the angelo:HOME blog

my tea with Michelle Pfeiffer...

2013-05-19T05:14:00.000-07:00

Well, now I know for sure what I will be serving on my date
with Michelle Pfeiffer!

I think it would be a breakfast. Not so much pressure and if things go well, there's always lunch and dinner.

I cannot imagine for a minute that she wouldn't love these.

Thank You, Beth! -angelo

P.S. Apologies to David E. Kelley.

FROM BAKER BETH:
Angelo has a lot of admiration for a lot of women worth admiring: Tina Fey, as you so well know.
Meryl Streep. Kate Winslet. I could go on. The list is pretty long. But he seems to hold an extra-special place in his heart for Michelle Pfeiffer.

Angelo and I share an appreciation for "Grease 2," which is both delightful and cheesy. By which I mean that the film is both delightful and cheesy and the fact that we appreciate it is both delightful and cheesy. Everything associated with "Grease 2" is delightful and cheesy.

Whether or not you factor "Grease 2" into the equation, Michelle is unquestionably talented and strikes me as a lovely person, relaxed and refined. Captivating, Angelo calls her. That's a good description.

So it will come as a surprise to exactly no one that I pondered a Michelle Pfeiffer-inspired cookie.

She's vegan. So I wanted to create a vegan cookie. I really did. So Angelo could invite Michelle over for tea and have something to serve to her. (You know Greeks and their hospitality ... .) But my psyche was not prepared for recipes that contain ingredients such as soy protein isolate and xanthan gum. I can't do it, vegan friends.
Angelo and Michelle will just have to meet at a vegan cafe for a coffee date.

But I carried on with the idea of a Michelle Pfeiffer-inspired cookie. I knew I wanted to bake something soft. "Nothing crunchy," I wrote in my notes. "It would have to be a soft bite of something, because I don’t see Michelle chomping on something crunchy. She should be able to chew it delicately, quietly. Someone refined and captivating wouldn’t be OK with sounding like she was chewing on gravel."

(My stream-of-consciousness cookie notes are full of tidbits like that.)

I had decided that lemon curd would be involved, which made me want an accompanying cookie that involved cream cheese, because cream cheese and lemon are lovely together. And the color of lemon curd ties in with her blondeness. Each cookie is bite size with the slightest bit of a sugar coating and can be spread with a bit of curd and enjoyed whole. That way, no crumbs.

Crumbs are not captivating.

Enjoy, kids! Angelo, have fun on your date!

— Beth

Cream Cheese Cookies with Lemon Curd
(Based on this cookie recipe and this lemon curd recipe.)

Cookies:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
Additional granulated sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 350º. Cream the butter and cream cheese together. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Chill dough for an hour or so to allow it to firm up. Roll small amounts of dough into small balls* then roll in granulated sugar and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until the sugar is just barely golden at the edges.

*I used small amounts of dough, about measuring teaspoonfuls, to make small cookies. You needn't be so obsessive. You can make slightly larger cookies, as normal people would do, and bake them a little longer. As for yield, it will depend on how big you make the cookies, but this recipe does not make a lot of dough.

Curd:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice (3 or 4 lemons)**

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the eggs and yolks. Beat for 1 minute. Mix in the lemon juice. The mixture will appear curdled but it will smooth out as it cooks.

In a medium, heavy-based saucepan, cook the mixture over low heat until it looks smooth. (The curdled appearance disappears as the butter in the mixture melts.) Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 15 minutes. It should leave a path on the back of a spoon and will read 170°F on a thermometer. Do not let the mixture boil.

Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the curd to a bowl. Press plastic wrap onto the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming and chill the curd in the refrigerator. The curd will thicken further as it cools.
Covered tightly, it will keep in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for two months.

**Note: The original recipe calls for stirring one teaspoon of grated lemon zest into the curd after it's taken off the heat. I omitted it for my purposes, because I didn't want bits of zest to mar the silky texture of the curd, but you may want to include it.

Yield: about 2 cups

One year ago: Portlandia Cookies

Two years ago: Sablés and Dark Chocolate Espresso Biscotti

hankering...

2013-05-13T04:03:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you just can't get something out of your head.

For some reason, I can't stop thinking about cheese biscuits. I haven't had them recently, and I think the last time I did was probably a year ago.

Also, it's not like I'm going to be in a place where I can make them anytime soon. I'm currently on the road and hotel rooms, for the most part, frown upon any kind of oven involved cooking done in your room.

That does not mean that you cannot partake of baking and biscuiting.

As the food Gods would have it, when I meandered over to Food52, there were cheese biscuits staring right at me.

They are worth staring back at.

Just look at 'em. Gorgeous. Recipe for these beauties HERE.

Have a great week, kids!
-angelo

mother's day breakfast...

2013-05-11T19:25:00.000-07:00

This seems like a good one, no?

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen, adapted from, Marion Cunningham's Breakfast Book, where it was adapted from an old Fanny Farmer cookbook.

Happy Mother's Day, however you celebrate and nosh!

-angelo

wander...

2013-05-10T07:38:00.001-07:00

how about a monkey...

2013-05-09T13:48:00.001-07:00

coming this summer...

2013-05-07T21:45:00.002-07:00

to a bedroom near you...

2013-05-06T08:30:00.000-07:00

dining stories...

2013-05-04T14:54:00.001-07:00

Where do you eat your meals?

In the car, at your desk, on the sofa?

I'm usually on the road so most of my meals are either in a rental car, or hotel room desk.

When I was growing up in Chicago, dinner time was a big deal at our house.

Not just the making of the food, but the sitting/gathering at the dining table.

Stories and the day's adventures were shared, even if the baklava wasn't.

Our dining table also became the place for my countless art and baking projects.

So, when it came time to get into the world of dining room furniture, I wanted it to be a warm, inviting, and casual---even if you dress it up with your finest china, I like the idea that it's never fussy.

The woods are reclaimed, so no two table are exactly alike.

The chairs are in a great linen/twill type of feeling and looking fabric, but easy to clean. Just in case a scuffle breaks out over the last piece of cake. I've been there. It isn't pretty.

The LEXI Dining Chair has great nail head detail along the base and the back, button tufting and a slightly arched back. It's a classic style that partners beautifully with the more contemporary and rustic feel of the BROOKDALE Dining Tables.

The tables also make swell desks with the LEXI being the perfect desk chair.

Grounding the whole dining room with a great big rug (I recommend at least 8x10, enough so that your chairs don't get snagged on the rug when they are being pulled in and out) pulls the whole look together, and makes for a beautifully layered/personal space.

Plus, I encourage you to mix n' match. All the chairs don't have to match--feel free to add your own flair.

It's the beginning of your own meal time memories!

-angelo

sale...

2013-04-27T16:52:00.000-07:00

thank you...

2013-04-25T13:57:00.000-07:00

Twice a year I make a pilgrimage to High Point, NC.

I'm there for the furniture market where all of us that love design, home furnishing and all around home stuff, gather to see what's new, display what's new and celebrate it all!

I'm usually there for two weeks. A week of setting up the showroom and a week of taking the whole experience in.

It's a lot of prep work and setup. This year we debuted our new feather/down/8-way hand tied sectional, new larger scale sofas, brand new sustainable wood pieces, dining tables, rugs, throws, accent pillows, bedding and a new collection of lighting.

NONE of this is possible without an amazingly hardworking, delightfully inappropriate and fiercely loyal group.

A BIG "Thank You" goes out to everyone at Handy Living, Surya, Culp, Hallmart, Bocasa, Modus, AFLighting and JeffCo, along with all the enthusiastic and tireless reps that are the front line and goodwill ambassadors of our angelo:HOME brand. Their tireless efforts make each market better than the last!

Our retail partners, new and existing, make this journey so much fun and memorable at every turn. They are the best at what they do, and we're honored and proud to be a part of their team!

Also, let's not forget three places that keep us very well fed and hydrated.

PITA DELITE for the best customer service and sheer joy of food at the Market.

OSCAR'S for one of the best burgers!

THE OLD FOURTH FILLING STATION for pretty much everything on their menu.

Thank You! -angelo

design fun...

2013-04-25T12:17:00.000-07:00

We all know that lighting can change the way a room feels and looks.

Why stop there?

How about the actual lighting itself making a statement of fun, while adding warmth and shedding light!

My new Brighton Collection was designed with just that in mind.

Fun and Function make for a great way to design in any room in your home.

Take a sneak peak at the whole NEW a:H lighting collection from AFLighting HERE.
-angelo

deal o' the day....

2013-04-23T19:43:00.000-07:00

spring.

color.

fun.

happy weekending...

2013-04-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

It's almost the weekend and as always, I'm thinking about food.

Tomorrow, I'll be on a couple of different planes jouney-ing to High Point, NC for the furniture market. There will be plenty of Southern Foods to keep me well sustained for the next couple of weeks down there.

In the meantime, I'm already nostalgic for some of the beautiful to look and oh so tasty to try, chocolate creations I stumbled upon this week.

-Chocolate Baklava from LRF

-Dark Chocolate Fudge Doughnut Cakes
from Edible Garden (thanks Baker Beth)

-Irish Coffee Brownies from Confident Kitchen

Hope Your Weekend is Swell, Kids! -angelo

the "why"...

2013-04-11T01:23:00.000-07:00

if you can't make it to napa...

2013-04-09T08:27:00.000-07:00

design your own style...

2013-04-06T22:28:00.002-07:00

cookie o' the month...

2013-04-04T14:18:00.000-07:00

Coming up with a new cookie creation every month, that is not only delicious but also
beautiful to look at, is daunting enough.

But our Baker Beth always takes it one step further.

The cookies are connected to/by more than just delicious ingredients. They are telling stories.

I firmly believe that great design helps to tell our story to the world--maybe even to our own selves a little bit. Perhaps it's a way for us to confirm our own story through our home.

Food has the same power.

It can tell the journey of where we've been, where we are, or where we're headed.
And like great design, it always tastes better when there's a story.

Thank You Beth for sharing your amazing talents and heart with us. -angelo

FROM BAKER BETH:

If I've never mentioned in one of these posts, I am a total sap.

Total. It takes next to nothing to bring me to tears. It is a trait that serves me well in moments that call
for great empathy. In job interviews, not so much.

Such was the weepy case with this post which led me to create this cookie.

And here we are again.

Angelo, grab a tissue. Just in case.

When schmying around for inspiration for these cookies, I review Angelo's posts from corresponding months in years past.

Three years ago this month, he wrote this post which includes this memory of his dad:

"On certain weekends he'd wake me up really early (before the sun was even up) and we would drive to our local Dunkin' Donuts. He'd have a coffee and I'd get a chocolate milk. We'd sit at the counter, eat and drink our breakfast and bring home a dozen. I'd go back to bed and he'd go off to work."

That melts my heart. Angelo, as a little guy with his chocolate milk, spending some coveted early-morning time with his dad.

It doesn't get any more endearing than that.

So I started thinking about some kind of doughnut-inspired cookie. But a doughnut-like cookie would be, well, like a little doughnut. Nothing inventive about that.

But some kind of yeast-raised cookie, I pondered? (I like yeast-raised doughnuts more than cakey doughnuts.)

Eventually, my mind wended its way around to biscuits.

Which are not doughnuts, I know. But sometimes, my interpretations are broad.

And biscuits are breakfasty. And I know that people like to smear them with honey.

So I made wee biscuits with a honey glaze, which remind me of Dunkin' Munchkins, which came into being while Angelo was still a kid. His dad-and-doughnut mornings may have happened pre-Munchkin, but it all ties in together in my head.

I pondered making other glazes for these, like Munchkins come in other flavors. In the end, I opted for simplicity.
You, though, might want to make some with chocolate glaze, a la little chocolate doughnuts, or a jam glaze, like jelly-filled doughnuts, but inside out.

In any event, enjoy. And if you have kids, maybe take them out for doughnuts this weekend. And let them order chocolate milk.

— Beth

Wee Biscuits with Honey Glaze

Biscuits:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
3/4 cup milk, 2% or whole (I use organic 2%)

Honey glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons honey (I use Greek thyme honey because I like it)
Milk as needed

Preheat oven to 425ªF. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, work the cubed butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs with the occasional pea-size bit of butter remaining. Add the milk and use a fork to bring the mixture together. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead as little as possible to make a cohesive dough. Pat out to less than 1/2-inch thick. Use a small cutter, about 1 1/2 inches across, and cut straight down. Do not twist the cutter. Cut as many little biscuits as possible, then bring the scraps together, pat out the remainder of the dough, and cut the remaining biscuits. Place the biscuits on a ungreased baking sheet. Bake about 10 minutes until puffed and faintly golden. Remove from oven. Allow to cool for a couple minutes on the sheet then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Dip tops into honey glaze, then set onto cooling rack over a piece of waxed paper (to catch the drips) and allow the glaze to set.

For the glaze:
In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, honey, and just enough milk to make a medium-thinkness glaze. You want to be able to dip the biscuits into it to coat them nicely but not have it be so thin that all the glaze drips off of them before the glaze has a chance to set. Err on the side of thick and add milk as necessary.

Yield: about 30 wee biscuits

color block it...

2013-04-01T23:26:00.000-07:00

COLOR

You know I love it.

That's why my new angelo:HOME lighting collection is filled with it.

The MERCER line is all about deep, rich, vibrant hues.

Each lamp base is made of individually handblown glass, as is the finial. It's partnered with a hard back sturdy shade in a matching hue.

The perfect way to color block your room.

A pair of these on either side of your sofa, or on your bedside tables can give your neutrals the perfect touch of rich, hued, jewel-toned color.

At 26"High, these lamps will making a color statement in a classic way.

Even a single Mercer on a desk or entry table will make your room shine with color!

Go Forth and Design Fun! -angelo

multitasker...

2013-04-01T08:15:00.000-07:00

Introducing the NEW angelo:HOME Brighton Hill Bench Ottoman.

It can be used as extra seating, a coffee table, perfect for the end of a bed, OR go wild and just put your feet up.

Measuring at 48"L, 17"D and 17"H, however it's used--it will add style and character to any room.
-angelo

happy easter...

2013-03-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

Have a wonderful Easter, Kids! -angelo

Credit: Melanie Acevedo

(Tsouréki) from Saveur Magazine

MAKES 2 LOAVES

This braided bread, which is probably Byzantine in origin, is traditionally perfumed with the essence of makhlépi, the seeds of Mediterranean wild cherries. Check your local specialty stores for hard-to-find Greek ingredients.

2 7-gram packets active dry yeast
2 cups warm milk
9–10 cups flour
1 1⁄2 cups sugar
2 tsp. makhlépi (optional)
8 tbsp. butter, melted and cooled
6 eggs, 1 lightly beaten
Salt
1 tbsp. grated orange zest
1 tbsp. grated lemon zest
2 hard-cooked red-dyed eggs (optional)
2 tbsp. black cumin seeds

1. Dissolve yeast in milk in a large bowl. Stir in 1 cup of the flour and 1/2 cup of the sugar, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside for 1 hour. Steep makhlépi, if using, in 1/2 cup simmering water for about 5 minutes. Strain, discard makhlépi, and set aside liquid to cool.

2. Stir 1/2 cup water or makhlépi-scented liquid into yeast mixture. Add butter and 5 of the eggs and mix thoroughly. Sift 8 cups of the flour, salt, and remaining 1 cup sugar into mixture. Add orange and lemon zest, and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Turn out dough onto a floured surface. Knead (adding more flour if necessary) until smooth, about 10 minutes, then form into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with a clean dish towel and set aside to rise for 2 hours.

3. Return dough to floured surface. Divide into 6 parts, rolling into ropes about 15" long. For each loaf, tightly braid 3 ropes, then press 1 dyed egg (if using) near the end of each braid. Set bread aside to rise again for 1 hour on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

4. Preheat oven to 350˚. Brush bread with beaten egg, sprinkle with cumin seeds, and bake until golden, 40–50 minutes.

coming soon...

2013-03-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

I'm a sucker for classic rooms, inside and out.

I love the idea of tweaking--ever so slightly--in order to give a fresh, modern perspective.

This Summer, angelo:HOME will introduce a new outdoor collection that will also include outdoor dining.

Making style affordable doesn't mean that it can't be a new classic.

Happy Summering,
-angelo

tulips not included...

2013-03-28T11:27:00.002-07:00

Apparently, Summer is coming.

When it does get here, why not turn your balcony, patio, or deck into the perfect place to lounge.

Designed by me, customized by you.

You can do just a simple set of chairs to sit and ponder the great outdoors, OR up to a whole sectional to lounge and entertain.

Build your own grouping with four awesome fabrics to choose from.

All easy, affordable and fun! -angelo

style it easy...

2013-03-27T11:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, you just want it to be easy, right?

When putting together your room you shouldn't have to stress over the big decisions,
or the small ones. And, you should definitely not have to look at price tags that are ridiculous for real world living.

Our goal at the angelo:HOME store?

To make shopping for your home easy, affordable and fun! Our sofas come with the accent pillows shown ($549.95 delivered) and you can get great, colorful lighting from $99.95. We try to keep the ridiculousness to a minimum--unless there's spontaneous store dancing.
It happens. -angelo

design fun...

2013-03-17T08:35:00.000-07:00

From tea towels
for $9.95 to canvas beach bags with
rope handles from $19.95--
start Spring off with
color, style and fun at the angelo:HOME store.
-angelo

all things green...

2013-03-12T22:24:00.000-07:00

It's almost Spring. St. Patrick's Day is upon us.

The sun is with us longer throughout the day.

It's the perfect time to celebrate the color GREEN.

Raise you mug of green beer, or cup of green tea and join me

as I raise my frosty green milkshake to all things green!

-angelo