nachos.

So my thought process is… if it has veggies, it’s meant for Monday.

Nachos sound like the perfect meal to kick off the new week. Plus, it sort of ties together that whole margarita Monday thing.

This is one way that you will never, ever hear me complain about veggies. I will eat almost anything on a nacho and that’s the truth.

I am a secret nacho fanatic. We don’t have them often because do you want to hear the worst thing ever? Eddie doesn’t care for them.

I KNOW.

What the what?

Occasionally, we will order nachos for an appetizer somewhere (maybe, like, once every two years?) but that is the extent of his nacho love. I’ve even tried to make them super meaty before. I’ve loaded on chicken, steak, ground beef and pork and he just won’t ever consider it dinner.

I’m like whyyyyyy. It’s quite depressing since not only are nachos one of the most delicious things on this planet but they are also so… easy. Embarrassingly easy, at that.

I don’t even need meat on my nachos. On those rare occasions when we do order nachos, I usually pick around the chicken or beef because I just don’t care about it. I want all the other good stuff, and by “good stuff” I mean that I am particularly drawn to the burnt and bubbly and cheesy and melty and gooey cheese all over the crunchy nacho pieces. That’s the best!

But one thing I do love on nachos are beans. Pinto beans are my favorite, but I won’t throw a tantrum if black beans are on the menu instead.

And while I could probably be happy with just the beans and cheese? I really do love some marinated, sautéed peppers and onions. We use these for fajitas all the time (like it is one of our weekly staples… almost EVERY week) and the flavor makes eating regular peppers seem so boring. There is so much flavor here that I’ll even go as far as saying that these nachos are LOADED.

Loaded with veggies. Probably something you never thought you’d hear me say.

Sweet corn is a must also, as are sautéed and marinated mushrooms. So freaking good. There is so much texture on these nachos that you don’t even NEED the chicken. Nope nope nope.

And that’s just the stuff that goes on the nachos before they get all hot and melty.

Life is all about toppings, right? I like some paper-thin, crunchy radish slices, tons of cilantro (don’t hate me), some fresh cherry tomatoes and a big handful of queso fresco. Deeeeelish.

Veggie Fajita Sheet Pan Nachos

Yield: serves 4 to 6

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup sliced portobello mushrooms
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
enough tortilla chips to cover the bottom of a pan
2 cups freshly grated Monterey jack cheese
1 can pinot beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup cooked corn (I like grilled or roasted)
3 radishes, thinly sliced
salsa of your choice, if desired
1/2 cup queso fresco cheese
guacamole for serving



Directions:

Add the peppers, onions and mushrooms to a bowl. In another bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, sugar, worcestershire, cumin, paprika, chili powders, salt, pepper and garlic. Pour the marinade over the peppers and mushrooms. Let sit for 30 minutes.

Note: (Yes, I am doing something terrible here and advising you to add the mushrooms to a marinade with salt. If you reeeeally don't want to do that (the mushrooms may get slightly tough but I haven't experienced that with this recipe), make the marinade and leave out the salt. Put the mushrooms in a separate bowl and cover them with a bit of salt-less marinade. Then cook as advised.)

Heat a large non stick or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the peppers, onions and mushrooms (either together or separately) and cook, stirring often, until softened and golden. I don't add any oil to the pan since the marinade sticks to some of the peppers. Feel free to add a tablespoon or so to the skillet if you want.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cover the baking sheet with a layer of tortilla chips. Top with the cheese, peppers and mushrooms, corn and pinto beans, alternating layers so they melt together. Place the sheet in the oven for about 10 minutes - until the cheese melts.

Remove the pan and cover it with the avocado, cilantro, salsa and radish. Serve immediately!

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

Extra guac too!

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Olive Oil Cupcakes with Rainbow Mascarpone Buttercream. {Video!}

[This post is sponsored by McCormick! In 2017, I’ll be teaming up with them to share some delicious recipes that I can’t wait to tell you about!]

Let’s bring out our inner 13-year old with most fun, colorful frosted cupcakes!

GUYS! Look.at.these.

I don’t know how I’ve gone on so long without swirling my frosting into pretty colored rainbows. Get ready to add this to your menu in the next few weeks. Have you seen that mermaid toast all over instagram? I’ve been dying to make it and took a quick stab at cupcakes first.

This Easter, I’ve teamed up with McCormick to help create easy and colorful essentials to brighten up your brunch table. I was so torn between the sweet and the savory… and eventually settled on olive oil cupcakes with mascarpone buttercream. Wouldn’t that be the perfect companion to your Easter brunch?! They are super simple to whip up (no mixer needed!), aren’t quite as sweet as regular cupcakes AND have this to-die-for frosting on top.

I live for everything mascarpone. You know this.

The cake itself might be my new favorite cake! They are fluffy inside and more mild than a super sweet vanilla cake, which is set off perfectly by the buttercream. More often than not, I eat the cake and discard the frosting because bites of it together are just TOO rich. Even though my teeth are insanely sweet, bites of frosting only? No can do.

But not with these babies! They let the mascarpone frosting shine.

And I had to make the buttercream all gorgeous and unicorn-like. Aren’t those rainbow swirls just the cutest?

For the colors, I used the McCormick Color by Nature Food Colors. I was SO excited to find these. Obviously, I love neon and bright colors and especially, obnoxious tie dye and what not, but ever since Max was born I have stopped using regular food dyes as often as I did before. I think the only time I’ve brought them out in the last two years is when I make Mother Lovett’s coconut thumbprints at Christmas.

But! The base for the natural colors are beet juice, spirulina and turmeric, and I love that they are a powder that you can easily mix into frosting.

Plus, on the back of the box, they give you the measurements to make a few different colors, like lavender and mint green. Hello color lovers.

While the colors themselves are so super cute, I really wanted to do some sort of rainbow swirl. I wanted the tops to look like my attempts at tie dyeing my white t-shirts back in the 90s.

And I’m sure you can guess my favorite ones. The coral one and the purplish-pink? They remind me of the perfect unicorn.

And if you guys need some other brunch ideas, I’ll be sharing a TON in the next few weeks. I went a little brunch overboard. I’m also going a wee bit crazy over these Carrot Cake Waffles, Overnight Lemon Blueberry Muffin Casserole or these Baked Eggs and Sweet Potato Hash on a sheet pan.

Olive Oil Cupcakes with Rainbow Mascarpone Buttercream

Yield: makes 12 cupcakes

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 lemon, juiced
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

mascarpone buttercream

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
McCormick Color from Nature Food Colors



Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake tin with liners.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the water, olive oil, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract until combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, stirring until combined. Fill the liners 3/4 of the way full with batter. Bake the cupcakes for 16 to 18 minutes, until they are just golden on top. Let cool completely before frosting.

mascarpone buttercream

Place the butter and mascarpone in the bowl of your electric mixer. Beat until creamy, then gradually add the powdered sugar a few spoonfuls at a time. Add the vanilla extract, scraping down the sides as needed. Beat the frosting on medium-high speed for 4 to 5 minutes until it's fluffy.

Scoop the frosting into jars or bowls, depending on how many colors you want to make. Use the guide on the back of the box to determine the intensity of your shades. Mix the food colors into the frosting well until combined. If you'd like to do the rainbow swirl frosting, add a few colors on top of the cupcake and gently swirl with your knife, just a few times. Serve the cupcakes once frosted!

[cupcakes adapted from food network]

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

My Lisa Frank loving heart just stopped.

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Currently Crushing On.

{via}

It’s here! The final days before our kitchen remodel and I’m freaking. Eddie is in major denial, so I’m anxious to see how we will survive without a kitchen for a few weeks. We’re currently moving dishes, glasses and pantry everything all over our house so this shall be interesting. What are you guys up to this weekend?!

Don’t forget, April 22, I’m having a meet up in NYC!

ALSO: March beauty favorites went up yesterday! Woohoo.

Favorites from the internets this week:

oh my gosh… creamy polenta porridge! yum.

this smoked salmon breakfast bowl is right out of my dreams.

german chocolate banana bread. what!

comfort in a bowl: miso chicken noodle soup.

lima bean avocado toast? you don’t have to tell me twice.

so pretty! strawberry malted milkshake easter cake.

different types of flour and how to use them. interesting!

how insanely gorgeous is this strawberry basil cucumber rose sangria?

chocolate banana bread muffins stuffed with a reese’s cup. i.am.dead.

the loveliest chopped chicken wild rice salad.

a morning mint matcha milkshake! the prettiest.

look at this milky way tart. whoa.

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March Favorites: Beauty.

Hello hello!

My beauty faves this month are a bit lacking because guys… oh my gosh… I spent so much freaking time in my house working. Like more than usual. Not only were we finishing up the cookbook, but I spent many days prepping recipes to have content throughout the next month as my kitchen gets remodeled, which meant maaaany no makeup days. Or barely any makeup days. You know the drill.

One of the MOST exciting things that happened in March was that we photographed a lot of the beauty DIYs for my book. GAHHH! You guys. I have found the best ratio for a homemade sugar scrub that I cannot wait to share. I always measure the quality of scrubs against the Tree Hut sugar scrubs because it’s my favorite consistency, and I think we nailed it. I have such a ridiculous amount of homemade sugar scrub here in my house that I probably don’t need to purchase any body scrubs for at least a year. This has been such a fun proponent of the book and I can’t wait for you guys to see.

One thing I’d love to hear from you:  are there any drug store products you’re loving right now? I have been COMPLETELY uninspired to purchase anything when it comes to drugstore products. I look at products in store at least once or twice a week due to the beauty junkie inside of me, but I can’t find anything I want to even try. Plus, why bother when I can’t test it out to see if it’s my shade, the prices are so high now and there is already a ton of stuff I want in sephora that is around the same price? A lot of times you guys ask me to review drugstore products, but I don’t really do reviews. And I don’t want to just buy beauty stuff to junk up my bathroom. I really love talking about the products I’m using and loving and most happen to be high end. Maybe it’s because I used so much drugstore beauty stuff for, like, 20 years and just think that everything still seems the same? If you guys have something you’re loving, I’d love to hear it!

As we can see here, I’m still waaay into illuminating products. Not that this has changed in the last three years or so, but I’ve tried some new ones. Basically I want my face to glow like a disco ball. #dryskinproblems

Here are this month’s faves!

Marc Jacobs Glow Stick. This isn’t new, but I’ve eyed it for a few months and finally bit the bullet. I LOVE it. Some days when I only do concealer and mascara, I swipe this on too. It’s not glittery but it has the perfect amount of shimmer.

Smith and Cult nail polish in Pyscho Candy. I’ve wanted to try these polishes ever since I realized that the creator was the original maker of Hard Candy polishes. Oh my gosh, how my younger self lost it over the Hard Candy packaging! It was also my first ever mint green nail polish. So I grabbed one of these at Nordstrom and love the bright “get over here summer” shade. It’s been on my toes every since and I love!

Tom Ford Cream & Powder Eye Color in Young Adonis. I can’t believe that I actually bought this. It is my first Tom Ford makeup product (even though I’ve always died over the lipsticks) because they are just so freaking pricey that I can never justify it. I saw MakeupbyTiffanyD use this though and fell in love with the double product. It’s an eyeshade cream with a shimmery topcoat shadow. They can be worn together or alone, and I thought this would be perfect for summer and also since I’m doing such minimal makeup lately! This shade is definitely the only one that would work with my coloring, and it works now but I think it will look even better with a little bit of a tan. This also sort of reminds me of the Maybelline Color Tattoos I was so hooked on a few years ago. But the consistency is so soft and… whipped. I love it.

Cover FX Illuminating Setting Spray. I was completely out of setting spray when I bought this. The word “illuminating” caught my eye and I usually use Urban Decay All Nighter, MAC fix+ and just finished the Josie Maran Argan Oil Mist. I also REALLY love the Tatcha Dewy skin mist and hoped this would be like that. It’s not quite as dewy looking, but it does give off a little bit of glow. What I love most is how perfect the spritz is out of the bottle! It hits my entire face in a very light cool mist and doesn’t soak it.

Cover FX Custom Enhancer Drops in Halo. I was waiting like a crazy person for these new drops to release because you guys know how much I love my other ones. I think I’ve used about half the bottle of the Moonlight shade which is crazy because it’s so pigmented. I use it daily. This one is blue based and super holographic. I find that it works for my skin because I’m so pale with cool pink undertones, so it complements it well. The only thing is that this one is a little more watery than the original. Because of that, it doesn’t really work over top of foundation. It works fine on bare skin though, or mixed in with product or on top of a light tinted moisturizer like my Complexion Rescue.

Hourglass Girl Lip Stylo in Creator. This might still be the ONLY thing I wore on my lips all of March. It is such a perfect shade and so easy to apply. Of course, after I photographed it here, I smashed the cap down on the lipstick by accident. Sad face.

So that’s my rather boring and short beauty faves, but what I’m really loving at the moment. Next month, since I’ll be out and about a lot more (read: doing my makeup often!), I’m sure I’ll have some new loves to rave about. Other than that, all of my hair (macadamia oil) and skin products (sunday riley + drunk elephant) have stayed the same! Really loving those regimens.

So share! What are you guys loving at the moment?

{as usual, none of this is sponsored and all of these products were purchased by me. i am not affiliated with any of the companies above, nor do i accept free products. just love to talk about what i like, makeup junkie to makeup junkie. there are a few amazon and general affiliate links above. thank you for being here!}

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Artichoke Burrata Pizza with Lemon Basil Pesto.

I feel like it’s been FOREVER since I made you a pizza!

This is where I find us. In the middle of a chewy dough, melty burrata, grilled artichokes and lemony basil pesto. And I like it!

Gosh. Okay, I know. It hasn’t been FOR.EV.ER but it has been a little over one month. Which is basically forever in pizza time.

I spent most of the first three months of this year begging that my grocery stores had good basil. I was in need of a ton of it every week as we shot the cookbook – for recipes, of course – but also for garnish (those baby leaves work like nothing else!) and I can’t even tell you how much we went through. At one point, I think I bought all of the basil to be found in western PA, only to have it wilt in less than 48 hours. We also bought basil plant after basil plant, babying them to keep them alive even though nothing was working in the bitter cold.

All of those rambles to say: now that I’ve finally got some GOOD basil and have blown through my freezer portion of pesto from last fall, a fresh batch was in order.

One with lots of lemon and parmesan too. The best!

Oh oh and?

Let’s just get this out there: I freaking love burrata on pizza. I know that some people are iffy on the topic, but I find that if you gently pat the burrata dry with paper towels and pull it apart all over the pizza, it melts like a charm. Of course, my first option for the burrata would be crustry bread, tons of olive oil, lots of herbs and fresh tomatoes, but the latter is nowhere to be found and I’m not using an orange rock from the grocery store.

So, for at least a few more weeks, burrata on pizza it is!

The grilled artichokes are perfection, because they add the briney bite that I LOVE.

And I added a bit of provolone to enhance the meltiness, a sprinkle of parmesan because more cheese is never a bad thing and a sprinkle of fresh basil to make it look more veggie friendly. Of course.

Essentially, this is a really easy pizza! If you have a jar of artichoke hearts, some pesto (whether it is already made, store-bought or whatever – you’ve got it!) and cheese, you’re all set.

My favorite sight to see! That golden, crunchy crust that’s still chewy in the center and that bubbly, melty goodness.

One last thing: a frosty chilled glass wine is the perfect companion here.

Artichoke Burrata Pizza with Lemon Basil Pesto

Yield: serves about 4

Total Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

crust

1 1/8 cups warm water
3 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

pizza

4 cups fresh basil
1 lemon, zest freshly grated and juiced
1/2 cup finely grated asiago cheese
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
3 garlic cloves
1/2 to 3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes


4 ounces freshly grated provolone cheese
2 balls of burrata cheese
1 (12 ounce) jar of artichoke hearts, drained (these grilled are my fave)
a few fresh basil leaves for garnish



Directions:

In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, honey and olive oil. Mix with a spoon, then let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add in 2 1/2 cups flour and salt, stirring with a spoon until the dough comes together but is still sticky. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball and work in the additional 1/2 cup flour, kneading it on a floured surface for a few minutes. Rub the same bowl with olive oil then place the dough inside, turning to coat. Cover with a towel and place in a warm place to rise for about 1-1 1/2 hours.

After the dough has risen, punch it down and place it back on the floured surface. Using a rolling pin or your hands, form it into your desired shape (sometimes I use baking sheets and do rectangles or free form pizzas - this specific dough will yield one pizza large enough to feed about 3-4 people) and place on a baking sheet or pizza pan. Place the towel back over the dough and let sit in the warm place for 10 minutes.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. (If I use my pizza stone, I heat my oven to 475 degrees and bake for 15 minutes. If you're just using a baking sheet, follow the directions below for baking and set to 425 degrees.)

Meanwhile, make your pesto! Combine the basil, lemon zest, juice, cheese, pine nuts and garlic in a food processor. Pulse until small crumbs remain, and then with the processor running, stream in the olive oil. Start with the 1/2 cup and add the extra if needed to reach the desired consistency. Add the salt, pepper and pepper flakes and blend again. Taste and season additionally if needed.

Spread a few tablespoons of the pesto all over the dough. Top with the grated provolone. Tear apart the balls of burrata and place them all over the dough. Add the artichokes.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes (or around 15 to 20 minutes if using the pizza stone) until the cheese is golden and bubbly. Remove and top with the extra basil and parmesan if you wish. Slice and serve immediately.

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

Isn’t that a huge bite of Spring?!

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Strawberry Ginger Smash.

So here we go! The beginning of strawberry spam.

It’s a zingy little strawberry treat for our thirsty Thursday. Wahoo.

I’ve been prepping some great early spring (that scream ‘come to me summer!’) cocktails along with some fun easter brunch cocktails that I can’t wait to share with you guys. It’s the best day of the week!

Strawberries have been my favorite fruit for as long as I can remember. Really, all fruits are my cup of tea. I’ve said it a million times but it’s like all my produce love got used up on fruits and there just wasn’t enough left for any vegetables. Strawberries have always been TOPS though. My go-to.

ALSO. I’m still in this major ginger mood. Really, it’s because I’m desperately trying to clean out our fridge and freezer before our kitchen remodel begins on Monday and in doing so? I found FIVE knobs of ginger.

Why is my life such a mess?

These right here are bourbon soaked sugary strawberries. Gingery bourbon soaked sugary strawberries. It took everything in my power to not eat them with a spoon. Would it be wrong to throw these on top of a yogurt parfait? I think not.

What about pancakes?!

What about angle food cake!

Ugh, guys. I just LOVE a fruity bourbon smash cocktail. I really love bourbon, so that’s probably why, but smashing the fruit with some delicious things like fresh mint, bitters and bourbon is just so… satisfying. It also sweetens things up enough that a lot of times I don’t even need a simple syrup. In this case, we use a touch of sugar so we really don’t need any syrup. Oooooh I can just taste summer.

We top the whole thing off with some ginger ale or ginger beer – depending on how spicy you want it. Fever Tree is my favorite brand of ginger beer and it’s the perfect balance between sweet soda and spicy bite.

This drinks feels super summery and that is just the way I like it.

Strawberry Ginger Smash

Yield: makes 1 drink, is easily multipled

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup smashed strawberries (recipe below)
2 to 3 shakes of angostura bitters
2 ounces bourbon
3 ounces ginger ale or ginger beer
fresh mint for garnish

smashed strawberries

1 pint strawberries, chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
3 tablespoons bourbon



Directions:

Add the strawberries to the bottom of a chilled glass and mash a bit with the bitters. Add ice on top of the berries. Pour the bourbon over the ice and top it off with ginger ale (for a milder drink) or ginger beer (for a spicier drink). Garnish with fresh mint and serve!

smashed strawberries

Place the strawberries in a bowl and toss them with the sugar, fresh mint and fresh ginger. Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Add the bourbon and smash the strawberries with a fork or potato masher. Let sit for another 10 minutes before using. These strawberries can be used for 4 to 6 drinks. Keep them sealed in the fridge for a few days!

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Those bubbles on top! Oooooooh.

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Poppy Seed Fruit Salad.

I’ve found the secret to fruit salad.

And I don’t think I’m ever going to make another fruit salad recipe ever again. This one is the business.

Guys. I have a strawberry addiction. The strawberries are SO good right now. Like, so so good. I am buying an exorbitant amount each week. I’ve made enough recipes to share over the next few weeks while my kitchen is being renovated, and it wasn’t until I really looked at all of the recipes that I realized that I made FIVE recipes with strawberries.

I hope you’re hungry for strawberries.

This recipe comes from Robyn’s new book, Add a Pinch. First of all? This book is GORGEOUS. Everyone who has walked by it in our home has asked “what book is this?! It’s so pretty!” It really is. Second, the recipes are approachable but sound so.dang.good. The next on my list if the white chicken enchilada stuffed shells. Eeeep.

Oh my gosh. I actually turned down the corner for about 15 different recipes in the book. While I would normally think that fruit salad is a cop out choice to share here on the blog, I was really intrigued by the dressing and also thought it was the perfect Easter side dish!

The funny thing is that – the components of the dressing? The ginger and the lemon juice and the poppy seeds? They aren’t something that I’d go crazy over and really decide to actively put on my fruit. I was hesitant to even taste the salad after we made it.

BUT then. Oh my gosh. One bite and I was seriously hooked.

This dressing is absolutely incredible. I could not stop eating the fruit salad. Eddie was eating the fruit salad over the sink straight from the bowl after he ate five fajitas because it was so good. (Also probably because he gave up sweets for Lent and hasn’t cheated at all.) Max gobbled up the fruit salad up like a crazy person.

The flavor is spot on.

My favorite thing of all though is that you can use whatever the heck fruit that you want to use. There are really no guidelines here, aside from the dressing recipe. Which we’ve already established is to die for. I mean, I could drink the stuff.

I also think it’s worth mentioning that the fruit doesn’t swim in the dressing. It’s the perfect amount to coat a few cups of fruit and give them this zing of “oh my gosh what IS that?” flavor. You know? I could practically even consider this dessert, which is huuuuge.

Poppy Seed Fruit Salad

Yield: serves 6 to 8

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

8 cups mixed fruit (I used strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, kiwi, mango, apples and grapes)
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
a handful of fresh mint



Directions:

Place the fruit in a large bowl. Whisk together the juices, sugar, poppy seeds and ginger until combined. Pour it over the fruit and toss well. I like to throw in a few mint leaves and use it to garnish as well - totally optional!

[recipe from the add a pinch cookbook]

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Maaaaybe just a little scoop of ice cream on top.

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