Cold Days, Warm Drinks: 4 Hot Toddy Recipes

I've written about the hot toddy before, but seeing as it's January and we could all use a little warming up at this time of year, I thought it was high time to revisit it. A traditional hot toddy is what you might think of an old world grandmother making for you when you're sick: whiskey, hot water, honey and lemon. I was fighting a cold last week and something about that magic combination calmed my scratchy throat when nothing else would. And there's plenty of other tasty, non-medicinal ways to brew up something warm and boozy. Here's four warming, tasty-sounding recipes!



This Kentucky Hot Toddy is a spin on the classic, incorporating meyer lemon and blood orange juice in place of the classic lemon juice.



Essentially spiked cider, this Bourbon Apple Cider sounds equally perfect for chilly fall evenings or freezing winter afternoons.



I posted this Earl Grey Tea Toddy back in the early days of this blog, with some slightly suspect mason jar bourbon that my dad keeps tucked away in a cupboard. Use your favorite tea flavor, mason jar bourbon not required :)

I love the idea of this Almond Hot Toddy, it's made with almond milk, rum, and almond extract. Don't you want to try it?

Top photo by Stephen Murello, last photo via tetoncocoacompany

Hurricane Sandy Pumpkin Apple Butter Muffins

When I moved to New York six years ago, if someone had said the phrase "hunker down" I'd probably think a blizzard was coming. But the past two years, it's been an unlikely culprit: hurricanes! Last year, I made hurricane cookies, that contributed to what we dubbed the "hurricane of carbs" when all that ended up happening was some rain and a lot of chips and cookie eating. This time around we're told it'll be worse, so I took my baking slightly more seriously.

I made pumpkin muffins, making a few substitutions based on what we had on hand. And in an attempt to make them healthier, I used some homemade apple butter instead of oil. I figured they'll keep for awhile so we can eat them for days if we need to. But they're pretty good, we've been bad rationers :)



Pumpkin Apple Butter Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel Topping

For the topping:

- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 T. white sugar
- 2 T. brown sugar
- 2 T. cold butter
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup pecans

For the muffins:

- 1 15 oz. can of pumpkin
- 1/2 cup apple butter or applesauce
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup milk (or half & half thinned with water, if you're making these in a hurricane :)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease or line a muffin tin.

Combine the topping ingredients (except pecans) in a small bowl and use a fork to cut the butter into small pieces. When it resembles coarse meal with a few larger chunks, mix in the pecans. Set aside.

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. In a larger bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, apple butter, eggs and sugar. Add the dry ingredients in two additions, alternating with the milk. Whisk just until mixed.

Spoon into muffin tins, dividing equally into 12 muffins. Top with a bit of the streusel topping.

Baking for 15-20 minutes or until slightly browned on top and done in the middle. Eat while watching weathermen try to stay upright on the coast.

Autumn in a Jar

Did you grow up with apple butter? I've recently learned that some people did and some people didn't. When I say that I'm making apple butter, the people who didn't wonder exactly how apples and butter go together. The people who did get a far off look in their eye, dreaming of the spiced, apple-y flavor.



As for me, I did and I didn't. My grandmother made it, and I have vague memories of eating it on toast at her home in West Virginia. (I've heard tell of a huge copper kettle she used to make it in, that an aunt or uncle is now in possession of. But I feel like it should be mine :) Mostly, I remember eating it on biscuits as a surly teenager, in disbelief that I was being forced to eat Christmas dinner in a Cracker Barrel by the airport en route to visit family for the holidays.



In case you didn't grow up eating apple butter, let me tell you this: it tastes like autumn in a jar. Apples cooked for hours, until they carmelize and turn a deep brown, flavored with cinnamon and cloves. It makes your home smell like what a Yankee candle only dreams of smelling like. And the process of making it is the perfect fall activity. If you decide to "put it up" in jars, the boiling water canner makes your windows fog up, which is just about the most cozy way for a window to be.



The apple butter of our grandmother's generation was sweet. So is the kind they sell at Cracker Barrel. When I started making it myself, when I first moved to New York (a normal time to start a granny's hobby, right?), I tinkered with the sugar until I got it down to just a few tablespoons. I prefer to make it with less sugar so the flavor of the apples stands out. Also, so I can eat it straight from the jar and not feel too guilty.

So, if you love apples, cinnamon, and a few hours spent in a warm kitchen, I suggest you make apple butter. Maybe even this weekend. Canned in tiny jars, it makes a tasty, adorable Christmas gift.

(A Fall Harvest) Weekend in Pictures

{nyc pumpkin patch}

{ripe tomatoes}

{genius pumpkin planters}

{seasonal signage}

{$6 dahlias! in love with them}

I spent Saturday at the farmer's market loading up on apples (I recently heard a friend call it "urban apple picking" :) to make a big batch of apple butter. It was a perfect fall day with a chill in the air, leading into the perfect night in with the scent of apple and cinnamon bubbling away on the stove. Recipe soon!

The Best Fall Breakfast

I can't imagine a more perfect morning to tell you about my favorite recipe at the moment. It's cold-enough-for-a-real-coat outside, and gray and rainy. The best kind of morning for something warm and filling. Enter: sweet potato hash. Roasted sweet potatoes, crispy chorizo and deeply caramelized onions all mixed together and, if you're me, topped with a fried egg. It's perfect for a fall brunch or just your average, drizzly morning in October. Oh, and it makes awesome leftovers. So, really, you should make this soon.


Sweet Potato Hash
adapted from this recipe 

- 3 medium onions, diced
- 1 lb chorizo (I used 4 links)
- 4 large sweet potatoes
- 6 cloves of garlic
- olive oil
- butter or ghee
- salt

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter (or ghee, which I used to make this paleo-friendly) in a skillet over medium heat. When it's melted, add the diced onions and sprinkle with salt. Stir them occasionally and lower the heat if they start to burn, ideally they'll brown very slowly over about 30 minutes. Cook until they're a deep, dark brown.

While the onions are cooking, peel and chop the sweet potatoes in roughly 1/2 inch cubes. Lay them out on a cookie sheet and drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch or two of salt. Roast for 20 minutes, turning them over about halfway through.

While the sweet potatoes are in the oven, prep the chorizo. Crumble the chorizo into a skillet over medium-high heat and cook until browned and crispy on the outside (if you're using links, cut them into small cubes first). While the chorizo cooks, mince (or grate on a microplane) the garlic. Add it to the pan with the chorizo and cook for a minute or two.

Once the sweet potatoes and onions are done, mix everything together in your serving dish or a large skillet. Top with fried or poached eggs, if you like

(A Thifty & Apple-y) Weekend in Pictures

{friday afternoon storms}

{striking a pose at a neighborhood flea market}

{dream folding chairs}

{apple picking and blue skies}

{pretty and red}

{fresh off the tree}

{our harvest}

I did some flea marketing this weekend and fell in love with pretty, old things that were too expensive to buy (like those mint green folding chairs) and saw some odd things (like that mannequin!). Sunday I went apple picking with some friends, and it was great to get out of the city for a bit. The apples are sitting on my counter now, begging to be roasted! Hope your weekend was lovely :)

(A Foliage-Heavy) Weekend in Pictures

{jumping in leaves on the way to the Met}

{the fall color spectrum in central park}

{central park leaf peeping}

{fall, you kill me}

{celebrating my roommate's engagement!!}

{before I die wall, brookyln}

Until all the autumn leaves have fallen, I think my Weekend in Pictures posts will be very foliage-heavy. I just can't get enough! I'm so glad that fall color comes rather late to New York City. We get to enjoy it on road trips and in tiny glimpses in October, but it comes alive in November. It sticks around until Thanksgiving when it can give way to Christmas color and lights. Love. It.

Did you have a foliage-filled weekend, friends?

(Fall Cabin) Weekend in Pictures

{fall leaves, finally}

{outhouse on the property, thankfully no longer in use}

{main st., saugerties}

{hiking out to the saugerties lighthouse}

{bean boots on the trail}

{barn turned artist's studio}

{tiny pinecones!}

{passed out pup}

Over the weekend (at a cabin outside Saugerties, NY) some girlfriends and I were playing a somewhat made-up game of see-how-well-we-know-each-other questions. Someone would ask a question to the group, everyone would write down their answer, then the question-asker guesses which response belongs to which person. Most of the answers were hilariously funny, others let you get to know your friends a little better.

After a weekend of walking over crunching leaves in heavy boots and watching fading sunlight stream in through old farmhouse windows, I'm rethinking one of my answers. To the question "what is your heaven on earth?" I'd like to change my answer to simply "fall." 

On The Road Again

Happy Friday! I'm headed out of town this weekend, to the Hudson Valley, and I'm really excited to see lots and lots of fall leaves (hopefully!) and drink wine on the porch all bundled up. I hope your weekend plans are lovely too :)

Thanksgiving Table

Is it too early to start talking about Thanksgiving? I hope not, because I've definitely started thinking about it. I love hosting Thanksgiving dinner for friends in my apartment, but the one thing that's a little bit lacking is a table. It's cozy and fun with lots of people scattered around the living room feasting, but it would be so amazing to have a big table for everyone to sit at (and not have to balance plates on their laps!).

In my dream Thanksgiving, I'd have the Goliath Console/Dining Table. Would you believe that the dining table above collapses down to the size of a console?! Genius! (You can see a video here.)



Is it awful for me to wish that IKEA would come up with an affordable copycat?

Happy (Halloween) Weekend!

Happy Halloween weekend, friends! I thought of one more thing to add to my earlier list: The Monster Mash! We heard it while walking through the corn maze last weekend and I got all giddy—such a fun song. Enjoy your festivities this weekend :)

Halloween Grinch

In the past couple of years, I've started to think of Halloween as gross. I get kind of complain-y about it. There's way less kiddie cuteness and way more (completely inescapable, in New York) slutty drunkenness, and I tend to avoid it all together. But the good kind of Halloween, with trick-or-treating, exchanging candy with your siblings, and eating your yearly quota of candy corn, really is fun. So, in an effort to stop being such a Halloween Grinch, here are my own personal reminders of why Halloween doesn't deserve my boycotting.



Hocus Pocus. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and a talking cat. It's really all you could want in a Halloween movie, especially if you grew up in the 90s.



Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins: the best proportion of chocolate to peanut butter all year.



Kids in costume. There's nothing cuter than seeing how excited a kid gets about a whole holiday devoted to dressing up and eating candy. And I love when kids think of their costumes themselves. A friend's son is being a "Spiderman Dragon" this year, and last year a kid in Brooklyn told me he was a robot clown.



Nostalgia. It's impossible to see kids in costume and not think back to your own days of trick-or-treating. The picture on the right of my little sister dressed as a tiger feels like a snapshot of the best parts of Halloween as a kid: elated to be up past bedtime, with a pile of candy that's all yours.

What about you? Are you a Halloween Grinch or Halloween lover?

Images: top photo by ash2276, Breakfast at Tiffany's dress by atutudes, Max costume by The Radical Thread Co. Last two photos by my dad, who was undoubtedly saying "show me some teeth!" as he clicked the shutter.

Pumped for Pumpkins

I'm going pumpkin picking this weekend (and to a corn maze!), so I thought a little Great Pumpkin would be appropriate. Don't worry, Linus. I don't plan on killing any of them.

Have a great fall weekend, everyone!

(Apple-icious) Weekend in Pictures

{little leaf!}

{fall goodness}

{apple cider donuts, mmm...}

{another little leaf!}

{cinderella pumpkin, plaid}

Even though fall is being quite the tease this year (it's hot and humid in New York!), it didn't stop my friends and I from indulging in the typical yuppie fall day trip: apple picking! We left the city and headed out to the farm, where we trudged through muddy orchards in wellies in search of perfectly ripe apples. Then we rewarded ourselves with lunch at Cracker Barrel and a looong time spent wandering the aisle at Wal-Mart (I went a little crazy in the ribbon aisle!). How about you, is it fall where you are? If so, I am jealous.