Bouchon Bakery, Pt. I

When I finally made it up to the counter at Thomas Keller's Bouchon bakery at the Venetian in Las Vegas, all I could do was clap my hands and try not to squeal in glee. I was limited to things that would make it back on the plane ride home (farewell, red velvet cupcakes and other custardly delights).
I attempted to make it home with my goodies, toting my box home last night. But I broke down on the plane and indulged in a vanilla macaron. I wish I had gotten more, they were light and flakey and chewy and filled with the creamiest, fluffiest buttercream.

Quesadilla de Flor de Calabaza

This weekend I had Quesadilla de Flor de Calabaza, which is a quesadilla made with squash blossoms and cheese. It was unbelievably good, full of light squashy taste and gooey cheese and was served with a smokey chipotle sauce. Now I want squash blossom everything, so it is a good thing that winter squash blossoms are still available.
Time to go farmer's market hopping, and then let's deep-fry ricotta and basil stuffed squash blossoms! No, seriously. Saturday morning, who's with me?

Skulls, Bones, Glitter

It is rare that Martha Stewart crafts are ever really awesome. (Paper banners? Fake flowers on flip flops? No-sew terrycloth beach bags? Ugh.) But every once and awhile, you get a gem- glittered skulls and bones for Halloween.Supposedly you can buy the bones and skulls from MarthaStewart.com, but I haven't been able to find them. You can get a plastic skull here, and make sure to get German glitter glass, not the plastic glitter that you used as a kid. Granted, at that point it would probably be cheaper to pick up a finished one. I want a whole creepy bowlfull of these for my dining room table.

Truffle Season!

Truffle season just ended (early September) and although this year's season was shorter than most, there are are still plenty of truffles around. You can easily get summer truffles online, and they aren't terribly expensive. Or just get some truffle oil, (but be careful with it).
What should you do with it? Maybe some truffled eggs and toast. Or truffled risotto. Or shaved truffles over butternut squash gnocci with browned butter.

Bows!

Maybe I like bows. Sometimes it is hard to tie them perfectly, since bows can be tricky. What you need is Martha's Bow How-To which shows how to tie flawless little bows and loops.
You should get some fancy ribbons and make some bows.

Cupcakes, Cupcakes, 2500ºF

Being the happy new owner of a Blazer Micro Torch that I got for silversmithing, I'm finally giving in to some torch-in-the-kitchen recipes I've been ignoring or sticking under the broiler. Plus, with Gail Gand's MORE cupcake shop opening shortly in Chicago, I've been kind of cupcake-crazed. What does this mean? Chocolate cupcakes with a fluffy mound of homemade marshmallow frosting, browned to a crisp.
All you need is a good marshmallow icing recipe, some chocolate cupcakes, (maybe chocolate and pink peppercorn?) and a torch.