Cranberry Pistachio Pumpkin Spiced Biscotti

This cold weather makes me want to sit on my couch drinking coffee for an entire day.  Unfortunately, I usually have to go to work, which turns my ideal coffee and couch date into me rushing out of my house with my thermos and chugging my coffee in time to have my first meeting at work.  I'm not a fan of the pumpkin spiced coffee drinks, but I definitely enjoy pumpkin flavored desserts.  This was my first time trying a Biscotti recipe.  I found the main recipe on Pinterest and then adapted it by adding in cranberries, pistachios, and dunking it in white chocolate.  The best part of Biscotti cookies, is that they are already hard and therefore make for easy Christmas gifts.  They would do perfectly fine if shipped and they would taste as fresh as the day they were baked.  You can find the original recipe here at On Sugar Mountain blog .

Sriracha Dressing

I don't know about you, but Sriracha is a staple in our household.  Blake literally will put it on anything and everything.  I have grown to love it on pizza and eggs, and it's obviously amazing with tacos.  Since I was crazy and planted three tomato plants, and we clearly could not eat them fast enough, I decided to make a simple tomato and parsley salad for dinner.  To spice it up, I sprinkled goat cheese on top.  The real kicker, however; was the Sriracha salad dressing.  It gave the salad a kick without taking away from the freshness of the herbs and tomatoes. 

Spice Rubbed Sweet Potatoes

Fall is here, and there is no better way to celebrate it than roasting sweet potatoes.  Roasting tends to be my go-to method of cooking vegetables of any kind, since I can basically leave them unattended for 20-30 minutes while I cook the rest of dinner.   I think onions and garlic are sweet potatoes best friends, and they should always be eaten together.  Of course if you're lame and don't like onions, you could leave them out. And, if your just ridiculous and you don't like garlic, you can just get the Hell out of my blog.  I kid, but seriously, do those people exist?

Anywho, this side dish is the perfect combination of sweet and spicy.  The combination of cinnamon and sugar offsets the spicy kick from Cayenne.  If you want a bigger kick you can always add more Cayenne pepper, but I found the below measurements to be the perfect ratio.  Once you mix all the ingredients together you can throw these potatoes into the oven and forget about them for half an hour!

Changes.

As you've probably already noticed, the blog looks a bit different.  Yes, I've changed the name... again.  I've been struggling since day one to pick a blog name that I love, and now I think I've got it.  I definitely don't think it's the most original, but lately I've wanted to be able to blog about things other than just food.  

Don't get me wrong.... I loooove food, and that will be the number one thing I post about. I just don't want to feel confined by my blog title anymore.  My hobbies, including work, thrifting, home repairs, etc. are all things I'd love to blog about, but haven't been because I felt like this was only a "food blog."  Now, posting on tips for thrift store shopping wont seem so out of place.  

Why "Table for Two?"  Because it's just Blake and I of course! Most of my recipes are tailored for 2-3 people since that's all I cook for, and because this blog will now entail adventures,vacations, and everyday activities that Blake and I experience. 

As promised, baked apples are soon to come, so keep an eye out!!!!!

S'more Cookies

S'mores are high on the list of items that are loved in the summer time.  They are such a simple desert and the hands-on aspect make them a lot of fun for kids and adults alike.  Blake discovered the gloriousness  (yeah I made that word up) of using a Resee's peanut butter cup in exchange for a Hershey's bar.  You could definitely do that for this recipe as well if you are daring enough.  Although we all love our s'mores, there isn't always a bonfire handy, and making them in the microwave just isn't the same.  This is a wonderful adaptation of the traditional s'more and they are much easier to transport for parties or birthdays. 

I'm not going to post much about this recipe as I did nothing special and used the chocolate chip recipe from the back of the chocolate chip bag.  I asked my mother (who I think makes the best cookies, obviously), what the secret was for her chocolate chip cookies.  To my horror as well as my delight, she informed me that the Tollhouse chocolate chip bag is the recipe she uses.  Don't knock it until you try it.  

Simple Salad Dressing

My friend over at Victor Axe + Tool inspired this post.  Victor went to high school with Blake and I, and we have always been very interested in supporting small local companies, especially those we actually know.  When Victor first opened shop, Blake didn't hesitate to order an axe, and I must say that it is beautiful.  The axes are all hand crafted and they are so gorgeous, we've displayed it in our house as a piece of art work.  Victor is running a "Give Away" contest on his Instagram account where you had to post a photo of an item that will 'Live On.'  The photo I chose to take was of my grandmothers juicer.  My mother just passed this down to me, and I love it! Many of the recipes I post on here include marinades or salad dressings, and so this beautiful and vintage juicer gets used a lot now that I have it.  Since the summer time usually involves a lot of salads and grilling, I decided to post the basics to making a simple but delicious vinaigrette. Once you have the basics then you can start adding in your own unique flavors depending on what you're in the mood for. I do not buy salad dressings from the grocery store any more.  They are filled with far too many ingredients that are not necessary and God knows there is so much sugar in them, it defeats the purpose of eating a salad.  If I want to consume a 1/2 cup of sugar, I'll eat some Haribo candy (which happens far too often). 

Chicken Gyros

Surprise.... I'm alive!!!!! I know it's hard to believe because I haven't posted anything in months, but I'm back.  Work and the house caught up with me and it seemed that every last free minute I've had has gone to prepping the yard for spring while simultaneously finishing up projects we started over the winter.  

My family has always had a special spot in our hearts for Coney Island restaurants, and they are on every corner here in South East Michigan.  I was so sad when I left for college only to find out they didn't exist on the West side of the state.  I've always shied away from making my own tzatziki sauce because it seemed like it would be labor intensive, but I was surprised by the fact that it was so easy and so delicious.  I will never buy it again.