Sea Salt Caramel Fudge Brownies

As you may or may not know, this past weekend was Hollywood's annual Super Bowl otherwise known as the Academy Awards. (Your interest level probably somewhat depended on whether you saw and, of course fell in love with the impossibly charming film The Artist.)  

Personally I have always had a love/hate relationship with the Oscars. As a film publicist in my LA days, these awards always had the most notoriously formal and stress-inducing press line of the season. Negotiating your way down that particular red carpet with your clients always required a mix of extreme patience combined with brutish American football skills in order to make it through the endless throngs of press with a passable level of grace.

In recent years, I've enjoyed a rather more laid back approach to the evening with annual viewing parties hosted by friends who absolutely live for any opportunity to throw a festive bash complete with the requisite champagne cocktails, chic little canapes and mouth-watering desserts.

Sadly, since moving to London this beloved annual festivity has drastically fallen by the wayside as the  near midnight start of the live LA broadcast makes for a sleep deprivation nightmare considerably less than ideal party conditions on a Sunday night. So this year instead of wallowing on the parties of yesteryear, I treated myself to a batch of some supremely gooey, fudgey, salty, über chocolatey brownies.  

This may not be Vanity Fair at the Sunset Tower Hotel, but I can guarantee you these brownies are totally Oscar worthy at any party.  

{Low Fat!} Strawberry Jelly Doughnuts

Here's an amusing bit of trivia for my non-British friends out there. Yesterday was "Pancake Day" in the UK. No seriously, I swear pancakes actually have their own holiday here.  Sure, it's not one of the biggies like Christmas or Boxing Day, and the government may not actually recognize the importance of this annual festivity by giving everyone the day off work to enjoy some leisurely breakfast time at the local IHOP (sadly we don't have those here anyway...it seems IHOP isn't nearly as international as they would like to believe!) Nonetheless, it's an annual tradition and people here observe it.  Why, you ask?  Truth be told, I'm a little lost on that too. I'm guessing they just got jealous of all the party beads and debauchery of Mardi Gras going on across the pond and decided to come up with their own fun little tradition to compensate.  Then again, I'm kind of shooting in the dark here, this isn't Wikipedia verified. 

In any case, in honor of this sugar filled breakfast holiday, I decided to make... *drumroll please* ...doughnuts!  Not because this has anything at all to do with the big pancake tradition, but sugar is sugar after all, and since we were indulging I decided it was the perfect excuse to break in a super fun new doughnut recipe I have been dying to try. So there you have it, National Pancake Doughnut Day has been christened. Fortunately, based on the success of this inaugural batch, I can confidently say there will be many more happy doughnut days in my future!

Dark Chocolate Bread & Butter Pudding

This past weekend we spontaneously packed up the car and took advantage of one of my very favorite things about living in the UK -- namely, cozy winter getaways to the Cotswolds. Those of you who have been to any of these idyllic little villages with their storybook names such as Stowe-on-the-Wold and Bourton-on-the-Water will immediately know what my excitement is all about. For those who haven't yet had the pleasure, just imagine Hollywood's best attempt at creating a postcard perfect sleepy little English village, complete with thatched roofs, miles of gracefully aging, impeccably layered stone fences and of course the essential cozy village pub with its roaring log fire and requisite local dog asleep on the old stone floors.  Even for the most die hard Londoner, there is no place like the Cotswolds to make you want to throw on your favorite Hunter wellies and chuck it all in for a romantic life in the English countryside. 

While our three days of Cotswold bliss flew by far too quickly (as all good things sadly tend to do!) our getaway made me determined to infuse a little bit of that warm country comfort into this dreary London February.  When I came across Country Homes magazine's recipe for this deliciously old fashioned dark chocolate bread & butter pudding, I knew I had found the perfect winter antidote.  This dish is absolutely designed for curling up in your favorite comfy blanket (roaring fire optional!) and dreaming of those simple country weekends.  Pure bliss. 

PS... recipe and details coming shortly! 

London Snow Days & Other Urban Legends

They say it "never" snows in London.  Londoners will swear by it.  The media will swear by it.  And last but not least, the city officials who never seem to make any advanced preparations in order to keep trains running, commuters commuting and life in general buzzing along smoothly despite a couple of  inches of beautiful powder, will swear by it.  I have come to realize that snow in London is like one big mythical urban legend alongside the Loch Ness Monster or Big Foot. Someone swears to have seen it once, but so many years ago there fails to be any lasting substantiated proof.  Seriously, they swear it does not happen. And yet...

I have officially lived in London for 4 full years now and what I can tell you is that it does indeed snow in London. It's rare I will concede, but without fail once a year, seemingly out of the blue, this grey old hibernating city will get a decadent burst of glittery snowflakes dumping magically down from the heavens. It always starts quietly in the dark of night, and when you wake...voila! The city is covered beneath a fluffy blanket of ivory snow.  Every. Freaking. Year.   

Not your average snowmen on Hampstead Heath

Even the reclusive Nessy made an appearance

Who says snow days are just for kids?? 

Sledding in unbelievable numbers on Hampstead Heath 

A rare chance to dust off the snowboards for the most dedicated ski buffs

A steaming hot latte...the perfect end to a perfect snow day

So why all the steadfast denial?  I honestly couldn't tell ya. I have come to chalk it up as just one of the many quirks that makes living in this city a continuously unique experience. 

Wishing everyone a blissful weekend wherever you are, whatever you're doing. Stay warm and enjoy!