Monthly Archives for May 2012

Ensemble du Jour: New Shoes

I recently bought these shoes as a gift to myself, after landing my new (-ish) job. I love a metallic shoe, and you can’t really go wrong with Prada. Especially when you get them at the Saks Outlet (Off 5th, in St. Augustine), one of my favorite places to shop. It’s so great when you find something you’ve been lusting after, for less than half the original price. I’ve been in love with these shoes since seeing them on Jenna Courtin-Clarins in Vogue last November.


I’m wearing a French Connection dress, vintage necklace, Prada heels and Samudra clutch.

♥

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Dinner: Chicken with Mustard-Tarragon Sauce

This dish is simple, simple, simple and tastes divine. Classic French flavors of tarragon, mustard and cream perfectly complement a simply-seared chicken breast. I think the sauce would also work well on grilled or roasted swordfish. Be careful not to re-heat it, though, or the sauce will “break.”

Chicken with Mustard-Tarragon Sauce

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, (6 ounces each)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine, or chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried tarragon (or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh)

1. Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken; saute until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes, turning once. Transfer to a plate; keep warm.

2. Pour wine into hot skillet; cook, stirring, until reduced by half, about 1 minute. Whisk in cream, mustard, and tarragon. Cook, whisking, until thickened, about 2 minutes.

3. Pour any accumulated chicken juices from plate into sauce. Right before serving, drizzle cream sauce over chicken.

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Ensemble du Jour: Work

This is a fairly typical work look for me. I like to dress in layers, because my office is always freezing. A button-down denim shirt looks good with almost anything and the Chanel pearls are always a no-brainer.

I’m wearing a DKNY color-blocked dress, J. Crew denim shirt, Zara belt, Chanel pearls and Miu Miu heels. The bag is Doo ri for Be & D.

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Drink: Peach cooler

We made these delicious peach coolers after a trip to the farmer’s market in Fernandina Beach. We bought a bushel of the most delectable peaches and, because it was such a hot day, decided to put them to good use in an icy-cold beverage. Making drinks at home is nice because you can guage how much alcohol you add (or don’t.) For our version, we went easy on the vodka and instead added more soda water - and a generous splash of prosecco, of course.

Peach Cooler
recipe via Bon appetit

2 very ripe peaches, peeled, cut into 1/2″ wedges
6 tablespoons peach liqueur
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup vodka
1 English hothouse cucumber
2 cups chilled Prosecco
1 1/2 cups chilled soda water
12 fresh mint leaves

1. Using a muddler or wooden spoon, mash peaches with liqueur and lemon juice in a large pitcher. Stir in vodka.

2. Cut 1/3 of cucumber lengthwise into 4 spears for garnish. Thinly slice remaining cucumber. Stir Prosecco, soda water, mint, and sliced cucumber into pitcher. Fill glasses with ice. Pour cooler into glasses; garnish with cucumber spear.

Ensemble du Jour: Day-to-Night

These cuffed Current/Elliott jeans are one of my newest purchases and make the perfect base for a day-to-night ensemble. The cuff means these jeans work equally well with both flats and heels. This tissue-thin A.L.C. top is insanely comfortable and also works well for both day and evening. For day, just add a blazer, large tote and oxfords and at night, swap the shoes for heels, the bag for a clutch, and add some fur.

Both the top and the jeans were purchased at Model Citizen.

Day ensemble: Current/ Elliott cuffed jeans, A.L.C. top, Christian Louboutin silver oxfords, Balenciaga bag and Helmut Lang blazer. The skull necklace is Marc Jacobs and the shark tooth necklace was made by a local artist.

Night ensemble: Prada leopard heels, Versace sunnies, Bottega Veneta vintage clutch (one of my best thrift store finds to date) and vintage fur.

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Dinner: Best Ever Turkey Meatballs

Let me just preface this by saying that this recipe is a must-make. I have made turkey meatballs before, but these are better than any I’ve ever had in my entire life. The turkey means they are leaner (and healthier) than the traditional meatball, but the addition of pancetta and sundried tomatoes takes them to a different level. Topped with a quick tomato sauce and served over fresh linguine, they were pretty wonderful. But, next time, I will probably just make the meatballs and serve them as an entree – sans noodles, sans sauce. They are just that good.

Linguine with Turkey Meatballs and Quick Sauce
from Everyday Pasta, by Giada De Laurentiis

Turkey Meatballs:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 ounces pancetta, finely diced
1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Quick Sauce:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and cut into pieces with kitchen scissors
2 whole garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound linguine
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh basil

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-heat. Add the pancetta and cook for 2 minutes. Add the onion and cook until the pancetta is crisp and the onion is tender, about 4 minutes more. Remove from heat and let cool.
3. In large bowl, combine the pancetta and onion mixture with the remaining meatball ingredients and stir to combine. Form the turkey mixture into balls about 2 inches in diameter, using about 2 tablespoons for each, and place on foil-lined and greased baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.
4. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.
5. Meanwhile in medium saucepan (I used the skillet the pancetta was cooked in to retain more flavor), warm the 1/4 cup of olive oil over medium heat. Add the tomatoes, garlic cloves, parsley, salt, and pepper and cook for at least 10 minutes. Discard the garlic cloves.
6. Add the cooked meatballs and the cooked pasta and toss to coat. Add the reserved pasta water, 1/4 cup at a time, if pasta needs moistening. Arrange on a serving platter and top with basil.

PS. Virginia a la Mode is now on Facebook.

Daily Happy

Some things that are making me happy lately:

This very cute article from Gawker about achieving the “perfect” beach body. (Or not.)

I am pretty much obsessed with the One Direction song, “What Makes you Beautiful.” Genius, it is not. But catchy? Oh, it is very catchy and these boys (I Wikipedia’d them. They are most certainly boys, not men, and much too young for me to even be blogging about, let alone YouTube-ing) are very cute (Cute, not “hot,” not “handsome.” I’m not a pedophile, geeze lay off me) and seem to be decently talented (read: I have their posters on my wall and am in line to become President of the fan club.)

I will leave you with this little gem:

Happy Friday.

♥