Sausage and spinach egg strata with sautéed cherry tomatoes

I feel like brunch is one of those meals that is supposed to be relaxed. It’s a Sunday morning, or even Christmas morning, and it’s cold and quiet and snowy outside, and I'm with my favorite people. In my mind’s eye, I see myself floating around effortlessly, sipping on a cup of coffee, chatting with my friends or family, and serving up a casual but delicious meal. But in my actual eye, I see myself juggling the timing of each dish, handling hot pans dripping with grease and making a mess everywhere I go, and trying to tackle the salty-sweet dilemma that everyone faces at breakfast time.

This dish is the answer to this real struggle—it’s the perfect meal to serve comfortably, unrushed, and still with that hint of decadence that brunch always begs for—i.e. it can rise to the Bloody Mary and mimosa occasion.

Oh and it also makes the best leftovers for lunch and dinner!

FoodThe PasticheDecember 8, 2015eggs, baked eggs, make-ahead, entertaining, sausage, spinach, cherry tomatoes, fall, winter, spring, summer, brunch2015 Comments

Winter whites

And some variety in the details...

StyleThe PasticheDecember 7, 2015winter, white sweater, utility blouse, style, outfit of the day, outfits, LOFT, Zara Comment

Holiday Gift Guide: Installment #1

For the person you're friendly with but don't know super well yet, but still want to gift with something thoughtful without spending a ton of money.

Your new boyfriend's parents, your co-worker for Secret Santa, etc. We've all been there and it can sometimes be the toughest gift to shop for.

I've crafted this affordable gift guide of less taste-specific, more palatable items that may feel more thoughtful than your go-to gift certificate.

Worthy Reads

PeriodicalsThe PasticheDecember 3, 2015worthy reads, articles, links, psychology, cooking tips, etsy, gift guide, podcast, NPR Comment

Making a perfect French omelette

Several months ago, Jon got in a wormhole of sorts watching YouTube videos of the late Julia Child’s The French Chef.

If you’ve never seen it, take a minute sometime and watch her. She is such an inspirational figure to me—a phenomenal chef with absolutely no fuss about her. And her show isn’t filmed with a thousand cuts and takes like today’s cooking shows. You get to experience every step, every funny moment, every lost word, every everything and she is delightful.

FoodThe PasticheDecember 2, 2015omelette, Julia Child, instructions, eggs, cheese, summer, fall, spring, winter, brunch2015 Comments

My favorite Christmas playlist

December is here! December is far and away the best (read here as the only acceptable) month of the winter. There is a crispness about the freezing cold air, an extra bit of warmth to every light that brightens the dark night sky, a certain magic in the stillness. The smells, sights, and sounds of Christmastime are nostalgic and exciting, whether you're five years old or fifty, and I love that.

I have been looking forward to this month since the beginning of The Pastiche because of all the holiday-oriented content I couldn't wait to talk about.

One of my very favorite things about the first days of December is slowly reintroducing Christmas music into my daily listening when cooking, cleaning, or having people over.

Home, PeriodicalsThe PasticheDecember 1, 2015music, holidays, Christmas, songs, playlist, traditional, indie, party Comments

Quinoa with beets, fennel, goat cheese, and curry vinaigrette

Me and everyone else after Thanksgiving: diet starts tomorrow
Me and everyone else after the weekend following Thanskgiving: diet starts Monday
Me and everyone else Monday: diet starts January 2nd

The. struggle….

FoodThe PasticheNovember 30, 2015quinoa, beets, fennel, goat cheese, curry, salad, sides, make-ahead, fall, winter, lunch2015, salad2015Comment

Worthy Reads

PeriodicalsThe PasticheNovember 27, 2015articles, links, worthy reads, love, funny, Thanksgiving, psychology, family, parenting, travelComment

The PasticheNovember 26, 2015holidays, Thanksgiving, familyComment

Autumn Sweater cocktail

This is a crowd pleasing cocktail for fall time, and especially for Thanksgiving. It even sounds like something to cozy up on the couch with: the Autumn Sweater. It has very few ingredients and is simple to throw together. In order to serve a group, you could also make a large batch of this in a punch bowl or other vessel (leaving out the hard cider so it stays effervescent), and top each glass with hard cider upon serving. It’s just sweet enough, while still being a fairly stiff drink. For my staunch Maker’s Mark-loving family, this is a way to turn the old standby into something a little more festive. And as the outcast who doesn’t love bourbon, I can still really enjoy this cocktail for its other seasonal and warming flavors.

FoodThe PasticheNovember 24, 2015beverages, cocktails, drinks, holidays, hard cider, cider, bourbon, autumn, fall, Thanksgiving Comments

Rose-tinted

How wonderful are good memories? And I don't mean the specific details of your memories, but just how wonderful it is that we're able to feel nostalgic. There's nothing quite as rose-tinted as a good memory. Much like looking forward to things in anticipation, memories are also painted in the best light—an unsullied, unadulterated light. It is easy to be critical in the current moment, or to be distracted, or to wish things were slightly different. But when you look back fondly or you look ahead with excitement, everything seems to be painted in the most flawless light.

ThoughtsThe PasticheNovember 23, 2015family, death, traditions, nostalgia, thoughts, holidays, memories, rose-tinted, dad, loss Comments

Coconut bread with honey butter

I’m a little amazed that this is my first coconut recipe on the blog, but it’s a fitting first because it’s a tried and true favorite. Coconut is so, well, special. There’s no other flavor like it, and it ramps up everything that it’s in. Some of my favorites include: coconut curry, coconut gelato, pina coladas, and coconut macaroons. I even love that weird fake coconut scent a la tanning lotion from 9th grade. I love putting coconut oil in my hair even though I’m not convinced it’s even doing anything other than staining my leather couch when my pigeon brain forgets that I’m doing a coconut oil treatment. I love eating fresh coconut, and speaking of, how much better does coconut anything taste when you’re on the beach? Take me there!

FoodThe PasticheNovember 20, 2015coconut, bread, coconut bread, make-ahead, summer, fall, winter, spring, honey, butter, sweets2015, brunch2015 Comment

Worthy Reads

PeriodicalsThe PasticheNovember 19, 2015worthy reads, articles, links, love, relationships, ethics, self improvement Comments

Pom pom gift wrap

Jon’s sweetest nephew just had his 2nd birthday party. And let’s be real—wrapping paper, cards, and even to some extent the gifts, tend to feel more like they’re for the adults involved than the tiny human celebrating his birthday, a little unsure of all the hustle and bustle going on around him. I wanted him to really love our gift, even while still wrapped. After having taken note of a similar kind of pom pom gift wrap I'd seen, I knew it’d be a cinch to make and that it’d be perfect for Smith because of the sensory aspect of the fuzzy little pom poms. And I was right! He loved touching them and trying to pull them off. And I loved how cute the gifts turned out. I certainly plan on employing this technique again, maybe for Christmas with holiday colors, or using brown paper and plain white pom poms for a more subdued look.

DIYThe PasticheNovember 18, 2015gift wrap, pom poms, glue gun, crafts, presents, wrapping, kids, birthday Comments

Splitting holidays and this brilliant solution

The one thing about holidays that can be slightly more stressful than enjoyable: the splitting of family time. It’s a wonderful thing to have enough family members for this to even be an issue, but it can feel like an issue nonetheless. Christmas, although seemingly a more important holiday to many, is actually the less difficult one, I think, compared to Thanksgiving—given that it’s really a two-full-day celebration at minimum. Therefore, most people I know don’t have too much trouble splitting it someway between Christmas Eve day and night, as well as Christmas morning and night. However, Thanksgiving can feel like the trickier one due to its meal-centric nature. It’s hard to have an early meal at one location and then move to the next place to endure your food coma and not partake in that meal. It’s ok, of course, because company is still enjoyed, but there’s something about not being able to partake in the meal that just doesn’t feel right.

A good friend of mine (Hi Julia!) has a tradition in her family that I think is an absolutely brilliant alternative to splitting time...

Home, ThoughtsThe PasticheNovember 17, 2015holidays, family, entertaining, traditions, thoughts, Thanksgiving, lobster Comments

Cornbread and sausage stuffing

While stuffing may not be the star of the show, it’s nearly always the fan favorite. I know it's certainly my favorite part. It’s everything I love combined into one giant casserole, or better yet cooked right inside the turkey itself. But as much as I love it, I also secretly love that for whatever reason, it has mostly remained a Thanksgiving-only dish. I hate to think of any part of the meal becoming monotonous if we served it more often.

This is a really, really tasty take on stuffing with a little bit of a Southern spin. Its base is cornbread, and it's filled with sausage, bell peppers, celery, onions, corn, and lots of those fresh herbs more traditionally associated with Thanksgiving. It’s spicy and a little sweet, with great depth of flavor from all the vegetables and different herbs.

FoodThe PasticheNovember 16, 2015cornbread, stuffing, Thanksgiving, sides, sausage, corn, peppers, fall, make-ahead, casserole, dinner2015, sides2015 Comments

DIY watercolor cards with calligraphy and glitter

If you've been reading along on here, you know how I feel about all things stationery and all things greeting cards, especially. This DIY project is relaxing and cathartic—watercolor painting is best learned by practice and experimentation—and there is not really such thing as right or wrong. I don't think there's a perfect set of steps to follow, but there are some tips/guidelines/hints that I have found to be very helpful in working with watercolors that I will discuss in a bit.

DIYThe PasticheNovember 13, 2015paint, cards, DIY, budget-friendly, glitter, watercolor, stationery Comments

Worthy Reads

PeriodicalsThe PasticheNovember 12, 2015blonde, iphone, parenting, world, Monopoly, science, worthy reads, links, articles Comments

Bagel breakfast with homemade herbed cream cheese

One of my favorite absurd games to play is the “no calorie” game. Here’s the game: if you could pick three foods that would magically become zero-calorie foods, what would you choose? The rules are flexible and pretty much anything goes—but you can’t say things like “sweets.” However, you can say “pizza” even though it consists of many different food items. Everyone I introduce to this game takes it very seriously—which makes sense because it’s really realistic/important/relevant/topical. Just kidding but for some reason everyone loves it. After 20 minutes of consideration and back and forth about contenders, it’s oddly depressing when you remember it’s not actually going to happen. But *~*dReAm BiG*~*

FoodThe PasticheNovember 11, 2015make-ahead, herbed cream cheese, bagel, breakfast, fall, summer, winter, spring, entertaining, brunch2015 Comments

Fresh and earthy Thanksgiving tablescape

Thanksgiving is about family, gratitude, and abundance, and the vehicle for that message is the meal. That is what inspired me to make this fresh, rustic, and simple tablescape. I wanted it to be subtle and beautiful, without an enormous flower centerpiece or other distractions. I think a Thanksgiving table should feel earthy, comforting, and really be about the people sitting at the table.

Good Food, Good People, New Places