Alisha's 1st Birthday Party

Well, we may need to just turn this blog into a baby blog at this point! however, We have been still eating great food- just haven't taken any pictures in a while. Hopefully, we can get back into it soon. We have been enjoying introducing Alisha to some of our creations -- a few weeks ago Petey made homemade pasta with a basil sauce...Alisha LOVED it. And actually, she loves everything and eats it all happily -- unfortunately, she sometimes eats too much and it all comes up later :(

Last weekend we celebrated Alisha's First Birthday! of course, I had been planning in my mind for months...but anyone that knows me knows I am obsessed with party planning. Petey and I tossed around lots of theme ideas...Butterflies and Tea, Sunshine, Owls..but we both loved the idea of a Paris party centered around brunch! With the theme set, I scoured the web for inspiration and found lots of it! Colors were going to be pink, white and black with a Damask Print. I found the perfect invite from a seller on Etsy:

I ended up buying a party package from this seller as well and used the candy bar wrappers, banner and lots of other pieces of it to spruce up the party.

this will be a picture heavy post..but hope you enjoy!

Wow - it has been more than 2 years since our last post

Well, we heard from several of you out there that you continue to check our page. Thanks! and Sorry we have been so slack in updating! But we have been busy...with what you ask? See below!

Gnocchi with Spicy Red Sauce

On St Pete Beach, there is a small Italian restaurant we use to go to when we lived out there that made just awesome gnocchi with a spicy red sauce. We've since moved over to Downtown Tampa and rarely make it back that way, so below you will find our version of it. Also, I must admit we cheated on the hardest part ha ha!! The worst thing about moving away from Atlanta is that they have a Trader Joe's!!! On our visit to Monica's parents house in Milwaukee (another city that has a Trader Joe's) we stocked up and brought back a few packs of their pre-made gnocchi. It's so simple, drop into salted boiling water and few minutes later, you are done! The red sauce is nice and simple and turned out great since we've been blessed with so much basil from our plant this year.

Gnocchi with Spicy Red Sauce

Ingredients

1 package store bought gnocchi (usually found in pasta aisle) prepared according to directions

1 can diced tomatoes (if you can find san marzano get it, you will be pleased!)

1 can tomato sauce

2 tbs tomato paste

2 cloves garlic

1 medium white onion diced

handful of fresh basil

Parmesan Reggiano (to grate over the top, get the good stuff it will make all the difference)

Olive oil to coat bottom of pan

Salt and Pepper to taste

Crushed red pepper flakes - depending on how spicy you like it

1 tbs Italian Seasoning (or 1/2 tsp of oregano, basil, marjoram, parsley, rosemary and thyme)

What we did:

1. Coat bottom of sauce pan with olive oil on medium high heat

2. Add red pepper flakes, onions and minced garlic and stir to coat and cook until onions are translucent - about 3-5 minutes

3. Add the cans of diced tomato and sauce and stir until heated through

4. Add tomato paste, Italian seasoning, salt and black pepper

5. Turn stove down to medium low, cover and cook for 15 minutes

6. At the end, stir in chopped fresh basil (reserve some for serving) and using immersion blender blend sauce to remove any big chunks of tomato (your not making tomato soup so don't over blend!)

7. Take your cooked gnocchi, add to sauce, stir to coat evenly and add more chopped fresh basil and top with grated parmesan!!

WDWD??

2006 Cakebread Rubaiyat: This is just an awesome wine, I know I can't believe we just cracked it open for dinner at home either! A blend 84% Pinot, 15% Zin, and 2% Syrah. We stuck it in the ice box for 15 minutes and served it. If you can find it you must try it! For info on the name and some back story about the wine visit here.

Giada's Carbonara

Petey loves this pasta because it includes his favorite thing --a fried egg! I saw this recipe on Food Network-- Everyday Italian with Giada - she made an aoili with egg yolks and stirred it into linguine and called it a Carbonara. I hadn't heard of this before -- but after making it-- it has become a regular menu item at our house!

This recipe is from foodnetwork.com. Usually, we add our own unique touches to recipes -- but this one is kitchen tested as perfect! Enjoy!

Giada's Carbonara

*this was Petey's bowl -- he likes his egg real runny. The carbonara will taste good even without the egg on top -- that's the way I eat it!

For recipe go here at Food Network's Website

WDWD???

Oak Grove Zinfandel - not too big of a Zin like Frogs Leap, but very pleasant. Not sure why we opened this with our Carbonara, since we would usually have a Chardonnay, but nonetheless, was still really good

Roasted Vegtables with Basil Pesto Couscous

Many times in the middle of the week we still have a lot of veggies in the fridge, and don't feel like cooking up a storm. The easiest thing to do with them is cover them in salt, pepper, olive oil and roast them! The great thing is almost every vegetable taste great roasted, from tomatoes to zucchini and eggplants, to onions and even mushrooms. The couscous is simple since we just use the boxed kind, add water and fluff! Sometimes we will add frozen broccoli, pine nuts or pesto to make it interesting.

Roasted Vegetables with Couscous

Ingredients

Assortment of vegetables- we used 1 zucchini, 1/2 eggplant, 1/2 red onion, 1 large tomato, 1/2 white onion all chopped into large pieces (about 1 to 1.5")

Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper to taste

Olive Oil

Preheated oven to 400 degrees

What we did:

1. Cut all veggies and place in single layer in baking sheet

2. Drizzle with olive oil (about 2 or 3 tablespoons)

3. Sprinkle with Salt and Pepper

4. Place in middle rack of oven for 20 minutes until edges are brown

5. Flip veggies and put back in oven for 10-20 more minutes until edges darken and char slightly

6. While veggies are in oven follow couscous direction on box, and keep covered until ready to serve (if adding frozen broccoli add as soon as water boils, if adding pine nuts add when your fluffing couscous)

7. Serve roasted veggies hot alongside couscous - we like ours with a dallop of basil peso!

WDWD??

2004 Valserrano Crianza Rioja

Aged 16-18 months in French and American oak. A very fruit forward wine that has been one of our favorites this summer and at $18 a great value.

Habanero Veg-Head Chili and Corn Muffins

Who doesn't love chili? We do miss the veg chili at Vortex in Atlanta (and the $2 PBR)we haven't found a place in Tampa with a good veg chili yet lucky for us Monica is really good at making a bean chili, and we decided to spice it up with some hab peppers from our garden (hardly a garden 2 potted plants on a patio in downtown!)

Habanero Veg-Head Chili

Ingredients

1 habanero pepper minced (seeds or not you decide)

1/2 green pepper (bell pepper) chopped

2 cans no salt added diced tomatoes

1 can black beans drained and rinsed

1 can red kidney beans drained and rinsed

3 handfuls of frozen corn

Oil to coat bottom of pot

1 onion chopped

1 clove garlic minced

1 bag morning star meat starter (or you can leave this out entirely and have a bean chili)

1 tbs cumin powder

1 tbs cayenne pepper

1 tbs taco seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

1 shot of of Mexican hot sauce (cholula, tapatio, etc.)

Toppings: shredded cheddar, sour cream, cilantro, green onions

Side note if you don't have the cumin and everything mccormick hot chili seasoning is a good sub if you don't have all the spices

What we did

1. In large pot heat oil, and then add habanero, onion and garlic cook until onions are translucent

2. Add meat starter (or if your a meat eater add 1.5 lbs of chuck) stir and let cook through in oil garlic onion mixture

3. Add tomatoes, beans and all spice seasonings including salt and pepper add water if needed (it shouldn't be thick) cook covered for 20-30 minutes on simmer

4. Taste for seasonings and spiciness, then add chopped green peppers and corn; cook for another few minutes until corn is cooked through top with your toppings..........and serve!

Corn Muffins:

We use the Jiffy! Throw in a handful of chopped jalapenos and a handful of shredded sharp cheddar into the batter, bake as directed and you are in it to win it my friend!

WDWD?? (what did we drink?)

Leinenkugels honey weiss, representing Mo's home state of WI!

The Tomato and Buffalo Show

One of our favorite salads is the infamous Caprese Salad. While in Ft. Myers for a business trip, I found out that the restaurant next door to the office makes their own fresh pulled mozzarella cheese. I was excited to bring it back to Tampa and use it in my favorite salad. I know tomatoes have a bad rap lately, but we got a hold of some heirlooms that are "safe" and also very awesome. Petey even got his dad to grow some heirlooms that came out all different colors last year. Have you ever tried a purple tomato? With the fresh mozzarella and growing our own basil, this has been one of our favorite summer meals!

Caprese Salad

Ingredients

1 Heirloom Tomato

1 "ball" of fresh mozzarella sliced into 1/4 inch rounds - don't use the aged stuff!

5 basil leaves per serving

really good olive oil (we use this stuff we got in Napa last year called Round Pond. it really makes a difference.)

balsamic vinegar

grey salt

What we did:

1. Layer one slice of tomato. add a pinch of grey salt

2. Layer one slice of mozzarella cheese. add a pinch of grey salt

3. Top with basil leaves

4. Top with another slice of tomato. add a pinch of grey salt

5. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil

Enjoy!

Check out our basil plant!!!