CHRISTMAS EVE + DINNER AT MCGUIRE'S

if you ever visit the slightly obscure floridian town of pensacola, there are a few things you have got to do. spoiler alert! all of them contain food. you've got to eat grilled cheese from city grocery, bear claws from j's bakery, oysters from peg leg pete's, and just about anything off the menu at mcguire's irish pub. I've never been to ireland..unless you count mcguire's. and in all seriousness, it has got to be pretty close. there's irish folk music rhapsodizing through the rafters and it looks like a pub if I ever saw one--kind of dark inside and covered in money. like literally. there are dollar bills all over the walls and ceiling. they even have to shut it down for a day or two every year just to count it all for tax purposes. no joke. I've even contributed to, like, three of those dollars back in my youth. and one during this most recent visit. you're welcome, mcguire's.

this past christmas eve, we picked my brother, sean, up at the airport and headed on over to mcguire's for our annual reservation. you see,  this little irish pub just happens to be my brother's favorite restaurant and well, december 24th is his birthday, after all. we got the best seat in the house right by the fireplace and enjoyed munching on calamari and pumpernickel bread while catching up and meeting sean's fiancé who is the absolute sweetest. everyone ordered typical pub fare, except for me. I ordered the salmon--probably one of the more delicious cedar-planked salmon I've ever had. and when we were almost bursting, we asked for the stapler and passed around the dollar bills. we scouted out the good spots, did a little stapling, and then hit the town to show sean's fiancé all of his old haunts. the town was lit up, not unlike a christmas tree, though that comparison does seem a tad bit trite, and then made our way back home to settle in for the night. it was seriously such a wonderful night to spend with the family that I miss so much whilst living out here on this rock and I'm so grateful for this space as a place to immortalize it.

^^ I was too nervous to actually kiss the moose. he kind of gets around ;) ^^ 

 ^^ seriously. the best! ^^

 ^^ after scouting out our spot, mitch took stapler to wood paneling and we left our mark on mcguire's hallowed halls. ^^

in more recent news, my apartment is seriously so clean and finally feels like home. learning all of our european appliances is a bit like reading hieroglyphics from an ancient land. and I am off for a much needed day in the sun with a couple of friends. I hope all of you have a wonderful tuesday and thanks so much for reading!

love, arielle

HOLIDAY NEIGHBOR GIFTS

it's only tuesday and this week is already proving to be a hectic one. what with all the holiday baking, online christmas shopping, mitch's final taking, and packing and moving our apartment, this house has spun into one seriously chaotic web. however, there is one holiday tradition that can't be overlooked despite all of our current chaos. a tradition that my grandma did and mom did and I have sort of done the past few years. and that's the tradition of holiday neighbor gifts. this year, I picked things that were somewhat traditional, sweet and tasty, and that needed ingredients that I could get my hands on here on our little island. and the best part is? they can all be baked at 350 degrees fahrenheit, which if you're needing to multitask your oven, is super convenient.

here's what I included in mine ::

sugar cookies via vintage revival

some chocolate covered pretzel rods (fairly self explanatory)

and these magic bars ::

the recipe

1/2 cup of butter or margarine

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 bag chocolate chips

(I used semi-sweet)

1 bag butterscotch chips

1 cup shredded coconut

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup nuts

(left out because of allergies)

the method

step one :: preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. melt butter or margarine in the bottom of the pan. I usually just stick it in the preheating oven for a few minutes.

step two :: if you put pan in the oven, remove it and spread graham cracker crumbs evenly throughout the bottom of the pan.

step three :: spread a layer of chocolate chips, a layer of butterscotch chips, and a layer of coconut on top of the graham cracker crust. drizzle sweetened condensed milk evenly on top.

step four :: stick in the oven for 30 minutes or until sweetened condensed milk is no longer visible and coconut is toasted.

step five :: remove from oven and cool. cut into 1'' squares. then, share the love!

and that's just about as simple as neighbor gifts get! perfect if your holiday season is as crazy as mine. those magic squares were my absolute childhood favorite and I used to get so frustrated that my mom would, basically, give them all away! sad to say, I pretty much did the same thing to mitch this year. with the promise I would make him another pan when we get to the states in two days! I hope you are all having a wonderful tuesday and thanks for reading!

love, arielle

LOGAN'S PASS

a few weeks back, the mister and I made it back through logan's pass--rated one of the most beautiful drives in the us of a. every anniversary, we try to take a drive through there and it is one of the most inspiring moments of our year! you open the sunroof and unroll the windows and all of that fresh air and sunshine surround you in this cascade of nature and ( a little bit of ) danger because if you look out your window, it appears as though you're about to topple right over the edge of the mountain. but more than any of that, it's the time we look back on our first anniversary. the one where we decided to go for a couple of hikes in nothing but skinny jeans and flip flops as the sun was making its nightly descent. the one where we stopped by this hollowed out tree to take a picture as an elderly couple told us we looked perfect for each other. the one where we realized how comfortable things were compared to that this-is-new stage that comes with being first married. isn't it amazing how rituals bring back those most cherished memories? this year, we only had time for a short trip because we were pressed for time, but not so pressed we couldn't stop to take a picture and enjoy the view.  and that photo trio doesn't even do it justice ( I did mention how badly I slacked in the photography department recently, right? ). I highly suggest, if you are ever in northern montana, that you make a jaunt through logan's pass.

in other news, I made my first post-high school mixed cd because I needed a break from the island radio ( they sort of take everyday songs and add in beats that don't really jive ). it's crazy to think that our little island car, formally named little blue, doesn't have bluetooth or ipod capabilities, and so I've resorted to playlists burned to cds. do you guys even remember those? I was surprised that the process was pretty much the same. I guess relics don't ever really change. and the rest of life has consisted of a hike that was cut short due to a lack of know-how scaling a shale rock wall, a purposeful shortage in diet coke, eating clean, and watching netflix as that man of mine studies hard for the first blocks of the semester. craziness! where does the time go?

hope all of you are prepared for a wonderful thursday!

love, arielle

HOW TO :: DENSE UP A CAKE MIX

the title may seem a little unimaginative, but believe me, this post is worth a little meander through. one of my favorite bakery tricks ( and one of mitch's, as well ), is densing up a plain, old, regular cake mix. and in honor of my birthday, I thought I'd enable all of your sweet tooths and share with you one of my favorite kitchen hacks. without any help, box mixes tend to turn out dry and fall apart. when the need for cake is breathing down your neck, like I know it does with me, you don't always have the time to whip one up from scratch. ergo, densing up that dry, weak mix with a few scratch ingredients can make that cake taste like you spent hours in the kitchen rather than a mere 20 minutes. I picked this trick up from my cake decorating teacher who adapted this recipe from the wilton extendacake during my culinary undergrad--a total life saver since I was making a cake every couple of days. so without any further adieu, densing up that crumbly cake mix ::

the recipe

1 package of your favorite cake mix

all of the ingredients called for on the back of the box

1 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup softened butter

2/3 cup water

the method

beat the butter, then add in all of the box ingredients and then all of the additional ingredients. blend on low for one minute, then on medium for two minutes. scrape your bowl. you'll end up with about 6 and a half cups of batter. bake at 325 degrees fahrenheit for a large cake or at 350 degrees fahrenheit for smaller cake pans. you might need to add 10-15 minutes to the bake times on the back of the box. I use really shallow pans to facilitate the frosting-to-cake ratio that prefer and only had to bake for 30 minutes total. then, of course, frost it and load that baby down with lots and lots of sprinkles. you know how I love my sprinkles! #obsession.

and that's it. pretty simple, yeah? go ahead and give this a go and let me know how you get on with it in the comments. happy baking!

love, arielle

p.s. don't leave out the baking powder like I did above, it still tastes rich and moist, but it had a little trouble not sticking to the pan. whoops.

ARIELLE & MITCH TURN THREE

 happy anniversary to the man of my dreams! with all of the pre-anniversary hype, I cannot help but look back on our wedding day with fondness. how beautiful that decision was. how wonderful it felt to hear that he really did want to choose me. the joy we felt being married for eternity. but as with any big event, there are those little details we would all do differently. if I could do it again, there are several things I would change ( the groom, however, is not one of them ). as it is not customary or traditional for the bride to give a toast to the groom, I didn't, but it is one of the things I lament most. so with you as my audience, I would like to give a piece of that toast now. to tell you a little bit about the best man I have ever met and the best decision I have ever made.

( pardon any lovey dovey cheesiness ; we're head-over-heels in love, after all )

it wasn't long after I had met mitch that I realized he was sent to this earth specifically for me. this man is kind beyond all compare--a trait I wish I saw in myself more often. it was one of the first things I really noticed about him, actually. followed shortly thereafter by considerate, chivalrous, fun, gracious, integrous, caring, and so many more admirable traits. he is great at everything he tries. whether that's volleyball or medical school or roofing or cooking or bowling. he can literally do it all. he is so handsome, but isn't aware of it, which adds humility to his already wonderful character. I am so grateful for his unending support in all of my crazy whims, for his understanding when I'm being moody or a wee bit dramatic. I feel so honored to have his love and that out of all of the girls out there,  he chose me. he really was sent here to enrich my life with kindness and adventure and spirituality. I am so grateful for him and for the example that he sets for me on a daily basis. so here's to mitch. the closest thing to an angel I've met in my 20-plus years. 

love, arielle

IN HONOR OF BASTILLE DAY || A LITTLE LESSON IN FRENCH

we had a wonderful bastille day! mitch completed his third set of tests for this semester and I completed five miles on the treadmill. we played by the pool until the daily rainshower set in, then quickly surrendered inside and set our minds mouths to finishing up the remainder of the brownies I raved about yesterday. I got called into work for a couple of hours, but in no way was it unwelcome. it simply justified my later taking mitch to his favorite restaurant here on the island to celebrate the huge success that is his life ( he married me, after all ). after work, we headed on over to the french half of the island where locals from all over participated in a running event of some sort, jerked chicken in the public square, all while some seriously talented youth played the steel drums. the atmosphere was so alive that it was difficult to finally stop smiling because our cheeks hurt so bad. I will say that it was different than the bastille day I had set out for us. one filled with walking along the beach, nibbling on macarons and croissants, then filling up on magret de canard for supper. but the electricity felt in how it actually happened was so authentic that I was completely content with where the night was taking us. and sometimes, relinquishing control and letting the night take its natural course is just what I need.

in the spirit of bastille day, I've translated a few of the little things I cherish most into french, just for fun.

what are your french favorites?

 

*photos courtesy of pinterest

wishing you all an amazing tuesday!

love, arielle

BLUEBERRY PIE A LA 'MERICAN

in my humble opinion, there is nothing that speaks summer so thoroughly as a homemade, freshmade blueberry pie. most americans would say apple, and to that I say, 'what up?' apples are for autumn. summer is all about berries. berries that I may or may not have smuggled in from the not-so-neighboring coast of florida via my carry on during my last trip home. in all fairness, I did answer 'yes' on my immigration form when it asked me if I had any perishables. conscience clear. and rightly so because I would hate to be feeling guilty whist eating this delicious blueberry pie. I started off giving the top crust a stars-and-stripes appeal, but having not created a lattice since pastry class (circa autumn 2012), I couldn't resist! so I guess you can call this design 'stars-and-lattice'--not nearly as catchy but tasty, all the same. so let's talk recipe :: this recipe was adapted from this version by herriott grace compared with this version from pioneer woman with my own tastes and preferences thrown in there for good measure. the mister and I both really enjoyed devouring up the outcome. check it out.

for the crust ::

3 cups all-purpose flour ( plus plenty more for dusting )

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup cold butter

1 cold egg

about 1 cup cold water

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

step 001 :: combine all of your dry ingredients in a rather large bowl. 

step 002 :: add butter. with a pastry cutter, work the butter into the dry mixture. depending on climate and environment, this can take a little while. if your butter is melting all over the place, stick it in the fridge for a second, and then pull out and continue. when your butter/dry ingredient mixture resembles coarse meal, you're good to go.

step 003 :: crack egg into a 250 ml or one cup pyrex jug. beat slightly. then, fill with cold water to the one cup line. combine all of the liquid ingredients and make sure the end result is fridge-worthy cold. pour them over your coarse meal, mixing ever so slightly, and then scoop up into a ball. sit in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes so as to relax all of your gluten strands. you can get started on your oh-so-easy pie filling as you wait.

step 004 :: pull your ball of dough out of the fridge. dust your surface exceedingly and begin the roll out rotating dough wad 90 degrees with each roll of your pin ( this prevents sticking, which in turn, prevents holes ). continue doing so until your dough measures a quarter of an inch. in school, they literally measured ours, but simply eye yours ;)

step 005 :: place your rolled-out dough in a greased pie tin so as to have a couple of inches overlap hanging on each side. fold overlap into the pie so as to avoid a raw edge and begin your design. there are so many and everyone has their favorite. for the classic design above, I simply placed the index finger of one hand between the pie tin and the dough and then pinched it from the other side with the index and middle finger of the other hand. then, I just evenly spaced this design along the remaining perimeter of my pie crust.

step 006 :: form your top crust. this is where you really get to make your pie your own. for the stars-and-not-quite-stripes, it's obvious that I didn't have a star cookie cutter and I wish I had. however, that is the beauty of homemade things...they are seldom ever flawless, but they are perfection, just the same.

for the lattice :: roll out another wad of dough on your work surface. using your rolling pin as a straight-enough edge and a pizza cutter for cutting, cut one inch strips in your dough. place one set of strips loosely on top of your otherwise-ready pie with a few inches hanging over each edge. the less they touch that colorful filling, the better! then, simply lift up every other  original strip and place a new strip down. replace original strips when finished. keep doing this alternating the original strips lifted until you've covered the whole pie. using a knife, trim the overhang so that no dough is left hanging over your pie.

for the blueberry filling ::

3 cups blueberries

1/4 cup white sugar

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

3 tbsp honey

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1tbsp butter

steps :: combine all of your ingredients in a dye-proof bowl stirring until mostly mixed. spoon into awaiting crust. if you're doing a lattice top crust, it is really helpful to not overfill your pie as your original strips will get all gooey and blue making it a little more difficult. however, I never notice things like that once that pie is in my belly ;)

bake it ::

once ready to bake, lather that top crust with a little egg white and then sprinkle with a mixture of 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 tbsp cinnamon

preheat oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit

bake for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown

and there it is! it really was deliciously easy, hey? it had been so long since I had made a pie, that I was a little nervous that a) it would take a ridiculously long time, and b) that I would forget some crucial step. and although I wasn't nearly as organized as I would have liked to be, it was incredible how easy it was to recall all that I had once learned whilst at school. 

and one more little tip that I didn't learn at school :: my mother-in-law premakes all sorts of pies while she's in the pie-baking mood and then freezes them before baking. then, when she feels so inspired to have pie for dessert, she pulls one out of the freezer, lets it defrost, and tosses it in the oven. absolutely genius!

I hope that this is the beginning of many wonderful summer and fall pies for all of us! I know that I am a little more than anxious to make another. have a terrific tuesday! it feels so invigorating to tell you all that I'm off to work!

love, arielle

WEEKEND EXPLOITS || OUR SEEDY PICNIC

I don't know where I come up with these titles. this one is totally false. our picnic was nothing as sordid as all that. in fact, it was quite an enjoyable affair. one with hot dogs and watermelon and broccoli and blueberry pie. even the watermelon was seedless. a bit of irony when visiting the local grocer :: he was fresh out of hot dog buns, so we bought a fresh baguette and cut it into hot dog bun lengths to make do. something so french for our oh-so-american july fourth picnic almost seemed criminal, but upon further thinking about it, we decided it was perfect for our out-of-country experience. after gobbling up a hot dog or two, and making up for it by eating an entire tupperware full of baby broccolis, we went for a swim and I could literally watch mitch's stress dissipate. it must be hard to be a medical student--always feeling guilty for relaxing or having fun since your studying is never fully finished. my life is stressful, too... all that sunbathing is simply exhausting ;) and despite block week looming in the back of both of our minds ( can you believe it's come again so quickly? ), this beautiful afternoon picnic set the mood for the rest of the weekend. saturday was spent lounging by the pool and then seeking refuge under a rather leaky cabana when it started to rain. later that evening, we began our second-since-we've-been-married harry potter marathon, and it is so fun to quote our mutual and separate favorite parts. not to convince you further of our geekery, but we are already on prisoner of azkaban. we should probably slow that train down or we'll be done before the next weekend exploits, thinking about it now. nevertheless, mitch and I are absolutely in love with everything british. though, it hardly seems fair to rattle on about that after filling you in on our independence day picnic.

I start my new 'not-a-job' today and I've got a serious case of the jitters since it has nothing to do with nutrition and I've never done anything like it before. wish me luck as I'm wishing all of you a happy monday!

love, arielle