This post is sponsored by Macy’s and ShopStyle. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Sheaffer Told Me To.
Things are a little bit different over here today, and I for one am so excited! The purpose of today’s post is twofold: 1) I’m going to share a couple of amazing recipes with y’all today. Both recipes are super easy, require minimal time, and they are both crazy delicious. 2) Along with the recipes, I have a couple of super high quality kitchen items from Macy’s to share with you. These are items that I’ve only recently added to my kitchen. And they are items that I’m now SO PROUD to own.
When Macy’s reached out last month to ask me to talk about some kitchen items, I was intrigued. And then I took a look around, and I was super pumped. After several (cough cough) years of marriage, there were definitely a couple of items that I was interested in adding to my kitchen. So I hopped on board, ordered the items, and here we are!
You see, when I registered for my wedding many many moons ago, I registered for one of today’s items (and didn’t receive it), and the other item wasn’t even on my radar…but it totally should have been.
Let’s start with the item that wasn’t even on my radar: a cast iron skillet.
I knew my Mammaw had a cast iron skillet, but I didn’t know why I needed a skillet that was a couple of hundred dollars. I mean, wouldn’t the $55 skillet be just fine? And it was, for a handful of years. And then the material on the bottom started scratching off. And then I bought a new one, and that one was also compromised after several years. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to run the risk of Teflon being in my stir fry. So I bought yet another one.
I mean, I guess I was getting my money’s worth out of the items because they were pretty inexpensive, but getting new ones was always a pain. I am BEYOND THRILLED to now own A REAL DEAL cast iron skillet. I won’t have to replace this baby. EVER. And in fact, it will just get better and better with each use. And this might sound crazy, but I’ll even hand it down to Carter and his family. My mom has my Mammaw’s cast iron skillets and muffin pans, and she still cooks with them to this day.
I wanted the first recipe with my brand new skillet to be pretty fool proof, but I also wanted it to be WOW worthy, so I headed to Pinterest of course.
CAMPFIRE CAPRESE BRIE
I found this recipe and knew immediately that I wanted it to be the first recipe I tried out in my new skillet! The second recipe I’m going to try out is my Mammaw’s skillet cornbread. BECAUSE CRISPY AND BUTTERY EDGES, Y’ALL.
BUT FIRST UP! Campfire Caprese Brie from delish. Let me start by showing you the finished product. Ladies. Please take all the time you need to ooooh and ahhhhhh.
I feel like we should all have a moment.
Go ahead. Take your time.
But before we get to the recipe, let’s talk about the super important and MANDATORY steps you need to complete to properly season your skillet.
How To SeasonYourCast-Iron Skillet:
- Scrubskilletwell in hot soapy water.
- Dry thoroughly.
- Spread a thin layer of melted shortening or vegetable oil over theskillet.
- Place it upside down on a middle oven rack at 375°. (Place foil on a lower rack to catch drips.)
- Bake 1 hour; let cool in the oven.
I felt like a real pioneer woman when seasoning my skillet, and I couldn’t wait till that was done so I could recreate the Campfire Brie recipe. Here’s a reminder of the greatness that’s about to go down. Are you dying? Because I’m dying.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
1 1/2 c.halved cherry tomatoes
3cloves garlic, minced
1/3 c.extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch red pepper flakes
1large wheel brie
Balsamic glaze, for drizzling
1/4 c.thinly sliced basil, for garnish
1baguette, sliced, for serving
Directions:
- In a large bowl, combine cherry tomatoes andgarlic, then toss witholive oil. Season, to taste, with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
- Place brie in a cast iron skillet then top with tomato mixture. Place over campfire (or on a hot grill), and cook until brie is melted, about 20 minutes. (Just because the brie isn’t oozing, doesn’t mean it’s not hot and ready. To test,poke sides of the wheel with a knife to see if cheese is melty inside.)
- Drizzle with balsamic glaze and garnish with basil. Serve warm with baguette slices.
When I say a large wheel of Brie, I mean a large wheel of Brie. This 8 inch wheel was the largest one I could find and as you can see, the skillet definitely could have accommodated an even larger wheel. Now listen. Be prepared to pay for the Brie. This wheel was $42. OMG. But it would probably feed 12-14 at a party, and it’s a total show stopper!
wood tray with metal handle / Staub 12″ cast iron skillet / J.A. Henckels 12 piece cutlery set
Now let’s talk about the Staub 12″ cast iron skillet. First of all, it’s 30% OFF right now!!!
This is the first cast iron skillet I’ve ever owned, and my goodness am I proud of it. Cast iron is expensive, but if you talk to anybody that owns cast iron, they assure you that IT’S WORTH IT. Cast iron heats evenly and provides a cooking surface that helps food cook evenly and brown beautifully. It’s ideal for frying, baking, searing, roasting, and even simmering. I mean, that’s a good multi-tasking skillet.
For this recipe, we put the skillet on the grill. After popping the skillet on the grill, I prepared the tomato mixture. The recipe calls for this mixture to go on the grill as well, but I read the recipe wrong and didn’t top off the brie until after it was already off the grill. I thought it worked just fine this way.
I used the pairing knife from my new knife block (more on the block in the next recipe) to half the cherry tomatoes and mince the garlic. I combined 1 1/2 cups of tomatoes with 3 cloves of chopped garlic, kosher salt, black, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste. I drizzled with a heavy pour of olive oil, and I tossed it all together. I loved this little combo by itself. If you’re not a fan of Brie, you could always just spread the tomato mixture on top of cream cheese and call it a day.
Next up, it was time to toast up the baguette. I mean, we were going to need a proper vessel to sop up all of the ooey gooey goodness.
The bread knife of course works like a charm.
wood tray with metal handle /J.A. Henckels 12 piece cutlery set
I love the wood tray with metal handles, and it’s a surprising 60% OFF right now! I use it often to display appetizers, but it normally lives behind my sink and has a candle and a pretty bottle of soap sitting on it. It’s an awesome piece.
The knife block is ON SALE too, but we’ll get to that in a minute!
wood tray with metal handle /J.A. Henckels 12 piece cutlery set
This shot right here made me realize that we needed a couple of new baking pans, so I grabbed this 15″ inch baking sheet (that’s 50% OFF right now). I mean, I had to cover the pan in foil for it to be able to be photographed.
Macy’s has a great selection to choose from. I’m imagining some of you might be able to use a new one as well. Rachel Ray has several to choose from, and there are some really pretty copper choices too!
I sliced the baguette, drizzled each piece with olive oil, and then cooked them for about 8 minutes in a 400 degree oven.
The fact that the handle is also cast iron makes the grill preparation possible. Hooray for cast iron!
It can also go from stove top to oven, which makes it perfect for 1 pan meals. You could sear chicken or brown a roast on the stove top, then you could pop it in the oven with veggies to finish everything off. And if you season it appropriately, it’s naturally non stick.
After preparing the tomato mixture and slicing and toasting up the bread, it was time to check the Brie. It was looking all sorts of warm, bubbly, and ready for the final touches.
I spooned the tomato mixture on to the middle of the brie, and then I sprinkled some fresh basil all over the top.
I got the warm and toasty baguette slices all piled up in the wire basket that was lined with a darling little dish towel. Both the basket and the dish towel set are ON SALE.
wire bread basket / blue and white dish towel (comes in a set of 5)
And then I finished off the dip with what I feel is one of the most delicious things on earth. Balsamic glaze. Sure, I could have made it myself….but why? This one is incredible.
Ladies. Here’s the finished product.
Who wants to give me a high five?
blue and white dishtowel / Staub 12″ cast iron skillet
And doesn’t it make an absolutely lovely presentation?
A basket filled with toasty bread, and a skillet filled with ooey gooey brie, fresh tomatoes and basil, AND A BALSAMIC GLAZE.
YES TO THE M’AM.
wood tray with metal handle / wire bread basket / blue and white dishtowel (comes in a set of 5)
blue and white dishtowel / Staub 12″ cast iron skillet
I think this is what people in the food industry call the yummy shot. Or maybe I just made that up. But if I did, the food industry people should really talk about making it a thing.
It’s like a Glamour Shot for food.
And let me tell you. You think it’s pretty?
YOU SHOULD TASTE IT.
This gorgeous recipe transferred seamlessly from the grill to the table and cleaned up with ease! And it was made possible by this 12″ cast iron skillet from Staub. Click HERE to see an impressive selection of Staub products. Staub is a timeless and lovely French brand that has been designed to last. The enamel cast iron products are both beautiful and functional, and the products have been perfected through a combination of classic techniques and contemporary technologies.
See below for all of the Macy’s items I used when both creating and serving this beautiful appetizer. Just click on what you are interested in:
A PERFECTLY SIMPLE STEAK RECIPE
Having a great set of knives is something that I never knew would make me giddy. But now that I have them, I’m straight up giddy. This is what adulting is all about, y’all! I mean, I didn’t even know I was cutting with sub par knives, BUT NOW I KNOW.
When registering, I remember my mom telling me how important good knives were, but I also remember being astounded at the prices, which led me to register for a brand that wasn’t very expensive. And with knives, you most often get what you pay for.
When looking at knives, J.A. Henckels is definitely one of the top brands to consider. They are a German engineered and designed brand with high quality kitchen essentials that are perfect for any level of cook. Product designs are strong, durable, and sharp. These high-quality German steel products are built to last, and BONUS…they look great displayed on a counter top!
They have knife blocks at Macy’s ranging from the low hundreds range, all the way up to over $1,000. And the quality is incredible. We went with a set on the lower end since we aren’t professional chefs over here, and we’ve been very happy with our decision. I can’t even imagine how amazing the higher end knives must be! This 12-piece set includes the following: bread knife, chef’s knife, Santoku knife, pairing knife, sharpening steel, 6 steak knives, and a knife block.
This particular set has almost 50 5 star reviews, and it’s on SUPER SALE right now! It’s regularly $167.99, which is actually already a great deal for this high quality set. But now until 8/25, you can get it the block for 40% OFF! And today it’s now an additional 25% OFF with the code PREVIEW. That makes this awesome knife block ONLY $74.99. WOW. Treat yourself, ladies!!!
J.A. Henckels 12 Piece Cutlery Set
Okay, now that I’ve introduced you to my pretty new knives, it’s time for the 2nd recipe.
It’s as simple as it can be, and I’m telling you, it’s THE PERFECT STEAK. We like to consider ourselves steak experts over here. Carter’s absolutely favorite meal is a steak and baked potato, so we typically eat this meal about once a week.
wood tray with metal handle /J.A. Henckels 12 piece cutlery set
Chris has truly perfected the art of grilling the perfect steak.
And all you need for a perfect steak is a great piece of meat and a flavorful dry rub.
We start with a boneless rib-eye, about 1 1/4 – 1 1/2″ inches thick. Six to eight hours before they hit the grill, Chris marinates the steaks with a liberal helping of this simple dry rub on both sides of the meat. And seriously, you’re not going to believe how simple it is.
It’s a combo of kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, lemon pepper, and a hint of garlic powder. Now here’s the problem, we don’t have exact ratios. It’s salt heavy for sure. Chris thinks it’s probably about 50% salt, 30% fresh ground pepper, and 20% lemon pepper. After it’s all mixed together, add some garlic powder too, but not much. Chris mixes up huge batches and we use it for months and months.
Shout out to Chris’s friend Blake that convinced Chris years ago that Worcestershire sauce and other wet marinades weren’t necessary! This dry rub seasons the meat perfectly, but let’s you still taste the delicious steak!
Chris pats the meat on top and bottom with the rub, and then he pops them in the fridge until ready to grill. Again, if the meat can soak up the seasoning for at least 6 hours, that’s best. When it’s time to grill, he puts the steaks on a very hot grill. He likes to get a nice sear on them, and then he turns the flame down a bit and cooks them low and slow. My family loves a nice medium rare steak, but we know that many prefer a more well done piece of meat. If you prefer yours more well done, do everything the same, just leave it on the grill longer. (I would like to note here that the meat looks a lot more red in the pictures than it actually did in person. We like our steaks medium rare, but not rare.)
wood tray with metal handle /J.A. Henckels 12 piece cutlery set
The steak knives in this set cut through a steak like butter.
wood tray with metal handle /J.A. Henckels 12 piece cutlery set
I hope y’all enjoyed the change of pace today!
When working with Macy’s over the last year or so, I’ve had a lot of non fashion days, and your feedback says you enjoy these types of posts sprinkled around here and there. Personally, I really enjoyed sharing the recipes and kitchen items today! It’s fun for me to do some of these lifestyle type posts, so please let me know if you would like them to continue! And if you want to take a walk down memory lane, here are some of my other posts that are non fashion related:
I did a guest bedroom refresh HERE.
We talked about outdoor entertaining HERE.
And most recently I did a backyard patio refresh HERE.
One of the final points I want to make today is that Macy’s should definitely be at the tip top of your list for your registry if you are getting married, of if you have a daughter getting married. You can create a registry HEREand you can find a registry HERE. Macy’s Wedding Registry is definitely the way to go when registering for your big day. They have thousands of items for all rooms of your home at varying price points, which makes it easy on your guests when shopping to find something within their budget (and that they are excited to give).
Many of the items I featured today would be wonderful items to have on a wedding registry.And just for fun, if I were to register right now, here are some things that would definitely be on my list:
Thank you to Macy’s and ShopStyle for sponsoring this post.
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