There are tons of variations on this recipe with tons of different names, but the gist is pecans, butter and flour, baked and rolled in powdered sugar.  This version of the recipe is my favorite.  The secret is in the double-rolling.  You roll the cookies in the sugar while they are still hot; the sugar melts into the buttery outer layer, creating the perfect sweet glue for even more sugar to stick to on the second roll.  Genius, I tell you.

Snowballs (from Gourmet, of course)

• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 3 cups confectioners sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup very finely chopped pecans (2 1/2 oz)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Beat butter and 1/2 cup confectioners sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at moderately high speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in vanilla, then add flour, pecans, and salt and mix at low speed until just combined. Chill, covered, at least 6 hours.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Let dough stand at room temperature until just pliable, about 15 minutes. Roll level teaspoons of dough into 3/4-inch balls and arrange about 2 inches apart on lightly buttered large baking sheets.  It can take a while to roll all the dough, so I keep part in the fridge while I’m working on the rest.

Put remaining confectioners sugar into a large shallow bowl.

Bake in batches in middle of oven until bottoms are pale golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Immediately transfer hot cookies to confectioners sugar, gently rolling to coat well, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Roll cookies in confectioners sugar again when cooled.

I had two designs, which I printed on three different colors of paper using four different colors of ink.  Next time I would use fewer ink colors, since I found I needed to switch colors just as I was getting into a printing rhythm.  I’d probably also use smoother paper – the textured paper can be a bit fussy about grabbing the ink.  But what fun!

For our paper anniversary, we wanted to be creative so we set a $20 limit on our gifts.

I’ve been taking a print-making course, so I thought I’d put my new skills to use with an anniversary etching for RK.  This one is actually a test print – the final one is better – but I forgot to scan the final one before I framed it and am too lazy to dismantle the frame.  So, this is the gist.

I majored in art history, so I already knew, intellectually, what an involved process etching is, but after having completed my own etching from plate to press, I have a much deeper appreciation for Rembrandt and all those Renaissance etchers extraordinaire.  My fingers ache just thinking about it.

From him, to me

RK got me a journal for future dreams and projects for us to add to in the years ahead.  He filled in a few suggestions, like going back to Siena for our 10 year anniversary, that already have me dreaming of the years ahead.

image by leticia-b

We are one year old this weekend.  (Well, we are eight years old, but our official, state-sanctioned union is turning one.)  An exhilarating, emotional, exhausting year – I can’t wait to see what the next 50 bring.

We’re celebrating with dinner tonight at the long-awaited new restaurant in our neighborhood, Ici Bistro; Sunday we’ll just relax, and I’ll probably drag out the wedding album and put on our wedding playlist for a little festive nostalgia.

Happy weekend!

Emerson's wallpaper

The accompanying article was frustrating on a number of levels, both in terms of factual errors and in terms of me wishing Emerson’s house’s caretakers could have been more articulate about him and his significance than “God and nature and stuff.”

But I love this house, and oh, how I covet this wallpaper.

Fall foliage by Sara Musicò

Just like that, fall arrived.  Last weekend was so hot and sticky that we sweat right through our friends’ wedding, air conditioning notwithstanding.  This weekend, I’ve been curling up with hot tea and hauling my furry slippers out from their summer hiding place.

Now that fall is officially here, it’s time for me to deal with my impending joblessness (the joys of contract positions; my current one expires at the end of December, which is starting to feel imminent).  I should be taking advantage of the long weekend to start applying for  jobs, but I’ve been downloading fonts, baking blondies and riding my bike instead.  All spoonfuls of sugar and no medicine – where is my Mary Poppins to crack the whip?

We gobbled down the salad before I could take a picture. These guys didn't last long either.

Our summer CSA is in full swing. This is the third summer we’ve belonged to one, but the first year we’ve gotten to choose our own vegetables at a pick-up spot that feels like a top-secret farmers market.

Every week my bags have been getting heavier as the harvest comes in. Last week, we hit that perfect peak in the season, when all my favorite veggies ripen at the same delicious moment.

There’s only one thing to do when that happens, which is to make this ultimate summer salad. It helps to tag team it, with one person manning the grill while the other cooks the bacon, chops the raw veggies and makes the dressing. But you can make it solo, too.

Endless Summer Salad

• 1 pound new potatoes, scrubbed and cut in chunks
• 2 zucchini, sliced in chunks and threaded onto skewers
• 2 ears corn, husked
• 6 bacon strips
• 2 large tomatoes
• 1/2 ball fresh mozzarella, cubed
• 1 bunch basil, chopped
• Olive oil
• Red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon honey

For salad:

Heat the grill. Toss the potatoes with some olive oil, sea salt and pepper.  Wrap in a double layer of foil and grill for 15 minutes. While potatoes cook, brush zucchini skewers with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. When potatoes have been on the grill for 15 minutes, flip foil packet and add zucchini skewers and corn to the grill.  Cook for another 15 minutes or until all vegetables are tender.

Meanwhile, cook bacon in frying pan, then drain on paper towels. Chop tomatoes and place in large bowl with basil and mozzarella. Make dressing (see below).

When vegetables are grilled, slice corn kernels off cobs, remove zucchini from skewers and unwrap potatoes.  Add to bowl with tomatoes. Pour dressing on salad and toss to combine. Season with additional freshly ground pepper to taste.

For dressing:

Combine three parts olive oil, one part vinegar, Dijon mustard and honey.  Whisk or shake vigorously to combine.

Serve with homemade biscuits or a crusty loaf of bread.

Serves 2 hungry hippos, or 4 as a side dish.

This weekend, prepping for said bachelorette, my friends and I started talking about fantasy houses.  Maybe it’s because we started the day off with Four Weddings and a Funeral, but I’m feeling seriously English pastoral these days.  I want whitewashed floral romance in the worst way.

Like these little lovelies:

Sweet little bonbon of a cottage

This treehouse is nicer than my real house (Design*Sponge)

Plain English kitchen

Someday when I discover I’ve been left a bajillion pounds sterling and a manservant by a kindly, long-lost relative in the British Isles, I will have Plain English make me a gorgeous kitchen for my rambling New England cottage by the sea, and I will traipse through the garden in white dresses gathering honeysuckle and rose hips.

In the meantime, I’m making do with something more like this:

My kitchen makes this one look good (Mrs Blandings)

At least I have a dishwasher.

I’ve always loved this engraving by William Blake, and it’s a pretty accurate representation of my state of mind these days.