summer to fall {lace}

It's always a sad time of year when stores start shuffling their summer clothes to the sales rack; every year, I swear it happens earlier than ever before. It's a weird time of year to go shopping, because there is still the whole hot month of August to consider, but I never want to spend a lot of money on strictly warm-weather pieces. It's during this month that I start to build a fall wardrobe out of season-to-season transition pieces. Lace is a perfect fabric to ease into autumn; whether layered with warm-weather pieces, cut in fuller-coverage silhouettes, or crafted with rich fall colors, lace can easily be worn this season and the next.

All images from Pinterest.

white peach & cherry sangria

Baltimore's Sunday farmers market provides the perfect inspiration for seasonal dishes and drinks to try each week. This month, peaches and cherries overflowed from the farm stands. At least to my knowledge, I'd never had a white peach before, but the free samples made me an instant fan. I don't have a great deal of experience cooking with either fruit, but I rarely shy away from trying a fresh new cocktail. White sangrias are usually made with brandy and a dry Spanish wine, but I had some pinot on hand, and liked the idea of something crisp and citrusy. The result was a summery, sweet sangria that was almost too easy to drink. Serving the drink in mason jars made it felt even more laid-back and seasonal.

White Peach & Cherry Sangria

Ingredients 

  One bottle Pinot Grigio

  1/4 cup brandy

  2 T. granulated sugar

  2 white peaches, sliced

  2 cups Bing cherries, pitted and halved

  Sprigs of lemon thyme (alternatively, regular thyme)

  3/4 cup tonic water

Directions

Combine first three ingredients in a large pitcher. Add white peaches and cherries. Refrigerate at least 6 hours. When ready to serve, add thyme sprigs to pitcher (and glasses, if desired, for garnish). Add a splash of tonic water to each glass of sangria.

grilled steak & gorgonzola pizza with balsamic reduction

This pizza was seriously amazing. I'm talking fancy-pants pizza perfection... or at least as close as my apartment kitchen can get. I mean, is there any possible way that this pairing of ingredients could go wrong? No. In fact, I could have probably just thrown bits of everything in a bowl and grabbed myself a giant spoon. But then I wouldn't have gotten to enjoy Adam's faces/noises/palpable delight as he devoured three quarters of our his pizza. 

Not only did the flavors blend beautifully, but the textures were equally amazing. Generous slices of steak with crisp blackened edges but tender warm centers, hot melted cheese with cooling chunks of Gorgonzola, leafy green arugula, and a drizzle of glaze had a party in my mouth, and I'm not even a little mad at the intrusion. This is one of my most proud Gingersnaps original recipes, and I would absolutely and resolutely demand every person make it tonight if I could. Do it!

Grilled Steak & Gorgonzola Pizza with Balsamic Glaze


Steak

   10 oz. New York strip steak
   Marinade, see below (optional but highly recommended; it was delicious)
   2 T. Olive oil

Pizza

   1/2 lb. pizza dough

   Flour (and cornmeal if available), for work surface

   Olive oil, for brushing crust

   1/2 cup shredded Fontina cheese

   1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

   1/2 - 3/4 cup Gorgonzola (I used closer to 3/4, but I love bleu cheese)

   Handful of arugula

  

Balsamic Reduction

   1 cup balsamic vinegar

   1 T. honey

   1/4 t. black pepper

Directions

1.  If using marinade, mix ingredients marinate steak in refrigerator that morning.

2.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bring balsamic vinegar to boil in small pan, then reduce heat to medium. Cook until vinegar is reduced by half. Stir in honey and pepper.

3.  Heat 2 T. olive oil in saute pan over medium-high heat. Add steak and cook 5 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Remove from heat, tent with foil, and allow to rest while making pizza.

4.  Roll pizza dough to a thin crust on a floured work surface (add cornmeal if you have it). Brush with olive oil, transfer to cookie sheet or pizza stone, and bake in oven until slightly golden, about 10 minutes. 

5.  Remove crust from oven, sprinkle with Fontina and Parmesan. Add about half of the Gorgonzola in large chunks. Return to oven and bake until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted. Meanwhile, slice the steak.

6.  Remove from oven, add sliced steak, remaining chunks of Gorgonzola, and arugula. Drizzle with balsamic reduction and stuff your pretty little face.

  

My Favorite Steak Marinade

My favorite easy steak marinade is a 2:2:2:1:1 ratio (long enough for you?) of pantry ingredients. The measurements I used for the marinade are:

2 T. olive oil
2 T. balsamic vinegar
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. Dijon mustard
1 T. minced garlic

pretty girly things {dining}

Photo from Cherry Blossom Girl

Last night, I had a great girls night dinner with friends. Each lovely lady brought a dish, or of course wine, and they were all delicious. Sometimes it's so nice to just do something girly. While my annoyance grew as I waited for habitually late patients today, I found myself browsing sweet, feminine things. From a summery cocktail to an elaborate table setting, these photos just made me happy to be a lady (sort of).

Summer Sangria

Amazing table. Everything about it is perfect.  Photo from Wedding Chicks.

Pink Champagne Cupcakes

The cutest way to serve bread. Photo via Pinterest.

herb preservation

This idea is so genius in its simplicity that I'm not sure how I haven't thought of it before. I'm perpetually frustrated by the amount of produce that gets pushed to the back of the fridge, and subsequently into the garbage. Grocery stores are to blame (or so I tell myself), as they seem to only sell gigantic bundles of leafy greens that could almost never be used before their expiration. To preserve fresh herbs for later use, simply chop them up and add them to a muffin tin (I used miniature ones, but either size would work) with some olive oil and freeze. Once frozen, you can transfer the frozen disks to a labeled Ziploc. The next time you need a burst of flavor, simply add a disk or two to a saute pan and go right on cooking. Genius!

my week in photos

Hair Ties: Anthropologie; Shoes: Sperry, Love Bracelet: ASOS

If you're a regular reader, you've probably noticed that I've been pretty MIA this week. I really only have to say one word to convey the reason for this:  Comcast. Isn't that enough said? As it turns out, my budding iLife can do many things, but Gingersnaps is not one of them. This week, I went a little loco for accessories, which helped brighten up the rainy weather here in Charm City. While new purchases may not be the wise choice, I was thrilled with all of my finds. Life was a little hectic as Chubs "helped" us move (again), but he was rewarded for his efforts by an overnight (supervised, of course) visit from pretty little girlfriend, Harper. With my internet finally up and running, I'm excited to get back to regular posting... and a connection to the world.

strawberry & mascarpone ice cream

After many rounds of experimentation with homemade ice cream recipes, I have found two things to be true:  practice makes perfect, and Jeni of Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream is a genius. I've gushed over her cookbook before, so I'll spare you that repetition; however, I've come to realize that her basic ice cream base is the key to achieving smooth, creamy success, and can be adapted in infinite ways. For this Strawberry and Mascarpone Ice Cream, I adapted her Roasted Strawberry and Buttermilk recipe to my liking (an incredibly easy endeavor). Simply follow the directions as written, omitting buttermilk, using juice of 1/2 lemon, and adding 5 oz. mascarpone. The result was an ice cream so creamy and luxurious that you would swear it came from a fancy-pants creamery.