Ta Dah!!

"I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it. It is never of any use to oneself."
-Oscar


I am back! And with my triumphant return I bring photos of my Dr. Pepper Ribs, homemade potato chips and red velvet cupcakes! 

Dr. Pepper Ribs

The ribs were surprisingly easy to cook. They were marinated overnight in Dr. Pepper and Kosher salt. The sauce was made from the remaining cup of Dr. Pepper and some various savory ingredients (recipe available by request). 

Homemade chips and smoky baked beans

The chips are so easy and delicious! They are potatoes sliced thinly, tossed in olive oil and salt and arranged on a baking sheet. I chose to sprinkle them with parmesan cheese, which made them even more delicious (when has cheese ever made anything not delicious?). The baked beans were a huge hit, even with me (I don't care for beans), which I think was due in large part to the dark beer based sauce. They were really delicious. 


I promise you that you can make both things and that both are under 400 calories a serving. I am not kidding. The ribs are under 400 calories a serving and I will email you the recipe if you let me know you want it. 

Red Velvet Cupcakes

The red velvet cupcakes were wonderful, but the piping the cream cheese frosting was a bit of a nightmare. I don't know if I'll ever get the hang of baking, but perhaps that will all change with my NEW KITCHENAID MIXER!!! That's right, people, I have a KitchenAid! Now I just have to decide what baking masterpiece will emerge from its stainless steel bowl of wonderment. I'll keep you posted with posts...


Book, books, book. So many to read and so little time. I am currently rereading The Phantom Tollbooth (for my Literature of Childhood and Youth class, I swear) and I am finding it more delightful then I did when I was young. If you are in the mood for a book with an Alice in Wonderland feel, and would enjoy exploring the magic of language and all the wonderful weirdness of words and phrases, please give this book a few hours of your day. Its truly one of those rare things that are beloved when you are young but appreciated when you are older. I also read The Anthropology of an American Girl...I was not impressed. It is a hipstery account of a young girl growing up on the East Coast in the late 1970s- early 1980s. The high schooler is too smart for her own good and completely unlikeable. None of the characters are fully formed and they are tortured souls for no apparent reason at all. The author goes to great lengths to try to make these characters "different" from everyone else, but the ending is so predictable I was actually mad at myself for reading the whole thing. I honestly believed there would be some twist that made the book different and tragic, but I was sadly mistaken. However, in the interest of practicing what I preach (whenever my friends are being negative about something or someone I make them say one nice thing to balance their karma a bit), I will say that the author uses some very beautiful language and constructed some of the most lovely (and often true) statements I have ever read. Its just too bad such an unlikeable character uttered them. 

What will I cook/read next, you ask? I'm not sure what I'll cook yet, but I am pondering the leap to more sophisticated and therefore more complicated dishes...Pappardelle with pork ragu? It could happen...I will be reading Fifth Avenue 5 A.M: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffanys, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman. I have been looking forward to this book for quite awhile and Barnes and Noble just got it back in stock!! I look forward to telling you how amazing it is!!

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever." -Mary Poppins
I love a nicely set table- don't you?