French Madeleines.

Here's a little sneak peak into the video that Joseph made while I made homemade Madeleines for the first time. I have always loved the idea of them but never got around to buying the special baking pans for them. What do you think?

joey baking madeleines from joseph wanek on Vimeo.

More cooking, baking, roasting, and braising to come!

Homemade Pesto Pasta.

Some days after work, all I want to do is sit on the couch and order take-out.

But then most days I am sitting at work and thinking about what I want to eat for dinner and once I figure it out, I have to go through a mental list in my head to figure out if I have everything in my pantry/fridge....! It's kind of exhausting but also exciting to think about coming up with new recipes or just trying a new recipe in general.


A few weeks back, I talked myself into making pasta. I was at work, and thought, "I haven't used my new pasta extractor yet, I am going to use it tonight..." So I went home and started a simple egg noodle pasta. Needless to say, I didn't know how long it would take...


It was really easy at the beginning. A simple twirling of a few eggs in a pile of flour.


....and then it was really hard to get the rest of the flour to mix in.

Finally, I added one more egg and small amount of flour and got it to all come together. Then I realized that it would have to sit for about (30) to (60) minutes before I could put it into the pasta extractor. Oooops!


Not a problem though, Joseph and our friends weren't home yet, but once they got home and Joseph setup the machine, we went to work on the pasta!


It took us a while to get all of the pasta made. At first we thought that we wouldn't have enough but surprisingly that small ball of dough made probably made enough pasta for (6) people.


While Sarah, Erin, & Joseph put the dough through the extractor, I made a quick little tomato, caprese-style salad.


After about (30) minutes or so of extracting, I thought "...maybe I should have just bought the Kitchen-Aid Pasta Extractor Attachment!"


But it wouldn't have been as fun for all us if our Kitchen-Aid did all the work ;)


Once we were all done extracting, I quickly threw it all in boiling water for about (4-5) minutes until al dente. Then I strained it, threw it into a big bowl and tossed it in Joseph's homemade pesto.


I grated some Parmesan Cheese over all of it, tossed it again....

Finally, I topped it with tomatoes and basil leaves from Joseph's garden and time to eat!

BHG Tour.

If you remember Joseph's birthday post at all, you will definitely remember that fabulous cake that our friend Erin brought from a Better Homes & Gardens shoot. Well, after it was all gone, I had to take the cake stand back over to Erin's work, which is at the Meredith Corporation.

I sent Erin a text and let her know that I could drop it off anytime, and she responded quickly and told me to bring it right over.... which is super convenient because Meredith is right across the street from our apartment! I thought I was just going to drop it off at the front desk but Erin invited me in and asked me if I wanted a tour! Of course I did!



Erin's office has a such a wide array of cookbooks, I wish my cookbook collection looked like that!


Can you spot the cake stand in this picture?


I loved all the pictures that Erin had posted on her walls. She picks images that she really likes, recipes that she wants to try, and food that just inspires her for the magazine and at home.


Wouldn't it be nice to have a whole collection of Better Homes & Gardens back issue magazines at your disposal?


After Erin showed the all of the test kitchens, photo shoot sets, and food-filled meeting rooms, I was in total bliss. I didn't want to leave, it was like a big wonderland inside of the Meredith Corporation! It's no wonder it's so hard to get a job there.


I walked around the grounds on my way home. The gardeners for the magazine do such a splendid job.

This image changes seasonally, and what the best part about it? My living room window looks right out to it. I can't wait to have lunch with Erin in the actual Test Gardens. They are only open to the public one day a week, so I better get down there before the summer weather is gone! I'll be sure to document it well when I actually go.

Zombie Burger + Drink Lab.

The best part about new restaurants opening? I would have to say be able to try menu items for free for their Soft Opening Parties :) The latest hip, new place to open in the East Village is Zombie Burger + Drink Lab. George Formaro, the owner/chef, wanted to open up a place that combined burgers and zombies... clever, huh? It features crazy combinations of burgers, spiked milkshakes, and cocktails. Take a look...


Shannon had a couple extra tickets that she generously shared with Joseph and I for the Pre-Opening Shake Down. We were the first group of people to get to try everything :)


Can you see the excitement in Joseph's eyes?


The menu was crazy! You can check it out here. I ordered the Raygun Burger (monterrey jack cheese, fried jalapenos, caramelized onions, bacon, guacamole, & chipotle mayo). It was really good, super greasy, and left me feeling comatose.


Shannon ordered the Flamethrower Burger (buffalo sauce, blue cheese, onion rings, & ranch mayo) I don't really remember how good it was, but I'm sure I liked it because I love buffalo sauce!


And finally, Joseph ordered the mother of all of them, the Trailer Trash Zombie Burger (american cheese, fried pickle slices, chicken fried bacon, cheese curds, & ranch mayo) I just had a small bite of Joseph's but it was quite tasty. I don't think I would be able to finish a whole once, especially because we all ordered a double... I can't imagine even eating a triple!

If you haven't tried it yet, head down to Zombie Burger + Drink Lab. You're in for a real treat! Even if you aren't a fan of burgers, you will find something on the menu that you won't be able to resist...

Mobile Printing Press Party.

Have you ever heard of a Printing Press on Wheels? Had you said that such a thing existed more than a few weeks ago, I don't think that I would have believed you. After attending Domestica's AIGA Iowa + Type Truck + Poster Party, I fell in love all over again with letter pressed everything!


A group of us got together and drove down to the East Village to attend the event. The weather was typical that of a hot Midwest afternoon. We tried to stand in the shade of the truck to stay cool... and drank a couple of beers too, of course. There was a long line to get into the very small but very cute truck!

Kyle Durrie, the letter press printer from Portland, is making a cross country road-trip to teach workshops, doing demos, and inspiring people with her letter-pressing skills. She began her trip in June and it will last about (9) months. Interested in having her stop in your town, click here.

I had to make sure she had been through San Diego, and of course it was one of the first places she had already stopped :)


She had traveled through most of the Southwestern States and made her way to Iowa.


Kyle was really sweet, patient, and a great print pressing teacher!

I'm not sure how many people had already crammed themselves into her little truck but she made it seem as though we were her first group. I think I would have been a little grouchy, especially because it was so hot and humid!


The two colors she had out were Red & Blue.


We all decided to make a joint one, and wanted to make one half blue and the other half red.


It's all ready!


Next step? Picking out the paper's color and thickness.


Ready to lay it down... very carefully... making sure it's centered is hard!


One, two, three.... roll! And out it comes. Do you love it, or do you love it?! So much fun. Thank you Type Truck & Domestica for hosting the event, truly unique!

Farmer's Market Meal.

If there are two things that I really love they are.... Duck and Farmers Markets. The first Farmer's Market that I ever went to was in Des Moines. I had never seen anything like it. Every weekend I was so enthusiastic to wake up early every Saturday to get to the Market and see what was new... well I continued that tradition in California, except I didn't love it as much as Des Moines'.

That being said, as soon as I moved back to Des Moines, I was ecstatic to get to the Farmer's Market. To my surprise, it was much bigger than it was when I first moved to Des Moines, let alone in the last three years! I was in love, again....


Here is my latest find at the Farmer's Market. Chicken? No, it's Duck! It's kind of hard to find duck in Des Moines and once I saw it, I had to have it... even though it cost me a pretty penny! I started out by searing it to make sure all side and corners were nice and golden brown.


While it browned, I cut up all the veggies I could think of that I had in the fridge. I had also scoped out a pretty cool veggie.... Purple Carrots! When I first saw them, I thought WTH? I asked the vendor if they tasted any different and he told me to try one... they were delicious and only $1! I took all of their supply.


Once the duck was just browned, I set them aside and sauteed the veggies in the duck fat until tender.


In another "pan" I sauteed some bok choy that I had also found at the Farmer's Market.


After the bok choy was softened, I set it aside in a bowl and started to make some risotto.


I just love risotto. Don't you? It's one of my favorite dishes.


Once the rice was ready and soft, I added the cooked bok choy back into the mix.


I added all the last ingredients and then topped it with Fresh Italian Parsley.


After the veggies had cooked, I added the duck back in along with some red wine, stock, and oranges.... I covered the dutch oven and slowly braised everything for about an hour. Voila, this is what it looked it, fresh out of the oven!


As it slightly cooled, I made a quick salad and topped it with home-grown tomatoes, thanks to Joseph!

How did it all look? Beautiful. How did it all taste? Even Better. Ugh, I want to make it all over again just so I can eat it all over again :) Love, love, love it!

Cheese & Wine.

A few weeks ago, our friend Erin had us over for a fabulous Wine & Cheese Party on a Sunday night. She setup this awesome display all on her own....

In case you didn't know, Erin is kind of a big deal. She is currently the Food Editor as Better Homes & Gardens. She knows a lot about cooking food, seasonal trends, and how to throw together a party, obviously!



I loved all the different dinnerware, bowls, and platters that she used.


I especially loved her "cheese board". I am working on some tree trunk seats right now... you'll see them once my living room is complete!


The Wine & Cheese Party was a success... you should have seen what was left on the plates (or lack thereof). She had this fabulous little Guava Jam and small touches of different flavors here and there that really brought out the flavors of the cheese and wine, of course!

Want to know what Erin is up to on a weekly basis? Check out her blog here.