Oz on the big screen

Cool event alert! 

This month, Fathom Events is hosting Turner Classic Movies' limited two-day showing of The Wizard of Oz in cinemas nationwide. The great news for Milwaukeeans: It's actually playing in our local cinemas!(We're not always so lucky.) Catch the movie at 2:00 and 7:00 on both Sunday, January 11 and Wednesday, January 14. To Oz? To Oz!

Crack pie with cookie butter

It's magically addictive!

I'd heard of crack pie from Momofuku Milk Bar in NYC, but I've never actually tasted it. So while I can't attest that this imitation pie is a total taste-alike, I can attest to its addictive factor. 

I brought this awesome treat to work and had people emailing me almost immediately: "I'M ADDICTED!" Yes, in all caps. So it's unanimous - this giant cookie of a pie really lives up to its name. No sooner will you lick the pie pans clean and you'll be looking for another excuse to make this dessert. I speak from experience.

- - - - - - - 

CRACK PIE WITH SPECULOOS
**RECIPE MAKES 2 PIES**

WHAT YOU'LL NEED: 
OAT COOKIE FOR CRUST
2/3 cup + 1 TBS flour
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 TBS sugar
1 egg
1 cup rolled oats

CRUST
crumbled oat cookie
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter + optional 2 TBS
1 and 1/2 TBS brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt

FILLING
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup + 3 TBS brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup nonfat dry milk
2 TBS softened butter
1 cup Speculoos, Biscoff, or other cookie butter (creamy or chunky) 
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
8 egg yolks
powdered sugar, for garnish

WHAT YOU'LL DO: 
1. For the oat cookie: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

2. In a large bowl, use a mixer to beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy, then add the egg until combined. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter & sugar mixture until combined. Stir in oats. 

3. Turn the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, spreading out the dough in the shape of one giant cookie. Bake about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool, then crumble the cookie. 

4. For the pie crust: In a food processor, combine crumbled cookie, 1/4 cup butter, brown sugar, and salt, and pulse until combined. Pinch the mixture - if it clumps up, the crust dough is ready; if not, add another 2 TBS butter (I didn't need the extra butter). 

5. Divide the dough evenly between two 9- or 10-inch pie pans. Press the dough into the bottom and sides of each pan (see "Note," below). Set aside the crusts while you prepare the filling.

6. For the filling: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, use a mixer to combine sugar, brown sugar, dry milk, and salt. With the mixer on low, add butter, cookie butter, heavy cream, and vanilla. Add egg yolks until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl. 

7. Divide the filling evenly between the two pie crusts and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake an additional 15-25 minutes, until filling is golden brown and a bit jiggly. 

8. Remove from oven and cool completely. Before serving, sprinkle generously with powdered sugar. Store covered at room temperature.

*Note: Start by pressing the dough into the sides of the pan, followed by the bottom. Spread the dough as thin as possible to ensure you have enough to go around. I used too much dough in my first pie pan and didn't have quite enough for the second. To make up for it, I whipped up a quick batch of graham cracker crust to fill in the gaps. Worked like a charm!

- - - - - - -

Make sure to check the pies early when baking. I didn't distribute the filling as evenly as I thought, so one pie turned out much more golden and less jiggly than the other (jiggly at first - the pie sets up as it cools). However, both were absolutely delicious - I don't think you can mess this one up! Especially once you cover up any flaws with a dusting of powdered sugar. 

A few holiday faves

Stocking stuffers & cards to send

Only 358 days until Christmas! So here are a few of my favorites from 2015 you'll want to take note of for next year.

Instagram gifts from Print Studio (formerly Prinstagram)

I'm a little bit obsessed with Print Studio. Fist, the interface is really nice to work with — user-friendly and attractive. This year, I ordered 2-inch magnets through Print Studio — a set of 10 for $14. I gave a few to my dad and split up the rest among friends and family. Talk about a fun, affordable gift! Every single one of my giftees gave a little squeal and laughed to see our memories on a magnet. They really are the perfect stocking stuffer for those friends you love but say "no gifts this year" (but nobody listens).

The only catch is that you can only choose from photos you've loaded to Instagram, so keep that in mind as you snap away in 2015. I know I'll be asking myself "What do I want to see on a magnet next Christmas?" Or in a frame, on a poster, in a book — Print Studio offers a lot of fun options for printing your grams.

Quill & Fox cards

While I'm a huge fan of Rifle Paper Company, I found another new favorite this holiday season: Quill & Fox. They're based in Portland and also have an Etsy shop with great prices for specialty cards. Just like Rifle Paper Company, Quill & Fox offers rather nostalgic, hand-designed cards. And they don't stop at wintry greetings — you can find cards for Mother's Day, birthdays, and just because. I plan to be a repeat shopper at Quill & Fox long before next Christmas.

And for those of you who appreciate customer service, I can speak from experience that Quill & Fox is fabulous at it. I noticed after my "your order has shipped" notification that I had selected the wrong shipping address. I contacted the shop owner right away and he promptly and kindly corrected the error immediately. Love that!

Handmade paper star ornaments

These stars are called Froebel Stars, and you can find them as handmade ornaments on Etsy — or you can make them yourself! I was lucky enough to have a little lesson in making my own paper stars, and I can tell you it's so fun and rewarding. There's just something therapeutic about folding colorful paper. Try it yourself and see!

It takes a bit to master the craft, but once you have the movements down you could churn out a bunch in no-time. You can make them with just paper, or (as my teacher did) dip the stars in hot wax, then add a dusting of glitter. The wax dries quickly and seals the glitter and paper, making the star much sturdier. By next Christmas, I plan to invest in some wax and oodles of quilling paper of my own.

December 2014

A few of my favorite things

Sharing recipes for pumpkin cake...

...and pecan pie.

Having warm drinks at Von Trier. 

Seeing Harvey at the Milwaukee Rep.

Lunching at Jack's Cafe.

Celebrating 25 Days of Christmas movies.

Seeing my brother in cap & gown.

Keeping up holiday traditions at the Goyette house.

Catching up with college girlfriends at the Ruby Tap.

Having a happy Christmas!

Dining with friends at the Stone Bowl Grill.

Reuniting with some of my favorite Marquette alums.

Having ourselves a very merry Cinmas!

Stone Bowl Grill

Korean BBQ in MKE

My friend Rachelle taught English in South Korea a few years back, thus making her my very own expert on K-Pop and what to order at Korean BBQ restaurants. Since the Stone Bowl Grill opened on Farwell Avenue in Milwaukee, I've been there twice - both times with Rachelle as my food guide. Fun fact: One of Rachelle's many talents is knowing exactly the right amount of food to order for a crowd.

After this second trip, I feel decidedly more confident in what to order, thanks in full to Rachelle's knowledge. And it's a good thing because this place is so delicious and the atmosphere is very Date Night. But you're actually much better off going with a group, since Stone Bowl offers family-style portions.

In my limited experience & based solely on my own personal expert's advice, here's what to try when you go to Stone Bowl: As an app, get the pah-jeon. It's a pancake mixed with scallions and optional seafood. I personally don't care for that kind of seafood, but you do you. Rachelle also ordered us plain dumplings and spicy-sweet dumplings; I preferred the spicy-sweet, so try those on for size.

When it comes to BBQ meat, the kalbi is where it's at - so I'm told. I found it a little fatty for my taste, but I'm weird that way. If you're into tasty meat and don't have a strange aversion to textures like I do, go for the kalbi. And make sure you get lettuce, kimchi, and sauces on the side so you can make lettuce wraps with the meat.

You'll also want to try bibimbop, a hot stone bowl filled with rice and topped with fresh veggies and your choice of meat (or just veggies). Make sure to stir everything together in the bowl before you dig in. As for a noodle dish, Rachelle knows what I like: jap che, which is stirfried veggies and/or beef with noodles in a tasty sauce. I would say if you're a fan of other Asian noodle dishes and want to play it super safe, this is the place to start.




So let's level: Speaking as a Midwestern girl who's idea of Asian food is typically Pad Thai or Sesame Chicken, you can see just how adventurous I am when left to my own devices. I'm infinitely grateful to friends like Rachelle who push me to try something new. I hope there are plenty more adventurous folks out there who will give this (relatively) new restaurant a shot. This particular location on Farwell has seen businesses come and go - but I'd quite like the Stone Bowl Grill to last.

P.S. Please excuse the crummy photo quality - but you know that crummy photos mean great mood lighting, right?

Friends gettin' festive

Here's a shout out to celebrations with friends this holiday season. Cheers to each and every one of you!

Cheers to you, engaged friends!

Cheers to engagement parties!

Cheers to an almost-decade of college friends!

Cheers to truffle popcorn! (Not pictured, because we ate it all.)

Cheers to more of my favorite Marquette alums!

Cheers to a delish dinner at Stone Bowl - and to poor lighting!

Cheers to Cinmas 2014 - ti ams the most!

The time my brother graduated

#UWMgrad

In all the craziness of the holiday season, I somehow missed sharing something I'm insanely proud of: My brother Kevin graduated from UWM with a degree in graphic design and visual communication. He also landed a job right out of the gate. If I were the type of person to say things like "Holler!" in all seriousness, now would be the time.

But really, there's not much else to say beyond "I'm proud." My pride stems less from Kevin's academic achievement and more so that I share the same blood as this uniquely talented, imaginative, and brilliant artist. Kev, you can roll your eyes at my praise and point to other young artists who have made it big, but in my book you already are and always will be brilliant - and anyone who knows you and your work would agree that you never needed a diploma to prove it. Here's to you! Go get 'em, cowboy.