the mustard of all mustards - via gent!

recently my parents went on a trip through brussels (lucky them) and they brought me back some of the most sought after mustard on earth. no really--- it's nigella lawsons' favorite- but- this little shop refuses to ship the yellow goodness to her or anyone else. you can only get it straight from the shop, and straight from the mustard barrel!




i decided this special mustard deserved to be paired with some worthy bread-- so i set out to almondine for a pretzel and cheese roll. truly amazing on its own, but i knew it would go great with any mustard.

i have to be honest-- this spicy yellow gold lived up to the hype. great mustard flavor, a bit of spice that subsides quickly after. the adorable jar it comes in isn't too bad either. i also made some AMAZING salad dressing with it. i don't consider myself a condiment snob, but i really do appreciate a sauce that is made with this much skill, love and tradition.

snow day cookies

there have been a lot of snowy days recently- and what warms a cold nyc apartment better than fresh baked cookies?? mmMMmm! i have made these cookies many times before. i love them because i almost always have everything i need to make them in my kitchen already, and it's easy to vary the spice or citrus for different flavors. this cookie has so many textures and flavors-- it's sure to please. i don't even measure my spices at this point, and sometimes i add different spice combos than listed below. on this very snowy day--- i wanted every layer of texture, flavor, spice, zest, chocolate, gooey chewy, cookie goodness to knock me into submission.

!!snow day cookies!!






*set oven to 350 degrees

*cream the following:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*add to cream mixture: 2 large eggs

*mix dry in a bowl:
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground clove
1/8 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cardamom

*add these after incorporating dry ingredients bowl:
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup chopped pecans
2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (maybe more--- i LOVE chocolate)




tablespoon size scoops. 10-15 minutes depending on your oven.

consume. share. repeat.