Happy Friday!

Here are a couple videos I loved!! I think Jimmy Fallon is the best and he makes me laugh every time. 

Game of Desks (for the game of thrones fans)

Lip sync-off with John Krasinski-he is just so darn cute

Bakery Nouveau

On Monday Brian and I were wandering around and discovering new spots for coffee, tea, and anything tasty in general. After walking for a few hours we came across Bakery Nouveau. We quickly glanced at the reviews and decided we needed to go in. Oh. My. Word. It was delicious!! Dare I even say that this place is about as close as I have come since being in Paris. Yes. I said it. They have bread made daily, pastries galore, sandwiches just like in Paris and of course coffee. Plus the ambiance in there is just lovely and cute. I'll take any excuse to go back there and hell, I'll take myself on a date if I must :)

Happy Birthday

Yesterday was my dear husband's birthday so a nice meal was in order. Everything turned out great and I just loved the recipes that I had to share! 

Honey Mustard Salmon:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Hellmann's or Best Foods Real Mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons Hellmann's Deli Mustard
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Pinch salt
• 4 salmon fillets or steaks (about 1 pound)

Preparation 

1. In medium bowl, combine all ingredients except salmon. Reserve 1/3 of mayonnaise mixture.
2. Grill or broil salmon, brushing with remaining mayonnaise mixture, until salmon flakes with a fork, turning once. Serve salmon with reserved mayonnaise mixture and garnish, if desired, with additional chopped green onions

Mascarpone Chive Mashed Potatoes:

Ingredients

• 3 lbs potatoes, peeled, cut in chunks
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 6 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• pepper
• kosher salt
• 1/2 bunch chives, snipped

Preparation

1. Add potatoes to a stockpot with hot water. Add the bay leaves and salt. Bring to a boil, then lower to simmer and allow to cook until very tender, 20-30 minutes. 
2. While the potatoes cook, whisk together the milk, chicken broth, mascarpone cheese and butter in an oven safe bowl that is large enough to add the potatoes to. Stir in the pepper.
3. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain the water and discard the bay leaves. Press potatoes through a potato ricer and into the bowl with the mascarpone mixture. Stir to combine. Taste for seasoning. 
4. Bake covered with foil in a 350 degree oven until heated through. Stir in the chives and serve

Sauteed Asparagus:

Ingredients

• asparagus
• olive oil
• butter
• salt and pepper

Preparation

I don't go by any recipe...I just heat up the olive oil and butter and throw the asparagus in with the salt and pepper and cook until tender in a pan. Simple!

Individual Brie and Apple Tarts

Ingredients

• 1 box (2 sheets) puff pastry, thawed
• 1 green apple
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 medium wedge of brie
• 1 egg
• flour (for rolling)

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper
2. Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll it slightly with a floured rolling pin until it's a 10 by 10 inch square. Cut the sheet into quarters. Place a good sized slice of brie and 3 or 4 thin slices of apple in the middle of each square. Sprinkle apples with cinnamon and brown sugar and top with a pat of butter. Brush the border of each square with egg wash and fold 2 opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry so they firmly stick together. Brush the top of the pastry with egg wash and place pastries in the oven. 
3. Bake for about 20 minutes until puffed and brown.

What's For Dinner Part Two

Smothered Chicken

I know...the name doesn't sound the most appetizing but it was great!!

For The Creamed Spinach:

• 1 large bag of spinach
• 4 ounces cream cheese
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons red onion, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

For The Sauteed Mushrooms:

• 8 ounce pack of mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste

For The Chicken:

• 4-5 boneless chicken breasts
• shredded mozzarella cheese, to taste
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon salt seasoning (lawry's or something comparable)
• 1 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle the garlic powder, seasoned salt and pepper on both sides of the chicken. Bake for 16 minutes.

Meanwhile make the creamed spinach. Over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet. Add in the onions and saute for about 2-3 minutes. Add in the spinach and garlic. When the spinach is cooked down, add in the cream cheese and parmesan cheese. Continue cooking until the cheese is all melted. Take off heat. 

For the mushrooms, melt 2 tablespoons olive oil and the butter. Add the mushrooms and cook until browned all over. Don't season with salt until browned or they won't cook thoroughly. Deglaze the pan with the wine. Add in the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook until most of the wine is cooked out. 

Take the chicken out of the oven and add the spinach and mushrooms to the chicken. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top and put the chicken back into the oven for another 14 minutes or until cooked through. 

What's For Dinner

Lately I have been in a cooking lull/slump/lacking inspiration kind of mood. However, this week I decided to get back up on the saddle. I am always looking for one skillet meals...easy and tasty. So last night I made a chicken and kale dish. It was tasty, easy and filling. 

Calls For:

• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper
• 4 Boneless Chicken Breasts 
• Kale (1 bunch with stalks removed and chopped into thin ribbons)
• 2 Teaspoons Oregano
• 1 1/2 Cups Pizza Sauce
• 1 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese 
• Onion - wasn't on the recipe but I added it (amount to taste)
• Garlic - wasn't on the recipe but I added it (amount to taste)
• red wine - wasn't on the recipe but I just threw in a glug as well

Prep & Cook:

• Preheat Oven to 375 degrees
• Heat a glug of olive oil (and red wine if desired) in a large skillet over medium heat, season both sides of chicken breast with salt and pepper and pan fry both sides until golden brown. Once cooked remove from skillet to a plate.
• Add another bit of oil into the skillet and sauté the onion and kale until wilted. Toss with salt and pepper to season. 
• Nestle the chicken and its juices back into the skillet with the kale. Sprinkle oregano over top.  Mix the pizza sauce with 1/2 cup water and pour it over the chicken and kale. Top with shredded mozzarella and garlic and bake for about 20 minutes. 
• Serve with crusty bread 

 

I really like A Beautiful Mess app because I can do things like this! 

Over the Weekend

Brian and I spent the whole weekend outdoors for the most part because it was (I can't believe I am actually typing this) 80 degrees! Repeat...80 freaking degrees. It was so nice! Anyways, here are some pictures from the Kubota Garden plus a couple other randoms.

Birthday Weekend

One of my best gals came to visit Seattle for her birthday this past weekend. We had a blast and I even got to visit some spots that I had never been to before. Here are some pictures...maybe too many. Sorry :)

Fun cocktails...

Windy day!

Just me :)

Seattle downtown library...what a cool place! 

The troll

View from where the troll is

The birthday girl in her new dress

EMP Museum

SAM

Oysters were definitely on the to-do list. Delish

Ballard farmers market...we really look colorful! 

Henri 6

I can't get enough of this Henri