10 Day You

Oh boy, this is gonna be tough.

1. Chicken puttanesca.  Chicken sauteed with olives, capers, and cherry tomatoes.  I love me some salty food, and this dish is just packed with it.  Most recipes call for green olives, but I make mine with kalamata.  It is delicious.  I'd never had it until I randomly came across a recipe for it.  And now I'm hooked.  Usually, I guess, it's served with pasta, but I usually serve mine with brown rice.  Yumm...

2. Pizza.  A good slice of plain or pepperoni pizza is always delicious, but I like being adventurous, too.  Chicken basil pesto?  Definitely.  Chicken bacon ranch?  Absolutely.  Hawaiian?  Bring it.  As long as the crust is thin and somewhat flexible (especially with the plain pies - must fold it in half!), and the sauce (if it's a regular pie) is not too sweet and just a little bit spicy...I'm in.

3. Ravioli alle noci.  Ie, ravioli with walnuts.  O. M. G.  I had this at a tiny little restaurant in Florence, Italy, while there with my sister.  We were hungry one night and started wandering around our neighborhood near the hostel.  We stumbled upon this little restaurant and I ordered this, thinking it sounded interesting.  It was the best meal I've ever had.  No, really.  I wish that we had written down the name of the restaurant, but we didn't.  It's something like Di Pepe.  I have tried to replicate the recipe from memory, but have always failed.  It's close, but no cigar.

4. Creme brulee.  Dudes, this dessert is amazing.  The texture.  The crunch.  The sweetness.  The creaminess.  I die.

5. Steak.  A good, medium rare, perfectly seasoned steak can make me melt.  Our engagement dinner will forever be one of the best meals I've ever had.  Not just because I was basking in the glow of the beautiful diamond Matt had slipped on my finger not 3 hours earlier.  I mean, I realize that I probably could have eaten a grilled cheese sandwich and been happy.  But this dinner.  Oh my God.  We ate at Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse in Philadelphia.  I got a filet, medium rare.  It was the most perfect steak I've ever eaten in my life.  One of our friends got us a gift certificate for a wedding gift, and I honestly can't believe we haven't been back yet  

*all images from google

Edited to Add: I thought I'd try to search again for that restaurant in Florence, and wouldn't you know?  I found it!  It is called da Pepe!  Holy crap, I'm so happy I found it!  If you are ever in Florence, you must - MUST! - go to this restuarant!!

If Only...

I wasn't completely incapable of losing weight...

Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies

I had all the time and money in the world...
 

Tiramisu Trifles

I had a pinky-full of real talent in the kitchen...

Guinness Cake with Whiskey Caramel Icing

I would love to spend my days making amazing creations like these.  Desserts are just...

Well, you know, it's funny.  I don't usually order dessert when I'm out.  I rarely eat dessert at home.  But seeing pictures like this might make a convert out of me yet. 

S'mores in a bowl

I mean, really...who could resist this?

Red Velvet Crepes

Linking up once again for Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday!




*all images from my Pinterest.  Click the caption to see the recipe for each picture.

Crafty Little Me

I'm not gonna lie.  Since my DIY adventures for the wedding, I kind of miss, well, DIY-ing.  I was never much of a crafter, but I really enjoyed what I did.  But I haven't had any reasons for making any crafts.  But then I came across this the other day and thought, "I really want to do that!"  Not to mention, it's probably something I could handle. 

I followed the link on the pinterest photo, and it took me to a little tutorial on how to make it.  Pretty easy!  So today, I went to my old friend Michael's and picked up a few supplies.  The original post says to use a 12x12 scrapbook frame.  Unfortunately, we don't have enough open wall space in our kitchen to fit that.  But I figured I could easily use a different size frame.  I picked up a 7x14" frame, some interesting scrap paper, and a couple whiteboard markers.

With the 7x14" frame, I needed 2 sheets of 12x12" paper.  I brought home 2 sheets of a couple of different patterns, and went with the one that I liked most on my wall.  Then I go to work! 

First, I cut the sheets of paper down to 7" wide, then carefully matched up the patterns (sort of - I hadn't noticed that the pattern wasn't totally centered and that I should have kept the top at the top when cutting) and pasted them with the glue stick.  From there, I measured out how far apart to write the days.  I gave myself 2.5" at the top to write "Menu," which left me with 11.5" to split up for the days of the week.  Each day got 1.75," with using Weekend instead of Saturday and Sunday.

I took it into the kitchen and hung it right next to our main "working" counter. 

I put this week's menu on it.  It doesn't look very exciting this week because we have plans for multiple days.  For example, on Wednesday, Matt will just eat leftovers because I'll be at Movies and Martinis with my girlfriends (not eating M&Ms).  Thursday night we're going to the U2 concert.  Friday night we'll be having dinner somewhere in Center City with my sister and her husband.  And Saturday night we'll be at a party at my step-aunt and uncle's house. 

I love our new menu board, and hope that it helps me be even more creative with my meals!

Food Obsession

I have a new-found obsession.

That chocolate hazelnut amazingness.  God, I want to just sit and eat it with a spoon.  It's so freakin delicious, isn't it?  I'd had it a couple of times in high school, then had it for breakfast nearly every morning in Spain, then kind of forgot about it.  Until I remembered it.  And I am hooked.  I find myself looking for recipes that use Nutella, just so I have an excuse to eat it. 

I mean, there's the obvious.  Nutella on toast.  Which was my breakfast yesterday.  And quite yummy.

But that gets boring.  Don't get me wrong, it's delicious.  But I need something...more.  I recently made these pastry pockets for brunch with my high school girlfriends.  They turned out great, and they were pretty easy!

When my Nutella obsession was first re-ignited, I found this recipe for Nutella brownies.  I made these a few months ago, and they were good, but not great.  I loved the flavor, but I wasn't a fan of the texture.

 
I am just dying to try this recipe for Nutella meringue cookies.  I love meringues, and adding Nutella to mix just sounds...wowsers.

Do you have any food obsessions?  Or any good Nutella recipes to share?

*all images from my Pinterest

Snack Attack

I don't know what's going on with me, but the past few months, I cannot. stop. snacking.  I never used to be a snacker.  Ok, that's not true.  I have very vivid memories of when I was younger, I used to have a snack when I got home from school, and then a snack before bedtime.  But I was younger, I was active, and my metabolism was running at an all-time high*.  I used to snack on weird stuff, too.  Salads.  Olives (black or green, I was olive-colorblind).  Pancake batter.  [Yes, I would mix up pancake batter, and then just drink it.  Like a shake.  Disgusting.]   Then I just stopped.  Sure, in college I would indulge in the occasional cafeteria sundae or late-night meal (mmm....Nap's pizza sticks...I still drool just thinking about them).  But for the most part, I ate my three meals and day and that was it.  Well, that and copious amounts of alcohol.  But that doesn't count, right?

Anyway, it went on like that for years.  Just eating my three meals and that was it.  I rarely snacked, rarely craved snacks (except for chocolate, clearly).  But even when I did snack, I had total control.  A handful of chips, a small bowl of ice cream, a small frappucino. 

Ever since our wedding, though, I am a snack-a-holic.  I can't stop myself.  I eat when I'm hungry.  I eat when I smell something.  I eat cuz I have nothing better to do.  It's gotten pretty bad, and I've packed on pounds.  I could probably still snack and keep the weight off (for the most part) if I could go to the gym regularly but 1) I hate the gym and 2) I have had a series of injuries/pains in my body over the past few months that have prevented me from going.  So instead, I snack, gain weight, get mad, and snack anyway. 

Matt and I are eating healthier.  I'm using lower-calorie/fat ingredients (like substituting 0% greek yogurt for sour cream), we're eating whole grain bread and pasta (which is actually higher in calories and fat, but has more nutritional benefits than it's white counterpart), and we're both exercising better portion control.  I'm being very stringent about this.  And yet, I have absolutely no self-control when it comes to snacking!

So, I'm trying to snack a little healthier.  Having grown up in Hershey, I am physically incapable of surviving without chocolate.  So, I bought a container of dark chocolate roasted almonds.  I also have a container of butter toffee roasted almonds.  They're yummy, low in saturated fat, high in protein...a healthy snack, right?  Plus, they satisfy my chocolate needs.  I am also officially obsessed with peanut butter.  Like, I could, in theory, sit with a jar and eat it by the spoonful.  Until it was gone.  Instead, I eat a spoonful when I get home from work.  I wish I liked apples, cuz I would bring in a small container and some apple slices for a snack at work.  I am trying to eat more fresh fruit.  I never was a big fruit-eater, but this summer, I am making an effort to buy fresh fruit, cut it up, and divide it into containers to bring to work.  Strawberries, mangoes, pineapple, watermelon, canteloupe...I'm loving it! 

What do you snack on?  Any other "healthy" snack ideas I should look into?

*Probably.  I have no scientific proof to support this statement.

Chicken Ravioli and Pesto sauce

You guys, I just made up a dinner.  Pretty much all by myself.  I'll try to tell you what I did, but I didn't measure anything.  Just threw things together and hoped it tasted good.  And it did!

I made chicken ravioli and a pesto sauce.  For the ravioli, I did cheat a little bit.  I used store-bought wanton wrappers.  Super-duper easy.  For the filling, I boiled 2 breasts of chicken, and then cut them into little chunks.  I fed the chunks into my food processor and shredded it.  Then I added the shredded chicken back to the food processor and pulsed it with about 8oz of ricotta cheese.  I say about 8oz because I had a 15oz container and I used about half.  I added a little bit of salt, pepper, and basil for flavor.  Once that was mixed, I filled the wanton wrappers with about a teaspoon of the filling, sealed them up, and dropped them in boiling water for about 7 minutes.  Again, I say about because, well, to be honest, I wasn't paying attention.  But 7 sounds about right.  Be sure to seal them really well - I didn't, so some of them were like little floating water pockets and I had to leak the water out before plating them.

The pesto sauce was totally just eyeballing.  I put about, oh, maybe 2 cups of spinach into my food processor.  Pulsed it to break it down, then added about 1/4 cup of pine nuts, 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese, a pinch of salt, and about 1 1/2 teaspoons of minced garlic.  Pulsed that again to mix it well, then ran it on low and added some olive oil.  I have no idea how much olive oil.  I really just eyeballed it till it looked like the right consistency.

Sorry for the vagueness, but it was a completely fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants meal.  And it turned out pretty freaking yummy, if I do say so myself.

Enjoy!

Breakfast Bake

(source)

My dad came to visit this weekend.  We had gotten him tickets to see 1964: The Tribute, which is a Beatles tribute band.  I grew up listening to the Beatles with my dad, and literally cannot hear a Beatles song and not think of him.  The show was great, and if you're a Beatles fan (especially of their early "touring years" music), I highly recommend you check out the show.  Last year we saw The Fab Faux, which was as good as, if not better than, 1964.  We had so much fun!

Anyway.  He spent the night, so this morning, I made breakfast for the 3 of us.  I made a blueberry french toast bake.  It was the first time I'd ever made it, and I must say, it was pretty yummy!

The recipe calls for:

8 slices of bread, cut into cubes
1 8-oz package of cream cheese, cut into cubes
1 cup of blueberries
8 eggs
1 1/2 cups of milk

Spread 1/2 of the bread cubes on the bottom of a greased 9x13" glass dish, then add the cream cheese.  Sprinkle the blueberries and top with the remaining bread crumbs.  Finally, mix the eggs and milk, then pour overtop.  You can cover and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours, then bring it out and bake it covered for 30 minutes, then uncovered for another 30 minutes (the bread on top should be puffy).  Serve with blueberry syrup for a truly yummy experience!

It was pretty yummy, and it was nice because I could put it together on Saturday and then just cook it on Sunday morning.  It seemed to go over pretty well with my 2 favorite guys, too!
  
*all personal photos

Dinner Time!

So I love to cook.  I'm not sure if I've mentioned that before.  I like to try different recipes and make yummy, nutritious food for me and Matt.  So tonight, I tried dijon and hazlenut crusted pork tenderloin with brown rice and brussel sprouts.  Mmmm...

So I bought a Hatfield port tenderloin at the store.  Sprinkled it with a little salt and pepper, then put it in a frying pan and browned it.  While it was browning I mixed together:

1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
~3 Tablespoons chopped hazelnuts
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon salt

I put those 4 ingredients in our food processor and pulsed till the hazelnuts were finely chopped.  Then I mixed 2 egg whites and about a Tablespoon of dijon mustard.  I spread the dry mix onto one plate, then put the egg white and mustard mix into a shallow dish.  I took the tenderloin out of the pan and let it cool for a minute or so, then dredged it in the egg mixture then into the dry mix.  I put it on broiler pan (sprayed with cooking spray) and cooked it for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees.

While that was cooking, I added 1/2 cup red cooking wine, 1 1/2 Tablespoons flour, 1/4 cup beef broth, a dash each of thyme, salt, and pepper to the pan I'd used to brown the tenderloin (without washing it).  Brought it to a boil then let it cook until it was the right consistency.  You can choose whatever consistency you want - I made mine about the consistency of ranch dressing.

I cheated on the rice and veggies - used the steam-in-the-bag brussel sprouts and the Uncle Ben quick-cook rice.  But it was delicious.

*all personal photos

Super Bowl Sunday

*Started this on Sunday.  Got busy and distracted.  Sorry!*

It's game day, bitches!  To start, here is my all-time favorite picture of the Steelers.
 

(source)

It's from the locker room before Super Bowl XL (which, yes, the Steelers did win!).  And it features one of my all-time favorite football players, EVER, Jerome Bettis.  A monster of a running back.

Anyway.  Time for some more recipes.  Up first, the Spinach Dip.  It's super easy. 

2 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonaise
1 packet Knoll's vegetable dip pack
1 can (8 oz) water chestnuts, sliced
3 green onions, diced
1 box (10 oz) frozen spinach, thawed and drained

Mix all the ingredients together.  I like to serve it in a pumpernickle bread bowl - use the bread you cut out to create the bowl as the dipping pieces. 

Stromboli.  I freaking love this stuff.  Like I said, it's a recipe I snagged from my mom.  It's pretty easy and people tend to love it.  First up, you make the dough:

5 cups flour
2 cups hot water
1/2 cup oil
1 packet dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Knead it together (or, get excited, and use the dough hook on your KitchenAid stand mixer).  Place it into a greased oven-safe bowl and let it sit to rise for 2 hours.  The trick here is to preheat your oven to the lowest setting, then turn it off and put the dough in there for 2 hours (covered).  This ensures the temperature is right but doesn't "bake" it.  The first year I made it, I didn't know I should turn the oven off and I ended up with a crust on the top.  It made for a texturally weird boli.

After the dough has risen, you punch it down and split it in 2 halves.  Spread it out on 2 (large) cookie sheets.  Lay out the fillers.  The fillers are a 1/2 pound of each of the following: hard salami, provolone, pepperoni, mozzarella, and boiled ham.  I get it all from the deli counter, though it is possible to get it pre-packaged.  I just like the fresh deli counter stuff better for this.  Feels more authentic.  Then top with mustard and oregano (there are actually amounts in the recipe, but I just eyeball it).  Bring the sides up to wrap the filling, spread some milk on top, then bake it at 350 for 40 minutes.

Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the finished products.  Of anything.  People started showing up and I was way distracted.  But trust me, everything was delicious.  I got tons of compliments on the chili, and the cake balls were destroyed.  I thought Christina Aguilera (honestly didn't even catch the lyric flub) did a pretty good job.  The halftime show was terrible.  The commercials were pretty awful, except for the one where they showed all the different tv characters in various NFL team gear.  I enjoyed that one more for the blasts from the past than anything else.  And even though the Steelers lost, it was a really good game that definitely kept me on the edge of my seat (or kitchen counter, where I was perched all night long). 

And now, I'll leave you with the only other commercial that I actually enjoyed...




*all photos without source code are personal

Super Bowl Chili

I made the chili last night.  It looks (and smells) soooo good.  Unfortunately, I was a bad blogger and didn't take many pictures.  Just a before and an after.  There are so many ingredients in it, though, and you (or at least I) feel like they have to be put in quickly or the recipe is ruined.  I'm weird like that.  So I kind of felt like I was hurrying through getting the ingredients in and forgot to take pictures of the process.  So...sorry 'bout that. 

Anyway.  The recipe is from a restaurant called Redstone Grille.  Matt and I had it one day at the restaurant and thought it was so awesome.  And you know, sometimes you can find restaurants' recipes online.  So I took a shot, Google'd it, and lo and behold - found it!  I made this for our department Christmas party and it was a huge hit, so I thought I'd make it again for the Super Bowl.  It's pretty easy, just that it has a ton of ingredients and some of them were kind of hard to find. 

To start, all the ingredients:

1 1/4 lbs ground beef (80/20)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon fresh garlic
1/2 cup celery, diced
1 cup onions, diced
1/2 cup green peppers, diced
1 Tablespoon chipotle pepper puree
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon beef base
1 1/4 teaspoon dry oregano leaves
1 1/2 Tablespoon cumin
1 1/2 Tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
1 bay leaf
2 cups diced tomatoes (canned or fresh Roma)
1/2 cup tomato juice
4 cups tomato puree
1 cup chili sauce
2 cups kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Start off by browning the beef in a skillet, then drain it in a collander.  In a 1 gallon pot (I used my 6-quart stock pot), over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil then saute the garlic, celery, onion, and green pepper until tender.  Add the chipotle puree, water, beef base, oregano, cumin, chili powder, paprika, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and bay leaf.  Bring to a simmer and let it cook for 5 minutes.  Then add the ground beef, diced tomatoes, tomato juice, tomato puree, chili sauce, and kidney beans.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.  Stir ever 5 minutes (or so) to prevent the kidney beans from scorching to the bottom.

Finshed product?

I made 1.5x the recipe, since we're expecting about a dozen people (the stated serving is 6-8).  You're supposed to make it a few days in advance so that flavors have a chance to marinate and marry.  The day of, we'll have it on the stove with a toppings bar, including shredded cheddar jack cheese, sour cream, and green onions.  I hope it's as big a hit as it was at the Christmas party!

*all personal photos

Super Bowl!

It's Super Bowl Week!!  Every year, Matt and I throw a big Super Bowl Party at our house.  We started the tradition 6 years ago in our apartment, and we always have so much fun.  But my favorite part of the party?  All the yummy cooking I get to do!!!

Tradition (at least, since we moved into our house and I had room to make it) has been that I make home-made stromboli.  It's a recipe I got from my mom and it's super easy.  And always a big hit.  I make the dough, and then once that has a chance to rise, I layer the meats and cheeses on - hard salami, provolone, pepperoni, mozzarella, and boiled ham.  Top it off with some mustard and oregano.  Yum-o! 

I also make a few different dips, including spinach dip with water chestnuts and buffalo chicken wing dip.  The chicken wing dip is amazing and usually gone within about 15 minutes.  It tastes just like wings and is seriously one of the best dips ever. 

This year I'm also making chili.  We usually order pizzas to go with the stromboli, but I came across this amazing recipe for chili so we decided to make that instead.  Ohhh...it's so good.

I also decided to make cake balls this year.  Black and Gold, for my Steelers.  I already make those this weekend, because they'll keep for a while.  The black turned out more grey, but I had already been playing with the colors for 5 minutes and was losing my patience.  So, Steel Grey works, right?  For the Steelers?  I say it does. 

Once I start making all the food, I'll post pictures and recipes.  Remember, this is not a food blog, so they won't be super drool-worthy pictures.  But I love any opportunity where I get to cook and bake a lot, so I always love the party.  

Matt's birthday is tomorrow and I have no gift for him.  Oops.  Bad Wifey.  I didn't plan his birthday so well this year.  Gonna spend my day today brainstorming what to get him....

In the meantime...  HERE WE GO, STEELERS!!!

Food! Part 3 (The Cake)

Sorry! I did the first 2 food posts and then got caught up with everything else that was happening wedding-wise! So here we are, back to the food for the event... You've seen the dinner choices and, if you're anything like me, you've drooled over the appetizers. So are you ready for the cake? Cuz it's gonna be awesome.

Ok, well, aesthetically it's not going to be all that special. It'll be something like this:

(source)

Except just 3 tiers - round, square, round. All three tiers will be white, but they will have that swiss dot decoration. Obviously the flowers will be different. And the ribbon around the bottom of each tier? One of the best parts - navy blue, apple green, and brown fondant, all braided/mushed together to make a tie-dyed awesome-ness of color to match our wedding colors!

We're getting our cake from Linda's Cakery, in Mt. Joy. She offers tons of flavors and fillings, and as I perused the website, I was thinking, "Seriously, how do I even choose?" When I spoke to her to schedule our tasting, she said she'd come up with some good options for us to try. I trusted her. Everything I read on the internets told me I should, so...I did.

And boy am I glad. She started us off with...well, honestly I don't remember. We tried a few, but the first one that really stuck out was a turtle cake, which she'd just made specially for a bridal show she was doing later that day, but she let us try a piece. It was good, but...meh, not quite what we were looking for. Next she brought out a french vanilla cake with raspberry ganache. It was all downhill from there...and I mean that in a really good way. Man, that cake was awesome! Then she gave us the pink champage cake with strawberry whip filling. It was all. over. Holy crap, that was honest-to-goodness the best thing I've ever tasted in my life.

So, we decided to do the following: a sheet cake of chocolate cake with peanut butter filling (this is a favorite among many people in our families/friends). Then, the bottom tier of the "real cake" will be the french vanilla and raspberry ganache, and the top 2 tiers will be the pink champagne and strawberry whip. All of them will be covered in Linda's white chocolate buttercream icing, which is for-real to-die for.

On a side note, we decided to skip the whole save-the-top-layer-and-eat-it-a-year-later thing. It just sounds absolutely disgusting to us. Plus, we save a ton of money by not having her make a layer that is just going to look pretty and then sit in our freezer for a year. We decided we'd rather go out and get a nice dessert somewhere in the City. Don't get me wrong, I understand the appeal of pulling out your wedding cake a year later, remembering how pretty it was and how awesome the day was, but...that's what pictures are for. I don't need to eat stale/frozen cake to remember how fantastic our wedding was. I'm fairly certain that October 23, 2010 is a day that I will never forget.

Food! Part 2

Now, you know what we'll be munching on during cocktail hour. Ready to find out what the real food will be? Cuz it's going to be awesome, too.

There won't be a bread basket to get passed around and man-handled by everyone at the table. Instead, each person will have a martini glass filled with slices of artisanal bread wtih some herbed butter pooled at the bottom. I couldn't find any pictures of this, but just picture it...yeah, pretty great, huh?

Salad will be a seasonal fall salad - baby spinach, apricots, dried cranberries, goat cheese, and walnuts, tossed in a cranberry vinaigrette. Yumm-o.

(source)

For the main course, each guest will have the option to choose (on the RSVP) from one of three meals. First up, the vegetarian option - a stacked vegetable napoleon served on top of Isreali couscous. I know it will include eggplant, but I'm not sure what other veggies will be there. Nonetheless, it looks good. We initially were oging to have a pasta dish with roasted veggies, but I feel like the vegetarian option is always pasta, so when David told us about this as a new option, we jumped on it. Change things up a bit, ya know?

(source)

Another choice is blackened tilapia with a smoked corn relish. I am slowly expanding my seafood horizons, and tilapia is the first fish that I've tried that I really like. I'm working my way up to salmon.

(source)

And last but not least, beef tenderloin with a sea salt rub. Lord knows I love me a good cut of steak.

(source)

Each of the entrees will be served with twice-baked potatoes and roasted vegetables. I think it's all gonna be delish, but of course can only choose one meal, so I'll be going with the steak. Matt's going to get the tilapia. And then we'll trade bites, like we always do.

Stay tuned for the cake, coming soon!

Food! Part 1

I cannot wait for the food that we're planning to serve at our wedding. We worked out an awesome menu with David from JDK, and I think that everyone is going to love it. David asked us what our favorite foods are; what do we like to cook; what are we "known" for among our friends - he used our answers to all those questions to build our appetizer menu. Have I mentioned yet how much I love working with David? Cuz I do.

Anyway, with no further ado, here's a sneak peek at our appetizers...

First up, asparagus and herbed-boursin cheese wrapped in phyllo dough. This one originated from our "pee-stinkers," a really yummy recipe that we like to make and take to parties. Our recipe (courtesy of my mom) is made by cutting the crusts off of white bread, rolling it flat, and smearing Cheez Whiz in it. Then, you roll the asparagus in it, dip it in butter, and then coat it with Parmesan cheese. Then you bake it for about 30 minutes until the bread gets just crispy. It's amazing. It's also white bread and Cheez Whiz, so when David said they've got a fancier version, we went that route. It'll look something like this:

(source)

Up next, a crab cake with aoili lime sauce, served on a small Asian spoon. We chose this because I don't eat much seafood, but I do eat crab cake. Our probably won't be quite this fancy looking:

(source)

And now we have butternut squash soup shooters. David suggested this because it's a great fall option, and its one of their award-winning recipes. So...yummy:

(source)

We're also having gingered chicken meatballs. We told David that Matt loves to make homemade meatballs, just like his grandfather used to do. So he suggested the gingered chicken meatballs to change it up a little bit. (No pictures, unfortunately)

And last but not least....the piece de resistence (as far as I'm concerned)! Cherry tomatoes and mozzarella skewered on a pipette that will be filled with balsamic vinaigrette. You eat the tomato and mozzarella, and squeeze the pipette at the same time - like your own personal caprese salad!

(source)

So those are the butlered hors d'oevres that will be served during cocktail hour. Follow-up post coming about the actual dinner. And....the CAKE!!!

Venues, Vendors, and Vino!

I had envisioned my wedding being held at the Antique Auto Museum for years; ever since a friend of mine got married there 5+ years ago. It's a really unique venue, and the museum remains open during the event so guests can wander around. I love the idea of having the guests milling around the galleries during cocktail hour, rather than standing around awkwardly staring at each other. Matt and I had discussed it a long time ago, and thought it really was the perfect location for our wedding - both of our dads are into cars, so it works as a bit of a tribute to the two of them, as well. But we had to figure out where to have the ceremony. The Antique Auto Museum does hold ceremonies there, as well. But in meeting with the event coordinator (who is also a personal friend of mine!), we discovered that logistically it wouldn't be ideal - private parties cannot get into the museum until 5:30pm, after regular operating hours. And they have to clear out by 11pm. So with 1/2 hour for the ceremony, an hour for cocktails/pictures, that leaves us only 3 hours for dinner and dancing, and that was kind of not ok. Our friends and families are partiers, so we want to have as much time as possible for the fun stuff!

So we started looking around at other venues. My parents had recently joined the Hershey Country Club, so we looked at that. But it felt like too much of a "ballroom," and I wanted something different. Matt and I are not your typical couple - we like to do things a little off-the-wall, so having our wedding and reception in a ballroom just didn't feel right to us. A friend of ours suggested the Hershey Theater, which I had never ever considered as an option, but immediately fell in love with the idea. Both of us had graduated in the Theater, and I spent many years performing in dance shows on the stage. It is a beautiful building, and I could just imagine myself coming down the big staircase for a really cool entrance. Unfortunately, upon looking into it and contacting their event coordinator, we discovered that the date we wanted wasn't available. Plus, it would just barely contain our expected guest count - it would be pretty tight quarters. So, that was out. We went back to considering the Auto Museum, but just felt that we needed more time for the reception.

So we talked about church. Neither one of us is terribly religious or connected to either of our churches. FH grew up in the Catholic Church - he was an alter boy and attended CCD classes. But he became really disenchanted when the molestation scandels took off, and hasn't really been to church in years. I did not grow up in church at all, though I do consider myself to be spiritual and have beliefs that I stand by. And the church that I do attend, when I go, is beautiful inside and I have always felt comfortable there. So we went to check out my church and decided our ceremony would be there. It really is beautiful and I think it's going to make for a lovely ceremony.

Now, onto our vendors. When my little sister got married a couple of years ago, they used JDK Catering, and I was super-impressed. The flowers that they did for the wedding were absolutely stunning, and the food was amazing. And their coordinator was so attentive to the two of them throughout the day. There was no doubt in my mind that FH and I would use them, as well - we didn't even consider other caterers in the area.

During our tour of the Country Club, we were handed two big photo albums to look through of a few different weddings held at the club. We were both really impressed with the one album - the photos were beautiful, and captured a lot of the little hidden moments that many photographers seem to miss. So we got in contact with them (Everlasting Images), along with a few others. In the end, we chose the one we'd seen at the club - we just kept coming back to how their photos really "popped" off the page, and their prices were just right.

On to the vino... JDK does not supply alcohol, so we will have to supply it ourselves. Which is find with us, because we get to choose the wine and beer, and limit which types of alcohol will be serves (for example, no tequila!). One of the best parts of the wedding planning process - choosing the wines! We have already had one reds tasting, and are scheduled for a few more. My parents are actually into wine and have the lingo down, so it's fun to test out the various wines with them. We're looking forward to picking a really yummy bunch of wines to serve at our reception!!