a fulfilled promise.

i did it.  i ordered our christmas cards by the end of october!  {at 12:07am on october 31st} 






certainly by now you know m.press is fabulous.  because you should.

our christmas cards are going to be so pretty :)

love love,
kjp.

i also love potatoes.

one night in class this week was a little piece of heaven for me:  potato lab.  we made SIX kinds of potatoes.  that is so many fabulous potatoes!

if i could only live off of only one food for the rest of my life, i think it would be potatoes.  or soup.  dave porter's would be sandwiches.  blake's: diet dr pepper.  what is your's?

the SIX kinds of potatoes, starting at 11 o'clock {the very st patrick's day looking item} are:
potato fritters, mashed potatoes, duchesse potatoes {horrible tasting, but fun to pipe into pretty shapes}, pommes gaufrettes {really thin waffle fries}, french fries, & in the center: gratin dauphinois.

we are making gratin daphinois for thanksgiving.  so.so.good.

{you all seriously benefit from me being in culinary school}

{feel free to make checks out to me}

gratin dauphinois

1 1/4 lb potatoes

1/2 tsp salt

1 c heavy cream {next time, i'm going lighter...maybe half & half, maybe whole milk}

2 cloves garlic, cut in half

1 T butter

1/2 c delicious grated cheese {parmesan, gruyere...}

salt & pepper

1. peel & eye potatoes.  cut into 1/8 inch slices.  hold in cold water.

2. rub inside of baking dish with garlic and then butter pan.

3. arrange potatoes in even layers, seasoning each layer with salt & pepper & cheese.  add cream over top to cover 1/2 of potatoes.

4. bake at 350, until top is lightly brown & potatoes are tender, 30ish minutes.

5. let rest for 15 minutes before serving.

happy friday!

love love,

kjp.

i.heart.sonic.

& lucky for me, so does the pioneer woman.  {are you catching a trend in my meal planning lately?}

it is not fancy.  it takes almost no skill.  but it brings a little bit of oklahoma to our lives :)

SUPERSONIC breakfast burritos!

50 frozen tater tots

1 lb breakfast sausage {spicy, if you ask me}

1 onion,sliced thin

8 eggs, beaten

2 T milk 

1 T butter

salt & pepper

8 flour tortillas, fajita size

1 1/2 c grated cheddar cheese

 jalapeno slices

sour cream

salsa

1. bake tater tots according to package directions.  make sure they're a little crisp. warm tortillas in microwave; keep warm & soft.

2. brown sausage in a large skillet, breaking it up as you go.  add onion half way through cooking & brown it too. 

3. mix eggs, milk, salt & pepper; beat until combined.  melt butter in a skillet over medium heat & scramble.  break into small pieces as you go.

4. get those side items ready!

5. tanky was really excited about this process. 

6. to assemble, add ingredients to the middle of a warm tortilla in this order: cheese, eggs, sausage & onions, tater tots, jalapenos.  wrap one side, fold in the butt, & wrap the other side.

7.  top with sour cream & salsa, if you please. 

8. welcome back to oklahoma :)

love love,

kjp.

hello, bobby flay.

the reason my blog post is so late today...

mr. bobby flay himself is in birmingham today!  a few people from school got together to attend his cookbook signing this morning.  super cool. 

 
yes, we met him.  & posed for pictures with him.  mr. flay is quite nice... especially for how boring & monotonous a book signing must be.

 {how cute is this little chef?}

 {super cool}

thank you, bobby flay! 

love love,
kjp.

fun in oklahoma! {part 2}

let's continue celebrating the week blakey & i spent in oooooooooklahoma with part 2.

a highlight of our trip was an evening spent with great friends & family!  the yummy cookout with beautiful fall weather & wonderful people was so much fun.  we loved getting to see you all!!

{tristan, cross, blakey, burget, beau

rachel, kjp, stout, & cara}

{tanky & his cousin, kaiser!}

we all know i have a huge love for coffee shops.  well, a friend of mine from college {who taught me a thing or two about the game of kings/circle of death/king's cup} recently opened a fabulous coffee shop in campus called crimson & whipped cream.  it is super adorable & our lattes were delish & the snickerdoodle cookies were divine.  i do hope you stop by & get something marvelous!

 

we also know i have a huge love for food :)  two important stops while in norman:

{the porters' favortite onion burger}

{a pumpkin spice cookie from city bites!

it almost didn't last long enough for the picture}

love love,

kjp.

pumpkin love.

 i love pumpkin.

& sunday was full of all things pumpkin.

vanilla + pumpkin latte, pumpkin ale, pumpkin dip, roasted pumpkin seeds, & pumpkin carving.  

a little overboard?  yes.  a wonderful fall day?  absolutely.  

first, how neat is the boxer pumpkin??  {if i do say so myself.}  amy found super cool puppy stencils here.  my first pumpkin carving experience without julie byrd doing all of the hard work {i am so a little sister.  miss you, julie byrd.}  it was tough but so much fun!

 {scraping out the yucky gooey stuff is my favorite part}

 {the 4 seconds of non-play time all afternoon}

 {after scooping, "trace" the stencil with a little pin}

{can you see the tanky face?}

{carving away}

{amy + lola belle + lola's pumpkin!}

{my pumpkins!}

of course, with pumpkin carving comes pumpkin seed toasting.  we always make savory pumpkin seeds.  but our chef at urban said he loves sweet pumpkin seeds.  sounds fabulous to me!  

savory batch is butter + worcestershire + seasoned salt.  

sweet batch is butter + sugar + cinnamon + pumpkin spice + more sugar + more cinnamon.

 {both are super delish.

two kinds every year from now on.}

happy fall.  happy monday.  happy you.

love love,
kjp.

a.ridiculously.mazing cinnamon rolls.

the pioneer woman cinnamon rolls are amazing.  there really is no other way to put it.  i do so very much hope you get to eat one sometime soon.  your life will be better :)

pioneer woman cinnamon rolls

{makes about 40 rolls}

dough:

1 qt whole milk

1 c canola oil

1 c sugar

2 packages active dry yeast
9 c flour, divided

1 heaping tsp baking powder

1 scant tsp baking soda

1 T salt

filling:

2 c butter, melted

1/4 c cinnamon

2 c sugar

maple icing:

2 lb powdered sugar

1/2 c whole milk

6 T butter, melted

1/4 c strongly brewed coffee

dash of salt

1 T maple extract

1.  for the dough, heat the milk, oil, & sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat.  do not boil.  set aside & cool to lukewarm.

2. sprinkle the yeast on top & let it sit for 1 minute.  add 8 cups of flour.  stir until JUST COMBINED, cover, & set in a "relatively warm place" for 1 hour.  {turn your oven on as low as it will go before step 1.  then turn it off at this point.}

3. your dough should have grown big & tall!  add baking powder, baking soda, salt, & remaining 1 c flour.  stir thoroughly.

 

4. to assemble rolls, remove half of the dough from the pan.  on a floured baking surface... {this is when i fell in love with stainless steel counter...}

 ...roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 30" x 10". {this is when i fell in love with my beautiful marble rolling pin from my beautiful bridal shower hostesses.}

 
5. for the filling, pour 1 c of melted butter {let cool a smidge so it doesn't go everywhere} over the dough.  use your fingers to spread evenly.   sprinkle half of the ground cinnamon & 1 c of sugar over the butter.

6. now, beginning at the end farthest from you, roll the dough tightly toward you {hot dog style}.  keep it tight!  & the filling will ooze.  pw says that just means the rolls are going to be divine.  pinch the the seam together.

7.  smoosh a cutting board underneath, & with a sharp knife, make 1 1/2" slices.  each log will make about 20 rolls.  place the rolls in your sprayed pans, being careful not to overcrowd.

repeat the rolling/sugar/butter process with the other half of the dough.  preheat oven to 375.  let your rolls sit to rise for at least 20 minutes before baking.  bake for 13 to 17 minutes.  my personal opinion: cook a minute less than you think you need to.  you want ooey gooey :)

{mine had a little "too much" butter, so they fattened.  & the yeast made them grow as they sat, specifically why you do not want to overcrowd.  this is post-sitting.}

 yummm...

 seriously, it makes a lot.  you are welcome, residents!

 8.  while the rolls are baking, make the maple icing!  in a large bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, milk, butter, coffee,  salt.  splash in the maple flavoring.  whisk until very smooth.  taste & add more of anything you need.  but i warn you:  one taste will need to another & another & another...  it's so good.

9. this is my favorite part of her entire cookbook:

 yummm...

 super fat cinnamon rolls!  what is better?

 10. while the rolls are still quite warm, generously drizzle icing over the top.  be sure to get in every little nook & cranny.  as they sit, the rolls will absorb some of the icing's moisture & flavor.  they only get better with time... if you can last that long.

love love,

kjp.

sunday fun.day!

sunday was a big huge day of fun!

in the morning, amy & i took our puppies to the railroad park for their first date!  & they really liked each other.  lola belle tried so hard to keep up with tanky.  but he just kept slobbering on her.  little does she know, she will be bigger than him very soon!

after the park date, while blakey slept from overnight call, i made the most delicious thing in the world: pioneer woman cinnamon rolls.  these are worthy of an entire blog post on their own.  which will happen.  soon.  to tempt you for now...

once we recovered from the massive amounts of butter & sugar yumminess, we took tanky to pick out his pumpkin!  a church in bluff park has a cute little pumpkin patch to roam through & find the perfect pumpkin.  blakey said he had never picked out a pumpkin before {what?!}, so i informed him you need one with at least one pretty side for carving & a taller pumpkin makes carving easier than a fatter pumpkin.  we found the perfect porter pumpkin!

in case you did not already know, we like food.  a lot.  so while we were out that way, we found the taco truck we had heard so much about!  first good sign: actual mexicans were hanging out at the taco truck.  so we stepped up & tried one pork, one bbq, & one barbacoa.  the pork one was so.good.  & the red sauce blake poured on top kicked my butt.  i'll stick with green from now on.  well done, birmy taco truck. 

sunday evening was date night!  &, of course, we chose to go to one of our favorites in town, surin west.  we were seated at a table by the window & chatted the evening away.  love the surin baskets.  love the thai noodles.  love my kendall jackson.  & love my husband.

hope you are having a lovely week!  mine has certainly picked up now that the 3 midterms + quiz are over.  & i have a pedi to look forward to :)

love love,

kjp.