Ingredients

• 8 c vegetable and/or beef stock
• 1 1/2 c diced potatoes
• 3/4 c diced celery root
• 3/4 c diced carrots
• 1/4 c chopped fresh dill, plus more for garnish
• 1/2 c sliced celery
• one medium onion, diced
• 2 tsp allspice
• 2-3 bay leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• one jar whole (if you can find them) Polish dill pickles* (save the brine!)
• 1 c sour cream or greek yogurt

Directions

Bring all ingredients except pickles and sour cream to a gentle boil in a large stock pot. Cook until potatoes and other vegetables are soft through. While cooking, grate the whole pickles using a box grater; or, if you have spears, chop them finely with a knife. Once the vegetables are done, add in the grated pickles and the reserved pickle brine. Bring back to a boil.

Using a ladle, spoon out approximately one cup of broth and add it to a blender. Add in the sour cream or yogurt and blend thoroughly (you can whisk together in a bowl by hand if you prefer, just make sure the sour cream is completely incorporated). Turn off heat, and stir mixture back into soup.

Serve with a sprinkle of fresh dill on top.

* Polish pickles are made with different spices than “regular” dill pickles, so make every effort to find them. I use Vlasic brand, which can be found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.

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Directions:

In a small bowl, stir spices, sugar and vanilla into softened butter. A flat spatula may prove helpful, as you need to smoosh (yep, technical term) the butter in order to get even spice distribution throughout. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To make a drink: place one to two tablespoons of butter into a mug. Add rum to your taste — a finger or two? Fill the remaining space with hot water. Stir until butter dissolves. Enjoy!

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Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups of flour, plus some for rolling
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1-2 T sugar, optional and to taste1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks)
• 1/4 ice water
• 1/4 cold vodka
• one egg, beaten

Instructions

In a medium to large food processor with a dough blade installed, add flour, salt and sugar. Pulse once or twice to blend.

Cut butter into chunks and add to flour. Pulse repeatedly until butter is fully cut into flour. It should be a bit crumbly but with no obvious large pieces of butter left.

With the processor running, slowly pour the vodka through the hole in the lid. Then add water until the mixture comes together into a slightly shaggy dough. Depending on your conditions, it may take a little less or a little more water. The dough should be firm and neither soggy nor dry. Goldilocks dough 🙂

Turn out the dough onto a board and, using your hands, knead together any remaining crumbs. Form a smooth ball and flatten into a disk. Wrap with reusable silicone wrap or plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour or until ready to use.

To use dough: take the dough out of the refrigerator a few minutes before, and on a lightly floured board or countertop, use a rolling pin to roll it to the desired thickness. Add flour to the board and to the top of the dough to keep from sticking. For pies with top and bottom pastry, divide disk into half before rolling (this makes it much more manageable).

After filling, bake at around 400 degrees F. Remove from oven 10 minutes before done, and brush the beaten egg on top of pastry. Return to oven and watch for a beautiful golden brown crust to emerge!

I added my personal touches to this basic recipe from thekitchn.com.

The post This Easy, Foolproof Pie Crust Has a Secret Ingredient: Vodka appeared first on A Girl & Her Somm.

Ingredients

• two sweet potatoes, baked in skin and allowed to cool
• 1/8 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 ground red pepper, more or less to taste
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• pinch of salt
• olive oil
  Feel free to adjust the spice on these or lose the sugar altogether.

Directions

Carefully peel the potatoes, being careful to keep their shape. Cut into roughly 1-inch round slices. Lay slices flat on cutting board, plate or pan, etc.

In a small bowl, mix sugar and spices together. Sprinkle half the sugar mixture onto the top sides of potato slices. Press sugar into potatoes lightly. Flip the slices over and repeat with remaining sugar and spices.

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Another type of skillet can be used, but cast iron gives the slices a nice, crispy char.

Once hot, drizzle enough olive oil on the skillet to lightly cover. Add slices to pan and cook on one side until slightly blackened and crispy around the edges, approximately 5-7 minutes. With a spatula, flip the slices and do the same on the other side.

The sugar should caramelize a bit and contribute to the blackened quality of the slices. Cook until crisp but not burned. Remove from heat and serve. Enjoy!

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Maybe it’s because I’m a southern girl at heart, or maybe it’s because I have an artistic nature, and pretty things simply bring me joy. Whatever the reason, I like a little fancy, and I make no apologies for it. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say we all ought to have more fancy in our lives. Whatever that means to you, whether it’s using the “good” dishes for dinner, putting flowers on your bedside table or wearing those diamond earrings to the grocery store. Why do we have pretty things if we don’t use them? What are we waiting for?

Drinking wine, for example. There’s something about uncorking a bottle and pouring a glass that just elevates the situation, you know what I mean? Even if I’m drinking out of a jelly jar, which I’ve certainly been known to do in a pinch (see above re: southern girl at heart), wine always feels a little bit special.

So I’ve come to learn how to extend that feeling to other parts of my wine drinking experience. For example, Charlie and I frequently put out cheese, crackers and other snacks when we are sipping our vino. We could just eat them out of the packages, sticking our hands into that Triscuit box and slapping on cheese right from the plastic. And who am I kidding? We do that ALL THE TIME. But lately I’ve decided to do better — make it feel a little nicer — and it’s so easy to accomplish. Really not much harder than opening the Triscuit box.

So keep reading five steps for turning those everyday snacks into something more elegant — and worthy of that wine I know you’ll be drinking.

Steps for Building a Beautiful Appetizer Tray / Charcuterie Board

Step one: Pour some wine.

Really, this can be step one for soooo many things. 🙂

Step two: Find a foundation.

Because even the most modest snack looks better when it’s on something pretty, pull out your favorite platter and start with that. Other ideas for a foundation include a beautiful wood cutting board, a slate tile, a cool pedestal cake plate — basically anything that makes you happy and can hold some food. You may need more than one, so consider bowls and little dishes that will all work together (pro tip: that does NOT mean they all should match. In fact, your spread will look more sophisticated with a collection of dishes that are complementary but contrasting.).

Step three: Survey what you have available.

Open the fridge and the pantry and make a mental list — cheeses, crackers, bread, olives, fruit, honey or jam, nuts, chocolate — all of these things are perfect for your snack plate, but you don’t need them all. Take stock of what’s there, then go to step four.

Step four: Choose four to six items with balance and variety in mind.

I like to choose two or three savory items, one or two that are salty, and a sweet. Maybe two cheeses, a hard and a soft, with some crackers or bread to put them on. Add something sweet like honey to drizzle, or apple slices or grapes to munch on. Include a little salt with some olives or nuts.

Step five: Is it colorful?

Review your choices — including the plates and bowls — and decide if it’s aesthetically pleasing. Cheese and crackers are often similar in color, and olives or nuts don’t add a lot of pop. If you don’t already have color in your dishes, try adding a printed napkin, bright fruit or a colorful ramekin to catch the olive pits.

Bonus step: Pour some more wine!

Whether you’re 21 or 101, life is passing you by, and not a single one of us knows how long we have left. Don’t wait for an excuse to use the pretty dishes anymore. Now — today — is the only excuse you need. Cheers!

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