Exciting News + A Spring Brunch

Friends, I've got a few exciting things to share:

One, my fabulous photographer friend Signe Birck is back! You may remember her lovely photographs from previous posts (here and here), or read her Q&A a few months ago. She's back in NYC (from Copenhagen), and I am thrilled that she wants to continue working together. Her pictures are so light and airy, and my food has never looked more delicious than when captured through her lens. Not only is Signe super-talented, but she's a pleasure to work with. Stay tuned for more of her work on the blog (including today's beautiful shots).



Two, we've got a brand new Yellow Table site in store! We've been working over-time to get the new site ready to launch, and we're just a few days away (and by we, I mostly mean my amazing husband Brandon – he's the one who knows how to do all the coding and designing!). And for those of you who provided feedback, thank you! It was really helpful to hear your thoughts on the blog, and to know what you'd like to see more of. In response to your suggestions, we will have a comprehensive recipe index (arranged by category and season) and a much more user-friendly interface. And lots of other cool things that you'll just have to wait and see for yourself :)

And last but not least, it's (nearly) spring!! With the balmy weather lately (60's and 70's in NYC) and the extra hour of daylight, I've got spring on the brain. Which means, it's time to start planning a spring brunch party. Because what could be more spring-like than tulips, mimosas, and pastel colors?!



There's something really wonderful about having friends over for brunch (instead of going out and waiting in line for an hour). I love the sunlight streaming in the windows. I love buying fresh flowers and placing them around the apartment. I love drinking bubbly in the middle of the day (who doesn't?!). I love how relaxed everyone is after a good night's sleep, late on a weekend morning. Plus it's really nice to throw a party and still have plenty of daylight hours left to enjoy. But most of all, I just love brunch food.

When planning a brunch menu, I like to include a little sweet, a little savory, and a lot of bubbly (and coffee). And ideally, everything can be assembled in about an hour, so I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn. For this party, I made mini frittatas with goat cheese, spinach, and bacon, blood orange mimosas, a bowl of mixed berries, and picked up mini pastries from Ceci-Cela, a nearby French bakery.



The idea for these brilliant little frittatas came from my good friend Amanda. You just whisk some eggs together with your favorite cheese, vegetable, herb, and/or meat (like bacon, sausage, or prosciutto) and bake them in muffin tins for 15 minutes or so. My favorite combination is spinach, bacon, shallots, and goat cheese (recipe below). I've made them a few times now and I love how versatile, easy, and delicious they are. And as an added bonus, they can be served hot or at room temperature. Thanks for sharing, Amanda!!



I hope you are inspired to have a few friends over this weekend (or sometime soon) for a laid-back spring brunch. Go buy some fresh tulips, a few bottles of Prosecco, some blood oranges (while they are still around!), berries, and your favorite frittata ingredients. Make it easy on yourself and pick up some pastries or scones. Or if you're feeling really ambitious, try this Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake or these Banana Muffins with Sour Cream and Walnuts. Whatever you make, as long as there are good friends, good conversation, and plenty of mimosas, you can't got wrong.



(All photos by Signe Birck)

MINI SPINACH, BACON, AND GOAT CHEESE FRITTATAS

Makes 12

5 strips bacon, diced
1 small shallot, minced
9 ounces baby spinach
3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
12 eggs + 2 egg whites
Salt and pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a nonstick regular-size (not jumbo) muffin tin with cooking spray, or grease with vegetable oil and a paper towel. Place the muffin tin on a baking sheet.

In a large saute pan, cook the bacon over medium heat until brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Increase the heat to medium high and add the shallot. Cook for 2 minutes or until translucent. Add the spinach (you may have to do this gradually, depending on how big your pan is), stirring constantly and cooking until bright green and wilted. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the bacon.

In a large bowl (preferably with pouring spout), whisk together the eggs and egg yolks. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Divide the spinach-bacon mixture into the bottoms of the 12 muffin cups. Carefully pour (or ladle) the egg mixture over the spinach, filling each muffin cup until nearly full. Add a few crumbles of goat cheese to each cup (make sure to use it all) and finish with a sprinkling of red pepper flakes.

Carefully place the baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until the tops of the frittatas are puffed up like little souffles. Turn the oven up to broil and cook for an additional 2 minutes to create a nice golden color on top.

Let cool for a couple of minutes then, using a small knife, cut around the edges of each frittata to remove them from the pans. (NOTE: Soak the pan immediately in soapy water to remove any egg remains.) Serve hot or at room temperature.

BLOOD ORANGE MIMOSAS

Makes 6

3 blood oranges, halved
1 bottle Prosecco, well chilled
6 Champagne flutes

Using a juicer, squeeze the oranges into a liquid measuring cup. (You should have about 3/4 cup.)

Fill the bottoms of six Champagne flutes with blood orange juice. Carefully fill each glass with Prosecco, pausing to allow the bubbles to go down. Drink immediately!

A Day I'll Never Forget...

There are few things in life I love more than a good story. My favorite saying as a child was "You never know what a day will bring." That expression continues to influence my life, giving me a sense of hope and excitement about what each day might hold. I don't ever want to lose that sense of wonder. I feel so privileged to be a part of a story that is so immense and so beautiful, written by a far greater storyteller than me.

Two years ago today–on March 11, 2010–the greatest story of my life unfolded in an utterly surprising and beautiful way. For those of you who already know this story, forgive me for retelling it. For those of you who haven't heard it, be encouraged: dreams absolutely can and do come true. The story involves my favorite place (Paris), my favorite person (Brandon), a gorgeous dress, a scavenger hunt, a bunch of red roses, a bridge, and a ring. Fairy tell stuff, right?

The story took place on my 30th birthday. I was working for the French Tourist Office at the time, a job that involved frequent travel to France (rough, I know...!). Lucky for me, I had a business trip that was scheduled a few days after my birthday so the lightbulb went off in my head: why not avoid all the angst surrounding turning 30 and celebrate in Paris? I got the green light from my boss to move up my ticket a few days and then presented the idea to Brandon. We had been dating for nearly two years at this point and had been to Paris once together already. He loved the idea and said it would actually work out perfectly because he needed to go to London on business. He said he'd see if he could arrange his trip for the few days before my birthday and just take the train over to Paris to meet me. Perfect!

I proceeded to make all the plans (as I love to do): booked a hotel, made dinner reservations, made plans with my Parisian friends. Little did I know that Brandon was making plans of his own...



He gave me a present and a card before he left and told me not to open it until I landed in Paris, the morning of my birthday. I loved that I had a surprise to look forward to when I landed. A few days later, I landed and groggily opened my card. It said "Happy Birthday Love! Today is a big day and I want you to use your gift to document our big adventure." (Big adventure?! What did he have in mind??) The card continued: "Your driver will be downstairs to meet you. See you later today!" ?! What?? Driver?? Oh my gosh. I opened the present and it was a little handheld video camera that just said "Push Play." I did, and there was a little message from Brandon, telling me he loved me and that I should use this to document my special day. I burst into tears...how in the world had he planned all of this? And what did he have in store?

My head was buzzing with ideas and thoughts and excitement. Could he possibly be... No, no, no I told myself. He's not proposing. We had definitely talked about marriage and knew we wanted to one day, but I knew he hadn't talked to my dad yet and we had a trip planned to visit my parents the following month. So I put all engagement thoughts aside and decided to just focus on this elaborate birthday surprise he had in store.

I headed down to get my luggage, and sure enough, there was a driver with a little Mlle WATSON sign waiting for me. It was all completely surreal. I hopped in the car, and off we went! I had no idea where we were headed and the driver said he wasn't allowed to tell me! I settled back for 45 minutes until we began winding our way through the narrow streets of Paris. We finally ended up in the Marais and pulled up in front of the adorable Hotel du Petit Moulin (a place I had been dying to visit for years!).

The hotel staff whisked away my luggage and took me up to my room. The rest of the story is recorded in this amazing video, filmed and edited by Victor Paguia. (Who, I later found out, Brandon had flown over to secretly document the whole story! His then-girlfriend, now fiancee, Becky Shim took the beautiful pictures.)



All in all, this was–aside from my wedding day–the most magical day of my life. The video still brings tears to my eyes. That this amazing man loved me enough not only to want to spend the rest of his life with me, but that he knew me well enough to want to give me a great story.

One other little detail that the video doesn't share was that Brandon had, in fact already talked to my parents. While I was traveling for work that January, he had secretly flown down to Nashville to talk to my parents and ask their blessing. They gave it readily, and kept it all a secret for six weeks until we were engaged. So the whole day when I was going on this amazing scavenger hunt (to all my favorite spots in Paris!) I kept telling myself, don't expect a proposal, don't expect a proposal...

Of course the story is only beginning. Six months after our Parisian engagement we were married in NYC (that deserves a post of its own one day...!)



And today, two years later, I am even more in love with this man than I ever thought possible. I am one very, very blessed woman. If you take away one thing from this story, I hope it's this: "You never know what a day will bring!"


Engagement photos by: Becky Shim
Video by: Victor Paguia
Wedding photo by: Eric Ryan Anderson


click for recipe & more…

Banana Muffins with Sour Cream and Walnuts

I've always had a weakness for banana anything. Maybe it's because my nickname growing up was 'Anna Banana,' or maybe it's because my mom used to make banana bread all the time. And not just any banana bread. Sweet and ultra-moist (thanks to her secret ingredient: crushed pineapple), I literally had dreams about this bread as a child. It was, and still is, the best banana bread I've ever had, and she usually has a loaf waiting for me when I go home to visit. But lately, as I've begun cutting back on sugar, I find that many baked goods (including her famous bread!) are now a bit too sweet for me. In fact, most pastries I order at restaurants or bakeries are way too sweet. Which is I why I prefer to bake at home. It's not only way more enjoyable, but I can control the amount of sugar that goes into what I'm eating.

The other night, a friend came over for a fun night of baking and brainstorming (the two go hand in hand!). A bottle of bubbly may have been involved. Stories were shared, cookies were baked, and encouragement was doled out. And, spontaneously, the pile of overly-ripe bananas sitting on top of my fridge were transformed into a batch of the most delicious muffins I've ever had.



I can't take credit for the recipe, though I did tweak it a bit. I knew from past experience that the secret weapon for ultra-moist muffins and cakes (besides my mom's crushed pineapple trick!) is sour cream. It not only adds a ton of moisture, but it also gives an unmistakable tang, which helps balance out the sweetness. I did a Google search for sour cream banana muffins and I came across this recipe on a blog called The Cookbook Chronicles (now a book, The Newlywed Kitchen). I cut back on the sugar by 1/2 cup and added 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. The end result was fantastic: super moist, flavorful, with just the right balance of ripe banana flavor and tangy sour cream. And best of all, after cutting back on the sugar, they weren't too sweet.

Of course we had to eat one, warm with a pat of butter, right out of the oven. I'm not even going to tell you how good that was - you'll just have to try it for yourselves. Word to the wise: don't attempt this recipe by yourself! You'll want lots of friends around to help you eat them. Being left alone with two dozen of these bad boys could be dangerous even for the most self-disciplined of people. (Luckily, they freeze well...which is exactly what I did with the rest of the batch!)

BANANA MUFFINS WITH SOUR CREAM AND WALNUTS

(Adapted from The Cookbook Chronicles)

Makes 2 dozen muffins; 1 dozen extra-large

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups over-ripe bananas, mashed (about 3 large bananas)
1 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two regular-size muffin tins with paper baking cups.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, whisk the oil and sugars together until combined. Stir in the vanilla, bananas, and sour cream. Add in the eggs, one by one, stirring after each addition.

Stir the dry ingredients into the banana mixture until combined. Stir in the walnuts.

Fill each paper cup 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. (If you use the large muffin cups, they'll cook for around 25 minutes. You can also bake this as a loaf of bread; allow about 50 to 60 minutes.)

Let cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before serving. If you want to freeze them, cool completely and place in a Zip-loc freezer bag.

click for recipe & more…

My Favorite (End of) Winter Salad

Not that we've had much of a winter this year (I haven't had to wear my fur boots once!), but there are still certain winter foods that I love. Warming soups and stews, hearty pasta dishes, braised pork over creamy polenta, roasted veggies, and homemade chicken pot pies. But alongside these wintry comfort foods, I like to serve a light, colorful, citrusy salad. A sort of palate cleanser, if you will, to cut through the richness of the main dish. In the summer, I practically live off salads, but in the winter, I like them more as a side dish.

This arugula, radicchio, and fennel salad is my favorite wintry combination–I love the bright colors, the pleasant crunch of the fennel, the peppery bite of the arugula, and the slightly bitter taste of the radicchio. I also like the simple lemon vinaigrette (lemon juice + extra virgin olive oil), and the salty finish of the Parmesan. The walnuts and Parmesan are optional, though both add wonderful flavor and depth.

This salad is simple, delicious, and healthy. And it plays well with other ingredients – try swapping out the lemon juice for orange juice and adding some sliced oranges. Add some toasted hazelnuts in lieu of walnuts and crumbled ricotta salata instead of Parmesan. Or for a light dinner, add a grilled chicken breast or a piece of grilled salmon. Be creative! We don't have much more winter left – it's creeping into the 60's this week in NYC! – so enjoy this salad for the weeks to come.

ARUGULA, RADICCHIO, AND FENNEL SALAD WITH LEMON VINAIGRETTE

Serves 4 to 6

4 cups baby arugula
1 small head radicchio, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
1 fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup chopped, toasted walnuts (optional)
Freshly grated Parmesan (optional)

Combine the arugula, radicchio, and fennel in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Taste the vinaigrette – feel free to add more lemon juice if you want a more acidic vinaigrette.

Toss the vinaigrette with the salad greens until lightly coated. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts and freshly grated Parmesan if desired.

VARIATIONS: This salad is delicious with sliced oranges and toasted hazelnuts (in lieu of walnuts). Try substituting ricotta salata for Parmesan. If you'd like to make this a main dish salad, it is delicious with grilled chicken, shrimp, or salmon. I also love serving this salad as a palate cleanser after a hearty pasta dish or stew.

click for recipe & more…

It's Your Turn...

Dear friends,

You guys are amazing. Thank you for your incredible support of the The Yellow Table - for reading it, for spreading the word, and for encouraging me along the way. It has been such a joy to have a spot to share my stories and recipes, and to meet so many wonderful people. And, hopefully, as a result, you've been inspired to cook healthy, delicious meals and to spend more time around the table with friends and family. That is my vision for this blog.

It's been six months since the launch of The Yellow Table and we have some exciting things in store. But as we seek to make the site more user-friendly, we want to hear from YOU! I want this blog to be a place you come back to again and again for recipes and inspiration, so could you pretty please take a minute and let me know:

• What you love/dislike about the blog?
• What would you like to see more of – cooking techniques? healthy recipes? easy/quick recipes? entertaining tips? videos?
• Do you find the blog easy to navigate? (Why?)
• Anything else you want me to know...

You can post your feedback in the comment section below or email me at annawatsoncarl@gmail.com. Let me know if you are having problems posting comments – there could be some technical problem we need to fix!

Looking forward to hearing from you all!!

xo
Anna