Girls Weekend - Baby sisters...no baby horses and Crock Pot Sauce...

Hello Friends!

Its been a busy few weeks for me...How about you?  The day after my fantastic Valentine's Day at White Castle...I left at 6am to pick up my Mom and Step mom for a 10 hour road trip to Thurmond, North Carolina. Why?  Cause that's where my baby sister Amanda lives and works.  Along with my sister Kris and my niece Rachel went to spend President's weekend visiting Amanda, her baby, Trinity...and the other 40+ horses on Double Tail Farm where Amanda works.

Amanda and Trinity...

 Surprisingly, the ride, while long - was smooth and relatively easy.  We made it to Amanda's house just after she left for work - so of course, we went to the farm instead.

Amanda is on the night baby watch (and has been for a few months) - two of the pregnant horses are close to having their babies.  I'm super sure there are technical horse terms for that..."dropping a foul" ?? but every time I think of that, I see in my head a baby horse being dropped on its head.  I'd prefer that image never cross my mind (though aren't you glad I put that picture in your head??) 

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  There is lots more to talk about before we get to the wagon rides, horse rides and all and all good fun on the farm.

We arrived about 4:30pm or so - and after getting a tour of the barns...meeting my niece Horse Trinity...


Isn't she gorgeous?!?

We left to shop, get settled in and pick up some dinner (while waiting for Kristy and Rachel to arrive).  Amanda really wanted to see us and visit...(as when she gets home at 7am, she goes right to bed!) - so we picked up some "Italian" <I use this term very loosely, as to not insult the Italians for the food we ate...more below>  food and had a barn picnic. 

Yes.   I said Barn Picnic.

As Kristy said to Amanda... "This is love right here..."  as I'm sure you can imagine eating dinner standing around a feed bin, surrounded by all the lovely sights, sounds and smells of a horse farm and about a zillion barn cats wanting in on the meal isn't the most pleasant thing in the world ... but we had fun with it!

Preparing the 'table'...a food bin covered in a sheet!

Barn Picnic.  Can you tell by Kristy's face how much fun it is! =)

But I have to tell you - I'll Barn Picnic any day of the week before I eat the so-called 'italian' food that Mazzini's in Elkin served.  Ellen did give fair warning that it wasn't the best Italian food... and I'd beg to differ to call it Italian food at all.... Though aside from not having Veal Parm (um.. Italian? what??) and forgetting my Manicotti and Ellen's meatballs all together...I was the "lucky" one to then get stuck eating Amanda's Mozzarella sticks appetizer for my dinner.  You can't really mess up a Mozzarella Stick.  Except if you put it with canned tomato sauce with no seasoning.  I'm not even sure I'd call it tomato sauce at this point.  Thank God they forgot my Manicotti!  That's all I'll say about that - other than I'll never go back and never eat there again.

Next day - we had a late breakfast before going to the farm for a wagon ride.  I had to do it...order the Heart Attack on a plate - but I hardly ever eat this stuff...and it was so freaking delicious!   Yes, my friends...buttery grits and biscuits and sausage gravy.  (Yup..I barely looked at the eggs...you can get eggs anywhere!).

Bet you can guess how well that sat, as we bumped around on a wagon pulled by two beautiful Belgians, huh?

Poor Amanda on about Three hours of sleep - but she was a trooper!  She helped hitch up Juniper and Susie for our ride...

Juniper



Susie



Amanda driving...this is something new she's learning!

Rachel and Grandma

Kristy, Rachel and GranE

I became totally fascinated with one particular horse in the barn...Glory - on of the pregnant horses.  She is gorgeous...and HUGE.  The biggest horse I've ever seen in my life.  I'm not kidding... Amanda is 6'1 and while next to Trinity (who is still a large horse) - you can see Amanda's head over the horse.  If Amanda is standing on the other side of Glory ... can't see Manda. By a few feet.  Huge.

This is my hand...my big, mit of a man hand next to the horse's head. 
I've never felt so dainty in my life. Her head is as long as I am from head to stomach! 

 Anyhow - the next day (no babies born that night...we were all disappointed) Amanda took Trinity out for a run, romp and ride... and got Rachel and Ellen to ride!  It was a fun, funny day!

Trin first out of her stall... shaking things loose!

 

Manda.."how much she trusts her horse"...while grooming



Rachel getting ready!

Rachel's first Trinity Ride!

Ellen's too!

All the while we were playing with the horses on the farm... Back at Amanda's house, the slow cooker was working its magic!  You had to know I wasn't going to NOT cook while I was there, right??  Especially after we ate that horrible Italian food and my baby sister didn't know any better that it was worse than crap.  I had to remind her what tomato sauce really tasted like. 

So:  Crock Pot Tomato Sauce... easy for her to throw together and come home to lovely smells after a day (or night) in the barns.   Now - keep in mind... I made copious amounts of sauce, enough for two trays of baked ziti, 4 cutlets of chicken parm and lots of extras for re-heating.  I couldn't leave my sisters house with out stocking her freezer full of ready made, easy to heat up meals while she is on baby duty.

I started off by browning 2 pounds of chopped meat, with onions and garlic... Once brown, I transferred it into the crock pot.

I had basic seasonings to work with...just Salt, Pepper and Italian seasoning... I seasoned the meat as I went (all to taste!)

 After the Meat was browned, I sauteed more onions with garlic until translucent...

 Added in the tomato paste to cook... then added chicken stock and let simmer for a few minutes...

 Tossed the onions/tomato paste into the crock pot, with three cans of tomatoes...mixed, seasoned and let go on high heat for about 5 hours...

And while I don't have a picture of this process...I boiled the pasta in salted water until just under al dente ... drained, tossed with sauce and ricotta cheese...layered in a pan with more cheese and baked until golden and bubbling...

And this - my friends is what I filled my sisters fridge and freezer with.... Yes, I was channeling my "inner Italian grandmother" (OK, so I'm not Italian, but I really believe we all have a bit of an Italian grandma in us) - I needed to make sure she ate well!

It is now Sunday evening...Kristy and Rachel left for home...Amanda at work and Mom, Ellen and I will be leaving early tomorrow for the long drive home.  With plenty of ziti for dinner...we go back to the barn to have a farewell dinner with Amanda.  Though this time, its so cold we can't be out by the feed bins...but tucked into the itty bitty monitoring room with a space heater to eat ziti.  It really was a good time!

Yes..that is the door at my Mom's back...and Amanda's hand
is touching the back wall!  Tiny! 

All in all, it was a very nice weekend.  It was great to see my sister doing what she loves...I loved seeing the horses and have a very healthy respect for anyone who works with them!  And while I can't wait to go back and see Amanda, and the babies that will be born in the coming days and weeks... I will second Kristy's suggestion that the next girls weekend be someplace sans a barn... a spa maybe??

Until Next Time...

(manga!)

EAT

Happy Valentines Day!!

Hello Friends!!!

Happy Valentines Day to all!  I have so much to say..l but first...

XOXOXO to my most amazing Husband for sending me flowers today... I love them..I love you.. Thank you!!

Now - let me tell you, its Valentine's day - and I never get my husband on a holiday - but I am lucky enough that my good friend asked me to join her and her friends for a tradition...

Valentines Day at White Castle.

Ah.. Yes..you heard me...

Valentines Day... at White Castle!!

Drive past it - weeks before and you'll see the signs to "make you're reservation"...

They aren't kidding...

Make a reservation...

when you get there - you are seated by a hostess.. (Mary was our wonderful Lady of the Evening - and she was amazing!!)

They decorate!

Our Group... three tables long!

You are given a menu (granted, it is a WC menu...but none the less..)

The menu

Nothing you couldn't order from the regular menu.. just
jazzed up a bit for the holiday!

 

Your table is covered by a table cloth, and set with your reservation name... The whole restaurant is decorated and each table setting is changed and made fresh for the next guest.

Your waitress (Yes... a waitress) takes your order, from the regular menu of White Castle...and brings it to you.  And you can bring 'additions'... wine, desserts, what ever!

Go - Have fun with it!! 

The group I went with had desserts, wine and we all had a fun time!!

a slider mask... I brought it home with me!!
 

My Dinner.3 cheese burgers and Onion Rings... I ate 2 of them ...each! lol

Building a WC 'house of cards' ... Fantastic!!

Fantastic little Cupcakes for dessert..

Along with amazing Chocolate Covered Strawberries... My Favorite!!!

 

The setting...

The Group!
 

My New mask!!  I LOVE IT!!!  =) Though I wish there
was a slice of cheese on it!!

Until Next Time...

EAT



 



Musicals...Chalet's...Fondue and Shrimp

Hello Friends!
I've had a lovely few good meals - and lucky you (or is it, lucky me?), I get to share it with you! <you know you love it...or you wouldn't be here!>

Well, how lovely could any meal start with a Blizzard called Nemo (??) coming to town?  Eh...it's just snow, right?  I mean, I grew up on Long Island and I've had monster snow storms, hurricanes, ice storms and all sorts of weather growing up... and at some point - things started to calm down...not so bad weather...not so cold winters...but these past few years our weather quirks are getting bigger and stronger... (OH, and yes...there is no global warming...<eye roll inserted here>). 

Either way, I wasn't sure if my Saturday plans would actually happen - due to Nemo.  A friend of mine was in a production of Hairspray at the Cultural Arts Playhouse in Roslyn Heights - so four good friends of mine and I decided to go and have dinner and see the show.  First, I'll say Madelin was so good in the show - (keeping in mind, I had never seen Hairspray before so I had no idea of the story line) Madelin played three different characters in the show, each and every one just as funny as the other.  Great Job girl!  I can't wait to see your next performance!

So in the planning of seeing the show, we decided to have dinner at the Roslyn Chalet ... neither of us had been there before, and after a quick look at their web site - we knew their menu would suit us all. 

So - here is my review of this restaurant!

We got there about 5 minutes prior to opening, and entered through the Tap room on the first floor - a very comfortable looking bar area that while empty when we first arrived, as we left it was filled with people you know were locals out to enjoy a pleasant evening.  The bar tender was (from our entrance to our exit) very friendly, helpful and pleasant to talk to.  He (and I didn't get his name as we didn't stay at the bar) was the kind of bartender who makes you want to go back just to have a conversation and a beer (or wine, in my case!).

We walked up the stairs to the second floor and found an amazingly comfortable, definitely romantic style restaurant...



The restaurant had several rooms (and yes, the other
rooms had chairs with backs on them!)

 We sat down to order in this room:


We sat in the far right corner, which had a view of the fireplace.

I will say, it was not an easy decision as to what to eat.  The menu is varied - alot of appetizers and a small list of entrees.  I opted for a few appetizers, rather than a entree.  To start, I ordered the Cheese fondue, served with seasoned bread, crackers and apples.  Simple enough, but delicious!  I forget sometimes how much I love fondue and yes, shame on me, I ate every drop of that luscious cheesy goodness!

The dunkers were plentiful (enough for two) but
the cheese was definitely only enough for one.

For my entree, I ordered two appetizers; first, the crab cakes  - a perfect size for an appetizer these little cakes were full of crab.  I was surprised that there wasn't much filler in there and the crust was perfectly crunchy.  Honestly, the aioli wasn't needed (or used) at all!

The second was a (what I thought would be a small side of the Mac and Cheese).  Two surprises on this one - first the special of the evening was Lobster Mac and Cheese - (so of course, I had to take it!) and look at the size!  It would have done well as a meal (which my friend Jenny got <sans the lobster>.  The lobster was fresh and sweet and the cheese sauce was perfect - not too cheesy so it didn't drown out the lobster flavor.

As an appetizer to her Mac and Cheese (and btw, hers was topped with Bacon - what could be better?!?!) Jenny ordered the Cigar Rolls, which was philo dough wrapped around Feta cheese and parsley... a unique take on Tiropita (a greek app similar to Spanakopita-sans the spinach!), which she said was great.  I didn't try it as I had my face in a bowl of fondue at this point!

Another dish I tasted was Lorie's entree of Lamb Chops (served with asparagus, but I didn't try them).  Lorie said the asparagus was perfectly cooked tender and well seasoned - they look delicious!

I had the pleasure of tasting the lamb...Oh, Delicious!!  The lamb was cooked to perfection and seasoned simply with salt, pepper and oregano.  The meat was so flavorful and tender - I was glad Lorie had enough to share wtih me! 

I didn't taste Alison's 20oz Ribeye, but it looks fabulous!

So, with going to a show - time didn't allow us to order dessert - though I'm not sure any of us would have had room to eat another bite!  I am looking forward to taking Dave back to this "perfect for a date night" place soon!

So let me tell you what I think:

Food: a very strong B.  Simple, delicious, flavorful and worth another trip back.

Service: B- We were the first there, so greeted promptly with food and drink orders taken promptly.  The food came out in a good pace... though I will say our server was nice, but very robotic.  Just there to do a job, and not very impressive.  The (-) is because it took a very long time for her to even look in our direction so we could ask for the check.  Not very attentive - but not bad enough that I wouldn't try it again.

Price:  mid range - the appetizers range from $7 - $16 and the entrees from $14 - $32. 

Now - Lets move on to why the chateau meal inspired a fantastic fondue appetizer*(see below) for dinner on Sunday! I'm not sure if you have noticed, but I do tend to side a bit more on the OCD side of things...so when I find something I like (or in this case, remember that I like it) I will tend to eat it a lot.  One day, I'll tell you about the time I ate various forms of Nachos every night for dinner for six months.  I Kid You Not.

Anyway, so in telling Dave about the delicious fondue from the night before, Dave suggested we make it as an appetizer to our dinner for Sunday.  Who am I to say no that?!?  I'll post the recipe here for you:  (Dave got this off of Epicurious, but we changed it up just a bit!)

Gruyère Fondue with Caramelized Shallots1 tablespoon butter
1 1/4 cups thinly sliced shallots (about 6 ounces)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups (or more) dry white wine

14 ounces grated Gruyere cheese (about 3 1/2 cups packed)**

   **I used 3 1/2 cups of a mix of Gruyere, Fontina and Jarlsberg .. Perfect!
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
Generous pinch of ground nutmeg

A large dash of dry mustard powder
Salt and Pepper to taste

1 sourdough baguette, cut into 1-inch cubes

A granny smith apple, cubed

Dried Figs (Dave's addition!)

I'll post the instructions as they are, but will ad my little notes for you... we did this no muss-no fuss!

Melt butter in heavy medium skillet (we used a sauce pan) over medium heat.

Add thinly sliced shallots and saute 3 minutes.

Reduce heat to low; sprinkle shallots with sugar, salt and pepper. Saute until shallots are caramelized, about 15 minutes.

Transfer shallots to small bowl.

Add 1 1/2 cups wine to skillet (sauce pan) and boil 1 minute.
Pour wine into heavy medium saucepan (see why I used a sauce pan - no transfer needed!); set over medium-low heat.

Toss cheese with flour in medium bowl to coat.

Add half of caramelized shallots to wine; add cheese mixture by handfuls, stirring until cheese melts and is smooth before adding more.

Thin with more wine if mixture is too thick. Season with nutmeg, mustard, salt and pepper.
Transfer cheese mixture to fondue pot (or leave in the sauce pan you made it in, as we did - less dishes to wash!). Set pot over candle or canned heat burner. (or if you don't eat it fast enough, just re-heat on the stove)

Top fondue with remaining caramelized shallots.

Serve with bread cubes. (and apples, and figs)

I have a fondue pot, with a little Sterno and all the little cups,
but I agreed with Dave - less dishes.  It may not be 'pretty',
but it was delicious!!

*Now, I * the 'appetizer' word above as this made a huge portion of fondue ... enough that Dave and I ate that for dinner and put our steaks back in the fridge!

And since we were on a roll with cooking at home - Monday, we tried a Shrimp recipe that Dave has had his eye on...and he cooked it!! =)  Dave loves the Create shows Cooks Country and America's Test Kitchen - and has wanted to try this recipe for a while now...and I am OH SO GLAD that he did!!

Ingredients

• 4 slices of a country white bread torn into pieces
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup bottled clam juice (we didn't have clam juice, but a can of chopped clams...this held enough juice and heck...we threw the clams in too!)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 4 scallions, chopped fine (Didn't have - so we used a shallot, minced)
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 2 teaspoons grated zest and 1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Salt
• 1 1/4 pounds colossal shrimp, peeled and deveined (colossal are also known as U12's - we used U-8's as our fish store didn't have the 12's)

Instructions

• 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and put your oven rack in the middle. Pulse bread in food processor to coarse crumbs - put onto a high sided pan and bake until golden and dry, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking time. Remove crumbs from oven and reduce temperature to 275 degrees.
• 2. Combine toasted bread crumbs, mayonnaise, clam juice, parsley, shallots, garlic, lemon zest and juice, mustard, cayenne, and ¼ teaspoon salt in large bowl.
• 3. Pat shrimp dry with paper towels and season with salt. Grease empty broiler pan bottom. Butterfly the shrimp (cutting it nearly through, but not all the way so it flattens out) and then cut hole through center of each shrimp(about 1") and arrange cut-side down on prepared pan.
• 4. Divide bread crumb mixture among shrimp, pressing to adhere. Bake until shrimp are opaque, 20 to 25 minutes.
• 5. Remove shrimp from oven and heat broiler. Broil shrimp until crumbs are deep golden brown and crispy, 1 to 3 minutes. Serve.
 

Dave, prepping the shrimp

Oven Ready!

All done ... and Dave removed his before he remembered
I wanted a picture!

 

Let me tell you guys .. I squirted a bit of lemon on mine and ate two of these very large shrimp... I wanted to go back for a third, but we paired these beauties with roasted brussel sprouts - so I was hitting maximum density!  And as you know me... I was glad to have a few extra shrimp to have for breakfast this morning!!

Try these dishes, kids.  They are so very well worth it - flavorful, delicious...surprisingly light and stupidly easy!

My next post.... White Castle Valentines Day.   No, you didn't read incorrectly... Stay Tuned! =)

And maybe a bit from West Virginia, where I'll be this weekend to visit my baby sister on the horse farm! (oh, can you imagine the tails? or is it tales? lol)

Until Next Time...

EAT