{peruvian ceviche}

Over the weekend, we headed over to the westside to have dinner at our friend's amazing restaurant, Fundamental LA.  Every single dish we had was amazing, but one I was particularly obsessed with was a flavorful crudo.  During the following Sunday spent lounging on our deck, we decided to try to recreate a similar dish using this recipe for peruvian ceviche.   Using that recipe as a base we added in pomegranate seeds, thinly sliced radishes, and persimmons  Do not skip the pomegranate seeds and persimmon in this as they add a delicious crunch and tartness- I especially love their flavor mixed with the spicy jalapeño slices and citrus-y marinade.  This dish may look complicated, but besides the chopping up of all the ingredients, the labor involved in putting the dish together is minimal and takes only 5 minutes.    Serve it alongside sea salt and vinegar potato chips for a perfect refreshing lunch dish!

 {check out this simple video for the secret to harvesting pomegranate seeds}

{gourmet flavored ketchup line up with Hebrew National}

While I love an interesting gourmet hot dog recipe like the Banh Mi inspired one I shared with you a few weeks ago, I also appreciate the simple classic grilled Hebrew National hot dog with just a drizzle of ketchup.   Inspired by the DIY hot dog bar in my last post with Hebrew National, I decided to try experimenting with a line up of flavored ketchups.   Using this adorable squeeze bottle set from Oh Joy's line for Target I decided to come up with four flavor combos using Hunt's ketchup.  The prep time on this is incredibly quick - it only took me about 15 minutes to whip up all of these.  I think my favorite one is the spicy chipotle combo, but I also was pleasantly surprised at the interesting tangy taste the balsamic combo added.

How fun would it be to show up at your next summer bbq toting this arsenal of gourmet condiments?!? Scroll down for the proportions for each flavor.

For each of the below combinations, simply mix together both ingredients in a bowl and add to a squeeze bottle or condiment serving dish.  I actually added both ingredients directly to the squeeze bottles and shook them up to combine to save the amount of dirty dishes I was creating.

With grilling season upon us, everyone is craving an all-American hot dog. What makes a kosher hot dog different? It's all about what makes the cut (and what doesn't). Hebrew National is choosy about what goes into their franks – only 100% pure kosher beef so you know what you’re getting and they taste great. No artificial flavors, colors, fillers or byproducts.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Hebrew National via Mode Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Hebrew National.

{easy sunday brunch + the perfect bloody mary}

There are few weekend activities I love more than brunch.  Whether it's at a swanky brunch with my girlfriends or a greasy neighborhood spot to nurse a hangover or even hosting a big group at our place, I will never turn down a brunch opportunity.  I think what makes brunch so amazing is that the sole purpose is to enjoy a leisurely Sunday meal rehashing the weekend's activities and stories alongside plenty of bloody marys!  Whenever Chris and I don't have plans on a Sunday, we love to celebrate the end of the weekend with a casual brunch in our home with my favorite layered breakfast dish and a ulta decadent bloody mary complete with an over the top garnish.  Check out below for our go-to brunch dish and the recipe we use for a perfect bloody mary including my secret ingredient!!

{this layered brunch dish has made many appearances for breakfast in our house.  It consists of a simple base of arugula tossed with a light vinaigrette and fresh cherry tomatoes.  Then we add a Belgium waffle from Trader Joe's frozen section topped with crispy bacon and a poached egg.}  

{if you love that salty/sweet combo for brunch then you can even drizzle a bit 

of maple syrup on this dish!} 

{everything that goes into the perfect bloody mary- just add vodka!}

{over the top garnishes are my favorite part of a bloody mary and this one includes cornichons, olives, lime wedges and fresh cucumber- check out the little video I made of turning up your bloody mary right here}

{my secret bloody mary ingredient is to top the finished cocktail with a few dashes of Scrappys celery bitters to really kick up the celery aroma}

The Perfect Bloody Mary Mix

mix together in a large pitcher the following ingredients:

• 1 quart tomato juice
• lemon juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 2 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons hot sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder

**I omitted horseradish from my mix because its just not my thing, but feel free to doctor up your mix however you desire! 

Place plenty of ice in a high ball glass, add 2oz Pinnacle Vodka and then top with bloody mary mix. Garnish with celery stick, garnished skewer and straw.  Place a couple dashes of celery bitters on top and enjoy!

Pinnacle Vodka shakes things up with unexpected experiences and delightful discoveries. Explore with other fun flavors at http://www.pinnaclevodka.com”. Also, check us out at 

www.facebook.com/pinnaclevodkas and https://twitter.com/PinnacleVodka or find more fun 

entertaining and drink ideas on our Pinterest page at http://www.pinterest.com/pinnaclevodka/

Pinnacle® is a registered trademark of Jim Beam Brands Co. and is used with permission.  This is a sponsored partnership, with Pinnacle® Vodka, via Mode Media.  The information, comments, and ideas expressed on this website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Jim Beam Brands Co., its affiliated companies, or any of their directors or employees.

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{watermelon goat cheese bites}

Today's super easy appetizer recipe is my favorite kind of recipe.  Is there cheese in it? Yes- creamy goat cheese that happens to be one of my favorites.  Does it look super impressive like it took you all day long to put together and makes people wonder if you moonlight at a fancy catering company in your free time, but really it takes about 15 minutes total?  Absolutely.  Plus it's a mini serving that can be consumed in one bite without a mess!

I recently picked up a a set of circle cutters from Sur La Table hoping they would inspire a variety of dishes, but up until now I have only used the largest size once to arrange a salad.  When I spotted this adorable appetizer of watermelon cylinders topped with goat cheese and garnished with a crisp cucumber I knew it was my chance to break out some unused kitchen gadgets!  Read below for recipe and instructions then proceed to impress people when you roll up to a casual BBQ with this masterpiece of a potluck dish.

 {this little set up is the best trick for filling a pastry bag.  simply place the bag in a tall glass and fold the top over the sides of the glass. fill the bag then fold back the top to avoid a big mess!}

 {piping the cheese onto the watermelon slices is what makes this dish look so impressive- you can certainly just spoon out the mixture, but the effect just wont be the same, although let's be honest -the cheese tastes great either way}

what you need:

• 1 small seedless watermelon
• 1 package soft goat cheese
• 2 tablespoons cream
• 1/4 fresh cucumber, cut into slices
• pastry bag with star tip
• 1.5 inch metal cylinder cutter

1. Cut watermelon in 1 inch wide round slices, then punch out circles using cylinder cutter.  Place directly on serving tray.
2. Mix together goat cheese and cream until combined into a smooth texture. 
3. Transfer cheese mixture to a pastry piping bag with desired tip attachment - I used a star tip for this one. 
4. Pipe about 1 tablespoon of cheese onto each watermelon slice.
5. Garnish with a small cucumber slice.
6. Serve immediately or store in refrigerator for a few hours before. 

{chia seed pudding 3 ways}

I have been seeing dessert recipes using the incredibly healthy chia seeds popping up everywhere. The seeds are incredibly rich in antioxidants, protein and fiber which doesn't sound like a typical dessert ingredient, but I figured it was worth a shot to see what all the hype was about.  Since the prep time for a chia seed pudding is about 5 minutes I decided to try out multiple flavor combinations to see what I preferred.  The simple answer is that I prefer them all and chia seeds are surprisingly tasty with a texture similar to mini crunchy tapioca.  In other words...I get what all the hype is about.

Scroll down for the three different recipes for chia pudding that I tested out- my favorite was the simple and sweet vanilla coconut pudding, but the pistachio was a close runner up.  These recipes use either unsweetened almond milk or vanilla coconut milk, but you can substitute for any dairy you prefer such as regular 2% milk.  Regardless of which flavor chia pudding you chose to make, you will definitely need to add a small amount of sweetener to the mix.  For these recipes I experimented between maple syrup, honey or agave nectar as sweeteners and between the three I find that the agave nectar was my favorite.

Each recipe below makes two large servings.

Vanilla Coconut Chia Seed Pudding:

• 1 cup vanilla coconut milk
• 1/3 cup chia seeds
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Thoroughly combine all ingredients in a bowl then transfer to serving bowls.  Place in fridge to set for at least 2 hours or overnight.  Ideal garnish would be dried coconut chips although I tried it with shaved dark chocolate!

Raspberry Lemon Chia Seed Pudding:

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/3 cup chia seeds
• 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
• lemon zest of 1/2 a lemon
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a food processor, combine raspberries, lemon zest, lemon juice, almond milk, honey & vanilla extract.  Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in chia seeds.  Place into desired serving bowls and let set in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.  Garnish with fresh raspberries & lemon zest!

Pistachio Chia Seeding Pudding:

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/3 cup chia seeds
• 1/2 cup chopped pistachios
• 1/4 cup agave nectar

In a food processor, combine almond milk, pistachios and agave nectar.  Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in chia seeds.  Place into desired serving bowls and let set in fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight. Garnish with chopped pistachios!

{roasted cauliflower & chickpea tacos}

Growing up in Southern California instills a love for good Mexican food practically from birth (its hilariously discussed in this UK article) and I am no exception.  My favorite is a good plate of small street tacos and I love to give them a gourmet makeover at home like these ones we made for our Oscar viewing party.  In an effort to eat a bit lighter after our two weeks of traveling, we decided to whip up this recipe for roasted cauliflower and chickpea tacos with lime crema from Two Peas & Their Pod.  We made one slight change to the recipe by pickling the jalapeños and onions in a little vinegar to give them a bit more tart crunch.  The spicy cauliflower and chickpeas made a great substitute for our normal main ingredient of meat or soy-rizo.  It's hard to believe that with all the flavor (especially from the delicious lime crema) that this could even be a lighter dish! 

{brioche french toast}

The local boulangerie where we pick up baguettes almost daily also carries an extensive selection of amazing tartes, quiches and different breads.  On occasion they have loaves of brioche available and this past weekend we picked one up to make decadent french toast inspired by the dish I had here.  Since our little paris apartment has no oven and a mini stovetop with only two burners, we had to improvise on the recipe a little, but this dish turned out amazing.  Would be the perfect dish to surprise your Valentine with tomorrow or as a special weekend brunch- see recipe below. 

 {two things: one, butter here in paris is basically its own food group and two, they sell ready made creme anglais in the market here- not like the tiny hard to find specialty market, but the regular run of the mill corner market.  I want to put it on everything.}

Brioche French Toast:
(serves 2)

what you need:

• 6 slices of day-old loaf of brioche bread
• 6 eggs
• 3/4 cup cream
• juice of half an orange
• zest of one lemon
• beans from 1 vanilla bean (or 2 tablespoons vanilla extract)*
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch salt
• butter
• optional toppings: maple syrup, fresh fruit, creme anglais!!

1. Whisk together eggs, cream, juice, vanilla, sugar, zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, & salt in large bowl.
2. Immerse each slice of bread into bowl, flipping to fully cover in mixture.  Or you can place all slices into a baking dish and pour mixture over top allowing slices to soak for 5 minutes.
3. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in large skillet pan over medium heat.
4. Fry two to three slices in pan at a time- flipping after about 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown on each side. 
5. Add fresh butter to pan between batches of slices.
6. Garnish with creme anglais and fresh fruit.  

*vanilla beans are comically cheap here in Paris (as in $3 for two of them!) so I find myself adding them to almost any recipe I can!

{my new favorite fall salad}

In the past few weeks, we have eaten some variation of this kale salad at least 3 or 4 times and it is quickly becoming my favorite warm fall salad for weeknight dinners.  While it isn't necessarily a "light" salad seeing that it includes bacon and buttery croutons, it is quite delicious and filling while not feeling overly heavy.  And let's not forget it is topped with an egg so how could it be bad?!?  I'll also let you in on our secret to perfectly poached eggs- it's this tool from Sur La Table.  It works so well that for the month after I brought two of them home we were topping practically every we made with a poached egg. Full recipe at the bottom of the post:

{french tin egg poacher- best tool ever!}

what you need:

• 1 Apple
• 1 bunch of kale or collard greens
• 4 strips of bacon
• 1 slice of french bread croutons
• 1/4 cup of slivered almonds, lightly toasted
• balsamic vinaigrette (I love the one from Trader Joe's)
• 8 oz of mushrooms
• salt & pepper
• paprika
• 2 eggs

1. Cook the bacon in a large pan until crispy, chop into small pieces and set aside. 
2. Saute the mushrooms until they are nicely browned and set aside. 
3. Toss the bread with oil and toast in the oven until crunchy. 
4. Slice the apple into small pieces and place in cold water with lemon juice to avoid browning.  
5. Saute  kale in large pan until lightly wilted.  
6. Combine Kale, Apple (removed from water), chopped bacon, the croutons, almonds, mushrooms and vinaigrette in a large bowl and toss to combine.  
7. Split between two plates and top each salad with a poached egg.  
8. Sprinkle the top of egg with a pinch of paprika.