paula deen | Left Coast Contessa

Last Sunday I took over my new kitchen and declared total domination. I made Maple Oatmeal Scones, fish tacos and these delicious Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies. The summer is winding down for me. I only have one more week at my internship, then one week of vacation (my brother is visiting!) and then school starts. I wanted to spend last weekend using my new kitchen but I also wanted to make some delicious cookies that I could share with my coworkers. I don’t blog about my work life but I must say that I have really enjoyed this summer and I am going to miss my coworkers and my clients.

Did you know that this is my 6th internship?

Oh yes, it is.

In the past 5 years I have: done social psychology and race research (I actually analyzed body language for 2 summers!), education policy research, helped plan a conference on race, culture & education, was a legislative intern in the Massachusetts State House, worked on fair housing litigation (where I learned that I love working with clients) and helped youth emancipating from the foster care system with legal issues <- this summer. This is probably my last internship and it was a great way to end my career as an intern.

There really is no better way to share the love with your coworkers before the end of the summer than make cookies for them. Am I right?

These cookies are like little sugary, buttery bites of heaven with a jam center. Strawberry is the perfect center for the thumbprint and, let’s face it, strawberry jam makes these an appropriate breakfast treat. Obviously my coworkers snapped these up before 10 am. You can just call this “breakfast dessert”.

Oh, and it only has a few ingredients which is nice. Since this is a Paula Deen original, there is plenty of butter involved. I altered some of the instructions based on my personal baking preferences.

Ingredients

1 1/2 sticks of room temperature, unsalted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg yolk

Just shy of 2 cups flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 jar strawberry preserves

Instructions

Cream butter and sugar together for 10 mins with a handheld mixer.

Add the egg yolk and mix.

Combine the salt and flour in a separate bowl.

Slowly combine the flour mixture with the butter mixture. Make sure the mixer is on a low speed until the flour is completely combined. Add the vanilla.

Take the dough, wrap in plastic and chill for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350.

Take the dough and roll it into little balls. Place on a baking sheet, covered in parchment. I got to use my new commercial quality baking sheet which I got as an early birthday present! Probably the best present ever!

Once the balls are rolled use your thumb to make a thumbprint in the middle of the ball, flattening it.

Then use a spoon to fill the hole with the strawberry jam.

It’s like a cookie army.

Bake for 15 mins or until lightly browned (mine too about 20 mins).

Then all you have to do it pack it up, bring it to work and become the office hero!

What is your favorite thing to find in the kitchen at work? I love cookies but in my opinion nothing is better than walking in on some bagels and cream cheese when you really need a second breakfast.

How was everyone’s long weekend? Mine was good. It was the last hurrah of vacation because I started work on Tuesday! This marks what will likely be the last internship that I will complete (did you know that I’ve done 6 total? True story) So far I really like the place I’ll be working and I am looking forward to going out in the world and actually doing something with my law skills. Very excited to see what the summer holds for me! More on that at the END of this post.

Before work started I made this fantastic dinner. It is Paula Deen inspired so you can probably guess what the main ingredient is (butter).

I give you: Shallot, Scallop and Goat Cheese Quesadillas.

Oh yes. Get excited. The inspiration for this dish came from Paula Deen’s Lady and Sons Savannah Country Cookbook. I took some of the elements of her Bay Scallop dish and rolled it into a quesadilla with some goat cheese.

I took 1 tablespoon of butter and melted it down at a low heat. Once the butter melted I added 1 chopped shallot. It is very important to cook the shallot and butter at a low heat slowly. Do NOT burn the butter. Seriously, just don’t. While the shallot is cooking take out a quesadilla (I used Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat) and spread it with goat cheese (again, I used Trader Joe’s spreadable goat cheese, but anything will work). Once the shallots are soft and lightly browned transfer the shallot to the quesadilla and set aside. There should be butter left in the pan.

Then, raise the heat in the pan to medium high and add about 8 baby scallops (which should be salted and peppered on either side) to the pan. If there isn’t enough butter then add about a half tablespoon more. Sear the scallops on either side for about three mins. Once the scallops are done, transfer to the quesadilla. So at this point you should have your quesadilla with everything in it. Lower the heat again, to medium, and place the filled quesadilla in the pan, heat it up, fold it up and cook until the quesadilla is crispy.

Yum. Shallots cooked in butter? Thank you, Paula. You are a goddess. The butter goddess. This will be a repeat quesadilla for sure!

National Running Day:

Did you know that today was national running day? Well it was! I hit the pavement after work for a 4 mile run (my favorite run around my neighborhood). I’ve been laying low on the running to ensure that nothing happens to my foot before my half marathon on Sunday but the 4 mile run felt incredible. My legs felt good and I had a fantastic runner high afterwards. Yay runners run!

What I’m Wearing Work Edition

Anyone who knew me, especially in college, can attest to that I love dressing up especially in business casual. Last week I took my suit (for court!), a blazer and a dress to the tailors. I hadn’t lost enough weight last summer to justify alterations and I didn’t wear them all year so some nip/tuck was much needed! In addition I dominated the Anthropology sale rack and Zara and came away with some fun new pieces. I’m so excited to wear them I thought that I would share them with you!

High Waisted Skirt, Zara

I don’t frequently shop at Zara (sometimes I feel like their proportions fit oddly on my body) but I did pick up this fun, high waisted skirt last week. Zara has cute stuff and is pretty affordable so I was happy to find something I really loved there.

Shift Dress, Anthropology Sale Rack!

I have an obsession with Antro. No joke. I really will know that I have made it when I can wear Antro to work every day. This dress fits like a glove and will pair well with a cardi.

White Blouse, Anthology Sale Rack

Not necessarily for work (maybe with a tank under, paired with a nice pant on casual Friday?) but this was fantastic for Saturday bunch in Silverlake. I paired with olive green shorts. I love how light and summery this top is!

How do you dress for work?