Category Archives: Foodie Kels

Dipped In Chocolate

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Are you sick of Easter candy yet? Sorry, this isn’t going to help.

When Brad ate one of those decedent salted caramel shortbread cookies I made last week, I expected him to just melt with their amazingness.  Instead, he had another idea.

“Tastes like a Twix bar without the chocolate.”

Palm to forehead.

Duh!

So what did I do?  I grabbed myself a bag of milk chocolate chips and melted them down.  And then I covered the rest of those little bites of goodness in chocolate.

DSC_0442

Although I loved the candy-cookies just as they were, now they were even more delicious.  Because chocolate, once again, proves it is the most awesome thing to eat ever in the history in the world. Continue reading →

Salted Caramel Shortbread Cookies

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Caramels have become my new obsession.

I was buying cookie-making materials recently and happened to see one last jug of Martinelli’s Apple Cider hidden on the juice shelf.  Normally just available in the colder months, I snatched it right up to make another batch of those apple cider caramels from smitten kitchen.  They are to die for.  And shouldn’t be limited to certain times of the year by such a thing as seasonal fruits…

But then, after I forced Brad to take bags of the addicting wrapped candies to work so I would stop eating them by the handful, I started brainstorming different ways I could eat caramels no matter the season.  Things I could put in caramels when apple cider is unavailable.  Things I could put caramel on.  Things I could put caramel in.

Endless possibilities.  Expect a lot of variations on caramel coming up.  Like these.  Salted caramel on shortbread.  It sounded delicious.

salted caramel shortbread cookies

Gooey caramel on top of a flaky, sweet, buttery cookie?  Yes.  Sign me up.

salted caramel shortbread cookiessalted caramel shortbread cookies

So I gave it a try.  I found myself two tart’s recipe that didn’t use cornstarch (because – really? is that necessary??) and got to work.

salted caramel shortbread cookies

I only changed the recipe a tiny bit, using unsalted butter because I like to have more control over the amount of salt in my candies.  I think I’d rather sprinkle the salt on top than have it all mixed in.  I also got really excited and forgot to let the shortbread chill for 30 minutes before baking.  It still turned out wonderful… but I recommend using patience if possible. Continue reading →

A New Staple: Snapper Crudo

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I don’t know what it is lately, but we’ve been eating a lot of snapper.

And not of the deep fried variety, although that will never get old.

fishing with dynamite snapper

No, Brad has been buying whole snapper…

snapper crudosnapper crudo

…fileting that baby down with his fancy Japanese knives…snapper crudo

And creating the most delicious tiny bites of sashimi you could imagine.

You might remember this plate from my birthday celebration.  Snapper with kumquat, Serrano and mint. Continue reading →

Music to Cook To: Four Hour French Baguettes

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four hour baguette

In seventh grade, we had the choice to start taking Spanish or French in school.

I very adamantly insisted on taking French.  I remember thinking it was such a beautiful, exotic language.  I thought it was the language of love.  It was the country of butter and croissants and pastries and delicious things galore.  It seemed exciting and romantic in a gorgeous way that, at the time, I didn’t find Spanish.

I don’t think my parents were thrilled – Spanish is so much more practical in our country – but when a kid is excited about learning a new language, who’s going to stop them?

four hour baguette

I ending up sticking with French up until my junior year in high school.  When I graduated, I could absolutely hold a formal conversation with someone in the language.

In college and beyond I became interested in wine, which – of course – included those of the French varietals.  I was thankful I had the background to understand a little extra from the labels.

four hour baguette

And now, as the wife of a chef, I have found so much happiness in baking.  Recently, I even tried my hand at what looked like a relatively simple recipe for Four Hour Baguettes.  Because who doesn’t love a hot, soft loaf of bread with dinner? Continue reading →

Dogs Can’t Eat Caramel, Gibson

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dog and candySorry, Gibs.  Maybe one of these days I’ll look into baking for dogs…

xoxo

Concussions to Sugar Cravings

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So, I hit my head.  Hard.

It’s a stupid story, but let’s just say that the rest of last week didn’t go as expected.

Yes, it was our third wedding anniversary on Wednesday, and I started out the day feeling pretty good.  Being in the car was a little weird and I was making really spacey comments about how slow we were driving and how it made me feel like I was in a movie… but overall, we had a great day!  Market, coffee, nap, and an amazing dinner planned…

We made it to dinner.  We even really, really enjoyed dinner.  I’ll have to tell you all about it another time.

Because as soon as I stood up from my chair to leave the restaurant, it was like I was on a boat.  A boat on really rocky waters.  I was dizzy and nauseous, and by the time I got home I was a total wreck.

You don’t need all the gory details.  Let’s just say it all ended up with me wearing this bracelet that I never wanted to wear.

kels hospital braceletYep, that was me the morning after our wonderful anniversary dinner.  Waiting to get a CT scan at the Santa Monica ER because that bump on my head was most definitely part of a concussion and I just wanted to make sure I was alright.  You know, because not being able to think clearly and mixing up words in normal conversation gets a little scary.

Don’t mess with your brain, folks.

Turns out my brain was ok and I was sent home to rest and take care of myself.

Except that chocolate craving I had the night of the fated head collision with the dog?  It never went away.  I’m not even kidding when I say I think Gibson knocked a sugar sensor loose.  All I’ve been wanting to eat is sugar all day, every day.

So since Brad bought me a beautiful cake stand (complete with amazing dome! yay!!) for our anniversary, I couldn’t let it go empty.  Plus, having a recipe to concentrate on seemed to be helping my brain heal.  At least that’s what I’m going with, since everything turned out delicious.

This is what I’ve been making…

IMG_3248 IMG_3229 DSC_0987 DSC_0002DSC_0232DSC_0247With plans for many more sugary projects.

Have you ever heard of people craving sugar after a head injury?  I’ve Googled and Googled, and I can’t find anything that looks credible.  One doctor even gave a one word answer on his website: No. So maybe I can’t use brain swelling as an excuse to bake anymore?

Not that I needed an excuse in the first place.

xoxo