Sunday, December 28, 2014

Savory French Onion Soup


Let me start off this post by saying that soup is my favorite type of food.  I think it's so underrated!  Why would a warm, hearty, comforting bowl of goodness be reduced to a lunchtime dish or appetizer only?!  It blows my mind because I crave all types of soup all year long, and even make huge pots of it on 80° summer days.  I'm either really odd, or have really good recipes (I'm guessing the latter).  I made a batch of my Savory French Onion Soup today, and it's seriously out of this world delicious!



Saturday, December 20, 2014

Coconut Thumbprint Cookies


Christmas at the Schill house would not be complete without dozens and dozens of cookies.  From good old-fashioned sugar cookies, to butterballs, to cranberry biscotti...we bake up quite the storm!  Though I love cookies in any form, my absolute favorite recipe around the holidays is for our coconut thumbprint cookies.  When I say they're to die for, I'm not even kidding...the recipe has been in my family for over 100 years!  My great-grandma passed the recipe down to my mom, and we've been baking them together every Christmas for as long as I can remember.  The hardest thing about the recipe is making enough to keep everyone satisfied!  I swear once you bring them to somebody, they keep asking for them year after year!

Friday, December 19, 2014

Howie's Steak and Gorgonzola Bruschetta


Today marks the 50th post and 1 year anniversary of No Place Like (O)Home!  I can't believe that all this time has passed!  When I think about the fact that I finished my capstone studio, graduated with my Master of Architecture, started my first adult job, traveled to Chicago (twice!), New York, Boston, Portland, Seattle, Williamsburg, Oxford, and Buffalo AND cooked all these recipes and many more that I didn't write about...well, it definitely seems like it's been a jam-packed year.  Rather than dedicating this celebratory post to a special recipe, I'm going to dedicate it to a special person: my awesome boyfriend, Howie.  Not only was he the person that pushed me to turn my cookbook into a blog, but he's been my biggest fan the entire journey.  I can always count on him to try anything and everything that I concoct, ask me a million questions while I cook to test my professional expertise, and even create impromptu chopped challenges in his kitchen when he's missing ingredients we need.  Last week, he surprised me and cooked an incredible meal all on his own after I had a lousy day, and it's seriously one of the best recipes on this blog!  He made steak and gorgonzola bruschetta on toasted ciabatta bread!  Howie, looks like you're officially upgraded from chopping garlic!



Monday, December 15, 2014

Cleveland Botanical Gardens

One of my all-time favorite activities (besides cooking of course!) is exploring Cleveland.  I know it sounds a little cliche, but I didn't name my blog No Place Like O(H)ome for kicks.  There are so many interesting neighborhoods that define Cleveland, each with different personalities, attractions, people, architecture...the list can go on forever!  University Circle is probably Cleveland's fastest growing area with a ton of museums and cultural attractions, but I only go maybe twice a year for fun?  Not okay!  Maybe I was scarred from having 3 studio projects located on the Case Western Campus within a year?!

That outlook's about to change now that I'm a fully functioning adult because the area is BEAUTIFUL!  This past Sunday, my family had a Christmas outing to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens, and it was my first time there.  The Botanical Gardens were amazing, especially when every room was adorned with extra lights, decorations, and hundreds of gingerbead houses for the Christmas season.  They even managed to scope out tropical plants from Costa Rica and Madagascar that fit the holiday scenery.  Incredible to say the least!  I can't wait to go back; preferably when it's warm and I can actually explore the gardens outside...

After the gardens we had a delicious pre-holiday celebration at Southside: Restaurant and Bar in Tremont.  Wine, laughs, a million appetizers, and on top of it, an actual dinner!  It's never a dull moment with the Schills!


Sunday, December 14, 2014

Peanut Butter Kisses


One of my all-time favorite recipes to bring to parties, especially around the holidays, are peanut butter kiss cookies.  It's a recipe that many people already have and bake, but they're a guaranteed crowd pleaser every single time!  I mean, who doesn't love the peanut butter and chocolate combo?!  This past weekend, I brought them to Howie, Chris and Zach's Ugly Christmas Sweater Party, and was happy to take home a completely empty tin!  That's a success in my book!