Cooking and Reading!

Wine!

Beringer Chardonnay 2008 - It was soo good! We cooked it in the fondue and also drank it with the meal. It's a little tart, but very refreshingly so. It goes down smooth for being so crisp. It is a very good cooking wine too.

FONDUE!

So, we broke out the fondue pot. Oh man. This was SO. AMAZING. We had it with yummy rosemary and olive oil bread and green apples.
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
a little over 1 cup relatively dry white wine
8 oz. gruyere, grated
8 oz. emmentaler (think Swiss cheese, with the holes), grated
fresh ground nutmeg
1 tbs. cornstarch dissolved in a couple tbs. kirsch/brandy
white pepper to taste

Read more: http://jenncuisine.com/2009/12/classic-fondue-the-big-move/#ixzz0s5lIMA00



The Mother Load Layered Cookie Bars

Ok, this is a warning: this recipe took me and my friend 2 hours from start to finish, but it's so worth it. It makes a huge 13x9 pan of cookie bars, and 2 dozen cookies on the side. (the chocolate chip and double chocolate chip cookies were twice the recipe the bars called for). The peanut butter came out kind of predominant after the fact even though theres only one cup in the whole thing. It's definately a fun time consuming baking project. Check out more at http://picky-palate.com/

here's the recipe

Layer 1: Sugar Cookie

1 Roll of Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Press sugar cookie dough into bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish that’s been lined foil and sprayed with cooking spray.

Layer 2: Double Chocolate Chip Cookie

(the recipe below makes double what you’ll need for the bars, use extra for cookies)

1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder)
2 tsps. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Slowly add eggs and vanilla until well combined.

2. In another bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Slowly add to wet ingredients then stir in chips. Layer 1/2 the recipe over sugar cookie layer, pressing gently.

Layer 3: Peanut Butter Cookie

1 Cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 Cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1. Place all ingredients into a bowl and mix until combined. Press over chocolate cookie dough.

Layer 4: Chocolate Chip Cookie

(the recipe below makes double what you’ll need for the bars, use extra for cookies)

2 sticks softened butter

3/4 Cup granulated sugar

3/4 Cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla

2 1/2 Cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 bag chocolate chips

1. Make sure oven is preheated to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer cream the butter and sugars until well combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bolw; mix to combine. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips. Spoon 1/2 of the dough evenly over peanut butter cookie dough but don’t press, just leave uneven. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until center of dough is cooked mostly through. Edges will be brown. I covered pan with foil during the last 15 minutes of baking.

2. Let cookies cool completely. Lift out of pan with edges of foil. I cut off 1/2 inch edges and just used softer centers, but do as you wish. Edges are crispier. Drizzle top with 1/2 Cup melted chocolate chips if desired.

*Note: You can layer dough and refrigerate until ready to bake. This is what I did and it worked very nicely.

8 large bars (if you cut off edges), 12 bars (if you keep edges)





Finally finished the 4th Harry Potter. It's about 700 pages, but the next one is over 1000. I just hit a rough patch and didn't pick it up for a week, but after that I tried to read it whenever possible. I didn't really like this one at all the first time around. I thought there was too many things happening and alot fo new information was thrown in. However, this time, I really loved it. I loved the international aspect and the tasks were a refreshing change from the regular school year. It also made me love Cedric alot more. I also understood Voldemort's rebirth alot better by reading a second time. Thumbs up! Onto number five!!

I'm also reading The Sugar Queen (to start my 10 books not HP related). It's really good so far!

Honeymoon Destination: Decided!!

Hollywood!!
Los Angeles, California!!




We will be flying there on Friday, September 10th and staying 7 days and nights at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza on the Walk of Fame!!



We plan on going on tours of the big production companies like Fox and Paramount, and we want to go see some shows too (we're really gonna try to see Ellen).
We have this tradition to go to the Cheesecake Factory on our (dating) anniversaries, so on the 14th, we will be eating at the one that's a mile from our
hotel.



The rest of the time, we will walk the streets of Rodeo drive and do window shopping and picture taking. Matt couldn't be more excited, he is totally geeking out about hollywood. I'm excited about the trip and all of the cute stuff I'll get to wear (and to see Ellen and all of the sound stage tours).

Hollywood, here we come!!

Summer Stuff I Love:

The Beach


I live here, but I didn't go very much last year because I was working millions of hours to pay for the wedding. This year, I'm all about it.

Old Navy Flip Flops

I really want one in every color. Or at least in more than just white, which is what I have now. These are the cheapest, but most comfortable flips I know. And they come in thousands of colors.

Rain

When it's really hot and it rains it feels like how you feel after you work out and then take a shower. Relaxed!!

The Fourth

I plan on throwing an amazing Pottery Barn meets The Knot Fourth of July party. We'll see how that turns out, but I just want to make a living throwing amazing parties like this. Perhaps wedding planning is the perfect job? (see also: cook outs)


Tank Tops

And these are my new obsession- however, I need to use one of those clip your straps back contraptions to wear these (it's so worth it).

Iced Coffee

Mmmmm it's better than hot coffee because you can drink it right away. Can't you just taste those wonderful breve swirls? Refreshing and renergizing. Which is great because hot days make me drowsy.

Screened In Porch (specificly: Matt's Nana's house)

As much as this is the perfect looking 'lake house porch', Nana's is the most perfect 'beach house porch'. It looks over the water and you can hear the waves and its comfy and peaceful and cool. One of my favorite places in the world. (replace the hard wood floors and fire place with light blue carpet and beach signs/star fish)

CookOuts

Mmmmmmm cookouts....... just look at that yummy food....

And finally:
Being Tan/That Suntan Lotion Smell

Any candle that says anything about the beach or summer, it's gonna either smell like salt water, or suntan lotion. You can't help but hear the ocean waves or feel the heat of the sun when you smell that smell. And having a little color is always nice.

Look at these old photographs...

Actually, they arn't very old at all. I printed out 94 pictures from various folders in my computer. Get this, I signed up for a CVS account (you can click on the pictures you want and have them print them out at your nearest CVS for .19 a picture). When you sign up, you get 50 free pictures, so I only spent like $7 for almost 100 pictures!! Then I slid the groups into different pockets of my scrapbook for my scrapbook party at my friends house. I ended up doing 9 PAGES , I was a freaking machine! And they look pretty good, here are my favorites:


My bridal shower


The wedding (I did a whole book on the wedding, so this is kind of just a for fun page)


Rocking the Dress


Some parties we had...


And a few more parties that we had...

Sorry for the bad quality, I took the pictures with my iphone and then emailed them to myself...

I caught myself up on my scrapbooks and now I can cross it off my list!! I'm also planning on having a monthly scrapbook meeting aka crafternoons to keep crafty!

I'm still trying to read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, it's just so big... and I usually read before bed. I get about one chapter in before I'm passed out, so I think I'll read a little now.

I'm also trying not to mentions babies to H everyday... I was doing pretty good for a bit there, and then blurted out that my pudge would one day look cute under my dress because there will be baby stuck in there... woops...

Now Down To Business!

Drank some wine:


Cabernet Sauvignon (california)(I think it was 2008?)
Turning Leaf has had good things said about it, so I tried some the other day. It was warm, and at first it was really hard to swallow, but I started really liking it by the end of it. Like I said, I really like wine when it's cold, so I'm sure if I had this one chilled it would have been alot better. Over all, really smooth and not too dry. Definately a red I would have again.



BEST. PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES EVER.
Let's put it this way, I made 4 dozen of these babies for poker night and they were gone by the next morning. And THEN I made 3 more dozen for movie night the next day, and THEY were gone by the next afternoon... so yeah. These. Win.

Double Peanut Butter Cookies

1 1/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 (1 stick) butter
1 cup peanut butter
2/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 bag peanut butter chips

Mix, bake at 350 for 10 minutes (the trick is to take them out even if they look softer than they should, and let them cook while they cool on the pan for a few minutes). I also chilled the dough before I cooked them, and I used to flatten the dough on the cookie sheet, but wondering why the brake and bake cookies always turned out so perfectly, I started making mounds of dough and that seems to do better.

The first 4 dozen (which is what they made the first time, I made them a little small) I did the bag of peanut butter chips, but for the next night, I made some with semi sweet chocolate chips, some with m&m's and some with PB m&m's and over all I liked the chip ones better.

I'm scrapbooking tomorrow!! So that's another thing to cross of the list!!
I promise I'm trying to read all of my books... but Nesting is so much easier....

Mmmm... Randoms....

So I did a few more things on my list, BUT FIRST:

Meet Chordial:

He is my beautiful new guitar. He's a Rouge and I just put new Martin strings on him. Plays like a dream. I don't remember more than 5 chords from when my dad taught me on his when I was like 7, so I've been going off that and looking at charts to learn new ones. I really just want to have something to play while I sing. So I'm learning the chords to some songs that I like and going from there. And his name is Chordial because he looks like a chocolate covered cherry (like a cordial) and he plays chords... aww... yup I went there.




I was making some brownies and I got a twin egg!!! I was so excited about it. If by some crazy chance I have twins, this is so going to be the theme of my baby shower... or on my announcments.... or a picture in their room or something!! I love it.



This is the very first veggie from my garden! A green pepper! I let my mom have it, so I don't know how it tasted. I can't wait to make sauces from scratch with my tomatoes, but they are all still green and growing.



I made these for a party I had, but I won't count it as one of my 'try 10 new recipes' because it's so simple it was on the back of the box.
1 box of brownies + white icing + crushed oreos = everyones favorite party dessert.