as the weather starts to cool and my thoughts turn from summer dishes to something a little cozier, i thought it would be the perfect time to share one of my favorite recipes. sadly this dish is not my own, but it does come from one of the women i most admire- martha stewart. her recipe for chocolate-swirl gingerbread (which ran in martha’s everyday food magazine) is an all-time favorite of mine and i couldn’t resist sharing it here. the magazine kindly gave us permission to re-run the full recipe with instructions so i hope you’ll all enjoy this easy-to-make treat as much as i do. [the fabric used in my photos above and below is "bellows" in black by studio bon]
just a quick note: this recipe has a distinct molasses taste that i love (it’s a really nice change of pace from all of the cinnamon-based recipes we typically see this season), but if it skews a little molasses-heavy for you, you can definitely cut back on the molasses a bit. i suggest making it according to the instructions first, and if the taste doesn’t suit you, swap some of the molasses for more chocolate. i also suggest topping it with a heaping spoonful of homemade whipped cream. this dessert fresh out of the oven with whipped cream cannot be beat.
click here for the full recipe and instructions (and more pictures) or just click “read more” below. (thanks again to every food allowing us to re-print this. click here to visit their blog)
read more …
October 31st, 2008 - 12:00pm
if there’s one thing (ok, two) that we love around here, it’s good design and good food. in honor of it being “in the kitchen with” friday, béatrice peltre’s sneak peek was a natural fit as food stylist and photographer extraordinaire. i swear she makes everything she does look incredible, and her home fits in that bill too (more images here). in case you missed it the first time around, you must check out her recipe (and styling) for chocolate nut muffins and vegetable soup, and stay tuned for a special recipe from our favorite design blogger up next (hint: she was featured in domino this month)! [thanks, béa!] -anne
[above and below: The kitchen is an important piece of the house since I spend so much time there with my job -- of course, it's never big enough. We liked the idea of adding a chalk board and colored shelves, and made an opening with the dining room by creating a counter top -- a friend of ours actually made the counter top from purple wood, the original natural color, and my husband P. made the shelves and chalk board. These elements helped to provide a much better flow between rooms, especially as we love to entertain, and hang out in the kitchen too.]
We’ve been living in this house for about a little over six years now, and when we moved in, we spent a lot of time renovating, every day, after work! Truth being said, there was a lot to do! This is the first house we own, and we looked at it as a learning project. And we learned indeed! We tried to bring in as much light as possible, which is not always an easy thing in a typical New England house. So the colors on the walls were chosen light for that purpose, with darker touches here and there, to bring in contrast.
Since I am a sucker for colors and patterns of all types, I also mixed them in the decoration we chose. Our sofa is from Ligne Roset, and since we like the mix of contemporary with old, more antique looking furniture, we have pieces from all sorts of origins. Of course, as a food stylist, I have objects everywhere, from bowls, plates, glasses to vases. I don’t have enough space to store them either! But that does not stop me from looking for things, and buying them!
We ordered the sink and bathroom furniture from Duravit, a German company — it took over 10 weeks before they arrived, like our Ligne Roset sofa in fact!
The art on the wall. for the most part, is paintings I made a few years ago, when I tried my hand at it. I have a lot to learn, but it was something I really enjoyed doing, and it was also a nice way to personalize our walls.
October 31st, 2008 - 11:00am
today is my last day at the domino guest blog. all week i’ve been focusing on wallet-friendly home design and today’s roundup is all about products under $100 that look high-end but don’t have high-end prices. click here to check out my last roundup or follow these links to check out the rest of my affordable design posts from the past two weeks: 10 products under $10, under $20, under $30, under $40, under $50.
[sourcing for products above is available right here]
October 31st, 2008 - 10:00am
One of the most popular features on my blog is Sunday Taylor Style, featuring my mom (Sunday Taylor) cooking in her kitchen. I thought it would be appropriate to close out my week at Design*Sponge by inviting you into Sunday Taylor’s kitchen for a very autumnal meal. Grace, thanks so much for everything - it’s been loads of fun.
Okay, now to the kitchen. On tonight’s menu: beef chili and butternut squash quesadillas. This menu is perfect for a fall night.
While the chili bubbled away, we got to working on these butternut squash quesadillas. First we pureed the roasted butternut squash, red onions and garlic. We assembled the quesadillas with shredded jack cheese, finely chopped red peppers and the puree. While I was waiting for the quesadillas to brown I looked at my mom’s collections of cookbooks plotting which I would borrow (i.e. steal) next.
The meal was delicious and a relaxing ending to a busy week. Take a load off tonight and cook something cozy. To see the recipes we used to create our cozy fall meal, click over to my blog.
Big thanks to all the readers for spending the week with me here at Design*Sponge. If you like what you’ve seen, please stop by L.A. in Bloom.
October 31st, 2008 - 10:00am
just a little friday morning eye candy to get the day started: beautiful felt and crochet sculptures by emily barletta, via notcot.
October 31st, 2008 - 09:00am
i’m loving these new modern tablemat designs from chilewich’s fall 2008 collection. click here for more information…
October 31st, 2008 - 09:00am
Several years ago, my friend Sherry of Marvimon and SmogShoppe introduced me to the floral styling of Holly Vesecky. Holly creates the most beautiful arrangements I’ve ever seen, incorporating non-traditional materials into her stunning arrangements and decking out her tablescapes with crystals, geodes, feathers and other accessories. Her look is wild but elegant and completely gorgeous. The difference between Holly’s work and that of most floral designers, is that Holly truly is an artist with a strong vision who approaches her craft as a sculpture. In addition to major accounts and weekly weddings and other events, she’s also done installations at Machine Project, a fantastic experimental art gallery in Echo Park. I’m lucky that Holly’s studio is right across the street from the gallery and sometimes she’ll create a simple arrangement for me to put on the front console or the back table. While picking up my most recent flowers, Holly showed me around her studio.
I love her collection of vintage containers - amber goblets, German lava vases, and personal family heirlooms line the walls. She lets clients choose the containers for their arrangements and then asks that they return the pieces when empty. It’s a very unique (not to mention environmentally friendly) way of presenting flowers.
Holly was working on centerpieces for a wedding in Palm Springs and the client gave her carte blanche to do something really unique. These two centerpieces really blew me away. Love the use of sand for a desert wedding.
The Palm Springs wedding was only one of three she was working on. Here is a trail of blackberries in the middle of an centerpiece for a diffrent wedding in LA.
Finally, back at the gallery with my new flowers for the weekend. Simply gorgeous, if I do say so myself.
October 31st, 2008 - 08:00am
