#Blogmas Day 18: Cocktail Hour - Boozy Egg Nog

You guys, it feels so amazing to be back at it again on this blog. And since I've been feeling so great, I thought it only fitting to bring back what is arguable my MOST POPULAR (and certainly most-pinned about) segment of all time: Friday Cocktail Hour!

And since I'm in a festive sort of mood, I thought I'd raise a glass of boozy egg nog to all of you! Now, a few thoughts on eggnog for the holiday season: I realize this drink is not for everyone. Some of you may find it mildly disgusting. But I must admit, as I've gotten older, eggnog has certainly grown on me. And the way I like it best (sorry bourbon-lovers) is with a nice, dark rum. I think the sweetness of the rum works beautifully with this sugary, frothy confection of a cocktail! And alcohol is key in preserving this drink since it does contain raw eggs. But still, it should really be consumed the same day you make it, or at the very least, the next day. As always, drink responsibly! Cheers to the weekend!

Directions:

Step 1: Separate the egg whites and yolks, and pop whites in the fridge for later.

Step 1: Start whisking your yolks up, and slowly add in the cup of sugar little by little until it's smooth and blended.

Step 3: Add in your milk, cream, and rum and whisk it all together.

Step 4: In a separate bold, whisk up your egg whites until they've stiffened up, and then fold them into your eggnog to give it that yummy frothy texture.

Step 5: Top each glass with a pinch of ground nutmeg. Serve and enjoy! Note: this recipe will be enough for 5-6 cups so feel free to double if you're making enough for a party!

#Blogmas Day 17: Kate Spade "All in Good Taste"

I can't even explain how much I need this book. I just...there's a deep history of how much I love Kate Spade on this blog. I basically worship at the temple of the religion of Kate Spade. And not just because of her gorgeous clothing, or her statement handbags. The real reason is because I find her attitude completely celebratory of all things womanhood! While she's obviously an incredible tastemaker, I also firmly believe she is truly in touch with the modern woman who might not be perfect, but isn't trying to be! Her life is one big party with champagne and glitter and bows on everything, and frankly I want to jump inside her world and never leave. So when I saw that this book "All in Good Taste" was coming out, I knew I had to have it. In fact, skip the Holiday wish list and I think I'll just celebrate my own womanhood and pick it up on my way home from the office!

I want to get lost in the art of assembling a vibrant guest list, trying new recipes, raising a toast to myself frankly. It's been a long year, and a very tumultuous month. But I can firmly say that I'm even more proud of the woman I am today than I've ever been. Cheers!

#Blogmas Day 13: Short Stack Editions

My best friend Cate shared these super cute cookbooks from Short Stack Editions with me this past week, and I was totally inspired. They include recipes centered around a specific ingredient which would be perfect for someone with a favorite food (did someone say broccoli?) or for people with a CSA box who knows without a doubt that there will be tons of surplus fruits and veggies during various parts of the season. But most importantly, the covers on these are beautifully illustrated. I would love to have each and every volume in my kitchen, but could easily pick and choose the ones that will work best with my own cooking lifestyle. These are one of my top gift ideas this season, and super affordable at $14.00 each! How about you guys? What's your favorite food to cook with? Leave a comment below!

1  Eggs  |  Volume 1

2  Buttermilk  |  Volume 4

3  Lemons  |  Volume 13

4  Prosciutto de Parma  |  Volume 14

5  Brown Sugar  |  Volume 12

6  Corn  |  Volume 10

No Takeout November | Skinnytaste Meal Planner

Hello, November! I can not believe how quickly time is passing these days. Sunrise/sunset... Okay, moving on. I have a friend who's doing a No Spend November and she is basically my hero. If any of you have done something like this successfully, and saved a quick and easy thousand dollars in the process, my hat's off to you! Truly, I think I would die. But the idea inspired me to take an honest look at where most of my money goes each month (cough, cough, takeout/restaurants/bars) and I've isolated something I can SAVE BIG on without going berserk.

No Takeout November, for a New Yorker, is definitely still a sacrifice in order to save big. I typically buy breakfast, lunch, and usually dinner from various restaurants ranging from Dunkin Donuts (coffee + breakfast at work), to my favorite local Mexican restaurant (a dinnertime favorite), to Domino's Pizza (yes, I am the worst New Yorker ever...my boyfriend will be the first to point this out). Hear me: It is ridiculous to eat 3 meals out every. single. day. And, trust me, it adds up fast. Also, when left to my own devices and spur-of-the-moment decisions, I am just NOT a healthy eater. So cooking healthy for myself is a secondary benefit!

My go-to website (and cookbook) for healthy, easy, delicious recipes is skinnytaste.com and so imagine my surprise when I found that she recently released a companion to her amazing cookbook that was a tool specifically for meal-planning and calorie/activity tracking. Enter The Skinnytaste Meal Planner. It seemed like perfect considering my No Takeout pledge.

Image from Kittsona

It's got a spread at the beginning of each week to plan your meals, which I'm using to establish which nights of the week will be "cooking nights." Since I am still as busy as I ever was, and life doesn't take a back seat to my No Takeout plans, I will try to keep these to 2-3 a week, maximum and try to knock out the bulk of my planning and shopping on Sundays.

Then for each day of the week, there's space to track everything you eat (amazing if you're trying to be cognizant of that) as well as a cute space for activity tracking! Sure hope I manage to do more of that as well, but I also know the importance of focusing on one goal before conquering another.

I'm very excited about this No Takeout November project, and will definitely let you all know how it goes! Wish me luck!

JSQ in the Kitchen: Southwestern Black Bean Salad

In keeping with my Resolution to cook more, I whipped up one of my favorite recipes last night and can I please just tell you...Skinnytaste.com NEVER LETS ME DOWN. Every recipe is amazing, and Gina (who I just fangirl over constantly on this blog and on Pinterest) lists the Weight Watchers points and calories for every meal.

While this Southwestern Black Bean Salad recipe is totally more of a Summertime hit, if you're craving protein-rich beans, sweet corn, or avocados (which is every day of the year for me) this salad is super easy to whip up on a weeknight. And if you're cooking for one like I am, it also stores well in the fridge for a few days so you can nibble on it all week. Personally, I use 1 cup of it (4 Weight Watchers PointsPlus) as a salsa (I double the amount of tomato in the recipe to achieve this effect) that I pair with Original Flavor Pop Chips for a touch of saltiness (and only 3 more PointsPlus). This is quite honestly my favorite snack, and today I even brought it for lunch!

NOW, Skinnytaste is even a cookbook. I obviously own a copy that I bought the day it became available at Barnes & Noble, and even gave a copy to my mom for Christmas. If I really wanted to learn to cook, I could just cook my way through the Skinnytaste cookbook a la Julie & Julia...Totally kidding, but actually 62% serious. Bon Appetit! 

The Bite-Sized Book of Bite-Sized Recipes

I am beyond excited and inspired to share my friend Catherine Murray of Photo Kitchen's latest project, The Bite-Sized Book of Bite-Sized Recipes. You may remember Catherine's stunning photography work from the Cocktail Couture series back in 2011. Now she's putting her love of cooking and food photography to use creating possibly the tiniest, most adorable cookbook ever and she's set up a Kickstarter campaign to fund the project.

"At 1 3/4 inches tall and 1 1/2 inches wide, it might be the smallest cookbook in the world. With 20 photos and recipes of cute, clever, bite-sized dishes, it's perfect for kids, cookbook collectors, foodies, anyone who loves to eat, cook, or entertain, photographers, book lovers, and collectors of tiny things."

If you want a mini-cookbook of your own, donate today! It would make an amazing stocking stuffer, and there's even an option to buy 1 book, and donate 1 to a children's organization. And the Kickstarter ends in just 19 days, so every little bit counts!

Meal Planning 101

A recent obsession of mine is weekly meal planning. I've known people, mostly married couples and young families, who were able to save a ton of money by planning and cooking each breakfast, lunch, and dinner for their week. But as a young professional, a New Yorker, and unfortunately a certified takeout queen, could I ever pull this off? The answer is a resounding yes!

I'm more than 3 weeks in now, and have already saved hundreds of dollars, since I was used to buying breakfast ($5+), lunch ($10+), and dinner ($15+) out every single day. Believe me when I tell you that ANYONE can do this, and the savings alone makes it worthwhile. But there are plenty of additional benefits like added nutritional value (this is amazing for dieters), less urge to snack since you know what and when your next meal is coming, and the satisfaction of both learning new recipes and taking pride in everything you put into your body. I am a meal planning believer!

I've been scouting Etsy for some cute printables that will help me in my meal planning endeavors, and I've displayed a few of my faves below. I may eventually DIY something of my own, but wanted to share for those of you who aren't graphic designers!

This week's meals included:
Sweet Cucumber, Red Onion & Dill Salad (Eat Yourself Skinny)
Clean Egg & Zucchini Muffins (Eat Yourself Skinny)
Spinach Lasagna Rolls (Skinnytaste)
Easy Crust-less Spinach & Feta Pie (Skinnytaste)
Squash-tastic Shepherd's Pie (Hungry Girl)

Customizable PDF from AtomicaPress - $6.00

Handmade Item from askingfortrouble - $8.62

Instant Download from SweetPaperTrail - $3.00

Instant Download from LauraDraytonCreative - $10.00

Instant Download from TinyStripes - $5.00