When I read other blogs, I usually feel inspired to blog right away. Sometimes I do, and you'll see a post that is relatively similar to my source of inspiration in either subject or writing layout. I admit, I'm not the most creative person, especially when it comes to writing.
Recently, I've added more blogs to list that I follow, thanks to Blogger's Blog of the Day feature or references in a blog I already read. All of these different writers have an amazing approach to their posts, and I want to mimic each of them! Of course, that's ridiculous. I really should figure out what I want to write about and how I want to do it. But....that would require picking a theme and sticking with it. I don't know how well I'd fare with that.
For now, I'm going to keep offering up a mish-mash of ideas and formats, though I'll certainly continue my love affair with bold titles on paragraphs. I just love bold and italics, don't you? I love variety in most aspects of my life, so why not reflect that here? I still would like to emulate some blog writers a little more, though, like Orangette - her stories always have an impact on me, even if it is to make me wistful for a food I've never had or a place I've never been or a person I've never met. Strange, I know, but her memories and her connections between memories and food are compelling and addicting to me.
Alright, moving along...
I've mentioned before that one of my coworkers is leaving soon and moving to a different state for a new job. I'm bummed about his leaving, because we share a passion for cooking and for complaining, so I always enjoyed our conversations. I wanted to make an awesome baked good to mark his leaving. That meant trying a new recipe. I had a few swirling around my mind. Baked's Sweet and Salty Cake (chocolate cake + salted caramel + chocolate ganache)...but after reading other blog's "reviews" of making this cake, I was honestly terrified. (Both blogs promised I could avoid their mistakes if I followed their tips but it sounded like something was bound to go wrong. Plus, other recipes from this bakery's cookbook are really rather more complicated than I think they need to be, so I don't go to them when I am feeling tired or busy.) Martha Stewart's Grasshopper Pie (chocolate crust + grasshopper [aka creme de menthe] fluffy filling). Smores Whoopie Pies (graham cracker pies + marshmallow and chocolate icing fillings). All good choices, all with a noticeable amount of effort which would thereby demonstrate my sadness at my coworker's departure. My roommate chose and I made the Grasshopper Pie. Her reason for choosing was the pure fun of saying "grasshopp-ah". I was a little shocked she didn't choose smores, which is a favorite of hers...but, I can't deny the fun of pronunciation.
I started on the Grasshopper Pie.
Step 1) Make chocolate pie crust...with some shredded coconut added in. Hmmm, I thought, curious. I've found that coconut is not widely liked, though I personally enjoy it. I loathe and actually gag when I think about the coconut in Malibu Rum, but I like real coconut quite a bit. I decided to go with it, and went ahead with a the coconut-chocolate crust.
Step 2) Make filling. This was broken up into a few steps and I started to get a little worried.
A) Steep milk with real mint leaves to up the minty flavor. I think I used too much real mint here, because in the resulting pie you can only taste this mint and not the creme de menthe (which makes it a less than successful Grasshopper in my eye).
B) Combine minty milk with creme de menthe (so green!), gelatin, sugar, and eggs. Heat over a double boiler to 150 degrees F, according to a candy thermometer. I assumed the temperature needed to be reached to cook the eggs and/or to activate the gelatin. This is where I started to get worried. I couldn't reach 150F....and eventually decided to call it quits on this step.
C)Set the bowl in an ice bath (another problem: I don't have ice. I tried a sink of cold tap water, which I drained and refilled a few times...but it's just not that cold) and whisk for 2 minutes until it thickens to a pudding consistency. Well, that just didn't happen. Whisk I did until my poor arm hurt. Let it sit for 15 minutes in the water to try to cool it down. Put it in the fridge for 15 minutes to try to cool it down too. Nothing worked; it remained liquid and decidedly not pudding-like. Damn.
D) I decided to repeat the heating to 150F process (though I realize it could severely screw things up), and I actually reached the temp! Woohoo, victory! I repeated the chilling/whisking process. Still no pudding-like consistency. Damn, damn, damn. So the bowl went into the fridge while I worked on Pumpkin Flans (started during part B). At 11pm, I decided to call it quits. The filling had won. I stirred in whipped cream, which remained clumpy in the non-pudding mixture, and poured my half-liquid, half-froth (from all the whisking) mixture into my coconut-chocolate crust, returned it to the fridge, and went to bed.
E) In the morning, the filling had set up. Victory! Sure, there were lumps of whipped cream visible, but I'm sure it'd taste just fine. I cut the pie into wedges, packed them into plastic containers, and hauled them to school. In transit, they smushed against each other a bit, so they weren't pristine wedges. But they definitely tasted good. More real mint than creme de menthe and the coconut was very detectable.
I think my coworker liked it, and that's what matters. In the future, though, I'd change the recipe by: not using coconut in the crust, not using as much real mint so the creme de menthe can shine through, and have ice for the ice bath. Sigh. What an adventure for a simple pie! But that's how a lot of my baking goes. I suppose that should be some eloquent metaphor for life....but....I leave that up to you.
By the way, the pumpkin flans were quite delicious. Like a pumpkin pie without the crust. I kinda like pumpkin pie with the crust, though, so I'll still make it that way too. I also had an issue getting the caramel out of the ramekins I baked the flans inside, which caused a brief panic during cleanup. The issue was resolved by soaking the ramekins (containing glass-like caramel hardened to the bottom) with soap and water overnight. Phew, crisis averted!
Tonight, I'm adventuring into making Indian food - Aloo Gobi. And some Peach Cake, since I have a few slightly bruised and very ripe peaches that I'd rather cook with than eat plain (I like a like firmness to my peaches). I'll let you know if there are any crazy disasters!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
An Instant Classic
I've been flipping through cookbooks and cooking magazines a lot in the past few months, searching for new dishes to try, both sweet and savory. My recipe hunting arose from the desire to plan my meals for the week in advance so I don't buy too much at the grocery store. See, I'd developed this rather bad habit of buying too much without really knowing what I would make with it all, and far too much food went to waste.
Advanced grocery planning has worked well so far, except when I buy fruit. For some reason, I can't stop myself from buying too much fruit. The only progress in this arena has been to scale back on the amount of grapes I'll buy for a week; I went from a full bag to 1 or 2 clusters. In the summer, it's even harder to resist the siren's song of all the lusciously ripe fruit, like peaches, nectarines, plums, berries, pineapple.... But I digress.
There have been a few of these recipes I've tried out that, shall we say, won't be reappearing in my kitchen. The Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake comes to mind. The actual slices of meyer lemon in the cake were too tough and bitter to enjoy despite being briefly boiled and then cooked in the cake. Several soups have also been sadly disappointing too. One was too sweet (sweet potato/north african soup, flavored with peanut butter and honey, was just too sweet for me, even without a full dose of honey), others lacked enough flavor to encourage me to polish off the entire batch of soup (tuscan veggie soup, which just didn't have any kick or memorable flavor to it).
But there have been numerous recipes that became an instant favorite. I've even returned to a few of these multiple times already, indicating they're here to stay. Ellie Krieger's Pumpkin Muffins (topped with tasty little pumpkin seeds) survive a month or two in the freezer individually wrapped; just set it on the counter before you go to bed and voila! a tasty and healthy breakfast component. Sorry, I need more than just a muffin for breakfast, so these often get paired with yogurt or a smoothie. Or Ellie Krieger's Asian Summer Rolls, which, by the way, I'm making for dinner tonight. They're perfect for the days you don't want to turn on the stove or oven and you just want to assemble. I fill mine with rice noodles, carrot, green onion, avocado and mint. It's also very critical to soak up as much of the dipping sauce as you possibly can. Trust me on this. Or Whoopie Pies. Hot damn, so tasty and fun. Or Ina Garten's Plum Tatin or Alton Brown's Individual Peach Upside Down Cakes...
Last night, I tested a new recipe and immediately knew it was going to join my repetoire of summer dishes. It may even make a cameo appearance mid-winter, so I can remember what summer tastes like. Best of all, it's incredibly easy to make.
Martha Stewart Living - Campanelle with Corn, Scallions and Arugula
http://www.marthastewart.com/777179/campanelle-corn-scallions-and-arugula
I took some liberty with this recipe, though...
*I didn't add arugula or parmesan cheese at the end.
*I substituted orichette pasta in for the campanelle pasta, since that's what I had in the cabinet.
*I eyeballed the ingredients - 2 handfuls of frozen and thawed corn off the cob (from last summer's crop!) in the corn puree + 3 ears of fresh corn cut off the cob added to the pan. And I didn't cook the corn beforehand. I was unclear about whether I should do that and decided, because it was already 9pm, that I would skip that possibly unnecessary step.
*I substituted a jalapeno for the Thai red chili, since that's what I found at the grocery.
The resulting dish was amazing - a combination of pasta and creamy corn, with a bit of smokiness from the crisped bacon. The addition of arugula and parmesan cheese would probably take this dish to the next level, but I am not a big fan of arugula (though I desperately want to be!) and absolutely detest reheating greens of any sort in a dish.
Advanced grocery planning has worked well so far, except when I buy fruit. For some reason, I can't stop myself from buying too much fruit. The only progress in this arena has been to scale back on the amount of grapes I'll buy for a week; I went from a full bag to 1 or 2 clusters. In the summer, it's even harder to resist the siren's song of all the lusciously ripe fruit, like peaches, nectarines, plums, berries, pineapple.... But I digress.
There have been a few of these recipes I've tried out that, shall we say, won't be reappearing in my kitchen. The Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake comes to mind. The actual slices of meyer lemon in the cake were too tough and bitter to enjoy despite being briefly boiled and then cooked in the cake. Several soups have also been sadly disappointing too. One was too sweet (sweet potato/north african soup, flavored with peanut butter and honey, was just too sweet for me, even without a full dose of honey), others lacked enough flavor to encourage me to polish off the entire batch of soup (tuscan veggie soup, which just didn't have any kick or memorable flavor to it).
But there have been numerous recipes that became an instant favorite. I've even returned to a few of these multiple times already, indicating they're here to stay. Ellie Krieger's Pumpkin Muffins (topped with tasty little pumpkin seeds) survive a month or two in the freezer individually wrapped; just set it on the counter before you go to bed and voila! a tasty and healthy breakfast component. Sorry, I need more than just a muffin for breakfast, so these often get paired with yogurt or a smoothie. Or Ellie Krieger's Asian Summer Rolls, which, by the way, I'm making for dinner tonight. They're perfect for the days you don't want to turn on the stove or oven and you just want to assemble. I fill mine with rice noodles, carrot, green onion, avocado and mint. It's also very critical to soak up as much of the dipping sauce as you possibly can. Trust me on this. Or Whoopie Pies. Hot damn, so tasty and fun. Or Ina Garten's Plum Tatin or Alton Brown's Individual Peach Upside Down Cakes...
Last night, I tested a new recipe and immediately knew it was going to join my repetoire of summer dishes. It may even make a cameo appearance mid-winter, so I can remember what summer tastes like. Best of all, it's incredibly easy to make.
Martha Stewart Living - Campanelle with Corn, Scallions and Arugula
http://www.marthastewart.com/777179/campanelle-corn-scallions-and-arugula
I took some liberty with this recipe, though...
*I didn't add arugula or parmesan cheese at the end.
*I substituted orichette pasta in for the campanelle pasta, since that's what I had in the cabinet.
*I eyeballed the ingredients - 2 handfuls of frozen and thawed corn off the cob (from last summer's crop!) in the corn puree + 3 ears of fresh corn cut off the cob added to the pan. And I didn't cook the corn beforehand. I was unclear about whether I should do that and decided, because it was already 9pm, that I would skip that possibly unnecessary step.
*I substituted a jalapeno for the Thai red chili, since that's what I found at the grocery.
The resulting dish was amazing - a combination of pasta and creamy corn, with a bit of smokiness from the crisped bacon. The addition of arugula and parmesan cheese would probably take this dish to the next level, but I am not a big fan of arugula (though I desperately want to be!) and absolutely detest reheating greens of any sort in a dish.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Rocking Out on a Monday
Mondays are usually not all that awesome. Actually, they're the second worst part of the week. Sunday nights hold that terrible top spot because they are filled with dread about ending the weekend and returning to work for another week.
Sometimes my Mondays are considerably improved when I leave work a little early and trek up to Dayton for an evening at Red Carpet Tavern with Eric and Manning. What's not to be fun about delicious wings (hopefully drenched in hot sauce!), enormous glasses of icy PBR, and hours of entertainment from the boys and the various characters at Red Carpet Tavern? Practically nothing. Wait, unless we stay there past 11pm, since I try to leave Dayton at an ungodly time to beat most of the work traffic. It's worth it, though. And it always makes my Monday and the rest of the workweek a little more bearable.
Last Monday, I didn't go to Red Carpet Tavern. But neither did Eric, and that's significant. He hasn't missed a Monday night there this year and only missed a handful of Mondays in the previous 2 years.
Even without a trip to Red Carpet Tavern and wings and PBR, last Monday rocked. And here's why...
Eric drove down to Cincy...
We met up at my apartment, so I could finish getting ready. He was exhausted from his manic recording sessions over the last 4 days, so he chilled on the couch while I putzed around a bit.
We went out to dinner...
At Dewey's pizza. So delicious. I'm addicted to their Green Lantern pizza (red sauce, mozarella, pesto, goat cheese, artichoke, mushrooms), though I was highly tempted by their seasonal offering, a Cuban pizza. I may just have to revisit to try this out... Pickles on a pizza, it's like I have to try it! While we were inside, it began storming--lightning, pouring rain, dark clouds. This didn't bode well for the rest of the evening's plans... I continued to sip my too-hoppy beer and devour my half of the pizza while we waited out the rain. Eventually, Eric dashed through the storm to bring the car curbside. What a gentleman!
We saw A Perfect Circle!!!!!
Miraculously, the storm stopped the instant we pulled into the parking lot for the venue. Only our feet got wet as we trekked into Riverbend Music Center and entered PNC Pavilion. And, as expected at a show by any of Maynard's bands, the people watching before the show started was excellent! Our seats were in the first seated section, on stage right, giving us an incredible view of the stage. I'm noticing--and finding very interesting--that Maynard prefers to play in "small" venues and to not display the band on jumbo tv screens. They actually didn't use the tv screens at all for APC, though they put up graphics or music videos for Tool's show. The show itself was fantastic! I was distracted at times by the security guards repeatedly telling fans to stop using cameras (no photography or recording allowed); one girl in particular was told at least 20 times to stop and she'd argue every time. She even walked forward several aisles and took pictures. Definitely distracting. But I loved the show and had such a fun time!!!!
Afterwards, we chilled at my apartment and, amazingly, the apartment wasn't a sauna and sleeping conditions were ideal. I even woke up to turn off one fan because I was--wait for it...--too cold! Ah! And I must admit it was rather wonderful to see Eric before heading in to work.
Unfortunately...the remainder of this work week has been positively dragging by at a snail's pace. Tuesday felt like the longest day at work ever and I seriously thought it was Thursday. Or maybe that was just hoping it was Thursday. Sigh. Either way, I can't wait for that wonderful time on Friday when I leave school and head to Dayton...because that's when my weekend starts.
Sometimes my Mondays are considerably improved when I leave work a little early and trek up to Dayton for an evening at Red Carpet Tavern with Eric and Manning. What's not to be fun about delicious wings (hopefully drenched in hot sauce!), enormous glasses of icy PBR, and hours of entertainment from the boys and the various characters at Red Carpet Tavern? Practically nothing. Wait, unless we stay there past 11pm, since I try to leave Dayton at an ungodly time to beat most of the work traffic. It's worth it, though. And it always makes my Monday and the rest of the workweek a little more bearable.
Last Monday, I didn't go to Red Carpet Tavern. But neither did Eric, and that's significant. He hasn't missed a Monday night there this year and only missed a handful of Mondays in the previous 2 years.
Even without a trip to Red Carpet Tavern and wings and PBR, last Monday rocked. And here's why...
Eric drove down to Cincy...
We met up at my apartment, so I could finish getting ready. He was exhausted from his manic recording sessions over the last 4 days, so he chilled on the couch while I putzed around a bit.
We went out to dinner...
At Dewey's pizza. So delicious. I'm addicted to their Green Lantern pizza (red sauce, mozarella, pesto, goat cheese, artichoke, mushrooms), though I was highly tempted by their seasonal offering, a Cuban pizza. I may just have to revisit to try this out... Pickles on a pizza, it's like I have to try it! While we were inside, it began storming--lightning, pouring rain, dark clouds. This didn't bode well for the rest of the evening's plans... I continued to sip my too-hoppy beer and devour my half of the pizza while we waited out the rain. Eventually, Eric dashed through the storm to bring the car curbside. What a gentleman!
We saw A Perfect Circle!!!!!
Miraculously, the storm stopped the instant we pulled into the parking lot for the venue. Only our feet got wet as we trekked into Riverbend Music Center and entered PNC Pavilion. And, as expected at a show by any of Maynard's bands, the people watching before the show started was excellent! Our seats were in the first seated section, on stage right, giving us an incredible view of the stage. I'm noticing--and finding very interesting--that Maynard prefers to play in "small" venues and to not display the band on jumbo tv screens. They actually didn't use the tv screens at all for APC, though they put up graphics or music videos for Tool's show. The show itself was fantastic! I was distracted at times by the security guards repeatedly telling fans to stop using cameras (no photography or recording allowed); one girl in particular was told at least 20 times to stop and she'd argue every time. She even walked forward several aisles and took pictures. Definitely distracting. But I loved the show and had such a fun time!!!!
Afterwards, we chilled at my apartment and, amazingly, the apartment wasn't a sauna and sleeping conditions were ideal. I even woke up to turn off one fan because I was--wait for it...--too cold! Ah! And I must admit it was rather wonderful to see Eric before heading in to work.
Unfortunately...the remainder of this work week has been positively dragging by at a snail's pace. Tuesday felt like the longest day at work ever and I seriously thought it was Thursday. Or maybe that was just hoping it was Thursday. Sigh. Either way, I can't wait for that wonderful time on Friday when I leave school and head to Dayton...because that's when my weekend starts.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Birthday - Parts 1, 2,& 3
I know, it's really a bit too late to be blogging about my birthday 23 days after it happened. My apologizes! I've been making a very deliberate effort to be a more productive lab rat; it sort of worked and it also made me more crazy at work. My usually pristine and organized desk is covered in several stacks of papers that never seem to clear away. Drats.
And as I finally get to writing this, I realized I don't have any pictures from any part of my birthday. I honestly forgot to take my camera out.
Anyway, back to my birthday!
I had three--count 'em, THREE--consecutive weekends of celebrating my birthday with family and friends. I promise, I wasn't being self-centered and clamoring for attention. It actually happened because there was no one weekend where everyone could get together for a party.
Birthday Weekend #1: Family Cookout
The first party occurred over Fourth of July weekend and, to be fair, it was billed as a Fourth of July cookout for Mom's side of the family, with the side intention of celebrating my birthday. My Aunt Norma and Uncle Rick, my Uncle Charlie, and my "cousins" (Uncle Rick's brother John and two of his kids) came over to my parent's house for an informal cookout. Now, we Landis' don't mess around when it comes to organizing food for a family gathering and this is terribly obvious with the copious amounts and the incredible quality of food, typically organized around a central theme. This time, we went Greek/Mediterranean.
Lamb meatballs at room temperature (courtesy of Michael Symon's traditional Greek recipe),
lamb kebabs,
potato-tomato-corn-onion salad,
couscous salad (one of our numerous variations, filled with veggies and lightly dressed),
and, for dessert, a raspberry-rhubarb crumble
Between stuffing our faces, we chatted and played cornhole and avoided the oppressive heat when not playing cornhole. Rick and Norma gifted me with two cookbooks, both signed during their recent trip to Aspen for the Food & Wine Classic. The books are signed to both me and my mom, so we'll have to share them, but neither of us feels like this is much of a problem. I can't wait to try out some new recipes, including the one for the Greek-style lamb meatballs we'd been devouring all night!
Birthday weekend #1: relaxed, full of food and family....in other words, perfect!
Birthday Weekend #2: Fancy Dinner with Eric and Breakfast with my Parents
My actual birthday was Sunday of this weekend, and this was going to be a low-profile but awesome birthday weekend.
Friday, I brought a Dairy Queen ice cream cake (brownie batter blizzard flavor!) to Eric's apartment. His half-birthday is the day after my birthday, and I like to deflect some of the attention onto him. Plus it was the perfect excuse to get a DQ ice cream cake!!!! So yummy! I can't resist that crunchy layer + fudgy layer + ice cream + their icing. Oh man... We had dinner, and when asked what I wanted to do, I replied I wanted to watch a DVD of an old Nine Inch Nails concert.
Saturday, Eric and I spent the day together, which isn't something we often get to do because of work and errands. We lounged by the pool of his apartment complex (I need to get a tattoo in order to enter, if you base your criteria on everyone else at the pool...), had lunch, then I went off to get prettied up for our "fancy" dinner. All I'd asked of Eric for my birthday was a nice dinner where we got dressed up. So I spent an hour showering, applying makeup, digging a JCrew dress and heels out of the closet (they don't see much use, I'm sad to say...), and getting back over to Eric's. It was so hot and humid out, though, that all my grooming went to waste as soon as I set foot outside to get to my car; I was sweating all over and that just doesn't feel very pretty. Thankfully, Eric still thought I looked lovely and we headed off to The Winds restaurant in Yellow Spring. To me, The Winds feels like a special occasion restaurant, so it was perfect. Plus, Eric had never been there and I wanted to share it with him. There was a bit of a wait when we got there, so we wandered through their wine store next door. I wanted to buy everything! The wine, the cookies and biscotti handmade every day, the six-packs of microbrews, and....most wonderful of all...the Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams in the freezer (specifically the Rhubarb-Lime Cardamom that I've been dying to try for weeks). Our table still wasn't ready, so we had a drink at The Winds' bar. Eric had a Jameson on the rocks (so classy!) and I tried their seasonal Lavender Daquiri (lime juice, rum, and lavender simple syrup). While the drink was good, I was literally licking the rim of my glass to get all of the superfine sugar and dried lavender off. Mmm... We finally were seated and I wanted to try everything (except the fish, sorry!) on the menu. We shared a tomato bruschetta appetizer as well as the corn cake appetizer (fried dough with corn and carrots and a yogurt-lime dipping sauce). Eric ordered an enormous pork chop with cherry sauce, corn risotto (amazing!) and green beans. I had the Beet Salad (sliced roasted beets on the bottom, topped by arugula, shredded raw beets and horseradish) and the Fig, the Pig, and the Goat appetizer (roasted black figs with goat cheese and applewood smoked bacon). My food was delicious...but the figs were so rich and the arugula was so, well, arugula-y, that I wished I had ordered the ratatouille crepes. Oh well! I do not regret dessert at all! Eric chose the Chocolate Budino, a chocolate crust filled with dense chocolate filling (thicker and heavier than a pudding, but still smushable), sprinkled with fleur de sel and drizzled with fruity olive oil. Oh man. Oh man. So, so, so good. I wanted more olive oil and less fleur de sel, but I was in heaven. I've said this before and will say it many times more, but I would happily apprentice myself to The Winds' pastry chef, if he/she would teach me how they make the most amazing crusts to tarts and pastries. It crumbles and melts in your mouth at the same time. Ahhhh......
Sunday, Eric went off to work and I went back to my parent's house for a lavish breakfast of muffins, eggs, bacon, fruit, and ice cream cupcakes from Cold Stone Creamery. For the last several years, Mom presents a Cold Stone ice cream cake for my birthday. Their chocolate ganache covering will hurt your teeth, but you can't stop thinking about it and craving it. Mm! Mom decided to try out Cold Stone's cupcakes, which have a chocolate shell (replacing the cupcake liner) containing a small bit of cake and a hefty scoop of their rich, delicious ice cream and a bit of icing. She got the variety pack, so we had 3 different flavors. I immediately dove into the red velvet cake + cake batter ice cream combo...and loved it. Before church, I opened gifts from my parents. Mom always goes over the top in giving to others and this was no exception. It seemed like there was so much, I felt a little bad. The most prized present was my Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream cookbook!!! Woohoo!!!! It's amazing and I truly don't understand why she did it, but Jeni gave us all of her recipes, including her macaroons for ice cream "sandwiches" and different sundae combinations. Of course, it's a visually stunning book, as you'd expect from her store and her website. Mom made the lime-cardamom frozen yogurt last weekend and I cannot wait to try it in a few days when I get back to Dayton! I plan to work my way through this cookbook in less than 2 years. And I will still buy Jeni's :)
Birthday Weekend #2: relaxed, I did stuff I wanted, I have Jeni's cookbook!, I got to dress up and put on new wedge heels (Lands End Canvas espadrilles that are ridiculously high but adorable), and lots of time with Eric. Amazing!!!
Birthday Weekend #3: Cookout Party for my Friends
The weekend after my birthday, I invited a bunch of my friends over to my parent's house for a cookout/party. My hopes were very high that we would play one-handed beer volleyball, a challenging and hilarious game invented at my birthday cookout last year. I'm sad to report there was no volleyball playing, despite putting the net up. I strongly believe that if some of the game's co-founders had been there (Kara and Jeremy), we would've played. Perhaps next year....I'll keep my hopes up!
I wanted to keep this party simple, so we wouldn't exhaust ourselves preparing for it and so we could be done with preparations before the party started. I even wrote out a to-do list for Friday and Saturday. And we managed to do it! I suspect my mom did more work getting everything cleaned than I wanted her to, though. I'll have to keep a better eye on her next time. I created a menu that I hoped would please people and be easy to prepare. We had:
Handmade burgers
Hot dogs & sausages (not handmade)
Potato-roasted corn-roasted red pepper salad
Veggies + yogurt-curry dip
Muhammara dip + pita chips and bread
Fresh fruit (grapes, pineapple, melon, strawberries)
Homemade ice cream sandwiches (chocolate chip cookies with either mint choc-chip or cherry cordial ice cream in between)
Ohhhhh, it was fantastic! The food was delicious (I ate a LOT, so that I could barely even have my ice cream sandwich! Unheard of!). The beer was plentiful and chilled (Magic Hat sampler, Christian Morlein sampler, and PBR). The weather was perfect for relaxing on the patio, especially when the sun went down. But best of all were all my friends being there. Seriously, something lined up the fates to bring together so many friends who are normally in a different city or state. Megan, Moe, Dan, and my late surprise guest David. My roommate Kayleigh drove up from Cincy, and Eric's parents joined us as well. Eric was there too, though Manning wasn't able to make it. It was so wonderful having everyone there!!!!
I was also excited to wear another new Patagonia dress for the party. It was the first time I'd worn the dress and I was happily surprised by the way the skirt moved, as if it were meant for dancing.
Eric and I noticed that both of our parents were chatting during the night and, naturally, they began to talk about "old people" topics, like health ailments, the weather, their respective cats, etc. I overheard my Dad tell at least 3 stories I know he's told Eric's parents before. I bet Eric that the next time they're together, we'll hear those same 3 stories again. We may need to prepare to introduce some new topics into their conversation...
While I didn't ask for any gifts and didn't expect any, I received some very awesome ones. Eric's parents brought over Magnum double chocolate ice cream bars. (They've only been available in the US for a few months, but I'd had them in Spain. Try one. Actually, be prepared to eat the whole box. They're incredible.) His parents also gifted me with a lovely Fossil wallet and keychain. Eric's mother initiated my Fossil obsession, so it was perfect that she further developed my love of Fossil products. My friend Megan gifted me with an orange ice cream scoop to match my orange ice cream maker (to make all the Jeni's flavors in!) and some beautiful earrings I'd been eyeing at a store we'd gone to together the previous week. She's so sneaky, I had no idea they were for me! My friend Maureen presented me with a gorgeously wrapped present that I didn't want to open because it was so perfectly wrapped (this always happens because her gift wrapping is so exquisite!). Inside was a bottle of Estee Lauder's Beyond Paradise perfume, which I've been hoping to buy for awhile. Every time I wear it, I sniff my arm uncontrollably, looking like a crazy moron, but I don't mind because the perfume is just so darn lovely!
Eventually, everyone had to head out. After helping my parents clean up from the party, I met up with Eric and David to watch some of Sons of Anarchy (the boys' favorite show) before falling asleep, happy as can be.
Birthday Weekend #3: relaxed, ready for everything before the party started, thrilled to be with friends I don't often get to see (silly adult jobs!), full of food and drink, and surprised with some really fantastic gifts....overall, incredible!
I had three unbelieveably great birthday weekends this year, and while I don't have any pictures to document it, I loved every minute of it!
Only 343 days until my next birthday....
And as I finally get to writing this, I realized I don't have any pictures from any part of my birthday. I honestly forgot to take my camera out.
Well, one time I was itching to get a picture of Eric and I at dinner, but I would have needed to ask a stranger to take the photo. I always feel so bizarre asking for that, especially if they aren't good at taking pictures, and I think Eric would've teased me for it. In retrospect, I wish I had asked someone to take the picture, because we don't get dressed up all that often and I think we look rather good together. Sigh. Oh well.
Anyway, back to my birthday!
I had three--count 'em, THREE--consecutive weekends of celebrating my birthday with family and friends. I promise, I wasn't being self-centered and clamoring for attention. It actually happened because there was no one weekend where everyone could get together for a party.
Birthday Weekend #1: Family Cookout
The first party occurred over Fourth of July weekend and, to be fair, it was billed as a Fourth of July cookout for Mom's side of the family, with the side intention of celebrating my birthday. My Aunt Norma and Uncle Rick, my Uncle Charlie, and my "cousins" (Uncle Rick's brother John and two of his kids) came over to my parent's house for an informal cookout. Now, we Landis' don't mess around when it comes to organizing food for a family gathering and this is terribly obvious with the copious amounts and the incredible quality of food, typically organized around a central theme. This time, we went Greek/Mediterranean.
Lamb meatballs at room temperature (courtesy of Michael Symon's traditional Greek recipe),
lamb kebabs,
potato-tomato-corn-onion salad,
couscous salad (one of our numerous variations, filled with veggies and lightly dressed),
and, for dessert, a raspberry-rhubarb crumble
Between stuffing our faces, we chatted and played cornhole and avoided the oppressive heat when not playing cornhole. Rick and Norma gifted me with two cookbooks, both signed during their recent trip to Aspen for the Food & Wine Classic. The books are signed to both me and my mom, so we'll have to share them, but neither of us feels like this is much of a problem. I can't wait to try out some new recipes, including the one for the Greek-style lamb meatballs we'd been devouring all night!
Birthday weekend #1: relaxed, full of food and family....in other words, perfect!
Birthday Weekend #2: Fancy Dinner with Eric and Breakfast with my Parents
My actual birthday was Sunday of this weekend, and this was going to be a low-profile but awesome birthday weekend.
Friday, I brought a Dairy Queen ice cream cake (brownie batter blizzard flavor!) to Eric's apartment. His half-birthday is the day after my birthday, and I like to deflect some of the attention onto him. Plus it was the perfect excuse to get a DQ ice cream cake!!!! So yummy! I can't resist that crunchy layer + fudgy layer + ice cream + their icing. Oh man... We had dinner, and when asked what I wanted to do, I replied I wanted to watch a DVD of an old Nine Inch Nails concert.
Saturday, Eric and I spent the day together, which isn't something we often get to do because of work and errands. We lounged by the pool of his apartment complex (I need to get a tattoo in order to enter, if you base your criteria on everyone else at the pool...), had lunch, then I went off to get prettied up for our "fancy" dinner. All I'd asked of Eric for my birthday was a nice dinner where we got dressed up. So I spent an hour showering, applying makeup, digging a JCrew dress and heels out of the closet (they don't see much use, I'm sad to say...), and getting back over to Eric's. It was so hot and humid out, though, that all my grooming went to waste as soon as I set foot outside to get to my car; I was sweating all over and that just doesn't feel very pretty. Thankfully, Eric still thought I looked lovely and we headed off to The Winds restaurant in Yellow Spring. To me, The Winds feels like a special occasion restaurant, so it was perfect. Plus, Eric had never been there and I wanted to share it with him. There was a bit of a wait when we got there, so we wandered through their wine store next door. I wanted to buy everything! The wine, the cookies and biscotti handmade every day, the six-packs of microbrews, and....most wonderful of all...the Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams in the freezer (specifically the Rhubarb-Lime Cardamom that I've been dying to try for weeks). Our table still wasn't ready, so we had a drink at The Winds' bar. Eric had a Jameson on the rocks (so classy!) and I tried their seasonal Lavender Daquiri (lime juice, rum, and lavender simple syrup). While the drink was good, I was literally licking the rim of my glass to get all of the superfine sugar and dried lavender off. Mmm... We finally were seated and I wanted to try everything (except the fish, sorry!) on the menu. We shared a tomato bruschetta appetizer as well as the corn cake appetizer (fried dough with corn and carrots and a yogurt-lime dipping sauce). Eric ordered an enormous pork chop with cherry sauce, corn risotto (amazing!) and green beans. I had the Beet Salad (sliced roasted beets on the bottom, topped by arugula, shredded raw beets and horseradish) and the Fig, the Pig, and the Goat appetizer (roasted black figs with goat cheese and applewood smoked bacon). My food was delicious...but the figs were so rich and the arugula was so, well, arugula-y, that I wished I had ordered the ratatouille crepes. Oh well! I do not regret dessert at all! Eric chose the Chocolate Budino, a chocolate crust filled with dense chocolate filling (thicker and heavier than a pudding, but still smushable), sprinkled with fleur de sel and drizzled with fruity olive oil. Oh man. Oh man. So, so, so good. I wanted more olive oil and less fleur de sel, but I was in heaven. I've said this before and will say it many times more, but I would happily apprentice myself to The Winds' pastry chef, if he/she would teach me how they make the most amazing crusts to tarts and pastries. It crumbles and melts in your mouth at the same time. Ahhhh......
Sunday, Eric went off to work and I went back to my parent's house for a lavish breakfast of muffins, eggs, bacon, fruit, and ice cream cupcakes from Cold Stone Creamery. For the last several years, Mom presents a Cold Stone ice cream cake for my birthday. Their chocolate ganache covering will hurt your teeth, but you can't stop thinking about it and craving it. Mm! Mom decided to try out Cold Stone's cupcakes, which have a chocolate shell (replacing the cupcake liner) containing a small bit of cake and a hefty scoop of their rich, delicious ice cream and a bit of icing. She got the variety pack, so we had 3 different flavors. I immediately dove into the red velvet cake + cake batter ice cream combo...and loved it. Before church, I opened gifts from my parents. Mom always goes over the top in giving to others and this was no exception. It seemed like there was so much, I felt a little bad. The most prized present was my Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream cookbook!!! Woohoo!!!! It's amazing and I truly don't understand why she did it, but Jeni gave us all of her recipes, including her macaroons for ice cream "sandwiches" and different sundae combinations. Of course, it's a visually stunning book, as you'd expect from her store and her website. Mom made the lime-cardamom frozen yogurt last weekend and I cannot wait to try it in a few days when I get back to Dayton! I plan to work my way through this cookbook in less than 2 years. And I will still buy Jeni's :)
Birthday Weekend #2: relaxed, I did stuff I wanted, I have Jeni's cookbook!, I got to dress up and put on new wedge heels (Lands End Canvas espadrilles that are ridiculously high but adorable), and lots of time with Eric. Amazing!!!
Birthday Weekend #3: Cookout Party for my Friends
The weekend after my birthday, I invited a bunch of my friends over to my parent's house for a cookout/party. My hopes were very high that we would play one-handed beer volleyball, a challenging and hilarious game invented at my birthday cookout last year. I'm sad to report there was no volleyball playing, despite putting the net up. I strongly believe that if some of the game's co-founders had been there (Kara and Jeremy), we would've played. Perhaps next year....I'll keep my hopes up!
I wanted to keep this party simple, so we wouldn't exhaust ourselves preparing for it and so we could be done with preparations before the party started. I even wrote out a to-do list for Friday and Saturday. And we managed to do it! I suspect my mom did more work getting everything cleaned than I wanted her to, though. I'll have to keep a better eye on her next time. I created a menu that I hoped would please people and be easy to prepare. We had:
Handmade burgers
Hot dogs & sausages (not handmade)
Potato-roasted corn-roasted red pepper salad
Veggies + yogurt-curry dip
Muhammara dip + pita chips and bread
Fresh fruit (grapes, pineapple, melon, strawberries)
Homemade ice cream sandwiches (chocolate chip cookies with either mint choc-chip or cherry cordial ice cream in between)
Ohhhhh, it was fantastic! The food was delicious (I ate a LOT, so that I could barely even have my ice cream sandwich! Unheard of!). The beer was plentiful and chilled (Magic Hat sampler, Christian Morlein sampler, and PBR). The weather was perfect for relaxing on the patio, especially when the sun went down. But best of all were all my friends being there. Seriously, something lined up the fates to bring together so many friends who are normally in a different city or state. Megan, Moe, Dan, and my late surprise guest David. My roommate Kayleigh drove up from Cincy, and Eric's parents joined us as well. Eric was there too, though Manning wasn't able to make it. It was so wonderful having everyone there!!!!
I was also excited to wear another new Patagonia dress for the party. It was the first time I'd worn the dress and I was happily surprised by the way the skirt moved, as if it were meant for dancing.
Eric and I noticed that both of our parents were chatting during the night and, naturally, they began to talk about "old people" topics, like health ailments, the weather, their respective cats, etc. I overheard my Dad tell at least 3 stories I know he's told Eric's parents before. I bet Eric that the next time they're together, we'll hear those same 3 stories again. We may need to prepare to introduce some new topics into their conversation...
While I didn't ask for any gifts and didn't expect any, I received some very awesome ones. Eric's parents brought over Magnum double chocolate ice cream bars. (They've only been available in the US for a few months, but I'd had them in Spain. Try one. Actually, be prepared to eat the whole box. They're incredible.) His parents also gifted me with a lovely Fossil wallet and keychain. Eric's mother initiated my Fossil obsession, so it was perfect that she further developed my love of Fossil products. My friend Megan gifted me with an orange ice cream scoop to match my orange ice cream maker (to make all the Jeni's flavors in!) and some beautiful earrings I'd been eyeing at a store we'd gone to together the previous week. She's so sneaky, I had no idea they were for me! My friend Maureen presented me with a gorgeously wrapped present that I didn't want to open because it was so perfectly wrapped (this always happens because her gift wrapping is so exquisite!). Inside was a bottle of Estee Lauder's Beyond Paradise perfume, which I've been hoping to buy for awhile. Every time I wear it, I sniff my arm uncontrollably, looking like a crazy moron, but I don't mind because the perfume is just so darn lovely!
Eventually, everyone had to head out. After helping my parents clean up from the party, I met up with Eric and David to watch some of Sons of Anarchy (the boys' favorite show) before falling asleep, happy as can be.
Birthday Weekend #3: relaxed, ready for everything before the party started, thrilled to be with friends I don't often get to see (silly adult jobs!), full of food and drink, and surprised with some really fantastic gifts....overall, incredible!
I had three unbelieveably great birthday weekends this year, and while I don't have any pictures to document it, I loved every minute of it!
Only 343 days until my next birthday....
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