Labor Day at the Rivah!

Is the day over yet?! I am looking forward to spending my long weekend at my in-laws Rivah house in Mathew's County this weekend. I love being there. I always describe it as a time of forced relaxation. Their tv only has a few channels and there are no local hangouts, with the exception of karaoke at Donk's. Our weekends there usually consist of relaxing by the pool, playing with the dog in the Rivah, sitting on the porch, and eating exorbitant amounts of food. As beautiful as it is there I think we all get caught up in the food more than anything else.

I'll start off by saying that I have total kitchen envy. My mother-in-laws kitchen at the Rivah has enough food and equipment to feed an army! I won't even mention how clean it always is to boot (except after I've finished baking something). I have grown to love the Rivah kitchen, especially because I have learned invaluable cooking tips and recipes there.

Hopefully, I will remember to snap a few shots of the expected food this weekend (crab cakes, grilled pizza, pies, cakes, stuffed french toast.....!!) Maybe I should take a pair of stretchy pants with me and pack the bikini in the bottom of my suitcase, yikes!

A girl can dream

Man oh man, I wanna do this/be a part of this. Some of it seems a little extreme (chopping the boar) but it looks like so much fun! Does anybody else in Richmond love to cook?
Check it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/dining/27boar.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Birthday Dinner pt.2 (Dessert!)

One of my Dad's favorite desserts is pineapple upside down cake. About a year or two ago I decided to buy a pineapple shaped cake pan in an effort to make his favorite cake that much more special. What I love about this cake is that it always looks/tastes like it took a while, but it is so simple!

Here's what you'll need:




1/4 cup butter or margarine (I've been using unsalted butter)

1 cup packed brown sugar (or the equivalent in Splenda brown sugar)

1 can (20oz) pineapple slices in juice, drained, juice reserved

1 box SuperMoist yellow cake mix, along with the oil and eggs called for on the cake box

Heat oven to 350

Place butter in pan and melt in oven. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over butter. Arrange pineapple slices on brown sugar. I tend to cut my pineapple so that the top flares out like a real pineapple. I also skip the cherries (despite my love for them) as they don't really fit the look of the pan.


Add enough water to reserved pineapple juice to measure 1 1/4 cups. Make cake batter as directed on box, substituting pineapple juice mixture for the water. Pour batter over the pineapples.

Bake 45-50min until your toothpick comes out clean. Immediately run a knife around the side of pan to loosen the cake. Place a serving plate upside down over the pan, turn plate and pan over. Leave pan over cake for 5min so brown sugar goo can drizzle over cake. Remove pan and cool for 30min. Serve warm or cool. This can also be stored in the fridge for a day or two or even frozen!

If you look at some recipes for this cake online they will call for a double layer cake. Do not be confused, you only need one box of cake batter. If you happen to make this mistake then you can do what I did and make cupcakes with the extra batter!

ps- Unfortunately, there is not a finished photo of this cake as we started digging in before I could steal a shot.

Birthday Dinner

I gladly put myself in charge of executing my Dad's birthday dinner this past Saturday. I had a couple of dishes that I've began making regularly and knew this was something I could relieve my Mom of. I decided on a hodgepodge of things to keep the masses pleased but wanted to share with you my two favorite things from the day, eggplant parmesan lasagna and pineapple upside down cake.

For the lasagna, as a time saver I started off by making my own sauce the night before. It can be a lengthy process making this all in one evening.

You'll need:

Eggplant of your choice
olive oil/ salt/pepper
4 cloves of garlic, smashed (I always add a little extra)
2-28oz. can diced tomatoes (I like to use the basil, oregano flavor)
1 small can of tomato paste (maybe only use 1/2 of it to thicken your sauce)
basil ( I use as much fresh basil in the sauce as I can stand!)
sugar ( I use 1/2 packet of Splenda)
lasagna noodles (I use whole wheat)
16oz ricotta cheese
10oz fresh mozzarella, grated
1 cup fresh parmesan, grated
1 large egg
(P and I LOVE cheese so I increased the amount of cheese, you can never go wrong!)

Preheat your oven to 400

You will want to begin by using about 2 or more lbs. of eggplant. I have been using Japanese eggplants that my mother-in-law has been picking up from the Mathew's Co. farmer's market. They are smaller but noticeably sweeter.

Slice your eggplant and arrange them onto a baking sheet. Coat both sides generously with olive oil and bake about 40min until they are brown and tender.

Meanwhile, in a deep skillet heat olive oil and cook garlic for 1-2min, add tomatoes, paste, basil, and sugar and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook about 25min until thick. Add salt and pepper to taste. Keep in mind that if you want to let it simmer longer then that will only allow your flavors to meld together even more!

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the lasagna noodles, stirring often, for about 5min. Drain and rinse with cold water.

In a food processor, combine ricotta, egg, & 1/2 cup parm. Season with salt and pepper.

Spread a cup of sauce in baking dish (I use a 9x13 dish). Layer noodles, ricotta mixture, eggplant, and mozzarella. Repeat 2 more times ending with noodles & sauce.

Cover with foil and bake for 35min. Remove foil, add extra mozzarella and Parmesan and bake 10min until golden and bubbly.

Enjoy!

Dog Days

I will put up my post either later today or tomorrow regarding all the delicious food that was had this weekend in Waynesboro but for now I just wanted to post a pic of my precious boy and his cousin Franklin. I always think Newton is a big dog until I get him around my parents Labrador and my sisters lab/pit mix. Franklin is an excitable boy that has an obsession with going between legs. If you are standing and he wants to get by you rather then going around he will normally proceed to force his way right between your legs. In addition to that, if you are seated with your legs crossed he will come and scoot underneath of them, normally lifting them clear off of the floor. Odd boy that one. However, my big sis did have him dressed in a shirt. Normally, I find this completely unacceptable, especially on wussy small dogs, but this "Alpha Dog" t-shirt on Franklin was completely fitting!

Best Thursday Ever

So yesterday was a nice treat. I had to help out a coworker by taking her to a meeting in Williamsburg. I had just planned on running a few mundane errands and then maybe treating myself to a trip to the Prime Outlets while I waited for her meeting to end. Well my sweet P decided on Wednesday evening that he wanted to accompany me. I was more than happy to take him along, especially because P and I rarely see each other during the week (understatement of the century!). After we dropped off the coworker we decided to make an impromptu trip to Busch Gardens. I felt like I was 10 again when your mom lets you skip school to do something way cooler. We lucked out in that the lines were super short (only 10min wait to get on the Griffin!) and the weather was absolutely perfect! The sunshine was a little bright going up those steep inclines but luckily it went by so quickly our little ginger butts didn't get sunburned.

After a few fun roller coaster rides we made a stop by Williamsburg Alewerks to stock up our basement beer collection. Mmmm... I figured a taste of a beer wouldn't constitute breaking my "no beer until October" rule. After that we were off to the Prime Outlets! I immediately headed for the Gap while P went looking for some shoes. Turns out what he found was a Ben & Jerry's. He didn't bother telling me that he enjoyed some delicious ice cream without me, I found out because he was wearing part of it on his t-shirt! Oh well, I guess I am better off considering I never made it to the gym yesterday.

After a day of riding roller coasters and finding super deals at the Gap we had to return to the daily routine of domestication. P left for work and I got rid of the last few boxes in the office. After that, and a viewing of Juno, I moved on to touching up the trim in the bedroom. A very tedious task but I found that I enjoy that more than painting the whole wall. Also, Coneheads was on, c'mon you can't beat that! All in all I am going to go ahead and vote yesterday as the best day this week (and it's not even the weekend!) Thanks P for a great day of playing hookey!

Tomorrow I am heading back to my hometown of Waynesboro. It's my dads birthday and I am preparing the meal. Hopefully, when I return there will be pics of the deliciousness that I made!

Have a fun (and safe) weekend!

OUCH!

Don't you hate when it hurts to laugh, sneeze, or even lift yourself off the couch... I certainly do. I am in the middle of hating myself at the moment, simply because I skipped the gym for nearly a month (shameful, I know). I was at my peak at the time of our wedding and then, even though I swore I wouldn't, I let myself go. It was totally unintentional! Between catching up with friends I hadn't truly hung out with for months before the wedding and searching/settling into our first home, I undid a years worth of hard work. Well that statement isn't completely fair. My four pack is under there, solid as ever, it's just covered by this past weekend of binge eating and some Stella Artois.

Sadly, my iPod has died. D-E-A-D. Even P couldn't resuscitate it. I am one of those that needs to jam out during my workout, it puts me in the zone and I am a horrible mess without it. Yesterday, the Village People's "YMCA" came over the radio, while I was at the YMCA. I found that to be a bit tacky and it made me long for my iPod even more. However, I don't want to buy a new one. I've only had mine for 2 1/2 years and I am pissed that it gave up on life so quickly. Now I have made a pact (almost a double pact I guess) with myself. If I continue to go back to the gym on a regular basis, usually 5 days a week as I did before, and if I stick to my "no beer" commitment through the end of September then I will go out and buy myself a new iPod, if P allows.

Or somebody could save me from all this nonsense and find a way to bring my iPod back from the dead. Any geeks out there?

I do read

Ok, so I cannot take credit for finding this book on my own, she is the one who's rave review ultimately made the decision to go on and give it a read. It is an extremely easy read and I find it quite humorous. Considering I am not from NY, am not a teacher, and am nowhere close to being able to afford Dior headbands and Juicy Couture sweatpants, I still am loving this book!

I will lend it out to any curious readers.

The Newtron Bomb

I don't know if the dog is still getting used to the new house but he has certainly taken a liking to the the stairwell, in particular, the banister. P pointed out how much he loves to stick his head through and look downstairs or how he tries to give kisses on the way down the stairs, now it's all I notice when I'm around the stairwell. Newton takes every opportunity he can to justify sticking his head through the rails. He'll pretend to hear something and rush over to stick his head through and then just hangout there for a minute or so.

The funny part is watching Newton balance his love for sticking his head between the rails and his love for beating the humans down the stairs. Sometimes he will calmly stand there with his head poking through the rails waiting to steal a kiss as P or I head down below and sometimes he will quickly extract his head and rush as fast as he can to not only get in the way every step of the way down, but inevitably beat us as well. He loves the stairs, of this I am certain.

My P, My Hero

I don't know whether P is just terribly sweet or whether he knew in his heart of hearts that there was no way in hell I was going to paint another coat of aquafresh in the bedroom, but he was quick to take on the challenge. By time I returned home from the gym last night, P was already finished and off to work. I was very pleased with the outcome, although I wish the guy working at Sherwin Williams has suggested a glossier finish. Now I suppose I have to get on touching up the trim and what not. All I can see in my head is this endless back and forth of white paint and aquafresh...ugh! Or maybe I will take P's advice and tape the aquafresh in order to nicely edge the white paint back in.

Now I can get the curtains back up and starting hanging things. Yea! I also need to make a mental note to go ahead and put the non-slip mat under the bedroom rug in hopes that I will stop slipping and tripping over flat surfaces. Two rooms down, 5+ to go! EEK!

"Rich" weekend pt.2

As if I didn't consume enough tasty food on Saturday I had already planned a "girls night" for Sunday evening at Bacchus. I consider Bacchus to be one of my absolute favorite resturants in the area and whenever the craving for mussels hits I know exactly where to go. Sadly, as I walked in the door Sunday evening I was informed that they were out of my favorite appetizer, but not to worry, they had plenty of clams to go around (blah!) After holding back a few tears we decided on the antipasta plate and caprese salad.

Once again, my disdain for balsamic vinaigrette arose as it was scattered throughout the caprese salad plate. But once again, I made sure I was caught up in the moment of eating and decided to partake in one of my favorite dishes and put the thought of actually tasting the balsamic out of my head. It worked! I suppose having a plethora of basil on the salad didn't hurt either. As for the antipasta plate, well it is certainly meant to be shared in that it is huge! Complete with true pickles, beets, spicy peppers (that I thought were tomatoes, yikes!), roasted red peppers, anchovies, and a number of other things I never even got around to... In addition to the appetizers we were given the bread du jour. Normally I will pass on the bread basket. Don't be fooled, I LOVE bread, but in the scheme of things I would rather derive my calories from my vodka soda or beer then from my bread. However, I noticed that the bread was cornbread and it looked as if it had been grilled. I dove in and ate every crumb!

Since I know Bacchus to be one of the best in town for seafood I opted for the Red Snapper fillet (generous fillet at that) topped with a shrimp and lobster cream sauce and accompanied by some julienned zucchini and squash with some fresh green beans and asparagus tossed in there and fluffy (but real) mashed potatoes. Wow, I felt like I was going to get the gout just from the sauce alone, but I couldn't stop. The fish fell apart at the touch of my fork and the sauce included 2 jumbo shrimp and a strong flavor of lobster. I even ate all my vegetables that were perfectly seasoned but had to quit halfway through my potatoes, I do have limits after all. We collectively decided to pass on dessert for another cocktail and chatted the rest of the evening away.

All in all, I was completely devastated at the lack of mussels that evening, but will most certainly return. The evening ended on a wonderful note though when we decided that our next "girls night" will be held at Cafe Rustica. Yum-O (my terrible Rachel Ray reference....)

Bacchus
2 N. Meadow St.
Richmond, VA
335-9919 (they do take reservations)

I would call it a "rich" weekend

My weekend was full of food. Uber delicous food! Saturday night P and I had a dinner date at Cafe Rustica, one of our favorite places in town. We hadn't been there post-wedding and were well overdue for some tasty treats. The staff is always so attentive and knows a lot about what they are sending out of the kitchen so don't be scared to try something new. I have an aversion to such things as balsamic vinagerette (don't even get me started!) and salmon (I know, I know), and this is one place where I am not afraid to ask what ingredients are being used in my tasty meal that evening without pissing off the waitstaff. Our menu that evening consisted of...

sharing a potato latke topped with smoked salmon and green onions swirled into sour cream, this also had a little side salad on the plate lightly drizzled with sherry vinaigrette. (I will put on the record that I could barely taste the salmon, but what I did taste was delicous!)

P had the braised pork shoulder topped with a horseradish sauce and accompanied by roasted potatoes and the same side salad. (I tasted it and very much approved)

I opted for one of the specials that evening. I ordered the sirloin steak that came topped with lump crabmeat and a red pepper cream sauce. I also had the perfectly roasted potatoes on the side in addition to roasted zucchini and squash and the staple side salad. Now I won't lie, I LOVE to eat, and I think I have a pretty good palette, but I can be picky about some things. There are those things mentioned above but in addition to those I also despise vinegar and edibles that are derived from vinegar. I also am very funny about the preparation of raw meat. That being said I was enjoying my meal so much that I decided to taste the salad before asking what dressing du jour was accompanying it. I am very pleased that I took this route. The sherry vinaigrette was so light and tasty and I just know that I would have never tried it had I asked before eating. On another note, I asked for my steak medium. When it arrived I was so excited that I quickly cut into it and began chowing down. It wasn't until P mention how raw it was (in real life I would call it rare to med. rare) that I stopped to actually look at the meat. As shocked as P was that I was eating something that could very well still be mooing I continued to ravage my meal. The beef was so good and so juicy that I just may be converted to eating extremely raw meat on a regular basis!

For dessert we stuck to an old favorite of ours at Rustica. Grilled pound cake with fresh lemon curd and fresh berries. Words cannot describe. Grilled poundcake dude. Fresh lemon curd. Need I say more? Totally delightful!

And of course, as we were looking back on all the delicousness that we had just consumed we were also finishing up our adult beverages. Rustica has quite a good (but minimal) assortment of specialty beers and a lovely wine list. I recommend a Rose. I usually never choose a Rose but Michelle at Rustica has turned a new leaf for me.

To sum it all up, just go to Cafe Rustica. It is small (watch your head going to the bathroom if you are anywhere near 6' tall) but quaint. If you are going by yourself or just one other person they will most likely make you sit at the bar, this is a good thing! It allows you to interact with the staff and get the scoop on things to come. They are a very fresh and seasonal resturant in that they make their own sausage and use very fresh produce, ect. They are also open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and having eaten all 3 courses there before I can tell you with certainty that they excel at all of them. But most importantly, they are affordable. I will leave you with the ending thought that my oh-so-delicous steak special only set me back $16!

Cafe Rustica
414 E. Main St.
Richmond, Va
225-8811 ( I don't know if they take reservations but it could be worth a call, they are a booming new place in town, without being pretentious)

Pie... it's what's for dinner!

Mmm... last night I made a delicious pie for dinner, spinach and ricotta pie that is. I will tell you though that it was a Rachel Ray recipe. I have a love/hate relationship with Rachel Ray. I like her magazine in that she has quick "everyday" recipes that include ingredients one would normally have in their kitchen arsenal, on the other hand, her voice annoys the crap out of me and I hate that she acts like she invented EVOO. Also, she could probably afford to add a few more healthier options to her recipe collection, for everybody's sake! Although, me being the hypocrite that I am ultimately made this recipe less healthier by adding a pie crust. The recipe called for making it crustless but sometimes I just think and eat like a fat kid, therefore, I added a pie crust to support the bottom. Here's the recipe if you'd like to give it a try... very basic really but there are so many fun ways to make it your own. I always add extra cheese, in this case I simply added more ricotta. You can also add roasted red peppers, basil, a little parm... whatever you fancy. Oh man, now that I am thinking about it I should have added bacon! Oh well, next time.

Ingredients:

One 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed
One 15-ounce container ricotta cheese (I prob used about 20 oz. +)
8 ounces garlic-herb spreadable cheese (I had eaten some the night before with some crackers so I know you can get away with not using all 8 oz. if need be)
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup chopped marinated artichokes

1. Grease a 9-inch pie pan with olive oil. (or substitute a pie crust) Preheat the oven to 375°. Wring the spinach dry. In a large bowl, whisk together the ricotta cheese, garlicherb cheese and eggs. Add the spinach, artichokes, 1/2 teaspoon salt (I used garlic kosher salt) and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and stir to combine. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until golden, about 45 minutes.

Keep in mind that if you are opting to use a pie crust you may want to keep the pie rim covered with foil for the first 25 min to avoid it burning. Enjoy it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

Devastated

Oh man, I just got a devastating email from P. Turns out my Freshwater paint job didn't turn out so fresh. He claims that you can spot the individual roller strokes on any given wall. Hearing this also tells me that he is probably sitting at home saying "I told you so..." He did tell me to slather the paint on thicker but I quickly took offense and kicked him out of the room. I officially give up. Who wants to come over and paint my room in exchange for a nice homemade meal and a couple of adult beverages?

Here goes.....

Well I decided to take P's advice and go ahead and start my own blog. I figured I read enough DIY, food, and wedding blogs that I may as well keep track of the things that I am doing. As excited as I am to start whipping out informative posts I am also lost because I am most certainly technilogically challenged... we'll see how these first few go and then play around a bit more.

Painting

Let's just set the record straight, I am the worst painter ever! When P and I bought our first house (just over a month ago) I was stoked about all the painting possibilities and quickly chose a color for almost every room in the house, very much convinced that I would knock it all out in a week or so. Well a month later and I just finishe painting our bedroom. It was dreadful. Paint everywhere, including under the dropcloth??!! and on the sheets of the bed. Now, with all the walls painted a very soothing Freshwater blue/aqua color I am faced with having to touch up my goofs tonight. Or maybe I will just follow in P's footsteps and put this off as long as possible.

At only a month in I have decided that I despise painting. I am not experiencing any of the fun I had envisioned. It didn't even take me a month to figure it out though, the hatred started rising when I immeadiately gave up on my dining room paint job. After only one, non-primed, coat of RedBay I was finished. It soaked right into the new walls and was certainly not the warm welcoming red I had envisioned for the home of my future dinner parties! In addition to the cramping hands I was climbing up and down the ladder with a paint pan trying desperatley not to spill and getting paint everywhere except within the intended boundaries.

After nearly a week of leaving my pitiful dining room wall in paint limbo P realized he was going to have to bite the (paint) bucket and pick up my slack. He graciously went out and bought the much needed primer and a cozier shade of cranberry and got to work. Everyday I came home from work to see more and more positive progress and was constantly reminded of why I love P! Well now the painting of the walls is complete and work has come to a standstill. There isn't much work left to be done, except for touching up the trim but I know neither one of us want to take on that challenge. Any suggestions for touch up trimwork without going back and forth between the white and the red paintbrushes? I have tried taping and I have tried SHUR-LINE but the only thing I'm sure of now is that if I don't find an easier solution to edging around windows, doors, and fireplaces then my home will never be quite the feast for the eyes as I had imagined.