We're Moving!

Salt and Pepper is getting a facelift!  We've changed our name, look, and address.   You can now find us at charlieandmorsel.wordpress.com.  There will still be the same great recipes and more!  See you over at our new space!

Ooodles of Puppy Chow!

I've never made puppy chow before, so I never realized how delicious peanut butter, chocolate, and cereal can be.  This recipe is so easy and yummy!  A perfect Labor Day weekend snack!

Puppy Chow:

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup butter (I always use a little bit less butter than called for, but 1/4 cup was the closest measurement)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 8 cups Crispix or corn squares
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the peanut butter, chocolate chips, and butter.  Microwave for 50 seconds or until melted.  Stir.  Add the vanilla and mix together thoroughly.

Measure out 8 cups of cereal in a large bowl.  Add the chocolate mixture and stir until cereal is evenly coated.

Place chocolate/peanut butter-covered cereal in a large plastic bag.  Add the confectioners sugar and shake the bag until all the pieces of cereal are coated with sugar.

Spread onto a wax paper-covered tray and cool for 7 minutes.  Enjoy!

Panera's Cinnamon Crunch Bagels

    

     I have been trying to get my hands on this recipe for the longest time, and, finally, I found it.  You know how the bagel has a specific taste to it, but you can't pin-point it.  Panera's secret ingredient in their cinnamon crunch bagels is... white chocolate!  Okay, these bagels require a bit of time and work, but they are totally worth it.  It took me about two and a half hours from starting the dough to taking them out of the oven.  But you will be so happy you made them!

Cinnamon Crunch Bagels (adapted from Copy Cat Recipe Guide)

Dough:

• 4 1/4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 cup vanilla/white chocolate chips, melted
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp salt

Topping:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup cinnamon (this may change depending on how much you like cinnamon)

In a bowl, mix the the yeast and 1 1/4 cups of the flour

In a small bowl, mix the water, cinnamon, white chocolate, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, and the salt. 

Combine the yeast and water mixtures and beat with a hand mixer for 2.5 minutes.  The dough will seem like cookie dough at this point, so keep adding flour until you can't mix with a hand mixer anymore.

Take the dough out of the bowl and add more flour until the dough is stiff.  Knead on a floured surface until you can shape the dough into a ball.  

Divide into 12 portions.  I rolled the dough sections into a snake or breadsticks, then made them into a circle by connecting the two ends.  Let sit for 15 minutes.

Start a pot of boiling water.  Reduce heat to medium, and add the bagels to the water, three at a time.  Let the bagels cook in water for about three minutes each.  *Heat oven to 415 degrees*.  Take the bagels out of the water and drain them.  Place bagels on a baking sheet.

Place the baking sheet with the bagels in the oven and cook for 5 minutes.  While baking, combine the sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl.  Melt the butter and add to the cinnamon sugar mix.  Take the bagels out of the oven and brush with butter/cinnamon sugar mix.  Thoroughly coat the bagels.

Bake the bagels for another 15 minutes, or until the topping is crunchy.  Let cool for about 4 minutes.  Enjoy!

yummy!

Yield: one dozen bagels

Fashion Forward for Fall

I think autumn is one of the most fun seasons to dress for.  You get to wear big sweaters, cable knit scarves - without the heat of summer or the freezing temperatures of winter.  I put together some color schemes and clothes I'd wear this fall.  And I got to use my new Adobe Creative Suite!  Eeeh!

I'm really loving this mustard color for some reason.  And it looks so great with turquoise and brown.

How-To: Chocolate Nonpareils

A few days ago, I was thinking about how easy it would be to make Sno-Caps.  They're basically just chocolate chips with nonpareils, right?  How hard could it be?  This is probably the easiest dessert I have ever made.  Go ahead and try it!  (Please excuse the poor quality of these pictures, my camera was not cooperating)

Nonpareils (sprinkles) and chocolate chips are all you need!

Melt chocolate chips using a double boiler.  DO NOT USE A POT WITHOUT A DOUBLE BOILER.  This will burn your chocolate and possibly the pot.  Make sure you keep enough water in the pot below the boiler.

Drop spoonfuls of chocolate onto wax paper (I used my piping bag to make stars)

Add sprinkles to the top and freeze!  The chocolate will easily come off the wax paper once frozen.  Enjoy these yummy treats!

Life is Sweet

I took a break from blogging for a bit, but I'm back!  It's nice to just enjoy summer, isn't it?  Well, I thought I would post a few pictures of my recent adventures.  

 

That's Charlie!  Isn't he just the cutest thing?!

Another post tomorrow!  I made chocolate nonpareils today (sno-caps, as Nestle likes to call them), so the recipe will be forthcoming!

Event fancy

My sister is a recent graduate of high school, so, naturally, an open house was held in her honor. My other sister and I were in charge of decorating, and after months of preparation, the result was very pleasing (to say the least). Our main goal was to keep our guests entertained, since open houses are usually incredibly boring. All you can do is eat and look at the graduate's accomplishments! We wanted to think outside the box, so we added outdoor twister, a candy bar, and various yard games. The color scheme was aqua and red, with off-white accents. The theme we were going for was a vintage garden party, and we tried to accomplish that by making coffee filter gardenias and pinning red plaid or aqua fabric squares to the tablecloths for the centerpieces.  Across the tent, we hung handmade triangle flags made from old books from thrift stores.  Take a gander at our decorations.

Table centerpieces

Yard twister

Triangle flags

Candy bar

Drink table

So what do y'all think?  It was so fun to plan everything out and see it all come together.  Creating all the decorations was my favorite part.  Now I'm off to figure out how to make flowers from some plastic tablecloths I received today!  Should be an adventure!

Royal Style

Duchess Kate has the best style ever.  If I could have anybody else's wardrobe, it would be her's.  Her style is so modest and fit for a princess.  Take a look at some of my faves:

Pink Jenny Packham gown worn to the Ark Charity Gala

Alexander McQueen gown worn to BAFTA Awards

Jenny Packham dress worn to a charity polo event

White Reiss dress worn to the Canada Day Ceremony during visit to Canada

Smythe les Vests blazer and J Brand jeans worn during Canada visit

and her custom designed Alexander McQueen reception gown.  I think this dress is so gorgeous!  

Pippa Middleton's reception gown was also a stunner, but no one can upstage the bride!

Grissini: yum!

I really love breadsticks, and I've always wanted to make my own.  So when I found this recipe, I just had to give it a try.  They are healthy and so much better than the buttery and fatty kind at the store.  Give em' a go, you'll never be able to eat a storebought breadstick again.

Grissini (adapted from Sweet Girl Confections)

• 3 3/4 cups flour (more if needed)
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp yeast
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1.5 cups water
• cornmeal (for baking)

This was made using my breadmaker.  The original recipe has directions for kneading dough by hand.  The following steps are for food processors and breadmakers.

Mix flour, salt, and yeast together 

Add honey, oil, and water to dry mixture

Knead for about 30 seconds, adding extra flour if needed.

Grease a bowl with olive oil (I used a glass bowl) and place dough in it.  Cover with plastic wrap or damp towel.  Let rise for 45 minutes.

Punch dough to deflate it and roll out on cutting board or counter.  

Heat oven to 420 degrees

Cover baking pans with cornmeal

Cut dough into pieces, as long or short as you like, and place on baking pans.

Bake for 13-18 minutes.  Enjoy!

*Makes about 8 foot long breadsticks

{things I love this week}

Old song, but I still love it.  Chicago by Sufjan Stevens.

These White by Vera Wang bridesmaid dresses.  The large organza flowers on the skirt are so cute!  You can find them at David's Bridal.

18th century movies.  Marie Antoinette (pictured) and The Duchess are my faves.

This teal hi-low dress from Forever 21.  Lovin' this hi-low style!

These mustache lollipops on A Beautiful Mess

And this beautiful Alexander McQueen cowl neck dress

Hello!

     My first post ever!  I've wanted to start a blog for about the past year and never got around to doing it.  So, finally, I decided to actually do it.  But what do I have to blog about?  Well, some of my favorite things are baking, cooking, planning outfits, organizing my things, and writing.  Alas, I found what to blog about.  So that's what you can expect from my blog.  To start things out, how about a little 20 questions?  Or, I guess, 20 facts.

1. I love writing, skiing, cooking, and doing nothing.
2. I have lots of favorite TV shows, including The Office, Parks & Recreation, and Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
3. My favorite books are the Harry Potter series.
4. I have read the Hunger Games; Harry Potter is better.
5. My favorite movies are Pride & Prejudice & Marie Antoinette.
6. I really wish I knew how to sew.  It's something I should learn.
7. Charlie, my shih-poo puppy, is the cutest thing ever.
8. I don't have a single favorite color.  I like blues, greens, and canary yellow.
9. My family gave me a Princess Diana look-alike ring for Christmas.  I love it.
10. In my spare time, I love watching reality TV.  Khloe and Lamar season 2 premieres on February 19!
11. Winter and summer are my favorite seasons. 
12. I get most of my clothes at upscale thrift stores and my sister's closets.
13. Chicago is one of my favorite cities.  It's the perfect size.
14. Planning my wedding is one of my hobbies.  No, I'm nowhere near getting married.  It's still fun.
15. One day, I would love to be a journalist or own a vintage boutique.
16. Scarves are the perfect accessory to a boring outfit.
17. I love indie music.  One of my favorite bands is Donora.
18. February is one of my least favorite months.
19. Snow is one of my favorite things.
20. The idea of traveling doesn't appeal to me, but I'd love to visit England.

     So there you have it.  My first blog post ever.  You can look forward to hair & makeup tutorials, outfit inspiration, recipes, and organization ideas.  My next post will be soon!  Happy blogging!