Author Archives: Carly

Baked Eggplant Parmigiana

Posted on November 8, 2010 | Leave a comment

Eggplant Parmigiana is an all time favorite comfort food of mine, and a great vegetarian substitute for chicken parmigian and more filling than a similarly stacked lasagna.  The only downfall is that traditionally the eggplant has to be fried in oil before it is layered with delicious sauce and cheese.  Not so fast, it can also be baked which is healthier, takes up less “active” cooking time and doesn’t leave your kitchen smelling like a fry house.

Eggplant Parmigiana Ingredients
1 Medium Italian Eggplant
2 Eggs
1/2 cup of All Purpose/Whole Wheat flour
1/3 cup of Italian style bread crumbs
1/3 cup of Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup of Skim Milk Ricotta Cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmigiana
Salt and pepper to taste
Parsley/Italian seasoning
Set the oven to 350 degrees
Serves 6, or 4 very hungry eaters!
I cut the eggplant into coins about 1/4 of an inch thick and give them a light sprinkle of kosher salt.  Eggplant is full of water and the light sprinkle of salt helps them to release a bit of the moisture and and brings out the flavor.

At your work station set up a small bowl with two eggs, beaten, and a shallow dish with with the mixture of bread crumbs, grated cheese and few cracked of fresh ground pepper. 


Dip each coin of eggplant into the egg and then into the bread crumbs coating each slice on both sides.


With all of the prepared eggplant slice on a parchment covered baking sheet; bake in the 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.  After baking the eggplant will be softened, the edges browned and the bread crumbs crisp and golden.

While the eggplant is baking in a small bowl mix the ricotta cheese, some pepper, parsley, and Italian seasoning.  Now here is where the fun happens.  Grab a baking dish and your favorite sauce – if it came out of a jar, it’s no big deal, I’m not telling anyone.  Spoon a thin layer of sauce on the base of the dish, add your first layer eggplant coins, another layer of sauce, and thin layer of ricotta cheese.  Repeat until you run out of eggplant.

On the top layer of eggplant add another layer of sauce, one more round of ricotta and some grated parmigiana. 

Look at those layers!  Where is the fork?

If you are preparing this on a Sunday for a Monday night dinner you can wrap this is tin-foil and keep in the refrigerator for a day.  If you’re looking for a more instant satisfaction this can bake in the oven at 350 for 15 – 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted on the top and the sauce is looking a little bubbly.


When you’re ready to serve I like to portion out the stacks and serve with a fresh salad.  As they say in Italy, Buon Appetito!

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Posted in Baking, Comfort Food, dinner, healthy, Her Kitchen

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Don’t Forget the Centerpiece

Posted on November 5, 2010 | Leave a comment

When entertaining for the holidays, or really any time of the year, your table is never fully dressed without a centerpiece.  The Fall and Winter seasons provide plenty of inspiration for table decor that is special but also simple. 

I first turn to the master of all “good things”, Ms. Martha Stewart, for inspiration:

For a simple everyday table setting how sweet is table with a collection of small sized baskets with seasonal fruits?  Let the fruit double as part of your dessert and you have a two for one special.
via Martha Stewart
 In a continuation of the fruit theme, I love the stately nature of the pillar candles and baskets filled with plump berries and grapes.  The colors sing fall while not being generic or too obviously themed.
via Martha Stewart
 For a crafty decor idea there is nothing easier than this for the mantle: take candle holders/vases that you already own and wrap with pretty paper and secure with a double stick tape.  An illuminated candle inside gives this idea an ever brighter glow.
via Martha Stewart
 I love, love, love this centerpiece.  It is a true centerpiece and worthy of a special dinner or even a fall wedding.  A bundle of wheat twisted and tied with a beautiful silk ribbon compliments the warmth and heart of the season.
via Martha Stewart
Here are some more great centerpiece ideas that I could not resist:
From pottery barn, this is a simple hurricane candle holder wrapped with dried maze and tied with twine.  It probably take no more than minutes to assemble but makes a very pretty visual impact.
Via Pottery Barn

Or you can always order a vibrant, beautiful bouquet of flowers for your table and for around your home:
via FTD
via 1800Flowers
Whatever you do keep it easy, make it reflect you and your home, and make it special with a little extra sparkle.

Happy Friday and have a beautiful weekend!

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Posted in Decor, entertaining, fall, Her Home, Her Kitchen, Holiday Food, Holidays, Seasonal, Thanksgiving

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Setting the Table for Family and Friends

Posted on November 4, 2010 | Leave a comment

In my immediate family there are four of us.  Pretty average, nothing anyone would consider “large”.  However, my family doesn’t do holidays with just the four of us.  Holidays with my family include everyone: all the grandparents (I am blessed to have four healthy, amazing grandparents), all of the cousins, aunts and uncles, cousins and siblings and children of all of the cousins and aunts and uncles and of course friends that feel like family.  It is not unusual to gather around the table for Passover or Rosh Hoshanah or be spread throughout the house on Thanksgiving with 40 – 50 people.


Not quite this long, but you get the idea
Let me ask you, how do you set a table for 40 – 50 people?  Most people do not own a set of China for 40-50 people, and rarely does the heaviest stock of paper plates hold up to a good Jewish brisket…  
Necessity being the mother of all invention the table would be set  communally; beautiful China would come from an Aunt here, a cousin there, a sister from nearby.  At the end of the day a beautiful table would be set in creams and gold that was worthy of the best crowd and food.
When we got married I registered for plain, everyday white China from Pottery Barn, but now that we have moved and I have more storage in my kitchen and a proper dining room for entertaining the idea of expanding my collection is not lost on me.  Here are some entertaining must haves, for now:

Dazzle Dinnerware by Crate and Barrel

Wood-Slices Dinnerware by West Elm

Vera Wang for Wedgwood “Gilded Weave”

Growing up I would volunteer for table setting duty at my cousin Deborah’s house, and the look and feel of an extra long table, with shining glassware and matching mismatched plates has always stuck with me. The Holidays are special and are meant to be treated with extra care, a little extra sparkle and spent with the most important people.

It doesn’t even matter if you eat take out Chinese on your China, just make it special!

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Posted in Decor, entertaining, Her Home, Her Kitchen, Holiday Food

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Something to Think About

Posted on November 3, 2010 | 1 comment

A few months ago BrideTide tweeted on a Saturday morning, “Someone, somewhere is getting married today.”  It has stuck with me ever since.  

Obviously someone, somewhere is getting married all hours of the day and everyday of the week (Hello, Vegas!) but generally speaking in the United States wedding day is a Saturday.  Not too long ago I drove past a beautiful old church just as the bride and her bridesmaids got out of the car and began to climb up the steps.  
I was overjoyed. I didn’t know that bride, I had never been inside of that church, but I truly felt so excited for her and them.  I mentioned that tweet from many months ago in an effort to get everyone to share my joy.  Mark nodded along, and then my sister pointed out other major life things happen all the time too: people die and babies are born.

That is true.  Check for the little sister.

Here’s is how I explained it is different.  Marriage is a birth of a new chapter for two people.  In some ways it is the death of their single lifestyles.  But, more than that, marriage (not the wedding) is an active choice.  It is the moment of “I choose you and I choose to go through life by your side.  Literally, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer – when you look around, that’s me, right by your side.” 
That moment that I caught that bride in, the excitement with girlfriends before the ceremony, the dress shopping, the registry, the ring, the proposal, that is nothing compared to that moment when you make the choice.  Getting married is not being married.  Being married is all that much better.

Check mate for the big sister.

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Posted in Advice, Her Inspiration, Her Weddings + Events, Life Lessons, Mark, Marriage, Personal

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I Just Want to Wear Sweatpants

Posted on November 2, 2010 | Leave a comment

Less than a week ago the temperature was teetering around 75 degrees, I knew, it couldn’t last forever. But this morning as I woke up Mark said to me, “you know its 30 degrees this morning,” and that was enough to consider Caribbean real estate, or at least an extra sweater.

I have lived in DC for seven years, it is hard to believe time goes by so quickly, and every Fall transition it shocks me how cold it suddenly gets.  I go through the same cycle every year; look for boots, look for Uggs (which I have never purchased), look for a hat (and then resign that I don’t really wear hats, although I love them).

This morning when I got dressed all I wanted was to wear my comfortable chunky sweaters and extra soft lounge pants to work, but clearly that wouldn’t do – here are some finds for taking cold weather comfort beyond the couch.


Keep an eye out for ponte legging and pants; these are the extra thick, double knit pants (sometimes referred to as scuba knit) that not only hold you in, but they also keep you warm, and look more refined than a traditional knit stretch legging.

A sweater dress is a seasonal must have.  The tunic cut, and heavier knits are beyond forgiving for an extra slice of pie, and the accessorizing options are endless: scarves, jewelry, belts, all change the look of a basic sweater dress in an instant.

Pick up a soft, knit blazer.  It’s warmer than a regular blazer and will serve double duty for weekend wear.

Looking for new boots?  Try out some of the shoe brands that specialize in comfort footwear, Aerosoles, Merrell, Uggs, and many more.  They have finally wised up and put out shoes that are almost as chic as they are comfortable.

It takes a bit more thought to get dressed in the fall and winter and still look pulled together and feel comfortable, but you have to admit your office isn’t going to let you wear a Snuggie anytime soon!

Happy Fashionable Fall!

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Posted in Her Closet, Shopping

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Instant Biscuits

Posted on November 1, 2010 | 1 comment

Somehow this weekend I became the kind of person who makes biscuits, and my house became the kind of house that barely has a meal without one…  How did this happen?  I am not really sure, but I blame it on the suddenly seasonal weather (cold),   the abundance of soup I had on hand, and the need for something extra comforting as it became clear that the abnormally warm weather wouldn’t be lasting all fall.



Instant Biscuits, adapted from MomsRetro
1 Cup of all purpose flour
2 Tsps Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Kosher Salt
3 TBSPs  Oil/Shortening
1/3 Cup of Water


Additional Flavors:
Fresh Basil, Oregano, Parsley, Garlic Powder, Fresh grated Parmigiana-Reggiano

Set oven to 350 degrees

Before we get started on the how, I have to get into the why.  Homemade biscuits has been on my to-do list for a while, but I never got around to it because it’s one of those things that when you want it, you want it and you don’t want to wait for proofing, and who keeps buttermilk on hand?  I certainly do not.  This recipe takes 15 minutes and is made entirely from pantry items.

In a small bowl mix all of the dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking powder. 


Add the seasoning.  I went for Italian seasoning because it paired well with the soup I had on hand, but you could just as easily use any other seasoning.  Also, this was a great opportunity to use the fresh basil that has grown really beautifully all summer, before the leaves freeze!

Pluck off 6-7 leaves of fresh basil and roll them up in your hand, with a scissor cut across the leaves to create skinny ribbons of basil, if we were fancy we might call this chiffonade, but we’re not, so we won’t.

Add the oil and the water and mix gently with a fork. 

The dough is supposed to look pretty sloppy, this isn’t a typical dough that would look nice and smooth.  The roughness of the dough leads to light and flaky biscuits.

With your fingers pull apart clumps of dough about the size of a full tablespoon and place on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.



Bake for 10 – 15 minutes.  If you can resist, let them cool enough so your can handle them.  They are very moist and won’t require butter, but that could might only make them better. 

Seriously, this is just about as easy as popping open a can of pre-made biscuits, but you won’t chip a nail, you won’t have weird flakes of paper/tin attached the dough, and they will be that much more delicious and rewarding.  Enjoy – and share with 6-8 people (because that is how many biscuits it will make, or enjoy them all by yourself!)

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Posted in Baking, Breakfast/Brunch, Christmas, Comfort Food, dinner, Easy Recipe, fall, Her Kitchen, Holiday Food, Seasonal, Thanksgiving

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Roasted Potatoes, Poupourri You Can Eat

Posted on October 29, 2010 | 1 comment

To be fair this is not so much of a “recipe” as it is a suggestion.  

I know that this weekend is dedicated to running around for last minute costumes, carving pumpkins, excessive makeup, buying candy, consuming lots more candy, and indulging on some other celebratory vices.  And that is all good.  But, the weekend is long, and eventually you’ll want something that is healthy, and easy.  This is so easy that while you’re setting your hair in curlers and finishing the details of your meat dress this can cook.

Roasted Potatoes is the most homey non-recipe recipe there is.  I like to mix a large variety of potatoes (white, red, purple, sweet, yellow) and chop them all up into chunks that are about 1/4 – 1/3 of an inch thick.

Set the oven to 400 degrees and prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  And get chopping. 

 
Ta da!  All chopped.  When all the chopped potatoes are in a bowl drizzle on some olive oil, sprinkle on some Kosher salt, crack some black pepper.  
Okay, now here is where you have some creative license.  Are you feeling traditional?  How about some rosemary and thyme.  Want some heat?  Sprinkle on some cayenne.  Want Italian flavors?  Try oregano, parsley, and maybe some  finely grated Parmigiana-Reggiano, or do as we do and go a little crazy with the Old Bay.  There is no right or wrong amount, but you’ll want to see the flecks of flavor on each piece of potato.  This is truly an instance of “flavor to taste”.

Throw in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, the longer it’s in there the more browned the edges will become, again this is a personal preference.  Also, I am going to again recommend mixing up the variety of potatoes, they each have a different flavor and texture and so all together they are like a little (healthy) party in your mouth.
Enlarged to show flavor intensity detail!
Happy Halloween, this year instead of a pre-trick or treating peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or pizza (which are all more than fabulous), mix it up with this!

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Posted in Christmas, Comfort Food, dinner, Easy Recipe, fall, Halloween, Hanukkah, healthy, Her Kitchen, Holiday Food, Jewish Holidays, Passover, Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur, Seasonal, Thanksgiving

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Halloween is Full of Surprises

Posted on October 28, 2010 | Leave a comment

Four Years Ago Today I met Mark.  Let me tell you how we got there.

In high school my fall midterms always conveniently fell right on Halloween, so my teenage Halloweens were spent at the dining table in my parent’s house with text books and loose leaf paper.  
Then I went to college.

I was very lucky to be matched (fate has a weird way of finding you the right roommates) with girls who would plan, and seek out the most perfect Halloween/Holiday/Tuesday night.  Freshman year we were all still getting our footing and typically went out in a pack of 8+ girls, so the costumes were a bit “home sewn” as Tim Gunn might say.  That year I was a flapper, with a top from Loehmann’s, a skirt borrowed from a girl on dorm floor, and a boa that I was magnetically pulled towards.

Sophomore year I was home for a wedding, no costume, but a great dress none the less.

Junior year.  This is is where it really begins.  There were just the four of us (Jaci, Cara, Liz) and we decided we’d make more impact together than we would apart.  We all had our own motives for a Halloween costume; and I won’t out anyone else, but I personally set out to look cute in a costume, the scary and funny is not for me.

We bought this:
Ghostbuster Costume via Dressy Costumes
We made this: 
You can’t tell but those jumpsuits were taken apart, taken in, and hemmed into very chic Halloween Couture dresses.

It’s Senior Year.  Time to go out strong.  We all four live together for the first time.  We have become more than just roommates and friends, we became a troupe.
A troupe with a friend who is a Disco Alien
We went out for a bar crawl starting at Ozio, a bar I had never been to before and have only since been back during my bachelorette party).
And that’s where I met Mark.  I was with my best friends, in costume, in a bar that I would never normally go to.  He was with his best friend, in costume, in a bar that he had never been to before. I think looking back we were both a bit anti-Halloween that year.  I definitely put up a fight on the costume, and the plans.  But, again, fate has a funny way of making the right matches.

I asked him what he was supposed to be.  (He looked like Tony Montana (Scarface) but was actually dressed as Pablo Eskobar, if you do a little research you’ll see the costume is fairly universal.)  He asked me if I was dressed as Winnie Cooper (Wonder Years).  
 
I told him I was a “rock star” – and that was the “hook”.   He left his friends and joined our party and that night we changed numbers, shared dances and shared a kiss.

Since then we have dressed up as the Dukes of Hazzard and Olympians, (last year we were in South Beach for wedding planning).

 
I am lucky for friends who pushed me to embrace the night, and I am very lucky for a partner, best friend and husband who pushes me to embrace everything in life.

I hope your Halloween provides as many treats as mine did, and continues to do.

Happy Halloween and Happy Anniversary to my Husband, I love you.
 
 

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Posted in Family, Her Inspiration, Life Lessons, Mark, Personal

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Couples in Costume

Posted on October 27, 2010 | 5 comments

Halloween is just four days away!  Oh you didn’t get a costume yet?  Maybe you forgot that Halloween is always on October 31, maybe you got busy, maybe you just couldn’t decide what you wanted to be this year.

It is too late to order something online, and all that is left in the stores is a witch’s hat and a sexy nurse’s outfit – boring!  If you and your love are dressing up this year for Halloween here are five easy to execute on a budget ideas.  The couple that dresses together stays together!
All of these costume ideas are built off of items that you probably already own, and every piece is less than $30.00, and able to be worn again – score!

Since it is “Wedding Wednesday” we had to start with a Vegas Bride and Groom.  This costume just screams wedded bliss on the fly, and this time what happens in Vegas comes home with you.
 What couple is more recognizable than Brad and Angelina?  You and your beau can pull from your own wardrobe, lots of gray and black, but these accessories put it own the top.  If you’re baby-free don’t forget the Brangelina babydoll.
Maybe you and your beau are complete opposites, but together you’re the perfect match.  Just like Danny and Sandy.  Layer on the black, add some Grease, and get dancing!

Are you ready to go back in time?  All the way back to Bedrock?  This costume is a bit more DIY; take the togas you made in college and grab your Sharpie marker to make up the perfect Fred and Wilma.

Or, go for glamour as the ultimate glamour girl with her ultimate boy toy: Barbie and Ken.  Load on the color and the 80’s makeup to become the Queen and King of Pink.
Aeropostale, Merona, Sean John, Forever 21

Happy Halloween!

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Posted in Budget, Her Closet, Shopping

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Stuffed Mushrooms for Last Minute Appetizer

Posted on October 26, 2010 | Leave a comment

Stuffed Mushrooms are the kind of appetizer that takes no time to make, you’re likely to have all of the ingredients in your refrigerator and pantry, and they are delightful bite full of flavor.

Stuffed Mushrooms Ingredients:
15 medium Baby Bella Mushrooms (a whole container)
2 tbsps of Olive Oil
1/3 cup of Italian Bread Crumbs
1 tbsp of Skim Ricotta Cheese
2 tbsps grated parmesean
2 tsps of italian seasoning
Dash of Red Pepper Flakes
Salt and Pepper to taste
Add chopped basil, or parsley, chopped garlic
First rinse and rub all of the mushrooms and let them dry.  Remove all of the stems and reserve.  Take the stems and chop them to a small chop.  

In a small bowl add all of the seasonings, cheese, bread crumbs and olive oil.  Add to that the chopped mushrooms.

With a fork mix all of the ingredients.  This recipe is sort of the exact opposite of baking; you can swap out other ingredients, you can change the seasoning, want more spice, less spice, no cheese, more veggies, this is a great clean out the pantry in a flash recipe.


Prepare the oven to 400 degrees and put parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  Turn the mushrooms cavity down and lightly oil the outside of the mushrooms, and sprinkle to taste with salt and pepper.  With a small spoon, or of course your fingers, stuff the mushrooms to the top.


Bake for twenty minutes.  Allow to cool, just long enough so that when you pop an entire mushroom in your mouth and it’s not so hot that you have to do that “it’s too hot” dance.  Enjoy!

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Posted in Appetizer, Baking, Christmas, dinner, entertaining, Her Kitchen, Holiday Food, New Year's Eve, Snacks

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