In case you were wondering where I’ve run off to, I’m now on www.iamdwj.com. I decided I was tired of having sites everywhere so I needed one central location. I’ve archived the Crumbs & Creativity posts on the site along with my Art of Accessories blog and you can find out more about my world in general there. I’ll still cook, take pictures and talk about food I love there but you’ll also get a little bit of fashion and beauty too. 

It’s all DWJ all the time ;)

I hope you’ll join me!

I do not lie about my love of carbs. Pretzels are by far my favorite. Salty, warm and delicious. My husband and I were checking out the holiday windows on Fifth Ave in NY and I snapped a few pictures of the food vendors too. 

I don’t buy much from the carts in NY other than a pretzel and nuts for the husband but I thought they looked so much more edible in black and white. 

Black and white makes it all look so much prettier, right?

Who isn’t a fan of hot chocolate? If you’re not then I probably consider you a communist. I will essentially call anyone a communist if they don’t agree with me, so it’s not a big deal.

Well my boss recently changed how I drink my hot chocolate. I’m a lover of the marshmallow but they are always stale when I’m ready for a cup of cocoa and then I’m hostile and no one wants to drink hot cocoa in a hostile environment. My boss told me to put a layer of marshmallow fluff on top of my cocoa in lieu of marshmallows.

BRILLIANT!

Not only does it give you the delicious, melty marshmallow goodness that you want. It also acts as a layer of insulation on your cocoa and keeps it warmer longer. How come no one told me of this genius before?! I will never go fluffless in my pantry ever again.

I found a recipe online for a brownie, cookie, Oreo bar and send it to my sister. She audibly gasped on the phone when she saw the image. And then she read the recipe and decided that brownie mix and standard cookie mix just wouldn’t do and she’d have to make her own version. Oh and did she. My sister Anne made chocolate chip from scratch and spread them in the pan. Then she layered in Oreo cookies and then she covered all of that goodness with homemade brownies. And they cooked into this wonderful little bar that we proceeded to put ice cream and hot fudge on top. Too much? Or just enough? Clearly, my sister loves me.

Last year I was in Hilton Head, South Carolina for Thanksgiving with my family. Catered Thanksgiving meals are my favorite because I dont’ have to do anything and clean up is so much easier

Don’t get me wrong, I love to cook but sometimes all the pots and pans and cleaning required for such a big meal can be a bit of a deterrent. This year my Mom is doing the bulk of cooking but I’ve been tasked with making my mashed sweet potatoes (no marshmallows are involved) and a butternut squash mash that I made after tasting one at Nando’s.

It’s a kind of spicy and sweet side dish. Here’s what you need…

Ingredients:

- 1 butternut squash peeled, and diced into 2 inch cubes
- 1 red onion
- About a cup of chicken stock
- 1 handful of cilantro chopped roughly
- brown sugar to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
- Nando’s Peri Peri sauce

How I Made It:

I take the butternut squash with the red onion chopped up and sprinkle it with olive oil, salt and pepper and then roast it for 30 minutes in a 400 degree oven. When it comes out of the oven I pop in a medium heat pan and add the chicken stock (or broth), cilantro and just a sprinkle of brown sugar. I mash it over the heat and when it’s to a nice chunky consistency I fold in the Nando’s Peri Peri sauce - you could do a garlic hot sauce too if you can’t get Nando’s. It’s just enough spice but still a bit of sweet in the background.  

I’m adding a little something different to our Thanksgiving table, what about you?