last day in spain

after a fantastic week in barcelona, we're home, a little jet lagged, and wishing we were back in the land of cava and jamon iberico. a few of my favorite snapshots from our last day: 

cheers to barcelona!

barcelona in black & white

jamon!

this trip has made me a jamon iberico junkie

snippet from sagrada familia

this was seriously one of the most amazing buildings i've ever seen. it is stunning inside and out!

happy thanksgiving

very thankful for a perfect day of wine tasting in the penedes region of spain!

architecture geekery

the exterior of gaudi's casa battlo

thank you, coffee

this post is brought to you by the cafe con leche at taller de tapas

and away we go!

our first vacation since 2009!

saturday afternoon baking

you already know about my love for pioneer woman and this is another great recipe from PW. i made these for a cookie exchange last year and made them this afternoon because, well, i wanted to. they may not be the prettiest cookies ever but they are delish! 


malted milk chocolate chip cookies 

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cups golden brown sugar
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 whole eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1-1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (rounded) malted milk powder
• 1 bag (12 oz) milk chocolate chips

preheat oven to 375 degrees.

cream butter, then add both sugars and cream until fluffy. add eggs and beat slightly, then add vanilla and beat until combined. add malted milk powder and beat until combined. sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. add to butter mixture, beating gently until just combined.
add chocolate chips and stir in gently.

drop by teaspoonfuls (or use a cookie scoop) and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. bake less if you want chewy cookies; more if you want crispy cookies. [note: my oven can run hot so i stuck with 6-8 minutes]

optional: allow to cool completely, then use two cookies to make an ice cream sandwich. add sprinkles to the sides of the ice cream, then wrap individually in plastic wrap.


cheeky twist: i used 6 oz. each of mini-semisweet chips and milk chocolate chips

cheeky recipe: korean tacos

what if bulgogi and pot roast got married and had a baby? i'm pretty sure that marriage would result in these fantastic korean tacos. thanks to pinterest and josie at pink parsley, this will be going into heavy rotation chez cheeky. if tacos aren't your thing, just serve on some sushi rice and soak up every drop of the perfectly sweet and savory sauce!

p.s. did i mention that this recipe is super easy? 


korean beef short rib tacos (recipe adapted from pink parsley)

• 6 1/2 pounds beef short ribs 
• 1 1/2 cups low sodium soy sauce
• 1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar
• 10 cloves garlic
• 2-3 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled
• 6 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
• 1-2 teaspoons chili garlic 

cucumber slaw:

• 1 hot house cucumber
• 4 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 pinches of salt
• crushed red pepper flakes to taste

to serve:

• 6-inch flour tortillas (i used egg roll wrappers) 
• fresh cilantro or scallions (i opted for scallions) 
• extra chili garlic or sriracha 

in the bowl of a small food processor, pulse the garlic and ginger until finely chopped (you can do this with a knife or on a microplane as well, but it was really fast and easy in my mini food processor).

add the ribs to the crock pot.  in a medium bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the cooking liquid. pour over the ribs. 

set the crockpot to low and cook about 8 hours. when ready to serve, remove the bones from the ribs, and shred into bite-sized pieces.

skim the fat off the top of the liquid and add to a small saucepan.  simmer over medium-low heat until thickened and reduced.  pour over the shredded meat and serve.

for the cucumber slaw, slice the cucumber as thinly as possible, using a mandoline if you have one.  in a medium bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sugar, salt, and red pepper flakes.  toss the cucumbers in the mixture and refrigerate until ready to use.

to serve, warm the tortillas and fill with the shredded meat, and top with cucumbers, cilantro or scallions, and sriracha to taste.

eleven - eleven - eleven

how is it that thanksgiving is less than two weeks away? i know i've been a slacker, so my apologies. 


anyway, i love november! it *may* have a little something to do with my birthday but this really is my favorite time of year. instead of the traditional turkey day, fanboy and i are gearing up to celebrate in barcelona - our first true vacation since 2009! we've never been to spain, so we're excited to soak in as much gaudi architecture, jamon, manchego, and cava as we possibly can. if i am out of the country on my birthday it doesn't count in the states, right?! 


happy friday!