Love is in the air today and flowers are everywhere on the streets of NYC.  I did my part and delivered carrot cake whoopie pie valentines to friends.

This would make a great favor for a children’s party or in Easter baskets (I can’t wait for spring!).  I made these with clear cellopane bags which have lots of uses ($13.50 for 100) and are handy to have around. The heart stickers ($2.75) could replaced with butterflys or other seasonal decor.

PS I fear there is no end in sight to the iphone polaroids on this blog.

Stephanie, Alex and I went on an epic five and half hour journey to that blogger utopia Kinokuniya, the Japanese bookstore on 6th avenue.  It was everything the bloggers who had gone before us had promised: a three floor mecca of craft books, stationary supplies and amazing gardening books. However, the highlight of the day was a delicious carrot cake whoopie pie.  $1.50 at Kinokuniya’s cafe.  I came home and baked up a batch using the recipe below.  We had friends over for delicious Greek take out last night and these cookies were universally consumed with moans and then demands for seconds, so I think they count as a major hit. NB: If you don’t have silpat mats ($18), they are a kitchen gadget well worth investing in.  They are the spanx of the cooking world.

Adapted from Gourmet (RIP!)

1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coarsely grated carrots (2 medium)
1/2 cup raisins (2 1/2 ounces)
8 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup honey

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

Beat together butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in carrots and raisins at low speed, then add flour mixture and beat until just combined.

Chill dough in freezer for 15 minutes.

Drop 1 tablespoon batter per cookie 2 inches apart on silplat mats and bake on baking sheets, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are lightly browned and springy to the touch, 12 to 16 minutes total. Cool cookies on sheets on racks 1 minute, then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

While cookies are baking, blend cream cheese and honey in a food processor until smooth.

Sandwich flat sides of cookies together with a generous tablespoon of cream cheese filling in between.  These are good the first night, but if you store in an airtight container, they get amazingly moist and whoopie pie like on the second night.

I’ve been obsessed with the rainbow cake like everyone else in blogland. Today Stephanie came over (she lives three blocks from me!!) and demonstrated her baking chops and produced these rainbow cupcakes using Wilton food coloring. Next up, the full cake!

We had a little tree trimming party on Sunday, one of the highlights of which was my new obsession: La Tur cheese.  Joanna and Alex brought it over on Friday night and its safe to say my life hasn’t been the same since. I’ve eaten it five days in a row (thanks Whole Foods) and I hate to say it but there is half a wheel in the fridge as I type this. It is a combination of goat, cow and sheep’s milk that melts in your mouth and makes you happy, thin and rich.

Murray’s says:

“Three milks, and two textures, that merge into one cheese’s best approximations of ice cream. A thin, edible skin barely contains a hair’s breadth of drippy tang, and then: deep, tongue-skimming, milk cloud, full and moist, with a liberal salting that makes you wish they left the sugar out of gelato entirely. A mild and delightful cheese”

La Tur, La Tur, I like to say it, type it, and most of all, I like to eat it.  I spent part of Monday thinking about the social acceptability of naming any  second child La Tur. (No, but, I would like to).  At the tree trimming party we also served mulled cider, a selection of cheese to act as back up singers to the La Tur, an array of cured meats, homemade cookies (Russian tea cakes and chocolate chip), lots of oranges and as the night wore on, some piping hot quiche.  (And, it was a treat to watch Leon and Alex roll around like puppies in the nursery).  Here’s a gratuitous shot of our now trimmed tree:

PS Top image from the cheese blog 365 Cheeses.

Thanksgiving crept up on me this year. This week! Holy holy.  Alex is going to eat his first solid foods this week — steamed sweet potato. One of the things I love most about the day is the pies.  I love the lattice work crust on the blueberry pie above.   In New York, I love the Little Pie Company.  Farther afield, the Texas based Tootie Pie Co. will ship frozen pies anywhere in the country and they look amazing.

Images from Gourmet (rip!) and William Sonoma.

Tim cooked skirt steak with golden beets and stir-fried greens tonight and it was delicious (and took 30 minutes to prep and cook). If you’ve never had golden beets you are in for a treat.  I HATE beets as a result of my grandparents forcing me to eat the red canned variety when I was 6 and I was so skeptical about these, but they are mellow and earthy, a perfect compliment to the steak.  Skirt steak is an amazingly flavorful and CHEAP cut of meat, too.  I had no idea.

This recipe is adapted from a great Everyday Food recipe.  Everyday Food is one of my favorite magazines (I love it’s tiny size). I cook something new and delicious every month from this magazine. Since I now worry that every magazine I depend on is going to fold, I’ll say it: subscribe.  It’s $12 dollars for the year and I promise you’ll find at least 12 great recipes to add to your repertoire and cook time and again.

Skirt Steak with Golden Beets and Stir-Fry Greens

4 yellow beets peeled and cut into 1/2 inch wedges
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
1 skirt steak (1.5 lbs) cut into 4 equal pieces
Any combination of swiss chard, baby bok choi, mustards greens, chicory, kale, beet tops, spinach greens. Depending on which greens you like, I’d combine a few baby bok choi with a 6 or 7 swiss chard leaves with some kale for a total of 12 ozs of greens (or however much you can fit in your saute pan).
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (or balsamic if you don’t have red wine vinegar)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place beets on a large sheet of tin foil, drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil and generous amount of salt and pepper  Fold foil to make tent like packet over the beets. Place on baking sheet (rimmed if you have it) and roast until beets are tender, about 30 minutes.

While the beets are cooking, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium high.  Season steaks with salt and peeper and cook until medium rare 3-6 minutes a side (depending on thickness).  Transfer to plate to rest.

Wipe skillet clean with a paper towel, return to store and heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium- high, add greens and cook until wilted, 2 minutes. Add beets and vinegar, season with salt and peeper and toss to combine.  Thinly slice steak against the grain and serve with beets and greens.

Cheeky, beautiful food blog Happy Lady Eats is a new daily read, and the photography is helping me feel a tiny bit better about the demise of Gourmet.