NEW YEAR'S EVE

I can't believe 2012 is coming to a close and we're at the cusp of a brand new year! Be safe, have a blast, and kiss the ones you love. Adieu! See you next year!

Leonard Freed, Grand Central Station, New Year's Eve, 1969

MERRY CHRISTMAS

via pinterest

BUTTERMILK HONEY PIE

I've been on a baking marathon... one, sometimes two pies a day. Here's a new recipe, a combination of my two favorite pies - Buttermilk and Honey Pies. Delicious. Happy Christmas everyone!

Buttermilk Honey Pie

Pie Crust:

1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour

5 tablespoons of butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

3 tablespoons ice-cold water, more or less 

1. Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Add the butter, and with two knives or a pastry cutter, cut in the fat until flour resembles coarse meal. Add cold water a tablespoon at a time until dough starts to clump together but is not too wet. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before rolling out.

Pie Filling: 

zest of one lemon

6 egg yolks 

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour

5 tablespoons butter, room temperature 

1/3 cup honey

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

scant 1/2 teaspoon salt  

1. Preheat oven to 500º F, with a rack in the bottom third. Place a baking sheet in the oven to heat.  
2.  Roll out your pie crust between two sheets of plastic. Using a rolling pin, start from the center and use short strokes to roll out the dough until you have a 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick round disc slightly bigger than your pie pan. Gently drape it over the pie pan, then trim the edges so that the dough doesn't extend over the rim. Crimp the edges, or just pinch the cracks together to make it uniform. Place in freezer for 30 minutes.
3. In the meantime, make the filling. Combine the lemon zest, brown sugar, egg yolks, and flour in a medium bowl. Whisk until the flour is lump free. Gradually add the butter and honey; stirring. Then the buttermilk, vanilla, and salt. 
4. Lower the oven temperature to 325º F.
5. Fill the pie shell with about 2/3 of the buttermilk-honey filling. Move into the oven, placing on hot baking sheet. Quickly, pour the rest of the filling into the pie crust. Bake until the filling is set, about an hour. Gently remove from the oven, allow to cool. 

ON THE GO COMFY

Baggu Medium Leather Tote // J. Crew Tall Toothpick Jean in Huron Wash // J. Crew Breton Strip Crew Neck // Rag & Bone Alda Scarf  // Ash Leather Sneaker //  iPod Shuffle

MIX TAPE

I remember spending hours making the perfect mix tape. And I remember the excitement of getting one from someone else. Just when you think those days are long gone... Milktape. The "tape" holds about 15 songs (128 MB) and plugs right into your USB port. Genius.