Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Recipes for Fall Party

Another year goes by and our third Fall Oktoberfest is just around the corner. Of course we will be serving dried fruits, nuts, pretzels and mustard and hot apple cider. Here are a few recipes we are also doing. 

Beer Brats
Of course we will be making beer brats. Kam is a pro at this. boil two or three bottles of beer, throw the brats in for 10 minutes. Remove brats and cook on grill for 5-10 minutes till done.
Serve with grilled onions, sauerkraut and a good spicy mustard. 
 
Pumpkin Soup
courtesy of All Recipes

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons margarine, softened
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 4 slices whole wheat bread
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
  • 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F(200 degrees C). Combine butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Spread butter mixture evenly over one side of each bread slice. Place bread, buttered side up, on a baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until bread is crisp and topping is bubbly. Cut each slice of bread into 8 small triangles or squares.
  2. Saute onion in butter in a medium saucepan until tender. Add 1 can chicken broth; stir well. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.
  3. Transfer broth mixture into the container of a blender or processor. Process until smooth.
  4. Return mixture to saucepan. Add remaining can of broth, pumpkin, salt, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground pepper; stir well. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally..
  5. Stir in whipping cream and heat through. Do not boil. Ladle into individual soup bowls. Top each serving with Cinnamon Croutons.

Potato Gatto 
 courtesy of Family Fun
Ingredients
 
  • 2 1/2 pounds potatoes, scrubbed
  • 2 tablespoons plain bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2/3 cup warm milk
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly grated pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2-inch dice
  • 4 ounces sliced Genoa or other Italian-style salami and/or prosciutto, chopped
 Instructions
  1. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan with cold water covering them completely. Cover the pan and bring the water to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook the potatoes until they are tender when pierced with a knife, about 20 to 30 minutes. Drain them and let them cool slightly.
  2. Generously butter a 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle the dish with the bread crumbs, turning it to spread the crumbs evenly.
  3. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove the skins. Place the potatoes in a bowl and mash them until smooth. Stir in 3 tablespoons of the butter, the milk, 1 cup of the grated cheese, the egg, the nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Fold in the mozzarella and meat.
  4. Heat the oven to 400ยบ. Spread the mixture evenly in the dish, dot with the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter, and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of grated cheese. (This dish can be prepared to this point and refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)
  5. Bake the dish until the top is browned and the center is hot, 40 to 45 minutes (50 minutes if it was refrigerated). Let it cool for 10 minutes before serving. Serves 10.
Another Special treat I will be making is  Pumpkin Pie in a jar. Will update you as this process happens...

Thursday, September 8, 2011

My Wonderful Fairytale Wedding in SCOTLAND!!!!

So worth the million and two emails to and from my wedding planner, florist, venue, and other vendors.

I want to say a special thank you to Wendy from Utopia Scotland the best wedding planner you will ever find. She went over and beyond expectations. I am so glad we have become friends.
Also to my florist Lorna from Floristic Designs who amazed me with how spot on her interpretation of my vision!!!




Here are some more photographs from my beautiful day






Fiesta 32!

My husband turned 32 on July 4th so we had to celebrate big. Mostly because he doesn't like celebrating and every time I throw him a party he ends up loving it! Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate Kameron's 32nd birthday!!! It was a blast!



Navy Blue and Yellow

I had the pleasure of being a impromptu assistant to the maid of honor for my friend's wedding. It was a perfect Seattle day, which of course means overcast and drizzle. The photos were taken before the wedding at Lincoln Park. Luckily the tall trees protected us a little from the rain.
Two Peas Wedding Photography  did such a creative job at capturing the perfect Seattle wedding.

Please check out the blog post for this wedding  here




The Hall at Fauntleroy is a beautiful setting for a wedding and is quite reasonable.

Forest Green and Eggplant Wedding

What a blast I had planning this event for my mom. It was held at Willows Lodge in Woodinville,WA
 Here are some beautiful photos taken by Amanda at Luminescent Photography



Let the parties begin!!!

What a whirlwind of a summer. After my mom's wedding we had a little relaxation time then off to the next beautiful wedding. Our close friends got married at the Hall at Fauntleroy in West Seattle. Ashley was a trooper through the rain for photos, and they turned out beautiful! We had a wonderful Fiesta birthday party for Kameron and then packed up for our wedding in Scotland! Since we got back from Scotland we had family camping trip, Claire starting Kindergarten and a big weekend concert. Now that all of that is over we are into the fall madness! Fall includes many football games, our yearly Oktoberfest, a house warming party for my best friend, a local wedding reception for our wedding, Claire's 6th birthday party and of course Thanksgiving. Lets see if I can rally and get all of this done! Here it goes....

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Beer Cocktails

I was reading my favorite regional magazine: Sunset, and came across an article about beer cocktails. My fiance, of course the "beer purist" would never disgrace beer by making it into a cocktail. However, I may convince him these are the bees knees! Beer cocktails are making a come back this summer at bars and are the perfect summer refreshers that are just as easy to make at home.

LEMON TOP

4 parts ale
1 part lemonade to top off.
lemon for garnish











BLACK VELVET

1 part stout
1 part sparkling wine
The most common beer "cocktails" contain no hard alcohol at all, they are simply equal parts of two types of beer or cider layered on top of each other in a pint glass. This includes a dark stout like Guinness with a light-colored ale in the Black and Tan, and lager beer and hard apple cider in the Snakebite. We'd also put the Black Velvet in this category, a mix of stout and Champagne best poured as follows: Fill glass halfway with bubbly, then pour stout over a spoon, slowly, to create a layered effect.
(Pair with french fries, or a sausage- potato breakfast casserole)
Read More Epicurious

MICHELADA
The Michelada is a refreshing cocktail, originally from Mexico, made with beer, lime juice, and hot sauce, served in a salt-rimmed glass over ice. Cocktail consultants The Tippling Brothers created several variations of the Michelada, including the Happy Mich, for Mercadito restaurants in New York. It retains the spicy/soothing format of the original beer cocktail, and brings some interesting hot seasonings, cooling watermelon, and hibiscus flavors into the mix.
(Pair with quesadillas)
Read More: Epicurious


LUNCH BOX
4 parts hefeweizen
1 part orrange juice
1 shot amaretto per drink










SHANDYGAFF
1 part ginger beer
1 part lager

 To make it more interesting you can add lemon juice and orange curracao.
 Courtesy of: Tipsy Texan 








 HONEY BEER
In a pint glass, combine 1 tablespoon honey, the juice of 1/2 lemon, 1 ounce gin, and pinch of salt.  Slowly pour 1 bottle or can of Pale Ale to fill glass, and garnish with a lemon wedge. Makes 1 drink.
Courtesy of every day food








THE CURE

Bartender Gina Chersevani developed this cheeky beer cocktail as a "cure" for the economic recession: It sells for the discounted price of $5 on her menu at PS 7's in Washington, DC. It combines a light, value-priced beer such as Miller High Life with a splash of juice and ginger liqueur.
(Pair with buffalo wings or monte cristo sandwich)
Read More Epicurious