A Blonde's Moment

Camo & Gold

July 9, 2014 by Rachel McCarthy

I am so in love with the camo trend. Accessorizing the camo with gold is my favorite combination, but there are so many possibilities – think black and chambray. The sweater and jeans are both from CAbi’s Spring 2014 line. I have seen a few pieces from the Fall 2014 line (my mom is a CAbi consultant) and I am so excited to see them in person! Stay tuned for the new fall line and in the meantime, check out the rest of the spring line!

Stars, stripes and pearls

July 8, 2014 by Rachel McCarthy

In honor of wrapping up the Fourth of July, I have one of my favorite outfits from the long holiday weekend — a simple stripe dress was the perfect patriotic piece! This dress is ideal for summer and can be accessorized so many different ways, but you can never go wrong with pearls 🙂 What was your favorite outfit of the weekend? Hope everyone had a fabulous Fourth!

Coconut Cream Pie

July 7, 2014 by Rachel McCarthy

The simplest, most delicious sweet treat for a hot day. With temperatures approaching 100 this week in DC, this is the perfect cool and refreshing dessert! The hardest part is waiting that hour for it to chill in the fridge. It’s torture but so worth the wait! Enjoy!

Coconut Cream Pie

1 store-bought graham cracker crust

1 ½ boxes (3.4 ounce boxes) JELL-O coconut cream instant pudding
1 ½ cups cold milk (I used skim)
1 ½ cups shredded coconut
1 (8 ounce) container Cool Whip, thawed (I used fat free)

In a large bowl, whisk the JELL-O instant pudding with the cold milk until pudding becomes thick, about 2 minutes. Fold in half of the thawed Cool Whip (4 ounces). Fold in 1 cup of the shredded coconut. Pour mixture into graham cracker crust and spread evenly. Spread the remaining Cool Whip on top of the coconut mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining shredded coconut. Keep refrigerated, at least an hour, before serving.

Avocado Pasta with Roasted Orange Tomatoes

July 3, 2014 by Rachel McCarthy

This recipe combines two of my favorite things: avocados and tomatoes, specifically orange tomatoes. The avocado sauce is so creamy and delicious — I am already thinking of ways I can use this in other recipes! The avocados make this sauce slightly rich, but the meal is surprisingly light and perfect for a summer evening. Enjoy!

Avocado Pasta with Roasted Orange Tomatoes

2 ripe avocados

9 ounces fresh fettuccine or your favorite pasta
1 pint orange cherry tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup olive oil plus 1-2 tablespoons for roasting
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

Begin by cooking fettuccine or other favorite pasta according to package directions; reserve about 1/2 cup pasta water once pasta is cooked. Turn your oven to broil to roast the tomatoes. Toss orange cherry tomatoes with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 minced garlic clove. Roast in oven for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, peel one avocado and place in food processor with 1 garlic clove, 1/4 cup olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Pulse until the mixture is smooth and set aside. Once draining the pasta and reserving pasta water, return the pasta back to the pot and toss with avocado sauce, adding a few tablespoons of pasta water to make sure the sauce coats the pasta. Dice the remaining avocado. Add the roasted tomatoes and diced avocado to the pasta. Garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Roasted Eggplant & Tomato Pizza with Pesto

July 2, 2014 by Rachel McCarthy

This is one of my favorite pizzas ever. I love roasted eggplant and tomatoes and when you mix that with pesto, it’s like heaven! This is a weekly staple in our house!

Roasted Eggplant & Tomato Pizza with Pesto

1 medium-sized eggplant, diced into bite-sized pieces

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

2 garlic cloves, minced

3-4 tablespoons prepared pesto

1 mozzarella ball, sliced into thin pieces

4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Prepared or homemade pizza dough

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Begin by halving the cherry tomatoes and placing them in a small bowl with the minced garlic; stir to combine and set aside. Meanwhile, turn your broiler on and begin slicing the eggplant. (You can slice the eggplant into rounds and salt each slice and wait for about 20 minutes to “drain” the bitterness out of the eggplant, but it’s not necessary.) Slice eggplant into bite-sized pieces and toss with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil. Place on baking sheet and roast under the broiler for about 3 minutes. Toss the eggplant and roast for another 3 minutes. Remove the eggplant from the oven and toss the tomato and garlic mixture with the eggplant. Place the eggplant and tomato mixture back in the oven and roast for another 2 minutes or so (the tomatoes won’t need very long). Once the vegetables have been roasted, turn the oven down to 450 degrees (or the suggested temperature for your prepared pizza dough). To assemble the pizza, spread a thin layer (about 3-4 tablespoons) of prepared pesto onto the dough and then place the thinly sliced mozzarella on top. Carefully spoon the eggplant and tomato mixture over the mozzarella and finish with Parmesan cheese and a little salt and pepper to taste on top, if desired. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly.

Geometric & Metallic

July 1, 2014 by Rachel McCarthy

I am so in love with these metallic loafers. I have already worn them three times this week! Not only are they super comfortable, but I am finding more and more things to wear them with. I love pairing them with this geometric top to create a fun outfit! Stay tuned for more sightings of these gorgeous metallic loafers 🙂

*J.Crew is running 30% off select summer styles through tomorrow (7/2) at midnight with code JULY

Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto

June 30, 2014 by Rachel McCarthy

Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto

1 ½ cups Arborio rice

1 bunch fresh asparagus, cleaned, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
8 ounces assorted mushrooms (I used baby bella, shiitake and oyster)
½ medium sized yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
32 ounces chicken stock (I used no-salt added)
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
Salt and pepper to taste

Begin by heating chicken stock in pan over medium low heat. You want the chicken broth to be warm when you begin to add it to the Arborio rice. Sauté the yellow onion in extra virgin olive oil on medium heat, add minced garlic, season with salt and pepper; cook until onion and garlic become fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes to incorporate. Stir in Arborio rice to coat the rice in olive oil, onions and garlic. Continue to stir for 1 minute so rice does not stick to pan. Add chicken broth to the rice mixture 1-2 ladles at a time. Continue to stir rice until liquid evaporates. Repeat the 1-2 ladles step until the rice begins to look plump and you’ve reached your desired tenderness (it took about 10-15 minutes to become al dente and I used almost an entire package of chicken stock). When you think you have about 1-2 ladles of broth left, add asparagus to rice mixture. Remove from the heat and add the Parmesan cheese and stir until combined. Finally, add the butter and stir until combined and a creamy consistency is achieved. Garnish with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.

** I found this mixture of gourmet mushrooms at Wegmans and was so excited to see something unique in the mushroom department! If you can’t find a gourmet mushroom blend, white mushrooms and baby bella mushrooms work perfectly!

Red, White and Blue

June 27, 2014 by Rachel McCarthy

1. | 2. (on sale!) | 3. (on sale!) | 4. | 5. | 6. | 7. | 8. (on sale!) | 9. | 10. | 11. | 12. | 13.

Here are some festive choices to start off your Fourth of July celebration. Patriotic and nautical are definitely two themes that are on point all year, but especially on July 4th! And the best part, a few of these pieces are on sale, so get them quick! Looking forward to the celebration next week!

A summer wedding

June 25, 2014 by Rachel McCarthy

A rainy morning turned into a cool June day for Kelly and Mike’s beautiful wedding at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. A fun-filled day celebrating the bride and groom and spending time with my best friend, Erin, and her husband and son. Such a fabulous day! We are going to so miss Kelly and Mike in DC but wish them the best on their new adventure in Charlotte! Congratulations again to the happy couple!!

photo credit: Erin Kracht

Rainy Day S’mores

June 24, 2014 by Rachel McCarthy

S’mores are an all-time favorite dessert of mine. I’ve tired “indoor” s’mores many ways — heating the marshmallow in the microwave or sticking the marshmallow on a kabob stick and toasting it over the stove-top — but something always seemed to be missing. These rainy day s’mores are so close to traditional s’mores, you will think that you are sitting out by the fire on a summer evening!

Rainy Day S’mores

1 king size Hershey’s Chocolate Bar
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
4-8 marshmallows, depending on the size of your dish
Graham crackers

Turn your broiler on. Place half of the king size Hershey Chocolate bar in the bottom of an oven-safe dish. Break into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle the semi-sweet chocolate chips over the Hershey bar pieces to completely cover the base of the dish. Lay the marshmallows on top of the chocolate. Place under broiler and watch carefully! Mine took only about 2 minutes. Dip your graham crackers in your rainy day s’mores and enjoy!