Fall Leaves at Darby Creek Metropark

Wow. The last few times I posted, I was in denial about Summer ending. Two months later and we’re quickly approaching Christmas. So where have I been? The short answer is working long hours, starting to train for a triathlon, planning a major vacation (This winter, we’re going a culinary tour of Oaxaca, Mexico!) and enjoying lots of good food and good times with family and friends. I’ve been so busy living life that I haven’t had time to blog about it. And now there are so many things I’d like to write about that I’m not sure where to pick back up. So I’m starting with a recap of the last few months.

A Fall day at Darby Creek

September:

• After all of the bridal shower festivities, my sister Ashley married her fiance Justin in a beautiful outdoor ceremony.


The happy Bride & Groom

• Jared and I did a lot of hiking at the Metroparks, biking on the Olentangy River Trail and brunching. All that exercise works up an appetite, right? To me, food and exercise go hand in hand. Aside from the obvious benefits, regular exercise lets me enjoy good food without gaining weight or sacrificing my overall health.


Our trusty old Schwinns at Scioto Audobon Metropark

• I went on a 9 day business trip to West Virginia. It was tiring, but I am grateful that I got to go. I was there to help train and organize another office. But I also learned a lot that I could bring back to my own office here in Columbus.


Sunset over the mountains of WV

• Of course, I also tried several new recipes. My favorite was a Vegetarian Lasagne that took 3 hours and 2 sauces (Tomato & Béchamel) to create. It tasted incredible but got a little overcooked on the top; so it didn’t look very pretty in pictures. I plan to make it again, very soon, and post the recipe.


Lasagna sauces simmering on my stovetop

October

• Jared and I attended Taste of Grandview Heights. This was our first “Taste of”. From what I understand, it is much more casual than most of these events. While we enjoyed trying new foods, one of our favorite things about this event was how the staff of restaurants we frequent recognized and chatted with us. Specifically, I’m thinking of Mazah Mediterranean Eatery, home of the best Falafel and some of the prettiest food around. We were also happy to see Old Bag of Nails Grandview, which we refer to as our Cheers bar and which we love for its laid-back atmosphere and friendly bartenders. Local businesses: make your customers feel special & we’ll stay loyal.


Somehow, the only pic I have of downtown Grandview is an old cameraphone pic from last winter

• I made these Apple Cider Doughnuts. I’m not posting the recipe because, for once, I followed it exactly. These doughnuts were perfect – soft and airy on the inside, sweet and crispy on the outside. They are a lot of work, but well worth it.


The best doughnuts ever

• Before venturing out to Highball Halloween (which I highly recommend if you haven’t been), I hosted a Halloween party complete with Halloween-themed food and drinks. Among other things, I made a Graveyard 7-Layer Dip and a Zombie Bride Cake (with from-scratch Devil’s Food, of course). Jared invented a Candy Apple Cocktail, my sister made a Bugs & Dirt Cake, and several of my guests brought goodies including Sangria and Halloween-sprinkled Chocolate-Covered Pretzels. While Christmas is my favorite food holiday, Halloween is a close second. Halloween food is fun. There aren’t really any expectations; so you can get really creative and kitschy. And while Christmas is a family holiday, Halloween is a great time for friends to get together, eat ridiculous amounts of sweets and enjoy one anothers’ company.


Zombie Bride Cake



Fun Halloween Food

November

• November brought Dine Originals Columbus Week. This is another event that I hadn’t attended in the past. My friends and I opted for a meal at Skillet. The food was creative and excellent, as always. My only complaint is that I don’t think Pumpkin Polenta was worth the $30 price. Another friend and I agreed that the $20 prix fixe is probably more fitting for such a casual restaurant. That being said, I’ll definitely be returning to Skillet very soon.


Skillet's Dining Room

• In other Columbus food news, Jared and I finally had a chance to try the lunch special at Venky’s Spice House. For $5.99 (I believe), you get an appetizer, two curries, daal, naan, rice and dessert. Venky’s is one of our favorite Indian restaurants. Their food is more flavorful than several other area Indian restaurants, and their prices are great. We were excited about this lunch special because we could try things we’d never had before. And the portions were so generous that we had enough for dinner that night.


When my curry grows up, it wants to be like the curry at Venky's

• Since Jared and I like to try new, local restaurants, I am a loyal follower of Fudha. If you haven’t heard of it, Fudha offers half-price gift certificates for local restaurants. They donate $1 of the cost of each Fudha to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank. This is a great way to try new places, or save some money at trusty favorites. The first time we went to Skillet, it was actually with a $20 gift certificate that had cost $10 through Fudha. When Venky’s offered one, I snapped it right up.


When I used my Fudha at Skillet, I meant to review my tasty meal. Obviously, I never got around to it.

• Of course, when November rolls around, so does The Food Holiday – Thanksgiving. We get together with our loved ones and give thanks for all of life’s blessings, then eat copious amounts of food. Due to my work schedule, I wasn’t able to go home to celebrate with my family. This was the first time Jared and I celebrated Thanksgiving alone together. It was a bittersweet day for me since I really missed everyone. But I did enjoy the chance to make my own, slightly nontraditional Thanksgiving meal, which I will be posting sometime this week.


Making Thanksgiving Dinner

Every day, I’m reminded of how thankful I am that Jared and I moved from a small town in Michigan to Columbus. We are both Ohio natives, from the Cleveland area. But being away from your home state for several years has a way of making you appreciate it. I don’t know that we’ll be here forever because I hate winter with a passion. But for now, we’re really enjoying our life in a new city and learning about all that it has to offer.

Downtown Columbus, seen from the Olentangy Trail

A colorful cake for a whimsical bridal shower (made by yours truly & her mom)

A few weeks back, I wrote about my sister’s upcoming bridal shower. At the time, I didn’t want to reveal everything I was doing because I wanted Ashley to be surprised. Now that the shower is over, I can finally blog about it. First, a quick reminder of what I had planned. For her bridal shower, Ashley wanted a tea party, complete with the traditional High Tea menu of tea sandwiches, scones, and pastries. I decided to make it more Alice in Wonderland/whimsical and less Queen of England/formal, with a bit of a garden party feel.

The Shower Site - The Carriage Barn at Mill Hollow Metropark in Vermilion, Ohio

When I started planning, I had a million ideas bouncing around my head. And I wasn’t entirely sure I could use them all. I was also a little nervous, as I had never thrown such a big and important party. And, in addition to planning and hosting the shower, I was determined to make the food and the cake. Fortunately, the wonderful ladies in my family were there to help me pull everything together for Ashley’s shower. I am happy to say that it turned out exactly how I’d pictured it in my head.

Teapot Centerpieces & Lollipop Flower Favors

Click below for my tea party menu and lots of pictures of the event. Maybe they’ll inspire you to host your own tea party!

Tea Party Menu

• Cucumber Sandwiches with Cream Cheese & Dill
• Tomato Sandwiches with Cream Cheese & Italian Parsley
• Mini Egg Salad Croissants with Green Leaf Lettuce
• Tortilla Roll-ups
• Raw vegetables with Dill Dip
• My Tropical Fruit Salad & Key Lime Dip



• White Chocolate Cranberry, Orange & Maple Scones from Avenue Fine Pastries in Lakewood, Ohio, served with clotted cream & preserves
• Strawberry Cake with Buttercream Frosting
• Chocolate-Cherry Cupcakes with Almond Whipped Cream Frosting

• White Cherry & Lemon-Mint Iced Teas, Raspberry Limeade & Coffee

With the exception of the tortilla roll-ups, scones and raspberry limeade, everything was made from scratch by me or one of the ladies in my family. I used cake recipes I had tried before, though they were in a different form. For the cake, I used this Strawberry Cupcake recipe. I like it because it does not call for cake mix or strawberry-flavored gelatin, which a lot of strawberry cake recipes do require. Also, it isn’t overly sweet which is nice when you’re using a frosting that’s as sugary as buttercream. For the cupcakes, I used this recipe for the Great American Chocolate Cherry Cake. Both recipes turned out moist & fluffy cakes that were easy to frost and work with. (A quick aside on the cake. It’s maybe the fifth cake I’ve ever made and the first tiered one. Considering this, I’m extremely happy with how it turned out!)

The Beautiful Bride showing off her edible cake topper

Of course, we had to play a game. I hate the majority of shower games, especially the one that involves making a wedding dress out of toilet paper. Instead, I decided to do a quiz called “Getting to Know the Bride & Groom”. I asked 21 questions: 7 about Ashley, 7 about Justin & 7 about them as a couple. The questions asked about things like his winter hobby (snowboarding), her (a daycare) and where they’re honeymooning (Ocho Rios, Jamaica). The winner was the person who got the most questions right.

After the game, my grandma (Honey) cut and served the cake. Everyone had cake and chatted while Ashley opened her presents. Unfortunately, we didn’t know that someone had booked the Carriage Barn for right when the shower was scheduled to end. So we had to leave in a bigger hurry than I would have liked. But the rest of the day went so smoothly that I couldn’t be too upset over it. I am so thankful that I had the chance to throw this shower for Ashley, and that it allowed so many wonderful ladies to get together and enjoy good food and celebration on a Saturday afternoon.

From L-R: Me, Mom & Ashley modeling our tea hats

Finally, I can’t thank my Mom, Honey, Aunt Ruby and Cousin Dianna enough for helping me make this such a special day for Ashley. They put up with my bossiness and helped me with anything I asked them to do. Without them, this wouldn’t have been such a success.

Bridal shower supplies & inspiration. I couldn't resist buying the coordinating tissues because my sister is a crier.

This September, my little sister Ashley is getting married! She and her fiance, Justin have been together for several years. They are one of the cutest, most loving couples I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t be happier that they’re starting their life together as husband and wife in less than 8 weeks.

Justin & Ashley

Of course, I’m thrilled that Ashley asked me to be her matron-of-honor. Not only do I get the privilege of standing beside her while she says her vows, I also get to plan her bridal shower! As soon as Justin and Ashley got engaged, I started scheming and dreaming about this shower. I knew immediately that I wanted whatever I did to scream “Ashley” ~ a sweet girl who loves to garden and appreciates all things whimsical and colorful. Her only real request was that we have a tea party.

I toyed with the idea of hosting an actual High Tea. But my family just isn’t that stuffy or formal. Also, the shower is in late July, which isn’t exactly hot tea weather. So I came up with the idea of a Mary Engelbreit-Inspired Tea Party. Ashley loves her illustrations; and I think they’re the perfect inspiration for a whimsical bridal shower. Originally, I didn’t plan to use much actual Mary Engelbreit branded stuff. I’d just planned on something involving cherries, teapots and daisies in primary colors and checkerboard patterns. Then in March, I went to Michael’s to get new gel food colors for my Easter cookies. Ashley’s shower wasn’t even on my mind until I spotted the perfect Mary Engelbreit invitations ~ blue and white with cherries. It was the exact color scheme and design I’d had in mind for her shower cake and decorations!

For this tea party, I’m serving a traditional menu of tea sandwiches, scones and pastries. Instead of hot tea, I’ll be making iced teas. Of course, there will also be a whimsical, colorful cake, which I plan to make and decorate. It will have 2 tiers and a topper. For the topper, I’m using a Teacupcake from Fred & Friends. I must admit I’m a little nervous about the cake. I’ve a made a few layer cakes and countless decorated cupcakes. But I’ve never made a tiered cake by myself, nor have I ever made a cake for an event as important as this. Fortunately, Mom is a great cake decorator and will be there to help me.

Also, I’m firmly convinced that cooking is a much about one’s mental attitude as it is about one’s ability to follow directions. When I lived in Mexico, my host mom was fond of judging whether food was hecho con cariño, or “made with love”. She always said that food looked and tasted better when it was made with love. Though I’d never thought about it before, I realized it was true. When I put time and care into the food I prepare, it does turn out better. This cake, and everything else I am making, are things that I care deeply about because I am making them for a wonderful girl who is my sister and my friend.

Aside from truly caring about my kitchen creations, I’ve found that confidence does wonders for culinary success. When I approach a challenging recipe or technique, I make it a point to tell myself that it will turn out well. And you know what? It usually does!

My setup for making shower favors. The dining room table often doubles as a workspace for my kitchen projects.

Now I’m dying to share everything I have planned for this shower. But I don’t want to reveal all the surprises yet (especially not since Ashley reads my blog). But I do want to say that things will be pretty quiet here for the next couple weeks while I make the favors, food and cake for this shower. After it’s all done, I plan to write about the shower and some of the things that I’m learning during this time.

Thanks to stock.xchng users nkzs for the Cherries image and cybersnot for the Berry Heart.

Sugar Cookies: 4th of July Edition!

I’ve spent the last month doing a lot of cooking, baking, bicycling and traveling. This has left me with very little time for blogging (I know, such a tough problem to have).

After being out of town so much, I’m excited that I’m not going anywhere for the long weekend. Instead, I’m planning to stay and play in Columbus. I can finally check out the North Market Farmer’s Market on Saturday. The rest of the weekend includes The Crew soccer game, new recipes, working on my sister’s bridal shower, going to the pool and who knows what else. I’m also planning to update this blog with some things I’ve made recently and try to get into a semi-regular posting schedule.

Until then, I hope that everyone has a fun and relaxing 4th of July Weekend!

Blank Canvas

I have a confession. I am the owner of a box of 101 Wilton cookie cutters, most of which I have never used. I make cutout sugar cookies every year for Christmas. I did Halloween ones for a party one year. But I’ve never really thought to do cookies for Easter or any other holiday, probably because I usually come across a million other creative ideas for Easter desserts.

For the past few years, the ladies in my family have spent the day before Easter at my Grandma, Honey’s, house decorating cupcakes. We try to make our Easter cupcakes fun and creative. One year we made gumdrops into tulips. Another, we arranged the cupcakes to look like bunnies hopping across a garden. This year, I decided to break out all the Easter/Springtime cookie cutters and make a huge batch of sugar cookies to decorate alongside the cupcakes. Today, I will be passing a pleasant afternoon in the kitchen with my Mom, Sister, Grandma, Aunts & Cousins, getting hopped up on sugar and caffeine and making pretty things to eat.

Tomorrow, I am going to church with my husband, then having Easter dinner at my aunt’s house. I am really looking forward to everything. I hope that whatever you are doing this weekend, that you have a great weekend and a Happy Easter.

Classic Bruschetta Topping
1 loaf Italian bread
6 medium tomatoes
20 fresh basil leaves
4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp. minced garlic
salt & pepper to taste

Directions
1. Seed and dice tomatoes. Finely chop basil leaves.
2. In a bowl, combine tomatoes with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Sprinkle basil leaves on top.

Ricotta Bruschetta Topping
1 loaf Italian bread
15 oz. ricotta cheese, drained
3 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano
salt & pepper to taste

Directions
1. Combine ricotta, lemon juice and garlic in a medium bowl.
2. Add tomatoes and spices. Mix well.

Kalamata Bruschetta Topping
1 loaf Italian bread
8 oz. kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
2 tbsp. toasted pine nuts

1. Once pine nuts are toasted, crush them into smaller pieces.
2. Combine all ingredients, including pine nuts, in a small bowl and mix well.

To Serve
1. Preheat oven to 375º. Slice 3 loaves of Italian bread into 1/4 inch thick slices
2. Toast bread slices in the oven for 3 minutes. Flip and toast for 2-3 more minutes.
3. Arrange toasted slices on a tray and top with bruschetta toppings. Or, place toasted bread slices in a basket and bruschetta toppings in a serving tray.

My thoughts:
I was very happy with the way this turned out. I put the toppings in a serving dish with 3 wells in it. Once the bread was toasted, I put the slices in a basket and covered them with a clean kitchen towel to keep them warm. This way, people could help themselves to the different bruschetta toppings as they pleased.

What does the holiday season mean, if not food? OK. Actually, it means a lot of other things. But this is a food blog, not a metaphysical, philosophical, or even particularly domestic one. Back in early November, I had intended to blog all of my holiday food adventures. Then I got super busy with work and family commitments. I still did a lot of baking and cooking. I just didn’t have time to upload the pictures, type out the recipes and make it all look pretty.

Now it is January. Christmas is over. But since Christmas is such an important time when it comes to food and food-related traditions, I’d like to record some of what I’ve been up to the last few weeks before moving on to 2010′s culinary experiences.

There are a lot of Christmas traditions that I love. But my favorite is Cookie Weekend. My mom, sister, aunts and cousins take over my grandma, Honey’s, kitchen. Everyone brings different recipes and baking supplies. We then spend the whole day making and decorating cookies and candies. Here are a few of the things we made that day, with links to the recipes that I used:

• Pea Blossoms – These are the classic peanut butter cookies with a Hershey’s kiss in the center. To me, they are the quintessential Christmas cookie. I think it’s because my mom only ever made them at Christmas.
• Taffy – For years, my sister wanted to make taffy. Everyone always denied her due to the mess and complication involved. This year, I decided we were going to make taffy. I gave her the recipe and a candy thermometer. She did the rest!
• Hard Cinnamon Candy – We decided this couldn’t be that much different than making taffy. It was super easy. In the process of making this candy and the taffy, we all got a lesson in the stages that sugar goes through when it cooks.



• Sugar Cookies (pictured above) – After all of the other cookies are done, everyone sits around the kitchen table and decorates sugar cookies. We make some pretty and others silly. I love decorating them so much that I actually made an additional 200 cookies on my own and gave them to my employees. The recipe I linked to is the sugar cookie recipe I’ve been using for several years. The first time I made these cookies, my aunt said that they tasted just like my great-grandma’s sugar cookies. I never did get to meet Great-Grandma; but I understand that she was quite the cook and baker. Needless to say, this was one of the best compliments my aunt could have paid me. These cookies are soft, buttery, and not-too-sweet. They stand up perfectly to buttercream frosting (see my last post for the recipe).

This is just a sampling of the good things we made that day. There were also snickerdoodles, truffles, chocolate overload cookies, and probably some other things I am forgetting. Like I said, Cookie Weekend is one of my favorite holiday traditions. It is an excuse to get together with a lot of great women, bake, laugh, and OD on sugar and coffee. What could be better in the midst of all the holiday stress and chaos?