"Reunited and it feels so good..."

This past weekend was our 10 year high school reunion. (Most of you already know that Justin and I graduated high school together, and actually met way back in 5th grade!) It was so fun to see some of our old friends again and take a little trip back in time. I've been working hard for a while, with help from my friend Kristin, on planning the reunion and getting everything together for it. I was so happy to see everything go smoothly and everyone have a nice time.

The events began Saturday with a family picnic at Planet Playground in Meridian. This was a chance for everyone to bring their kids and show them off. We were the only couple there with no kids...which was slightly awkward, but we survived! Saturday night was dinner and drinks at Weidmann's in Downtown Meridian and I made the cupcakes for the event! (recipes coming right up!)We ate and mingled and drank and laughed and listened to corny old music (think "Ghetto Cowboy" and Destiny's Child)until midnight. It was a blast. The best part of the night (or morning, I should say) was our bonfire after the reunion! Our closest buddies from high school came out to our land to sit around like old times and catch up. We stayed out there until 4 AM! The next day was ROUGH...but totally worth every minute!

Good Times!

I made three different mini cupcakes for the dinner event. I wanted them to reflect our school colors (yes, I'm that dorky) so, I chose red velvet, dark chocolate, and raspberry sour cream. If you were at the reunion, you are probably thinking, "I didn't see any raspberries!". Well, turns out, the only berries to be found in Meridian were a few (sad looking) pints of strawberries at Piggly Wiggly. So, improvise I did! Here is a link to the recipes I used (cupcakes 4, 5, and 25):Mingmakescupcakes.com I made a few modifications, like: 1. I used Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder for a darker color and flavor in the red velvet and chocolate cupcakes. 2. I subbed in strawberries for the raspberries in the Raspberry Sour Cream cupcakes. 3. I thickened each icing recipe a bit with additional powdered sugar to get to the consistency I needed to ice them as shown. 4. I omitted the chocolate shavings on the chocolate cupcakes.
I forgot (!) to take a picture of my cupcakes displayed at the reunion, so the only photo I have is of the trial run I did last week (for which I was in Jackson...where they have raspberries...) So, here they are!:

They were a hit, especially the strawberry! Go figure! Haha.


What else have I been baking, you may ask....

How about a 12 layer chocolate cake?
Fun!




It was so good, but so time consuming!! Here is the recipe if you have some time on your hands! 12 layer Cake


I'm getting excited to start planning my Christmas baking soon! Hope everyone has a great day!

Valentine's day menu....I took a different route!

So, yeah, that "healthy" menu plan I had going on....HA! Who am I kidding? It's Valentine's Day for goodness sakes! We needed something a little more special than scallops and cauliflower. :) There's still plenty of time to get "skinny" for my vacation. (again, who am I kidding)

With the memory of last year's Valentine's dinner on my mind, I decided to make rack of lamb our little love day tradition! Maybe I will try a different variation each year and try to mix up the sides and presentation a little.

This year I tried Giada's Rack of Lamb with Mint-basil Pesto. Click the link for the full recipe from foodnetwork.com. Rack of lamb is super easy to prepare (it just looks fancy and complicated). Once it is carved the "lamb lollipops" give the most beautiful presentation...especially with the "pop" of the green pesto. It was so delicious! I pulled the lamb out a little shy of the 20 minutes suggested for medium rare since we like our meat a little more on the pink side...it was absolutely perfect. Be sure to let the rack rest for the full 10 minutes so the juices can redistribute before you carve it!!
As our side, I decided on polenta. I've made plenty of polenta, but I have never tried it "fried" before. I thought the lamb would look perfect perched on top of a little tower of polenta cakes. Here is how I made them:

Creamy Parmesan Polenta Cakes
Katie Daniels

1 tube of basil-garlic prepared polenta, chilled
1 egg, beaten in a shallow dish
2-3 dashes Tabasco
Salt
Pepper
2 tbsp Freshly grated Parmesan
1 tsp finely chopped basil and mint leaves (left over from your pesto!)
1/4 cup flour
Olive oil

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Slice chilled polenta into 1/2 inch slices (2 per person). Beat egg in a shallow dish with tabasco. In another shallow dish combine flour, salt and pepper to taste, parmesan, and herbs. Coat a polenta cake with egg and then flour mixture and fry in oil until golden brown. Repeat until all cakes are fried adding more oil as needed. Drain cakes on paper towels and season immediately with salt and pepper.

These were beautiful and yummy! Another easy, yet dramatic-looking dish...Check out how it looks plated. Can you believe this whole thing took about 30 minutes total?





Look how pretty my china is!

I put together this cheese plate for us to snack on before, during and after dinner:




Smoked gouda, drunken goat, mini toasts, organic blueberries, bourbon pralines, and local honey. This, in itself, could have been my meal...so, so yummy! My favorite bite: toast dipped in honey with a slice of smoked gouda.

Are you ready for dessert? Always, right?!
In college, our favorite treat was the molten chocolate cake at Chili's. (obviously I wasn't doing much in the kitchen in those days!) This is still my favorite dessert. But when it's made with really good ingredients it is even better!!
I found this recipe for molten chocolate cakes in cupcake form...perfect! Thanks, Martha...I can always count on you!

Molten Chocolate Cupcakes
Martha Stewart

How gorgeous are these?!



Hope you all had a fabulous Valentine's Day!!

Vanilla- Glazed Pork Chops.....yummmmm.

When I saw this recipe in my Cooking Light cookbook, I thought it sounded so different and inventive that I HAD to try it!! The vanilla sauce was amazing, and the pork chops tasted sooo good after their red wine sauna! :)Try this...but DO NOT substitute vanilla extract for the vanilla bean! The real vanilla totally makes this recipe. I used boiling onions because that is what they had at the farmer's market. I ended up cutting them in half because they were a little big, but it turned out fine. I served this with a baked sweet potato and, of course, red wine. I couldn't find a link to the recipe, so I just copied it from my Cooking Light cookbook:

Vanilla-Glazed Pork Chops with Cipollini Onions
Cooking Light

Ingredients:
4 (4oz) boned center-cut loin pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)
1/2 teas salt
1/2 teas black pepper
1 teas vegetable oil
Cooking spray
12 cipollini onions or small boiling onions, peeled (about 3/4 pound)
1 (3-in) piece vanilla bean, split lengthwise
3/4 cup Madeira wine
1 T brown sugar
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 teas cornstarch

Directions:

1. Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat until hot. Add chops and onions; cook for 4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Scrape the seeds from vanilla bean; add seeds, bean and wine to pan scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until pork and onions are tender. Remove pork and onions from pan with a slotted spoon; keep warm.

2. Combine the brown sugar, balsamic vinegar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add to wine mixture in pan, and bring mixture to a boil. Cook the mixture for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Discard the vanilla bean. Serve the vanilla sauce with the pork chops and onions.



Last week, I got to make a cake! It has been a while since I made one, so I was pumped when my friend, Jessica asked me to make on for a baby shower. Look how cute it turned out! So fun!

Birthday cakes and Tomato and feta bruschetta

Sunday, Allie and Lauren had a dual birthday party at the carousel in Meridian. The Dentzel Carousel is a Meridian landmark and a popular place for birthday parties. It was built in 1896 and is beautifully handpainted. I made the girls' birthday cakes again this year. Allie wanted a peace sign cake and Lauren wanted Hannah Montana. Here are some shots from the party:







Tomato and Feta Bruschetta

You know that part in "Julie and Julia" where Julie makes the bruschetta with the fried bread and juicy, olive oily tomatoes? Well, I think about that scene all the time...it looks like such an amazing dinner. All that tomato juice and olive oil dripping down their chins....I had to make it! Here is my interpretation

1 baguette sliced diagonally
2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. minced garlic, divided
4-5 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. chopped basil
Sea salt to taste
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter in 1 Tbsp. olive oil. Add 1 Tbsp garlic. Fry bread slices until browned on both sides. In a medium bowl, mix tomatoes, remaining olive oil and garlic, vinegar, basil, feta, and salt. Serve the tomato mixture on top of bread slices.

This turned out fabulous, and will probably be a weekly event at our house from now on. I'm sure I will come up with some fun variations, but this was awesome! Try it and enjoy.