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Domestic

Gift Exchange

December 21, 2012

It’s that time of the year… the Friday before the Holiday Weekend – and the numerous gift exchanges with coworkers. I’m fortunate to work with such a great group of people, but I’m not sure my waistline is as appreciative of the cookies, cakes and bottles of wine sitting on my desk right now.

Earlier this year I tried to think of a creative and cost effective gift idea for this holiday season. Much thanks to my foodgawker account I saved a Homemade Vanilla Extract recipe a while back.

It’s super simple and pretty awesome (in my opinion). I just ordered 10 Tahitian Vanilla Beans from Beanilla and some gorgeous square glass containers online. Once they arrived I simply sliced the bean open, put it into the jar and filled it with vodka (they recommend not using super high end vodka because of possible flavor additives, but I probably wouldn’t go the Taaka route either…).

After three months or so of fermenting they’ll be the perfect addition to your holiday cookies!

Party, Tasty

Football Funday

December 18, 2012

On Sunday we hosted a “Football Day” for our friends… due to an extra bloody mary (or two)… I blew it on taking appetizing pictures of anything we ate… but here was our menu:

Drinks:

Bloody Mary Bar

Mimosas

Appetizers:

Homemade Honey Mustard Pretzels: they were not good and were immediately deleted off my Pinterest

“Healthy” Buffalo Potato Skins: EPIC (in my opinion)… i put the toppings on the side so people could assemble as they “deemed fit”

Grilled Sausage with a Spicy Dipping Sauce: easy and uninspiring… but feeds the masses

Entrees:

Because Sunday was a full day affair we had different options available. We made everything from polish sausages to burgers to chili. We like to do a “toppings bar” so everyone can assemble their own but I also converted a chili recipe to a “crock pot recipe” and had bread bowls easily accessible.

Chili Recipe: I just browned the meat and sauteed the onions, then put all the ingredients into a crock pot for the day… sprinkle with cheese and diced onions in a bread bowl and… voila!

Having a massive sweet tooth you can’t forget dessert… Creme de Menthe Brownies

Enjoy!

Tasty

Halloween Menu

November 1, 2012

Last night was Jeremy and my first Halloween in our new home together… and we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We naively invited one of our favorite couples over – Erin and Craig to hang out and help us pass out candy… unfortunately we had no idea just how much help we were going to need. Let’s just say – 3 hours of trying to cook, 500+ trick or treaters and 12 bags of candy, i was finally able to feed our wonderfully patient guests.

Opening the door for 4 year old princesses and superheros every 2 minutes is not conducive to creating a 3 course meal, but at least i can say i tried. here was my menu:

Starters:

– Cambozola Cheese stuffed Dates

– Cream Cheese Spread with Red Pepper Jelly and Crackers

Salad:

– Glazed Balsamic Fig and Red Butter Leaf Lettuce (too bad in the chaos i forgot to serve it)

Sides:

– Green Bean and Radish Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette

– Pumpkin Risotto with Prosciutto

Entree:

– Pork Chops with a Dijon Butter Sauce

Dessert:

– Graveyard Dirt Cups (kicking it old school)