Summer Bucket List 2012

Summer is so close I can smell the sunscreen and taste the popsicles! This summer we are going to take part inThe Summer Bucket List over at The Happy Family Movement. Families who sign up for the challenge will receive:

• a Summer Bucket List Challenge guide, complete with sample activities
• eligibility for weekly prize draws
• regular updates on the Happy Family Movement blog
• access to a great community on Facebook

If your like me, you need all the ideas you can find to make your summer with the kiddos go smoothly while creating great memories that will last. So head on over to The Happy Family Movement today!

Mad Men Munchies

I recently hosted a Madmen premiere party for

Sunny Pancakes

Oh how I am ready for some sun! Even if it's in the form of a pancake. Here's to hoping spring comes soon!

Hot Chocolate on a Stick

Today I am sharing my Hot Chocolate on a Stick with you. These make great gifts and are delicious! Using a basic hot chocolate on a stick recipe found

here , I followed up with a dip in white chocolate and a decorative holiday transfer. Make sure you use the natural wooden spoons because plastic just doesn't work for these fancy treats. Enjoy!

Blog Break

Well by now you may have noticed I've been on a blogging break. In case anyone still reads this, let me explain. I love blogging, I love cooking and I love finding great ideas from other people as well as sharing mine. I also have three kids and two dogs which means I'm busy. I know so many are more creative with their time than I am and can manage 50 things at once. I found that I needed to let the blogging go for awhile to get caught up. Also as my older boys are now in 3rd and 4th grade it was getting harder to do creative lunches without being too cutesy. This year I still make lunches and even sometimes get fancy as they call it. I have decided not to force myself to blog lunches and keep my blog updated. I will however still post when I want to and may even throw a lunch or two in every once in a while. So that's it. Still blogging, just not like crazy and as a result I won't be...crazy. Thanks for reading!

Shrimp Louie

The Shrimp Louie salad originated on the west coast and was all the rage during the mid 1900's. My mother kept a diary on her honeymoon and she included every item of food they enjoyed on their special trip down the coast. She must have listed Shrimp or Crab Louie at least 5 times! I had always been fascinated by this salad and it's former popularity. I did some research and found this recipe which I think is spot on and delicious! Perfect for summer dining when fresh shrimp are in season. I opted to serve my salad individual style in a red cabbage bowl with butter lettuce and dressing on the side, they were a huge hit!

Shrimp Louie
1 cup mayonaise
1 T. tarragon vinegar
3 T chili sauce
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 T. chopped pimento
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. powdered sugar
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. mustard
Lettuce leaves
Shrimp, cooked
Tomatoes, quartered
Hard cooked eggs, quartered

Directions
Combine mayonaise, vinegar, chili sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Mix in pimento, garlic, salt, sugar, paprika and mustard. Mix well: refrigerate, covered. Arrange lettuce leaves on plate. Place desired amount of shrimp in center. Circle with tomato wedges and egg wedges. Pour sauce over shrimp.

Daring Bakers: Fresh Fraisier

This is my first time trying the Daring Baker's Challenge! Every month one daring baker presents a challenge. This month's challenge was hosted by Cherry Tea Cakes. The challenge was Fresh Fraisiers. I had never attempted this cake before so I thought it best to stick with the basic recipe which includes a chiffon cake filled with delicious pastry cream and fresh strawberries and topped with a thin layer of almond paste. I couldn't wait to try this cake! I found it a bit of work but it really was delicious. If you would like to see all the wonderful Fraisiers this month check out The Daring Kitchen.

Cake Cones

So I have a love/hate relationship with cake pops. I love the creative pops people make and the simple concept behind them. I dislike the ingredients for cake pops. I usually end up making my own cake from scratch as well as the frosting, which is no biggie. When it comes to that important outer candy coating I'm stuck with those disgusting candy melts. Is there an alternative? I'd love to know. All this to say I had some mini cones in the pantry that needed to get used and decided to make cake pop cones. They are ridiculously sweet and again that candy melts flavor-eww. Aside from all that they are really cute and a huge hit with the kids!

School's Out!

This is the last day of school for us! Lunch includes grapes, cheese, pickles, sesame sticks and yogurt almonds, grilled chicken and a yaki onigiri. I am washing up the lunch bags today and doing a little happy dance! For more creative ideas for lunches check out What's for Lunch Wednesday

Roasted Rhubarb

I can think of so many wonderful and creative rhubarb dishes I've tried and never been disappointed because rhubarb is one of my very favorite foods. I will try rhubarb anything. There is also something to be said for enjoying the simplicity of a food and savoring it's unique flavor. This was the case this week's French Friday recipe. Just look at that wonderful red rhubarb!

Now for a sprinkle of lemon zest and a bit of sugar

See how juicy and bubbly it is right out of the oven!

If you are a rhubarb lover like me, sometimes there
is no better way to enjoy this yummy treat than warm
with some fresh whipped cream on top, thanks Dorie!

For more wonderful ways with roasted rhubarb check out French Fridays with Dorie.

Noodles and Balloons

We have these balloon picks. They make a cherry red tomato look like a balloon. However, my kids have never warmed up to cherry tomatoes. We were once at a friend's house and she grew yellow sweet tomatoes and they loved them so when I found these at the store I figured break out the balloon picks and try again! Also included is some cold Asian noodle salad, kiwi-berry and carrot sticks. For really creative ideas for kid's lunches visit What's For Lunch Wednesday!

Cola & Jam Spareribs

This was a recipe that I least expected to find in the Around my French Table cookbook. Ribs with coca cola and jam? I have made ribs two ways, on the grill and in the slow cooker so I wondered about them being dry and tough cooked in the oven. In the end these were a pleasant surprise! Not only did they turn out to have a wonderful unique flavor but they were perfectly moist and tender, actually kind of amazing! This was probably one of my favorite recipes. If you want to hear more about Dorie Greenspan's cookbook and see other variations of these recipes check out French Fridays with Dorie

Crabby Lunch

These are my crab sandwiches inspired by family fun magazine. I decided to make mini crabs filled with tuna salad, carrot legs, orange pepper claws radish smile and some marshmallow eyes. Fun for a beach themed lunch. For lots of creative ideas for lunch check out What's for Lunch Wednesday

Fruit Jellies

I have been wanting to try Agar agar and this is my first attempt. If you are not familiar with Agar agar you can learn all about it here. It is made from seaweed. Some benefits of using this in place of traditional gelatin is that it is a vegan product, it sets up super fast and can be left at room temperature and is very high in fiber! I found this adorable idea at The Food Librarian. This woman does some amazing things with Jello. I used my brownie bites pan to shape them and added a couple drops of Lor Ann oils raspberry flavor to give it a nice berry flavor in addition to the fresh fruit. My kids were pretty impressed with these, they loved how they looked like little ice cubes!

Wednesday Lunch

I have to admit that the older my boys get the harder it is to make fun, creative lunches without them looking a little too cutesy for big boys. However, your really never too old for Star Wars sandwiches right? Today I made simple cheese sandwiches with some ranch pasta salad(with star cheese!), star cucumbers and grapes. Simple, healthy and just a little cutesy. Lucky for me I have one more little guy coming up that I can pour all the cutesy into. Speaking of too cute and "looks so good I can't stop thinking about them" check these out. I see these in my near future. Also if you need some really cute lunch ideas be sure and check out What's for Lunch Wednesday

Cardamon Rice Pilaf

This week's French Friday's recipe was Cardamon rice pilaf. This was my first time cooking with cardamon and I have to say it won't be my last. I loved all the flavors in this rice and think it will be a repeat in our house. If you would like to know more about French Fridays with Dorie check it out here

Macaron Madness

It's that time again! The time when I decide to waste an entire day doing one thing, trying to perfect french macarons. This time I made mango flavored with mango filling, lemon with lemon curd filling and pistachio with french buttercream filling. This is a very addictive hobby. I am thinking of ways to make the next batch as soon as I finish the first batch. It's weird. I hope to one day make a fabulous macaron. I could look forever at some expert macaron makers like her and her.

Bacon Egg & Asparagus Salad

After a brief absence from French Fridays with Dorie I have made my return! This week's recipe was the Bacon, egg and asparagus salad. I loved everything about the salad except one thing... the runny egg yolk. I wimped out. I know I probably would have been fine but I just didn't trust the freshness of my eggs and well nobody was really into trying it. So I went with the old standard hard boiled eggs. I think the runny yolk probably adds to the flavor and consistency of the dressing that lacked a bit without it. Overall it looked nice and we all enjoyed it!

Egg Salad

Today the boys are having egg salad in a spinach tortilla, olive cheese wheels, carrots and a couple of peanut butter chocolate chip mini muffins. For some awesome lunch ideas check out What's for Lunch Wednesdays

bistrot paul bert pepper steak

So this is my second attempt at French Fridays with Dorie and this was definitely a bit more challenging! I am not particularly fond of rare meat and so in an attempt to cook the steak a bit longer I'm afraid I overdid it. The beautiful thing was that the Steak being Filet Mignon was still very tender and really delicious! I enjoyed the cognac sauce as well and served this with simple oven roasted potatoes. This dish felt quite fancy and we enjoyed every bite!