Fig and Almond Tart

Posted on January 3, 2013 by klmullady

Kelsey and I had an amazing Christmas break. We hated being away from the Kastle and all that our life here entails but loved the time at home. There were several highlights from our time at home- one being a stop by my girlfriend’s house on Christmas Day. I step into the comforts of her home and what do I see? A cake clearly from a box sitting on the counter. Pre-made frosting and all.

I mean… you know I was upset. I wouldn’t use store bought mix in an I’m-sorry-your-boyfriend-dumped-you-cake for a distant friend…. let alone for Christmas Day. I started to wonder if Betty Crocker had come before or after me on the invite list and decided I would need a baking cleanse.

This is how I landed on a Fig and Almond Tart:

Fig and Almond Tart

This tart has all things good:

1.) Figs- they made the cut for the Bible itself and rightfully so.

2.) Cheese- let’s be real I’ll take cheese any way I can get it.

3.) Marzipan- became addicted to this stuff during my Germany trip and I’m so not pissed it is in this tart.

4.) Carbs- well now I’m just sold.

Now pretty much no guy (besides my father – greatest man on Earth – and fan of all things fig) wants a fig tart, so I recommend making this for your mom or girlfriends.

BUT SHOOT! FIGS ARE NOT IN SEASON! Why do I live in a black hole that is sans figs for the majority of the year?!

Thank goodness there is a lollipop-shaped woman out there named Giada who has taught me how to reconstitute dried figs. It’s not the same as fresh but it still beats a store bought cake mix.

Chicken Chili

Posted on January 2, 2013 by klmullady

Our friends Avrille and Cara were coming over for a “girls night in” and we wanted to provide some nourishment. At first we were just going to do some apps but I had a sneaking suspicion The Brixton was in our future and some real sustenance would be required. Chicken Chili fit the bill and surprise surprise we ventured out afterward.

Love chili but don’t feel like eating ground up hamburger? Annoyed that regs chili looks like a bunless sloppy joe? Ina knew these were concerns of yours so she came up with this chicken chili:

Chicken Chili

We did some testing of chili recipes and this one gets our OutsideTheBox approval. Loaded with veg and spices it tastes fresh and delish. Can I make a suggestion? Do your eye makeup after you chop the onions. DEAR ROXANA- read this blog before you chop an onion to remind yourself of this important step. I’ve machete’d a few onions in my day. I’m around them all the time at work. I swear if I am even in the same room as a chopped onion my eyes swell shut and I look stoned for about two hours. Don’t even get me started on French Onion Soup….

We topped it with all kinds of heavenly things (aged cheddar/veg/SC) but only pic’d the finished pot. Oh… I’m sorry… this soup pic does not look like it belongs on a Bon Appetit cover? Maybe it’s because we were busy demolishing third helpings and dictating to the girls our lentil catastrophe versus documenting chopped onions I can’t even open my eyes to see anymore.

Lentil Soup and a Night on the Town

Posted on January 2, 2013 by klmullady

So Kelsey and I went to a fundraiser at Capitale and decided to have some people over beforehand. We did a basic cheese/hummus/snacks on snacks situation.

The real, star, however; was the lentil soup. The now legendary lentil soup in our apartment. We did not get to document the soup and if you keep reading you will find out why..

It started out as such a cute night… here we are all dressed up ready to eat lentil soup and dance at an open bar party til 2 am.

The soup was awesome. I accidently over-lentiled the recipe and I’m not even pissed about it because it still tasted delicious. It’s our little Buddha’s Recipe:

Lentil Soup

We had a bunch of people over and just kept it warm on the stove serving it in coffee mugs with parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil on top. I knew the girls would destroy this soup but I was surprised that the bro’s we had over were so into it. Our friend Ashley’s boyfriend played football in the NFL and he was even into our soup. I mean I think that settles it: lentils are not just for hippies and DC food bloggers.

Anyway it was getting late. We realized running out the door that we never took a pic of the soup but since I’d made enough to last a week we figured we’d take it later….little did we know.

The fundraiser (Celebration for Education) was a blast. We danced true to form and it supported a good cause. So far we were winning.

{Casually throwing down dance moves–we don’t half-ass anything}

So how did the night end? Imagine Spiderman visited your kitchen but instead of attacking your apartment with spider webs it’s lentil soup. Literally lentil soup everywhere. Hand prints of lentil soup. By the looks of it none of the soup got eaten- it was strictly used to decorate our kitchen with brown sludge. Most girls just order a pizza. Clearly we are not most girls.