I wish I could take credit for these adorable beer labels, but I can't. I found them on one of my favorite blogs--Censational Girl who graciously offered them as free printables.
I thought these would be perfect for a "treat" for our neighbors on Halloween. Once the kiddies are done trick or treating, it will be eat, drink and be scary for the adults!!!
MY TIP: I printed these on full labels, and cut them out and then used a pair of tweezers to pull them apart, since I found it nearly impossible to do with my nails.
Football weekends with my husband's college buddies are one of my favorite things to do in the fall (despite putting up with the teasing that "their" team beat my alma mater the week before!).
I unfortunately made the mistake of saying in the car ride to the game-- "Who are-"WE" playing?", which made my husband VERY happy that he finally converted me to "HIS" team! I am not sure I will live that one down!
But it was great to see everyone and I love hearing (and rehearing) the stories of long ago which get better and funnier every year!
Go Huskies!! (Yes, I said that!). And to you Craig, our host, I raise a glass of... covasia!
The weather was so unpredictable, that our friends had Portillo's waiting for us, instead of their plans of a cook- out before the game. I love Portillo's chopped salad, it is as good as Pizano's in downtown Chicago. Here is the recipe:
CHOPPED SALAD
Chopped Romaine & Iceberg lettuce mixed 1 Cup Ditalini pasta 1 Cup cooked/chopped chicken breast 1/2 cup cooked bacon 1-2 chopped tomatoes 1/4 cup red cabbage 1 pkg crumbled Gorgonzola cheese 1 bunch green onions - chopped fine
Optional: Chopped hard boiled eggs Chopped hard salami
Toss with house dressing.
HOUSE DRESSING: 1/2 cup Gerard's Garlic dressing –bottled 1/2 cup Italian Season dressing made with Olive Oil & red wine vinegar 1/4 tsp Oregano crushed –fresh is best 1/2 tsp sugar Fresh ground pepper and fresh ground sea salt to taste
I think I can entertain... but our friends throw the best harvest party ever and have been doing it for years!! From a bon fire to hay rides to fantastic food (not to mention the haunted decorations in the barn!) this is the place to in the be in the fall. Combine this with great friends and this is the party you don't want to miss (I even made my husband change our vacation plans so we could be there!!) ! This is definitely my favorite party of the year!!
So this year I decided to make caramel corn. This is a recipe my neighbor gave me years ago and I have been making it ever since. I am bringing this in a witch's cauldron and "garnishing" it with a spider.
2 Cups brown sugar 1/2 pound butter 1 Cup light corn syrup
Boil until the mixture reaches 242 degrees on a candy thermometer.
Stir in: 1 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. baking soda
Pour over 4 1/2- 5 quarts of popcorn.
Bake on a cookie sheet at 250 degrees for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
MY TIP: I spray the inside of a grocery bag with pam cooking spray and put the popcorn and caramel mixture in the bag and mix, so I have less clean up.
So the last three weeks have been spent eating instead of cooking! My husband decided to take me on a cruise for our anniversary--(and I thought I had the best gift with a trip to Chicago and seats on the wall to the Cubs and Cardinal game--wrong!!!). We traveled to Chicago to Milwaukee (to travel with my daughter) to Miami to a cruise to Haiti to Jamaica to Grand Cayman to Cozumel to Miami and back to Milwaukee then home! Whew!!! (Just for one day... to do laundry!) then off again to D.C. (which included a visit with my youngest daughter and my best guy friend from college!). Life is good... very good!
So since I was not cooking, my favorite culinary experiences included:
smoked fish tampenade (which I will try to recreate one of these days) lamb shank lobster tail cream of asparagus soup ceviche (in a Bayside restaurant which we visited before the cruise and went back after the cruise because it was so good) paella
We ate really well on the ship. Our first day there, we were checking out the fitness center and the trainer who showed us around said that the average cruise-goer gains 1-2 pounds... A DAY!!! I quickly got on the scale and to my horror had gained 3 pounds in half a day!!! The next day after working out, I weighed myself again, the same trainer came over to me and says "Our scale is off, you have to subtract 3 pounds!" Thank goodness!!! Fortunately for me, despite all the food, I did not gain any weight, but I did eat VERY well!
It was our first cruise and it was so much fun! It was like spring break for adults! We enjoyed beach volley ball (2nd place) , dodge ball (1st place), rock climbing, surfing, ice skating, boxing, trivia competitions (1st place), dancing until 2 in the morning, hip hop lessons, swing lessons, yoga, watching belly flop contests....and just meeting fun people!!! I also think that our "no elevator rule" helped keep the pounds off, as we were on the 9th floor of a ship that had 14 floors!
