Tapas Night

This weekend was a BIG working weekend. We started our kitchen remodel project (more posts on that later...) and made some major progress!

Adam and I typically see my family about once a month. When we do see them, it's always for a great weekend of work, play, good company and lots of wonderful food. Hey, it's takes foodies to raise foodies - and my parents definitely raised two foodies!

In preparation for two work filled days, I decided it would be fun to make Friday night a relaxed night where there would be plenty of time to chat. Because we were getting ready to tear our kitchen apart, I also thought it might be nice to be home, so we could slowly start taking things off the wall, moving furniture, etc. Basically, I decided that what we really needed...was a Tapas Night!

I know all of you are probably avid "Pinners" on Pinterest (you should follow my Eat board) and so you understand what I'm saying when I tell you that I have a pile of recipes pinned that I've been dying to try. Several of the recipes I've pinned are appetizer recipes and what better way to try a bunch of them than by having Tapas Night!

Roasted Red Peppers with Goat Cheese
Bacon Wrapped Caramelized Sesame Asparagus
Crispy Brussel Sprouts with Garlic Aioli
Cucumber Cups with Spicy Crab
Garlic Mushrooms and Crab Bruschetta
Mini Taco Cups
Nutella Marshmallow Pockets

I prepared all of the ingredients for each tapa prior to my family's arrival. I had the cucumber cups waiting for them when the arrived.

Cucumber Cups with Spicy Crab
I added a sprinkle of Cayenne Pepper on the top, it gave the crab a nice kick!
As you can see, the drinks of choice are Blue Mood, Guinness, and Vodka Tonics (not pictured)

We followed the Cucumber Crab Cups with the Roasted Red Peppers. This recipe is very easy! Just roast two red peppers in the oven, then peel off the skin, slice and top each pepper with a spoonful of goat cheese.

I also topped these with some dried oregano and
freshly ground sea salt and black pepper.
This is a simple, but delicious appetizer!

Then came the asparagus.I already had the glaze for the asparagus made and off to the side in a bowl. I also decided to go ahead and wrap the asparagus before everyone arrived. This recipe called for thick cut bacon, but I used regular bacon and I think it turned out really well!

The asparagus was topped with a brown sugar and garlic mixture (there were a few more ingredients)
and then placed in the oven to roast for about 45 minutes, or until the bacon is crispy!

One of the favorites of the night was up next. The Crispy Brussel Sprouts with Garlic Aioli were a very big hit!

The Brussel Sprouts were roasted with olive oil until crispy then dipped in the garlic aioli.
I was surprised by the fact that these were an excellent finger food. They were easy to pick up and dip!

The garlic aioli also came in handy with the Mini Taco Cups were served. Chandler, my sauce-loving sister, decided to try dipping her taco cup in the Garlic Aioli...she certainly made a delightful discovery!

The Mini Taco Cups were made using Wonton Wrappers! These were fun, and
I think they would be great for a child's birthday party or your upcoming Super Bowl Party!

The last course, before dessert was the Garlic Mushroom Bruschetta. I intended to add crab, but decided not to at the last minute. The bruschetta was great and had lots of flavor. I added a little heavy cream to the mushrooms and it made a great sauce that soaked into the crunchy bread!

Sorry about the blurry picture! The mushroom bruschetta was rich, garlicky, and full of texture!
I love mushrooms and these paired perfectly with crusty bread!

Finally, for dessert, I made Nutella Marshmallow Pockets. If you're not familiar with Nutella...then I encourage you to get to know each other. Nutella is a rich, creamy, hazelnut spread. It's wonderful on EVERYTHING. These little pockets were made using a can of Pillsbury crescent rolls, a dollop of Nutella and a few marshmallows.

You have to eat this one with a fork!

Tapas Night was a success. We had a great time chatting, telling stories, and just catching up! The food was great and the company was even better! I'm think I might have to roll out Tapas Night for the Super Bowl in just a few weeks!

*A big thanks to my family for taking photos for me!

Viva Italia!

As mentioned in an earlier post, Adam's New Years resolution for 2013, was to cook dinner one night a week. I typically do most of the cooking, and he is a great help, but he decided that this resolution would be 1. a HUGE help to me and 2. a good way to learn more about cooking. At the beginning of this year, he chose Wednesday nights to be his night to cook. This is week 2 of starting this resolution (he got started a little late, like me).

Tonight, he decided to prepare an Italian feast! Most of you already know that in 2012 we traveled to Italy for 10 days. It was absolutely fantastic...and just as I told him he would, Adam fell in love with Italian food! We both love Italian and even bought a pasta machine after our trip so that we could start making authentic pasta!

So, tonight he decided to prepare a Caprese Salad from Giada DeLaurentis' Everyday Italian cookbook (get it here) and Cacio e Pepe from La Cucina Italiana magazine. AND to top it all off, we opened a bottle of wine we purchased in Italy!

To start, Adam made the dressing for the Caprese Salad, with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and fresh ground black pepper. He set that aside and then sliced tomatoes and mozzarella. Once the tomatoes and mozzarella were plated, he tore leaves of fresh basil and sprinkled them over the tomatoes and cheese. Then topped it all off with the deliciously simple dressing.

After the caprese was complete, he started on the Cacio e Pepe. We learned about this dish prior to our trip to Italy when we watched an episode of No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain was traveling in Italy and met with a friend to sample this wonderful and simple, but complex dish. After seeing that episode, Adam was on a mission to find Cacio e Pepe when we arrived in Italy! He was successful and it was delicious. With only pasta, pasta water, pecorino romano and freshly ground black pepper this dish is simple at the core. However, the flavors are so much more complex than the four ingredients would suggest.

To start, Adam ground black peppercorns in our mortar and pestle. He then grated the pecorino romano, while waiting for his pasta water to boil. He cooked the pasta, then reserved some of the cooking liquid. Then, from there it's quite simple, rotate adding pasta water and pecorino romano, while constantly tossing the pasta to let the cheese coat each strand. At the end, toss together the pasta and the black pepper and serve.




Our meal was delizioso! The caprese was perfect with the fresh taste of summer (which was nice considering this summer weather we're having in January!), the pasta was light, but still filling. It was the perfect saltiness, with a bite from the black pepper. And the wine! Oh the wine, if I closed my eyes, I was back in Italia! Adam did an incredible job! I'm really looking forward to seeing what he comes up with for next Wednesday night!

The evening was truly perfetto and I have to admit, I could really get used to this!!!

Project - With A Capital "P"

As many of you probably already know, Adam and I like a good project. We love to relax, but what we really love is a  project with some good, hard work involved. We are a hands-on, do it yourself kind of couple. I think that's one of the qualities that makes us fit together so well. Our parents, both sets, are very much the same, so they've been helping us learn how to "do it ourselves" around our own little house.

Since we've moved into our little 50's ranch style house, we have:

• painted all of the rooms (except two...)
• put up wainscoting in one of the bathrooms
• renovated (from top to bottom, literally) our sun room, making it a room we can actually stand to be in use
• removed what must have been 5,000 over grown, unruly azaleas to clean up our back yard for a fence 
• put out a pallet of sod
• and the list goes on...

Much like the list above, there is a never-ending list of projects in any home...and ours is no exception. So, this weekend we are starting the mother of all projects -- we are KNOCKING OUT WALLS!

Oh yes, I said it...demolition, here we come. We have been looking forward to this since we first moved in the house.

Our house, much like many 50's ranch style houses, is very compartmentalized. Each room is very separate from the rest of the house and our kitchen is no exception. So, this weekend we will be removing the top half of two walls to open up the kitchen, living room, and dining room. Of course the project doesn't stop there, so here is a little list of what we plan to do over the next few probably years of our lives:

• remove the top half of the walls between the kitchen, living room, and dining room
• replace the old crown molding with new, heavier crown molding
• paint the dining room and kitchen (taking them from bright red to a pale green)
• replace the dining room chandelier

And WAY down at the very bottom of the list (for one day when we can afford it...)

• new cabinet doors
• new counter tops in the kitchen
• pull up the linoleum tile and hope and pray to see pretty hardwood floors underneath



Hardhat photo from: Coopersafety.com

• pending the above is true...refinish the hard wood floors in the kitchen...if that isn't the case, tile the floor in the kitchen, with real tile, not that plastic stuff

The Project starts this weekend and my goal is to document every step of the way! Look for more posts on our big renovation...and get excited...I'll be posting information about the new wall color, the new chandelier, hopefully a new rug for the dining room and lots of other exciting things! Grab your hardhats...here we go!

Date Night: Restaurant Review

To all my South Carolina friends, if you haven't heard, it's Restaurant Week in South Carolina. Restaurant week is one of my favorite things that the Palmetto State puts on each year. It's a week where restaurants around the state provide fixed menus or specials, with great prices. It's a great opportunity to try that restaurant you've been dying to try, but just hasn't fit in the budget!

Tonight, we decided to try Momo's Bistro. I didn't intend to write a review, so I apologize now that there are no photographs. I know, I know...a good restaurant reviewer would have taken photos. But, I'm new at this...so cut me a little slack.

Before I get started reviewing, I feel like I need to give you a little background. I LOVE good food. And I don't discriminate...I love a good hamburger from Five Guys as much as I love foie gras from Solstice Kitchen and Wine Bar. I am a self-proclaimed "foodie" and "wino". I have a secret (well, not that secret anymore) desire to one day be a food critic; I've just never put the pen to paper until now.

Tonight was not our first visit to Momo's. Adam and I went to Momo's with family friends, and then again with family for dinner a couple of years ago. Both visits were wonderful. We experienced great service, excellent food, and as always, wonderful company. I highly recommend dining out with your favorite people, be it that one special person or a table full of them. Dining with great people always make your experience that much better! A few months following those two A+ evenings at Momo's, we went back for brunch. This was the turning point in our Momo's dining history. Though the food was good, the portions (for the price) were bite sized. And now you're up to speed...

Our experience this evening at Momo's was somewhat baffling. Upon arriving, we were immediately seated, our water glasses filled, and menus distributed. I noticed right away that there was no mention of the Restaurant week specials, no insert in the menu, nothing...There was a slightly-longer-than-normal wait to place our order for our drinks, followed by more waiting to get the Restaurant Week menu (upon my request...) We after what seemed like a lifetime finally were given the Restaurant Week menu and told the specials. I opted to go with the fixed menu and elected to have the Bistro Salad, the Lobster Fettuccine  and the New York Cheesecake. The hubs decided to stray a bit and have the Bistro Fries and the Lamb Chop special.

The first course was very good. The Bistro Fries were seasoned with truffle oil (OMG...one of my favorite things in the entire world...) and asiago cheese. They were served in the little French-bistro-esque cone, a great presentation for a more pedestrian food. The Bistro salad was very good, if you're into three leaves of lettuce with an invisible dressing. Now, don't get me wrong, the flavor was wonderful. I would truly love to know how the invisible dressing provided so much flavor. It was action packed...it was just on the small side. But, needless to say, the hubs and I dove right into both dishes and enjoyed them immensely.

The second course was where things just got odd...not odd like Frankenstein sitting at the table next to you sharing a bowl of spaghetti with Bambi...just slightly off kilter...We'll start with my meal, the Lobster Fettuccine  The fettuccine was cooked well, just slightly al dente the tomato basil saffron cream was good, but needed a bit of salt, and the lobster was well, not quite non-existent. What little lobster was there was very good, but it was by no means starring in the show (most stars tend to have little more time on stage, if you get my drift). Adam and I both agreed that the dish was fine, but that we could probably duplicate it at home.

On to the Lamb Chops. The lamb chops were a special last night, and they were just that. The chops were packed with flavor, they were salty and smoky and wonderful. The sriracha roasted potatoes had a unique flavor with just a touch of spice that perfectly accompanied the lamb. Here is where it gets weird...the "side of asparagus" consisted of two spears(...like seriously...one, two...), the lamb chops were more consistent with what I would call a lamb lollipop appetizer (four bites...total), and those wonderful potatoes resembled one small potato cut into smaller than bit-sized pieces. My husband who is a more recent foodie, still values quantity a bit over quality and suffice it to say, he was wondering upon the plate's arrival to the table, where he would be eating dinner after this appetizer...

This odd entree course was followed by my sliver of cheesecake, which I shared with my still-hungry husband. The cheesecake was everything you want in a cheesecake. It was light, airy, rich, and creamy all at the same time. The crust was flaky but didn't fall apart. And the dish was served with a wonderful drizzle of an un-identifiable fruit sauce (it was very good...just don't know what it was...). Aside from the minuscule portions, the food was wonderful.

Then came the bill...my meal was fixed at $20. This is a great deal for a three course dinner at Momo's...Adam's entree was nearly double the cost of my entire meal and that's not including the Bistro Fries. I'll be the first to admit, we made a couple of mistakes. We should have asked the price of his entree when the specials were being listed. However, we'd already felt so awkward by the fact that the hostess, nor the server, nor the second server who stopped by our table, never offered us the Restaurant Week menu. Then, when I finally asked for it, they wanted to take our regular menus away - a somewhat odd thing to do. When I dine, I like to see ALL of my options...

I realize now, that it's time to wrap this up...I have been rambling. Overall the food at Momo's was very good. The service was less than satisfactory and the portion to price ratio was bordering on absurd. I'm sad to say, I miss our two A+ nights at Momo's. Those first two experiences were wonderful. I'm not sure what has changed...but let's try to get that back!

New Year: New Resolutions

Happy New Year! I'm a little late, but let's just say our New Year got off to a rocky start. The hubby and I rang in the new year in sweat pants, hooded sweatshirts and wool socks...with fevers...yeah, not ideal! So, I'm trying to regroup and get my life together a few weeks after the rest of the world!

The Hubs and I had an amazing 2012! We watched many of our friends tie the knot, we traveled to Italy for our anniversary (2 years!), and we did some MAJOR work on our yard. And the best part...it sounds like 2013 might be even better.

We have got so much to look forward to this year! We're planning a trip to Ireland (we've already bought the plane tickets!!!)!!! We're about to start renovating our kitchen (the first step is knocking out a wall) and we're going to continue working on our landscaping in the front yard.

Adam has decided for his New Years Resolution this year, he is going to cook dinner one night a week, Wednesday night to be exact. He's been working on his cooking skills and thinks this is a great way to 1. help his wife and 2. work on his talent in the kitchen (he really is talented...). He started last week and prepared a wonderful meal. I was so proud!

I, on the other hand, am struggling to figure out what I want to resolve to do in 2013. I have a lot of thoughts and options...and I'm trying to decide whether or not to narrow my list or tackle them all! Here is the list:

1. Exercise more often. I do exercise regularly, but I tend to do what I want and not challenge myself. In 2013, I want to focus on doing the things I like, like running, while also incorporating some strength training to become more fit and toned. 

From Theonewithana.tumblr.com via Pinterest. 

2. Be more "gourmet" in the kitchen. I LOVE to cook and I've grown up cooking. My mom did a great phenomenal job of teaching my sister and me how to cook. However, though I love to cook, I've let my creativity and courage in the kitchen slump. I chalk it up to "working full time", but let's be honest, I've just been lazy. So, this year I want to try the awesome recipes I've been pinning for two years!!! Thank you, Pinterest, for the inspiration!

From Dashandbella.blogspot.com via Pinterest

3. I want to work smarter this year, both at work and at home. I have so many friends who seem to juggle so much more (like pets and children!) and yet I always feel like I never have enough time to get things done. So, this year, I want to be better at multitasking and working "smarter".

From Idreamofclean.net via Pinterest

4. I want to get away more. The hubs and I get stuck in this rut of doing yard work every weekend (and don't get me wrong, I LOVE those weekends) and never just taking off. We have access to a beach house (FOR FREE!!!!) and yet we rarely seem to make it there. I want us to make a point to visit more often. It's the perfect place to relax, ride bikes, stroll on the beach, read a book, and eat some great food! And, we could go there and maintain a relatively low budget.

Not our beach house...
From Panoramia.com via Pinterest

5. FINALLY, and by this point I've actually decided that I need to tackle all of these resolutions, I want to be better about appreciating the things I have. I think we are all guilty of this, but sometimes you have to step back and realize that your life is awesome. My life is awesome, and I need to be better about remembering that and thanking God for that every day!

So, after this, I guess I should thank all of you for listening...I think putting all of my resolutions to paper...or computer screen, made me realize that these are all good, healthy things to tackle (well maybe not the cooking...but maybe my gourmet needs to have a healthy focus!). So now, two weeks late, I'm diving in!

First things' first...Body Pump (weight lifting class at my gym...) 5:30 AM!!!!