pistachio latte

A few months ago, Jessica posted a preview of her new book, The Pretty Dish, and I caught a glimpse of two of the most beautiful words strung together, pistachio latte. You can have your golden milk lattes and oat milk lattes, this pistachio latte was made for me!! Jessica and I share a deep love for pistachios-- remember this pistachio cake from her first book?? So insanely good. And green, the best color! It comes as no surprise to me that her new book is filled with so many things that i want to eat immediately, including but not limited to miniature margarita pizzas that are built on deep fried disks of dough, yes, basically pizza donuts. I screamed. There are also beauty product recipes for things like macaroon lip balm and birthday cake body scrub (!!!), I just generally feel understood by this book.

Admittedly, with this whole new one cup of coffee limit in my life, I didn't go through the pistachio milk and syrup as quickly as I thought I would until I made a really kickass discovery: oatmeal cooked in pistachio milk and sweetened with pistachio syrup is insane. 12/10 would recommend. But of course the latte is insane too, it's pistachio-y, almond-y, creamy, and perfect.

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Pistachio Latte

from Jessica Merchant's The Pretty Dish

makes 1 serving (easily multiplied)

ingredients

for the pistachio syrup

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c water

1/3 c chopped pistachios

1/4 tsp almond extract

for the latte

2 shots espresso

2-3 tb pistachio syrup

6 oz steamed milk (cow's or pistachio)

chopped pistachios (optional)

clues

to make the pistachio syrup

in a saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the sugar, water, and pistachios. whisk until the sugar dissolves. bring the mixture to a simmer, and cook for 2 minutes, turn off the heat and set the saucepan aside until the mixture has cooled completely. strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the pistachios. stir in the almond extract. you can keep the syrup in a sealed container in the fridge for about a week. the recipe with make 1/2 cup of syrup.

to make the latte

in a mug, combine the espresso and syrup and stir together. pour in the steamed milk. sprinkle with chopped pistachios, if desired. serve immediately! 

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Pistachio Milk

from Jessica Merchant's The Pretty Dish

ingredients

1 c shelled, roasted pistachios (or raw if you can find them!)

4 1/2 c filtred water

1/2 tsp almond extract

2 tb honey (optional)

clues

place the pistachios in a bowl and cover them with water. soak overnight or for at least 6 hours. drain.

in a blender, combine the soaked pistachios, filtered water, and almond extract. blend until smooth and creamy. taste the milk and, if desired, add the honey and blend again. store in the fridge for up to 1 week.

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-yeh!

vegan chai cheesecake with earl grey fig sauce

here was my breakfast! emma’s amazing vegan chai cheesecake, it was *eye rolls to the back of my head* amazing. eggpop has a vegan lunch club on saturdays so i'm donating these little cakes to that but saving all of the scraps for my lunch and dinner and probably breakfast tomorrow too. mmm so good.

gosh geez so much has happened since we last spoke:

-the town bakery went up for sale which spurred a medium long, medium serious conversation with eggboy about whether or not we should buy it and turn it into a halva house but ultimately, for a number of reasons, including my subpar people management skills and an aversion to showering on a regular basis, we decided that other people would be way more fit for the job. is it you? would you like a bakery? do you want to move to a town that looks like a snow globe and has a cinnamon scented movie theater?

-book writing is chugging along and i’ve adjusted my sleep schedule for it because i’ve found i like writing more late at night. i’ve been waking up at kelly and michael o’clock and going to bed way past midnight. i kinda like it, but i’ll have to adjust back for photographing days in order to catch the good light.

-i stuck my face in food & wine and brought knoephla, paprikash, halva challah, and pickled eggies! 

-sia came out with a new song

-so did lucius

-and aoife’s new album is streaming

-so it’s been a really strong music week

-also look at this city ballet trailer

-i made a rhubarb sauce because way back in april, i just knew that i would procrastinate testing the rhubarb recipe for my book so i froze some for this very week. the second to last week before my manuscript is due. thank you, self of the past.

-a halva and tahini store opened in chelsea maket! holy heck. that’ll be my first stop in new york next time i’m there. and can someone get me this neon tahini sign??!!!!

-registration opened up for the photography workshop that i’m giving in australia in july with sophie and luisa!!! it’s going to include cake. and i’m gonna pet a koala, and watch our lips are sealed on the plane, and eat lamingtons upon lamingtons, i can’t contain my excitement! will you come? i think spots are jussst about filled, but there may be a few left!

...so it’s all very apropos that i’m sharing a recipe today from one of my very favorite australia (now new zealand!) based bloggers, who i hope i’ll get to see in july!! i met sweet emma at the saveur awards last year where she showed me her beautiful book that is filled with so many colors by way of amazing fresh fruit that i could only dream of having way up here. i’ve been waiting waiting waiting for it to come out in the states, and in the fall it finally did! in the past, her recipes have inspired my tarts and my obsession with tahini fudge (ooh yeah, get on that), and now her book is inspiring me to make things like choux puffs with labneh and strawberry jam and tahini orange coconut muesli, and they’re all gluten free and vegetarian. 

this “cheesecake” is so smooth, creamy, and miles away from your average cream cheese cheesecake. in fact, i’m inclined to say that calling it a cheesecake doesn’t do it enough justice because i know how there are some people who are turned off by a tangy cream cheese cheesecake. josh suggested “silken cashew tarte.” idk. my point is, it’s fantastic and you shouldn't let any preconceived notions of tangy cheesecake get in the way of your decision to make this. i could barely get all of the filling onto the crust because i wanted to eat it all with a spoon. in her book, it’s topped with fresh figs and cut into slices, but fig season is far away and because i didn’t want to give eggpop partially eaten cheesecake to bring to his lunch club, i cut the thing into a bunch of mini cakes and saved the scraps for myself. and i also get all of the leftover fig sauce. it’s a win win win win win situation. make this.

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emma’s vegan chai “cheesecake” with earl grey fig sauce

from emma galloway’s my darling lemon thyme

serves 12 or more

ingredients

crust:

1 1/2 c pitted dates, roughly chopped

2/3 c whole raw almonds

1 tb virgin coconut oil

filling:

3 c raw cashews, soaked overnight in cold water and drained

3/4 c virgin coconut oil, melted if solid

1/2 c lemon juice

1/2 c maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp fine sea salt

seeds from 20 cardamom pods (3/4 tsp ground)

6 whole cloves (1/2 tsp ground)

1/2 tsp fennel seeds (1/2 tsp ground)

1/2 tsp black peppercorns (just over 1/4 tsp ground)

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

earl grey fig sauce:

3/4 c boiling water

2 earl grey tea bags

1/2 c firmly packed sliced dried figs

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tb maple syrup

fresh figs, to serve, optional

clues

to make the crust, line the base and side of a 10” loose-bottomed cake pan with parchment paper. place dates, almonds, and coconut oil in a food processor and blend on high until finely ground. press mixture into the base of the tin, using the back of a spoon to pack down firmly.

to make the filling, place the drained cashews, coconut oil, lemon juice, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt in a blender and set aside for a minute. finely grind the whole spices with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. add to the blender along with the ground ginger and cinnamon. blend on high until smooth. you may need to help things along a little by stopping occasionally and giving things a stir. pour over the crust and smooth the surface. place in the freezer for 2-3 hours or until set (you can also chill overnight in the fridge if preferred). cheesecake slices will store in a covered container in the freezer for up to 1 month. remove from the freezer 20-30 minutes before serving to allow to soften.

to make early grey fig sauce, combine the boiling water, tea, and figs in a small glass bowl of jug, pressing the figs down to fully submerge, and leave until cool. remove and discard tea bags, squeezing them to extract as much flavor as you can. transfer to a blender, add lemon juice and maple syrup, and blend on high until smooth. serve cheesecake with earl grey fig sauce and fresh figs, if in season.

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-yeh!

pictured: cheese stone / enamel bowl / spice jars

macadamia marzipan balls

alana says that it was my idea, i'm pretty sure that it was hers, but at some point in malta we were inspired by some poolside chewy marzipan cookies to throw a blogged out marzipan kiki for christmas. (what's a kiki?)

unselfishly, our marzipan party is a reminder to listen to or see or play the air tambourine along with the nutcracker at least once this christmas week. the sugar plums! the pirouettes! the behind the scenes at the city ballet instagrams that were a highlight of the internet! and of course the marzipans. you should eat many marzipans.

selfishly, i really just wanted more marzipan content spewed onto the internet because marzipan is easily the best part of the holidays. marzipan, dumplings, the santa clause. and stoop traipsing around the house announcing that her pup has pooped with christmas confidence. (don't ask.) 

and the kiki hath delivered! look at the marzipan wizardry that has arrived to you today: lily’s pistachio marzipan ice cream, stephanie’s marzipan chocolate chip cookies, beau’s cardamom marzipan rolls, michelle’s marzipan semlor, betty’s sesame (!) marzipan rose cakes, and alana’s remake of those chewy malta cookies. i am really excited about all of these, i think this marzipan party should become a tradition. 

my contribution is macadamia marzipan! which can be made with two (2!) ingredients if you play your cards right. typically, basic marzipan ingredients include nuts, sugar, and some type of binder, like egg whites or corn syrup. but because macadamia nuts are so fatty, marzipaning them doesn't require an additional binder. it's a lot lighter and fluffier than your typical almond marzipan, so it's not necessarily something that would hold up to, say, cutting out a moose shape and sticking it on a cake, but when it's balled up and rolled around in a dish of sparkly sprinkles, it is a painfully easy and amazingly tasty way to add bling to your holiday table. pretty pretty princess-style bling. 

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macadamia marzipan balls

makes 12

ingredients

1 1/2 cups roasted macadamias (if unsalted, add a pinch of salt)
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

Sprinkles, optional

clues

blend the macadamias in a food processor just until crumbly. don’t over blend or you’ll end up with macadamia butter. add the confectioners’ sugar (and salt, if your nuts were unsalted) and blend for a wee bit longer, until combined and clumpy. it’s ready when it sticks together if you squeeze a bit in your hand.

pile it all together on a work surface and then divide it into 12 small balls. serve them naked like that or roll them in sprinkles. enjoy!

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-yeh!

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pictured: knife / slab / dish / board

hazelnut mini cakes

ok, hi!!! this isn't *thanksgiving content* this is just a list of things that i am excited about. you can read it now or when everyone else is tryptophan napping (and you're not because you b.y.o.-ed a squashducken) or when your husband is outside hanging christmas lights from the chicken coop even though half of them are burnt out. i don't know. 

eggboy's birthday! and eggdad's too! // they are both early next week so we are celebrating this weekend and eggboy has requested corned beef hash, which i have never made before! do you have any tips? so far all i got is the name and number of the town diner, in case i screw it all up.

my quin candy advent calendar // it's been sitting in my kitchen for about a week now, tempting me every time i walk by. thankfully there are bonus days thrown in there, so i've broken into those already, but now i've gotta wait until december 1 to actually start the countdown.

pizza night x 2 // since today is the friday of this week's work week, we get to have pizza. and since real friday is also still friday, we get to have pizza again. yippee!! amy thielen's cracker crust pizza has been one of our favorite's lately and we've been grinding up some of the wheat that eggboy grows to put in the dough. very tasty! very farm to belly.

these cute-as-a-button cake stands // they are the ones in these pictures and they are from aheirloom and yessss, your mini cakes deserve their own mini stands.

i'm gonna be in the tv making gingerbread cookies all weekend! // turn on food network or hgtv on saturday night at 8pm (eastern time) and i'll be making these little guys at some point during the hour! 

the turquoise raymond loewy skillet // i mean, look at it, it's stunning. it makes me want to be one of those people who are into design and who can authoritatively say things like, "ah yes, i love a good mid-century modern design." or something.

the spring awakening revival // it is my favorite musical and it recently returned to broadway with a cast that's a mix of hearing and deaf actors. watch this video, it is so beautiful. 

cake in a crate // my old friend from juilliard and his ladyfriend recently started the coolest ever company that is basically like blue apron but for vegan/gluten-free/refined sugar-free cakes! i tried it out over the summer and it is great. all of the ingredients come in cute individual packages (a.k.a. my true weakness in life) and the recipes are super tasty. i am especially excited about it right now because these here hazelnut mini cakes are now one of the crates that they're offering! 

...so these are vegan and gluten-free??? yesyesyes! they are super squishy and nutty and a little bit coconutty, and of course chocolaty because what is a hazelnut without its friend, chocolate? they are so easy to make and they whip up in a heartbeat and in case you're snowed in or you don't want to put on pants to go to the store or you just like cute awesome things, here, have cake in a crate send you all of the ingredients! 

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hazelnut mini cakes

makes 12

Ingredients

Cake

1 1/4 c Gluten-free all-purpose flour
2/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted and finely ground
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2/3 c maple syrup
1/3 c coconut oil, melted but not hot
2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 c full fat coconut milk

Ganache

3/4 c chocolate chips
2 tb coconut oil
1 tb coconut milk
2 tb maple syrup

Assembly

Crushed toasted hazelnuts
Sprinkles

Clues

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin and set it aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, hazelnuts, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. In a separate, medium bowl, whisk together the syrup, coconut oil, vanilla, and coconut milk. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and then pour into the muffin tins. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean; begin checking for doneness at 16 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the ganache, place the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until the chocolate is fully melted. Stir in the coconut milk and syrup, and then continue stirring for a few minutes until the ganache cools slightly. 

To decorate, pour the ganache over the cakes so that it drips down the sides. Top with hazelnuts and sprinkles as desired. Enjoy! 

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-yeh!