Blue Ribbons

Before we delve into today’s post, it’s time to reveal the results of our poll. The votes are tallied and it was a CLOSE race. We had two clear leading contenders for our next cooking destination taking about 60% of the votes. And the winner is…Cuba! Cuba took Argentina by just one vote! Thank you to everyone that participated. We’re looking forward to our Cuban cooking adventure.

However, before we get to Cuba we have a few posts to share first. Today is a taste of our adventures from the State Fair.  Continue reading

Off and Running

One of the great things to come out of these cooler temps we’ve been having lately is my running season is off to an early start. I don’t like to run in the summer. Temps above 75 are just not for me, which is odd because I spend at least two to three times a week in hot yoga with temperatures between 95F and 105F degrees. Anyway, today was my first morning run of the season and it was a good one. Temperatures hovering around 60, not a cloud in the sky, sun shinning, flowers still blooming – it was perfect. In fact it was so perfect, I ran farther than I ever have before (without stopping to walk) and was just getting to the point of winding down when I looked up and saw a coyote about 100 feet from me. Needless to say, my run did not wind down, but rather picked up to a speedy pace (amazing what a little adrenaline will do) and I ran back toward civilization (thank goodness for early morning golfers).

I know that coyotes are probably more afraid of us than we are of them, but I wasn’t about to hang around to find out. He never came closer, but did run parallel to me, tracking my moves until I came within range of the golfers and golf carts. Then he disappeared and I ran on home. So now that I’m all wiped out (but mentally exhilarated from an exciting first run), I’m going to turn today’s post over to Mr. N. He had a “write a blog post” on his list of things to do this summer. Take it away Mr. N… Continue reading

Smoking Good Times

At the start of the summer, on one of our little weekend getaways, the four of us sat down and made a list of things we wanted to do this season. Summer always seems to go so fast, and we’re likely to let it get away from us if we’re not careful. But we’ve found that by creating a wish list we’re more likely to actually get around to doing some of the fun things we thought up and less likely to forget.

Like visiting random historic sites.

Last weekend we realized that summer was once again passing right before our eyes and decided it was time to attack making Cornish hens (which was at the top of our “foods to make” list). We invited some friends for dinner and set to work. A co-worker had recently mentioned a recipe for smoked Cornish hens and I knew that’s what I wanted to do. We found our inspiration in a recipe from the Neelys over at the Food Network. Continue reading

Date Night

Remember back around our wedding anniversary post, we mentioned our date night to a local bistro and the amazing stuffed date appetizer we enjoyed? Well, we finally recreated our own version and, spoiler alert, we’ve made it several times over the past few weeks. It’s that good.

The restaurant version featured dates stuffed with blue cheese, wrapped with bacon and drizzled with a balsamic reduction. Our version is Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates with a Balsamic Reduction. It made for a great light dinner one evening, a side dish to another meal and most recently an appetizer for a backyard dinner party with friends. It has fast become a staple – easy and delicious, and those types of meals are always going to win big here. Continue reading

Kicking Off Birthday Week

Today we have a special post on behalf of a very talented food blogger, Raymund, at Ang Sarap. We were so excited and honored when Raymund asked us to write a guest post. I’ve often told Raymund that Mr. N, who as you know has a serious passion for Asian food, would love to eat dinner with his family every night. 

We’ve made several of Raymund’s recipes (and drooled over many others) and each one has been a huge hit. In fact several are on Mr. N’s “favorites” list, including Raymund’s sticky garlic chicken which Mr. N requested I make for dinner every day. Continue reading

A Taste of Home

I promise we’ll finish our Romanian cooking. We have one more recipe to share with you all, and it’s coming up soon. We’re just finding it hard to keep up this summer what with road trips, birthdays, anniversaries, camps, swimming…yada, yada, yada. June and July are always our busiest months – and some of our most fun months too. It’s always a whirlwind and full of milestones that remind us how lucky we are and how much fun we have together. You know, the stuff memories are made of…

We recently took a road trip back to Minnesota. While we didn’t live there more than a few years, it was long enough to make it home. The kids still get excited singing “London Bridges” every time we cross the state border between Wisconsin and Minnesota. Continue reading