Escape To Vegas

Hi from Las Vegas! C and I have been out here since Friday. Who knew the desert would be the place to hide from all that weather back on the East Coast? ( thoughts, prayers and hopes of restored power going out to all of you battling Irene) The reason for our Vegas trip is really business ( I have a convention here for work) but C and I decided to come a few days early for a little of our own fun. Thought I'd share a few pics of our adventure so far. More to come later!



C showing off our slot winnings...a whole 40 cents!


Our amazing dinner at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Closet Raid: Auntie Mame

About a week or so ago, Rachel Zoe, ultimate "it's Bananas" fashionista, posted a tweet (Yeah that's right, I proudly follow Rachel Zoe on Twitter) asking the question "if you could raid any movie character's closest, who's closet would you raid?"

What a fun totes awesome question. After putting in about 30 seconds worth of thought to the question, I respond with the only appropriate answer for me: Auntie Mame. I'd D-I-E in her closet. I think the sequin was actually invented for her. Although she didn't RT so, I think Rachel would approve of my choice. Afterall, Auntie Mame's character is a wealthy bohemian eccentric who's outfits challenged fashion norms during the 1920s + 1930s- a girl after Rachel Zoe's own heart or vice versa.

Not familiar with good 'ole ridic Auntie? Well, let me tell you, Auntie Mame is truly a fashion inspiration. She sees life as a never-ending cocktail party. She makes sequins as daywear legit (!!). Sweater coats, big chunky jewelry as statement pieces, coats with faux fur collars, and outfits by color tone - all at the heart of Mame's style. And Mame doesn't just wear the clothes....she really wears the clothes. Her confidence is undeniable as if she is saying "Yes, sweetheart, of course I'm lounging around on a Saturday afternoon in a form fitting sequined pants suit. what else would be appropriate?"

Only Mame could make a black + orange combo not Halloween-ish

If you haven't seen this movie/ musical sensational (shame on you) take a trip back to 1958, enjoy, and be inspired. The next time you go shopping, you may even say "heck yes!" to that all-over sequined bolero jacket. And you'll wear it while doing the dishes.

Sequins head to toe. 

Plain + pretty blouse jazzed up perfectly with long strand of pearls and a chunky cocktail ring

Even trendy as a paper doll, tonal outfit in the most vibrant blue

That hat! That hat! via MISS

To the runway: Gaultier channels Auntie Mame for his Fall 2010 collection

"Yes! Live! Life's a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!" -Auntie Mame

A Picnic Party For C

One of the main reasons for our visit to PA (besides getting in some good QT with family) was to celebrate C's most recent accomplishments - graduating law school, taking the bar exam, and getting a J-O-B. I couldn't be prouder of him and was really excited to finally get down to partying in his honor. C's mom did an amazing job of throwing a backyard picnic party in C's honor.

The day before the party I did I risky thing. I invaded my future mother-in-laws kitchen. Some woman would not be ok with this but, my future mother-in-law is an amazing woman and was ok with me making a baking mess. As long as I cleaned up of course. Big D, the self-given nickname of my future father in law, jokingly (or so I thought) asked if I'd make my blueberry muffins for him. "Sure, if you pick me some blueberries." I said. No one told me there were blueberry bushes about 500 ft. away from the house. I awoke Friday morning to, get this, a baking cup (1 cup to be exact)  full to the brim of blueberries. Big D got his muffins.

Now, did I mention my future mother-in-law is impressive? Amazing and impressive for a multiitude of reasons- one of them being that she does all her baking without a stand mixer. Yes, we 20 something newbie foodies gasp in awe - without a stand mixer. Impressive. Impressive indeed.

I decided I wasn't going to let a little thing like no stand mixer scare me away from the kitchen and preparing a yummy picnic dessert. If anything, I needed the arm workout that came with a some good hand stirring.

The dessert I decided to make came from the back of a cookie mix pouch - Chocolate Chip Brownie Cookie bars - taking two classic never-fail treats and mixing them into one. Genius. The original recipe used boxed brownie mix but I decided to put my own spin on it and make the brownie layer from scratch. Also - I omitted the called for chocolate frosting that is supposed to be lathered on top of the bars. C's sister suggested that the final super sweet layer might be too much. And she was right - these cookie bars are perfect sans frosting.

Chocolate Chip Brownie Cookie Bars

For Brownie Layer: 

• 4 squares Unsweetened Chocolate  
• 3/4 cup  butter or margarine 
• 2 cups sugar  
• 3   eggs  
• 1 tsp. vanilla  
• 1 cup  flour

For Cookie Layer: 

• One package Betty Crocker (or another similar brand) chocolate chip cookie mix 
• 1/2 cup butter, softened 
• 1 egg 

Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees 
• Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray
• Prepare the brownie layer: 
• Melt butter and chocolate in large saucepan over low or medium heat. Stir consistently until smooth and melted. 
• Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Mixture will thicken.
• Stir in eggs and vanilla 
• Add flour and whisk until well mixed and smooth
• Spread batter into pan
• Prepare the cookie layer: 
• Make cookie mix as directed on pouch using butter and egg 
• Drop dough in heaping tablespoons evenly on top of brown layer. Press down lightly.  

•  Bake 40-45 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean 
• Cool on cooling rack before cutting into squares. Enjoy! 

Yum!

Saturday turned out to be a perfect day for a picnic party. The rain held off for the most part allowing us to enjoy all the festivities outside.  I think almost C's entire family made it out to the party. My parents and aunt even made the drive down from Buffalo to join in the celebration. 

C's sis and I

Of course there was so much food! Appitizers, chips, dips, veggies, and meat...lots and lots of meat. A family friend brought over this gigantic BBQ/ grill/ meat making machine to cook super delish chicken and burgers. 

Goofing around

 After lots of chowing down and chatting, we all sat around a huge bonfire in the backyard and made ooey gooey s'mores. The perfect way to end a perfect day!


ps- The last two pics I borrowed from C's sis who did an awesome job of capturing the festivities. 

Hillbilly Haven & Cookies Too

Vacation Part 2: Before we left, I decided to whip up a batch of cookies. Ideally, they were for the picnic party planned for Saturday (more about that later) but, I knew in reality that if they turned out right, they'd be gone before Saturday. These cookies are an updated, or trendier, version of the good ole classic oatmeal raisin cookie. I don't know, maybe it's because they baked out thin and crispy. Or maybe it's because dark chocolate and cherries seem so much more delectable than boring regular semi-sweet chips + raisins.  Something about these cookies said "cool."

Crispy Oatmeal Cherry Dark Chocolate Cookies 

Ingredients: 

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened 
• 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar 
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar 
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 
• 1 tsp baking soda 
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt 
• 2 cups old fashioned oats 
• 1 cup dried cherries 
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips 

Directions: 

• preheat oven to 350 degrees
• In large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until creamy. 
• Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well. 
• In separate bowl combine dry ingredients and mix well. Add to wet mixture in parts, mixing well with each addition. 
• Fold in oats, cherries, and chips. 
• Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls unto cookie sheets
• Bake about 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack. 

* Warning: I advise against using dark cookie sheets with these cookies. I used one dark and one light cookie sheet and the ones baked on the darker of the two sheets came out um crispier than maybe desired. Good thing my brother is a garbage disposal. 

One of the highlights of our trip was our Friday night dinner stop at an establishment called Hillbilly Haven. (Note: that link is to where the people at Google guessed/think Hillbilly is located. Trust me. No satellite and/or GPS is finding this place.) Now C had been talking up Hillbilly Haven since pretty much the day we met. He told me this story (an almost magical story...in a redneck sort of way) of this bar nestled deep in the back woods of western PA where beer flowed from the tap at 50 cents a pop. (Banjo music anyone?) A "true gem" he said....minus the fact that there was a dirty floor and no bathroom. Hmmm ok.  I put on a brave face. If C and his family went there, it couldn't be that bad right? or could it. Anyway, I decided I was down for the adventure, mostly because I wanted to see if a place that sold beer for less than a dollar truly existed.

My brother chowing down

While Hillbilly Haven isn't what I would refer to as a fine dining establishment and certainly deserves the "dive bar" label, the picture C painted of this place was too extreme. There were bathrooms. Fairly clean ones. And wooden floors. C got one thing right though. The beer was cheap. Not quite 50 cents but 3 ice cold Blue Moon  bottles (yes, they had Blue Moon and a good stock of other brews to boot!) were $6 bucks. Eat that City Folk.

The food wasn't half bad either. Typical "unhealthy tastes so good going down regret it later" bar food - burgers, fingers, fries, wings & things. I had chicken fingers that were shaken in a sauce that was well, to be honest, genius. One part ranch dressing, one part hot sauce. Now why didn't I think of that pairing?! Just like why didn't I think to patent my backwards robe blanket idea....

Cheers!

We had a blast just hanging out with a bunch of C's fam eating greasy food and chasing it down with cold beverages. My brother said he ate the best burger of his life and would become "a regular" if he could. Cheers to good family, food, and cheap beer! Does it get any better than that? 

ps- Next time, I fill you in on the main event....C's See Ya Later Bar Exam/ Hello Real JOB party!

On the Open Road

I don't know about you but I kinda really love road trips (minus the car sickness part). Maybe it's the open road. Maybe it's the scenery. Or maybe it's the uninterrupted time I get to sing Mariah Carey songs and show tunes. Yea that's it.

Thursday morning - mid-morning- we (C, my brother NP, Saki, and I) packed up and got on the road. Our total travel time for our Trek to Somerset, or more specifically, Meyersdale PA was somewhere around 4.5ish hrs - which included a couple food/ rest/ bathroom stops. The ride went pretty well despite the usual and annoying construction - a fact of life in PA especially wherever the Turnpike is concerned).

Ready for toasting!

Now, C and my brother are from a school of thought which believes that no road trip is complete without...fast food. In fact, C is such an adamant believer he began brainstorming as to what fast food he would be indulging in weeks prior to our departure. Stubborn to be a non-believer, eat healthy, and not venture over to the dark side - aka the inside of a 10 piece McDonald's Chicken McNuggets box-  I packed myself a homemade lunch + snack pack.

I successfully enjoyed a turkey sandwich, with apple slices and honey mustard, on sprouted grain bread, and a baggie of fresh green grapes while C and my brother finished off  20 nuggets and a double mcpounder something or other with cheese. And that day I discovered I do have will power! (don't ask me about our car ride home though....)

I also made this delicious homemade granola for everyone to snack on throughout the trip. I had a lot of fun making this - although toasting all the various seeds and such can be time consuming if you have a slight tendency to burn things...I think this recipe is pretty flexible and can be filled with whatever you are in the mood for or have laying around your cupboards. The original recipe called for sliced almonds which I'm not a big fan of so I swapped in cashews. Dried cherries or blueberries could be subbed in for the apricots and cranberries.

Better than Nuggets Granola

(adapted from Sara's Granola Bars from Food 52)

Ingredients: 

• 1 1/2 cups old fashion rolled oats
• 1 cup raw sunflower seeds 
• 1 cup cashews, chopped
• 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds 
• 3 cups puffed rice cereal 
• 1 cup dried apricots, sliced 
• 1 cup dried cranberries 
• 1 cup almond butter 
• 1 cup honey 
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon* 

* I just cracked open a brand new wonderful jar of cinnamon from Penzeys Spices and highly recommend it. If you haven't had the pleasure of visiting a Penzeys it's basically spice mecca. You walk in the front door and WHAM these intense and beautiful smells from all the many many spices hit your nose. Hello spices! You can easily spend hours in the place investigating all the bottles of spice mixtures. And- added bonus- there are little kiosks positioned around the store with tear-off recipe cards full of new meal and treat ideas. Looking forward to regularly getting the catalog in the mail. C and our budget is not. 

Directions: 

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Toast the oats, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds. The toasting times  vary and, in all honesty, I found myself guessing as to how long each would take. The pumpkin seeds took no time at all - maybe about 5 to 7 min. The oats took no longer than 8 mins and might have been a bit over done. The sunflower seeds took 10 min. Note: I used my convection setting on my KitchenAid dual fuel range and used all three racks placing the pumpkin seeds on the top.
• When all items are sufficiently toasted, toss them with the puffed rice cereal, sliced apricots, and cranberries in a large bowl. 
• In a small saucepan, heat the almond butter and honey just to get melty- not cooked. (This is important because, if it boils or even gets too close to boil, the mixture gets too tough to use. gross) 
• Stir in the salt and cinnamon. Pour over the oat and nut mixture. Stir and mix well!!
• Turn into a 9 X 13 baking dish lined with parchment paper and press the mixture evenly and firmly. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for several hours.* Cut and serve. Or wrap up for a road trip! 

* My granola was "stuck together" but was fairly soft. Next time, I think I'll stick it in the freezer first for a few to harden it before taken it on the road

Making the granola "glue" - aka honey and almond butter

Stay tuned to hear more about our trip later in the week! 

Some 'Shroom Love

Whhhewww. We are back home! After spending a wonderful few days with C's fam in PA, we have returned home. The weekend was a blast and I must fill you in on the fun we had. But before I get a chance to really sit down and give you all the full recap - I want to share with you all one of my all-time favorite recipes - Mushroom Barely Risotto. This is one is also C's favorite.

Despite not being a fast dish to make, I love risotto. And I love this healthy twist on the dish using barley. There is something so filling and good about it. This risotto is fine on its own as a main dish but can also be served along side a piece of fish, chicken, or even steak for those looking for a heartier meal. Even more - this recipe is easy. Not too many ingredients. Not too complicated. Good for you. What more could you ask for in a recipe? Enjoy!

Creamy Mushroom Barley Risotto 

(adapted from the Flat Belly Cookbook)

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth 
• 2 cups water 
• 1/4 cup olive oil 
• 1 onion, chopped 
• 1 package mushrooms, sliced 
• 1 cup pearled barley 
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated 

Directions: 

• Bring the broth and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce to a simmer.
• Heat the oil in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until softened. Add mushrooms and cook until softened. Add the barley and cook for 1 minute longer.
• Add 1/2 cup of the broth and cook, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes or until the broth is absorbed. Add the remaining broth, 1/2 cup at a time, allowing it to be absorbed before adding more. (The key here is to keep stirring!) Cook for about 45 minutes or until the barley is tender but still firm to the bite. 
• Stir in the peas and cheese and cook for 1 minute longer or until the peas are warmed through.

Can you see C flipping his steak on the back burner? 

Going on Vacation

Sorry I've been MIA a bit the past few days. Between wedding, running, some more running, and getting ready for our trip, I haven't had a lot of free time. C and I are headed to visit C's family in Somerset PA for the rest of the week/ weekend. We have a big picnic party planned in honor of C's graduation/ being done with the bar/ new job. Saki is ready for the event and has a totes awesome party collar to wear to the party ( see above). Can't wait to fill you all in and share some recipes from the party. So until then...TTFN!

Thailand at night: not where we are headed but a fantastic shot from a trip C took some years back

Somebody's Getting Married!

For you Dinks on your wedding day! May it be everything you've dreamed of and more. Love you!

Popeye Pizza

Stop the presses. The other night C actually requested spinach for dinner. ok, not spinach straight up, but when I mentioned I wanted to make a pizza (I really like making pizza) he asked for some spinach on it. After shaking off the shock, and shedding a proud tear for my Striving for Five-r, I got down to finding a pizza creation featuring Popeye's favorite food. The result is this thick crusted pie topped with not only the leafy greens but mushrooms, a red sauce, and three types of cheese.

I usually don't like sauce on my pizza. It's either too sweet or too acidic or just too much in general. This sauce, which is a lighter red sauce with chunky tomatoes, has a nice balanced taste to it and compliments, instead of overwhelms, the pizza's other toppings. I actually doubled the sauce recipe and froze the leftovers.

This pizza was really my own creation although the sauce recipe was adapted from a recipe I found in an old issue of Cooking Light. As usual, feel free to put your own spin on this pizza and change up the toppings as you please.

Spinach Ricotta and Mushroom Pizza

For the Sauce: 

• 7 tablespoon water 
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil 
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano 
• 1 1/2 sugar 
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic 
• 1 (14 ounce) can petite-cut diced tomatoes - undrained 
• 1 (6 ounce can) tomato paste

For the Pizza: 

• 1 package whole wheat pizza dough  
• 3/4 cup Sauce 
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh parmesan cheese 
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 1/2 cup fresh spinach, chopped 
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt 
• 5 ounces fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup fat free or part-skim ricotta cheese 
• 1 package mushrooms, chopped 

Directions: 

• To make sauce: mix together all the ingredients. Stir well.
• To make pizza: preheat oven 450 degrees. 
• coat a cookie sheet with cooking spray
• In a medium pan, saute onions and mushrooms - approximately 5 mins. Remove from heat.
• place dough on lightly floured surface and roll out to fill cookie sheet. Brush dough with olive oil. Spread sauce over dough coating evenly- leave 1/4 inch border.
• sprinkle with Parmesan
• top with spinach 
• place mozzarella slices over spinach and then spoon ricotta over mozzarella. 
• Top with mushrooms and onion mixture. 
• Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until mozzarella melts and crust browns 
• Let stand for at least 5 min before slicing

Garden Walk: Buffalo Blooms

Taken using Instagram (a new obsession)

And now for the exciting conclusion to our weekend visit with C's family! As previously mentioned, summer in Buffalo isn't complete without experiencing the Garden Walk. As luck would have it, this year the Garden Walk landed on the same weekend as The Visit. Both my mom and C's mom are avid gardeners so I knew attending the Garden Walk was a must. We decided to go on Saturday because the weather forecast called for sun, sun, and more sun. 

Bright and early-ish Saturday morning (after my long morning run and C's sister's mucho intenso insanity work out because we aren't slackers), we headed off to the city for the Garden Walk (and by we I mean only the girls. Apparently the boys preferred golf over flowers). One of the walk's starting points and headquarters was my high school, The Buffalo Seminary, or lovingly referred to by its students and faculty as Buff Sem or Sem. Now I'm not afraid to admit that I'm a huge nerd who loved high school. I always enjoy visiting even if it's just for a hot minute. After grabbing some maps which detailed the walk's routes, we hopped on a school bus which shuttled us over to a participating neighborhood.

We decided to check out the Allentown area first. There are two streets in particular in this neighborhood - Park and Irving -that had some really fantastic gardens. Most of the gardens we saw were full of lushy green plants and a lot of them featured courtyards and/or water elements. Black-eyed -Susans and hydrangeas seemed to pop up everywhere. Overall, I'd say the gardens in this neighborhood were traditional outdoor oases perfect for enjoying a good summer read .

impressive tiered fountain is a lovely accent to this courtyard

From Allentown, we made our way over to what is referred to as The Cottage District on the west side of Buffalo via a brief stroll down Richmond through Symphony Circle. The Cottage Distict is truly a gem nestled on Little Summer (which is really stretching the truth by calling itself a street. A lane maybe? An alley more likely). 

Now when they say cottage they really mean cottage because these cozy homes are small. What's more is they are soooo close together. But what they lack in size they make up in personality and pzazz. Think Willy Wonka and/or Alice In Wonderland gets loose in your yard and that is what you have on Little Summer. From the fushia shutters to purple doors, these homes create a rainbow of a neighborhood. Equally beautiful and creative are the gardens that flank the front, sides, and backs (heck where weren't there flowers?!?) of all the houses. The "wow" factor is not in short supply around here. 

If we were giving out a most creative garden award, it would have to go to the homeowners whose garden featured....umm orange. As in the color. The house itself was painted a pale pink, accented with bright orange shutters and tiny little orange circle decals. These circles actually overflowed everywhere - to the street, the little driveway, the backyard, and I even think people where sporting orange circles at some point. The "garden" featured objects all in hues of orange -strings, lights, giant bulbous orbs. 

Unusual? for sure. A little scary? maybe, considering we'd been frolicking in flowers for hours. But certainly this garden was creative and interesting. I did a little research (asked the stranger along side me gawking if she knew what was up with this "garden") and found out that apparently, the homeowners are artists (duh). Each year they do a different themed installation as an interpretation of their idea of a garden. Last year's involved champagne and rose petals. darn I missed that!

Pale pink house complete with, why not, orange sutters

Overall, the Cottage District is just plain no holding back fun. Whereas in some neighborhoods, the home owners are no where to be found, the homeowners here were everywhere - in their gardens, in the street, in their houses playing tunes, wherever. One homeowner even setup a popcorn (yum yum yum) stand right on his curb. One dollar for a brown lunch bag serving of fresh and hot salty popped kernels. We got a bag, obvi. Part of me really wanted to stay for the after-hours block party. If the atmosphere of the afternoon and the smells wafting from the open windows were any indication, that party was going to be totes awesome. 

After the Cottage District, the heat started to get to us and our tummies started to rumble. We decided to call it a day and that lunch at Spot Coffee was most appropriate. Although we only made it to two participating neighborhoods, we certainly got our fill of beautiful gardens. And now we have an excuse to attend the walk again next year to cover those neighborhoods we missed. 

Obsessed With...

These fun kitchen accessories....Sometimes your kitchen may be feeling a little dull and is in need of a pick-me-up. No need to get out the sledgehammer and start a total kitchen over-haul.  Try spicing up your kitchen with some fun fresh kitchen gadgets + accessories. Here are just a few that I'm currently obsessed with. ps- I think I've got a thing for animal inspired decor...

Chicken Kitchen Time $13; Terrain 

Ceramic Tea Pot, $24; West Elm - Loving everything about this tea pot from the dark color to the bamboo-ish handles

Winking Wisecracker Owl Jar, $68; Anthropologie- Totes cute and perfect for storing just about anything. Like cookies.

Magnetic Leaf Spice Rack, $24; Etsy- A custom made piece in aqua blue featuring 4 magnetic spice tins making spice storage easy and stylish. I think this is a fantastic gift idea for a foodie friend! 

Orange Halves Shelf Paper & Drawer Liner, $2.50-5.75/ sq ft;  Chic Shelf Paper -  Make the insides of your cabinets + pantry so so pretty with this fresh + fun liner paper.

Hand-Carved Deer Bowls, $75; Etsy - Chic Country and totes functional.