Cortnac

Biscoff Mousse Pie

I’ve been wanting to try a recipe with Biscoff for a long time. I’ve had a love affair with Biscoff cookies for years; certainly years before they became a common product in grocery stores and WAY before the Biscoff spread. I flew a lot as a child and I always wanted to fly Delta because they served these amazing cinnamon cookies—my favorite thing about airplanes (and the Cran-Apple juice which you apparently can’t buy anywhere on the ground). 

I made this pie in honor of my cat’s birthday. Even though she couldn’t eat it; she did try. 

Recipe follows.

Read More

Happy 20th Birthday Squirty!

Well, yesterday was a big day for my first baby Squirty. She turned 20! My family adopted her when I was 5, and we’ve been best friends ever since. She’s lived in my parents house for the last 10 years, and I just recently moved her to my apartment. She transitioned swimmingly and is loving her grown-up house. Here she is enjoying the sun and wind on her birthday.

And here she is trying to eat some mousse cake I made. I mean there were candles…and I was singing to her…so I can see why she thought it was her cake. Her cat-cake was a can of tuna and some special cheesy cat food.

It’s amazing what a blessing animals can be in our lives. Here’s to another 20 years together!

How unbearably cute is she here?!

Dresser Redo

Well, you think you know it all, and then you get a piece like this. The one that tries to break your resolve and make you question whether or not you can handle your chosen career path. Okay, maybe a little dramatic, but this did take hours and a very unexpected and unfortunate 8 coats of paint in some areas. In the end though, it was totally worth it, and I love the results.

I really love antiquing. It’s so much fun, and after meticulously applying perfect coats of paint, it’s fun to be a little more carefree and artistic. Even though the dark stain was a pain during the process, I love how it looks peaking through the cream. 

Read more to see my process.

Read More

Blondie Bombs

I never make blondies because my goal is typically to consume as much chocolate/square inch as possible in any given dessert. But there’s a first time for everything, and these blondies did not disappoint. My issue with blondies is they typically have too much of a cake or cookie texture, but luckily these came out soft and gooey. 

Mine are filled with chocolate covered peanuts, butterscotch, and chocolate, but I called them Blondie Bombs because you could really put anything your heart desires into them (Also because Chocolate Butterscotch Chocolate-Covered-Peanut Blondies seemed a bit long). And as an important side note: When I make brownies I always dive right into the center, and avoid the edge until the very last minute. But the edges of these were delicious—they caramelized and were more like candy than anything else. 

Of course my cat, Squirty, likes to be in the middle of all things. She was sitting on the window sill watching the action, and this was her face when I brought the blondies over to the table. Like “omg new smell…must investigate.” The girl will literally eat anything but her favorite foods are pizza and Doritos. My other cat won’t entertain the idea of anything except dry cat food – she won’t even eat cat treats. 

Give these a shot and tell me what would go into your favorite Blondie Bomb. P.S. The batter is delicious. I’m surprised I had enough left to fill up the pan! Recipe follows. 

Read More

DIY pet bowls

I like to do a DIY project every now and then, and when I discovered the amazing and talented Plasti Dip, I knew I had to find a use for it. I love the look of classic silver pet dishes, but my cats and dogs are ravenous eaters and they tend to shove these all around the house and make a ton of noise while they are eating. Soooo, insert Plasti Dip! It’s kind of like a liquid rubber that will dry solid but flexible. I just dipped the rims of the dishes in and now they are cute and immovable.

I couldn’t find the multi color Plasti Dip, so I just purchased the Blue and Yellow to make these two shades of green. It can be a bit tricky to use, but it is forgiving. I messed up one of these and, with a little effort, was able to peel it off after it dried.

Read more for cute pics of my babies using their new bowls.

Read More

Zucchini Bread with chocolate chips

My mom use to make this for me all the time when I was in college. This was my first time making it, though, and I discovered a new favorite thing — grating zucchini! OMG IT’S SO FUN. It just happens so fast, and its so easy. Forget cheese, I’ll be putting freshly grated zucchini on everything. 

Also hiding vegetables inside bread and chocolate is genius. This bread contains more zucchini than I’ve eaten in the last 6 monhts. I need to find more ways to hide my vegetables.

Read More

World’s Best Pizza

I’ve been working on a list of the World’s Best Cheese Pizzas for a couple years now, and I’m finally ready to unleash it. I also have a whole wheat pizza recipe to share with you, and while it doesn’t make it onto the list, it is pretty darn good and really fun to make. 

1. Pizza Roma - Prague, Czech Republic
I discovered this pizza when I studied abroad in 2010. I went back to Prague in the fall of 2012, and returned to Pizza Roma to make sure this pizza was still, in fact, the best in the world. Pizza Roma is just a little hole in the wall shop. It’s all underground, with brick walls and no windows, and it’s just got a great rustic atmosphere without having tried to achieve it, you know? You get a large cheese pizza for about 5 bucks. It’s paper thin, with a perfect layer of sauce and tons of cheese, oil, and spices. But somehow all those toppings don’t weigh down the paper thin crust. It really is wonderful—even die-hard ABJC’s (anything but just cheese) prefer this cheese pizza to those with meat. 

2. Kontiki - Sint Maarten
I certainly wasn’t expecting to find the second best pizza in the world in this particular location. We were in a fairly touristy spot near Orient Bay, and I expected them to serve pretty generic food. But boy, was I surprised. I was with my family and they all agreed that this pizza was exceptional. 

3. Burke Street Pizza - Winston-Salem, NC
This is my hometown but somehow I never ate this pizza until I was 17. You know how delicious pizza always looks in cartoons? All thin and cheesey and when you take a bite of it the cheese drapes for like a foot before it breaks. This is exactly what this pizza is like – your favorite cartoon pizza come to life. 

4. Lilly’s Pizza - Raleigh, NC
I kind of hate that this place is on the list because they seem pretty pretentious to me. The atmosphere of the shop is definitely not for everyone. But this list is purely best pizza and nothing else so, alas, it takes spot #4. Every single one of their ingredients is special in some way. It’s like they harvested all the tip top meats, cheeses, and vegetables and then found the best recipe for crust ever. You can’t go wrong with anything you get here, although, of course, I prefer just cheese. 

5. Big Cheese Pizza - Wellington, KS
Admittedly, this probably slides into spot #5 for sentimental reasons as well as delicious flavor. They are a local place that does mostly deliveries. And while it is pretty rundown and maybe a little dirty, the pizza is awesome. And their other pièce de résistance is their chocolate dessert pizza. Maybe one day I will attempt to recreate this sinfully delicious masterpiece. 

Read more to check out the whole wheat pizza recipe. And let me know what your favorite pizza places are! 

Read More

Chocolate Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

This was one of my favorite things that my mom made growing up. But somehow it always seemed like she only made it for other people, or when other people were coming over—forcing me to share most of it. Did anyone else have this experience?

I made this in celebration of my friend’s birthday, and also the end of The Bachelor. I got what I thought were cool candles, but they ended up being really thin and cheap, so they started wilting inside the hot cake almost instantly. We barely had time to light 2 of them and blow them out before they fell over completely. 

Click below for the recipe →

Read More

the best oatmeal cookies

I know, I know…I just posted the best cake balls; how could I possibly have the best oatmeal cookie recipe too? Actually, this was probably one of the recipes that got me interested in baking. This was my go-to recipe as a kid, and even though I probably got it off the back of an oatmeal box, it felt like my own and I was always so proud to share it. 

My cat seemed to know that these are the best oatmeal cookies too, because she was all over the plate during the photo shoot.

Recipe follows 

Read More

Island Redo

I started a furniture upcycling business a few months ago, and just went to Charleston, SC to give this island a much needed refinishing. The kitchen was stunning (as you can see), but the green cabinetry was really taking over. We needed to make the island a focal point that would distract from and compliment the cabinetry simultaneously. I worked with a talented local artist Austin Smith. It was definitely a two-man job! 

We did an antique finish and were really pleased with the results! I’m currently taking customers so email cortnac[at]gmail.com if you need something spruced up. I do most of my work in NC but I can travel—just ask! Continue for more before and after photos. 

Read More

the best cake balls

I’ve made quite a few cake balls in my day, but somehow have always been disappointed. I never quite understood the hype. But luckily I have since figured out the magic. The real secret is texture. You have to perfect the frosting-cake ratio, and get some nice crunchy sprinkles. I added even more texture by using funfetti frosting! Try to contain your excitement. (oh yeah, and I used two colors to make them even cuter) 

Cake balls are a long process—make sure you are equipped with a lot of time and patience before you begin! 

[ ingredients:  1 package yellow cake mix + necessary add-ins (eggs, oil, water) | food coloring | 1 can vanilla funfetti icing | candy coating | sprinkles]

1. Mix up your cake ingredients. Divide the batter into two bowls and add coloring of your choice to each bowl. Bake the cakes in separate pans according to directions on the box. Remove from oven and let them cool completely.
2. Peel off the firm skin that has developed on the cake. It should come off easily.

3. Take your peeled cake and finely crumble it into two bowls. 
4. Mix icing into your crumbled cake. USE CAUTION. This is how many a cake ball has been ruined. Add frosting in a little at a time, starting with 1/4 cup in each bowl. The frosting is there to bind the balls only—don’t let it overtake the texture of the cake by adding too much.

5. Form a small ball (1/4-1/2 inch) using one color of your cake/icing mixture. Take some of the other color and add it to your ball. Line them up on a cookie sheet.
6. Put them in the freezer for 15 minutes or in the fridge for a few hours.
7. Melt your candy coating over a double boiler.
8. Put a cake ball into the candy coating; rolling it around with a spoon until it’s covered.
9. Transfer the coated ball onto a cookie sheet and sprinkle immediately. Repeat steps 8-9 until all the balls are complete. Refrigerate until candy coating has set and enjoy! 

Now just try not to eat them all in one sitting,like I did. 

potato casserole

So we all know I pretty much only make sweet things. This is one of the few savory items I make regularly and it’s also probably the most caloric thing ever. But it is sooooo good—I promise. It’s the kind of thing you’ll be sneaking into the kitchen for late at night…and early in the morning…and for a snack. In fact, I’d recommend cutting the recipe in half just in case you eat it all in one sitting.