Vanilla-Blueberry Pecan Scones

Saturday morning, I managed to get out of bed and head to Pocahontas Produce to go blueberry picking. The farm was on the outskirts of Birmingham, quite quaint in appearance, and a weekend oasis.

We began filling our buckets, while also eating our fill of blueberries on the way--Mother Nature's candy.

We each left on a summer produce high with a gallon of berries and ready to cook up some berry fun.

Since it is the weekend, breakfast is always my favorite weekend meal--it's the meal that begins your day and sets your mood for the relaxation and fun you have ahead of you. So, I had to make blueberry scones, specifically Vanilla-Blueberry Pecan scones--yum! 

Vanilla-Blueberry Pecan Scones 

Time: 1 hour 

Servings: 8 scones 

Ingredients 

1 cup AP flour 

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/2 cup cold butter, diced

1 egg

1/4 cup heavy cream 

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup fresh blueberries

1/3 cup pecans 

heavy cream for brushing before baking 

turbinado sugar, optional 

Procedure 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. 

2. Add butter and mix until flour mixture looks like coarse sand. 

3. Add egg and heavy cream, and mix until thick dough forms. 

4. Add blueberries and mix with mixer to allow berries to release some juices. 

5. Stir in pecans. 

6. On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1-inch thick square.

7. Cut square into 4 smaller squares. Cut each square into 2 triangles to form 8 scones. 

8. Brush with heavy cream and top with sugar--*recommended turbinado sugar. 

9. Bake 18-20 minutes and sprinkle with more sugar when finished. 

A perfect summer breakfast treat! 

Citrus-Spiced Sweet Tea

Y'all, I have settled back in the South for a little bit. What does this mean?? Awesome bbq, fried chicken, sweet tea and an apartment with a kitchen...this girl isn't kitchenless anymore! 

To begin my Alabama adventure, I figured I would start this new chapter off with a twist on classic Southern sweet tea. This citrus-spiced sweet tea from Charleston Receipts will be the perfect welcome home drink.

Southern Spiced Tea 

Recipe by: Charleston Receipts 

Total time: 15 minutes 

Servings: 18 cups

Ingredients 

Tea

8 cups boiling water 

4 tea bags 

6 oranges, squeezed 

2 lemons, squeezed 

1 tsp. ground cloves 

Simple Syrup 

2 cups sugar

8 cups water 

Directions 

1. Steep tea bags in 8 cups of boiling water for 5 minutes. 

2. In a separate saucepan, heat 8 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar until the sugar dissolves. 

3. Squeeze oranges and lemons. 

4. Add simple sugar, cloves and fruit juice. Serve tea chilled.

Graduation Countdown!

Today we took our graduation class picture...what does that mean? Only a few more days until our graduation day---WOW, the past 6 months have flown by! My culinary school experience has been beyond my wildest expectations--I have been able to explore and learn about classic techniques and unique ingredients, as well as gain real world experience with an externship at Jean-Georges. I can't say thank you enough to ICC for an amazing educational experience! 

With graduation coming means moving on to new adventures, and that new adventure is taking me back to the South--aka Alabama--where I will begin a fellowship in food styling, recipe testing and recipe development while singing Sweet Home Alabama all Summer long ;) I am thrilled at the opportunity and look forward to coming back to NYC soon with new skills and experiences! SO...I guess I should begin drinking some good old sweet tea again--BAMA here I come! 

Crave of the Day 6.22.14

Hmmmm, well today I stopped by Breads Bakery to grab a little sample of their famous chocolate babka...DANGEROUS.

100 Happy Days #foodiestyle

Some of you may have heard of the 100 Happy Days foundation--well I decided to take the challenge and begin documenting my 100 Happy Days through food on Instagram. Follow the moments @loudandhungry on Instagram!

Crave of the Day 5.26.14

Time has been flying and more memories are being created. Last weekend, I returned to college to officially graduate and walk with my class in the commencement ceremony. It was crazy to look back on the past four years and see how life has changed so much. 

Of course, going back to good old North Carolina meant my taste buds were dying for a classic Southern meal. Ever since, I can't stop craving the classic flavors of the South--y'all know how to cook! 

The King's Kitchen--Charlotte, NC

Go if you get the chance!!

Sneaking Behind the Scenes of the Red Carpet

Earlier this month, one of the best annual events of the food world occurred--The James Beard Awards at Lincoln Center. Now if you are a foodie, then you know what this means, every chef you have ever dreamed of meeting, seeing in person, or tasting their food would be at the gala that night. 

Why was I so excited? Because I was helping to serve hors d'oeuvres to chefs I have been dying to meet my entire life. 

So the evening began with me starstruck walking into Lincoln Center.

Wahoo!

I was assigned to work with Chef Charles Phan of The Slanted Door in San Francisco. That evening I helped to serve a tapioca dumpling with shrimp and pork in a flavored fish sauce--holy goodness it was one bite of AMAZINGNESS.

We set up shop in the Lincoln Center atrium with all of the other famous chefs who were also serving food. It was a food fantasy to be able to try dishes from well-known chefs all around the country. 

After serving dumplings for the VIP tasting event, we then got to go and watch half of the awards show which was a blast. Ted Allen was the perfect MC for the evening. 

One awesome bunch of chefs.

Exciting news came in the middle of the awards show when we found out Chef Phan, who I was working under, won Outstanding Restaurant--what did this mean??...we were the most popular food table after the show! It was thrilling to be able to serve so many iconic food individuals the dumplings of a winning chef. 

What a way to kick off the month of May. Cheers to all the chefs who inspire the food world day after day with your crazy creations.