You have seriously got to try it – you won’t be sorry!!
A few notes:
- You can buy simple syrup, but you also can make your own simple syrup really easily! Just grab a saucepan and add equal parts water and sugar, and stir over medium heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. You’ll know it’s done when the edges start to simmer, and the liquid is totally clear. Simple syrup can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 weeks. Score! For this cocktail, I’d make simple syrup using 1 cup of water and 1 cup of granulated sugar.
- I like to serve this cocktail really cold – often with a jumbo ice cube, because it melts so much slower and doesn’t water down the drink.
Ingredients
2 oz Gin (I use Bombay Sapphire)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Simple Syrup (see note above)
2-3 dashes Cardamom Bitters
Directions
Measure ingredients into a cocktail shaker, shake shake shake and pour! Serve with orange garnish if you feel like impressing your guests (or yourself), and enjoy!
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I have a new and special treat for tea lovers today – earl grey truffles! The tea flavor in these is subtle, but still identifiable. That’s kind of the trick with tea infused truffles. You have to find the perfect middle point between too weak and too strong (and bitter).
Also, a quick note on tea. Most of you have probably heard when cooking with wine to choose one you’d be happy to drink, and the same goes for tea. I tried a few different earl greys for these truffles, and found that this tea yielded the best flavor.
Our good friend Patrick is the winemaker at Merry Cellars Winery (Pullman locals or anyone passing through town, you should definitely stop by!), and he asked me to make these for an event a few months ago. I have to admit that it’s not a flavor I would have probably thought to make, which is one reason why I’m so excited about them!
You’ll see below, or if you’ve looked at any of my other truffle recipes, that truffles take a few steps. I know that can look a little daunting, but I actually love that about these. It means that I can break the recipe into multiple stages, and I don’t need to be in the kitchen all day if I don’t want to be!
Ingredients
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 tbs earl grey tea (you can also use tea bags – just cut open and pour out the leaves.)
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
Directions
Add heavy cream to a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the tea leaves. Continue stirring the cream regularly so it doesn’t scald on the bottom. You will know it’s ready when the cream turns a light brown color (see photo below for reference), and it has reached a low boil.
Pour the cream and tea mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a measuring cup, and strain out the tea leaves. I like to use a small spoon or spatula to press extra liquid out of the leaves before discarding them.
Note on the cream: You actually need 1/2 cup of hot heavy cream, but the tea leaves soak up a decent amount of it. After removing the tea leaves I’m left with usually just slightly more than a 1/2 cup of cream. Truffles have a little wiggle room, so a little more than 1/2 cup is just fine – waste not!
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips, in a heat safe bowl. Wait a few minutes, and then stir together. If the chocolate chips haven’t completely melted, heat in the microwave in 10 second increments until the chocolate is smooth. Stir in the sugar and salt until all combined.
Chill the chocolate mixture in the fridge for 1.5-2 hours. It’s ready when you can easily roll the chocolate into balls without it becoming a gloppy disaster, but it hasn’t hardened so much that the chocolate can’t be formed.
Roll 1/2 Tbs balls of the chocolate ganache – I usually get about 30.
Melt the bittersweet chocolate chips in the microwave (again, in increments) until smooth.
Dip the ganache balls in the melted bittersweet chocolate. Chocolate dipping tools are actually super handy for this step! The first time I made truffles I didn’t have them, and they still tasted great, but didn’t look super fancy.
After dipping the truffles, put them back into the fridge until the chocolate has hardened.
Truffles are wonderful because they seem fancy, but they’re actually really easy. They’re also a fun way to play with new flavors, like I did with these.
I hope you enjoy!
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Right now I’m sitting at the table drinking a big cup of coffee, and Charlotte is taking a long nap. Charlotte and I flew home yesterday after spending four really fun days in California! My husband is working down there at the moment, so while it was a bit nerve wracking to fly alone with a baby, it was really nice to see him for a few days.
I didn’t originally plan to write a post about our trip, but this morning I kept re-visiting what went well, what I would change, etc. So I decided while I’m clearly not a seasoned expert on traveling with a baby, maybe what I share can benefit someone else preparing to embark on an adventure with a little one!
Raise Expectations
As I prepared for our trip, I was mentally preparing myself to go on It’s A Small World for two days straight. I had literally no idea how Charlotte would take it, and if even just being in the park would be an overload for her. She’s a really easygoing baby, but you just never know! To my delight, she did WAY better than I thought! She didn’t seem overwhelmed by the crowds or noises, and instead seemed to really love taking it all in! The second ride we went on was the Roger Rabbit Car Toon Spin. I didn’t know that it was so jerky, and that there were so many flashing lights and huge loud bangs. During one especially intense moment, I felt her body shaking and I thought oh no, she’s melting down. When I looked down at her, she was laughing! That was maybe one of my favorite moments of the whole trip – realizing that of course she’s still a baby, but she was doing just fine.
Lower Expectations
Ok, so I just said above to raise expectations. Let me explain what I mean. There are all sorts of different travelers and travel “styles” if you will. Some people go on vacation and they want to vacation with sleeping late and ordering room service. Some people have an itinerary planned out to the half hour and when it doesn’t go according to plan freak out. I’ve always tended to be somewhere in the middle – I like to accomplish as much as possible, but still want to be somewhat relaxed and go with the flow. Traveling with Charlotte though, I realized pretty quickly that I needed to take it another big step back. Even as my fingers were itching to make a tentative ride plan, I had to cool it and follow Charlotte’s cues. Sometimes we would arrive at a ride, only to realize she had fallen asleep on the way there. Or when we realized that she was really dying to just move around, so we found a grassy spot at the hotel and let her play for little while (that’s the picture above). Luckily I was traveling with really understanding people, and instead of trying to check rides off the list I just really enjoyed the ones we did get to experience! I was also able to really have fun just being at the park with my little family, and even in minor stressful moments (like when Charlotte’s diaper was at a bad angle and she peed on me – real life, people), I never lost perspective of just how lucky we were to be there.
Ask For Help
Ok, this one really applies mostly to traveling alone with baby, and I should preface by saying I hate asking for help in general. I’m so lucky to stay home with Charlotte, and whether I’m going to a tax appointment or business meeting for the blog, she’s right there with me! So in my mind I thought, if I can occupy her on my lap for a two hour meeting, a flight will be ok! Well, kind of. She actually was a great flier, but there were definitely moments where I thought Kirsten, was this the best idea? Like when I had to go to the bathroom on the plane. As I made my way up the aisle, eyes set on that teeny tiny toilet door, I thought I have literally no idea how I’m going to do this. When I got there, a flight attendant was nearby doing paperwork, and I actually asked her if she wouldn’t mind holding Charlotte for a minute. I was expecting her to begrudgingly agree, but to my surprise she was thrilled and told me it’s her favorite part of having babies on the plane! So Charlotte got a few minutes of peek-a-boo with someone new and exciting (I could hear her laughing on the other side of that thin plastic door), and I didn’t have to figure out mommy-baby Tetris fitting us into that minuscule room. That was a big learning moment for me – that people see you’re traveling alone and doing the best you can, and most people are more than willing to help.
That’s about it! Not rocket science, but just a few observations. We have a big trip to Britain and France coming up this summer – luckily with my husband traveling with us! This short trip to California has really helped me begin to re-calibrate expectations, and better envision how we will all have a super fun and memorable trip like this one.
Have you traveled with kids and learned something new? I’d love to hear about your experience (and tips!) in the comments below!
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Easter is on the early side this year (April 1), and it’s totally throwing me off. I feel like it was just Valentine’s Day!
I love setting a nice table, whether it’s for a special holiday or to celebrate the rare occasion that I make my family dinner without the crock pot (anyone else? anyone??). We’re heading to my parents’ for Easter dinner, so this year I decided to do a casual Easter brunch at our house.
I read an article last year about hosting vs hospitality, and it really struck a chord with me. In the past I’ve really focused on the perfect menu or an immaculate table, kind of losing sight of the whole purpose – having friends over for a good time. When I put together this table I went for a more casual feel, imagining where my friends and I would be most comfortable drinking a mimosa.
This white and blue color palette is one of my favorites because it always looks so clean and happy, and so perfect for spring just around the corner. These are my everyday plates, and I love that they’re so versatile. You can find similar ones here.
I thought these bunny ear napkin rings were way too cute to pass up (And also on sale right now)! I saw them and actually chose the coordinating chargers based off of them!
Whether you’re planning a big Easter dinner or just getting together with a few friends, I hope you have a wonderful holiday as we FINALLY move into spring!! Happy Easter everyone!
See something you like? Drop a comment below to let me know!
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Well you can tell from the title – these boozy brownies are not for the faint of heart! The brownies themselves are made with reduced stout (I used Guinness), and the ganache is made with Baileys, so while they make a perfect St. Patrick’s day dessert, you can bet I’ll be making these all year round.
If you’re not a fan of beer, don’t worry. Neither am I. You actually can’t taste the Guinness at all in these! The beer just acts as a chocolate flavor enhancer, similar to coffee, and makes for a dense brownie.
I took a note from one of my previous recipes, my merlot chocolate truffles, and reduced the Guinness before adding it to the batter. That just helped give my brownies a more intense, less watery flavor. Ain’t nobody got time for watered down anything, but especially not brownies.
So now for the chocolate. In the brownies themselves there is your usual suspect, cocoa powder, and there are also chocolate chips stirred in to take these up a scrumptious notch. Then instead of frosting, I opted for a Baileys dark chocolate ganache. I know a lot of people like frosting on their brownies, and you can go that route too. I wanted these brownies to be an intense chocolate experience, so that’s why I used a ganache instead.
These brownies are ooey, gooey and packed to the brim with chocolate. What more could you ask for?
Brownies Ingredients
12 oz Guinness, reduced to 1/2 cup (see instructions below)
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder (regular is good too, I just went intense)
1/4 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
Ganache Ingredients
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Baileys
2 cups semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
Brownies Directions
Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and line a 9×9 pan with parchment paper (parchment paper isn’t necessary, it just makes it easier to get the brownies out).
Pour one bottle of Guinness (or other stout beer) into a small pot, and heat over medium heat until it almost reaches a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and let simmer for about 20-25 minutes – or until it has reduced to between 1/2 and 3/4 cups. Let cool.
Whisk together the cooled Guinness reduction, butter and sugar. Add the vanilla, followed by the eggs.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and cocoa powder.
Add to the Guinness mixture in two batches, stirring until just combined each time. Add the chocolate chips.
Pour batter into the greased pan, and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. Start checking to see if they’re done after 30 minutes, and then check every 2 minutes after that. There’s nothing worse than an over-baked brownie! Mine were done at 34 minutes, for reference.
Let cool almost completely before covering in ganache.
Ganache Directions
Measure chocolate chips into a heatproof bowl and set aside.
In a small saucepan, combine heavy cream and Baileys. Bring to a simmer.
Pour the heavy cream mixture over the chocolate chips, and stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
Pour over the cooled brownies, and let set for at least five minutes before serving.
Serve with milk or red wine, and enjoy!
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This post contains affiliate links, which means if you follow a link and purchase the item, I may receive a small commission. I promise that any money earned will be used to produce future posts!