We moved to Philadelphia this past year for a variety of reasons; we wanted to try out a new city, preferably somewhere on the East Coast, I loved living here in college, and my best friend is a resident (pretty high on my 'Reasons to Live Somewhere' list).
Philadelphia has exceeded our every expectation. One of the most welcome surprises of the city has been our access to the great outdoors. Although we're technically in city limits, our neighborhood borders Carpenter's Woods (the home to an incredible group of resident and migratory birds) and the Wissahickon Creek (has a real cult following.. no really, read the history). I don't think people say this enough, but it's really beautiful here in Philly...
Lured by November warmth, deepening hues of foliage, and new sights to see, we have been exploring parks around our neighborhood.
We're beyond belief spoiled.
Our favorite park so far has to be Pastorius in Chestnut Hill. If live in Philly and own a dog, or just live in Philly, you need to check out this gorgeous space before snow hits the ground.
In preparation for the holiday season, I've been trying to brainstorm reasonable gifts for neighbors. Holiday dark chocolate bark seems the perfect choice...impressive-looking, decadent and seasonal.
Grab a few bars of your favorite dark chocolate (I hit my local Trader Joes and picked up the Dark Chocolate One Pounder). Melt the chocolate down using a double boiler and spread evenly across a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Let cool for several minutes and proceed to sprinkle with any toppings you see fit. I went with dried apples, dried cranberries and pistachios (all from Trader Joes as well). Let cool completely and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Once completely cooled, go ahead and break the chocolate apart. Be careful, the chocolate melts quickly when touched, so don't spend too much time worrying about the perfect breaks or if you're a perfectionist, use a wooden utensil.
Once it's all broken up, throw back in the refrigerator to firm up again.
And finally, dress it up and package for friends. I'll be perusing thrift stores over the next few weeks for antique tins to line with parchment or brown tissue paper and wrap a red ribbon and some bakers twine around for a near-effortless holiday treat.
We're settling nicely in Philadelphia and autumn is welcoming us warmly.
The beauty of the foliage strikes me every time I look down at my feet and Scout (currently in a cone after losing her lady parts) loves to romp around and try to catch the falling ones.
I spent the weekend roasting garlic and christening our new digs with the aroma of good food.
I'm consistently caught off guard when I start craving food in accordance with the season. Just when I think I can't say goodbye to fresh berries, sweet potatoes and honeycrisp apples call to my heart and usher me, entranced, to autumn.
The most time-consuming part of this roast recipe is peeling the potatoes and slicing the veggies and fruits. A mandoline slicer would cut back significantly on prep time and I keep telling myself to just suck it up and invest in one. And now that I have bags of leftover potatoes in the closet, I just might.
However, after the prep and arranging, this is a breeze. Let your oven work its magic.
Roasted Potato and Apple Medley with Shallots Adapted from Martha Stewart's Crispy Potato Roast Ingredients 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled 3 pounds red potatoes, unpeeled 4 shallots, thickly sliced lengthwise 4 small red apples, unpeeled Coarse sea salt Black Pepper 8 sprigs thyme and rosemary Directions 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a microwavable bowl, combine butter and oil. Microwave until the butter is melted. Brush the bottom of a baking dish with about 1/3 of the mixture. Peel the white potatoes (I used Russet), and slice the potatoes and apples very thin crosswise with a sharp knife or mandoline. 2. Arrange the potato and apple slices vertically in the baking dish, alternating the colors randomly. Chop the shallows and wedge them throughout. Brush the remaining butter mixture on top of the dish and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper to taste. 3. Bake for 1 1/4 hour. Remove from oven and add thyme and rosemary and return to oven. Bake for another 25-30 minutes until the dishes reaches your desired brownness.
