Well friends, this taste epiphany has hit me again recently. For the longest time I could not stand carbonated water. I thought it was terrible and did not quench your thirst at all. I would have preferred to go thirsty than drink carbonated water. And there were occasions where I did. However, towards the end of our time in Denver, some friends of ours had Whit and I over for dinner and offered us some water. Little did I know that meant san pellegrino. I, being the perfect guest that I am, accepted what I thought was going to be a bland assault on my mouth but was pleasantly surprised to find that I actually enjoyed it. And, best of all, it made me feel all grown up inside. Sometimes its fun to act like an adult. (Thanks Ely and Jon! We miss you.  I drink San Pelly everyday to be near you.)

Naturally since it is a Thursday this all had to come back to a drink. While this drink does include sparkling water the other components add enough flavor that even if you don’t like san pellegrino normally you should be fine. I decided to make a Tom Collins because I had heard of them but never had one. It was a little tart for my taste testers (Whit and her parents) but I really liked it and thought it tasted just like lemonade. After trying one I would probably add a bit of lime with the lemon or try substituting lemon entirely but I suggest you play around a bit to see what you like best.

Tom Collins

By Brian, May 23, 2013

Ingredients:

• Gin - 2 ounces
• Lemon Juice - 3/4 ounce
• Agave Solution (1 part agave, 1 part water) - 3/4 ounce
• San Pellegrino - 1 can or bottle

Instructions:

Combine the gin, lemon juice, and agave in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a highball glass over ice. Add a splash with the san pellegrino to taste. Stir and serve.

Cheers,

Brian

If you know me at all, you will not be surprised to hear that I rotate on stead intake of coffee to get me moving in the morning, and wine to bring me down at night.  And then coffee again.  Truthfully the only thing I drink every single day besides water is coffee.

And since we are assuming you know me, we are going to be honest with each other and say that while it’s likely I could go through the trouble of making some excellent latte situations, I don’t really have the mental fortitude to handle any creativity whatsoever prior to my coffee intake.  That is why International Delight is such a life saver.  Because heaven help the person who asks me anything before I’m caffeinated, much less expects me to go all out and make them a Starbucks worthy creation.

Not only are they smart because they accept that we are 3 screws short of thoughtful in the mornings, but they also know how to get us to interact with one another.  Their “What’s Your ID?” has a ton of hilarious videos and games that all center around your favorite International Delight flavors. You can login with your Facebook account, choose your favorite International Delight Flavor, and it “pins” your taste profile to the map!

Clearly I am hazelnut, duh. But here’s the thing. International Delight is great for so much more than coffee, which is why I created a pinterest board with all the great ideas others have for using it recipes.

What’s Your ID? International Delight is looking for their most passionate flavor fans. Put your ID on the map to enter to win a Magical Trip, play games and discover more unexpected delight. Share your ID flavor at http://whatsyourid.com. 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.

For instance, tonight, I want to put a whopping dollop of ricotta cheese in my soup and have no one question me about it.

I didn’t say it was an excuse to behave recklessly or be a brat,  I just said I needed an excuse.

And you reading this is my validation.  So thanks for that.

But seriously, tonight’s soup is really healthy, if you don’t count that whopping dollop of ricotta.  And even then, it’s not sour cream people.  Pick your battles.

Chock full of flavorful sausage, whole wheat pasta, san marzano tomatoes and just enough basil to remind you the summer is approaching, it’s a crowd favorite.

Lasagna Soup

By Whitney, May 21, 2013

Ingredients:

• olive oil - 2 tablespoons
• onion - 1 cup, diced
• garlic - 5 cloves, diced
• Italian Sausage - 1 pound
• oregano - 2 tablespoons
• san marzano diced tomatoes - 1 28 ounce can
• red pepper flakes - 1/2 teaspoon
• tomato paste - 1 can
• chicken stock - 4 cups
• whole wheat pasta - 1 pound box
• basil - 1/2 cup
• ricotta - 1 1/2 cup
• mozzarella - 1 cup
• parmesan - 1/2 cup
• salt and pepper - 1 teaspoon each

Instructions:

Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add sausage and cook until browned, about 10 minutes. Add oregano, red pepper flakes and tomato paste, cook for 2 minutes. Salt and pepper well. Add diced tomatoes and chicken broth and bring to a simmer for 30 minutes. Add the pasta about 15-20 minutes before serving. Mix the cheeses and salt & pepper together in a small serving bowl. Put a heaping spoonful of the cheese mixture into the soup and top with basil.

Love,

Whit

You and I both know you want more bacon. But truthfully, sometimes you just have to strip all the creative ideas down and go back to the beginning.  Sometimes, the simplest things are the very best things.

Let’s talk cupcakes.  Let’s get right back to the original cupcake.  Alright technically I don’t know if this is the first cupcake ever made but it is the best, we can just get that straight right now.

I want to give you the tools to get it right from the very beginning, and that is why I am telling you my yellow cupcake secret.

It’s crisco.

I know.  I know you wish it was butter but it’s crisco. It makes the cake light and fluffy and honestly what more could you want from a cake?

Classic Yellow Cupcakes

By Whitney, May 20, 2013

I used my italian buttercream for these cupcakes.

Ingredients:

• Crisco - 1 cup
• self-rising flour - 2 cups
• sugar - 4 cups
• eggs - 5
• vanilla - 2 teaspoons
• buttermilk - 1 cup

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Place cupcake liners in standard cupcake tins. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the crisco until fluffy.  Add the sugar and beat for 204 minutes, until well incorporated and light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, and the vanilla. Lower the speed on your mixer and add the flour and buttermilk in three additions, starting and ending with the flour.  Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool and use italian meringue buttercream to top.  Recipe linked above.

Love,

Whit

Or as I like to call it, Rabbit Season.  Today I had 4 carrots and some microgreens.  I really wanted that celery too, but you know, water weight.

Clearly, I am over dramatizing this (well, duh.) but I thought JUST ONCE that I might cater to you precious bunnies trying to eat like small herbivores.

This salad is chock full of good for you stuff, and the dressing is greek yogurt based so it’s all “Creamy yet still delicious.”

You’re welcome, kids.

Southwestern Salad

By Whitney, May 19, 2013

Ingredients:

• Romain - 2 heads, chopped
• corn - 3 ears
• black beans - 1 15 ounce can, drained and rinsed
• red peppers - 2, diced
• cherry tomatoes - 1 15 ounce container, halved
• Jack cheese - 1/2 cup, shredded
• greek yogurt - 1 cup
• champagne vinegar - 1 tablespoon
• lime juice - 1 lime
• olive oil - 1/4 cup
• parsley - 3/4 cup
• salt and pepper - 1 teaspoon each

Instructions:

Toss the romain, black beans, shucked corn, peppers, tomatoes and cheese together.  To make the dressing, in a food processor, finely chop the parsley.  Add the greek yogurt, lime juice, champagne vinegar, olive oil and salt a pepper, and puree until smooth.  If it looks too thick, thin with more lime juice.  Lightly dress the salad.

Love,

Whit

Obviously margaritas are delicious and a warm weather staple.  But the thing that I love most about them is the fact that they are so versatile.  Are you lazy?  Buy a mix.  Health conscious’ish? Use fresh fruit juice and agave (my personal favorite).  And the best part.  In the mood for something other than tequila?  Use a different liquor.  Yes, that is right.  Whiskey’rita!  Delicious.  Gin’rita!  Like a Mexican mountain.  I definitely recommend substituting your favorite liquor for tequila to have a little twist on a margarita.  I find that I make more whiskey’ritas (with rye) than I do traditional margs, but you should try whatever tickles your fancy.

All that being said, this weeks recipe is a traditional marg using tequila.  Like I mentioned above, I am a big fan of the fresh fruit juice and agave recipe.  I added a bit of orange liqueur and agave for additional sweetness and flavor.  It may be a bit more effort than a mix but trust me its worth it.

The Margarita

By Brian, May 17, 2013

Ingredients:

• Tequila - 2 ounces
• Orange Juice - 1/3 ounce
• Lemon Juice - 1/3 ounce
• Lime Juice - 1/3 ounce
• Agave Solution (1 part agave, 1 part water) - 1/2 ounce
• Orange Liqueur - 1/2 ounce

Instructions:

Combine equal parts of fresh squeezed lemon, lime, and orange juice (Note: this can be more than the 1/3 ounce each listed above).  Add one ounce of the mixed juice, the agave, the orange liqueur, and the tequila to a glass with ice.  Stir the ingredients and garnish with orange, lemon, or lime.

Cheers,

Brian

It’s making my outdoor DIY projects absolutely insufferable. I know, that alone is worth a little squeal, it’s been awhile since I showed you how to jump head first into ruining something that used to work in your house.

But Summer.  Hussy just showed up at our house today like she owned the place.  Making my spray paint sticky and giving me a decidedly European smell. Joys.

And there is only one thing you can do when Summer shows up to the party and refuses to leave. You give her a European hug and make lemon bars.

These lemon bars are actually perfect. As in, couldn’t be better. Tart and sweet, smooth and fresh. I keep wanting to say so fresh and so clean, clean. I don’t know.  They are just pretty darn good.

The Perfect Lemon Bar

By Whitney, May 15, 2013

Ingredients:

• butter - 1 1/2 sticks, room temperature
• flour - 1 1/2 cups
• powdered sugar - 1/2 cup
• salt - 1/4 teaspoon
• eggs - 6 large
• egg yolk - 1
• salt - 1/4 teaspoon
• flour - 1/2 cup
• sugar - 2 1/4 cups
• lemon juice - 1 cup
• lemon zest - 2 lemons
• powdered sugar - for dusting

Instructions:

Line a 9 x 13 with parchment paper. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until browned.  Remove the solid from the stop and fridge until just firm again.  Put browned softened butter in kitchenaid mixer and whip.  Add sifted flour and powdered sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.  Mix until it just comes together, and press into the bottom of the parchment lined baking dish.  Make sure it's firm and covers the entire bottom evenly, and bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until golden brown.  While the crust is in the oven, make the filling. Combine eggs, egg yolks, and salt, whisk together.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and sugar.  Add lemon juice and lemon zest to the sugar mixture and combine well.  Add the eggs to the lemon sugar mixture and whisk until well combined.  Remove crust from the oven and pour lemon mixture right on top of the hot crust.  Place back in the oven to bake for 35 minutes, or until the custard has set.  If you get air pockets, you can pop them with a kitchen torch. Chill in the fridge until firm, cut with a hot knife and dust with powdered sugar.

Love,

Whit

It’s a beautiful thing.  Before you get all, speck, is that like, speckle related? I will stop you and tell you it’s from the shoulder, not the speckle.

You pig, you.

But it behaves itself just like prosciutto, which is why it’s part of my inner circle.

Anything that acts like a properly cured little ham is a friend in my book. To make these special little treats, all you have to do is wrap a piece of pear and brie in them and bake until they are crunchy.

But be sure to make a boat load, things things will fly off the plate.

Speck wrapped brie and pear bites

By Whitney, May 14, 2013

Ingredients:

• pear - 1 sliced
• brie - 3 ounces
• speck - 1/2 pound, thinly sliced

Instructions:

Wrap the brie and pear slice in a thinly sliced piece of speck.  Bake at 400 for 12 minutes or until the speck is crispy. Drain on a paper towel briefly and serve.  

Love,
Whit

Gotta be one of the top five foods of all time.  Why? Well, they pair with anything. You can do one thousand delicious things to them.  They fry, they roast, they whip, they boil.

They are awesome.

Most importantly, they do this thing with cheese.

Well, it’s ungodly.

And heavy cream… don’t even get me started.

Scalloped Potatoes

By Whitney, May 13, 2013

Ingredients:

• Russet Potatoes - 2 pounds, thinly sliced
• whole milk - 3 cups
• butter - 3 tablespoons, diced
• white cheddar - 3 ounces, grated
• parmesan - 2 ounces, grated
• salt and pepper - 1 teaspoon each

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 325.  Bring the milk to a boil and add the sliced potatoes.  Reduce heat to medium low to simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat.  Strain the liquid, but be sure TO KEEP IT ALL. Arrange the potato slices in overlapping layers, adding the cheese between each layer and salt and pepper.  Pour the reserved milk over the top of the potatoes.  Top with cheese, and the diced butter and bake at 325 for 1 1/2 hours.

Love,

Whit

Shew. I’m tired just thinking about you.

So here’s my thought.  Someone needs to make these bacon wrapped gorgonzola stuffed grapes for you.

Because they are sweet and tangy and wrapped in salty bacon love and I think you’ve earned them.

Bacon Gorgonzola Grape Bites

By Whitney, May 12, 2013

Ingredients:

• Grapes - 25
• gorgonzola - 1/4 cup
• bacon - 1/2 pound

Instructions:

Slice grapes long ways to the center.  Place 1 teaspoon of gorgonzola in the center and press sides together to close.  Wrap with bacon, secure with a tooth pick.  Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes until bacon is crisp.

Love,

Whit