You may remember a while ago I was pining after this baby porcupine picture. Well lucky for  me one of my faithful blog readers was catching up on posts the other day and noticed that this little guy was back in stock! Yeah! Now I just have to find the perfect place to hang him. I almost bought the piglet and the lamb as well, but M didn’t think there were as cute. I may still get them. Thanks Bill for giving me the heads up!

I recently saw the movie Julie & Julia and can I just say I loved it! I wanted to pack up all my belongings, move to France, and become a chef. At the moment, that probably isn’t the best move for me, so instead I got a few of Julia Child’s books out of the library, including her behemoth The Way to Cook and signed myself up for a knife skills class. While anyone can follow a recipe, it is much harder to learn how to wield the tools without instruction. And then of course there will be lots and lots of practice. The scene that comes to my mind is Julia standing next to a huge pile of freshly chopped onions. Unfortunately all the knife skills classes are full until March (welcome to NYC) but in the meantime M&I will be attending a hands on cooking class for Valentine’s Day. On the menu? Oysters Mignonette, Filet Mignon with Wild Mushroom Cognac Sauce, Haricots Verts, Pommes Anna & Chocolate Soufflé. Yum yum. I will take an experience with my sweetie over sweets any day.

I look forward to Christmas Eve more than Christmas Day.  For as long as I can remember, my dad’s side of the family has gathered to make merry at my grandfather’s house. It is a raucous affair where we eat, guess Christmas songs played on a buzzer, yell to be heard over the constant roar, laugh, play trivial pursuit, and eat cannolis. Over the years, things have changed as things often do and this year marked a pretty big change. It started to seem a little silly for the oldest members of our family to take on the brunt of the entertaining burden so it was decided by quorum that a new generation should step up. We had a team to help decorate, a potluck style dinner with help from all, and a team of people to help leave the place clean when we left. When I was young I remember my Noni’s lasagna being a part of our tradition. Unfortunately my Noni passed away when I was still quite young and we haven’t had lasagna at the holidays in quite a while.  I thought it would be nice to bring that tradition back with both a meat and a cheese version. I think it was an ok first try. I will be happy to try again next year. To help make it a little more like what she used to make I planned a lesson this month with family member that used to help her cook. It isn’t the same as having her to guide me, but it is the next best thing. I hope to make this a tradition I can pass on one day. My first bit of advice? Frozen rice is not a good substitute for frozen shredded mozzarella.  Hey, we all make mistakes.

I am a sucker for baby animals so it is really no surprise that I find this baby porcupine ADORABLE! Sadly this little guys is sold out, but you can check out some other amazing animal prints here. via

I heart craft fairs. I especially love craft fairs in NYC. They are filled with unique materials, inspirational ideas, and people who are doing what they love and making a living doing it. So this morning I dragged my but out of bed hours before it was necessary to attend the Bust Craftacular. Now every other time I have attended there has been a short wait to get in but I figured I as getting up early enough to avoid the crowds. HA! Silly me. I am not sure which is more insane, the fact that the line is about two blocks long or the fact that I am waiting in it. Probably the latter. I ended up with a free tote made with a combination of the Yudu printer (which I am not so secretly coveting) and the cricut (which I am not especially coveting only because you can’t make your own patterns), as well as a letterpress calendar from Rachael at Pistachio Press. I was really close to buying some adorable ninja stamps but didn’t have cash on hand.

As David Lebovitz says  “…any idiot could make it…and only an idiot could screw it up.” Fingers crossed, let’s hope I am not an idiot.

Chocolate Idiot Cake
One 9-inch (23 cm) cake

10 ounces (290 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
7 ounces (200 g) butter, salted or unsalted, cut into pieces
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (200 g) sugar

Preheat the oven to 350F (175C).

1. Butter a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan and dust it with cocoa powder, tapping out any excess. If you suspect your springform pan isn’t 100% water-tight, wrap the outside with aluminum foil, making sure it goes all the way up to the outer rim.

2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler (or microwave), stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove from heat.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar, then whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until smooth.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan and cover the top of the pan snugly with a sheet of foil. Put the springform pan into a larger baking pan, such as a roasting pan, and add enough hot water to the baking pan to come about halfway up to the outside of the cake pan.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

You’ll know the cake is done when it feels just set, like quivering chocolate pudding. If you gently touch the center, your finger should come away clean.

5. Lift the cake pan from the water bath and remove the foil. Let cake cool completely on a cooling rack.

Serve thin wedges of this very rich cake at room temperature, with creme anglaise, ice cream, or whipped cream.

Storage: This Chocolate Idiot Cake can be wrapped and chilled in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.