braids are the new black

they're not just for hair-do's and pie crusts anymore. would you believe me if one of the most beautiful pastas i've seen was braided?? and a ravioli no less! i guess i have two exciting things to share in this post. forget the braids for a minute (hard, i know) and let me tell you that if you're any type of foodie at all, stop what you're doing and subscribe to the tasting table emails. food lovers of every type will find information about up-and-coming chefs, new restaurants, adventurous recipes and more with these daily doses of genius.  more recently, the emails have included short videos featuring the chefs behind these incredible restaurants and recipes. you can stop pretending you weren't thinking about braids now...


today's email put chef adam leonti and his culurgiones or sardinian filled pasta in the spotlight. i almost left work i was so excited to give this braiding technique a try. they're gorgeous! i know the foundation to any great dish is the quality of the ingredients and the depth of flavor developed but i can't defend either of these with just a video. no, all i see is the presentation and with that i put my faith in chef leonti's hands that this pasta is as decadent as it appears.

so what have we learned from this post? braids will never go out of style, a beautiful presentation can even make a mcrib look elegant, and lauren has to talk her self out of leaving her day job in the name of food. k, great.

here's chef leonti's recipe for culurgliones with brown butter. i also pulled this recipe for crab ravioli with shallot cream from my trusty food and wine bible. enjoy! and if you're braiding pasta this weekend let me know how it goes!

slightly stuck on thanksgiving

this post might seem a little out of order (definitely late) but i haveee to share how i remixed our thanksgiving leftovers this year.  i had a number of ideas racing through my head for post thanksgiving meals but when my sister woke up on black friday and said she was headed out the door for a breakfast sandwich from old school bagel cafe it immediately clicked. in my opinion, old school bagel has the chewiest, most delicious bagels you can find anywhere in tulsa. the owner has been in the business of making bagels for over twenty years and prides themselves on their popular new york style bagels. their tag-line: "no new york in the name, but the bagels are the same."

[ thanksgiving remix 2013 | collard green scrambled eggs, roasted turkey,
smoky glazed ham and gravy on a everything bagel ]

any other day i would have ordered any variety of their breakfast bagels but on this morning i knew i had to create my very own thanksgiving version. as soon as my sister returned home this was born:  a collard green scrambled eggs, roasted turkey, smoky glazed ham and gravy thanksigiving breakfast sandwich on an old school cafe everything bagel. yum! i'll leave you with that...

side note:  all the thanksgiving ingredients are my mother's tried and true recipes except for the ham. that was my project this year and was prepared using this food & wine recipe for smoky glazed ham with red pepper jelly. the ham was absolutely falling off the bone with slightly charred, smoky edges and the red pepper jelly provided the perfect step away from traditional adding a tinge of spice with every bite.

sparkly friday

i haven't participated in black friday since i was in high school when i went a couple of times with my mom and sister. people are crazy. i was thisss close to braving the lines this year in hopes of an ipad air but target opened their doors at 8pm right as i was digging into my second helping of turkey and mashed potatoes. but let's be real, i'm a sissy when it comes to the cold so the thought of standing in lines without feeling in my extremities (dramatic?) appealed to me far less than sipping on my frosty glass of champagne. 

so instead of black friday, i'm deciding to add a little sparkle and prepare for the rest of the holidays by trimming my tree and cooking up my first thanksgiving leftover meal. i'm thinking something along the lines of a turkey and cranberry breakfast bagel? i love being my own recipe guinea pig

gobble tov!

[ 2012 thanksgiving remix | seared oyster stuffing, collard greens, roasted turkey and a poached egg ]

today, i'm thankful for too many things to count, blessed beyond belief and happier than a clam.  as with most americans i'm looking forward to seeing how far i can stretch my stomach with each morsel of delicious food that will be served. i've even dreamt of the leftover creations to come and hope to top last years thanksgiving remix.  oh, and my mom surprised me last night and asked me to make the seven pound ham she had sitting in the fridge. challenge accepted. gobble tov! (not jewish, but loveee whoever came up with that)

getting back together

hi friends. are we still friends? i'm sorry i've been a little distant. i want to blame it on my forced separation from the world of technology (my phone got stolen...boo) but really life got in the way. on that note, life has been great since i last checked in.  there have been several dinners, nights out on the town and countless hours spent with my gal pals.

[ love the vibrant colors of my tree ]

to kickoff thanksgiving week let me first say that i'm very thankful this is a short week (although i know it will be filled to the brim with work in these short days and holiday parties, nights out and many many delicious meals with friends and family.  here's to a fabulous week to kick off the festivities.

[ pork gua bao with homemade pickles ]

it's good to be back. here are some snapshots of what i've been up to. and yeah, its mostly food.

[ ribeye oscar with béarnaise on top of grilled asparagus and roasted rosemary potatoes ]

[ sweet potato biscuits with roasted turkey and cranberry sauce | thank gals day ]

[ shrimp & andouille stuffing donuts | thank gals day ]

[ three-cheese mac & cheese flatbread topped with prosciutto | thank gals day ]

[ pumpkin beer soup | thank gals day ]

[ terrible shot of mr sexy back himself, justin timberlake ]

[ pearls and pajamas with my gal pals ]

[ martinis on a night out ]

 until next time...

its a bone bash

happy friday! last night one of my besties chaired her very first event!  she was selected by the arthritis foundation to co-chair their first (and hopefully annual) bone bash halloween themed fundraiser.  with the help of a small committee they organized selection of the venue, music, decorations, the caterer and secured tables full of silent auction items as well as event and table sponsors. oh, did i mention this was all in a few short months? impressive.  

[ via ]

among our friends we had antony and cleopatra, lady liberty and uncle sam, piper from orange is the new black, a reno 911 cop, barack and michelle, and jasmine and the genie. we drank the walking dead (signature drink) and brain hemorrhages (signature shot that almost made my head hemorrhage), ate roast beast with a monster mashed potato martini bar and had green slime for dessert before boogieing our bones on the dance floor all night. it was great. she's great. congrats, love!

tonight we have dinner plans at a newly opened japanese hibachi style restaurant called zanmai that was conveniently placed next to the bridge with my absolute favorite view of tulsa.  excited to get some incredible shots of the twinkling tulsa skyline.

until next time...

thankful for my gal pals

every girl (or boy) deserves to be surrounded by a tight knit group of friends that they can talk with, play with, laugh with and especially lean on.  i've been lucky enough to find that bond in probably more than my share of girl friends (ha, sorry not sorry). but i really do appreciate the varying friendships i have with each and every one of them.  without making this a sappy post, my point is that i love having my gal pals around.  and if you've read even one of these posts you will know that my favorite time to spend with them is over a dinner. giving thanks for friendship?  i think that calls for a girls thanksgiving! stretch? who cares...

[ scalloped sweet potato stacks via my recipes ]

i've had girls thanksgivings with friends before and my company puts on a potluck lunch every year but i'm tired of the traditional.  it's not allowed here. you can have your mom's thanksgiving afterwards, girls.  for this dinner party i want to challenge my guests to be creative and think of finger foods and hor d'oeurves inspired by their favorite thanksgiving dishes.

[ thanksgiving turkey sliders with cranberry mustard via my recipes ]

for instance, roasted turkey becomes grilled cranberry glazed turkey skewers, smoked turkey sliders with gravy, or turkey meatballs stuffed with goat cheese and cranberry jam. the ham and mac and cheese turn into a chorizo mac and cheese flat bread.  the green beans transform to chilled green bean puree shooters with spicy panko breadcrumbs (to far?) perhaps you make pancetta apple stuffing donuts to dunk into your gravy??? i'm in love with this party and it hasn't even happened yet.  but it will.  it must.

[ pumpkin bourbon shakes via my recipes ]

can i tell you a secret? i've already dreamed up my ideal brunch if all the dinner puzzle pieces come together. thanksgiving poutine!  poutine is canada's most genius foodie invention(in my opinion): golden french fries topped with creamy cheese curds and delicious gravy.  yum! it's canada's version of cheese fries. my take? crispy sweet potato fries smothered in shredded turkey, cheese (goat or feta?), turkey gravy and a light drizzle of cranberry bbq sauce. oh, and topped off with a fried egg because you know, it's brunch.  sounds like gluttonous thanksgiving leftovers in the perfect dish to me!  i'll be dreaming of other fun inventions until the dinner party comes.  what ideas do you all have for a modern thanksgiving dish? i started a pinterest board for inspiration

until next time...