We had ourselves a merry little Christmas

Christmas 2010 has come and gone.

We everyone came to our house for dinner and presents

Now I'm looking forward to the new year and the frest start that comes with it.

I hope that you all have been enjoying a relaxing holiday with family and friends :0)

Kickin' Off the Holidays

Saturday night we hosted our annual Christmas Bash. This is our 7th year and I think it was the best yet. We had 50 folks show up to kick off the holidays and it was such a blast. Akiko and I had been planning the menu for months and I had spent the week leading up shopping, prepping and cooking. When all was said and done our spread looked pretty good. We got a lot of compliments on it and the courses of yummy sounds throughout the night was music to our ears.

Just because we worked so hard and it turned out so well, I wanted to share a picture of it. It was tons of work, but soooo worth it.

Menu

Sushi (made by Akiko and Joji's mom)

Beef Satay

Luau Chicken

Tequila Shrimp

Deviled Eggs

Baked Artichoke Dip

Spinach Dip

Smoked Salmon (smoked by my dad)

Goat Cheese on Spiced Mango

Stuffed Jalapenos

Veggies and Dip

Cheese and Fruit Platter

Humus

Sausage Balls

Turkey Cranberry Sandwiches

Caprese on a Stick

Melon Wrapped Prosciutto

Chocolate Fountain with Poundcake, Fruit, Marshmallows, Pretzels & Rice Crispy Treats

It's about time...

Way back I mentioned I wanted to paint my cabinets white.

I had icky orangey oak cabinets and I was not a fan.

I painted one to see if I would like it and I did.

Now with the Christmas Party looming, I had to get it done.

Very exciting... more pics soon.

:0)

Thank a Vet

Here is a picture of my two favorite Vets. My dad and his best friend Ken. It was taking at Fort Lewis, WA when I was about a year old (that's me in the pink coat)

My dad was supposed to go to Viet Nam, but he didn't. I'm glad because so many never came back. Shrapnel in the Heart is a collection of letters and essays left at the Viet Nam War Memorial. You will definitely need a box of Kleenex or two, but it is an amazing, heartbreaking reminder of the true cost of war and those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Home of the free because of the brave

Soup's On

Last night I had the DND boys over (well, at least two of them) and I decided to try Italian Stracciatella with Mini Meatballs, Tortellini and Baby Spinach. I've recently discovered the Bitchen Kitchen and this was from Nadia's last episode. I wish I would of had the time to make the stock myself, but I used the "fancy boxed stuff" from costco and it seemed to work just fine (although I think the homemade stuff would have a deeper flavor, but that is just me) I would also bump up the amount of stock to 8 cups (with only 6 C, the "stuff" to liquid ratio was a bit off)

Anyhoo, this soup could not be any more simple and with a little prep (make the meatballs ahead of time and throw them in the freezer) could totally become a "go to" from the pantry meal. With the fall weather now upon us (in W. WA that mean, rain, rain and more rain) a nice bowl of soup can really hit the spot. I served it up with some good old roasted garlic bread for costco (aka crack) and it made a nice filling but not to heavy meal.

Enjoy

You had me at cream cheese frosting

So it is already October.
Geesh, where has the time gone?
Both kids are back into the swing of school. Me not so much. I did a lot of testing last month which was nice in the fact that it got me up and out, but there are just some days I feel like hunkering down and staying at home. Today was a GORGEOUS day in the PNW. We are in the midst of a fabulous Indian Summer and it just felt like a baking kind of day. I decided to try the pumpkin cupcakes I saw at Cozy.Cottage.Cute. Pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. I'm not a big pumpkin lover, but I am a sucker for cream cheese frosting. I whipped up a batch and they were given the thumbs up from my official tasting crew.
Since the kitchenaid was already out and I had left over frosting and brown bananas I decided to make some banana cupcakes as well. I searched the web and found this recipe at Vintage Victuals. I followed the recipe exactly, but when I tasted the batter it seemed to be missing something. I decided to make half that batch as is and the other half adding a t of vanilla. The cupcakes with the vanilla won our taste test, but the "unvanilla" ones had more of a banana flavor. I guess it just depends on what you are looking for.
Happy Baking
:0)

Move over Zucchini Bread...

Every year my parents grow zucchini. They always have and probably always will. One summer when I was little they made ratatouille EVERY night for dinner. Needless to say, I'm not a big zucchini fan. I make tons of zucchini bread during the summer in my attempt to help my folks use up their harvest of mutant zucchinis. Ben loves it and I don't mind a slice or two (especially when it is slathered with butter)

Anyway, last night the DND guys were over and one of them brought a mutant zucchini from his brother's garden. He had given my dad some IT advice (shocking, right?) and so to thank him I told him I would turn that 5 lb zucchini into many loaves of bread. When he showed up he handed me a recipe his mom had given him. She said it was really good and that he should try it. Zucchini Cobbler.

Yeah, it sounded AWFUL. I tried to polite and not gag at the thought of a savory cobbler, but he told me to try it and I did. By the time it was done, it was past my bedtime, so I set it to cool and went to bed. This morning there was some left and Joj told me to try some. Yeah, no thanks. He said it tasted just like apples. Taking a small bit that was mostly crumb topping I tried it. He was right. It was actually good. You would NEVER know it wasn't apples.

The recipe originally came from Taste of Home.

Zucchini Cobbler

This is my Surprise Dessert! No one ever guesses that the "secret ingredient" is zucchini. Everyone says it tastes like apples. This cobbler is a great dessert to make for a potluck supper or to serve a crowd. It's been requested time and again in my house, and I'm always happy to make it. -Joanne Fazio, Carbondale, Pennsylvania.


16 - 20 Servings Prep: 35 min. Bake: 35
Ingredients
8 cups chopped seeded peeled zucchini (about 3 pounds)
2/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Crust
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups cold butter, cubed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions
In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, cook and stir zucchini and lemon juice for 15-20 minutes or until zucchini is tender. Add the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg; simmer 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat; set aside.
For crust, combine the flour and sugar in a bowl; cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumb. Stir 1.2 cup into zucchini mixture. Press half of remaining crust mixture into a greased 15-in. x 10 in. baking pan. Spread zucchini over top; crumble remaining crust mixture over zucchini. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Yield: 16-20 servings.