Sara and Andy's Engagement Party

This past weekend, my mother and father-in-law, Scott and I hosted an engagement party for my sister-in-law, Sara, and her fiance, Andy.  It was a blast!

Where was it?
Brent's Drugs in the Fondren area of Jackson.  Brent's is so cute!  It is an old-fashioned soda fountain drug store.  It was actually mentioned in the book and featured in the movie, "The Help."

What did we eat?
Oh my.  Brent's provided us with exceptional sliders, french fries and their famous old fashioned milkshakes!

But that's not all...FOOD PART 2!
We also made food.  We had Chick-fil-A chicken strips, spinach and artichoke dip, Captain Rodney's dip, fruit and veggies (to make it healthy...ha!), mini-cupcakes, key-lime tartlets and Oreo-pops.

Recipes to come in the next blog!  Stay tuned!

Decorations
Sara's colors and aqua blue and green.  And Brent's worked perfectly because their entire decor is that aqua color she loves (not to mention my favorite color as well!).

Most Importantly - The People!
Here are a few pictures of the couple and guests!

 

What a great night!  I'm going to leave you with one last thing.  I took Sara and Andy's engagement picture the day before. Yep, planning events and taking pictures... that's my thing!  I hope Sara and Andy enjoyed themselves!

Chicken Dinner

I just wanted to share a delightful dinner Scott and I had recently.

For our anniversary, Scott got me a new cookbook.  As with a vacuum cleaner, some ladies may get offended if their husbands get them a cookbook, but I was quite excited.  He gave me the Junior League of Houston's, "Stop and Smell the Rosemary".

Until receiving the cookbook, I had never made a roast chicken.  The cookbook had a very wonderful recipe.  I will admit, however, some of the instructions were a bit vague.  I figured it out though.  Here is what came about (I think I'm supposed to tie the legs some way - but the directions did not say.  So I'm not sure): 

It was quite delicious.  Scott was in heaven.  We saved a ton of money by buying a whole fryer chicken (about $5.00-$8.00).  We had this meal, as well as, chicken salad from left over breast meat and  BBQ from dark meat.

Our side was marinated summer vegetables:

Here is the recipe:  Start by using whatever vegetables you have.  I used cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, yellow and orange peppers.  The following is the marinade:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup lemon juice

salt and pepper

lemon slices

Mix first 4 ingredients in a bowl.  Pour over the vegetables.  Place lemon slices on top (covering the vegetables with the slices).  Cover with plastic wrap.  Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour.  Remove lemon slices.  Stir.  Keep in refrigerator until serving.

*If you have leftovers, drain vegetables before serving again (the marinade gets strong).

Scotty the Handyman

This post is actually not about food. ha.  Sorry, food is just what I like to do.  I am also quite into photography and all art (I promise a blog post soon about what I'm up to with that). 

But today, I am dedicating this post to my husband Scott.  He puts up with me and my crazy ideas.  When we moved into our house, we were left with a completely blank slate in the back year.  When I say blank slate, I mean BLANK SLATE!  We had no trees, no bushes, no porch and the back of our house faces the west!  Can I say HOT! 

In the past 2 years, we have planted 2 trees (more next year for sure), a garden, a hydrangea bed, and plants along the fence.  Scott and his dad, at 11:30 pm last summer put together a gazebo I found at Target for $98.00 (I love Target end of season sales).  This gazebo doesn't replace the fact that we don't have a porch, but it sure does help to give shade along with our great black and white striped umbrella.

Under the gazebo, we have tried to make a sitting area.  My parents gave me an old pier 1 wicker loveseat.  I painted it lime green and got a new cushion.  We also bought 2 turquoise plastic Adirondack chairs.  But of course, that was not enough for me.  It didn't feel homey enough.  So yesterday I bombarded Scott with the idea, "Let's build a coffee table for outside." 

To be honest, I expected Scott to not only say no, but "HELL NO," considering it was a cool 102 degrees outside with a heat index of almost 110 degrees.  I don't know if he was delirious from the heat or just decided to go along with my craziness, but he said yes.  We went to Home Depot bought the wood and an outdoor rug I saw on clearance.

Here is what we/he made.  After a few oppsi-daisies while cutting wood, a couple squabbles and me being told I wasn't holding it still enough, this is what we came up with.  I can't take any credit actually:

I think I am going to white-wash it.  It looks great the way it is!  I love it!

Brownie Pops

In honor of National Chocolate Day, I made Brownie Pops. 

I wish I could say that I am the originator of this recipe, but I saw it on the Food Network.  At my house, if nothing is on TV during the day, the Food Network is on.  A few Saturdays ago, I was watching Dessert First with Anne Thornton.  I hate to admit it, but I sat down and watched the show and then rewound it on my DVR to watch again. 

On this particular show, Anne Thornton was making 3 different desserts from her fudge brownie recipe (and, yes, the brownies alone would make an amazing snack).  The desserts consisted of:  Brownie Pops, Fudgy Salty Peanut Butter Brownies and Death by Chocolate.  I was most intrigued by the pops mainly because they were very similar to the infamous cake pops that everyone enjoys.
 

From the Food Network Website

Here is Anne Thornton's Recipe:

• 2 (11 1/2-ounce) bags milk chocolate morsels (recommended: Nestle or Hershey's)
• 1 recipe Decedent Brownies, at room temperature, recipe follows
• Various toppings: chopped peanuts, coconut flakes, mini chocolate chips, sprinkles, etc.
• Special equipment: 30 to 40 (6-inch) candy/lollipop sticks

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Dip 1 candy/lollipop stick into the melted chocolate (this will help the brownie adhere better to the stick). With clean hands, or wearing rubber gloves, scoop out 1 heaping tablespoon of brownie. Mold the brownie onto the stick, making sure the brownie is somewhat secure. Carefully dip/paint each stick individually with melted chocolate with the help of a spoon, allowing some of the chocolate to get onto the stick. This will act as glue and keep the pop from falling apart when you bite into it. Dip into different toppings, as desired. Place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Once all the pops are finished, place into the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to set.

Cook's Note: Try to get someone to help dip the brownies into the chocolate while you are molding. The heat from your hands helps the brownies stick better to the pop and is better to dip quickly, rather than the brownie drying out and falling apart in the chocolate.

Decadent Brownies:

• 1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, plus more, softened, for pan
• 1 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

For your brownie batter, melt your butter in a medium (or large) heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water.

While the butter is melting, whisk the cocoa powder, sea salt and sugar in a separate bowl. (The sugar and salt will work as abrasive agents to get any lumps out of the cocoa.) Whisk the cocoa/sugar/salt combo into the melted butter until the sugar has dissolved fully. The mixture should look like fudge and pull away from the bowl into a ball. Take off the stove and set the pan on a dishtowel on your counter. Allow the fudgy mixture to cool down until it's warm, but not hot anymore.

While that is cooling, line the bottom and sides of your 9 by 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper or foil. You want to leave about 4 inches of overhang on the 2 opposite sides. These serve as your handles to remove the brownies from the pan in 1 piece, so make sure that there is enough of the overhang for you to have a solid grip. Grease the parchment or foil well.

Stir in the vanilla into the cooled fudge mixture to loosen it up. Add the eggs into the mixture 1 at a time, adding the second egg after the first egg is fully incorporated. The batter should look shiny and well blended. Add in your flour and stir it until it's fully incorporated. Once it looks fully blended, beat the batter vigorously for at least 45 strokes. This'll not only get out any pent up stress, but it will make the brownies chewy. Fold in your chocolate chips. Spread the very thick and fudgy brownie batter evenly in the lined pan with an offset spatula or your greased hands.

Pop the brownies in the oven and bake until they get a nice crust and your house smells like brownies, 30 to 35 minutes. Let them cool completely on a rack or a dishtowel on your counter.

 Here is how mine turned out:

Here's how mine turned out.  I am not much of a rules follower. So, in keeping with my normal self, I had a brownie mix and decided to use that instead of making the Decadent Brownies (even though they look AMAZING and I will have to make soon). Well, it sure tasted good, but I had some trouble with the brownies.  They fell apart and would hardly say on the stick.  I wonder if my brownie wasn't "fudgy" enough or if it just didn't work. 

I learned my lesson - no short cuts!  I will definitely have to try this again but actually follow ALL of Anne Thornton's directions!


http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-thornton/decadent-brownie-pops-recipe/index.html

Baking

I don't know if I have been bored or just really engulfed in reading "The Help," but I have been in a baking mood. 

Here are two of the recipes I have come up with recently.

Apple Breakfast Cake

2 Large Granny Smith Apples, cored and chopped into small pieces

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

1/4 cup oats

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup applesauce

2 tsp cinnamon or more, if desired

2 tsp wheat germ (optional)

1/2 cup pecans, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a mixing bowl, mix together the liquid ingredients.  Add the apples.  Set aside.  Meanwhile, mix together all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry, stirring.  Pour mixture into a greased 13 x 9 pan.  Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Double Chocolate Muffins

 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup milk

2 eggs

1/4 cup chocolate chips 

2 tbsp coffee (preferably espresso)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix all ingredients together.  Pour approximately 1/4 cup of batter into cupcake cups.  Bake 15-18 minutes or until done.

YUM.  What's next?  Currently, I am making brownie pops.