Fashion, Fashion, Fashion!

So the Fall 2010 New York Fashion Week has just wrapped up and every season at this time I scour the Internet to see what came down the runways to fill my fashion-curious brain. I've always had a bit of a time finding a good site, full of all of the goods, but I just saw a commercial for Full Frontal Fashion which is a Sundance Channel website that features everything fashion! This site is very comprehensive and is full of photos, videos, and articles that will catch you up on what is coming from designers next season. Check it out!

For a more focused view of what is happening in the fashion world, also see my friend Cara's blog, Bangs 'n' Cupcakes, for her fav pieces, which are always amazing! She has incredible taste!

Magnolia Bakery Gloriousness

Ok, so I have these terrific friends here in Nashville who always make Magnolia bakery cupcakes for people's birthdays- they are so delish! So I always thought that the Magnolia Bakery cupcake recipe was super secret, since there was so much hype around them, and since they're so good. Turns out the recipe is all over the Internet, which is great, cause now I make them for friends' birthdays, and everyone loves them! So I thought I'd share the recipe here so that you all can make them for someone's special occasion! Tell them they're the Magnolia Bakery's cupcake recipe and your friend will feel really special and happy you made them for her.

Word to the wise- DO NOT SUBSTITUTE any of the ingredients. I thought I could get away with using all purpose flour in place of the self-rising flour- NO DICE! My poor friend Leah, who's birthday was last week, suffered the consequences (ok, so it's not like they're terrible if you use only all purpose flour, but they are so much better if you follow the recipe exactly!).

Cupcakes:

• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers. Combine the flours in a small bowl and set aside. Cream the butter until smooth in a large bowl, using the medium speed of an electric mixer. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Icing:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

New Year's Smezalution...

When the year turns, everyone starts talking about resolutions- go to the gym, eat healthier, blah, blah, blah. Well I say, "New Year's Resolution, New Year's Smezolution!" And I also agree with the experts on weight loss and eating healthy, diets are a joke- for me (trying to lose baby weight), what works is picking some fav food options that you can make on at least a semi-regular basis....oh, and they have to be healthy food options that taste AWESOME (so that you'll actually want to eat them more than once in your life). Thought I'd share a couple that are DELISH and super easy considering how good they taste!

The BEST Caesar Salad Recipe.....

Don't be discouraged- I know this looks like a lot of ingredients, but after you buy them once, you'll have them at home for when you want to make this amazing dressing (guests are always amazed when you serve this dressing and then you tell them you made it from scratch!)

Put all of the following into a food processor or blender and puree together:

• 3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 tbsp anchovy paste (I know this sounds gross, but it gives that real Caesar salad taste, so don't skip it)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp hot sauce (such as Tabasco)
• 1 large egg (nuke it in the microwave for 8 seconds- enough to zap any salmonella, but not long enough to cook it)
• 1/4 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

After these ingredients are pureed together, gradually drizzle in 1/4 cup olive oil while the processor or blender is running to emulsify the oil into the rest of the ingredients. Toss the dressing over 2 bunches of romaine lettuce and toss in 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese (have more for topping too), and 1.5 cups of croutons. Add some grilled shrimp, chicken or salmon and you have yourself a delish homemade dinner that is filling but easy on the waist line!

The "I have all of this random food, and don't know what to make with it" Recipe:

The solution= dump some tasty vinaigrette on it all and roast it up! This is another option that can work out on a regular basis and can be super healthy. Last night I found myself with no plan for dinner, but with a bunch of random veggies and some chicken breasts and no idea what to do with them. So I decided to toss them in an easy vinaigrette dressing and roast them in the oven. I had cherry tomatoes and chicken- so I whisked together about 3 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, and 1 tbsp Dijon mustard (eyeball all of these and season to taste- toss some fresh cracked pepped in too), tossed the tomatoes and the chicken in the dressing, dumped them on a rimmed baking sheet and popped them in the oven on 350 for 25 minutes. At the last minute, I laid a slice of Swiss cheese on top of the chicken breasts to let it melt in the oven. I whipped up a box of whole grain rice mix (such as Near East brand), popped some of the whole grains on the plate and topped with a chicken breast and some of the tomatoes, and called it a dinner. It was really good too! You could do this with just about any random set of veggies you have left over in the fridge, such as carrots, squash, zucchini, bell peppers. Be creative and enjoy!

Arrested For Neglect

Well, I wasn't but I should be...I was so excited about this blog when I started it, and look what has become of it! So disappointed with myself...to my credit, I did have a baby, but last night he slept from 9pm to 6:30am, so I find myself with the energy to get going here again! It might be a tall order to ask you all to come back around and start reading again, but please do! I promise, I'm in it now for real!