{momofuku milk bar birthday cake}

I have never been to Momofuku Milk Bar in NYC, but I have certainly dreamt about it ever since I received this book for Christmas.  Somehow I have had this book in my possession for almost a year without trying a single recipe from it and with our birthdays around the corner I decided I simply had to try one of the cake recipes.  I decided to start out with the infamous birthday cake recipe and immediately got going about ordering or locating all the ingredients and tools it requires.  The recipe doesn't require anything too crazy, but it did need some ingredients we don't normally have like citric acid or glucose as well as some tools such a cake cutter and acetate sheets.

The recipe is pretty straight forward and the most time consuming part is simply measuring out all the ingredients!  While the assembly looks difficult using acetate sheets to "build" the layers in, it is actually super easy- especially after you watch this video!  The best part of this cake is that you can make it up to two weeks ahead of time and store it in the freezer.

Oh and we haven't talked about the taste....it's amazing. I wish I had a better word to describe it, but amazing is really the most perfect word for it.  The nostalgic funfetti taste is spot on, but with an added richness and salty crunch from the "crumbs" added in to each layer plus the "milk soak" you add to each cake layer during assembly makes the texture so moist and decadent!

You can see the whole recipe here, but you should really just buy the book!

{cake crumb ready to go in the oven}

{wondering about those awesome sparkler candles?  you can buy em right here}

{friday cocktail: the billionaire}

This friday I have another amazing cocktail from my new favorite bar book.  I have flagged almost every page of this book, but unfortunately most of these cocktails need some serious searching to get all the ingredients.  While I'm not usually big on buying novelty or obscure liquors for our bar, I was willing to purchase these rare absinthe bitters for this recipe since I thought they might actually get some use in future cocktails around our place.  Just like the last cocktail I made from this book, this one did not disappoint in flavor, but it is definitely very sweet from the rich cane syrup & grenadine.  If you were wondering about the recipe's title, the name is loosely derived from a classic cocktail called the Millionaire.

Cheers!

{fresh strawberries with yogurt foam}

After a some cocktails, dinners with friends and a little boating excursion; we ended this weekend with a leisurely home-cooked meal.   There has been an ongoing joke for sometime about how much Chris hates dessert and would almost always prefer a cheese plate to anything usually offered on the dessert menu so I was shocked when he suggested trying out a dessert recipe from Ferran Adria's The Family Meal to round out our dinner last night. 

We decided to try out the recipe for fresh strawberries with yogurt foam which utilizes a whipped cream siphon that we have been wanting to try out for something other than simple whipped cream for the longest time.  This recipe is incredibly easy and quick while still being delicious in light of how simple it is.  You could easily switch out the strawberries for another fruit you might have around the house and while I liked the tart flavor of the plain yogurt, you could also switch this out for something a little more sweet like regular vanilla or raspberry yogurt.   Here is the recipe taken from The Family Meal:

what you need (4-6 servings):

• 1 2/3 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• whipped cream siphon
• fresh strawberries- about 3 per person

1. Pour the yogurt and cream into a large bowl and mix well.
2. Sweeten the mixture with 2 tbsp. sugar if you desire a sweeter taste.
3. Pass the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into the siphon.
4. Charge siphon with cartidrge and let cool in fridge.
5. Cut strawberries into quarters and set aside.
6. When ready to serve, place about 3/4 cup of the yogurt foam into a small bowl or cup. Then top with fresh strawberries. 

{friday cocktail: applejack rabbit}

One of the fabulous gifts I received at my bridal shower was the PDT Cocktail book which Chris and I have had on our wish list for sometime.  This book includes over 300 recipes from the famed PDT speakeasy in NYC as well as extensive guides to bar prep, tools and techniques.  While many of the recipes include obscure ingredients or significantly more preparation than your average cocktail the results are well worth it.  For our first cocktail from the book, we choose something with relatively straight forward ingredients, the Applejack Rabbit, and substituted the regular orange juice the recipe calls for with blood orange.  While the previous Applejack cocktail we made was not one of my favorites, this one has just the right amount of sweet and citrus to win me over and perhaps even earn a spot on our regular rotation of cocktail recipes...

{pdt book image via}

Cheers!

{some new additions}

With the holidays and some recent shopping, we have lots of fun new additions around our place (and my closet).  I thought I would share a few of my favorite new things with you...

 {mint green embossed leather clutch from Etsy & Othelia Grace grey "stone" necklace- gifts from my mom}

 {Tom Ford book which I have been wanting for years - a gift from Chris' parents}

 {the second Scrappy's Bitters gift set to complete our collection - a gift from Chris' sister}

{Zara plaid swing coat- a gift to myself!}