Chocolate-Glazed Chocolate Tart

Need I say more? Please, just make this tart as soon as possible. It's delicious and absolutely delectable and everyone at the table who's consuming a piece of this masterpiece will swear that it's from a fancy Parisian bakery. No lie. This actually happened to me. Well, I don't remember the person actually using the word Parisian, but she did use the word bakery! I made no modifications to this recipe - it's so easy to prepare and your guests will adore every bite. Props to my sister for discovering this gem in her Gourmet magazine back in 2008. Please make it and then let me know what you think. Trust me, you will not be disappointed!

Source: Gourmet Magazine http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/2000s/2008/09/chocolatetart

Chocolate-Glazed Chocolate Tart
from Gourmet, September 2008 

Crust: 
9 (5 by 2 1/4 inch) chocolate graham crackers, finely ground (1 cup)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar

Filling:
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
9 oz bittersweet chocolate (not more than 65% cacao), chopped
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Glaze: 
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 + 3/4 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
1 tablespoon warm water

Special Tools: 9-inch round fluted tart pan (1 inch deep) with removable bottom

Make Crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F.Stir together all ingredients and press evenly onto bottom and 3/4 inch up side of tart pan. Bake until firm, about 10 minutes. Cool on a rack 15 to 20 minutes.

Make Filling:
Bring cream to a boil, then pour over chocolate in a bowl and let stand 5 minutes. Gently stir until smooth. Whisk together eggs, vanilla, and salt in another bowl, then stir into melted chocolate.Pour filling into cooled crust. Bake until filling is set about 3 inches from edge but center is still wobbly, 20 to 25 minutes. (Center will continue to set as tart cools.) Cool completely in pan on rack, about 1 hour.

Make Glaze:
Bring cream to a boil and remove from hear. Stir in chocolate until smooth. Stir in corn syrup, then warm water.
Pour glaze onto tart, then tilt and rotate so glaze coats top evenly. Let stand until glaze is set, about 1 hour. 

You'll definitely want to make this fancy dessert for all of your special occassions! Happy baking! xoxo

On my grandmother's kitchen table...ready to be served and enjoyed! How pretty is Mamacita's tablecloth?! 

French Beauty

*

I saw this post on one of my favorite blogs - Refinery 29 - and I immediately knew that I wanted to share this with you all. I love that the interviewer asks what French women think of American fashion and style. I was most definitely not expecting the interviewees to have anything to say! One of them mentioned that American women's hair is always so silky and smooth and I would have to agree. I feel like we take very good care of our luscious locks and apparently, the world has taken notice! Also, I thought it was interesting that the interviewees mentioned dark nails as another American style statement that they favored. French women, and I think Parisians, in particular, tend to wear bright red nails or nudes and don't tend to apply dark polishes to their nails. I tend to gravitate towards the bright reds, too, but I'm hoping to sample a deep dark polish next week when I'm visiting my sister. We have a pedicure date and I'd love to try this color. It's gotten wonderful reviews! What do you think? xoxo

P.S. *Image Source: Refinery 29 http://www.refinery29.com/french-beauty/slideshow#slide-2

Mamacita's Cornbread Casserole

Funny story about this recipe. At the beginning of September, I went with my parents to visit my 99 year old grandmother at her three-story home in Northern New Jersey. As usual, my mother prepared an absolutely delicious meal to take to my grandmother and I prepared a delectable dessert (recipe to follow!). Grandparents day was the day after our visit, and I wanted to make my "Mamacita" something elegant and rich. Mamacita is a chocolate connoisseur and I knew that a chocolate-glazed chocolate tart would fit the bill perfectly. We called my grandmother Saturday morning to let her know about our visit (last minute in my family is always the way to go!). My father told her that we'd be bringing dinner and Mamacita promptly replied "I'll make a cornbread casserole." My father said "Mother, please don't. We're bringing dinner. We've prepared enough food." So, Mamacita replied "Ok then. I won't make another dish." The conversation ended and my father hung up the phone. I noticed my dad just standing by the phone after he had ended the conversation with his mother and I was quite perplexed. This was definitely not like my father to just hang out by the phone after hanging up with someone. I knew what he was going to do...he was going to pick that phone back up and call his mother and tell her that she should go ahead and make her cornbread casserole. And that's exactly what he did. And guess what? She was SO thrilled that he had called her back. She loves to make a dish that her son will like, and my dad knew how much pleasure it would bring his mother to bake something for him and his family. I loved those telephone exchanges that Saturday morning. :-)

When we arrived, I saw the delicious cornbread casserole sitting on the counter! It looked moist and delicious and I couldn't wait to sample a piece. We all sat down to dinner, said grace, and the serving and eating commenced. I served myself a square of this delectable dish and promptly sampled a piece and immediately knew that I needed to have this recipe. It was dense and moist and slightly sweet, which was not at all what I was expecting. It tasted nothing like cornbread and everything that you'd imagine a cornbread casserole would taste like. Right there at the dinner table, I asked my grandmother how she had made it, and she immediately began telling me all of the ingredients and measurements. Her mind is so sharp! After everyone at the table had enjoyed seconds of our dinner, I went to grab my phone to jot down the recipe that my grandmother had just given me. I was so excited to add this moist, delicious, cornbread casserole dish to my repertoire. I was elated! Just as I had finished typing the ingredients into my phone, Mamacita said "Sarah, come with me. I'll show you the recipe." She took me to the hallway off of the kitchen and she opened the top draw of a cabinet that she has and there was a small paper cookbook that had been well loved and she opened it to the cornbread casserole recipe page. With my phone still in my hand, I grabbed it and snapped a picture of the recipe. I was so happy that Mamacita has shown it to me! I quickly texted my sister, who promptly responded that she was going to make the dish that night because she was certain that she had all of the ingredients on hand. How's that for convenience? A recipe where you actually already have all of the ingredients in your pantry. I'd call that a winner! Well, without further ado...here's the recipe. Here's hoping that you, too, have all the ingredients in your pantry to make this tonight. I promise that you won't be disappointed. We served this with a chicken dish, but I've also served it with curried lentil soup and it was fantastic! I honestly have a hard time thinking of an entree that it wouldn't complement. Enjoy! :-)

Mamacita's Cornbread Casserole
from the kitchen of my dear mamacita 

Ingredients:
1 can corn
1 can creamed corn
1 box corn muffin mix
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Pour into a buttered 11" x 7" casserole dish. Bake at 400º for 25-30 minutes until top turns slightly golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes and serve.

How easy is that?! I hope you'll try this recipe soon. It's perfect for a cool, Fall evening. Store leftovers in the refrigerator and reheat in the oven, toaster oven, or microwave as necessary. Happy baking!

xoxo

Something awesome for your Friday!

Source:http://www.skinet.com/warrenmiller/galleries/flow-state-photo-selects

I'm back! Just wanted to share this AWESOME skiing video with you. It's called Flow State and it's by Warren Miller, who's famous for his ski films. It's Miller's 63rd ski production and it follows world class skiers and snowboarders through their awe-inspiring global tour of Alaska, British Columbia, Switzerland, Japan, North and South America, Norway and beyond. It's narrated by skiing celebrity Jonny Moseley and it's super awesome. I absolutely LOVE the title of the film. I'm assuming that Flow State refers to the positive psychology term that addresses the idea of flow, which refers to a mental state in which a person, in this case a skier, is performing an activity and is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus. Flow involves full enjoyment and full involvement in the process of this activity, in this case skiing. I've heard of this term before, but Wikipedia helped me to remember the tenets of this concept. I suppose that Warren Miller could have simply named the film "Flow," as Flow State seems slight redundant because "Flow" is an actual mental state. Perhaps Miller believed that "Flow State" seemed like a cooler name for a ski film? Who knows? Flow State might not even refer to the mental state that I'm thinking of and referring to...it might have a totally different meaning. Nonetheless, I'm hooked on the film from the trailer. You'll totally love it. Also, these photo selects from the movie are pretty cool. Enjoy! :-) xoxo

I'm going to Storm King!

Hello and Happy Friday! I hope you've all had a wonderful week and I'm sure that you all are most certainly looking forward to the weekend! I hope it's an excellent one for you! As you can tell, I'm super excited about my weekend plans. Last weekend was awesome and I went on an awesome hike along the Appalachian Trail (pictures coming soon...as soon as I upload them from my Canon!), and this weekend I have another equally awesome trip planned, with my awesome cousin, Elena.

As some of you may know, I've been attempting to go to Storm King for over a year. I first heard about this magical place last fall, and I had planned a trip with my aforementioned awesome cousin, and you'll never believe what happened that unfortunate weekend in October of 2011...it SNOWED! Yes, like the white powdery, flaky mess that grounds planes and destroys travel plans. I typically love snow if it involves snuggling on the couch and watching bad tv (or the first 48 hours...which is an incredible show that you should definitely check out once you finish reading this blog post!), but it's terrible if you've planned an awesome trip up the Garden State Parkway all the way to Mountainville, NY to go to Storm King! Since then, my cousin and I have (unsuccessfully) tried to visit this wonderful place, but we've finally nailed down a date and pending large deposits of snow or a horrific monsoon, we'll be making our way north tomorrow morning...bright and early! To say that I am excited is a huge understatement.

Storm King is one of the world's largest sculpture parks and it's home to over 100 sculptures...most of which have been created for site-specific installation at the art center. Storm King was created in 1960 and is currently situated on 500+ acres of land and is located in the lower Hudson Valley. East of Storm King Art Center is it's eponymous mountain...it's so beautiful and I can't wait to see it in person. This is an incredible showcase of the art center and its history and current collection. You should check it out! 

Also, I may or may not have a HUGE artist crush on William Lamson. He's so cool! Definitely check out this awesome video about William Lamson's creation of Solarium...his site-specific Storm King piece that is absolutely incredible. He's created this small house on the top of a hill and he uses carmelized sugar for the windows. It's brilliant and I love that no two panes are exactly the same color and I absolutely love the reflective properties of the windows. What an incredible concept and an even more incredible fabrication and execution of an intelligent idea! 

William Lamson, Solarium, 2012. Courtesy the artist and Pierogi Gallery.

Source: http://www.stormking.org/exhibitions/

I love the intimate feel of these artist videos. I love the up-close shots of Lamson and his ability to speak so honestly and openly about his process of creating Solarium. I especially enjoyed the reference to his previous work that used carmelized sugar as a window replacement and how the look has changed over time with the changing of the weather. I wonder how soon (if ever) Lamson will have to replace these windows in this small structure? When do you think they'll need replacing? This work is brilliant and I can't wait to see it in person tomorrow!

I'll be sure to take lots of pictures...I can't wait to share them with you! 

Have a wonderful weekend! Until next time....

xoxo

Whole-Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes

Hi there! As promised, I am so excited to share my recipes with you! This past weekend was filled with deliciousness and I am so happy to share a taste of it with you. Since pancakes are one of my favorite breakfasts, I've decided to share this recipe first. It's quick and easy and the perfect way to fuel your day. With complex carbohydrates from the whole wheat flour, and protein and fat from the egg and low-fat buttermilk, you're certainly filling your body with excellent nutrition. Just go-easy on the syrup (or not!) and you'll be starting your day with a heart-healthy meal.



Makes 12 pancakes, serves 4.
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Heart-Shaped Pancakes 

1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 tablespoons smart balance (or I can't believe it's not butter), melted and cooled

Directions: 
Combine whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. In a separate small-sized bowl, combine egg, buttermilk, and smart balance. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and combine with fork or whisk until just incorporated. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Heat griddle to medium-high. When batter has sat for 10 minutes, it's time to prepare your griddle for pancake making! Testing with water - sprinkle a few droplets of water onto the surface of your griddle. If the water bubbles and bounces, you're all set to begin your pancake making. If the water just lays flat on the griddle, you'll need to let your griddle continue to heat up.

When your griddle is nice and hot, grease your surface with smart balance (or I can't believe it's not butter). Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, spoon a quarter cup of pancake batter onto the griddle until your griddle is filled with your little cakes. Cook for 2 minutes and then flip with a spatula. Cook for two more minutes and then remove pancakes from griddle. Divide into four servings, and top with your favorite fruit and maple syrup.

If you're making more than one batch and want to keep the pancakes hot and fresh, keep the cooked pancakes in a 200º oven on an oven-proof plate. Just be sure to consume these within the half-hour, as the oven heat tends to dry the pancakes out relatively quickly!

I hope you enjoy these delicious whole-wheat pancakes as much as we did! I know they'll become a welcome addition to your weekend (or weekday!) breakfast ritual.

Enjoy your day. xoxo

Hello!

I've been thinking about starting a blog for a while now, and with the encouragement of my much older and much wiser sister, I've decided to make this goal a reality! I ran the idea by my brother and mother and they were down with it. Thus, a  blogger was born. I must say that I'm not sure what my intention behind this blog is entirely. I told my sister (the aforementioned much older and wiser one!) that I didn't want this to be a weightloss, fitness, fashion, or recipe blog...I simply wanted this to be a "collection of pretty things" blog so that readers feel that they are partaking in an aesthetically pleasing blog read without feeling overwhelmed by calorie counts or miles run or complex recipes. I absolutely LOVE the blogs that I follow and I enjoy reading about the lives of others in terms of weightloss and fitness and there's nothing better in the blog world than discovering a new recipe for oatmeal or smoothies or a brand spanking new fitness routine. There is most definitely a place in the blogosphere for healthy living blogs, but I'd love to occupy a place in an arena that I have yet to discover/encounter in my blog search: the pretty things blog. I feel that most blogs have an agenda, but I can assure you that this one in particular, most definitely does not! I simply wish to share with you some ideas and "pretty things" to make your blog reading time enjoyable and lovely. I do hope you enjoy my "Web Musings" and I would love to hear about your own inspirational Web Musings in the comments! Please do share! :-)

Moving right along - here are some pretty pics from my weekend! A fall hike and a deliciously warm and cozy welcome home meal were in order. I only wished that I had snapped a pic of my grandmother's apple cake, baked with handpicked cortland apples from our apple-picking endeavor in North Jersey last weekend. According to the farmer-in-chief, this year's apple crop is their best in years. I concur. They are absolutely delicious this year!

Here are some photos from the wonderful weekend!

A wonderful trail, full of trees and fall foliage. Perfect for a short hike on a crisp fall day! 

I loved all of the tall trees and the serenity of the forest. 

 And no weekend would be complete without Sunday pancakes!


And these whole-wheat buttermilk pancakes were out of this world! So delicate and fluffy, yet hearty and delicious. A perfect brunch meal for a wonderful Sunday. These pancakes certainly had staying power; they were consumed at 10am and I didn't feel hungry until our dinner of lentil soup at 5:30pm. That's a winner in my book! Which brings me to the aforementioned "welcome home" dinner....

Deliciously fresh salad: romaine, carrots, cherry tomatoes, red  peppers . 

The delicious curried lentil soup. Recipe courtesy of Bon Appetit.

My grandmother's delicious cornbread casserole...recipe to follow! 

Our sweet "welcome home" dinner table.

Hope you're having a wonderful Monday! xoxo