Short and Sweet...

I'm itching to get out in the yard, but Mother Natures seems to have other plans...Regardless of the chill and damp, happy weekend to you all.  Isn't this little guy cute?

Spirit of the South...

It's always a happy day when Garden & Gun drops through my mail slot; it's one of the best publications out there these days, and provides many happy hours of reading and armchair exploring.  Truly, there isn't much "gun" in it, and often not even the "garden" part either. But there are always great stories, interesting travel ideas, an article about a dog or two, and a column that I read first-thing from the witty and wry Julia Reed.  

Southern through and through, Julia is at once total southern bell steeped in tradition, and a thoroughly modern Millie.  Hailing from a fine, old, southern family, she has the two things I like most: a sense of humor, and great taste.  Therefore, I take great delight in stocking our shelves with her new book, Julia Reed's South.  No one embodies the rollicking spirit of great Southern party giving more than Julia Reed, the consummate hostess and go-to food and lifestyle expert.

Thrown everywhere from lush gardens and gracious interior spaces to a Mississippi River sandbar, Julia Reed’s parties capture the celebratory nature of entertaining in her native South. Here, her informative and down-to-earth guide to throwing an unforgettable party includes secrets she has collected over a lifetime of entertaining.

For this book, she offers up a feast of options for holiday cocktails, spring lunches, formal dinners, and even a hunt breakfast. Eleven seasonal events feature delicious, easy-to-prepare recipes, ranging from fried chicken to Charlotte Russe and signature cocktails or wine-pairings—she introduces her talented friends (rum makers, potters, fabric designers, bakers) along the way. Each occasion includes gorgeous photographs showing her original approach to everything—from invitations and setting a table to arranging flowers and creating the mood. 

Treat yourself, or a friend that likes to entertain to this book, and subscribe to Garden and Gun while you're at it!

"L" is for Lint...

We love sharing our discoveries with all of you clever girls out there, and this one is quite nifty.  Let's face it: there aren't too many times when hearing the term, "extra sticky" is a good thing.  We've found the exception in this handy little product.  These are perfect for any pet owner, or girl on the go.  Why not send a clever girl off to college with a bunch of these to have on hand, or the recent grad to keep in their desk drawer on the new job.

Check out the diagram bellow to see all of the features (Love a schematic on a lint roller, feel so smart looking at it.  Also, note the "extra sticky" bit, too.)

So there you have it.  The latest clever contraption on our shelves.  $7.99 each.  Refills available.  All extra sticky....

Short Stack on the Shelves...

Look what we found!  "Cookbooks", called, Short Stack Editions.  These are everything we love: Handmade, informative, beautifully designed, and tasty!!  Each book is printed in New York City on high-quality paper and hand-stitched with baker’s twine.

Each Short Stack focuses on a single ingredient and is written by a single author. Every volume consists of 20 to 25 recipes, but beyond that, no two volumes are alike. In any given Short Stack Edition, there is a wide spectrum of recipes, ranging from sweet to savory, and breakfast to dinner. According to the founder, Nick Fauchald, "The format is reminiscent of the pamphlets that consumer packaged goods came with back in the 40's and 50's. You buy a bag of flour, for example, and they give you a book of recipes at the checkout lane. Grocery stores would have tons of these and that’s where people got inspiration. I was always fascinated by how important they were in our food culture, and they disappeared when we started looking to magazines and newspapers [for recipes]."  

I love that!  I've got several stacks of those pamphlets from my grandmother, and they're so kitschy and retro (and often, not super healthy, I might add)  That's why these new Short Stack books are so great...  Here are a few sample recipes to wet your appetite...

Roasted Broccoli Hummus 

Gather the Goods:
This is an excellent way to use up broccoli stems. Its uses go far beyond a dip: Try making a turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes and broccoli hummus. (From the Broccoli edition.)

• 4 to 5 broccoli stems, peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces, about 4 cups
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tablespoons white sesame seeds, toasted in a dry skillet on high heat for 30 seconds or until hot and fragrant
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• ¼ bunch parsley (about 12 sprigs), coarsely chopped
• Salt

Pita or crackers, for serving

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°. In a mixing bowl, toss the broccoli stems with the oil. Spread them out on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until the broccoli stems are well-browned and tender throughout, about 20 minutes.

Transfer the cooked stems to a food processor. Add the garlic, sesame seeds, tahini, lemon juice, parsley and 1 teaspoon of salt and process until smooth. Transfer the hummus to a bowl and serve warm with pita or crackers for dipping.Serves 4

***

 Honey-Vanilla Old Fashioned

This is a perfect party and entertaining cocktail.  Refreshing, and a bit edgy, yet so simple that your guests can help themselves.   You can make the honey syrup up to 1 week ahead of time, then lay out the ingredients, buffet style, with a little instruction sheet for how to assemble the drink. (From the Honey edition.)

Gather the Goods:

• 1½ ounces bourbon whiskey
• ½ ounce rye whiskey
• ¼ ounce orange blossom honey syrup (1 cup honey dissolved in 1 cup simmering water)
• ¼ vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 4 dashes Angostura bitters
• Ice
• 1 orange twist, for garnish

Directions:

Combine the bourbon, rye, honey syrup, vanilla bean seeds and bitters in a mixing glass. Fill with ice and stir until chilled. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass. Garnish with an orange twist and serve immediately.

***

Like the best cookbooks, Short Stack Editions consist of original recipes created and rigorously tested by a single author with the home cook in mind. They are beautiful objects meant to be collected, gifted and, most importantly, cooked from. And, like the best food magazines, Short Stack editions are concise, affordable and built for function.

“There is no sincerer love than the love of food.” – George Bernard Shaw

More Info:

Click HERE to see these great books on the Clever Girl website.

Check out this fun video to see more....click HERE

Favorite Cookbook

I'm often asked what my favorite cookbook is, and Donna Hay's Seasons, is right at the top of my list.  I admit, I love to read cookbooks--not necessarily make every recipe in them.  Seasons not only has wonderful, tasty things to make, it's also filled with beautiful photography that's very inspirational.  

As the title implies, this cookbook is set up with menus to follow the calendar, and employs flavors and seasonings that are appropriate to the time of year.  As we are still in the winter months, I thought I'd share two that I have tried, and that seem like real cold weather comfort food. Serve either with a lightly tossed salad, or a bowl of tomato soup for absolute contentment. Both of these can easily be served as appetizers if you just slice into bite-sized nibbles.  Perfect for an Academy Awards party this weekend....

Mushroom, Pesto & Goat’s Cheese Rolls

Gather the goods:
30g butter
200g swiss brown mushrooms
sea salt and cracked black pepper
2 sourdough rolls, halved
80g fresh goat's curd or soft goat's cheese
½ cup (60g) grated Swiss cheese

basil pesto
1 cup basil leaves
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
⅓ cup (25g) finely grated parmesan
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ cup (125ml) olive oil
sea salt flakes

Directions:1 To make the pesto, process the basil, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic, oil and salt in a small food processor until combined. Set aside.
2 Heat the butter in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook for 5–8 minutes or until brown. Set aside.
3 Spread rolls with pesto and goat’s curd, top with the cheese and grill (broil) under a preheated hot grill for 1–2 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden. Top with the mushrooms to serve.

Grilled Cheesy Leek Toast

Gather the Goods:

30g butter
2 leeks, trimmed and sliced
30g butter, extra
1 tablespoon plain (all-purpose) flour
½ cup (125ml) milk
¼ cup (60ml) dark ale, such as stout
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon hot English mustard
½ cup (60g) grated cheddar
2 egg yolks
sea salt and cracked black pepper
4 thick slices white bread

Directions:
1 Heat the butter in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the leek and cook for 5–8 minutes or until soft and brown. Set aside.
2 Melt the extra butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 3–5 minutes or until light golden. Gradually whisk in the milk and cook for 30 seconds or until thickened.
3 Whisk in the ale, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, cheddar, egg yolks, salt and pepper and cook, stirring, for 3–5 minutes or until thickened slightly
4 Top half of the bread with half of the leeks, then the remaining bread and leeks and the cheese mixture. Grill (broil) under a preheated hot grill for 1–2 minutes or until golden.

Click here to see the book at our online store.  My goodness!  Both recipes are so good.  Hope you try them... 

"V" is for Valentine

It's the day of hearts and flowers once again, and, as Valentine's Day happens to be falling on a cold, snowy Sunday this year, it's the perfect time for watching a favorite romantic movie or two.  My movie tastes lean toward the classics/vintage direction, and here's what we'll curl up to watch this weekend...

Pride and Prejudice

Let's just jump right in with some Jane Austen, shall we?  There's no more delightful tale of love conquers all than Pride and Prejudice.  Can you stand the tension?  Will they or won't they?  Happy ending abound, and Colin Firth is in it.  Perfection. 

Truly, Madly, Deeply

This is basically Ghost, but British.  Alan Rickman is great and has the deep voice which makes everything he says sound delicious.  If you only know him as Snape in the Harry Potter movies, you're in for a treat.

The Philadelphia Story

Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn plus Jimmy Stewart!  First a Broadway play, this movie is always a treat; Hepburn is at her best, and the little sister is absolutely hilarious.  Cary Grant is the perfect rogue you'll want to root for.  

My Favorite Wife

For a vintage "light hearted romp", My Favorite Wife will fill the bill nicely.  Just watching Cary Grant trying to keep up with the situation is entertaining.  Beautiful Irene Dunne is perfect as wife #1.

The Thin Man

Finally, a bit of mystery to go along with the romance.  I adore the whole "Thin Man" series which features the sophisticated married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles, played by William Powell and Myrna Loy, and their affable pooch Asta.  This film has it all: humor, romance, glamour and loads of cocktails.  

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!
P.S. For some of the Clever Girl's other favorite movies, click here...

Christmas Miscellany

I came across this little snippet by Harper Lee.  Quite a bit of emotion somehow packed into this short paragraph...

Outside, snow was falling, an odd event for a New York Christmas. I went to the window, stunned by the day’s miracle. Christmas trees blurred softly across the street, and firelight made the children’s shadows dance on the wall beside me. A full, fair chance for a new life. Not given me by an act of generosity, but by an act of love. Our faith in you was really all I had heard them say. I would do my best not to fail them. Snow still fell on the pavement below. Brownstone roofs gradually whitened. Lights in distant skyscrapers shone with yellow symbols of a road’s lonely end, and as I stood at the window, looking at the lights and the snow, the ache of an old memory left me for ever.

By Harper Lee, this story was first published in McCall’s magazine in the December 1961 issue, titled Christmas To Me.

Not sure where this picture was taken, but I love it. The ladies in their coats and hats and gloves. The street decorations are so wholesome, and it feels like snow is on the way, somehow, doesn't it? I wonder what the photographer was doing?

I love this photo, too.  It was captioned Mistletoe Sellers in France.  Perhaps they would sell people a snippet to put over their door?  Do they kiss under the mistletoe in France?  I suppose they do... noël amour.

Came across this Christmas card with my dad (on the right) and his brothers, David and Mike (upside down).  Everyone sends photo cards now, but I think Grandma was a bit ahead of her time to do so in the 50's.....

Carry on everyone--the season is fast upon us!

Happy Christmas

Here's hoping you are all on the, "downside" of your Christmas shopping. Happily, I've turned the corner, and now have things well in hand on that front....

It's lovely to see you all this time of year (and year-round, for that matter, as we're always here.) Western Springs really is like Bedford Falls, from It's A Wonderful Life; local, charming, friendly and quite comforting. This time of year always reminds me how blessed I am to live and work in this community. I know that I've already said it, but we're here to help (open late tonight, and every Thursday until Christmas) so bring in your shopping list, and let's get going!!!  

Happy Christmas from all of us at Clever Girl...

Hot Chocolate Time

A brief reminder, we're here to help with that list you're working off of.  The web site has lots of suggestions if you want to preview...

For Christmas gifts, so many of you now bring in you addresses and have us UPS everything out for you.  It's a terrific way to shop locally, and a tremendous time saver!  Let us take care of it for you!!! 

When you do have a moment to catch you breath this season, try a cozy mug of our favorite Hot Chocolate from Stonewall Kitchen.  We sell an absolute TON of it this time of year.  It's rich and delicious and always a treat.  Put on some Christmas carols, make a mug, and savor the season!  {Check out the Hot Chocolate right here}