Something Saturdays (11/1/14)

Sunday I had such a wonderful time in Pittsburgh with Carla (Chocolate Moosey)! As you can tell, I survived the drive! It actually was pretty simple. Then Carla took me to a gorgeous French bakery, La Gourmandine. I had a perfectly flaky pain au chocolat as well as some sort of chocolate dessert that reminded me of a giant candy bar. Carla had a beautiful passionfruit macaron. Then we went to the Duquesne Incline which was so cool and had a beautiful view of the city! One of the highlights of my visit was going on a tour at The Cathedral of Learning (University of Pitt), a gorgeous tall building that looked like an old Catholic cathedral inside. There were different rooms that were dedicated to different cultures (based upon immigrants who settled in Pittsburgh)-some of my favorites were the Italian room, Irish room, Lithuanian room, Greek room, and...well....all of them. It was SO fascinating and they were so beautiful! By this point we were starving, so we headed over to Burgatory for the best milkshake I've ever had (Fluffer Nutter) and an amazing burger and homemade potato chips. It totally hit the spot! Carla and I finally just visited a bit at her apartment before I headed back. I had such a great time and I'm so happy Pittsburgh and Carla are only 2 hours away :)

I had a fun-but somewhat unproductive-week! Tuesday I got to go to the shops at First & Main in Hudson with Michael's stepmom. The shops were SO cute and they reminded me of my favorite little spots in NY. So it won my heart. Wednesday I headed back to my and Michael's old high school to spend some time with his mom (a teacher) and sister (a student) and his best friend (also a teacher). While I was there we also booked our ceremony musicians! The director of campus ministry went to the same grade school as I did and so is very familiar with the church where Michael and I are getting married. He has a group of people who do weddings with him and they're extremely popular and in demand and talented! So thrilled I have one more thing crossed off my to-do list!

Friday Michael had the day off (he has to work today though) so we ran some errands (got his passport processed and found a new haircut place for him) and got dinner (steak!). Then I worked a bar crawl in the cold and rain...blech. Today I'm going to a bridal shower for Michael's cousin (she's getting married in February) so it should be fun!

10 Recipes For Leftover Halloween Candy

Happy Halloween!!! Tis the season for adorable rugrats dressed in various fun costumes. The season for drunken college students and child-less adults to find the perfect (or the easiest) costume and partyyy. The season for Michael and I to be cranky because our perfect family (his family) costume idea* was foiled (by lack of participation from a couple members as well as lack of party for us to go to). Most importantly-the season for LOTS and LOOTS of candy! Whether you're collecting, handing out, or buying up the 50% off candy the day after---chances are...you've got some candy in your possession. Maybe...too much candy? Maybe you need something to do with that candy?

You're in luck! I've rounded up 10 recipes from the blog that are wonderful ways to incorporate your leftover candy...and really...just tasty in general. Any excuse to bake, if you ask me!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Browned Butter Brown Sugar Toffee Blondies

These blondies are seriously gooey. And I'm unsure if they're supposed to be quiiite this gooey...or if I underbaked them...It doesn't really matter. Either way they are fan-friggin-tastic! Sometimes the messiest things taste the best. True story.

I feel like the color brown gets a bad rep. Brown is a perfectly lovely color. It's the color of my hair. It's the color of my Michael's very lovely eyes (contrary to what he says. I won't repeat what he says to describe the brown color of his eyes). It's the color of most of the delicious things I can imagine. Chocolate? Brown. Toffee? Brown. Browned butter? Brown Sugar? Brown is in the name. And these are some of the tastiest things in life! Annnnnd they are all highlighted in these blondies. Boom! Brown is. da. shiz.

The original name of this recipe was "I <3 Brown Sugar Blondies". And I DO love brown sugar! It's so warm and complex and molasses-y. Ahhh brown sugar....you are the superior sugar. It is true. And these babies have a full THREE CUPS of brown sugar-2 light brown and 1 dark brown. So yeah...you're getting a big punch of that flavor. And...since the recipe had melted butter anyway...and I knew it would only serve to amp up the flavor even more and make these even more mouthwatering...I obviously browned the butter. Which was a good call, btw. Browning the butter added even more nuances and buttery goodness. Toffee is a perfect compliment to the 2, with just a little bit of semisweet chocolate chips in to help add a little something different. And some salt on top helps balance the entire thing. *muah* bellisima!

These blondies are a party on your tastebuds. You bite into a crackly top that gives way to utter gooeyness. Then you just taste everything. Like...you want to have a Homer Simpson "Mmmmm....blondies," moment. I'm literally beginning to salivate just thinking about it. The brown sugar is totally the star but the browned butter merges with the flavor so perfectly you almost can't distinguish between them. And then you get the crunchy bites of toffee and slightly melted pieces of semisweet chocolate (which adds a welcome bit of variety to break up the melding of the other flavors)...and the salt hits your palate to just make all the rest of it taste not too sweet. Like...they're sweet. But not too sweet. Warm and complex. Those are the words for this treat. And WHAT a treat these blondies are. Mmmmm.....blondies.