Which treat do you most want to eat? Tell us over @BritandCo or tag us in your foodie ‘grams!
Which treat do you most want to eat? Tell us over @BritandCo or tag us in your foodie ‘grams!
(Featured photo via Sunny Chanel)
Which treat do you most want to eat? Tell us over @BritandCo or tag us in your foodie ‘grams!
Which treat do you most want to eat? Tell us over @BritandCo or tag us in your foodie ‘grams!
(Featured photo via Sunny Chanel)
When Entertaining with Charm, a new book by Sugar & Charm blogger Eden Passante, showed up in my mailbox, I was instantly smitten. The photography is gorgeous and the recipes are beautiful and creative without being too fussy or difficult to whip up. I'm inspired to host my own demure brunch with the pretty and delicious recipes from the book, which released October 1. Grab a copy of Entertaining with Charm for holiday hosting and gifts, or as a gift to yourself as you swoon through the pages of charming recipes, refreshing cocktails, and festive desserts. It's about bringing people together and enjoying the simple things in life. Yes, please!
Zan Passante/Weldon Owen
Ready to host your own demure brunch? Eden takes us through a few stunning recipes below, excerpted from Entertaining with Charm. Enjoy!
Zan Passante/Weldon Owen
There’s nothing easier than mixing up than this vibrant, zesty, creamy dip and serving it alongside a platter of garden-fresh vegetables. Select three or four vegetables according to the season. Among my favorite choices are sugar snap peas, endive, cauliflower, radishes, and cucumbers.
SERVES 6
FOR THE DIP
To make the dip, in a bowl, whisk together the sour cream, buttermilk, orange zest, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg until smooth and creamy. You should have a scant 1 cup. Garnish with the chives. Arrange the vegetables on a large platter or board, place the dip alongside, and serve.
Zan Passante/Weldon Owen
Rich and creamy, this eye-catching hot chocolate is made with white chocolate chips and beet powder. You can use pure beet juice in place of the powder to get a light pink color. The freshly grated nutmeg is a must, so make sure you add it.
SERVES 6
In a saucepan over low heat, combine the milk, honey, and salt and bring to a simmer, whisking constantly to prevent scorching. Remove the pan from the heat and add the white chocolate chips and beet powder. Let sit for 20–30 seconds to allow the chips to soften, and then whisk until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla and nutmeg and whisk to mix well. Divide the hot chocolate evenly among 6 mugs, garnish with marshmallows, and serve at once.
Zan Passante/Weldon Owen
This quiche can be served for any meal. The filling has a light, fluffy texture, and the Jarlsberg cheese gives it a distinctive nutty flavor. The crust, flaky and buttery, is my go-to recipe for all pies and quiches. If pressed for time, use a good-quality store-bought crust.
SERVES 4-6
FOR THE CRUST
FOR THE FILLING
To make the crust, in a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and salt, mixing well. Scatter the butter over the top and, using a pastry blender or your fingers, work in the butter until it's the size of peas. Add the shortening and work it in with your fingers until the mixture is the consistency of coarse crumbs. Do not over mix. The mixture should be dry and powdery. Sprinkle with the ice water and mix it in with your fingers until the dough holds together when pinched and comes together in a loose, rough ball. If the dough crumbles, add a little more ice water.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and pat it into a thick disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll out the dough into a 12-inch round about ½ inch thick. Roll the dough around the rolling pin and position the pin over a 10-inch deep-dish pie dish. Unroll the dough and center it in the dish, gently pressing it into the bottom and up the sides. Using a small knife or kitchen scissors, trim the dough, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Roll the overhang under itself to create a high edge, then pinch the dough to form a fluted edge. Freeze the crust for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
To make the filling, half-fill a skillet with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the broccoli, reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook until tender-crisp, 3–5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together 1 cup of the Jarlsberg, the Parmesan, eggs, cream, onion, salt, pepper, and nutmeg, mixing well. Fold in the broccoli.
Remove the crust from the freezer and pour the filling into it. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup Jarlsberg over the top. Brush the edge of the crust with the egg wash. Bake the quiche until the filling is just set and the top is golden brown, 40–45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool before serving.
Zan Passante/Weldon Owen
Sometimes I feel like I can devour a batch of this creamy whipped ricotta all by myself! It’s perfect for making these beautiful crostini and for using as a dip with crackers, pita bread, or vegetables, and you can whip it up in just minutes.
SERVES 6
Sourdough Crostini (below)
FOR THE WHIPPED RICOTTA
FOR THE STRAWBERRY-PEPPER CROSTINI
FOR THE PISTACHIO-RAISIN CROSTINI
FOR THE HONEY–ORANGE ZEST CROSTINI
To make the whipped ricotta, in a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the ricotta on medium speed until light and smooth. This can also be done in a high-powered blender. On low speed, add the cream cheese, oil, lemon zest, and salt and beat until fully incorporated. Raise the mixer speed to high and beat until creamy and smooth, about 1 minute If you can’t get a smooth texture with the mixer, scoop the ricotta mixture into a blender and blend on high speed for 2 minutes. This always works! You should have about 2½ cups.
To assemble the crostini, spoon the whipped ricotta into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip or into a ziplock bag and cut off the bottom corner. Pipe a cloud-like shape onto each crostini and then top about one-third of the ricotta-topped crostini with each suggested topping: strawberry slices sprinkled with the pepper; pistachios and raisins; and a drizzle of honey, a dusting of orange zest, and a flower garnish. Arrange the crostini on 1 or 2 platters and serve.
SOURDOUGH CROSTINI
MAKES ABOUT 30
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Cut the baguette on the diagonal into slices ¼ to ½ inch thick. You should have about 30 slices. Lightly brush both sides of each slice with the oil, arranging them in a single layer directly on a large sheet pan as you work. Pour the salt into your hand, then lightly and evenly sprinkle the salt over all the slices.
Bake the slices until light golden brown, about 6 minutes. Then, using tongs, flip them over and bake until golden brown and crispy on the edges, 2–3 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and let cool.
To give the crostini a savory flavor, rub a garlic clove over the oil-brushed bread slices before you slide them into the oven. Baking times may vary slightly depending on your oven, so keep an eye on the crostini as they toast.
EDEN’S TIP: You can top the crostini with the whipped ricotta, place the ingredients for the three toppings in small bowls, and invite your guests to assemble their own crostini. You can also serve the whipped ricotta on its own.
Zan Passante/Weldon Owen
This is my classic go-to birthday cake. Everything about it screams party, and it’s a foolproof recipe I’ve been preparing for years. The frosting, which is a buttercream made with a light Swiss meringue and without confectioners’ sugar, is also a favorite.
SERVES 12-14
FOR THE CAKE
FOR THE MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of two 8-inch round cake pans, then line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper.
Weldon Owen/Amazon
Entertaining with Charm makes a great coffee table book and gift. It's my new go-to for hosting my girlfriends and my daughter's birthday parties!
Recipes excerpted fromEntertaining with Charmby Eden Passante
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Ever dream of globetrotting the world while getting paid? That's not a rhetorical question. Now you can turn your wanderlust into real cash with Ramada by Wyndham. The global hotel brand is on the hunt for its next "CEO," AKA Chief Eats Officer, a dream role for anyone who loves food and travel and well, a paycheck. One lucky adventurer will be paid $15,000 to travel to Ramada’s most coveted destinations, curate a list of must-eats, and share their travel highlights on social media. Learn how to enter below!
Decameron Club Caribbean Runaway Bay, Ramada Jamaica
From Thailand to Turkey and Seoul to Santa Barbara, the CEO trip will include up to seven global destinations in a three-week itinerary next spring. With hotels in 75 countries around the world, Ramada by Wyndham is perfect for travelers looking for that bucket-list experience!
Hunan, China, Ramada by Wyndham Chenzhou Dongjiang Lake
For a chance to be the next “CEO,” travel and food enthusiasts can visit Ramada.com/CEO by October 22 and submit a short, 1-3 minute video through TikTok (tag @RamadabyWyndham, #RamadaCEO) or email makemeceo@ramada.com that shows your passion for travel and discovering amazing eats.
Ramada Resort by Wyndham, Bodrum, Türkiye
To apply, post a public video on TikTok explaining why you are the best candidate for the job, tagging @RamadabyWyndham, using the hashtag #RamadaCEO, and following @RamadabyWyndham on TikTok.
Your TikTok account must be publicly viewable for the duration of the contest (through November 2024). Alternatively, you can email your video submission to makemeceo@ramada.com.
All video submissions must be between one and three minutes in length and should include your country of residence.
If applying via email, be sure to provide the handles for your active and public personal social media accounts.
All entries must be submitted and received by 11:59 p.m. ET on October 22, 2024.
Additional Qualifications Include:
Ramada by Wyndham will select the winning CEO on or around the week of November 14, 2024. No purchase is necessary to enter. For more details, including official rules, visit www.ramada.com/ceo. Good luck!
While 2024 gave us some incredible movies like Challengers and Dune 2, it also provided some pretty disappointing flicks. Despite the fact my memories surrounding Dakota Johnson's Madame Web were incredibly fun, the movie in and of itself felt like nothing but meme after meme. (I think about "I just wanna go home and watch Idol" all the time). But it's not just the movies' content that's struggling — it's movies in general.
Oppenheimer was one of 2023's biggest titles, and yet it was only in theaters for around 18 weeks, while the $1 billion-earning, "cinema saving" Barbie had a theatrical run and IMAX re-release that culminated in 10 weeks in theaters. Compared to 2012's Avatar, which earned almost $3 billion at the time and ran for 34 weeks, I'm wondering what a "good movie" even means anymore. Is the best movie the one that earns the most money? Is it whichever film has the biggest internet presence? Or is it the one that makes you feel like a better version of yourself when the credits roll? No matter what your definition of a good movie is, an analysis from McLuck shows viewers agree these flicks ain't it.
Lionsgate
This video game adaptation follows treasure hunter Lilith, who returns to her home planet of Pandora. Together with a rag-tag team of misfits, Lilith sets off to find a missing girl who's said to have endless power. Even though this has so many of the tropes movie-goers love — like found family and adventure — it only got a score of 10 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a 4.3 out of 10 on IMDb.
Sony Pictures Releasing
In this superhero movie, Dakota Johnson stars as the titular clairvoyant, who steps in to protect Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, Celeste O'Connor when she starts seeing the future — and their untimely ends. Despite the insane popularity of the other Spider-Man movies, this one only has an 11 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes and 4 on IMDb. However, its 2.3 billion TikTok mentions prove it's got serious cult classic potential.
Christopher Barr/Netflix
This heist movie revolves around an impossible mission to infiltrate a 777 passenger flight from London to Zurich, and apparently viewers really leaned into the impossibility of it all because its Rotten Tomatoes score is only 20 percent while its IMDb score is 5.5.
Paramount Pictures
Mean Girls was highly anticipated by theatre kids and Renee Rap fans alike. The movie is a retelling of the Lindsay Lohan classic — Cady moves from homeschooling to public school, and falls in with The Plastics clique. But instead of bringing them down, she becomes the worst Plastic yet. Renee's "It's Not My Fault" might have over 107 million streams on Spotify, but the film only ranks 69 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and 5.6 on IMDb. We had a blast on the red carpet, though!
Universal Pictures
Anyone who loves spy movies, campy rom-coms, and Taylor Swift was incredibly excited for this movie, which follows reclusive writer Elly Conway, who finds herself in the middle of a real-life spy mission when her books catch the attention of some really bad guys. I loved this movie, but considering it got a 33 percent Rotten Tomatoes score and a 5.7 on IMDb, I was one of the only ones.
Product G Productions/Sony Pictures
Garfield loves living with Odie and Jon, and all the luxury that comes with it. But when he reunites with his dad, he winds up on the wildest outdoor adventure of his life. This flick is rated a 36 percent out of 100 on Rotten Tomatoes and a 5.7 out of 10 on IMDb.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Godzilla and King Kong team up against a new threat in this crazy, mind-bending film. The movie got a 54 percent Rotten Tomatoes score and 6.1 IMDb score, and as much as I love this new cast, I will admit I miss seeing Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
Illumination/Universal Pictures
Gru and his family — Margot, Lucy, Margo, Edith, Agnes, and Gru Jr. — have to go on the run when a brand new villain rises up. Despite the fact everyone loves Gru (and the Minions), Despicable Me 4 was rated 56 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and 6.2 on IMDb.
What did you think about these movies? Let us know in the comments and check out The Most-Anticipated Fall Movies For 2024.