Pear-ific

October 21, 2011April 13, 201350 Comments

Since we’re enjoying our pears around here, we thought we’d share this one before we head off to Mr. N’s new international destination. It doesn’t really fit with any particular region or state; although we did use our Canadian Ice Syrup again. Not to worry if you don’t have any, maple syrup will do the trick. We’re calling these Grilled Pears with Iced Mascarpone.

Start with some Bosc pears, slice them in half, scoop out the core and remove the stem.

Next it’s time to poach the pears. We used a combination of water, white wine, vanilla, lemon juice and sugar for our pears. We first dissolved the sugar before adding the pears to the liquid. Continue reading →

Speaking my Language

October 13, 2011April 13, 201337 Comments

[By Mike]

So I haven’t had a turn at the blog for a while, and Kristy and I were trying to pick a good recipe for me to blog. We were searching for Welsh recipes a couple of weeks back and came to the recipe for Welsh Rarebit that’s featured today and I said, “Wow, that sounds like really good hangover food. I’ll blog that one.” To which Kristy replied, “You’re not going to tell some story about me being hung over, are you?” Of course not. I was planning on telling the story of my fluency in Welsh, but sadly she stole my thunder. I’ll add only one thing about her letter in Welsh–there was no way she wasn’t getting another date.

Rarebit is pretty easy to make, though it requires fairly constant attention. Begin by melting butter and whisking in flour over low heat.

Next comes a little Dijon mustard, a little Worcestershire sauce, and some salt and pepper. Continue reading →

The Cake

September 30, 2011April 13, 201337 Comments

Thank you all for the wonderful birthday wishes. I had a great night with my family. The kids spent the evening in Grammie’s craft box making me bouquets of flowers, cakes, ice cream and decorative plates. They had so much fun! My dad worked the grill, as the sun finally poked its head out. He made a delicious barbecue chicken with Vidalia onion bbq sauce. It was super juicy and grilled to perfection. The whole evening was perfect – lots of great food, laughter and reminiscence.

In the kitchen with my dad. Now he’s a climbing apparatus for my kids!

But now on to why you came here today. The cake. It’s not fancy and it’s not a batter from scratch, but my goodness if this isn’t the best darn cake out there. Well, maybe there are better ones, but you’ll never convince me otherwise. It’s so moist and so darned full of wonderful pumpkin and spice flavors, and it’s covered in cream cheese frosting! Continue reading →

Reflections

September 29, 2011April 13, 201347 Comments

Today is my birthday and tonight I’ll be spending it with Mr. N and Miss A (Mike will be at work) at my mom and dad’s house. I believe Grandpa will even be joining us.

Grandpa making a surprise visit one summer.

I’m going to enjoy a home cooked meal and a birthday cake made especially for me by my dad. I’ll share pics and the recipe with you all soon.

A home cooked meal at mom and dad’s. And yes, there is usually still a giant bottle of ketchup on the table.

Continue reading →

Perfect Timing

August 15, 2011April 13, 201328 Comments

We were recently tagged by Mary at Inside a British Mum’s Kitchen with the 7 Link Challenge in which we have to link 7 of our posts to the 7 challenges. This couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. I was hit with a stomach bug this weekend which left me pretty much useless. Fortunately Mike stepped in for me with the kids and gave me lots of time for some R and R. I love that guy! So Mary’s tag gives me a good excuse to not have to think about food too much, because I’m still not ready to think about food. Maybe tomorrow.

Continue reading →

A Family of Four; 20 Days; 4,200 Miles…

August 4, 2011April 13, 201341 Comments

And countless memories! This is our summer 2011 road trip. Yes – we are road warriors. It all started with my parents. As a child every summer vacation we took was a road trip (usually to the Western U.S.). I treasure the memories of each and every one of those trips, the good and the “challenging.” (I was a teenager for lots of those trips. Enough said.)