I love the holidays

December 30, 2015December 29, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 2 Comments

Welp, the holiday season has come and gone. I had such a great time spending time with family and friends, and it seems like ages ago I was back in New York.

I had a great trip home, as always. I had a week home with my parents, some time with my family for Christmas, and then B and I took a few days off and visited Newport, Rhode Island. All in all, a successful holiday break. If only I were ready for 2016!

family

Some highlights from my trip back to New York:

Decorating the tree with my family. When I was younger, we used to go out and cut it down ourselves – it was a great tradition.

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Going out to dinner in Saratoga. We went to one of my favorite places and had some delicious fries. It was a little chilly and we spent some time walking along the main street of the downtown area.

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Tons of baking for Christmas. Of course.

Taking walks with my family. One day it was 30 degrees, the next it was 60! SUCH seasonably warm weather! We had some 50+ degree days before and after Christmas. It was incredible!

selfie taking a walk

one of the 50+ degree days. Doesn’t look like December!

Running while home. B wore shorts and short sleeves on Christmas – I told you it was warm!

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Going to the movies. A usual Christmas tradition is seeing a movie on Christmas – this year, a group went and saw Carol, while another group saw The Big Short. I saw The Big Short – it was really good! Christian Bale was so good.

Seeing two of my best friends, Jane and Alisa. Jane and I got to hang out several times, taking walks (in above said warm weather), eating cookies, watching holiday movies, grabbing lunch, etc. It was great!

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Some (but not nearly enough) quality family time.

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And tons of reading. I finished All the Light They Cannot See, Station Eleven and California. All of them were so good! Next up I’m reading 1Q84. What else should I add to my list?

And that was about it. A perfect relaxing holiday!

Some questions for you:

Did you see any movies?
What books are you reading now?

Chocolate Fudge Thumbprint Cookies

December 24, 2015December 20, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

It’s Christmas Eve! If you’re like me, that means lots of relaxing, eating, and spending time with my family. And maybe some last minute (yes, now it’s really last minute) baking.

If you’re seeking a relatively quick, very easy, festive holiday cookie, look no further. These are great for the chocoholic (sorry, not me) in your family. Or a chocolic friend, because who doesn’t like to be surprised with a plate of cookies this time of year?

Chocolate Fudge Thumbprint Cookies-icrashedtheweb

Chocolate Fudge Thumbprint Cookies

from Cafe Mom

Here’s what you need

2 sticks + 2 tablespoons of butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
⅓ cup cocoa powder
2 cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1 heaping cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons hot water
1 Tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
holiday sprinkles

Here’s what you do:

Preheat the oven to 350. Cream the butter, sugar and ⅓ cup cocoa powder. Mix well until one thorough mixture.
Combine the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add to the butter mixture by thirds and mix until combined.
Roll the dough into small balls, about one-inch in diameter. Indent each ball with your thumb or a small spoon in the center.
Bake for 7-8 minutes until cookie dough is lightly cracked on the surface but still soft.
When they come out of the oven, don’t be surprised if your thumbprint is gone! You’ll likely need to press the center of each cookie down again to make your frosting well. Cool completely.
While cookies are cooling, make the frosting: mix the cocoa powder, powdered sugar, hot water, and vanilla. Spoon the frosting into the centers of the cooled cookies and add festive sprinkles while frosting is still wet. Allow frosting to set before putting away.

Enjoy! I’m not a huge chocolate fan and even I enjoyed one (or a few). They’re not MY favorite (again, not a big chocolate fan) but they were definitely a hit. For simple modifications, I may play with the filling, adding peppermint or peanut butter in the future.

Chocolate Fudge Thumbprint Cookies

Questions for you:

Chocolate lover or not?
What are some thumbprint cookies you enjoy? I love jam cookies!

WIAW #43: Home for the Holidays

December 23, 2015December 22, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 12 Comments

I’m home for the holidays! While it’s not quite yet Christmas, and I still haven’t finished all my gift wrapping (fingers crossed my last package from Fedex arrives today as planned!), I’m back home in New York and enjoying some rest, relaxation, lots of reading (finished two books, onto the next!) AND home-cooked meals. So for this week’s WIAW, instead of one day of eats, here is a glimpse at a few of the meals I’ve enjoyed since I’ve been home.

Breakfasts have been pretty standard while I’ve been home. Some cereal (my parents’ cereal collect rivals that of Seinfeld) and fruit. Pretty standard AND delicious. Oh, and I love my mom’s homemade granola.

Granola! (no, not frozen yogurt)

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Lunches have varied somewhat, typically including some sort of bread with cheese, fruit and a type of soup.

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For dinner, I’ve eaten all meals home (and homemade by my mom!) but one. We went out to dinner one night in the beautiful Saratoga Springs and hit up Ravenous, a place known for their crepes and frites. They did not disappoint. Otherwise, we had some roasted turkey breast, pesto pasta and cornish hens. All hit the spot. So. Much.

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And desserts. How can I forget about these? I’ve been baking up a storm for the holidays and of course sampling some of the treats, including chocolate covered pretzels, lemon bars, chocolate fudge cookies and jam cookies. ‘Tis the season!

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Questions for you:

What have you been baking?
What’s your favorite home-cooked meal?

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

December 22, 2015December 17, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

I LOVE biscotti. I grew up with biscotti – my mom seemed to always have a package of Nonni’s biscotti on hand for desserts, snacks (breakfast…shh), etc. There’s just something deliciously satisfying about the crunch of a good biscotti, paired with some coffee or hot tea. Amiright? And now that I know how to bake them (I’ve made a few different kinds before, including chocolate pistachio biscotti and pumpkin biscotti), I am loving them even more!

Seeking a last minute cookie to bake for the holidays? Okay, I guess it’s not quite last minute yet, but these make the perfect Christmas cookie. The green pistachio and red cranberries are festive – but these really are great all year round. I made these for a holiday party/cookie exchange and recommend you try them out too. The recipe is from B’s mom, and I was so grateful that she shared it with me – so now I’m sharing it with you!

cranberry pistachio biscotti-icrashedtheweb

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

Here’s what you need:

2 ½ cup flour
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
3 eggs + 1 egg set aside for egg wash
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ⅓ cup dried cranberries (soak 5 min in hot water)
1 cup pistachios, chopped

Here’s what you do:

Preheat oven to 300°.
Combine first five ingredients.
Add eggs and vanilla. Work into dough using hands.
Drain cranberries and add to dough with pistachios.
Roll into two logs. Flatten slightly and place on greased pan. Brush with egg wash (1 egg plus 1 Tablespoon cold water).
Bake for 50 minutes, slice into pieces and bake an additional 10 min. per side. Makes approximately 36 biscotti cookies. Enjoy!

cranberry pistachio biscotti~icrashedtheweb

I also made this recipe sheet if you’d like to print out the recipe (click here to download the pdf).

Some questions for you:

Do you like biscotti?
What’s a favorite family cookie recipe?

December FLEW by

December 21, 2015December 20, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 5 Comments

Whew. I don’t know about you, but the past few weeks have been a whirlwind. Between holiday parties, cookie exchanges, dinners with friends, baking, and more – the past month has flown by. And I’ve loved every minute! We’ve had such a great December – here are some of the highlights from this past weekend, week and month:

lights in playhouse square

Running with Nicole! Me and my running bff finally got back outside and enjoyed a few runs the past few weeks. Some were incredibly warm and I wore shorts! Others were more seasonable. But it was great to get out there again after a few too many indoor treadmill runs and enjoy the morning and sunrise. And stop and take pictures of the Terminal Tower all lit up for the holidays!

running-tower city

Going to a Browns game for Monday Night Football! On one of the seasonably warm days, B and I snagged suite seats to a Browns game thanks to his work. The game wasn’t that great – we ended up losing at the last second and it ended after midnight. BUT, it was still fun to enjoy live Monday Night Football and inside the warmth of a suite.

browns suite

Going to the Cavs game. And having suite seats (yes, again). Through B’s work, we were able to enjoy a Cavs game. I prefer basketball to football (inside, faster paced, better fans, shorter games…) and had a great time. Even the food was good! Seriously – look at that grilled cheese. At a game!

cavs game

cavs game food

Celebrating the holidays with coworkers. Our office holiday party was at a fun restaurant/bar this year, Happy Dog, that features hot dogs and tater tots with tons of toppings. And arcade games. t was fun to celebrate the season (and a great year!) with my coworkers. Their hot dogs are really good – especially their vegan dog, which tastes more like an Italian sausage. I had a really good vegan dog with a garlic sauce, mozzarella, bacon, onions and mushrooms. Plus some tots!

office holiday party

happydog

Ringing in the holiday season with other BC grads. B and I are in charge of our alumni association and planned this year’s holiday party. We were excited to go to a new place – Bold Food & Drink on the East Bank of the Flats – and had a great turnout. I love meeting new BC grads living in Cleveland – they’re here, but not so easy to find!

bc holiday party

Enjoying the final Ladies Craft Beer Society of 2015. This year, we opted to do a holiday dinner to celebrate a great Ladies Craft Beer Society and wish good luck to the three ladies in our group who are pregnant. One of them – Reanna – is due any week (!!) so it was great to see her and the other girls and enjoy a night out. And do a final craft for the year 🙂

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Dining out with the Carney ladies. Each year, my sisters-in-law and I opt to celebrate the holidays with an experience as opposed to gifts – this year the holidays snuck up on us and we only had time to plan a dinner. Still, it was a great night for wine and pizza and fries (dinner of champions!) at Bar Cento and to catch up before the craziness of the holidays sits in.

girls night dinner

We did quite a few other things this month – going to see the Cleveland Orchestra, out to dinner in Uptown, grabbing drinks with friends, seeing the From Monet to Matisse exhibit at the Cleveland Art Museum and more .. it has really been a great month! I can’t believe December is nearly over and we’re already talking about 2016. Which undoubtedly will be a great year 🙂

holiday flowers

Some questions for you:

What are you most looking forward to about the rest of December?
Have you ever been to a Monday Night Football game?

Linking up today with Erin for my weekend snapshot post, Katie for MIMM and of course, the weekly wraps.

Chocolate Dipped Heath Bar Shortbread Cookies

December 18, 2015December 17, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 2 Comments

Have you been baking Christmas cookies yet? If your schedule has been anything like mine, you’ve been busy baking up a storm for cookie exchanges, holiday parties and office gatherings.

For this year’s work cookie exchange, I opted to make these cookies. I knew I wouldn’t have time to make them completely the night before, so I actually made the dough, froze it, and then baked and dipped them in chocolate and sprinkles the night before. These cookies are good – not too sweet, but delicious and festive (if you add rainbow sprinkles)! A great cookie exchange addition.

Chocolate Dipped Heath Bar Chip Shortbread-icrashedtheweb

Chocolate Dipped Heath Bar Shortbread Cookies

Recipe from the kitchn. The original recipe says it makes 70-75 cookies. Don’t know what I did differently, but mine made about 45. If yours makes 70, PLEASE let me know what you did!

Here’s what you need:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup Heath toffee chips
1 cup chocolate melting wafers

Here’s what you do:

Cream together butter, powdered sugar, and salt until smooth. Add vanilla.
Using a hand or stand mixer on, low speed, mix in the flour until combined and a dough is formed. Fold in 1 cup of the chocolate chips and the Heath Bar chips.
Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a log about 10-12 inches long. Wrap both logs of dough in parchment or plastic wrap. Refrigerate the rolls until firm (a few hours, or up to three days). The logs can also be frozen if you don’t plan on baking them within a few days, just make sure to thaw in the fridge overnight before baking.
When you’re ready to bake the cookies, cut the logs into 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick slices. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Arrange slices slightly apart on the baking sheets.
Bake the cookies for 13 to 15 minutes, until the edges just start to brown brown. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets before removing from the pan.
Melt the 1 cup of chocolate melting wafers in the microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring between each interval. Dip one end of each cookie into the chocolate and use a butter knife to scrape off the excess chocolate. Place the dipped cookies on parchment paper. Optional: while still wet, add festive/colorful sprinkles. Wait until set before storing or tasting.
Enjoy!

Chocolate Dipped Heath Bar Chip Shortbread~icrashedtheweb

Some questions for you:

What twists on traditional cookies do you make to give them more of a holiday appeal? I like to shape them into fun holiday shapes (candy canes, snowmen) or add red/green sprinkles (like these!).
What’s your go-to cookie for cookie exchanges?

WIAW #42: One Friday, Two Cities

December 16, 2015December 15, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 7 Comments

It’s time for another exciting episode of … What I Ate Wednesday! That’s right, it’s already Wednesday. And for me, it’s my pseudo Friday, because I’m off work tomorrow and Friday! Yippee!

This post features my eats from last Friday. It was a semi interesting day of eats, because it started with a somewhat normal work day, but since we were going away for the weekend, we had very few groceries. And then we were traveling and then we were in NYC Friday night! So, this post features 2 cities in one day.

The day started out with a non-typical breakfast. As I mentioned, we didn’t have many groceries, so I had some grapes and a few bites of B’s peanut butter toast. I wasn’t too hungry, so a few bites were all I needed.

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I was starving by my usual mid-morning snack time, and I opted for half a banana and some peppermint bark.

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I hadn’t brought a lunch, so I decided to walk over to Stone Oven. I got my FAVORITE salad, Jaina’s salad. It has chicken, feta, croutons, tabbouleh, couscous, roasted red pepper and their amazing bread. I ate the whole thing up.

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I left work a little before 5 to head home to finish packing, grab a snack, and head to the airport. My snack was a cookie or two from our holiday cookie exchange the day prior. Look at all those cookies!!

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At the airport, I grabbed some mentos, a lemonade and gum and then we headed to NY.

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I was so hungry by the time we got into the city and met up with my friend Jane. It was after 9:30, and we grabbed some Mexican food at a local place near her and it was great.

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Chips, guac and three tacos later, I was stuffed. Not a bad start to a fun weekend in NY!

Some questions for you:

Do you have any upcoming trips planned? I’ll be back in NY again soon to spend the holidays with my family!
What’s your favorite holiday cookie or treat? I love peppermint bark! But love the simple shortbread cookies that my mom makes.
Do you have any go-to meals when you have no groceries?

Weekend in NY

December 14, 2015December 14, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 7 Comments

Happy middle of December! It hardly feels like that right now because it is so warm! This weekend B and I were in NYC to celebrate my dad’s birthday, and it was nearly 70 degrees. That’s right, 70 degrees on December 13! I can’t complain, though- it made for an even better weekend in the city.

B and I got in Friday night and met up with my BFF Jane who lives in Brooklyn. The plan was actually to surprise my dad with a birthday dinner Saturday night with family. He had no idea that we were coming in, and had no idea about the family dinner planned. I can’t believe we pulled off the surprise!

Jane and me and Mexican food and beers. Yum!

So, Saturday, Jane and I mostly hung out around the city and met up with some of her friends. It was also a warm day and we checked out some holiday markets downtown.

super crowded markets

amazing cauliflower bahn mi for lunch

Saturday night, it was surprise time! We got to the restaurant 30 minutes before my parents and brother and waited… I was nervous! Surprises make me anxious. Luckily, all family and friends arrived on time and when my dad showed up he was so surprised!

Dad and me at dinner

My brother and cousins

B and me

Sunday, B and I had a late flight back to Cleveland, so we were luckily able to meet up with my family again. We met up for a tour of One World Trade Center, which is now an observatory above the city. There were great views of the city all around us! We then grabbed a late lunch before it was off to the airport.

amazing views

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The trip was great. Even though it was short (and we didn’t get in any runs), I got to see Jane AND my family. I hadn’t seen my family in months, and my extended family in nearly a year. And I can’t believe I’ll be seeing some of them again in a few weeks for the holidays! I feel so lucky I got to celebrate my dad’s birthday and am looking forward to seeing everyone again soon. Now, to survive a short week!

Linking up today with Erin for my weekend snapshot post, Katie for MIMM and the weekly wraps.

Some questions for you:

How often do you see your family?
Are you traveling for the holidays?

WIAW #41: Dinner with Friends

December 9, 2015December 8, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 6 Comments

Phew, we made it to Wednesday! Ever have those weeks where each day seems like two to three days? And by the time you get to Wednesday it feels like it should be a Friday? Yup, that’s me this week. Work, real life and personal life are getting a little crazy thanks to the holiday season and end of the year coming soon and I am SO ready for Friday!

I somehow missed last week’s WIAW. Whoops! Blame it on a busy week? So I’m back! With not a very exciting day, but a day that includes going to dinner with friends, so there’s that. And some hummus. Because what day is complete without some hummus? Amiright?

For breakfast, I started the day with some yogurt and fruit. I mixed plain Greek nonfat yogurt with some fruit I leftover from a weekend yogurt parfait and a pear. Delicious. But I can’t remember the last time I had my staple of eggs and veggies for breakfast!

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I had a lunch meeting that day, and we ordered in from Tomaydo Tomahdo. I got their southwestern salad, minus the tortilla crunches, and it was pretty good. I like the cilantro dressing and had some of it on the side. Any salad with a ton of cheese is a good salad in my mind 🙂

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I still got hungry later and had an apple, some nuts and a cookie for a snack.

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For dinner, I had a plans to meet up with some girls at Taza, my favorite Lebanese restaurant. They have THE BEST hummus in town and we shared some hummus, falafel (not pictured) AND a salad with feta (yum) and chicken.

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And that was about it! I love love love some hummus right now and it definitely hit the spot. And those pitas. They were like pillows!!

Middle eastern food – yay or nay?
When you order lunch in, do you have a go-to order?
Tell me something about your week!

What the holiday season looks like

December 7, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 14 Comments

It’s December and I’m fully embracing the holiday season. We’ve been lucky enough to have had seasonably warm weather (for the most part), no snow, and I’ve been loving every minute of it. This past weekend we were able to get out and enjoy some holiday-ish things around town, and it made me so giddy for this time of year.

lights in my neighborhood

Here’s what a holiday-ish weekend in CLE looks like:

Running a few miles outside. Yes, it’s cold (36 degrees), but there’s still no snow so it was GREAT!

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Baking a bunch of holiday cookies with some wonderful ladies.

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Comfort food out to eat. Superior Pho deliciousness. Plus a stop at the Asian market for some ginger candy.

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A 5 miler with B in 40 degree temps on Sunday. The hat was a little overkill – didn’t need it! It was beautiful out and I’m so grateful it’s not icy or snowy yet and we’re still able to enjoy the outdoors and trail and road runs.

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That afternoon, we met up with Dave and Anson to check out Circlefest and the great holiday events going on in University Circle. We got free admission to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens and got to check out their decorated trees and gingerbread houses.

a MUPPET show decorated gingerbread house!

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Along with ice sculptures outside – in 50 degree weather they were starting to melt!

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For me, the holidays also includes a great Italian meal at Trattoria in Little Italy. Followed by their amazing tiramisu dessert. Their tiramisu is one of the few I like – not too coffee-ish, lots of cream and looks like ice cream 🙂

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