curly cakes cupcakes

February 2, 2011

Isabelle’s Curly Cakes. Mmm. This is the most delicious cupcake place EVER!! When my roomie Lauren came home a few weeks ago raving about it I just didn’t know if I could believe her. Not because she’s not trust-worthy about these types of things, because she is, but because I am very picky about my cupcakes. They canNOT be dry. They must be moist. And to be perfectly honest, most cupcakes are just not up to my standards in terms of moistness. Let’s take cake for instance. My most favorite kind of cake, brace yourselves, is from a box. Yes, you heard me. A box. Duncan Hines anyone? Hello, it’s delicious.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’ll take a cupcake from Sweet any day. And Magnolia Bakery in NY? The one from Sex and the City? Yeah, I’ve been there. And I liked it. Those cupcakes are decent. They’re tasty. They have yummy frosting. But this place Curly Cakes, located in the heart of Beacon Hill, is sure something special. It is better than decent. It is better than tasty. It is a dream. It is a taste of heaven.

And you should go there and eat cupcakes.

YOU will LOVE it.

I got a red velvet cupcake. Best decision of my life.

And Meg got a Boston creme pie cupcake. IN-credible.

And ya know what else?? They sell Byrne Dairy milk. BYRNE DAIRY! This is the best milk ever, straight from the cows of good old upstate New York. I’m related to the Byrne’s FYI. For realsies. First cousin to Virginia and Timmy Burns: children of Gretchen Burns, previously Gretchen BYRNE: daughter of the late Jack Byrne, part owner of the one and only Byrne Dairy. SO cool, I know!

Anywhoo… I have never in my Boston-living life seen Byrne Dairy milk in Boston. When Meg and I saw this milk we let out a little squeal. For serious. We were so excited we paid over $2.50 for the skimpy bottle. But whatevs, IT’S BYRNE DAIRY! It was worth every penny.

Like I said, you should totally go here. And eat cupcakes. And drink Byrne Dairy milk.

You will be ever so glad you did.

Isabelle’s Curly Cakes
81 Charles Street
Boston, MA 02114

1 Comment · Filed Under: boston, food ·

sweet paul.

January 30, 2011

I just found out about this sweet and delicious online magazine, Sweet Paul, via the twitter world. I am beginning to love online publications and this is another quality online magazine I can add to my list. Sweet Paul is all about the sweet things in life. They have a lot of sweet and tasty food recipes, but also have articles on other “sweet” things, such as crafts and decorating. I’ve currently been browsing the Holiday issue, but the spring issue should be coming out in the next few months. I’m looking forward to what they have in store!

photos from sweet paul magazine

Click here for the blog, and above for the online magazine. ENJOY!

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: blogging, design, food ·

things i saw, things i love

January 28, 2011

Starting today, I’ve decided that every Friday I’m going to write a post about things I’ve seen in the blogging world and have loved the moment I saw them. I got this idea from my new fave blog You Are My Fave. It’s such a great idea, and a great way to shout it out about things I’ve seen and things I love. I click through blogs so quickly and see so many things I want to share. This will be my way of showing you some lovely finds I’ve made during the week and hopefully introduce you to some new blogs you don’t know about yet!

Here goes my very first post of things I saw, things I love…

home office organization seen over at design*sponge

simple and delicious “the easiest chocolate chip cookies on earth” (and a refreshing looking glass of milk) from the lovely blog desserts for breakfast

Thank you, thank you honey and jam for leading to me to this adorable little necklace by Lisa Leonard. Precious!

Somewhere over the rainbow print via hooray design. What a neat bit of inspiration.

Pillows a plenty, pillows galore. I love pillows and Bright Bazaar gave me a glimpse into West Elm’s spring collection. Loving all the prints and textiles.

Cute as a button cake pops made by Melanie over at The Sweet Life. I want to try some of these!!

And my most most most faaavorite is this. Yes, that. Right up above these words you are reading. Eggs benedict? Is that you? I think it is and I LOVE you!!! Meet mowielicious, a food photography blog that will knock your socks off.

Well, that’s my week in favorites. I’ll be back next week with some new finds and new loves!

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: design, food, gifts, life, things i saw things i love ·

Ina’s corn chowder

January 23, 2011

This is the perfect soup for this cold winter day. It’s fairly simple too and it makes a LOT.

(below is the exact recipe from Ina, however, I recommend using less chicken stock as the chowder is more soup-y than chowder-y. Also this makes a TON. I had it for lunch and a few dinners all week long. You may want to consider cutting the recipe in half, although as a leftover it is delicious!)

Ina Garten’s Cheddar Corn Chowder (from food network)

8 ounces bacon, chopped
1/4 cup good olive oil
6 cups chopped yellow onions (4 large onions)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
12 cups chicken stock
6 cups medium-diced white boiling potatoes, unpeeled (2 pounds)
10 cups corn kernels, fresh (10 ears) or frozen (3 pounds)
2 cups half-and-half
1/2 pound sharp white cheddar cheese, grated

In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, cook the bacon and olive oil until the bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and butter to the fat, and cook for 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.

Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, and turmeric and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and potatoes, bring to a boil, and simmeruncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. If using fresh corn, cut the kernels off the cob and blanch them for 3 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain. (If using frozen corn you can skip this step.) Add the corn to the soup, then add the half-and-half and cheddar. Cook for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve hot with a garnish of bacon.

1 Comment · Filed Under: food ·
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