Sunday, November 28, 2010

Thanksgiving


I survived Thanksgiving!!
It was a busy, busy week but SO worth it!
Thanksgiving menu:
Turkey
Stuffing
Green bean casserole
Pumpkin Spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

I made my first turkey this year for my church Thanksgiving food drive and it turned out delicious. In fact I bought another turkey yesterday so we can have some for the week :)


About to butter up my my turkey.. Isn't he cute??


Simple Stuffing: Box of stuffing, 1 apple (I use granny smith), cranberries, 1 chopped onion, chopped celery, and 1 chopped carrot.. so simple


Pumpkin spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting 
MMMMMMMM..
Cream cheese frosting


2 packages of cream cheese frosting
1/2 cup of butter softened
2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In medium bowl, cream together cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in vanilla, then gradually and confectioners sugar.

Thank goodness for my cupcake carrier my hunny got me last year. It's awesome!


You can take out the three levels and use it for cake too!


I'm thankful for my family, friends, boyfriend and dog Mia :)
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!


Monday, November 22, 2010

Au Gratin Potatoes

I've been sorting through our Germany pictures and every time I see the Hofbrauhaus potatoes in one of them my mouth begins to water. I browsed around for a quick recipe and found a pretty good one..


I do my best to capture how good it is with my little camera but I hope to have a better camera by December hehe.. 
This recipe is actually a video tutorial I found at Food Network from Aaron McCargo "Big Daddy's House."


AU GRATIN POTATOES

Ingredients:
8 tbsp. (1 stick)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups of milk
1/2 cup grated yellow Cheddar
1/4 cup grated American cheese
1/4 cup grated White cheddar
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. black pepper
3 lbs. russet potatoes, washed and scrubbed, peeled and sliced thin

Au Gratin:
1 stick butter, melted
2 cups panko bread crumbs
2 tsp smoky paprika

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
In large sauce pot over medium high heat, add butter. Stir in the flour until pasty. Add milk; stir to remove lumps and let cook for 6 minutes until it gets thick. Lower heat and add the cheese, bouillon, nutmeg and black pepper. Whisk until well combined and sauce thickens, approximately 4 minutes. Remove from heat.


In a bowl, combine butter, panko and smokey paprika. Stir well.

Place potatoes into a casserole dish. Pour cheese over potatoes and sprinkle au gratin on top. Wrap with foil and bake in the oven for 35 to 45 minutes. Remove foil and cook for 10 minutes uncovered. Allow to sit for 10 minutes... AND SHE IS READY TO EAT.. 


I cant wait to go back to Germany one day and have these all over again.. 
but for now these will work :)
ENJOY!


Thursday, November 11, 2010

Good Eats

My good friend Jessica that lives in Seal Beach introduced me to this place called Beachwood BBQ. I used to play club volleyball with her back when we were in high school. She LOVES this place.
All the food is homemade. Takes a little longer to get your food but there is a LARGE beer wall that will keep you occupied in the meantime. There website has a 24 hour HOP CAM that keeps you updated on the beers they offer. It's always changing:)

My favorite is the pulled pork sandwich with sweet potato fries. It's served on a pretzel bun!
This beer wall makes me happy. 
There is about 24 beers on tap:)
Fondue appetizer. DOOO it!
Grown up mac and cheese (Dinner menu only)
Don't forget Dessert!! 

It's a small place but definitely worth the wait. 
Take a stroll down main street and Seal beach pier and catch the sunset after dinner.
Bobby and I took a good shot last week:)


Happy Labor Day Everyone!




Saturday, November 6, 2010

Venice, Italy

LOVE ITALY..
What can I say.. the BEST pasta and pizza I've ever had.
From Munich we took a train and arrived in Venice.
It's one the of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. VERY romantic.
Everything looks fake it's so pretty.
Did I mention the food was amazing??? HAHA

Pasta, cannoli's, pizza and gelato.. Yes please?


Eating on the canal (above).. We were blessed with beautiful weather:)
Bobby and I went out one night to see Venice's nightlife and got LOST. So scary!! We kept running into water and had NO CLUE where we were. We ended up finding our hotel and having pizza and beer close by (pictured below). I don't recommend getting lost at night.. Venice is confusing HAHA


The gondola ride is a must when you visit Venice.. It's amazing to see the buildings and little channels through the city.
Next stop was ROME.. Did I mention they have beer and wine on the train?? (pictured above)



 
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