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Appetites and Adventures

Watermelon Cotija Salad

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Baby showers require games.

Party games typically aren’t my forte, but I received a brilliant suggestion for a baby shower game:

Guess What the Baby Ate

Yep, I went there.

The game is to line up diapers filled with mushed up candy bars, then have party guests try to guess what candy is in each.

Tip: soften each a bit in the microwave and use the food processor to mix.

Our diapers contained:

  • Butterfinger
  • Mounds
  • Peppermint Patty
  • Reeses
  • Snickers.

The game got competitive!  Guests took to taste-testing in order to win.  Baby Ruthless.

These ladies were the winners!

I will never look at my favorite candy bars the same way.

On to more visually appealing foods!

Of the items I made, one of the favorites was a watermelon salad.  (I just realized that between the Strawberry Chantilly and the watermelon there’s a bit of a pink theme to this baby boy’s a shower!)

If you glance at much  of what I eat, you’ll notice that I love a salty-sweet combo.  Watermelon is no different!

This watermelon salad gets it’s saltiness from Cotija cheese.

Cotija a salty, crumbly cow’s milk cheese.  Basically, it is Mexico’s answer to feta.

It is great as a garnish on salads, tacos, enchiladas, or simply crumbled on a good tomato with cilantro and pepper. It is also delish on watermelon salad.  🙂

Watermelon Cotija Salad

  • 1/2 medium sized watermelon, chopped into 1-inch pieces (~6 C)
  • 1/3 C chopped red onion
  • Juice from 1 lime
  • 3-4 oz cotija cheese, crumbled
  • 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
  • 1/2 C cilantro, chopped
  • S+P, to taste

Combine all ingredients into a large bowl and serve immediately.

***

Do you typically play “games” at bridal shower or baby showers?

What are your favorites?

Strawberry Chantilly

By

My best friend, Mallory, is having a baby.  A baby boy!

Naturally, I threw her a baby shower and served a pink cake.

Oops.

This cake had been planned for a while, but as the day drew closer I got more and more nervous about making the cake for the party.  That’s a lot of pressure!

Thankfully, this Strawberry Chantilly turned out really well.

Using toasted hazelnuts was a departure from the original pecan crust, but now I couldn’t imagine it any other way.  The mommy-to-be even requested it be turned into a cookie.

I’ll be toying with the recipe to make it able to stand alone in cookie (or blondie?!) format. 🙂

Easy while looking impressive, this cake is refreshing, spring-like, and showcases the now-in-season strawberries perfectly.

More spring party recipes to come!

Next up: Watermelon Salad

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Strawberry Chantilly

Adapted from Coleen’s Recipes.

Crust:

  • 1 C all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 C brown sugar
  • 1/2 C butter (salted)
  • 1/2 C toasted hazelnuts, chopped

Filling:

  • 2 egg whites
  • 3/4 C sugar
  • 2 1/2 C sliced strawberries
  • 1 C heavy whipping cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Cut the butter into the flour and sugar until crumbly.  Stir in chopped hazelnuts. Press into a 9″ spring form pan and bake for 25 mins, until just beginning to turn golden.  Set aside to cool completely.

Pulse strawberries in a food processor to form a puree.  (I left a few chunks.)

Pour puree into a mixing bowl and add egg whites, sugar, and lemon juice.  Beat with electric mixer on high for ten mins.  (You can use a hand mixer if you’re ghetto like me – it’s good for the arms!)

In a separate bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream and vanilla until stiff peaks begin to form.  Gently fold the whipped cream into the strawberry meringue mixture. Pour into cooled crust and cover. Freeze for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

***

This weekend flew by!  What can’t was at least reach a compromise of working 4 days and weekend-ing 3 days?!

Do you order cakes or make them for parties?

What is your favorite cake to make?

Limoncello Easter

By

Knowing full-well Easter is yet another eating holiday, I woke up and got my workout out of the way first thing.

I’m a HUGE proponent of breakfast; however, pre-cardio I cannot eat.  My stomach has a tendency to cramp, so I have to wait 2 hours after eating/drinking to bounce.  This makes morning cardio hard – without food my energy stores are low and I find it hard to keep up the intensity.

Today I tried eating prunes beforehand.  Yes, prunes.  Like what your granny eats. In addition to the obvious benefit (fiber), they are loaded with antioxidants and high in Vitamin A.  In conclusion, eat prunes to stay regular, preserve youth, and fuel a workout.

It worked like a charm!  Not heavy, sticky enough not to slosh, and a natural sugar shot to amp me up.  I rocked out 30 mins of a slightly modified version (I needed more of a challenge!) of my go-to interval workout:

Bike

  • Minutes 0-5 @ level 1-3 (3 RPE)
  • Minutes 5-7 @ level 5-7 (7 RPE)
  • Minutes 7-8 @ level 6-8 (8 RPE)
  • Minutes 8-9 @ level 8-9 (9 RPE)
  • Minutes 9-10 @ level 9-10 (10 RPE)

Elliptical

  • Minutes 10-11 @ level 4 (3 RPE)
  • Minutes 11-13 @ level 8-9 (6 RPE)
  • Minutes 13-15 @ level 9-10 (8 RPE)
  • Minutes 15-18 @ level 12 (9 RPE)
  • Minutes 18-20 @ level 9-10 (8 RPE)

Treadmill

  • Minutes 20-23 @ level 3.8 (3 RPE)
  • Minutes 23-26 @ level 6.5 (7 RPE)
  • Minutes 26-29 @ level 7.5 (8 RPE)
  • Minutes 29-30 @ level 8 (9 RPE)

Followed by 45 mins of back and biceps.  Plus 100 stability ball sit ups and 75 push ups.

Bring on the second helping of dessert!

Nothing says Easter like family.  Well, family with a side of champagne, mint, cornish hen, lamb, and veggies.

First, an aperitif.  Limoncello Champagne Cocktails from Bon Appetit.

Mine were made with 1T of agave rather than 2T of sugar, but otherwise I followed the recipe.  The mint and limoncello mix will be a funky  shade of green (not that green drinks both me!), but after adding the lemon juice and champagne it turns a pretty Easter yellow.

Don’t use a $50 bottle of champagne for this – just be sure it’s dry.  The limoncello-mint mixture steal the show.

Our lighter fare consisted of a strawberry-almond salad, cucumber + tzatziki, tomatoes, and fresh fruit.

Then the dinner drinks: Limoncello Collins a la Food & Wine.

Light and refreshing, this concoction combines limoncello, gin, and freshly squeezed lemon juice with club soda and mint.  Two glasses thumbs up.

Time for the mains!

Lamb grilled on the Big Green Egg

Cornish Hen, also done on the Egg

Ann’s potato au gratin and bacon-brussels sprouts (soooo good!)

Spinach Bread Pudding with Feta and Lemon 

My contribution was the Spinach Bread Pudding with Feta and Lemon.  This was found on the Food & Wine site, but was actually a 101 Cookbooks creation.  It’s a lightened version of a savory bread pudding, and I think I ate half of it myself.  Fantastic.

Next time I would increase the amount of mustard to 2 T and the lemon zest to at least 1 T.  I like a pronounced tangy flavor.

The bread I used was a whole grain bread made from Sweetwater 420 beer.  I also used an awesome/fancy whole grain mustard, and a block of impossibly creamy French feta cheese.

These items, along with the picture below, were obtained at Whole Foods on Saturday night.

The end to my Easter was a little prettier than that…

I wish I had dessert pics… Mom made an incredible chocolate fudge pie and I made the Olive Cookies, this time with rosemary instead of basil.  *le sigh*

***

How was your Easter?

Do you have any tricks to eating pre-morning workout?

Have a Happy Monday… and say no to crack!

Post-Race Strategy

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My pre-race strategy for the Sweetwater 420 5K was flawless.

Since I didn’t do the first 5K Saturday morning, I decided to walk to the 420 race.  It seemed like a fantastic idea when I started; however, I failed to realize it takes a LOT longer to walk 4 miles than to run it.  The last 1/2 mile I was basically sprinting in order to make it to the start line!  No matter, it was a nice warm up.  🙂

Those Carrot Cake Overnight Oats held me over like a champ.

They haven’t posted the official times and I never actually saw a) the race begin or b) the actual start line.  I think I finished in about 28 mins – slower than my last 5K, but it was a hilly course and I’d just walked/sprinted to the start.

After finishing the race we all received a beer and a bagel.  A true breakfast of champions.

 

I just realized those of you not in the South may not be familiar with Sweetwater Brewery.  They are based out of Atlanta and they make some delicious beer – my favorite is the deliciously hoppy IPA.


Lee came out after her very successful 5K in another part of town.  It was fun to meet up and share a beverage!

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Post-post race my friends and I headed to glory that is the Dekalb Farmer’s Market to pick up ingredients for dinner.  This “market” is difficult to describe (and they don’t allow picture-taking).  In short, it is 140,000 sq feet of foodie heaven.

Source: Mother Earth News

 

One of the many goodies to discover at the market is the cheese.

My selections:

 

  • Tomme de Savoie – Good.  It was a nutty cheese, made from cow’s milk.  The cherry-filled Cabernet we opened was a bit too big for it – I’d like to try it again with a Malbec or Cotes du Rhone.
  • Irish Cheddar w/ Red Wine – Delicious.  Rich cheddar.  The flavor only got better as I chewed.  It paired really well with the vino.
  • Cypress Midnight Moon – Upon Matt’s recommendation, I was sure to pick up this up.  I’m a huge fan of nutty cheeses and this goat’s milk cheese hit the spot.  It was probably my favorite of the night.

 

We served these as appetizers with hummus, carrots, and pretzel chips.  I also added a hunk of the basic feta I bought to use in the burgers.

 

For the main event, Dallas and I prepped sliders to be grilled on the Big Green Egg.  His were a tasty blend of ground beef and ground pork.  Mine were lamb.

In my sliders:

  • Ground lamb
  • Feta cheese
  • Kalamata olives
  • Fresh dill
  • S+P

 

I also made an impromptu tzatziki sauce with Greek yogurt, dill, mint, garlic, olive oil, and lemon + zest.

Add to that an arugula salad with cucumbers and grapefruit, grilled eggplant and sweet potato rounds… and by 10p we had a meal feast!

I was so excited I forgot to take a pic. 🙁

 

Annnnnddddd… by 11p we needed dessert.

These Chocolate Chip + Pretzel Cookie Bars by Michelle @ Brown-Eyed Baker have been saved in my Delicious bookmarks for just such an emergency.

 

 

This salty-sweet deliciousness hit the spot.  3 times.  That’s what she said. We “iced” them with honey-peanut butter (one of the best decisions I made all day).

My only complaint is that the pretzels don’t hold their crunch.  Any suggestions???

I want to do these again when I’m feeling more creative and make a few adjustments.  I’m thinking toffee or peanut butter chips or chocolate-covered pretzels…

 

Add to this a Sunday morning 3 mile run and a sunshine-filled afternoon playing ball…

…and you there you have my post-race strategy!

***

What is your favorite summer drink?  Has anyone outside of Georgia heard of the Sweetwater Brewery?

Happy Tax Day to all!  May your returns be plentiful.

 

Roasted Red Pepper-Asparagus Mini Quiches

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It is an unwritten rule in the South that you cannot have a bridal shower without the following items:

  • Mimosas
  • Pimento cheese
  • Chips and dips
  • Quiche

We covered all the required bases

 

Wait!  Where’s proof of the mimosas?!  Hold up…

How cute is Christina showing off her ring?!

The pimento was my new favorite, American Gra-frutti.  Mayo and gluten-free.

SO much better than the typical mayo-soaked version at your family picnic.

This chips and dip were also well-represented.

Tostidos sent me a coupon via She Speaks to try one of their new Artisan Recipe flavors.  I selected the Roasted Garlic and Black Bean.

We served them with homemade hummus and fresh veggies.

The ingredient list is pretty clean for the Artisan chips- they are 100% natural and contain real black beans.

However, I found them to be a bit salty.  Weird, as the package says there’s only 90mg sodium. I bet they are good with pico and guac.

Then there was quiche.  Mini quiche.


I love these for parties – you can customize them with virtually any veggie or  cheese (I’ve even made them with bacon).

 

AND they are super easy to make ahead and re-heat.

Of course, they are also a finger food.  Finger foods will get you bonus points on the Southern unwritten rules test.

Reminiscent of the awesome breakfast eggfins, no?

Mini Quiche recipe after the jump…

… 

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Olive-Basil Shortbread Cookie [Recipe]

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It’s (finally) cookie time!

These are a different kind of cookie, but they may be my favorite.  Besides chocolate sea salt cookies.  Yes, I like sweet-salty combos.

Kalamata Olive-Basil Cookies

Before you turn your nose up, hear me out.  They are sweetened with powdered sugar and are very light.  That, combined with the olive oil, makes these melt-in-your-mouth good.

Bet you can’t eat just one!

For this version I used Sweetwater Growers‘ Basil-Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Because they are savory, these cookies make for an great appetizer.  They are also delicious with blue cheese.

 I’ve also done these with regular olive oil and added rosemary.  That was awesome too.

Olive Basil Cookies

by Laura Hall

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 12 mins

Keywords: bake appetizer dessert vegetarian olive oil olives powdered sugar cookie

Ingredients (20 cookies)

  • 8 T salted butter, room temp
  • 3/4 C powdered sugar
  • 1 T basil infused EVOO (I used Sweetwater Growers)
  • 1 C all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 C spelt flour
  • 1/4 C kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

Instructions

Place the softened butter in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and billowy

Add the sugar, stirring until incorporated

Drizzle in the olive oil, stirring until combined

Use a wooden spoon to stir in the flours by hand just until the dough is smooth

Add the olives and gently incorporate just until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough. You may need to use your hands here – dough will be very sticky

Place the dough in the middle of a large piece of parchment paper. Roll into a single log, about 1-inch in diameter

Refrigerate the dough for at least 45 minutes, or overnight.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Gently slice cookies into ~1/4-inch rounds using a sharp knife. Sharp is key, as you need to cleanly cut through the olives

Place the cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving some space between them (they spead a tad)

Bake until the edges of the cookies are golden, ~12 mins total.

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***

I do love sweet+salty.  In fact, I went to Morelli’s Ice Cream tonight and had a scoop of chocolate-hazelnut + one of salted caramel.  Perfection.

What is your favorite flavor combo?  

Did you ever eat Ruffles chips dipped in chocolate?

Speaking Up

By

A friend and I recently had a delicious dinner at an Atlanta restaurant.  While there, we noticed that the restaurant was beginning a Monday night dinner at their community table.  16 seatings, $35 for  a “three-course, family style dinner featuring paired wine and beer.”

Before we even left the restaurant we made reservations for the community dinner, which took place last night.  We included 2 others who had never been to this restaurant before, excitedly telling them about the place.

The dinner was supposed to begin at 7p.  Apparently other parties were running late, so service was to begin late.  Mistake #1: Don’t make me wait for food!

The server offered drink menus, which we initially declined… but after another several minute wait we caved and ordered drinks.  The server – clueless about the wine list – tried to tell me a Moscato d’Asti would be dry, btw.

By the time they arrived, the restaurant had decided to go ahead with the dinner.  Fine… but that meant suddenly I had 2 full glasses of wine.  It would have been nice if they’d warned us of their decision to begin the first course/pairing – I wouldn’t have ordered the wine.  No biggie though… you know I drank both!

Unfortunately, that was just the beginning of the service problems.

Chef came out to introduce Course #1: a salad of frisée, asparagus, radishes, and pistachio encrusted goat cheese.  Good.  Nothing spectacular, but well-executed.

No one introduced the first wine pairing.  When I asked the server what we were tasting, she had to go ask the bartender.  (It was an Italian chardonnay.) She offered to write down the name.  I accepted (very nice of her to offer)… but apparently she forgot and I never received the name card.

Course #2 was a duck confit served over a delicious white bean and ham mixture.  The runners borough it out before we had plates.  Upon receiving plates, we realized the family-style food had not come with serving utensils.  We almost helped ourselves regardless.  Luckily, the server appeared with tongs and spoons just in time (reaching over everyone to lay them on the table).

This course was never introduced.  Unsure if the chef would be coming out again after staring at the food for another several mins, my friend inquired as to whether we should wait to eat.  With more than a touch of ‘tude, our server told my friend that she supposed she could go ahead if she didn’t want to wait for the chef.  Welll… no one wanted to wait and it’s a good thing we didn’t since he never came out.

Of course, the wine was not introduced either.  It was red and actually quite good.  That’s all I know.

As mentioned above, the beans with ham was delicious.  The duck confit notsomuch. I don’t know how, but it was dry.  Not that anyone asked me how my meal was.

Course #3 was a dessert course. We were brought key lime pie squares topped with a toasted marshmallow.  The marshmallow was the best part.

Ok. When you attend a “three-course, family style dinner featuring paired wine and beer”… do you not infer that each course has a pairing?

No pairing. When I asked our server about it, she said she would have to check.  When she returned, she unapologeticlly informed me a pairing was not included because if they did that they would be losing money.  Super.  Excuse me for asking.

At this point I’m really unhappy with the way the night has gone.  My dining companions (my friends and the others around the community table) were also disappointed.  So I said something.

The chef came out to address the issue with me.  I – very nicely – mentioned the short-comings and the sub-par service.

They comped our meal – NOT my goal – asking that we pay for drinks and tip the server.

Then they apologized for my misunderstanding of what the dinner would be.  Uh-huh.

It’s unlikely I’ll return. Not because the food was so-so (my first trip was quite good) or because of a “misunderstanding” (I get that they’re new and appreciate the meal being comped).  No, I won’t go back because of the poor service and being made to feel like anything unsatisfactory was my fault.

In the end,  restaurants are in the service business.  If you don’t deliver quality service at a higher-end establishment, I’ll not be spending my time or money there.  There are too many fantastic places to eat in Atlanta.

On a happy note, we met some awesome people through the community seating format.  We hope to dine with that crew again soon!

 

The other issue was that it wasn’t enough food.  So I made a pit stop on the way home.

Shameless WaHo love

***

Due to a misunderstanding with my computer, I can’t post the cookie recipe I had planned this morning… so that’s coming tonight.  I’ll give you the recipe free-of-charge if you promise to tip though!

Since I can’t have a photo-less post and I do like to share good finds…

My friend and softball teammate Kelly made the carrot cake for the wedding shower.  Literally everyone was raving about it.  I’m going to beg her for the recipe.

Kelly, please open a bakery

I may have told my mother this is the best carrot cake I’ve ever had… sorry, Mom.

I want this for lunch

***

I feel a little bad about the restaurant comping our meals…

Have you ever been made to feel  like poor service was your fault? 

Do you speak up or just let it go?

Shower Me in Berries

By

The bridal shower was a success!

L to R: Erica, Angie, Me, Christina (Bride-to-be), Mallory (Mommy-to-be)

(We took the same pic at my housewarming 1.5 years ago.  Standing in the same order, of course.  Can’t believe how time flies!)

As long as you count good food, 8 bottles of champagne killed, and a lot of great loot for the bride a success. 🙂

Erica, one of the other bridesmaids (and also one of my BFFs) arrived early to help with the set up/plating/etc.  We were actually ready before guests arrived!

You know we’re close when she didn’t smack me after I told her that her anal-retentiveness is part of her charm.

The spread included:

  • Mimosas
  • Chicken salad croissants
  • Cucumber sandwiches (it is the South)
  • Hummus + veggies + chips
  • American Gra–frutti pimento cheese
  • Mimosas
  • Roaring 40’s blue cheese
  • Olive-basil cookies
  • Roasted red pepper-asparagus-goat cheese mini-quiches
  • Spinach salad with orange vinaigrette and pancetta
  • Mimosas
  • Mixed berries + cannoli cream + toasted almonds
  • Carrot cake
  • Mimosas

Did I mention there were mimosas?

By the end of the shower, most of the food was gone and Christina had some awesome gifts (I have Pottery Barn-envy).

The lucky bridesmaids got a surprise, too!

I still had work to do before Monday, but all that anticipation/energy/Georgia Half-Marathon-envy had me craving a run.

The Stats:

Distance: 6 miles

Time: 49:10

Pace: 8.18

Needless to say, Stevie and I were exhausted by the end of the night.

In debating what to share first, I landed on the Berries + Cannoli Cream in honor of all of the berry-inspired recipes posted this weekend.  It seems that everyone is ready for springtime goods!  I guess you can’t eat winter squash ALL the year…

I made this for Angie’s bridal shower.  It was so good that I wanted to do it again for Christina.  Another friend brought the berries and I made the cream.  Because there’s no “I” in “team.”

Spring Berries & Cannoli Cream

Mine is based on Giada’s recipe, but I simplify the fruit and booze up the cream with orange liqueur.  This cannoli cream is light and fluffy – the perfect compliment to the berries.  For a richer, more dessert-like treat, you could use frangelico or Irish cream and/or sprinkle with cocoa powder.

Spring Berries & Cannoli Cream

by Laura Hall

Prep Time: 20 mins

Keywords: blender appetizer brunch dessert gluten-free vegetarian ricotta cheese berries Italian spring

Ingredients (10 servings)

  • 1/3 C part-skim ricotta cheese (high-quality!)
  • 2 T + 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 2 T orange liqueur
  • 3 T powdered sugar
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 3 C fresh strawberries, hulled, quartered
  • 2 C fresh raspberries
  • 2 C blackberries
  • 2 T fresh mint, shredded
  • 3 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted

Instructions

Combine ricotta and 2 T of cream in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat remaining 1/3 C of cream, powdered sugar, orange liqueur, and cinnamon in a large bowl until semi-firm peaks form.

Gently fold the ricotta into the whipped cream. Refrigerate at least 30 mins to allow cream to set and firm up. (Can be prepared the night before.)

Toss the fruit and mint in a medium bowl to combine. Serve with cream and toasted almonds on side for a party-buffer. Alternately, spoon the fruit into dessert bowls, top with cream, and sprinkle with almonds.

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***

Work is interfering with blogging really busy right now!  Recipe for my favorite party item coming tomorrow… it’s reallllly good though.

What’s your favorite springtime dish?  

Have you already switched your menus at home?

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