Thanksgiving Prep

Ryan and I have decided to have Thanksgiving at our house for the first time. We are really excited to finally use our nice table linens and wedding china! We are in the process of researching stuffing, pie, side dishes, potato, and appetizer recipes. We will post updates on how the planning is going. Wish us luck!

Halibut with spinach and Berry parfaits

So...I'm a bad blogger, it's been forever since I put a new post up. In my defense, we have been out of town every weekend or have had guests. It's been a crazy Oct/Nov! But excuses aside...here is a recipe Ryan and I made Thursday night. We were exhausted after going to Epcot the night before (food & wine fest again), so we wanted something healthy and quick. We went to Whole Foods and got some halibut and produce (it was expensive, but we got a small filet so it wasn't too bad).

For the fish- on a small baking dish, line the bottom with thinly sliced lemon slices and place the filet on top. Finish with a pinch of grey or sea salt, 1 tablespoon of butter, and 1/2 teaspoon of thyme. Place in a 400 degree oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes (or until just opaque). Meanwhile in a small frying pan, saute 2 shallots in a tablespoon of butter and cook until slightly carmelized. Add the juice of one lemon and 1/2 cup of dry white wine. Continue to cook until liquid has reduced in half. Serve fish on top of sauteed spinach (heat some chopped garlic in a frying pan with a tablespoon of olive oil and put in fresh spinach and cook until slightly wilted), and pour the wine sauce on top. Enjoy!

I can't take any credit on the dessert, that was all Ryan! He made delicious parfaits using strawberries, blueberries, whipped cream, and angel food cake. It was really yummy. I'm going to have to have him make it again soon!

Epcot Food & Wine Festival Review

This past Saturday night Ryan and I went to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival. It was a blast. It combined disney and food! As we made our way around the world, we rated each country's food and beverages.

My top 10 ranking (based on taste, presentation, and uniqueness) is the following (I'll have Ryan post his soon):
1. Mexico (tamal de pollo and passion fruit margarita)
2. Argentina (roasted corn and cheese empanada and steak with chimichurri)
3. Brazil (didn't have the food but their drink was the best all night, and I still can't pronounce it- leblon frozen caiprinha)
4. Japan (spicy tuna roll and california roll)
5. South Korea (barbeque short ribs with steamed rice and cucumber kimchi)
6. China (pork pot stickers)
7. Desserts and Champagne (trio of strawberry short cake, pear streusel, and dark chocolate with moet and chandon)
8. charcuterie and cheese (Ace Joker hard cider)
9. France (while the line for the outside station was way too long, by far the most popular, we stuck to the Pommery champagne inside, delicious as always)
10. Italy (baked cheese ravioli with creamy bolognese sauce with melted mozzarella and proseco)
11. Spain (serrano ham, chorizo, manchego, olive, and tomato bread with cava)
12. Germany (nurnberger sausage in a pretzel roll and riesling)
13. Morocco (beef in a pita pocket and sangria)

Hops & Barley (Ryan had the pecan bread pudding, I did not due to my strong aversion of nuts!)

The Mexico and Argentina food options were delicious and some of the most affordable. We are going to try to go back soon. Pictures include food from: Argentina, Mexico, China, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Morocco, Spain, cider, and dessert.

Avoiding the Monday Night Blues..

Ryan and I had such a fun weekend- going to movies with family on Friday night, farmers market and lunch on Saturday, Gator victory over UTenn, party at Peggy's, and sunset at the beach on Sunday...it was hard to face another work week (not that I don't love what I do, I just wish there was more time during the weekend!). So to combat those typical "case of the Mondays," we decided to make some things we've never made. We were inspired by my lunch at Citrus Cafe and decided to make our own version of a Mediterranean platter (this time, meat included). We cooked herb and garlic meatballs, cucumber/yogurt salad, baked flatbread with olive oil and sea salt, and tabouli. It was all pretty quick; from fridge to table less than 30 minutes.
For the meatballs, we used ground chuck and mixed the beef with minced garlic, chopped parsley, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and worchestire sauce. Next they were formed into 1/2 inch in diameter balls and baked at 400 for 15 minutes.

For the cucumber salad, chop one whole English (or seedless) cucumber and add the zest of half lemon and the juice of a whole lemon to a bowl. Stir and add salt and pepper and a small container of Greek fat free yogurt. Lastly, add chopped parsley and add any extra seasoning if it needs it.

For the tabouli, pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 cup of bulgar wheat and let sit, covered, for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a bowl make a dressing of the juice of two lemons and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Add chopped tomatoes, green onions, and parsley (about 1/2 cup of each). When the bulgar wheat is cooked, add it to the rest of the ingredients, stir with a fork to "fluff" the bulgar and enjoy (it's even better leftover cold).

Happy week to all! :)

Farmers Market/Citrus Cafe

On Saturday morning, we met up with Josh and Alison at the Sarasota Downtown Farmer's Market. It'd been a couple of months since we have been down there, and now I really don't know what took us so long! The weather was great, there was delicious food, fresh produce, music, and of course an array of cute dogs! We strolled around and then had a wonderful lunch at Citrus Cafe. I had a mediterranean platter with hummus, salad, tabouli, feta cheese, and pita bread. It was really outstanding. Josh and Alison had a veggie sandwich that looked good and Ryan's open-face meatloaf sandwich was really good too. Hopefully we can make this a regular thing on Saturdays! I recommend this place to anyone in downtown Sarasota.

http://www.citrussarasota.com/

Pizza Night

So on Sunday we made a ton of ragu, so we used the leftovers for a yummy homemade pizza. It was a perfect dinner for the middle of the week, mostly because we are so dead tired by the time we're home! For the pizza, we used the Publix bakery dough. We rolled it out and then put on a baking sheet and drizzed with olive oil and sea salt. We cooked the dough at a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes until it started to bubble (see picture). We took it out of the oven and added a few big ladle-fuls of the leftover rage/tomato sauce and then some graded mozzarella and parmesan. The pizza cooked for another 15 minutes, or until all the cheese was melted and it started to bubble and brown on the top. Lastly we topped it with fresh ricotta and basil. It was quite delicious; and since there's no decent pizza nearby, it was a good alternative. Happy almost Friday everyone!

PS. One of the pictures is of Sadie, watching us while we cooked.

Sunday Dinner 09/12/10

Another Sunday rolls around. Is it just me, or are Sundays kind of bittersweet? It's great because it's another day without work (plus football!) but there's always the fact that work is tomorrow looming in the back of your mind. We made the most of our Sunday today, went to lunch, shopping, and watched NFL at World of Beer (great place to watch football and not too crowded either). We decided to make a good hearty dinner (we are still recovering from exhaustion and dehydration from yesterday's 104 degree Gator game...btw that's the actual temp not the heat index; and we played an intense match of tennis this morning). We made ragu with ricotta spaghetti.

Recipe: In a large pot, cook 1 large chopped onion until translucent, season with garlic salt and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of dried herbs (oregano, basil, pasley,and thyme). Add in 1 pound of ground chuck. Cook until beef is browned and then add 1/4 cup of tomato paste. Stir until combined and then add 1 cup of dry red wine. Bring to a simmer and add a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes. Stir and bring to a simmer and then turn the heat on low and put the lid on. Meanwhile boil whatever pasta you like the best. Once pasta is added to salted, boiling water...add 1 cup of part-skim ricotta cheese to ragu and stir to combine. Serve sauce on top of spaghetti with chopped fresh basil and parmesan.

Happy week 4 of the school year!