The Mint Julep – Just in time for the Kentucky Derby

May 2, 2014 By Leave a Comment

The Kentucky Derby starts today!  That means everyone is drinking Mint Juleps.  I’ve never made a Mint Julep before and I’m not usually a fan of bourbon so I had my work cut out for me.  I checked out a couple of recipes and played around with ingredients and came up with one that works for me.  What it came down to is that bourbon is pretty strong so I needed to sweeten it up a bit!

The tools:
-Cocktail shaker (Like this Mason Jar shaker that is available at Milly & Grace!)
-Muddler
-Classic Mint Julep CupMintJulep
The ingredients:
Handful of fresh mint
1oz of lemon juice
1 TB & 2 tsp of brown sugar
4oz of bourbonmintjulep1Add the mint, lemon and sugar to the mason jar shaker.  Muddle it up and be sure to give a little elbow grease! MintJulep2
Add the bourbon and 2 handfuls of ice. Shake it up! Grab your Mint Julep cup (ours is from Flowers on Chestnut in Nantucket) and fill it with crushed ice. *Don’t have crushed ice? Put some in a ziplock bag, grab a wooden spoon and blow off some steam.* Pour your Mint Julep!mintjulep3
Garnish with some fresh mint & a cute straw of course!mintjulep5
Happy Friday & Happy Kentucky Derby!mintjulep4
If you end up trying this cocktail, let me know what you think!

Filed Under: Cocktails, Emily, Food Leave a Comment

The Farmer’s Market – Take Two

April 24, 2014 By 1 Comment

Not another food post!?!  Yes, sorry.  We promise this is not turning into a food blog.  Emily, Caroline and Patty are at Milly & Grace right this second getting ready to open the doors TOMORROW!!!! They will soon be sharing all the exciting fashion and home pieces the store will offer this year!

In the meantime, I am here on the West Coast bringing you, Allison at the Farmer’s Market…

TAKE TWO!!

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As an actress, it has been my experience that usually the second take is always better than the first take.  So, I decided to do a second take on the Farmer’s Market!  Remember how the last time I went to the farmer’s market I had no clue what I was doing… well this time I went with a plan!

One of my favorite things to get at farmer’s markets is fresh herbs, and I didn’t get any last time.  That was because I didn’t have a plan.  Herbs are the best thing to get there because they are fresh, they come in big beautiful bunches and are usually only $1 per bunch!  What a deal!

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Well, what the heck was I going to make with a whole bunch of bunches of herbs??  BEFORE I LEFT, I decided to flip through some cookbooks (you know, what we used to do in the good ole days before pinterest).  I flipped open Gwyneth’s “It’s All Good” Cookbook and landed in her salad section.  I knew I could definitely find all the ingredients at the farmer’s market for a salad and even her Green Goddess Dressing!  So, I was off to the farmer’s market with a plan!

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Green Goddess dressings are packed with herbs, and I knew I could keep it in the fridge for the week ready for other meals.  Gwyneth’s recipe is dairy free and practically guilt free.  To get the creamy effect she used vegenaise and avocado (and now don’t go hating on vegenaise till you try it… I was definitely skeptical of it at first, but I love it now).

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And… ACTION!

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Green Goddess Dressing

10 Large Basil Leaves                    2 Scallions, roughly chopped                 Juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup)

3 Tablespoons Chopped Chives      1/2 ripe Avocado                                            3 Tablespoons EVOO

2 Tablespoons Cilantro                     1/4 cup Vegenaise                                         1/4 cup Water

Leaves from 1 sprig of Tarragon       2 Tablespoons Raw Honey                         1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt

1/4 cup Italian Parsley                       2 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar        1/4 teaspoon freshly ground                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a powerful blender and blitz until completely pureed.  Keeps well in a jar in the fridge for up to a week!

And for lunch, a Mango, Avocado and Radish Salad with Pecans.

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Sounds like a weird combination! I decided to try something different for my salad!  I LOVE MANGOS!!!  And Gwyneth had a recipe for an Avocado and Mango salad.  Sounds delicious, right?  So I decided to throw together a salad with Avocado, Mangos, Radishes (which are surprisingly amazing with mangoes), Lettuce, Pecans and, of course, the Green Goddess Dressing.  It was absolutely lovely.  Salads are so easy.  Just throw a bunch of things together and top it with an amazing dressing.  And it was Sunday, so I had to have a little piece of YUMMY PRETZEL BREAD!

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And… CUT.  I think the second take went much better than the first take.

Filed Under: Allison, Food, Recipes 1 Comment

#OttEuropeanInvasion Food Inspiration – Bircher Muesli

April 18, 2014 By 1 Comment

BircherMuesliRecipeBircher Muesli is one of my all time favorite breakfasts… even though it doesn’t include bacon or hollandaise sauce or pancakes or maple syrup.  Bircher Muesli is such a refreshing and lovely way to start your day!  I first fell in love with this dish while we were living in Australia.  The Ott Girls love whipping up a batch of this yummy goodness.  Caroline posted a recipe for this last summer but this time I tweaked the recipe a bit… with inspiration from the cutest little bakery in Lausanne, Switzerland.  This bakery was right by our hotel.  We went in there every morning for bircher muesli and croissants.  The cute lady who ran the bakery was always so shocked when we ordered 6 bircher mueslis… we would almost wipe her out for the day!  Aww, memories.

Anyways, here’s how you make this classic Swiss Dish!

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 First, you start off by soaking your oats in apple juice overnight.  I did 1 cup of Oats (I used Gluten Free Oatmeal) and a 1/2 cup of Martinelli’s Apple Juice.

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 Stir the mixture so that the oats are coated in the juice.  Pop on the lid, put it in the fridge, and then forget about it until the morning.

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Then in the morning, stir the oat and apple juice mixture and then transfer it into a bigger mixing bowl.  It will be soft and gooey… yum!

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Next, cut the skin off one apple and grate it… you will then need to squeeze the pile of grated apple with paper towel to soak up the extra juices.  You don’t want the muesli to be too watery or soggy.  Then put the grated apple into the mixing bowl.  Next, add a cup of dry muesli.  I would only suggest using Trader Joe’s Blueberry Muesli.  It has dried blueberries, apples, raisins, currents, corn flakes, rices puffs and oats. (It’s the best one I have found so far.)  Adding the dry muesli gives the bircher muesli different textures.  (Note: Adding the dry muesli is optional! We would make it without this step.. if you want to keep it Gluten Free just use the Gluten Free Oats.)

Next, add yogurt!  Any flavor.  I chose vanilla bean.  Then add fresh berries!  You can add raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and/or pomegranate seeds!  Mix it all up and then put back into the fridge to chill.  Then when you are ready to eat, scoop the bircher muesli into your bowls, top with more berries and nuts…. and ENJOY!!

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Breakfast is served!  And this is a perfect summertime alternative to oatmeal… No one wants to eat hot oatmeal in the summer.

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If you want to be really European, you must serve with a cappuccino!  (I’m having fun with my new Nespresso Machine and frother!)

Filed Under: #otteuropeaninvasion, Allison, Food, Recipes 1 Comment