Work & Wedding

Last week, my coworkers had a lovely wedding/baby shower for my friend and me. (Important note: she's expecting, not me!)

Fiance and I registered at a few traditional places, but we also registered for honeymoon activities.

Well, my coworkers got us a Hawaiian Luau, which we're both really excited about! But even better, they pulled together their favorite recipes in a personalized cookbook. I love it. I figure since everybody contributes their best recipe, then I have one heck of a cookbook. So I'm going to pull a modified Julia Child and make every recipe in the book at some point in the next year. And with their permission (some were super secret family recipes), I'll share a few with you.

Last week at work was also simultaneous wedding prep. I really don't want Fiance to know anything about my wedding outfit, so I brought my shoes to work to break them in. I wore them around the office for five days and didn't have an ounce of pain. The shoes are a-go!

Since I was breaking in the shoes, I decided to multitask and give the new earrings a try. My ears are really sensitive to most metals, plus one hole is slightly ripped. Thus, I'm never able to wear drop earrings. But they would be SO perfect with my dress.

I tried on a pair at a bridal shop and my ears were inflamed and red after about 3o seconds. Despite a little pain and suffering, I wasn't ready to let the look go. So I invested in a quality pair of beautiful drop earrings. They're long, yet light. Perfect!

However, with my track record, I wanted to make sure my ears could handle them for at least a few hours. My goal is to make it through the ceremony and pictures and change to my diamond studs at the reception, if necessary. I put the earrings in while I was at my desk for a few hours each morning and afternoon. There was a little pain and some adjusting to the weight, but no redness or inflammation. In my opinion, that means the earrings are also good to go!

As for additional wedding prep, there were a lot of little things to handle in early September, but now we're just kind of coasting into the weekend. There have been a few minor hiccups along the way, but overall, planning has gone really well. The important thing is that everybody is on great terms and really excited for the wedding. I've heard wedding planning can tear families -- or worse -- bride and grooms-to-be apart. I'm so glad that hasn't been our experience at all. If anything, it's just brought our families closer together. A blessing for sure.

Pesto Recipe?

Does anybody make their own pesto sauce?

Last night I made chicken and pesto pasta, and it was too easy. I grilled chicken on our foreman while the pasta was cooking. Then I mixed bite sized pieces of chicken into the pasta and added fresh homegrown onion, garlic and a jar of pesto sauce.

Seasoned with a touch of salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese, it was definitely tasty. But I think I'm ready to make my own pesto, especially since I use it on Naan pizza all the time.

Anybody have a great recipe suggestion? Please share!

What do you do when there's too much to do?

Leave town!

The wedding is rapidly approaching. September 25 -- less than a month away! So with a million and one things to do at home (plus class started again this week), Fiance and I are instead traveling. You know, because we have so much time to spare.

Our friends got married in Napa on August 14, so we packed our bags and headed to California for five days.

The highlights:

• More wine tastings than I could handle. If you're ever in Napa, check out the Franciscan Winery and Merryvale Vineyards.

• The wedding, of course! It was more like a cocktail reception with dinner on a beautiful balcony at the Avia Hotel. It was unique and really fun.

• Brunch at Ad Hoc. The chef is incredible.

• A visit to the Full House house, as well as to the park where a scene from the theme song is filmed. There's a difference. See pictures below.

• Alcatraz. I've done the tour before, but it was Fiance's first time. We both loved it.

• 17 mile drive, a hike in Big Sir and dinner at Will's Fargo in Carmel.

• Finace's 30th birthday! We had to celebrate night before at Will's Fargo, because we spent basically his entire birthday flying home from San Francisco. Does anybody else think it's kinda funny that he lost three hours of his 30th b-day to a time change?

At the Franciscan Winery

Picking and eating grapes. Yum!

It has a fresh coat of paint and a new door, but this is the actual Full House house.

This is from the theme song, but none of these belong to the Tanner family.

A cell at Alcatraz where an inmate tunneled through the vent to escape along with two other prisoners. They were ever seen again, nor were their bodies discovered.

Enjoying 17 mile drive. Foggy, overcast and quite chilly -- but still beautiful.

I climbed a rock mountain.

The Lone Cypress inspired the Pebble Beach Company logo.

This weekend we're off to Shenandoah for our annual hiking, apple picking and winery visiting trip. This will be the fourth year and each time we've stayed in a different spot. Fiance always spends a lot of time researching the perfect place and he never fails to amaze me with his selections. I'm especially excited about this year -- we're staying at a Vineyard Bed and Breakfast. Bed, Breakfast and Wine -- how perfect is that!?

Cookie of the Month Club

Have you ever heard of a Cookie of the Month club? The gist is you purchase a membership online and cookies are sent to the lucky recipient every month.

I think it's a great gift idea. The problem is, they're a bit over priced in my opinion. So I decided to start my own cookie club.

The beneficiaries:

• Baby Sister, who just started her senior year of college this year. It's almost impossible to believe.
  
• Brother-in-law-to-be, who is just beginning his freshman year of college (and is one of the biggest cookie monsters I know).
• Fiance, who -- like is brother -- loves cookies. I made him a few extras.
  
• Friends. We went to a friend's house on Saturday night and another friend's on Sunday, so I brought along a couple dozen cookies to share.
  

The goods:

• Standard chocolate chip, sans walnuts. It's a staple in Fiance's family.
  
• White chocolate chip and cranberry. This was a hit when I made it for my friend's wedding. (Remember when I baked pre-packaged dough for her return to work after she eloped? Well I actually baked -- really baked -- for the Pittsburgh cookie table at her real wedding party in January.)

The baking part was fun for me. I'll use any excuse to get out the oh-so-beautiful-and-wonderfully-functional KitchenAid stand mixer. Plus I got to legitimately wear one of the fabulous new aprons I got at my shower earlier this month. Last night I wore one just for kicks while Fiance was cooking dinner.

Ten dozen cookies later, Cookie of the Month club also became a fabulous excuse to use my new Martha Stewart cookie/cupcake carrier.

Lastly, mailing was a piece of cake. I used the USPS flat rate shipping box. Two dozen cookies fit -- barely -- into the small box. So two shipments and less than $10 later, they were off to our little siblings.

Here's to hoping the college kids get more than a box-o-crumbs. Love you both!

Guest Post: From Ke's Kitchen

My friend, Ke, shared this recipe with me. It sounds quick, easy and tasty. Here's what she had to say about it:

C. [boyfriend] was a little cranky last night so I decided to make him dinner and it turned out GREAT! I thought you might be able to add this simple recipe to your blog!

4 salmon filets

salt and pepper to taste

1 c. teriyaki sauce

1 tsp. soy margarine

1 tsp. olive oil

1/2 c. sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Sprinkle the salmon filets with salt and pepper and then marinate them in teriyaki sauce for 20 minutes (I put it in the fridge). After 20 minutes, roll the salmon in sesame seeds. Next, saute the salmon in the olive oil and soy margarine for five minutes (or until sides are golden brown). Then place the salmon in the oven for 5-7 minutes. Voila!

Words to define for domestically deficient: marinate & saute.

It's so easy and great! I served it on a bed of lettuce with a side of brown rice and steamed vegetables.

Thanks, Ke! I can't wait to try it!
Pic from when the Dining Diva and I went to visit Ke in New York last April.

About that Pie

I mentioned the peach pie I made for our Fourth of July weekend festivities. It was only the second fruit pie I ever tackled and it was a big hit.

The first one, however, didn't go exactly according to plan. I accidentally purchased all white peaches instead of orange peaches. I didn't really know there was a difference and just picked up what looked like a peach to me. [Side note: I recently went to the store to purchase an orange for a muffin recipe and instead came home with a small, brightly colored grapefruit. I thought it could have happened to anyone. Fiance assured me it wouldn't.]

Back to the peaches. I got home and started pealing them before I realized my mistake. I forged on anyway, figuring if the pie bombed, it would just be another domestically deficient tale to tell. Turns out the white peaches actually were okay. My mom even said it was the best peach pie she'd ever had.

Last weekend, I made what I now refer to as my peach pie again, but this time I combined half orange peaches and half white. It was by far the best out of three. I highly recommend surprising your pie eating friends with a lovely peach blend.

Syrup, Muffins & Pie -- Oh My!

Fiance and I have been busy in the kitchen. Thus, I have a few recipes to share.

I actually had pictures of the finished products, as well as the baking process, but my camera now resides at the bottom of Lake Oneida. This means the 100 or so pictures my college friends and I took while sunning, singing and dancing on the boat all weekend will only be enjoyed by the fishies. So sad.

The good news is Fiance already made sure I got a new waterproof camera. Now he's looking into finding some sort of floating strap to avoid further camera catastrophes.

On to the recipes...

Fresh Blueberry Syrup

Last week, Fiance made me a fabulous breakfast of French toast topped with fresh blueberries, blueberry syrup and powdered sugar. His syrup was so tasty (& easy), I have to share his concoction.

The portions can vary, depending on whether you prefer a thicker consistency (more syrup) or a stronger blueberry flavor (more blueberries).

• 1 cup blueberries (he used the tiny sour ones and saved the big sweet ones for on top)
• 2 tbsp syrup
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• a drop of vanilla

If you're looking to splurge on breakfast, add the whipped cream!

Oatmeal, Blueberry & Orange Muffins

Last month my book club read Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. It wasn't one of my top 5 favorite books, but if you're looking for a book that features strong female characters who learn the importance of friendships and forgiveness, this is the book for you.

Whether or not you read it, I do recommend the muffin recipe included in the book. It uses whole wheat flour instead of white and honey instead of sugar. And they're flavored with fresh orange juice and blueberries. Compared to most muffins, I'd say these are pretty healthy.

Deep Dish Peach Pie with Pecan Streusel Topping

I made this pie for a Fourth of July party weekend at Dining Diva's house on Oneida Lake. Fiance and I went to see two of my very best friends from college and their significant others. I seriously love boating with them and D's fabulous parents. Fiance even got me boat shoes for the occasion!

The pie was a huge hit. I was almost afraid to try it, as the recipe was a bit daunting. But once I got going, it really wasn't too difficult at all. And as always, the compliments are the biggest reward!

Also a favorite weekend was my favorite pretzel jello recipe that I passed along to the Dining Diva. She really did it up right, adding an extra layer of cool whip to the top and decorating with fresh strawberries and blueberries to make it festive for the holiday weekend. Yum!