Happy Halloween!

I hope that everyone is enjoying their Halloween evening.  Hubby and I celebrated Halloween over the weekend at a friend's party.  I had spent all week planning my costume and purchasing the necessary supplies to make it come to life.  Then I spent most of Saturday putting everything together.  I hadn't finished watching this past season of Project Runway and decided to have a Project Runway mini-marathon as I sewed together my costume... very inspiring.  Two sweatshirts, 4 boas, and lots of thread later, my ostrich costume was complete.  Hubby went as a safari goer... I love couple costumes!

 Happy Halloween!

Freezer Meals: Part 2

So, you saw me make and prep all the different make ahead meals.  Now, it's time to eat!  We started with the lamb ragu which smelled too good to freeze.  The only step left to do was put it in the slow cooker for 10 hours.  Luckily for hubby and I, that is about the time we spend away at work.  Before I left, I turned the crock pot on, and hubby came home for lunch to take out Maui and stir the ragu.  When I got home, I gave it another stir and took Maui for a another walk.  The smell of the ragu cooking all day made the house smell delightful.

The ragu hanging out in the crock pot.

The lamb ragu is more like a sauce than a stand alone dish.  The recipe online suggested serving it with pasta, which I thought would be mighty delicious.  We decided to start the week off healthy, serving the ragu over stir fried vegetables.  The next day, hubby had the ragu over pasta while I met my dad for dinner in Dallas.  Then I had the remaining ragu over homemade pumpkin gnocchi... yes, I said homemade.  That night, hubby had the pumkin gnocchi with a maple goat cheese sauce I came up with on the spot.  The lamb ragu was delicious and had a slight sweetness from the wine.  It made a perfect sauce and accompaniment to the dishes it was paired with.

 The sauteed veggies were a delicious side for the ragu.

 Hubby bought a loaf of bread, which was perfect for soaking up the sauce.

Ok, I know you're curious about the pumpkin gnocchi.  I had made them once many years ago and lost the recipe.  When I had made them the first time, I don't think I had really ever eaten gnocchi, so I had nothing to compare them to.  Since then, I have eaten (and fallen in love with) gnocchi.  Gnocchi (and pasta in general) is fairly easy to make as far as ingredients go... just flour, egg, mashed potatoes (or pumkin or ricotta), and seasoning.  That's it!  I think these things are pretty easy to have on hand, especially if you used canned pumpkin.  The most difficult part of making pasta is having the right proportions, which depends on multiple factors.  I don't know the secret to this yet, but my trial and error hasn't been too bad. 

I got some guidance from an online recipe and started making the gnocchi.  In Cooks Illustrated, I had just read about the perfect pumpkin bread and how part of the secret is cooking the canned pumpkin a bit to remove any off flavors from the can.  I improvized (hubby says I am always tweaking recipes) and cooked the pumpkin a bit adding some creamy goat cheese to give it flavor and milk to add back any moisture lost in cooking.  Once I had my pumpkin ready, I began mixing together the other ingredients.  I ended up using more flour than this recipe called for, but my dough was still super sticky.  In the end, the pumpkin gnocchi was a hit.  The recipe made enough that I froze my leftover ones to be cooked up on another day.

Cooking the pumpkin for a little bit helped remove some of the tinny taste from the canned pumpkin.

Adding milk and creamy goat cheese restored moisture and added flavor.  I also added nutmeg and cinnamon here.

Mixing up the dough.

 Making the gnocchi took time.

I ate my gnocchi with the lamb ragu.

 Hubby ate his with a maple goat cheese sauce that almost made it taste like a cinnamon roll.

Freezer Meals: Part 1

With work and my commute, I have a lot less time than I used to.  I do enjoy being employed, but I miss being able to make delicious dinners without having to rush.  For the first couple weeks of my job, hubby and I had more take out and breakfast for dinner than we would have liked.  That's when I decided that things had to change.  I wanted to have a delicious dinner waiting for me when I got home and knew that hubby wasn't going to do it.  Instead, I researched some good meals that could be made ahead, frozen, and reheated.  In the end, I found three recipes that I decided to make all at once.  I spent an entire Sunday afternoon with the stove going making one dish after the other, letting it cool, and putting them in the freezer.

The recipes:

Lamb Ragu

Baked Penne with Sausage and Creamy Ricotta

Fig Balsamic Chicken

This is Part 1 because you'll see how I prepped all the food and got ready for three weeks of meals.  In subsequent posts, you can see how things turned out.  From the smell of all the initial cooking, I am very hopeful that things will turn out great.  Hubby wanted to eat everything as I was making it, but I told him he might have to wait a couple of weeks.  Each recipe was made in large enough quantities to last at least two or three dinners, and I tried to vary the side dishes to ensure we didn't get too bored of eating the same thing everyday.

This is the lamb ragu ready for a day in the slow cooker.

The penne bake was ready to be put in the oven (once I froze it and defrosted it).

The chicken was browned and awaiting its sauce and day in the slow cooker.

 An afternoon's worth of cooking and three recipes made half way through... let's see what happens next!

Sisterly Love

After a crazy busy week, hubby and I were delighted to have my little sister come to visit.  We very affectionately call her Shorty, although she's not shorter than me anymore.  She lives in Boston and booked a flight the second she saw a picture of Maui... I don't know if I should feel so special about her visit if she just came for the dog.  It was such a fun weekend filled with shopping and hanging out with the dog and shopping and eating and, yes, more shopping.

My sister spent Friday sleeping in and hanging out while hubby and I went to work.  She also had plenty of quality time with her doggy niece... I never thought I would be one of those people who referred to their dogs as people.  Friday night, we went to Cane Rosso's mobile pizza oven at the Swiss Pastry Shop.  My sister loved it, and hubby and I realized we have a go to Friday dinner place.

Shorty documented her walk with the dog...

... and hanging out by the couch

On Saturday, we went to the new Paragon Outlet Mall in Grand Prairie.  The mall just opened in August, and the shops still looked so new and clean.  The weather was warm and breezy, which made walking the outlet mall a delight.  It was so wonderful to have my shopping buddy there with me.  My little sister always keeps me in line... making sure I don't miss out on a good deal and (great for hubby) making sure I don't buy something I already have.  It was quite a successful shopping trip for my sister and I and hubby, too.

So many bags and so much fun!

We spent Sunday running errands and trying to fit all my sister's purchases into her carry on bag.  We made a delicious brunch, which was reminiscent of the summer my sister and I spent together.  It was so nice to have her around and catch up.  Hubby and I are thrilled that she'll be joining for Thanksgiving in a month!

Maui was sad to see Shorty go, but she was even more sad to see the Jets lose.  =(

Houston Reunion

This past weekend hubby and I drove down to Houston for Rice's Centennial Homecoming Celebration.  Many of our friends from near and far were planning on attending, and we thought it would be a great opportunity to see them and reminisce.  I hadn't been back to Houston in over two years and was excited to see all the positive changes going on there.  Many new buildings and shops and restaurants have popped up in the city we used to call home.

 While in Houston we visited some of our old favorite places... some of which had been renovated or moved to newer and bigger locations.  One of these places was Buffalo Grille, a restaurant known for its breakfast in Houston.  We were glad to see it in its new location because seating at the old location was always a problem.  Hubby and I decided to get an egg dish and a sweet dish and share... that way we got the best of both worlds.  I ordered scrambled eggs with bacon, hashbrowns, and biscuits, while hubby had banana pecan pancakes.  The eggs were nothing to write home about, but the biscuits and pancakes were top notch.  I almost wrapped up the extra biscuit to take with us for the day... then thought it was better to leave the day open to other food possibilities.

 The new space at Buffalo Grille was open and welcoming... and easy to find a seat.

Their cinnamon spice coffee put a smile on hubby's face.

 

 The eggs were ok, and the hashbrowns could have used more flavor... but the biscuits more than made up for whatever the meal lacked.

 Hubby got two very large pancakes that delighted with sweet banana bites.

The pancakes were so good, we nearly licked the plate clean.

After breakfast, we were off for a day of tailgating and reliving our college days.  Like the ever changing restaurant scene in Houston, Rice had also seen a lot of changes since hubby and I were at school there.  Where there once were trees or open fields, buildings have been put up... new residential colleges, a recreation center, and art installations.  Although hubby was happy about the changes, I was a little sad that the school I had graduated from only five years ago had undergone so much.  Even though I may not have been a fan, I understand the need to make changes and spruce things up in honor of the centennial and all the visitors it brings to campus... oh, yes, and making it look new and pretty attracts more students too.

 Banners announcing the centennial were everywhere... the stadium...

 ... shuttle buses on campus...

 ... even VW Beetles, though I'm not sure what they are used for.

 The new residential colleges looked beautiful and blended with the school architecture while still standing out.

Some parts hadn't changed, and it was nice to walk down a literal memory lane.

This art installation was very bizarre to us.  It was put in special for the centennial.

We spent the day tailgating with friends for the football game.  Then hubby and I went our separate ways to visit our residential colleges and see how they have changed.  After the residential college gatherings, there was a centennial finale, which was a great way to end the day.  There was an incredible spread of food with music (and eventual dancing) and, of course, the spectacle.  I don't know how to put a video in here, but if you follow this link, you can see the light show that was put on in the middle of our academic quad.  It was a very interesting and unique display... it definitely beats fireworks.

Sunday, we woke up leisurely and had a kolache from Kolache Factory and lunch at Barnaby's before heading home to Fort Worth.  On our drive back, we made a pit stop at Buc-ee's.  If you've ever been to Texas, you've probably seen a sign for Buc-ee's, which is a convenient store.  There aren't actually that many Buc-ee's considering the size of Texas, but everyone seems to know about them.  In my seven years in Texas, I had never been and felt like this was as good a time as any for my first Buc-ee's experience.  I was in awe.  It was the coolest gas station stop I've ever had.  The Buc-ee's in Madisonville, TX was bigger than a regular gas station quickie mart, which gives it the opportunity to sell tons of stuff.  There was art and Texas gear, like leather belts.  There is private label jerky and snacks.  There are Buc-ee's souveniers and a market and so much more.  The place was packed with visitors and locals alike.  There are no words to describe how cool it is... for a convenient store.

 You could see the large establishment easily from the highway.

There was so much in the store.  A quick stop wasn't enough to take it all in.

We picked up some snacks for the road... this is a whole row of private label popcorns and nut mixes.

A Taste of Thanksgiving

This year, I am hosting Thanksgiving for the very first time.  I am so excited to decorate and meal plan and have people over, but I want to make sure I don't ruin Thanksgiving.  It's a lot of responsibility for one person (I guess, two people if you count hubby, though I don't think he's as worried).  This is not just a random dinner... it is one of the most anticipated meals of the year.  Since I will not take my new responsibility lightly, I am practicing dishes and getting in the Thanksgiving mindset ahead of time. 

Since hubby is Italian, his mom uses sausages in their stuffing.  To be quite honest, I'm not sure what is in my family's stuffing, but I don't think there are any sausages.  It just doesn't sound like something a Cuban would do, though I guess that stuffing doesn't exactly sound like something a Cuban would make in the first place.  Anyways, I was thrilled to find a recipe for sausage and peppers stuffing on Laura in the Kitchen and decided to make a mini-Thanksgiving themed dinner.

Laura's brilliant idea is to use turkey sausage, which makes the stuffing a mini dinner all its own.  I took the sausages out of their casings and cooked them up.  Central Market didn't have turkey Italian sausages like the ones Laura used but instead had turkey sausage with craisins.  I wasn't thrilled at first, but it turned out so delicious I would seek them out again.  I added the peppers to the sausages and cooked them up while I cut the bread into chunks (I toasted the bread after cubing it to dry it out as much as possible).  Then I combined all the sausage and peppers with the bread cubes and began adding chicken broth to get to my desired level of moistness.  I put the mixture into the oven and hoped for the best.  While it baked, I made some mashed sweet potatoes to add some vegetables to our meal.

 Here is the stuffing.  I like mine with a little crispiness on the outside.  You can't really imagine how good it is just by looking at it.

Mashed sweet potatoes so we don't feel too guilty about just having stuffing for dinner.

The stuffing smelled heavenly as it emerged from the oven.  The sausage and peppers gave the dish an incredible aroma that filled the apartment and intoxicated hubby as he came home from work.  I'm glad it smelled good, but the real test came in when hubby took his first bite.  He smiled as he took a bite admitting that stuffing can taste good even when made outside of a turkey (a recurring argument between us).  The cubes of bread were moist with the outer most layer having the slightest crunch.  The sausage and peppers conjured memories of a large, warm Italian sandwich while the craisins surprised the taste buds with a tart sweetness.  It was delicious meal and got us exciting for our Thanksgiving meal.

Here was our plate of deliciousness.  Thinking back on it now, it's basically a deconstructed Italian sandwich of sorts.

I haven't put a picture of Maui up in a while.  Tonight she graduated from puppy training class.  We are so proud.

A Taste of Florida

For a friend's birthday, I made a homemade key lime pie with a chocolate almond crust.  I don't normally eat much key lime pie, and this was actually the first one I had ever made.  The impetus for this decision was a request from the birthday boy.  Luckily, hubby also likes key lime pie, so this was good practice and a good recipe to know. While I was determined to make it from scratch, with a few added shortcuts this recipe could be an easy but impressive dessert.

All of the ingredients... yes, those are two bags of key limes for one pie.

The recipe starts with the crust.  Chocolate graham crackers provide the chocolate and are easily blended in a food processor along with the other crust ingredients.  Then the blended ingredients are pressed into the pie pan and baked.  That was fairly easy and could be replaced by a store bought graham cracker crust for a quicker version.  Where the works really came in was juicining all the key limes... two whole pounds!  This is where the most time can be saved if you buy key lime (or just lime) juice.  Once the lime juice is procured, it is mixed with the rest of the ingredients (basically sweetened condensed milk which seems to do much of the heavy lifting in the recipe).  You put the pie in the oven again and then refrigerate.  It is so simple, especially if you were do used a store bought crust and lime juice.  This is definitely going on my dessert rotation.

Key limes are itty bitty and took quite some time to squeeze.

 Voila!  It doesn't look really impressive from this picture, but it tasted delicious... sweet and tart as a key lime pie should be.

Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta

I love sundried tomatoes.  There is something so tangy and delicious about them that always leaves me wanting more.  I've mentioned Laura in the Kitchen before on this blog, and I will continue to mention her and her easy to understand recipes.  I saw her video blog about sundried tomato pesto pasta and knew I had to try it.  Seeing the recipe made me think of a pasta salad I had at Eatzi's, which was out of this world.

For this recipe, I got to use my food processor, which is always a pleasure.

The recipe was simple and gave me an opportunity to use my awesome food processor.  I put the water to boil to begin getting my pasta ready while I made the sauce.  I toasted the pine nuts and basically put all the ingredients into the food processor.  After blending everything up to the desired consistency, I made the pasta.  Reserving some of the pasta liquid, I quickly and easily mixed the pesto and pasta... voila!  Dinner in about 15 minutes.  The dish was flavorful and delicious when it was fresh, and that flavor developed over the next few days as hubby and I ate the leftovers as pasta salad.

 Mix it, and its done!

 Dinner is served!

Fort Worth's Version of (Very) Little Italy

Since moving to Fort Worth, hubby and I have heard a lot about a small hole-in-the-wall Italian place.  I had seen it originally when I was apartment shopping, and then people we met brought it up as a place to try.  After some googling, hubby and I realized that it was not open on Saturday, Sunday or Monday.  Any restaurant that could survive without being open on the weekends was definitely worth a try. 

On a Friday night, hubby and I made our way to Nonna Tata (I believe named after the owner's grandmother).  Hubby had insisted on not going out to early, and we finally left the apartment around 7PM.  For anyone who has ever been to Nonna Tata's on a Friday night, they know going that late is a bad idea.  When I say this is a hole-in-the-wall, I mean it.  The restaurant was smaller than our bedroom with no more than 10 tables squeezed into the tight space.  Although it was small, it was filled with energy and smelled delicious.  As we should have guessed, the wait was at least an hour, but we were determined to try it and decided to wait. 

Nonna Tata is a small corner restaurant.  We heard that at one point it was BYOT... bring your own table!

We had heard about a nearby bar, The Usual, and went for a drink while we waited.  The Usual is a nondescript bar that serves up interesting drinks designed by their mixologists.  I think I had a cardigan, which was a version of a daquari with rum and spices.  Hubby got a whiskey cocktail that wasn't quite able to hide the underlying liquor.  As we sat at a table drinking our drinks, we began to notice that people were being served food.  We remembered that a friend of ours had said you could order Nonna Tata's from The Usual.  With food on our minds, we decided to investigate this possibility.

It doesn't look like very much from the outside, but the drinks inside are delicious.

Before we knew it, we had menus in our hands and were contemplating what delicious pasta dishes would accompany our cocktails.  Hubby ordered the special, which was a homemade buckwheat pasta with butternut squash, and I had the pasta carbonera since the gnocchi I was eyeing had been sold out.  We waited for a while before getting our food, not unusual given that servers had to walk a block back and forth to get between the two establishments.  Once the food arrived, it was quite delicious.  Both dishes came with a side salad, which was a nice bonus to our meal.  Hubby's pasta special was the winner of the night with complex flavors and outstanding freshness.  My meal was simple and unimpressive, which I had expected with my selection.  Although I was full at the end of my meal, I was left wanting more and knowing that I would have to return to try the sold out gnocchi and fully experience the restaurant from the inside.

Excuse the horrible pictures.  The lighting was not ideal.

That's right, the bottom of the menu says "Cash, Checks or Euros Only"

My drinks was delicious and made me feel so fancy.

This was my dinner... not quite as good as hubby's.

Brownies Worth Blogging About

When I say these brownies are delicious, that's not accurately describing how great they actually are.  These brownies are earth shattering... mind blowing... caramel-icious... chocolate-y divine... really, there are no words that can truly express the feeling of eating these brownies.  And that's probably why the Pioneer Woman calls them knock-you naked brownies.  I love the Pioneer Woman. I've been reading her blog for years now and have watched her shows and read her books (two cookbooks and a novel/autobiography true life love story).  Her cooking is delicious and butter-filled like Paula Deen... though I do caveat that she cooks for her family that owns a cattle ranch, so they work for every calorie.

I had been looking for a reason to make such a decadent treat since it would be dangerous to have around just hubby and I.  We went to Austin for a friend's birthday a few weeks ago, and I thought that would be a great place to bring out a batch of knock-you naked brownies.  While making the brownies, I doubted their scrumptious potential, which was wrong of me to doubt anything the Pioneer Woman has approved.  The recipe is fairly simple, though it does take some steps to provide the chewy caramel-y center layer.  I wasn't able to determine my true opinion until I pulled the brownies out of the oven, cooled them, and finally refrigerated them (to keep them from making an absolute mess when cut).

The recipe was surprisingly simple given the delicious results... no one would have guessed it is based off of a box mix!

I finally cut into the brownies to get a small square to taste the finished product.  I took my first bite into the chocolate brownie layers and discovered the almost hidden caramel layer as it melted in my mouth adding an extra dimension that I never thought possible.  Each bite was pure pleasure.  Hubby's eyes almost popped out of his head when he had one.  He didn't realize all the delicious-ness that could be put into one little bite.  Our friends had similar reactions as they took their first bites of this delectable dish.  This is definitely something I will save for very special occasions (especially if I want to continue to fit into my clothes).

You can't really tell that this brownie will knock your socks off from the pan.

Just look at the gooey delicious-ness coming out of the center of this brownie!