"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!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Never knew I could feel like this
Like I've never seen the sky before
Want to vanish inside your kiss
Everyday I love you more and more
Listen to my heart, can you hear it sings
Telling me to give you everything
Seasons may change winter to spring
But I love you until the end of time

Come what may, come what may
I will love you until my dying day

Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place
Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace
Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste
It all revolves around you

And there's no mountain too high no river too wide
Sing out this song and I'll be there by your side
Storm clouds may gather and stars may collide
But I love you until the end of time

Come what may, come what may
I will love you until my dying day
Oh come what may, come what may
I will love you

Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place...

Come what may, come what may
I will love you until my dying day

These are the lyrics to the song, "Come What May" from the movie "Moulin Rouge". This was the first song Justin and I danced to as husband and wife. What a happy day it was! Totally cliche, I know, but it really was the best day of my life!

We celebrated Valentine's day last night, since Justin is on call today(all day, all night at the hospital). I found a recipe in VIP Jackson magazine for Tuscan rack of lamb with asparagus and crispy prosciutto risotto that I wanted to try. It seemed like a nice, romantic meal to make for Valentine's day, so I gave it a shot. Turns out, it was super easy...the only challenge was finding the lamb rack with bones already frenched. Justin found them at Fresh Market. (love that place!) I got out our wedding china for our special dinner. I love my china- Grosgrain by Vera Wang!


Here is the recipe...try it!

Tuscan Rack of Lamb

"VIP Jackson" Magazine


Serves 4

2 lamb racks with bones already frenched
1/2 cup olive oil, plus 2 Tbs.
Salt and pepper
2 Tbs. garlic, chopped
1/2 cup fresh italian parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare lamb: with a sharp knife, slice vertically down beside each bone to create your lamb "lollipops". Season lamb with salt and pepper on both sides. In large, shallow casserole dish, combine 1/2 cup olive oil, garlic, and parsley. Add lamb and coat well on both sides. Let lamb marinate for 2 hours or overnight in the fridge. Heat a large oven-proof saute pan over medium high heat and add remaining olive oil. Once oil is hot, add lamb, fat side down. Saute until golden, 3-5 min. Turn over, fat side up and roast in preheated oven 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let meat rest 5 min.


Asparagus and Crispy Prosciutto Risotto

"VIP Jackson" Magazine

Serves 6

6 cups chicken broth
1 cup dry white wine (I had Vermouth, so I used it!)
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 cup onion, finely chopped
2 cups arborio rice
1 and 1/2 cups asparagus, cooked and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 package prosciutto, pre-sliced
1/2 cup fresh shredded parmesan cheese
grated zest of 1 lemon

In a medium saucepan, add chicken broth and wine and heat to simmering, keep warm. Place prosciutto on a baking pan lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray. Place in 350 degree oven for 5 to 10 minutes until crispy. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Chop and set aside.
In a large 4 qt. saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add rice and stir. Cook 3-5 minutes until rice is translucent around edges. Do not let rice and onions brown.
Reduce heat to low, add enough of wine stock just to cover rice. Stir often until liquid is completely absorbed. Repeat until all liquid is absorbed. It will take 20 -30 minutes. After the last addition of liquid, add asparagus and prosciutto and stir. Remove from heat, add cheese, lemon zest, salt and pepper to taste.


Serve lamb racks over a bed of risotto with fresh parsley garnish.



For dessert, my first attempt at chocolate souffles. I used a Cooking Light recipe, and they turned out pretty good!

Double Chocolate Souffles with Warm Fudge Sauce

Cooking Light

Souffle:
Cooking spray
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups fat-free milk
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
6 large egg whites

Sauce:
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fat-free milk
1/2 ounce bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Preparation
Position oven rack to the lowest setting, and remove middle rack. Preheat oven to 425°.

To prepare the soufflés, lightly coat 6 (8-ounce) soufflé dishes with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with 2 tablespoons sugar. Set aside.

Combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, 3 tablespoons cocoa, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add 1 1/4 cups milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly with a whisk; remove from heat. Add 3 ounces chocolate; stir until smooth. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; cool to room temperature. Stir in vanilla and egg yolk.

Place egg whites in a large mixing bowl; beat at high speed with a mixer until stiff peaks form (do not overbeat). Gently fold one-fourth of egg whites into chocolate mixture; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture. Gently spoon mixture into prepared dishes. Sharply tap dishes 2 or 3 times on counter to level. Place dishes on a baking sheet; place baking sheet on the bottom rack of 425° oven. Immediately reduce oven temperature to 350° (do not remove soufflés from oven). Bake 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the side of soufflé comes out clean.

To prepare sauce, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa, and 1 tablespoon flour; stir well with a whisk. Gradually add 1/2 cup milk, stirring well with a whisk; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove from heat; add 1/2 ounce chocolate, stirring until smooth. Serve warm with soufflés.



It was so nice to have a romantic dinner at home. Much better than going out on Valentine's day! An amazing meal with my sweet hubby, candle light, and good music (Michael Buble's Crazy Love and the Valentine's Day movie soundtrack are perfect)... doesn't get much better than that! Here are some more pics from the evening...with my new camera!!! You probably already noticed how awesome today's photos look, right?! Nikon D3000 DSLR! Yess!

Sweet puppy


Another shot of that delicious lamb


Laughing dog


Cooking it up in my "cozy" kitchen... love my vintage apron!


Ready to dig in