1.  What is one of your favorite ways to spend a Saturday?

- Spin class at 8:15am
- Lots of coffee

 - Lunch with Big Guy (hopefully including a mimosa – perhaps in Raleigh)
- Cooking a delicious dinner with a glass of wine (or 3)

- Ending with a piece of dark chocolate

 2. List your top 3 favorite shows.

- E! News
- Tie between Real Housewives of the OC and any Kardashian show (guilty pleasure)
- Criminal Minds

3.  Would you rather be in pictures or take them?

Be in them!  I just love capturing memories with the ones you love.  One day I’ll have a fabulous camera that I just can’t put down…but until then, I’ll let others keep snappin’ away.

4.  Why do you blog?

Honestly, it all started when I made it a resolution to cook one new dish every week.  Now it’s my way of keeping our families in the loop.  We’re miles away so the blog just keeps them informed (maybe too informed).

5.  Five websites I regularly visit.

- Facebook
- Pinterest
- People
- Gmail
- Food Network

6.  If you could go to lunch with one person you Twitter with, who would it be?

I don’t tweet.  But I would love to hang out with Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert.  Or Giuliana from E! News.  Or The Pioneer Woman.  I just thought of another one (I was answering number 17 – REGIS!!!!)

7.  A few of my favorite snacks.

- hummus
- Greek yogurt
- apple with almond butter
- anything with almond butter
- walnuts and grapes

8.  Do you have a pet?

Yes, and he goes my Big Guy.

9.  What three material possessions would you struggle to live without?

- Phone
- Coffee maker
- Mascara

10. What’s your favorite drink?

Wine.  (It’s Friday, I can say this.)

11.  Do you enjoy cooking?

Yes!

12. Do you have children?

Please refer to #8.  I’m enjoying my 20s.  I want children someday.  Just not today.  Or tomorrow.  Or anytime in the next few years.

13.  What are your favorite hobbies?

- Cooking
- Working out
- Reading; current book:

- Trying new food
- Wine
- For the next year, wedding planning.

14.  Would you consider yourself to be shy or outgoing?

Outgoing.

15. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I actually like myself.  I wish I wasn’t such a worry-wart sometimes…

16. Who is your favorite actor or actress?

I honestly don’t have one.  I think Reese is gorge.  And I love Jennifer Aniston.  And I think George Clooney is such a fox.

17. What’s the coolest thing you’ve done this week?

I’m so not cool.  We watched “I Don’t Know How She Does It.”

18.  Do you live near to your family or far away?

It’s all about perception.  I wish I was closer some days.  But I don’t have to hop on a plane to get to them!

19.  List three of your talents.

- Keeping a clean house. (that’s a talent, right?)
- Being organized.
- Driving Big Guy crazy.
- and I make pretty awesome apps.

20. What is your greatest attribute?

In one word – dedication.

Cheers to the freakin’ weekend!

]]> http://atastelife.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/the-facts-for-today/feed/ 3 atastelife cofee wine guilty pleasure guil wine true colors george http://atastelife.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/our-carolina-cakes/ http://atastelife.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/our-carolina-cakes/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:00:59 +0000 atastelife http://atastelife.wordpress.com/?p=3755 ]]> Has anyone seen the most recent issue of Our State magazine?

In this issue there are cakes that you’ve never seen (or heard of or imagined) before.  And to be honest they’re ”cakes that only a North Carolinian can appreciate.”

The Krispy Kreme Cake - featuring 6-12 Krispy Kreme original glaze doughnuts

The Maple Syrup and Country Ham Cake – in the words of Big Guy, “Come on.”

The Nabs Cake -  I can’t lie, hoop cheese plus Lance Toastchee Crakers plus frosting is not appetizing to me.

The Pepsi ‘N Peanuts Cake  - combining sweet Pepsi with salty peanuts

Last, but certainly not least, as it’s the one Big Guy has requested…

The Pimento Cheese Cake – yes, they went there.

Despite Big Guy’s request, I have not whipped up the above cakes (yet).  But I did throw together Pimento Cheese Stuffed Chicken and I didn’t hear any more complaining.  Despite living in the South, I’ve never had pimento cheese with bacon as one of the mix-ins until this dinner.

The pimento cheese mixture included 1 slice bacon (crisped and crumbled), 3/4 cup white cheddar cheese (grated), green onions, pimentos (duh!), mayo (only 1 tablespoon!), lemon juice (I used the juice from half a Meyer) and hot sauce (1/2 teaspoon or to taste).

Holy moly!  If I’ve ever had a Southern chicken dinner, this is it!

I loved the addition of not only the bacon but the zip of the lemon and a little heat from the Texas Pete.  Served with a side of roasted brussels.

Which of the above cakes would you be willing to try?

I wish I could link the recipe but I can’t find it.  I know I got the idea from Heather’s Dish, though.  Here’s what you’ll need:  roasted red pepper (I actually roasted my own and it was yellow), fontina cheese, two slices of bacon – crisped up (p.s. I learned that you should put bacon on a cold skillet and then turn it up), caramelized shallot (or onion) and balsamic vinegar reduced down to a syrup.

The beauty of pizza is you can add more of what you love and less of other things if you please.  You can’t mess up pizza.  It’s impossible.

On the crust (that was premade from last weekend), I brushed on some minced garlic and then added a sprinkling of half the cheese (probably used a cup total on the whole pizza).  On top of that, roasted pepper strips, caramelized onion (I caramelized the onion in the bacon drippings – YES I DID!), bacon pieces and then more of the cheese.  Once the pizza was done getting bubbly, I added a drizzle of the cooled balsamic glaze.

Insane, I tell you.  Eaten picnic-style.  Because I can.

Come to find out, it was a GREAT weekend to head to Charlotte.  Queen’s Feast is going on!  Queen’s Feast is Restaurant Week in Charlotte.  Yes,  I grew up in Charlotte but there are so.many.restaurants I’ve never even heard of.  Saturday night, before we headed to Cajun Canvas for some painting action, Dad took his ladies to dinner at Cantina 1511.    After looking at the menu, we knew we were in for a treat.  For $30, we got a margarita, 2 appetizers each, an entree and dessert.  Ummm, we did not leave hungry!!!!

Since it was Maggie’s birthday, we went a little crazy and ordered something that wasn’t a part of the fixed menu.  A flight of margaritas!  We loved trying three of their most popular margaritas with the whole table.  Fresh and delicious!  The blood orange margarita was our favorite…will def go back and order another soon.  Big Guy missed out!

Appetizers:

• Top Shelf Guacamole – made fresh at your table
• Cantina 1511 Fundido – imported Mexican cheeses, melted with fresh herbs, jalapeno bacon, roasted pineapple and onions, served with steaming flour tortillas
• Mexican Chopped Salad – Romaine, chopped tomato, jicama, sweet onion, avocado, scallions, garbanzo beans, cucumbers, corn, roasted red peppers and Cotija cheese tossed in a chipotle ranch dressing
• Tortilla Soup – homemade Mexican classic: a hearty chicken vegetable soup topped with crispy tortillas and avocado

I went with the guac and the chopped salad.  Others at the table got the FUNDIDO!!!  The guac was super fresh (made at the table) and the chopped salad was really tasty.  Honestly, I could have been completely satisfied with just the salad and guac.  But there was more to come…

I did not order the fundido, but of course I had a few tastes.  It was the best cheese dip I’ve ever had.  Bacon, cheese, pineapple?  Shut up.

Entrees:

• Pescado Vera Cruz – market catch white fish smothered in a sweet tomato sauce with pepperoncini, olives and capers
• Barbacoa de Puerco – slow cooked, braised and shredded pork; served with Mexican vegetable rice, charro beans, guacamole, pico de gallo, shredded Mexican cheeses, shredded lettuce and warm flour tortillas
• Camarones Cubano – achiote marinated grilled shrimp placed over red rice, served with black beans, plantains and habanero crema
• Vegetarian Enchiladas – filled with portobello mushrooms, poblano peppers, mixed Mexican cheeses & fresh spinach

Maggie and I got the shrimp – loved, loved, loved the plantains!!!  Perfectly cooked.  And those black beans over rice was unlike any black bean dish I’d ever tasted.  Momma went with the enchiladas and Dad loved the baked cod (the fish of the night).

And that wasn’t even the end of it…

Desserts:

• Cuatro Leches Cake
• Mexican Chocolate Creme Brulee

I went with the Mexican Chocolate Creme Brulee – but don’t worry, I tried the cake.  The creme brulee had hints of cinnamon that I loved.  So rich and delicious.  Not your typical creme brulee.

So full.  But so impressed.  The service was awesome, the atmosphere was ideal and the food was out of this world.  I can’t wait to go back.

And I’m going to leave you with the paintings we rocked out….I won’t be giving up my day job any time soon.

2.  Homemade Boiled Peanuts…in the Crock pot.  SHUT UP!!!!

3.  I’ve been wanting to organize my jewelry like this for weeks.

4.  And then Pinterest decided to not be available…I probably crashed the site.

5.  TGIF, folks, TGIF.

Are you a pinner?

My inspiration for pizza first came from the leftover pulled pork from our cooking class on Saturday (which, by the way, was so.much.fun.i.wanna.do.it.again).  I saw the pulled pork and thought, “self, make a Hawaiian pizza.”  Then an even brighter light bulb went off.  There was left over grilled pineapple from the cooking class.  This pizza was meant to be.  And then, the stars lined up even more.  I ran across a recipe for a Sweet ‘n Spicy Hawaiian pizza recipe that I had printed a while back.  This recipe inspired the use of apricot preserves mixed with chili-garlic sauce for the sauce.  I used about 1/4 cup preserves, heated for about 30 seconds to melt.  Then I mixed in a smidge of the spicy stuff.  Go crazy, add as much heat as you can handle.  Once the sauce was spread thing, I added the pulled pork, diced pineapple and mozzarella cheese.  Bacon would take this over the top.  Not that I was afraid, I just didn’t have any in the fridge.

The apricot preserves was the perfect base.  Sweet but spicy from the chili-garlic sauce.  The whole thing was complete with a sprinkle of green onions.  Red onion would also probably work wonders on this pizza. 

Pizza night is back.

A lot of girls (okay, ladies) end up getting married in their hometown.  Not me.  I love my home, don’t get me wrong, but Matthews doesn’t really scream “Emily and Chris.”  It isn’t us.  We met in Greenville at ECU and now we’re in Nashville, NC.  We frequent the beach a lot – so that was an option that I threw around in my head (until we got engaged and realized a beach wedding + this girl = disaster).  But in the end I’m going to get married at Rose Hill. 

Rose Hill has been my number one choice since we got married but I knew I needed my parents to approve (since they’re footing the bill and all).  Well, they approve!  This past weekend, Momma and Dadom paid us a visit and went on a tour of Rose Hill with us.  They were really impressed and completely agreed that it’s the place for Big Guy and me. 

Rose Hill is exactly what I want in a wedding venue.  Not only will the ceremony take place here but so will the reception.  Heck, the rehearsal dinner might be there, too (those plans having been made).  It has the Southern “feel” to it in a relaxed way.  And it’s gorgeous.  Absolutely gorgeous (this means I don’t have to bother with excessive flowers!!!!!).  And the best part – Big Guy and I are both in love with it.  It’s “country” enough for him and “classy” enough for her.

One decision down, 1,897 to go.

The caramelized onion mixture was insane!  I’ve never had onions that tasted like this.  The worcheshire sauce plus the bay leaf plus the mix of butter and olive oil plus beef broth took it over the top.  That’s a lie….the cheesy layer on top of the onions took it over the top.  And when pressed between two pieces of bread it tasted like the best bite of French onion soup….crsipy “crouton,” rich onions and ooey-gooey cheese.  Slurp. 

Do you like Big Guy’s placemat?  He gets a little messy at times…  And my sammie was just as tasty but the sammie wasn’t as photogenic.  Served with some red pepper strips.  Way better than the soup – because you get cheese and crouton in every.single.bite.

Salty, crunchy, lemony-tart potatoes.

Better than real fries.  Seriously!

And it gets even better…served alongside a Mushroom and Swiss Patty Melt.  Man alive this was an incredible dinner.  Comfort food at it’s finest.

The recipe called for “ground sirloin” rather than “ground beef.”  So I decided to splurge on the sirloin.  So worth the price.  This beef was full of flavor.  Honestly, nothing was added to the meat before it was cooked (in the cast iron skillet – word up).  It was so juicy and full of flavor.  I was blown away.  And about the mushrooms and onions.  I wanted a bowl of those.  Nothing else.  They thickened up with the addition of tapioca flour (recipe called for all purpose).  And the Guinness added such depth of flavor.  Bar food without the guilt.  Or the hangover.

I think we talked about what we were eating the entire meal.

“mmmmm, these fries.”  “the mushrooms are incredible….are there any left?”

Both plates were licked clean.