Halloween Entertaining

Wrote up a little post for Amazon's MyHabit blog in honor of everyone's favorite silly/spooky holiday. Click on over for all of my favorite, super easy Halloween party ideas. xo

Portuguese Baked Eggs

There's not much better I like doing on weekends than cooking up a big, homey brunch and inviting a few friends over for hours of relaxed, unstructured hang time. Especially now that I've become one of those (formerly) annoying people who refuse to leave Brooklyn on any day of the week that starts with an "s." The only challenge I face with this utterly ideal situation of having my home filled with food lovingly cooked for friends I probably haven't seen in far too long is that my weekend laziness often kicks in and I find myself waking up in the morning unmotivated to do anything that involves a grocery store aisle or a kitchen sink. Which is why an arsenal of super easy, fail proof brunch dishes is pretty vital to the sustenance of my social life.

Ideally, a brunch dish should be a one shot wonder, meaning that I should be able to throw one dish into the oven and feed at least 4-6 people with it. Translation: no flipping multiple pancakes at the stove for an hour, muttering resentful curses at my beloved friends under my breath. These portuguese baked eggs from the absolutely perfect October issue of Bon Appetit fits the bill and then some. The creamy ricotta (use the best you can find) melts into a spicy, tomato-based sauce filled with healthy veggies and soft, runny eggs. It's pretty much the best thing you could imagine to put on top of toast and eat whilst sitting around on a random Sunday doing just about nothing with your favorite people. xo

Portuguese Baked Eggs
Serves 6
Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
3 bell peppers, any color, thinly sliced
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
2 beefsteak tomatoes, cut into wedges
8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno, with seeds, halved lengthwise
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup ricotta
6 large eggs
1 cup grated sharp white cheddar (about 4 oz.)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (about 1 oz.)
Toasted country-style bread (for serving)

Directions:
Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add bell peppers and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and just beginning to brown, 10-12 minutes.

Add tomatoes, garlic, jalapeno, basil, oregano, chili powder, and paprika to pot. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very soft and liquid is thickened, 20-30 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Discard jalapeno.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Transfer bell pepper mixture to a 13x9" baking dish. Using the back of a spoon, make 6 evenly spaced divots in mixture. Spoon a dollop of ricotta into each divot, then crack 1 egg into each. Top with cheddar and Parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Bake, rotating dish halfway through, until Parmesan is melted and egg whites are almost set but yolks are still runny, 15-18 minutes.

Serve baked eggs with toast. (Yolks will continue to cook as dish sits, so serve right away if you prefer your eggs soft.)

Fall Layering

Wrote a little post for MyHabit on my favorite ways to layer for fall. I think the above picture is my most favorite of all the street style snaps I've seen over the last month or so (hello, plaid Celine clutch!). Click on over to MyHabit's blog, theFIX for lots of layering tips and tricks (including how to wear chunky sweaters, cocoon coats, oversized scarves, and more). xo

Bacon Sandwich

One of the best parts of my trip to London for the opening of EDITION Hotels a couple of weeks ago was getting to eat just about every meal at Berners Tavern, Michelin-starred chef, Jason Atherton's new restaurant located in the lobby. I've got a thing for cozy British meals, starting with a crisp fry-up of fish and chips, and ending with a big, old-fashioned Sunday roast (my favorite meal in the world). There's something about a prime rib roast with veggies and Yorkshire pudding with lots of gravy that just gets right to my heart. It reminds me of Christmas and snow and festive dinners with lots of friends and family.

But, I digress. Every meal in that very perfect restaurant (bless Jason's talented heart) was pretty spectacular, but the most epic moment of all came when I went against my better judgment and ordered the bacon sandwich one slightly hungover morning. Apparently the Brits (unlike their green-juice-obsessed American counterparts across the pond) believe wholeheartedly in bacon for breakfast. So wholeheartedly, in fact, that they serve it as a bacon sandwich composed entirely of about eight impossibly thick slices of the best bacon imaginable, served on hot, toasted sourdough bread and a side of HP sauce, which, if you haven't had yet, is hands down the best condiment in existence. Bacon and bread and brown sauce. That's it. You can order a fried egg on the side if you must (I did), but it's totally normal to eat it as it. And it is predictably AMAZING. So amazing that I decided that I wanted to recreate it at home with a bottle of HP sauce smuggled back into the States. (The next time you're in the UK, I suggest bringing the stuff back by the crateful.)

This simple bacon sandwich requires the very best thick-cut bacon you can get your hands on. Serve it piping hot on toasted sourdough bread and dip the whole thing into brown sauce between bites. Heaven. xo