Ta Dah!!

"I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it. It is never of any use to oneself."
-Oscar


I am back! And with my triumphant return I bring photos of my Dr. Pepper Ribs, homemade potato chips and red velvet cupcakes! 

Dr. Pepper Ribs

The ribs were surprisingly easy to cook. They were marinated overnight in Dr. Pepper and Kosher salt. The sauce was made from the remaining cup of Dr. Pepper and some various savory ingredients (recipe available by request). 

Homemade chips and smoky baked beans

The chips are so easy and delicious! They are potatoes sliced thinly, tossed in olive oil and salt and arranged on a baking sheet. I chose to sprinkle them with parmesan cheese, which made them even more delicious (when has cheese ever made anything not delicious?). The baked beans were a huge hit, even with me (I don't care for beans), which I think was due in large part to the dark beer based sauce. They were really delicious. 


I promise you that you can make both things and that both are under 400 calories a serving. I am not kidding. The ribs are under 400 calories a serving and I will email you the recipe if you let me know you want it. 

Red Velvet Cupcakes

The red velvet cupcakes were wonderful, but the piping the cream cheese frosting was a bit of a nightmare. I don't know if I'll ever get the hang of baking, but perhaps that will all change with my NEW KITCHENAID MIXER!!! That's right, people, I have a KitchenAid! Now I just have to decide what baking masterpiece will emerge from its stainless steel bowl of wonderment. I'll keep you posted with posts...


Book, books, book. So many to read and so little time. I am currently rereading The Phantom Tollbooth (for my Literature of Childhood and Youth class, I swear) and I am finding it more delightful then I did when I was young. If you are in the mood for a book with an Alice in Wonderland feel, and would enjoy exploring the magic of language and all the wonderful weirdness of words and phrases, please give this book a few hours of your day. Its truly one of those rare things that are beloved when you are young but appreciated when you are older. I also read The Anthropology of an American Girl...I was not impressed. It is a hipstery account of a young girl growing up on the East Coast in the late 1970s- early 1980s. The high schooler is too smart for her own good and completely unlikeable. None of the characters are fully formed and they are tortured souls for no apparent reason at all. The author goes to great lengths to try to make these characters "different" from everyone else, but the ending is so predictable I was actually mad at myself for reading the whole thing. I honestly believed there would be some twist that made the book different and tragic, but I was sadly mistaken. However, in the interest of practicing what I preach (whenever my friends are being negative about something or someone I make them say one nice thing to balance their karma a bit), I will say that the author uses some very beautiful language and constructed some of the most lovely (and often true) statements I have ever read. Its just too bad such an unlikeable character uttered them. 

What will I cook/read next, you ask? I'm not sure what I'll cook yet, but I am pondering the leap to more sophisticated and therefore more complicated dishes...Pappardelle with pork ragu? It could happen...I will be reading Fifth Avenue 5 A.M: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffanys, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman. I have been looking forward to this book for quite awhile and Barnes and Noble just got it back in stock!! I look forward to telling you how amazing it is!!

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever." -Mary Poppins
I love a nicely set table- don't you?

Ode to Procrastination

"Ambition is the last refuge of the failure." - Oscar


So I made the Dr. Pepper ribs, along with smoky baked beans and homemade parmesan potato chips with red velvet cupcakes for dessert. The dinner was fantastic and everything was really easy to make. I took pictures and I promise promise pinky swear that I will put them up soon. The cord for my camera is just all the way in my office and the siren song of Friends calls me to the couch...


When I post the pics I will also post a full critique as well as the recipes. I will also let you know about the FANTASTIC book I just started and the album I cannot stop listening to. 


I will definitely post everything. Get excited. xoxo

A Lack of Education Never Hurt Me None

"Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught." - Oscar 


Well, it's summer break and I, once again, find myself at rather loose ends. What to do with all this free time? I asked myself today. I have been frequently attempting to try cooking new and different things and so I thought that I would kill two birds with one stone: get the nerdy booklovin side of me to join forces with the chef (and by chef I mean recipe follower) and create something that both could enjoy. And what's the point of doing something if you can't force your friends to read it on the Internet? Nothing. And so I've created this blog. I will be posting recipes (and citing my sources- although not in the approved MLA format- haha!!) and quoting some of my favorite authors as well as reviewing and suggesting books I have recently read and enjoyed (or hated). I hope that people will read and comment, thus giving me something to do with all that time. 


Today I am marinating baby back ribs in almost 2 liters of Dr. Pepper (a half cup goes towards the sauce) and 1/4 cup salt. Tomorrow I will continue cooking the ribs and I will post the full recipe. I will also be attempting to bake red velvet cupcakes, which should be interesting as baking has never been my strong suit. 


I am between books right now- however, I just finished One Day by David Nicholls. It is a wonderful book that looks at the relationship between two friends- Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley. The great and unique thing about this book is that the reader only sees the two friends on a single day of each year- July 15 1988- 2007. The book is funny, sad, and very well-written. The rights have already been snapped up and Hollywood is threatening a movie which will not be as good as this wonderful book. So I recommend picking it up and reading it soon so you can join me in being super judgmental and critical of the movie version. 


Also I found my earring back that I thought I lost in the couch!! Good day!