more pictures from Shyra's wedding...

I just got some more pictures from Shyra's wedding. I didn't take any pictures myself, so I snagged them off facebook. Picture of me and Nicole at the reception. Nicole with her boyfriend Mark. Another shot with the curls. Shyra threw the bouquet at the top of the stairs and it landed on the chandelier! Luckily they had a spare!

Homemade Tortillas!

Clark and I made the yummiest homemade tortillas yesterday! They are so easy to make and much healthier than the store bought ones! This is a recipe I found online, sort of. I made a quite a few changes of my own!

3 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

1 stick of butter at room temperature (I microwave it 3 seconds at a time and rotate the stick until it's no longer cold, it ruins recipes if you straight up microwave it)

1 1/4 c. warm water

Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix. Then add butter with a pastry mixer thingy or a fork, whichever. Add the water a bit at a time, mixing while you do it. See, you don't want the dough to be sticky or crumbly. So add until just right. Knead it with your hands just a tiny bit, so you make sure it's the right consistancy. Cover with a cloth for 10 min. at least, or more.

If you have an electric stove turn it on to medium heat with your skillet since it takes a while to heat up. Okay, so cooking it. On a clean surface add some flour and take tennis ball (maybe slightly smaller) sized bits of dough and roll them out in a really thin circle (have fun with that one). Stick it on the skillet/or pan and when it bubbles, flip it. AMAZING. Enjoy!!!!

île flottante

When I was living in Saint-Étienne one of my favorite desserts was Oeufs à la Neige. When asked to describe it I would say it looks like raw egg whites served with raw egg yolks. I honestly had no idea what was in it. Today I just finish reading French Women Don't Get Fat (good, by the way) and found the recipe. I was close, but the egg whites are poached. Don't worry, there's sugar involved and no egg flavor. I made some for Clark today. He loved it! Thought it was weird, but loved it! For me, second time around? Délicieux! Try it!

2 1/2 c. whole milk

2/3 c. plus 1 tbs sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

4 eggs

1/4 tsp salt

Scald milk in large saucepan. Add 1/3 c. sugar and vanilla. Cover and remove from heat. Separate the eggs and reserve the egg yolks in a mixing bowl. In another bowl, beat the whites with the salt until foamy and then gradually beat in the 1 tbs of sugar. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Return the saucepan with milk to the heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low.

With a soup spoon, scoop out a mound of the egg whites and drop into the milk. Cook gently for 2 minutes and turn gently to cook the other side for 2 minutes. Remove and drain on a dry towel. Let cool, then cover and refrigerate on a plate until ready to serve. In the bowl containing the egg yolks, gradually beat in the remaining 1/3 c. of sugar and continue beating for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture is pale yellow and forms a ribbon. Gradually add the hot milk in a thin stream to slowly warm up the yolks and avoid scrambling them. Chill the custard in a serving bowl.

When ready to serve, place the poached egg whites on top of the custard. Top with cocoa powder, caramel (boiled butter and sugar), or grated dark chocolate.

Shyra's Wedding

Last weekend I helped my friend Nicole with Shyra's wedding. We did 7 up-do's! A lot of hair! These are some shots of the bride. I'm sad I didn't get any clear pictures of her finished hair, or of the venue, but it was such a beautiful wedding!

Shyra is the human barbie doll! Thick blond hair to her waste. It took a REALLY long tim to get all those tiny curls, but it was so worth it! She went with feathers instead of a veil. Very pretty!

Her dress fell just below the knees. Again, sad I didn't take any pictures! The wedding was at The Carriage House this southern home built in the 1800, decorated by a few Anthropologie items (not that I noticed). It was amazing!