Toasted Oat Shortbread Cookies

Is there anyone out there who doesn't just love a good dinner party?  No?  I didn't think so.  A few weekends ago some friends got together for dinner, drinks and some very impromptu nineties-pop-hip-hop-karaoke.  (Okay, it wasn't karaoke in the sense that we actually had microphones, or speakers, or those tvs with the words on the screen.  A remote-control-substitute-for-the-mic does just fine when you really need to belt out some Mariah, BoyzIIMen, TLC, or maybe even some Ace of Base.  Or some All4One.  I won't judge.  Nor will I post any of those photos on this blog.)

Your Irish Fix

Who here likes Saint Patrick's Day? When we were little it was just another day you had to remember to wear green to school so you could avoid getting pinched. When you're older it's a day for drinking and celebrating the irish heritage you have, you know, way back in there somewhere.


One of my (many) hidden talents is my ability to find four-leaf clovers at the drop of a hat. I would irritate my friends who were actually irish with my effortless discovery of the charms.  Eventually we decided I must be part leprechaun to have such luck.

Spinach Mascarpone Dip

You may have caught on to the Sisters Fierce trait that is loving food in miniature.  It's true, food is always better when it's little.  For Christmas, J Fierce gave me six mini brioche tins and six mini bread loaf pans (which brings the total I own to 14, which is completely and utterly normal).  Last year she gave me a set of mini cookie cutters and a mini whisk keychain which is quite possibly the cutest thing in the world (outside of a weiner dog in a hot dog outfit).  


This fascination with making baked goods small doesn't stop there.  Each year on our birthdays we end up getting each other things like Le Creuset ramekins.  You know the ones - tomato or pepper shaped?  Last year J Fierce received an artichoke.  A few years back she gave me a little garlic one, and this year I received a Staub pumpkin.  What can I say, we're easy to please.  Well, easy to please when it comes to buying gifts for one another that involve food items.  Other than that, a little tougher.

Here is some delicious spinach dip in the pumpkin.  SERIOUSLY isn't that CUTE.  Almost as cute as these guys.  Okay I promise, I'm done.  Moving on!