Rainy Day Sandwhich

It is Sunday afternoon and raining in DC. What better to do than bake bread and watch a movie. The bread Pretzel the Movie “The Young Victoria.”

Pretzel Bread: (got this recipe from cooks.com)
1 pkg. yeast
1 c. warm water
1 tbsp. melted butter
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
3 c. flour 
Egg (to brush)

Put yeast and warm water in a bowl. Stir until yeast dissolves. Add all other ingredients. Knead dough until smooth (about 5 minutes). Cover and place in a warm place (200 degree oven) to rise until doubled in size.

Divide dough - 6 or 7 pieces for pretzels - 3 pieces for mini loaves. Shape each piece. Brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle with coarse salt if desired. Place on greased cookie sheet or in greased mini loaf pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes for pretzels; at 400 degrees for 30 or 40 minutes for bread. Brush bread with butter immediately after baking to avoid hardened crust.

Dough ready to go into the oven to be proofed.

Dough after rising in a 200º oven for about an hour.

Egged, Salted and ready to go in the oven.

Yum. My apartment smelled so good while these were baking. 

Black forest ham and Havarti cheese

I made a caprese salad to go along with my sandwich.

Here Comes the Bride

This is a shower that my friend Dianna and I threw for our very dear friend Anne. With themed showers all the rage right now, we decided to have a spa themed shower. We had all natural face masks, pedi stations and fantastic food.

   The Spa area. Dianna provided all spa items and the decor for party. Beautiful!!!

Lemon - mint infused water • Strawberry in fused water • Mimosas •
Chocolate, Mascarpone cheese, toffee crunch cake • Chocolate dipped
strawberries • Chicken Salad tea sandwiches • Herb cream cheese and
cucumbers • Spinach and mushroom Quiche • Veggies with blue cheese dip.

Close up of the cake. It was so good. If I make this again I think that I will
infuse the cake with a liquor.

No Pork About It

This was dinner a couple of weeks ago. Also, my first time dealing with pork. Lets just say it was interesting. I never know how long you are suppose to cook it. After a few phone calls, one to my mom and when she didn't answer one to my sister, who looked it up. (she is so smart)

Ingredients:

Pork Lion

Marinate

Pineapple Juice

Soy Sauce

Honey

Garlic

Olive Oil

Chutney

1 Mango

1 can Cubed Pineapple in water

Pineapple Juice (from cubed pineapple) 

Tomato

1 small Yellow Onion

Honey

Olive Oil

Garlic

Fun with Capers

Ingredients
Capers
Stewed Tomatoes
Frozen Spinach
Cauliflower
Red Pepper Flakes
Parmesan Cheese

Cheesy Dilisousness!!!!

Ok, this is a recipe that I have made a few times and absolutely love. It is a great Fall dish. This is one of those recipes that I have stored away somewhere in my head. Check back this Fall for the complete recipe.

Marinated Tofu Salad with Onion Flat Bread

I want to apologize for some of these first few post. I made these dishes awhile ago and do not remember what all went in them. I will do my best to get all the ingredients down.

Ingredients:
Extra Firm Tofu
Spring Mix Lettuce
Oranges
Strawberries

Marinate:
Orange Juice
Basil
Garlic

Flat Bread:
Store bought frozen bread dough
Onions

Mix Orange Juice, Basil and garlic together in a Ziploc bag add tofu strips. Let this sit for at least 4 hours. Heat grill pan, heat tofu through, until good grill marks are present.

For the flat bread, knead sauteed onions into bread dough. Roll flat, place on grill pan until cooked.

Roasted Tomato, Basil and Arugula Penna Pasta

This is a dish that I made sometime ago. There is no real recipe here. Just add below ingredients to your favorite pasta.

Roast Roma or Cherry tomatoes in a 350º oven until tomatoes blister

Handful of Basil

Handful of Arugula

Shredded Mozzarella 

Olive Oil

Cheers!