26 on the Outside, 6 on the Inside

Posted: January 31st, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Happy Birthday Brian red and blue cookie cake

I did it! Please join everyone else in congratulating me on reaching twenty-six years of age. While that in and of itself might not be much of an accomplishment, this last year sure has been. As you all know, and are maybe tired of hearing about, I married my co-blogger and the all-around lovely lady, Sarah. Since this past year was such a big one, you may be a bit worried about me. You may be wondering what my twenty-seventh year could possibly bring about to top all the goings on of twenty-six. Well nothing, of course, could top the wedding, but I assure you that’s not going to stop me from livin’!
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Fine Fixin’s: Cuban Black Bean Stew

Posted: January 25th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Fine Fixin's | Tags: , , , , | No Comments »

Splendid Table's cuban black bean stew

Let me ask you a question. Do you like flavor? Of course you do. You have a mouth. (Hopefully.) Second question. Are you a vegetarian? Yes? Ok, you may want to leave the room. The rest of you, come with me . . .
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Fine Fixin’s: Alton Brownies

Posted: January 17th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Fine Fixin's | Tags: , , , | No Comments »

Alton Brown's brownie recipe

The other night we had a brownie craving, so we thought that we could put a few aging boxes of cocoa powder to use! We really liked how dense and choclately these particular brownies were. They definitely hit the spot. We used a combination of regular Hershey’s cocoa powder and the Dutch processed cocoa powder, since that’s what we had on hand. If you’re in the mood for a real brownie, and not just any pansy, pre-boxed, pre-made brownie, put your stretch pants on and try this variation from Alton Brown.

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Christmas, Without You

Posted: December 22nd, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

Well it’s holiday time for the Westervins, which means we’re taking off for a bit so we can head down to Louisiana and Arkansas. But we’ll be thinking of you the whole time, we promise! See you in the new year.


The Shopping Sherpa: Screw it

Posted: December 16th, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Shopping Sherpa | Tags: , , , , , , , , | No Comments »

vintage christmas party photo with beer

{ Vintage Christmas Photo }

This Christmas, one out of every four Americans will give the gift of booze. Ok, I made that statistic up. But you can’t deny that people love giving and receiving alcohol for the holidays! You also can’t deny that it’s hard to enjoy a fine wine without a way to open it… So this year, we’ve put together a gift guide of fine corkscrews that you might consider giving with that fine bottle of fermented grape juice. See what we’ve rounded up below!

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Westervin Wishlist: To Brian, From Santa

Posted: December 13th, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Westervin Wishlist | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | No Comments »


{ Christmas 1961, Durham, NC via Michael Robinson }

Yesterday Sarah took a look at that common holiday present, the ornament. Today I’m doing something a bit different: giving you my very own Christmas list.

Now I don’t actually expect you to run out and buy all of these things for me, that would be silly, not to mention expensive. But I wanted to try to put together a wishlist of things that would make great gifts for someone like me. You know, an incredibly handsome, accomplished man with impeccable taste…

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Fine Fixin’s: Alfajores

Posted: December 8th, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Fine Fixin's | Tags: , , , , , | No Comments »

Well, it’s cookie time. The best time of the year. We tried out this Argentinian cookie recipe from Saveur the other day and were very impressed with the results. These things are addictive sugar cookie sandwiches with dulce de leche!

Alfajores

  • 1 2/3 cups cornstarch
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 10 tbsp. unsalted butter,
  •    softened
  • 1 tbsp. cognac or brandy
  • 1/2 tsp. lemon zest
  • 4 egg yolks
  • Canned dulce de leche, for filling
  •    cookies

Heat oven to 350°. In a bowl, sift together cornstarch, flour, and baking powder; set aside. In a mixer fitted with a paddle, beat together sugar and butter until fluffy. Add cognac and zest; beat. Add yolks one at a time; beat. Add dry ingredients; mix. Transfer dough to a floured surface, knead briefly; divide into 3 pieces. Working with 1 dough piece at a time, roll dough to 1/4″ thickness. Using a 2 1/2″ round cookie cutter, cut out cookies; transfer to parchment paper—lined baking sheets, spaced 1″ apart. Reroll scraps and repeat. Bake until golden, 12–15 minutes. Let cool. Flip half the cookies over; top each with 1 heaping tsp. dulce de leche. Top with remaining cookies.


A Westervin Wedding: Tearin’ It Up

Posted: December 2nd, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: A Westervin Wedding | Tags: , , , , | No Comments »

West Ervin wedding party favors

Well here it is, our last wedding post. Time to go out with a bang! Time for dancin’!

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A Westervin Wedding: Pick Your Poison

Posted: December 1st, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: A Westervin Wedding | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

West Ervin wedding bar

What’s a wedding without refreshments? Well, I guess it’s still a wedding, but the point is everybody loves a good wedding bar. It took us a while to figure out exactly how we wanted to handle drinks at the wedding, and we’re pretty happy with how it all turned out.

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Happy Thanksgiving

Posted: November 24th, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

20111124-125331.jpg

The Westervins wish you a happy thanksgiving from the vintage opulence of Grandma Jane’s bathroom.