hazelnut

If you missed celebrating national Nutella Day a couple weeks ago, don't fret, just fill your cookie jar with these delectable Nutella sandwich cookies! This sweet treat has great texture with a crunchy cookie and easy creamy Nutella filling. Traditionally, linzer cookies are made around the holidays and filled with jam, but a chocolate hazelnut spread makes the cookie perfect for Valentine's Day. If you and your sweetheart are crazy for hazelnuts, toast them before adding to the dough to further enhance their flavor. Pull out those cookie cutters and get to baking these heart-shaped delights after you read more.

This Valentine's Day, end your meal with a tantalizing chocolate recipe that's ready in less time than it takes to defrost frozen cheesecake. My favorite no-stress, no-fuss recipe is this velvety gianduja mousse made from nothing more than crème fraîche, whipped cream, and that oldie but goodie, Nutella.

With a standing mixer, the recipe takes less than 10 minutes of active prep, and if you're really not up to the task, you can substitute already-whipped cream and be done with it in seconds. The best part? It's creamy, rich but not too cloying, and full of chocolate hazelnut flavor. No one will ever guess that part of the chocolate indulgence comes from a can. Want the recipe? Then keep reading.

If you're a design enthusiast and a New Orleans fanatic like me, you know Bryan Batt as a co-owner (with his partner Tom Cianfichi) of one of NOLA's finest décor boutiques, Hazelnut. I featured the boutique back in February of '08, and now Batt is set to ink his own home décor book. If you're just mad for Mad Men, you know him as Sterling-Cooper's in-the-closet, recently fired art director Salvatore Romano.

This month, House Beautiful is getting to know him, too. The shelter glossy has the lowdown on Batt's bedroom behavior, from his no-TV rule to his underbed storage, and of course, his bedroom décor resources.

I'm always interested to see where people get their design inspiration. So it was fun to hear about the jumping off point for his bedroom design:

The painting is the whole point of the room. It's by a friend of mine. Suzie Allain, who's a local artist and designer here in New Orleans. She showed some things at Hazelnut, my store here, and I fell in love with this series of bamboo stalks. She did this for me custom and then the room evolved around it.

See more excerpts from the issue.

Actor Bryan Batt, known for his role as in-the-closet art director Salvatore Romano on Mad Men, has signed a deal with publisher Clarkson Potter to write a home décor book. The book, slated for release in Fall 2011, will explore his favorite interiors and "through his own witty commentary and design techniques, show readers how to create their own stylish and enchanting spaces." As you may remember, Batt and his partner Tom Cianfichi own Hazelnut, one of my favorite décor boutiques in New Orleans. This is truly exiting news; I can't wait to get my hands on a copy. Want to get a peek at Batt's design skills? Check out his carriage house in NOLA's Garden District.

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