the lushers

california, here we come {again}: paso robles wine country & the pch

mrs. lusher — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:04:28 +0000

after a relaxing night, we got up fairly early. if there’s one thing we learned from northern california wine country, it’s that the tastings start early. like 10am early.

we packed up & hit the road, winding through the countryside until we hit justin winery. the wineries are pretty spread out in this area, but the drive out to justin is well worth it. they focus on mainly bordeaux varietals, some with names that invoke memories of high school geometry, like isosceles & obtuse.

our next stop was the beautiful tasting room at tablas creek.

here, we tasted through their rhone style wines & grabbed a few bottles to bring home, including their delicious rosé.

driving back towards the highway, we saw plenty of signs for familiar wineries, though most of them were open for tastings thursday-sunday & we happened to be passing through on a wednesday. noted.

our final wine stop was at turley, whose wines we’ve enjoyed ever since tom was allowed a semiannual allocation a few years ago. we scooped a bottle of their pesenti red velvet zin, a secondary label that’s only available for purchase at the tasting room…if you happen to be there, grab a few bottles. it’s insanely good for just $12.

after coming all this way, we would have been insane to NOT drive along the coast, so we headed west to highway 1. we had dinner reservations in san francisco & a lot of ground to cover to get there!

the weather up in the mountains was absolutely gorgeous, in the 80s with no humidity , something that you truly appreciate when you’re visiting from north carolina in august.

{look! no frizz!}

we crossed over the mountains, to the oceanfront highway & pulled into the tiny town of cambria just in time for lunch. perfect, because nicole mentioned enjoying a pretty memorable bowl of clam chowder there at moonstone beach bar & grill. we sat on their deck, overlooking the ocean, & just watched the waves & the birds boldly grabbing fries from diners’ plates.{these birds know no boundaries in their quest for fried potatoes.}

now, i’m not typically a clam chowder lover, but when something comes so highly recommended, i’m willing to give it a shot. & nicole was right. this chowder is memorable… rich & creamy, with a warm garlic undertone, studded with bacon & clams & served in a perfectly toasted sourdough boule…it’s without a doubt, the best clam chowder i’ve ever had, one of the best soups, even. bon appétit, you will be hearing from me soon. people need this recipe.

after lunch we headed down the road just a bit to the actual moonstone beach, where we changed in the car because the temperature had dropped about 30° by the water & the fog set in. but i was still going to dip a toe in the pacific, which is all i did because it was fah-reezing.

the rest of the afternoon was spent in the car, soaking in the beautiful scenery

of big sur, carmel, monterey & the rest of the rocky coastline all the way to san francisco.

lemon sugar cookies

mrs. lusher — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:00:37 +0000

citrus is winter’s little bright spot, the standout amongst the bleakness of winter produce. & while the bright flavors & tartness are reminiscent of sunny days & warmer weather, citrus fruits are really at their peak right now.

so grab some lemons & get baking! these soft & chewy lemon sugar cookies are sure to brighten up any winter day.

LEMON SUGAR COOKIES
makes about 3 dozen cookies

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large lemons, zested
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar, for rolling the cookies

preheat oven to 350°. line at least two baking sheets with parchment paper & set aside.

in a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder & salt. set aside.

using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, or hand mixer, beat the butter & sugar together at medium speed until creamy & smooth. add the lemon zest, egg, vanilla & lemon juice & continue mixing until well combined. gradually add in the flour mixture until combined.

roll dough, by the tablespoon-full, by hand into little balls, then roll through the reserved granulated sugar. place on prepared baking sheets & bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the cookies are set & slightly golden. let sit on the baking sheets for a few minutes to firm up before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

from two peas & their pod

california, here we come {again}: paso robles

mrs. lusher — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:00:17 +0000

oh hi. remember the time we went to mexico & california & i totally forgot to finish recapping the trip? here’s the rest…

from montrose, we drove about three & a half hours north on the 101, through santa barbara & the wine country from sideways, up to paso robles.

somewhere among the winding road & high mountains near san luis obispo, we heard a local pronounce paso robles for the first time on the radio. we both looked at each other & said, “whaaaaa? paso RO-bulls????”. this whole time we had been saying “passo ro-blase” & no one said a thing, so either a) they didn’t know either, or b) they were being polite. at least we had been corrected before we made it within city limits.

we checked into the la quinta {trip advisor rated #1. our room was HUGE.}, dropped our stuff off in the room & headed back to the lobby for the complimentary happy hour…a very nice way to tide us over until dinner with local salami, cheeses & of course, wines.

for dinner, we headed to villa creek, on the recommendation of west coast blogging friend nicole‘s friend. the weather was absolutely beautiful, so we decided to forgo the taco menu, that was only served inside, in favor of enjoying the late evening sun in the courtyard.

the food was all fresh & delicious & since it was fig season, we made sure to order everything on the menu that included them.

we called it an early night, grabbing a bottle of wine from the gift shop in the hotel lobby & a couple glasses.

we had wineries to hit in the morning!

tomatillo chicken stew

mrs. lusher — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:00:33 +0000

i was really hoping this stew wouldn’t be all that great.

i mean, i wanted it to taste good, but just didn’t feel like the plating & the garnishing & the photographing…i was tired & hungry & just wanted to slop it in a bowl & eat. so I went over to the stove, where this stew was simmering, hoping that it was just ok, tasted a spoonful & said, “damn it. it’s really good.”

who was i kidding anyway? i never can get enough of anything with tomatillos. they’re in our favorite salsa verde sour cream enchiladas & white bean chicken chili. i just love the brightness & tang they bring to a dish & while they’re typically in season late summer through fall, i’ve seen some pretty good looking fresh ones in the stores lately. i think this warm weather we’ve had so far this winter has tricked them in to sticking around a little later than usual. if fresh tomatillos aren’t available though, there are some pretty nice jarred salsas verde that can stand in their place in this recipe.

TOMATILLO CHICKEN STEW
serves 4

TOMATILLO SAUCE
1 1/2 lbs tomatillos
2 jalapenos, stemmed & chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons lime juice
pinch of sugar

CHICKEN STEW
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes & patted dry
kosher salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
extra virgin olive oil
2 yellow onions, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 cups tomatillo sauce
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

to make the tomatillo sauce, preheat the broiler to high. line a baking sheet with foil & set aside. remove the papery husks from the tomatillos & slice them in half. place them cut-side down on a baking sheet & roast for 5-7 minutes, until blackened in spots. cool enough to handle.

add the tomatillos, any juice they released, jalapenos, garlic, salt, lime juice & sugar in a blender & puree until well blended.

heat enough olive oil to coat the bottom of a large skillet over medium high heat, almost until it smokes. salt & pepper both sides of the chicken & drop it in the hot skillet. brown the pieces on each side; they don’t have to be cooked through. when the chicken has all been browned, reduce the heat to medium & add the onions. cook until softened & the browned bits from the chicken have loosened from the bottom of the pan. add the cumin & coriander & stir until fragrant. add the garlic & cook for a minute more.

once the garlic has become fragrant & delicious, add the browned chicken back to the pan. stir in the tomatillo sauce, chicken stock & oregano. bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer & cook, partially covered for 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. throw in the cilantro & cook for a minute more. serve.

from simply recipes

meatless monday | chipotle spiced winter chili

mrs. lusher — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:08:02 +0000

last year around this time, tom & i took to roasting sheet after sheet of sweet potatoes, turnips, celeriac & parsnips to try to get in some daily doses of fresh veggies. it can be kind of hard {& depressing} to try to eat well in the depths of winter when the only fresh things around are root vegetables & hearty greens.

& unlike the rest of the blogosphere, i’m not really on the kale bandwagon.

when march rolled around last year, i gagged a little when faced with the metric shitton of leftover roasted root veggies staring at me in the fridge. i couldn’t eat another bite of them, but couldn’t bear to toss them either. thankfully, i came across this recipe.

it came together as a perfect combination of leftovers, pantry staples & desperation, but big bowls of this beer-spiked smoky sweet chili have been welcome in our dinner repertoire ever since.

CHIPOTLE SPICED WINTER CHILI
serves 4-6

extra virgin olive oil
1 lb mixed root vegetables (sweet potatoes, turnips, parsnips & celeriac), peeled & cut in 1/2 inch cubes
salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 heaping tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 cup dark beer
1 28oz can whole tomatoes, crushed, with their juices
2 chipotles in adobo
1/2 cup barbecue sauce (this is our favorite)
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
1 15oz can black beans, drained & rinsed
1 1/2 cups frozen corn

sour cream, for topping
crushed tortilla chips, for topping

preheat oven to 425°. spread the vegetables on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt & pepper & toss to coat evenly. roast for 30-45 minutes, until tender. set aside.

in a dutch oven, or other large, heavy pot, heat about 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. add the onions & saute until soft & golden, 7-8 minutes. add the garlic, chili powder & cumin & cook until fragrant, about a minute more.

pour in the beer & scrape all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. add the tomatoes, chipotles, barbecue sauce & worcestershire sauce. bring everything to a boil, reduce to a simmer & let bubble away for 15-20 minutes, until thick.

add the roasted vegetables, black beans & corn & simmer until warm. season to taste. spoon into individual bowls, top with sour cream & crushed tortilla chips. serve.

adapted from in good taste, tasty kitchen

a year in review | 2011

mrs. lusher — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 02:40:00 +0000

2011 has been a good year for the lushers, we cooked a lot of great things, ate & drank our way through california {which i need to finish telling you about} & then ate & drank our way through charleston {something else i need to get to…}. several thousand {!} of you came to visit us throughout the year & we couldn’t be more thrilled to have you join us.

so, without further ado, here are your favorite recipes from 2011…

1. pimento cheese
2. sea salt baked potatoes
3. everything soft pretzels
4. creamy blue cheese pasta with sausage & wine
5. dirty girl scout cupcakes
6. chocolate nutella chocolate chip cookies
7. life changing oatmeal
8. mexican potato soup
9. margarita cupcakes
10. tacos al pastor

those are some good ones!

but of course, being that it’s our blog & all, we had to go back & pick out what we most enjoyed eating in the past year.

1. quinoa cakes
2. crack pie
3. cherry hand pies
4. arugula salad with pomegranate, blue cheese & pistachios
5. bacon flower soup
6. life changing oatmeal
7. fresh radish baguette
8. blackberry jalapeno glazed pork tenderloin
9. pimento macaroni & cheese
10. blue cheese scallion drop biscuits
11. grilled brie sandwiches with peach chutney
12. biscuits & gravy

{we couldn’t narrow it down to just 10.}

cheers to 2012 bringing just as many tasty things to our tables & yours!

biscuits & gravy

mrs. lusher — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:54:14 +0000

biscuits & gravy: delicious southern breakfast food, name of our friend’s cats & our trivia team.

they’re also insanely easy to whip up, which is dangerous knowledge.

knowledge worthy of sharing.

BISCUITS & GRAVY
serves 4-6

FOR THE BISCUITS
2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

FOR THE GRAVY
1 lb sausage, casings removed (we used a hot pork sausage,that’s why the gravy in the above picture is orange)
about 1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2-3 cups milk (you can even use skim)
salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste

preheat the oven to 425°. line a baking sheet with parchment paper & set aside.

in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt & sugar. fold 1 1/4 cups flour into the dry ingredients. if the dough is not easily handled & soft, fold in more cream, about a tablespoon at a time.

lightly flour a working surface & turn out the biscuit dough. mound the dough into a ball. using your hands, flatten the dough into a flat disc, about 3/4 inch thick. using a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter (or other round object, like a glass), cut biscuit rounds. gather the scraps, reflatten & continue cutting until you’re out of dough. dip the tops of each dough round in the melted butter & arrange on the prepared baking sheet. bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.

while the biscuits are baking, brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium to medium high heat. do not drain. sift the flour over the top of the sausage & stir until the flour has turned a light golden brown. add enough milk to just cover the sausage & stir constantly until it becomes a thick gravy. add salt & pepper to taste.

add biscuits to a plate, spoon gravy over top & serve immediately.

adapted from my brother-in-law, nety, & best friend, lindsey

No related posts.

oatmeal, cranberry, white chocolate chip cookies

mrs. lusher — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 01:37:38 +0000

“so, you’re going to eat cookies made by strangers?”

“well, when you put it that way, yeah.”

that was the conversation between tom & the lady in front of him in line at the post office when he explained what he was there to pick up. see, about a month ago, we signed up to be a part of

where we baked three dozen cookies to exchange with people we only know on the internets.

& in exchange, we received three dozen cookies {nutty buddy bars, pink peppercorn strawberry jam shortbread & mint chocolate crinkles} from all over the country. thanks to the hard work of lindsay & julie, over 620 bloggers swapped more than 22,500 cookies all over the world. not bad for a first try

actually, i’d say it was a pretty smashing success. if you’d like to join in on the fun next year, sign up here to receive updates. until then check out our recipe {that we shipped to virginia, florida & oregon!} for thick & chewy, holiday flavored oatmeal cookies & be sure to visit lindsay‘s & julie‘s blogs on thursday to see the full roundup of recipes from cookie swap participants!

OATMEAL, CRANBERRY, WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies

3 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup butter flavor crisco
1 cup brown sugar
3 large eggs
7 oz dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

preheat the oven to 375°. line a few baking sheets with parchment paper & set aside.

in a medium mixing bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda & salt. mix well & set aside.

in the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, beat together butter, crisco & sugar on medium until light & fluffy. add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. with the motor still running, gradually add the oat/flour mixture until thoroughly combined. the dough will be very, very thick. fold in the dried cranberries & white chocolate chips.

drop rounded tablespoons of dough on the prepared baking sheets. pat down the tops a little, to make more disc-like shapes. bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown. cool on a wire rack.

adapted from ocean spray

thirsty thursday | autumn maple

mrs. lusher — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:00:26 +0000

this is one of my absolute favorite fall beers.

i searched for it as soon as fall beers starting rolling out, with no luck. we heard the only distributor in the state that carried the bruery’s beers had dropped them. i was pretty bummed. then, after resigning myself to the fact i may not get any autumn maple this year, tweets from local beer stores popped up proclaiming, “we have autumn maple!” & we ran to tasty beverage & grabbed an armful.

as you can read on the label, it’s a “belgian-style brown ale brewed with yams, molasses, maple syrup, and spices”, & basically has all the rich flavors & aromas of fall, without being a pumpkin beer. it pours a hazy, copper color & leaves a soft, boozy warmth after each sip. i preferred last year’s sweeter & smoother vintage a little more {i think. i wish i had one, so we could try them side by side.}, but overall, it’s still a solid brew. retailing for around $12 for a 750ml bottle, it may seem a little steep, but treat it like a bottle of wine…this is one you’ll want to sip.

meatless monday | cauliflower soup

mrs. lusher — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 04:07:46 +0000

i hope everyone had a fabulous thanksgiving.

i know we did & with my birthday last week too, we had cake & pizza & beer & thanksgiving & leftovers & biscuits & gravy to celebrate. & while i don’t necessarily feel guilty about that {remind me i said that next week when my pants no longer fit}, it’s time to get back on track. NOW.

{image credit}

& there is no better place to get back on track than with recipes from heidi swanson’s super natural every day cookbook. it’s packed full of wholesome, satisfying, easy to prepare, absolutely delicious recipes that, oh by the way, happen to be healthy & vegetarian.

this cauliflower soup is the perfect example of the great things within the pages of this book. the vegetables come together in such a beautiful way that it’s smooth, rich & creamy, without any actual cream, milk, or any kind of excessive fat that usually make creamy soups so delicious. each bowl just gets a little boost from some tangy dijon flavored croutons & sharp cheddar…it wont feel like you’re sacrificing a thing.

HEIDI SWANSON’S CAULIFLOWER SOUP
serves 4-6

FOR THE CROUTONS
6 oz bread, torn into bite size pieces
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 big pinch kosher salt

FOR THE SOUP
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 shallots, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 big pinch kosher salt
1 large potato, peeled & cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 head cauliflower, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup sharp cheddar, grated, plus more for topping
2 teaspoons dijon mustard

preheat the oven to 350°. spread the torn bread in a single layer on a baking sheet.

in a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, olive oil, mustard & salt. pour over the torn bread & toss with your hands to coat. bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden & crunchy, shaking the pan every 4 minutes or so to make sure they all brown evenly.

heat the butter in a dutch oven, or large saucepan, over medium high heat. add the shallots, onion & salt & cook until soft. add the potato, cover & cook for 4 minutes. you just want the potato to soften a little. uncover, add the garlic & vegetable broth. bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. check the potatoes. once they’re soft, add the cauliflower. cook, uncovered for 3-5 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender.

remove from the heat. puree soup with an immersion blender, or very carefully in a regular blender, making sure the steam has a way to escape. stir in the cheddar & mustard & check for seasoning. ladle into bowls & serve with remaining cheddar & a handful of croutons.

barely adapted from super natural every day

heidi swanson has no idea who we are, we just think she does really fantastic things with food in her cookbooks & her blog, 101 cookbooks. we wouldn’t say no if she invited us to dinner.