Summer To-Do List

CZ Guest at home in Palm Beach - Photographed by Slim Aarons

With a new season just around the corner, there's no better time to make a new checklist.  If you read this post, you'll have noticed that I tend to over-committ myself when it comes to these seasonal goals - hopefully I can check each one of these fun activities off the list by Fall!

1) Learn to Water Ski (finally) - This one might be a bit ambitious, but I'm hoping to make it out to the lake often enough to give it a solid try!
2) Celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary - They say your first year gift is "paper"... Do you think furniture counts?  Paper is made from wood... sales receipts are paper... I'm reaching here...
3) Set up my home office once and for all.  This room tends to get the short end of the cleaning stick (it currently houses everything random we own, my desk, and dog crates) so I plan to pay some extra special attention to it!  Now that I have been blogging for a few months, I need a more inspirational work space than my bed/sofa.
 4) Attend a "few" weddings - tis the season, and love is in the air! I'm so excited to be included in the nuptials of some very dear friends this summer.
5) Install new front door hardware - finally purchased! Just need it installed... hint hint, Mark!
6) Play more tennis - I fell off the weekly play-date wagon with some of my girlfriends during the colder months... now that we can play outside I have no excuse!
7) Finalize selections for the Traverse City project - I have a trip to Michigan planned for later this summer to do a little bit of work with the 'rents (oh and some play as well!)
8) Install an amazing new office at Chisholm Creek - this one is near and dear to my heart, and I can't wait to share the final outcome!
9) Master my grandmother's homemade peach ice cream - it wouldn't be summer to me without a taste of farm-fresh peaches.  I'll be sure to share the recipe!
10) Host a summer cookout for friends - I'm thinking casual burgers and tons of delicious sides like this and these. If you're intimidated by grilling your own meat (I always have Mark do it for fear I will undercook it) check out these must-have grilling tips that have helped demystify the grilling process for me!

What are your summer goals? 

Xx
Ivy

The Best Quiche of Your Life

No Really, this is literally THE best ever!

My mom has always been a fabulous quiche-chef, and I have gratefully just let her do her thang.  Never tried to help or anything because I have always found quiches intimidating - kind of like soufflé  (which is next on my list of french recipes to master).  I set a list of goals for myself this Spring (see this post), and mastering the perfect quiche was one of them!

I watched a Julia Child video, read several recipes, and channeled my inner french girl to come up with the perfect recipe. It is equal parts gourmet chef (Gruyere makes everything seem a little fancier) and busy gal (hello, freezer section pie crust) which is the perfect combo for beginners.

It tastes just as delicious three days later as it does fresh out of the oven, so it is a wonderful week-night dinner for those of us who are too busy to cook a huge meal at the end of a long work day.  I also recently baked one tart for myself and Mark, and brought the other tart to my friend Lanie who had broken her arm and was out of cooking commission.  Whether you decide to be selfish (I won't blame you) or to share, this quiche is one you won't forget! Without further ado, here she is:

The Best Quiche of Your Life

Makes: 2 tarts, serves 8
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:
1 package frozen pie crust  (2 crusts) I prefer Pillsbury
8 large eggs or 10 small eggs
4 cups Half & Half  (use non-fat, and you will never know the difference)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
6 slices of bacon, diced
1.5 cups (roughly 1 carton) mushrooms of your choice (I chose baby portabella)
1 medium white onion, finely diced
2 cups freshly grated gruyere or cheese of your choice (Cheddar will work nicely as well, just make sure it is freshly grated!)

Supplies:
2 pie pans
Whisk
Cooking spray
Skillet
Cheese grater
Pie weights (or 1 bag of dried beans wrapped in aluminum foil)

Step 1:

• Preheat your oven to 425

Step 2: 

• Roll your crust out onto a greased pie pan.
• Press the crust into the edges of your pan gently.
• Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork (to allow air to escape).
• Add your pie weights or dried beans and foil. This step is crucial, as it keeps your sides from caving in, and also keeps the bottom of the crust from rising. I used beans, and it worked just fine! Julia Child used beans, and she claimed to use the same bean package over and over again.

Step 3: 

• Bake your crust at 425 for approximately 5 minutes.
• Remove the beans and bake for another 3 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven and set aside. Lower your heat to 375.
• I always enjoy when people tell me WHY I need to do these crazy things while cooking, so I'll explain.  Pre-baking your crust yields a much crispier crust than if you just bake it along with the egg mixture.  If you wait to bake the entire thing, your crust will be soggy on the bottom (yuck).

Step 4: 

• In your large skillet, sauté the mushrooms, bacon and onions together until the bacon is crisp and the onions have caramelized.  
• No need for butter or oil, your bacon grease will be enough!

Step 5: 

• Whisk together eggs, half & half, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
• You may add some fresh rosemary or thyme if you are into that!

Step 6: 

• Assemble your team!
• Pour half of your bacon mixture into one pie crust, half into the other.
• Evenly distribute your egg mixture on top of the bacon mixture.
• Sprinkle 1 cup of gruyere on top of each tart. 

Step 7:

• Pop into the oven at 375 for 35(ish) minutes.
• Your quiche is ready if you can insert a fork into the center and pull it out clean.  
• You want a fluffy, almost scrambled egg consistency, not runny! 

Step 8: 

• Allow your quiche to cool for about 10 minutes.
• Cut into 4 slices and serve!

For Dinner: 
Serve with a mixed green salad and a glass of sauvignon blanc!

For Breakfast: 
Serve with fresh fruit and mimosas!

Veggie Option: 
replace bacon with asparagus - yum!

Bon Appétit!
Xx Ivy 

Spring To-Do List

Signs of Spring - Blossoms in our backyard

Spring has officially sprung around here, and I am loving the beautiful warm weather!  I don't know about you, but this time of year usually inspires me to tackle the long list of projects around my house that I've been putting off all Winter.

1) Refinish this little Craigslist dresser I found for our guest room.  Poor Mark uses the closets in this room (I have shamelessly taken over the master closets), and he needs some good storage. I love it's retro 60's lines and brass hardware - will look fabulous in a creamy white lacquer!

2) Replace the ceiling fans (dust traps) in guest room and office with flush mounts. Does anyone else have a husband who refuses to get rid of the ceiling fan in the bedroom? I can't stand 'em!

3) Have a small cafe curtain made for our kitchen window. I'm thinking of using this Jessica Zoob for Black Edition fabric!

4) Plant creeping Ivy along the front side of our house - I love a brick exterior crawling with vines. Oh, and while we're at it, I'd love to paint our trim white... We'll see if I can convince my other half to tackle that one.

Image via Pinterest

5) Install new front door hardware & a peep hole - why it has taken us so long to do this, I have no clue.

6) Bi-annual garage clean-out. I try to do this once in the spring and once in the fall when the weather is nice enough to be outside all day!

7) Learn to make the perfect quiche! I'm not usually into the whole "breakfast for dinner" thing, but quiche is a different story! How hard can it be? I've been watching this video of Julia Child for inspiration!

Image via Martha Stewart 

8) Plant an herb garden - If you follow me on Instagram, you'll have seen by now that I got a jump-start on this portion of the list yesterday! I planted rosemary, mint, basil, and thyme in a little pot outside our back door.

9) Overhaul our guest bedroom. It needs help badly!  Will do a long post on this transformation soon.

10) Host a spring cocktail hour for my girlfriends - Raspberry Mojitos anyone?? I saw Heather Christo speak at a luncheon a few years ago, and have been obsessed with all of her recipes ever since!

What are your spring honey-do's?

Xx
Ivy

Chrissy Tiegen's Cravings!

Big news! My all-time favorite funny girl Chrissy Tiegen has finally released her long-anticipated cookbook Cravings: Recipes for All the Food You Want to Eat! I for one, have been waiting for this amazon pre-order for what seem like ages! It finally arrived yesterday, and I devoured the book - but really, my nose didn't leave it's pages for hours, and I found myself actually laughing out loud. Girlfriend is hilarious!

Chrissy has been blogging about her love for cooking for a while now over at SoDelushious, and people have gone nuts for her mix of humor and soul food. Likewise, her Instagram account is the epitome of "food porn" and one that I frequently stalk.  She is the ultra-cool, older sister everyone wants to spend the afternoon cooking with - Ok, the older sister who also happens to be a super model, but hey I love a girl who likes to eat!

Her new cookbook is an array of all the most deeelish recipes you could imagine - she includes Thai infusions from her mom's side of the family, her hubby John's famous fried chicken (um yum!), cheesy-cheeseless eggs, southern green bean casserole, the list goes on and on.  On my immediate list of recipes to whip up:

• Perfect Seared Scallops with warm corn salad
• Roasted Jalapeno and Chorizo Queso
• Chicken Lettuce Wraps
• Chrissy's famous Secretly Spicy Deviled Eggs
• I am also dying host a Frito Chili Pie party now, thanks to her!

I can't wait to dive into a few of these recipes this week - I love how the majority of her collection is good old comfort food, and not your typical "I'm a model, here's how I make cardboard taste yummy" book. I'm making her Lemony Arugula Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe tonight, so wish me luck!

Bon apetit!
Xx
Ivy