Friday, April 8, 2011

Recipe: Flourless Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Glaze

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My friend Katrina came over this past Sunday and surprised me with this bad boy! It tasted stupid good and since it is gluten free, my little man was able to enjoy it too! I really have such thoughtful friends, don't I?! LOVED this cake so much that I felt I would be doing my readers a disservice if I didn't share the recipe! It comes from Whole Foods Market online recipes.


Serves 12
We received this sumptuous flourless chocolate cake recipe from one of our gluten-free readers who said, "My gluten-eating friends now all use this recipe because of its taste and simplicity." We made it natural with the addition of real butter in place of margarine and unbleached cane sugar. We replaced the light corn syrup with honey. Enjoy this luscious cake — a little goes a long way!

Ingredients
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips or bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
1 cup (2 sticks) plus 3 tablespoons butter, cut into chunks
1 1/4 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract

Method
Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray, then line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper. Spray the paper with cooking spray, too, then set the pan aside.

Place two-thirds (8 ounces) of the chocolate and 1 cup (2 sticks) of the butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Stirring often, melt chocolate with butter until completely blended. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. (Alternatively, you may use your microwave to melt the butter with the chocolate, if desired). Add sugar and mix well. Add eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Sift cocoa into bowl and stir until just blended.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cake has risen and top has formed a thin crust. The cake should be just firm in the center when done. Cool for 10 minutes, then invert onto a plate, removing sides of springform pan. Remove and discard parchment paper and set cake aside to cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the chocolate glaze. Melt remaining 4 ounces chocolate and 3 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat, then stir in milk, honey and vanilla. Set aside to cool slightly.

When cake has cooled, pour glaze onto the center. Using a spatula or the back of a spoon, very gently smooth glaze along the top and sides of the cake. Chill cake, uncovered, for 30 to 60 minutes before serving to set the glaze and make the cake easier to slice.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

this weeks "I want what she has!"

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This weeks "I want what she has!" goes to Abbey Kenny. I am loving this dress!

Dress: $54 Urban Outfitters

I love the colors, I love the open back, I love this dress as a whole! Abbey even wore a black and white stripped bandeau bra to give it a bit more contrast in the back. Which means she can wear a different color one (or non at all) each time she wears this dress to change up the look a bit! Love that! Great find Abbey!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Winner Announced: Nicole Smith Family Trees Giveaway

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The winner of the 5 by 7 framed "love addition" family tree with up to 12 people is:

Tracey from Just another mommy blog

Congrats Tracey! I will be contacting you with the information you need to order (and collect) your new family tree!


New giveaway announced next week. Get excited new moms and moms to be! ;)

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Charm & Chain

I found another jewelry site to LOVE! I actually stumbled across this one when I took a survey for Rachel Zoe's: Zoe Report. When I finished the survey, I had a 20% off Charm & Chain code waiting for me in my inbox. Woo hoo! I love finding new jewelry sites to LOVE! ;) The code is RZSURVEY if anyone else wants to take advantage.
Okay, so this site varies in prices because it is all different designers (and some are VERY pricy)! They have everyone from Kenneth Jay Lane to House of Harlow! (and we all know how I love Nicole Richie's line!)

I am now the proud owner of the "feather row ring"! It comes sometime this week and I couldn't be more excited! Well, actually I can be because I paid for said ring with the money I made from you the readers shopping my closet! So thank you to all! And for all that have no idea what I'm talking about, check out under my blog header and start shopping!! ;)

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Monday, April 4, 2011

Bonnie's Bachelorette Party

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Dress and Belt: Agaci
Shoes: Jessica Simpson
Cardigan: Forever 21
Necklace: Tiffany & CO
Large Ring: Charming Charlie
Chain Ring: Tiffany & CO

On Saturday night I attended my friends bachelorette party. We had great Mexican food, drinks were flowing, relocated at a beautiful suite at the House of Blues hotel, naughty gifts were given, male entertainment went down, oh and did I mention drinks were flowing?! lol
I had such a fun night even though I bailed before 11. (Hey, I still have a 4 month old who gets a middle of night feeding! Oh, and my kids get up at 6am for the day!)
It was great to see my friends in an out setting and it looked like Bonnie had a wonderful time! Here are a few pictures from the night!
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Congrats again Bonnie and Jason! I hope you have a beautiful wedding in Mexico next month! xo

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Mushroom Linguine

It was at Rubato's that Pauline and I had this terrific mushroom tagliatelle made by Chef Peter Neo that had me mesmerised for days.

It was off menu and is still so, though I had suggested to the owner to make it part of the regular menu as it was such a beautiful dish of pasta.

Undaunted, I decided to try my hand at my own mushroom pasta creation this weekend, and came up with a linguine version instead.

Cook some linguine and strain it, and run through cold water to stop the cooking process and set aside.

In another pan, heat some butter and some olive oil. The oil helps to ensure that the butter does not overcook. Dice some onions and an assortment of mushrooms.

It is best with porcini as this is what I had at Rubato's, but most of the time, I just settle for regular mushrooms as porcini is rather hard to obtain.

Add in the onions first and let it soften and get somewhat translucent. Next, add in the chopped mushrooms and add a dash of white wine. Let the mushrooms soften.

Add in a couple cups of beef stock to let cover the mushroom and onion mixture. Replace beef stock with chicken stock for those who do not take beef, but beef stock gives it a better flavor for this dish.

Let it boil and reduce the liquid by almost half. Add in a butter roux (butter and flour melted down) to thicken the sauce.

Finally, add in the linguine and toss it thoroughly with the mushroom and onion sauce and season with black pepper. Plate the pasta and garnish with some finely chopped parsley. As an option, you can add in grated or shaved parmesan for the extra lift in flavors.

For mushroom lovers, this should be a pleasant and flavorful dish!

Friday, April 1, 2011

this weeks "I want what she has!"

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This weeks "I want what she has!" goes to Ali Orebaugh. These boots are outstanding! Sadly Ali does not remember where she got these or how much they were! BOOOOOO! lol
I'll let that slide only because she showed up to my house the next time wearing these bad boys:

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Okay Ali, I'm loving your footwear! These will go with anything and everything this spring/summer/ and maybe even fall!

Shoes: $25 Forever 21

Well played Ali. I have shoe envy for sure!