EAB Designs

Beautiful Brioche

I wish all of you could visit me right now, because these brioche just came out of the oven and my house smells like a Paris boulangerie.

I do love making bread, but brioche was always something I thought would be difficult - until yesterday when I decided to have a go at it.  It's a bit more difficult than baking a traditional sandwich bread, but mostly it just takes more time as the bread has to rise a number of times and then be left overnight before you can bake it off.

Here's my brioche on the left, after resting overnight in the fridge, and then being shaped into balls and placed in the brioche tins.  The brioche, on the right, has risen about 90 minutes and is ready to bake.

When my husband got home last night I told him I made brioche dough and I needed some brioche tins to bake them.  He happily drove me to Sur La Table after dinner and we purchased the last 12 they had.  I tell him everyday, but I truly do love that man!  And how did I repay him?  I baked the brioche before he got home and devoured not one, but two of them!  I couldn't help it - see how good they were?

The brioche recipe came from "Around my French Table" by Dorie Greenspan.  (I also made the cauliflower soup recipe which was equally delicious.)  The brioche will only stay fresh for about a day, so the rest will be made into a bread pudding - another favorite dessert of ours.  Let me know if you try any of the recipes from the book.

My Valentine's Day Playlist

I love to listen to classic jazz vocalists and wanted to put together a playlist for our Valentine's dinner party.  Below is a selection of some of my favorites from my itunes list.  So that you can enjoy listening to them too, I created a playlist of the same songs over on playlist.com.  You can find my playlist here, or at the end of this post.  Enjoy!

L-O-V-E, Nat King Cole 

It Had to Be You, Harry Connick Jr.

Make You Feel My Love, Adele

The Way You Look Tonight, Tony Bennett

At Last, Etta James

Fly Me to the Moon, Frank Sinatra

The Very Thought of You, Ella Fitzgerald

Someone to Watch Over Me, Frank Sinatra

Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered, Ella Fitzgerald

Come Rain or Come Shine, Katharine McPhee

Our Love is Here to Stay, Harry Connick Jr.

Unforgettable, Cole Duet

They Can’t Take That Away From Me, Diana Krall

Dream a Little Dream of Me, Zooey Deschanel

What a Wonderful World, Louis Armstrong

Lets Do it (Lets Fall in Love), Ella Fitzgerald

Come Fly with Me, Michael Buble

All of Me, Michael Buble

Valentine's Day Decorations

I'll be using these red and cream paper wheels to decorate for our Valentine's Day party.  I love how the scalloped edges come together to form heart shapes.

Some will be hung from our chandeliers and others placed in a few of our cloches and urns.  I'm baking some Valentine sweets to give away and will use a number of the smaller polka dot wheels to decorate the packages.  The best part is, they can be folded up and easily stored away to use for other celebrations.

Layer on the Bling

New to the shop - and just in time for Valentine's Day - beautiful clear and sparkling Swarovski crystal earrings and estate style bracelet.  Comfortable and lightweight pieces - perfect for adding a little bling to your day.

Winter Comfort Drink

On a cold and blustery day, I love the comfort and warmth from drinking a cup of hot cocoa.  I always use the six ingredients listed above.  To be honest, I've never actually written down a recipe.  I just whisk the ingredients into the warming milk and over the years it always turns out delicious.  To give you a starting point, I measured the amounts I usually add and came up with the following recipe.  Any of the amounts can be changed to your taste.  If you want it sweeter, add more sugar; a deeper chocolate taste add more cocoa, etc.

 

If you don't have Dutch process (European) cocoa powder, treat yourself and buy some the next time you're at the market.  It's has a deeper chocolate flavor and is more mellow in taste. The brand, Droste Cocoa, is available in most markets.  I use it in all of my baking.  Expect to pay more for it than the regular Hershey's brand, but it's definitely worth it!  Also, adding a bit of instant espresso coffee will not make the cocoa taste like coffee, but it will enhance the flavor of the cocoa.  Enjoy and stay warm this weekend!

A Perfect Cup of Tea

Every morning, before heading back upstairs to my studio, I make myself a little pot of tea.  I enjoy drinking it while checking my email and daily blogs.  My tea pot, in my favorite shade of white, has a large mesh infuser which is designed for brewing whole-leaf loose teas.  By allowing the tea leaves to expand in the pot, the infuser gives me a perfect cup of tea every time.  My little secret ingredient that I add to the tea leaves, while they brew, is two cardamom pods.  I love the subtle flavor it adds.  Cardamom pods come in shades from green to black.  I always buy the fresh green pods which are stocked at my local Whole Foods store.  I hope you'll try it.  Next up.....my recipe for another favorite comfort drink - hot chocolate.

Valentine's Day Free Printable

I've received a number of emails asking for the link to the Valentine's Day download I designed last year.  I'm happy to hear you're enjoying it.  Stay tuned for this year's design.  For now, here is the link again to last year's.  Click here.

Rhinestone Hair Combs with Fresh Water Pearls

New hair combs featuring faceted crystal stones and fresh water pearls were just added to the Pemberley Collection.  So pretty..... makes me want to get married all over again.

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Unexpected Gifts for the Kitchen

Here are a few more of my favorite gifts I received this year.  My girls surprised me with this colorful set of stoneware measuring cups.  I keep them out on the counter because they are so pretty to look at, but they will also be perfect for preparing mise en place.

They also gave me this beautifully glazed platter.  I love its generous size and embossed pattern.

I discovered after Christmas there are two different styles available.  I would love to add the rectangular one to my collection.

This photo courtesy of Pottery Barn    

When I was little, I had a Mary Poppins spoon that I ate my cereal with each morning.  I've mentioned to my husband on several ocassions how much I loved the spoon and wished I still had it.  There was a little package from him wrapped under the tree and inside was this vintage Mary Poppins spoon which he purchased on Etsy - can't tell you how much I love it and him!

Favorite Christmas Gifts

I received the most thoughtful Christmas gifts this year, and thought I would share just a few of my favorites in my next couple of posts.

It's always the little things that make me the most happy - like these long-handled wooden tasting spoons I received. Beautifully made from six different woods, they will be perfect for taste-testing all of the winter soups and sauces I'll be preparing in the weeks ahead.

 

My sister gave me (and each of my girls) this fun diary, Q&A A Day / 5-Year Journal.  Each day of the year has a writing prompt and space for you to jot down a short answer.

An example of some of the questions are:  "Who inspires you?"..... What's the most creative thing you've done recently?...."What did you wear today?.....If you had to move to a new city, where would you move?"  I think it will be great fun to compare your short answers from one year to the next and also for my girls and I to share some of our answers as well.