Vacation Week: Ally

I can never decide on the ideal dream vacation.

In my mind, there are two choices.

Is it BEACH?


Or European?

If you had to pick one right now, which would it be?

I'm thinking if you have kids along, go beach. Let them run around and play, rather than dragging them through museums...(although I guess it depends on the age of the kids and if they can appreciate it.)

And if you just have one week in the summer for a vacation, go beach. It's more relaxing in my mind.

But if you have a good chunk of time, or if you are just with adults, go Europe. Soak in the culture, engage your mind a little. I said a beach is more relaxing, but Europe might be more stimulating. Am I wrong?

Maybe the key is to do a European beach. Portugal, anyone?

All this vacation talk is making me salivate.

Vacation Week: Jessica

Both my husband and I grew up having our vacations be driving to Utah to see family. We never really did much else than that. Now, though, we are blessed(?) to have our both of our families live within an hour of us. So, we decided that our vacations would alternate. We’d do Utah one year, and someplace else the other year. The “someplace else” has been within 6 hours of our home. Yeah, we don’t go far. We have done amusement parks, water parks, and camping. The fun of it, for me, is not having a schedule to be stuck to, and exposing the kids to new and fun things. It hasn’t really mattered, so much, where we have gone, just as long as we’ve gone together and have fun. We want to wait until the kids are older to wander further and do more sight-seeing vacations. We want them to appreciate and remember the experiences more. The east coast is first on the list for those vacation.

Vacation Week: Emily

I agree! As soon as the sun peeks out on a regular schedule, my brain takes off. I find myself in my mental happy place all the time, clear until it snows again. Okay, so that might be June, considering that this is Idaho, but I get a couple good mental vacations in there.

I think my very most favorite vacation ever was Hawaii. Sounds cliche, but it's true. I went alone and met up with a friend after a week. A full week on my own in paradise. Really, what's not to love? I explored Honolulu and discovered that the city is different from the other big cities I've visited or lived in. The pace is nice and slow and no one ever made rude gestures or honked at me. Not saying it doesn't ever happen, but it didn't happen to ME. People were smiling, greeting strangers, and generally just loving life. I could do that permanently. Sadly, my wallet tells me differently. In a word, Hawaii is truly paradise. For those who haven't been, put it at the top of the 'places I must visit before I die' list. It's worth every last cent.

I'd also highly recommend Brazil. It's not a super common vacation destination, but wow. I lived there for several months back in 1996 and fell in love with the people, the food, and the culture. It's all worth it.

Another cliche, but Paris. Seriously people, you have to go. It's heaven on earth. I served my mission in Paris and would live there if I could. There's nothing like the little corner patisserie for fresh croissants and baguettes. (Do it in true French style and stick a baguette in your backpack and carry on.) There's nothing like walking down the Champs-Elysees and taking in the sights and sounds of Paris. There's nothing like spending hours in the Louvre and not ever seeing the same thing. Paris is it's own world. After you've given Paris the several months that it needs to really sink in, make your way out into the countryside. More heaven! You can't beat seeing a field of lavender through the train windows and then catching the aroma after you've passed. My dream for retirement is a country cottage in France.

My final must-see destination is Australia/New Zealand. I haven't been yet, but they're high on my list of places to go. Someday, I will get there!

New Topic: Vacation!

It's sunny, and so automatically my brain wants to believe it is summer. Don't try and tell me otherwise.

I remember being a kid, and once I started waking up to sunny mornings I knew it was almost time for school to be out for summer.

And the best part of summer is VACATION! So let's just pretend for a minute.


-What was your favorite vacation ever? (It doesn't have to be somewhere fancy and impressive. It CAN be, but it can also be somewhere random that you just loved.) Tell us the places we NEED to go before we die.

-Where would you love to go one day?

-Where is that place that you go to in your mind when you think of summer...or when you need to ignore your to-do list and go to your "happy place"?

House Week: For the dogs?

If you thought the dream playhouses were crazy, check these out.

They are DOG houses. Um, wow.







Found here .

I'm at a loss for words. Speak, girl, speak! Nope, nothing.

House Week: Emily

My dream house has undergone many "renovations" over the years, but I've finally come up with one that's been stable. I require four things: walk-in closets, a professional kitchen, a spa tub, and a library with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and one of those cool ladder things that goes around the room.

I'm planning on decorating around a vintage French/Tuscan theme with Old World colors and accents throughout, with the exception of the master bedroom. That will be done in red, black, and silver, with mirrors opposite the windows to create an illusion of more space. I've already got my black and red bedding, so now I just need the room to go with it!

My kitchen absolutely has to be state of the art. We're talking Iron Chef America accoutrements. I want the cool gadgets, professional cookware, one of those handy water spigots over the stove, and the gorgeous Italian tile. I want a built-in bread box, antique-looking cabinets, and at least two ovens. I'd also love one of those great big refrigerators and a blast chiller. My kitchen would not be complete without the ice cream maker! The decor will be French cafe, with Fat Chef accents. I've also got one of those vinyl sayings for my wall, saying "Never Trust a Skinny Chef." True, isn't it?!

I want big bathrooms with separate tub/showers. You know those really fancy hotel showers in the high-end hotels? That's what I want. I've only seen one once, but it made a lasting impression. My tubs have to be huge. There's no negotiating on that one. Plus, I want a built-in fireplace in my bathroom that overlooks the tub. Definitely must have two sinks.

My library will have the aforementioned floor-to-ceiling bookshelves with the ladder. I have a ton of books, and a huge list of books that I want to own. I need a place to put them all, right?! This room will be cozy and inviting, with overstuffed recliners and Old World map accents.

I've been collecting pictures and samples of the things I want in my house so that I'm ready when the time comes!

House Week: Jessica

I have two dream houses, one that is practical and sensible, and the other that is frilly and fun. I’ll share both.

For the practical one, I have a pretty specific floor plan in mind. I want a ranch/rambler. You need to be able to come in through the garage, into a mud room and then into the kitchen (no carrying groceries across the house). I want a kitchen that is big enough to function in, but not too big that it is a pain to clean. I want the fridge, stove and sink to make a triangle in the kitchen. I’ve lived in enough houses to know that the triangle is the most functional kitchen design. The kitchen/dining area should be attached to a living room. There should be a front entry that comes into the living room area, but it has to be set up so that you can’t see the kitchen from the entry way. (I’m just not that good of a housekeeper.) Then, there should be a hall with at least 3 bedrooms down it. There needs to be a bathroom that is accessible from this hall. The master needs a bathroom attached to it, but the one in the hall can be the same bathroom. The bathroom attached to the master should have two rooms, one with the sink and counter, and one with the toilet and tub. This allows more people to get ready at the same time.

Downstairs, I want a big family room, a food storage room, another storage room, and two other bedrooms, with a bathroom near them. The arrangement down here is not as specific.

I want a lot that is 4-5 acres, has two-three out buildings (one big enough to house a hoist, and the other to store farming equipment). It should have an established tree fence, a deck off the kitchen, an attached garage, and lots of good climbing trees. It should not be located on a highway, but I want it close to the school and town. To add to all this, my husband is a farmer, and I don’t want to be more than a few miles away from the main fields. We choose this profession so he could be around home more. I don’t want him to have to travel far to get to work. This leaves only a few houses (in rural areas, houses are few and far between). Most of these homes are two-story 100 year old farmhouses that are in the family and stay in the family.

Sounds impossible to get this house? Well, we just bought it, and it had exactly what we wanted. This list existed before we found this house; we were just lucky enough to find one that fit the list. It also had extensive damage due to a pipe burst, which meant we could afford it, too. Luckily, my husband has some good handy-man skills, so we are able to repair it. In a few weeks, we’ll be moving into this dream house.

But, let’s look at a little less sensible option. I would love a master bedroom with a waterfall in it. I want a walk in shower that is the size of a room. I want a huge, whirlpool tub in there, too. The master area would also have a small kitchen in it, so we can keep the food that we don’t want the kids eating there. Yes, that means a freezer stocked entirely with the best ice cream. I want a sewing room that has floor to ceiling shelving for fabric, and an organization system for that. Speaking of floor to ceiling, I want a Beauty and the Beast style library. I want to look up and see books, as far as anyone can see. Just for fun, I’ll put a secret staircase in there that goes up to our master suite. My husband wants to have a tiled kitchen that has a slight slant to the floor, and all the furniture on metal legs. Then, there would a high-powered water system on one end. With the push of a button, it sprays water and soap across the floor and mops the floor. He figures we’d have a scrubber to hit the bad spots, and then would run a rinse on it. Sounds good to me. For décor, I love fresh flowers. Fake ones bug me. So, I want a constant delivery of real flowers that match my décor. I’ll add some really good chocolates to that delivery, too, not that those have anything to do with the house, but I would love a constant delivery of fine chocolates. I like the frosty machine idea, too. That can go into our home entertainment room, which has a movie theater in it, and every fun arcade game ever made. I want a very fun hang-out spot for teenagers. I want to have the house that teenagers hang out at, so that I know what is going on my kids’ lives. My husband wants to include an indoor slide park in there, because that would be fun, too. Lastly, it has to have a music room, with a gorgeous grand piano and areas to keep every other instrument my kids may ever want to learn, and lots and lots of music books for them to learn from. I would say it needs an exercise room, but I’m not sure that I would actually use it.

I’m happy with the house we have, though, and I love it. I’ll save the second house for my mansion in heaven. That would be better, anyway, because I’m pretty sure a resurrected body can handle all the ice cream, fine chocolates, and frosties that it wants. Then, I can skip the exercise room, too. Do I have to do housework there?

House Week: Dream Playhouses (Ohhhh myyyy)

I found these DREAM HOUSES here: http://www.lilliputplayhomes.com/

I was just going to put up a few pictures but I couldn't decide. So here you go. Prepare to be amazed.


Keep in mind these are PLAYHOUSES...for CHILDREN! hahaha I love it.


What's that? You are worried about the condition of the houses INSIDE? Lest you think these children might be roughing it, here are a couple photos:

I love these so much...and I can't stop smiling. Oops, never mind, I just saw the price tag on these babies.

House Week: Some sites

If you want to jump start your home dreaming, check out a few good spots I've found for you:

Martha Stewart Home Tours- Here you can look at 23 Martha Stewart-approved dream homes, as well as peak inside Martha's houses. I love to snoop around.

or the HGTV Design Blog always makes for good reading.

Are you traditional, contemporary, modern, romantic, cottage, mid-century modern, urban? If you aren't really sure what your taste is, find your own design style here: HGTV Design Style
(I'm eclectic, if you were wondering...)

Want to see some home makeover before and afters? Go here or here. Or here (I'm a little obsessed with before and afters, as you might've gathered.)

Finally, if you want to get inspiration for how you'd love your home to look one day, nothing is better than catalogs or online stores...Are you a Pottery Barn girl? Or does Crate and Barrel float your boat? Or would you do you house in ALL Anthropology if you could?

Have a little fun dreaming about your ultimate home and how you would decorate it, okay? Promise me!

House Week: Stefany

You'd think I would be pretty happy with my current housing situation. After all, we have 2500 finished square feet of house (plus 300 not finished), including four bedrooms, four bathrooms, and a very large kitchen. That sounds like a nice amount, but there are nine of us living in it, and the bedrooms aren't laid out in a way that works very well for putting multiple bunk beds in them. As it doesn't have an office space for Aaron, and he really needs his own space to study and work, he uses one of the upstairs bedrooms. That leaves three bedrooms. Two boys live in one of them, and Katie gets one to herself (I just don't like babies sharing rooms, as it cuts down on my sleep, and after that, she'll get her own room forever anyway, as Aaron and I don't think girls and boys should share rooms, after a certain age). Aaron and I have the master bedroom, and that leaves four of the boys with the basement family room.

Unfortunately, that means that everyone makes their noise on the main floor of the house. The living room is a place of noise and chaos. The music room is right next to it, and open, and so more noise is produced as they practice the piano, drums, sax, trumpet, etc. The kitchen is open right off the other side of the living room, and so is exposed to all of the noise. When we want a quiet place to work on homework, I normally end up bringing a child to my bedroom to get away from distractions. It isn't ideal.

But, this isn't supposed to be about how much I dislike my house. This is supposed to be about my dream house. Ahh...let's think...yeah, that didn't take me long.

My ideal house has a sitting room in the front with enough room for a couple of couches, lounges, and two grand pianos (at least baby grand). Yes, the part about the two pianos is for my husband, more so than for me. I would be able to use the room for family home evenings, visiting teaching and home teaching visits, as well as piano lessons. Just opposite the sitting room would be an office for Aaron to work and study.

Beyond that room, there would be a kitchen that is hidden from initial view when entering the house. I don't require a dining room, but a large area just off the kitchen that would hold an enormous dining table would suffice. There would also be a living room that would be large enough for extended family to gather with us, as well as a small play room, just off the kitchen, where my kids could make a mess and not have it seen by any unexpected visitors. The pantry would have to be quite large, and I'd like my deep freezer to fit in it.

If my main floor was that large, I'd like the upstairs to have five bedrooms. The master suite would have two walk-in closets, one of which would be off the bathroom, and in the bathroom there would be a jetted tub that I can actually lay down in (my current jetted tub is not built for tall people). There would also be enough room for me to have a sewing table and a nook where I could put a desk. The boys' bedrooms would have Jack and Jill bathrooms. Katie's bedroom would have her own bathroom. They would all have walk-in closets. A little spoiled, I know, but this is a dream, right? The other nice part of my upstairs would be the laundry room. It would have plenty of space for folding and hanging clothes.

My basement would have a few nice features. First, it would have a workout room with mirrors and weights and treadmills and mats - you get the idea. It would have a family room with room for the pool table that Aaron dreams of, a music room, and a large storage area. The music room would have Aaron's dream keyboard, the drum set, shelves and racks for all of our other musical instruments, and plenty of chairs and music stands.

I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'll probably never have my dream house. In all likelihood, we'll still be in this house when the kids start moving out, and it will seem bigger to those of us who remain here. There are only 4 1/2 years left until they start leaving home, after all. But wouldn't it be nice if our dreams came true so they could all enjoy the space with us?

House Week: My awesome sister

How perfect that we are talking about this subject the same week my sister's house gets on the news!

My sister Heather & her husband & little guy live in Des Moines, and their house is the first certified "green" house in the area! Watch the video to see how cool it is.

Check it out by clicking here.

The thing I love about their house is that it is so eco-friendly, but completely fabulous and stylish too. Looks like dream houses can come true!

House Week: Melissa

Here's what I love about our current house...

Breakfast is provided 7 days a week, prepared by someone besides me.
Dinner is provided 3 days a week, also prepared by someone besides me.
Every day someone comes to make the beds, give us new towels and do my dishes.
There is a swimming pool.
And we have cable.

Okay, so in case you start thinking that we're living super extravagantly, know this: we're living in a hotel for the next month (Suite Life of Zach and Cody anybody?) Our dream apartment smells like smoke- thats what happens when the dryers in the laundry room below you start on fire. So presently, my dream house is very simple- a smoke free apartment- with a dishwasher that fits more than 10 dishes and toilets that flush without having to turn the handle 360 degrees. This is very much an upgrade from our last apartment in Provo- where my one true wish was to have a bathroom that wasn't infested with black mold. I know, I ask for a lot.

Really, in the dream house that I've been building in my head since childhood- only two details have been consistent from age 5 til now: Ice cream dispenser with all of the good flavors and a swimming pool filled with jello. Strawberry Banana Jello.

New Topic: Dream house

I was talking to my husband the other night and somehow we got to exchanging ideas about our dream house. What kinds of things would we want? Of course we got a little silly (A Frosty machine!) but it was fun to think about.

So I've been thinking about that for the past couple days, and I have of course been watching my favorite shows on HGTV. (Househunters anyone?) I know you like this stuff too girls! Let's talk.

What would you want in your dream house? Where would it be? How would you decorate it if you had all the resources? Have you ever seen photos of things you would love in your house one day? I know I have.

Let's have a dream house building/decorating week! Send me your dreams, ideas, and maybe photos of things you love. If you have things about your current home that you love, tell us about those too. Happy dream house hunting!

Blog Week: Nancy

I'm afraid I have been very lax in my blogging lately. My own blog, which anyone is welcome to read is called ibeimomenti, and while i love the writing and feel a great sense of accomplishment when I get something up, I've just barely been able to keep up on facebook lately, let alone my blog. I think its been over a month. I haven't given up, I'm just too tired to think of clever things to say anymore.

I do, however, spend lots of time browsing the blogs of my family and friends, many of which are private, but a few of which are real gems. Like my friend Susan's blog www.smallworksinwool.blogspot.com She is an artist with a fun insight to everything that happens in life, and I giggle and nod with every post she posts.

I also follow seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com Mostly because I like to double check myself. Its a sattirical and over-the-top look at the mormon blog culture, and I enjoy most of what she posts. If I have done anything that she does on her page, I laugh at myself and make a note to be more careful. It has both its humor and its learning uses.

Oh yeah, and mylifeisaverage.com is a fun time out when stress gets high. Don't overdo it though. Too many posts and you might start expecting people around you to respond with harry potter spells and superhero references.

Here's a little advertisement for another friend too. My friend Crystal takes some beautiful photos, and I stalk her photography blog. http://www.envisionimage.blogspot.com/ I doubt I'll ever use her services as a wedding photographer, but I certainly enjoy watching everyone else get married in her posts.

OK, now for those of you who don't know me, I am a bit more liberal than is some people's flavor. These next blogs come with a little warning. Cakewrecks occasionally has its less than appropriate moments. So do these blogs. All the same, I trust myself to screen the posts and be appropriate in my viewing. You are grownups who can do the same, just know, they aren't exactly approved for relief society.

Failblog.org is wonderful. It even has a "G-rated" button, so once you are on, the site will screen things for you. I still giggle at the funny swears though.

whatnottocrochet.wordpress.com has some consistent language, but the writer usually warns you ahead of time if its a post you should be careful of.

passiveaggressivenotes.com is actually really safe, just an occasional swear in the notes. But then again, some of those notes....

www.peopleofwalmart.com is self explanatory in the risk you take when you log on. Its all photos... of people who go to walmart...

And finally my very favoritest blog of all is called postsecret.com
this one is the most risky and the most heartbreaking and the most hopeful. There is this guy named Frank, and people mail their deepest darkest secrets to him, and he selects a few and posts them every Sunday. Some of them are definitely just "scroll past" kind of things, and others are just incredible.

But like I said, you are all grown ups, so judge for yourselves!

Blog Week: Jessica

I really only follow two blogs outside of family member’s blogs.

The first one is www.ourbestbites.com. This was started by a couple ladies on a forum I post on. They “met” there, and discovered their love for cooking, and this blog grew out of it. They have now been featured on early shows and such. I love their recipes because they work, and because they are also moms at home with kids and can write them in a way that I know how to do them. No fancy words, just real, mom cooking. And, it’s good! I’ve learned lots of little tricks from them.

The other is a must-read: www.cakewrecks.blogspot.com. Just go and laugh.

Blog Week: Ally

I have tons of blogs that I follow religiously. Yeah, I probably need a life. But here are a few good ones for ya:

1) The Love, Actually blog is wonderful.

http://loveactually-blog.blogspot.com

It is a never-ending source of ideas to keep romance alive, even on a budget. Date ideas, creative ways to express yourself, etc. It's completely adorable. (and I just found out after stalking it closely that it is by a girl from my freshman ward, talk about cool!) You need to look at it, but I must warn you that if you take a peak you might be there for hours.



2) I love me some Pioneer Woman! She has been mentioned before but I need to emphasize that her blog rules. So funny, so cute, so useful!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking

Especially The Pioneer Woman Cooks section. Please check it out. The food is delicious, and there are step-by-step photos of how to cook each recipe. I love that, because it is REAL. Not overly styled food.
I especially love the section on "Cowboy Food", but that may be because of the man I'm married to!

3) Hostess with the Mostess!


http://www.hostessblog.com/

This blog is one of my favorite places to spend a minute...or an hour...or a day! It is mostly party ideas and you will fall in love with it. Decorating, recipes, entertaining, parties, cuteness. It's just happiness in blog form.

Okay I could go on, but I want to hear from the rest of you!

Happy Valentine's day weekend, but more importantly, happy blog stalking!

Blog Week: Emily

Oh I have so many!!

Here's my list of favorites:

http://work-it-baby.blogspot.com/

I love this one because it's partly mine...I have made it my goal to take
fashion to the women of the world, and what better way than a blog?!
Every woman has the right to feel fabulous, and it's my mission to make
sure they have the chance.

http://gigilovesparis.blogspot.com/

A dear friend...book reviews, giveaways, writing tips...

http://howtofindmrwrong.blogspot.com/

This one speaks to my heart...

http://thepioneerwoman.com/

Who doesn't love P-Dub?! I feel like we're friends.

http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/

I come here for my daily dose of Paris, though it does make me homesick.

http://www.scrap-e-blog.blogspot.com/

I like to change my own blog up, and this is the perfect place to find free backgrounds.

http://www.sondereggersmiles.blogspot.com/

Shout out for my sister-in-law! She's got some great photography going on.

http://www.bakerella.com/

More fabulous food...speaks to my heart again.

I'm sure I have more. I'll go through my bookmarks and send any others that I find!

New Topic: Blogs, what else?!

If you're here, that means you are blog savvy. So lets talk about blogs. We all have them, we all love them, we all stalk them.

That's right, I blog stalk, and I'm not ashamed to admit it!

And there are so many great ones out there- blogs for mommies, blogs about weddings, blogs about decorating, blogs for coupons, blogs that make us laugh, blogs that are just plain pretty to look at.

So what are some of your favorite blogs or websites? The ones you frequently lurk around. Share with us! Email me your favorite blogs, and why you love them. This will be a fun one!

Just as a note...

I'm noticing that topics work better if I give them 2 weeks instead of one. So I think I will do that from now on. I love hearing from you guys, and this way you have more time to write in or respond to each other.

Thanks for being here!
-Ally

Food Network/Cookbook Week: Erin

I feel so un-lady-like admitting this, but I haven't gotten into the food network yet. It's something I aspire to. I want to watch it in a fancy apron someday when I'm cooking for an adoring husband. The one show I have sporadically enjoyed from the food network is The Iron Chef. Not the American one, the real one. Sadly though, I don't EVER watch it for recipes because everything they make looks disgusting. I watch it for the overly dramatic egg presentations:

And for this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIbVygiJ21s

I can't get over how he bites that yellow bell pepper. Who does that? He does. And it's hot.

I love how the little interrupter guy is always yelling "squeezon" or whatever it is he says. And I love the polite little Japanese actresses who taste the food and comment how delightful the eel eggs dance on their tongue. Really, this show makes me so happy.

OK, so we need a recipe. This is definitely not from Iron Chef anything. It's totally a made up Erin original. It's called Mexican Delight. You're supposed to hum the song "Afternoon Delight" as you put it together. It's basically just a high protein, low fat salad. And I admit it's a little weird. I made it up, and I might be the only one who likes it :)

Mexican Delight

Ingredients:

can of pinto beans

baby green salad

cooked seasoned chicken that comes in a bag (in the refrigerator section)

pico de gallo salsa

laughing cow mini babybel cheese light

fat free sour cream and onions pringles

fat free ranch dressing (optional)

drain beans, then put about 1/2 cup into a bowl. Break up the mini babybel and put that on the beans. Heat in the micro for about 1 minute. Begin layering the salad, then the chicken (you can heat the chicken too if you like), then the salsa. Just put as much as you like of everything. Crumble the pringles on top. Sprinkle a little dressing if you like. Done. Don't forget to hum the song. It doesn't turn out right if you don't.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYwEHLRmILY

Food Network/Cookbook Week: Nancy again

(Dear Nancy, how much do I love you for writing twice? lots.)

"As long as we still are on the subject of food and recipes and tv, I wanted to add another goodie to your "do this someday" list. Generally speaking, I'm not a huge fan of Wolfgang Puck. He's not really even on the FoodNetwork anymore. BUT, he is from Vienna, and Vienna does one amazing thing better than anyone else in the world. Pastries. Paritcularly chocolate pastries. This is the very first foodnetwork recipe I ever tried, years and years ago, and I love it. I'm not usually a big fan of chocolate with fruit either. I like the occasional chocolate covered strawberry (zupas, anyone?) and chocolate pear is a to-die-for combo thtat I can only take in small doses, but this one is one I never would have put together, but was the biggest hit when I tried it. Seriously, don't judge it til you've tried it.

Wolfgang's Sachertorte

Ingredients

Cake:

• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
• 3 ounces butter
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 ounce sugar, plus 3 ounces
• 5 egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup flour, sifted

Apricot Filling:

• 1 1/2 cups apricot preserves
• 1 tablespoon apricot brandy

Glaze:

• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
• 1 ounce butter
• 2 ounces heavy cream
• Schlagobers, or whipped cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9 by 2-inch cake pan.

In a bowl, combine the chocolate and butter and melt over a double boiler. Set aside to cool. In a mixer, using a wire whisk, whip the egg yolks with 1 ounce sugar until light and ribbony. Beat in the chocolate mixture.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining 3 ounces of sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks. Fold in the flour and then fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Fold in the remaining egg whites, gently but thoroughly. Pour into prepared cake pan.

Bake for 40 minutes or until done. To check for doneness, insert a paring knife in center of cake. It should come out dry. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

To make the apricot filling: puree the apricot preserves. Stir in brandy.

Slice the cake into 3 equal layers. Spread half of the apricot filling on the bottom layer. Top with a second layer of cake. Spread the remaining apricot filling and top with the last layer of cake. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

To make the glaze: in a bowl, combine the chocolate and butter. Melt over a double-boiler. Bring the cream to a boil. Stir into the melted chocolate. Cool until it reaches glazing consistency. Spread over and around the cake. Chill for another 30 minutes before serving. Serve a slice with Schlagobers or whipped cream.

Now- Before you get too scared of it, heres a simple way to dumb it down a little: (this is what I did the second time I made it) don't make a filling, just use apricot jam/preserves of some type. and for an even more basic approach, make your favorite chocolate cake recipe (don't tell me if it's from a box, I'm no priest, confess your sins elsewhere) and fill it with the preserves and cover it with the ganache and decorate it with homemade chocolate dipped dried apricots. This cake recipe is actually easier than it looks, but if it scares you don't let that stop you from trying out the whole chocolate apricot thing."

Food Network/Cookbook week: Emily

I'll admit it, I'm a Food Network Junkie. I'll watch it any chance I get. I especially love Iron Chef America, and my favorite Iron Chef is Michael Symon. He brings that bad boy-ness that I can't seem to get away from!

Overall, I think my very favorite FN chef is probably Giada de Laurentiis. I love that her stuff is so easy and so incredibly satisfying. She's fun without being annoying (coughRachaelRaycough) I have all of her cookbooks and they're definitely my favorites. I've made her lasagna rolls my specialty!

Ingredients

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Pinch ground nutmeg

Lasagna:

• 1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
• 1 large egg, beaten to blend
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for salting water
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 12 uncooked lasagna noodles
• 2 cups marinara sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella (about 4 ounces)

Directions

To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk. Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes. Whisk the salt, pepper, and nutmeg into the bechamel sauce.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Whisk the ricotta, spinach, 1 cup Parmesan, prosciutto, egg, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl to blend.

Add a tablespoon or 2 of oil to a large pot of boiling salted water. Boil the noodles until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Arrange the noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent them from sticking.

Butter a 13-by-9-by-2-inch glass baking dish. Pour the bechamel sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Lay out 4 lasagna noodles on a work surface, then spread about 3 tablespoons of ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle. Starting at 1 end, roll each noodle like a jelly roll. Lay the lasagna rolls seam side down, without touching, atop the bechamelsauce in the dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles and ricotta mixture. Spoon 1 cup of marinara sauce over the lasagna rolls. Sprinkle the mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan over the lasagna rolls. Cover tightly with foil. Bake until heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining marinara sauce in a heavy small saucepan over medium heat until hot, and serve alongside.

Food Network/Cookbook week: Ally again

Yeah, I'm posting again. Because I want to. A new topic will be here soon, but first I need to get the Food Network out of my system. Does anyone out there like these guys?

It's the Neely's! Some people say that they are obnoxious but I love-love them! I love how they talk about food- you can tell it's a true passion for them. And I love how they talk to each other, too. If they ever got divorced I think I would be devastated! Haha I really need a life.

I have gotten some great recipes from them too. They have a great Alfredo recipe with bacon and a little bit of lemon which is deliciouso. They also have a trademark bbq sauce recipe that I haven't tried yet but I've heard is amazing.

On the last episode I saw of them, they made something that husband & I were salivating over. It's a Cookies N Cream Cake! It looks like a little bit of work (in comparison to a boxed cake haha) so I would make it for something special- maybe a birthday. Mmmm look so good.

Neely's Cookies and Cream Cake

Recipe courtesy The Neelys

Prep Time:

15 min

Inactive Prep Time:

20 min

Cook Time:

35 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

8 servings

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups finely crumbled chocolate sandwich cookies
• Cookies and Cream Cheese Icing, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray 2 (9-inch) cake pans with cooking spray and dust with flour.

In a large bowl, using a hand-held mixer, combine the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the eggs and egg yolk, 1 at a time, and beat until well mixed, then add in the melted butter and combine. Next, add the buttermilk and beat until smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add in the crumbled cookies and beat until incorporated.

Pour the batter evenly into the cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool, on a rack, in the pans for 5 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto a rack and let cool completely. Frost with Cookies and Cream Cheese Icing and serve.

Cookies and Cream Cheese Icing:

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 1/2 cups finely crumbled chocolate sandwich cookies

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, blend the butter and cream cheese until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the salt and vanilla. Add in the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until smooth. Beat in the crumbled cookies. Frost the chocolate cookie cake when the cake has cooled.

FoodNetwork/Cooking Week: Melissa

Truth be told, my favorite Food Network Chef is not actually a food network chef. I heart the Challenges on Food Network. Particularly the cake challenges. Bronwyn Weber is my favorite favorite. I always love every single cake she does. I once took a fondant master class from one of her good friends, and he said she is as sweet in person as she seems on TV.

My favorite recipe is actually from Paula Dean, via my sister. Its the most awesome chicken nuggets you'll ever have. And, they're gluten free. Yay!

1 bag of sour cream and onion potato chips, crushed
A bunch of boneless skinless chicken breasts, chunked
A couple of eggs

You beat the eggs, and then dip the chicken chunks in the eggs. Then you roll the chicken in the crushed potato chips. Bake until done- about 20 minutes- and tada- yummy!

Food Network/Cookbook Week: Nancy

As you may have gathered, I am in love with Alton Brown. His quirky humor, his smarty-pants thoughts on the science of cooking, his genius recipes, and his adorable receding hairline and nerdy style are the complete package, as far as I am concerned.

But before I continue praising the wonders of Alton, You should know that I don't come by this opinion lightly. I watched A LOT of Food Network in order to come to that conclusion. For example, I know that Bobby Flay just isn't all that he is hyped up to be, I mean, maybe he's can grill a few things, but he doesn't get the real art of cooking, and everything he does is the same, with the chilis and the fruit blended together. Giada has a big head. Too big for her body. So big that I can't actually take her seriously as a chef, because anyone who actually makes and eats all that pasta would have a body more porportionate to her head size. And Emeril is also just a bunch of catch phrases and recipes that never actually work out. And please don't even get me started on Rachael Ray. But Paula Dean could be my new best friend if she wanted to (I even have an autographed cookbook, thanks to the quick thinking skills of my brother when he met her in an airport, she told him to give me "all her love" in her adorable drawl), and the Iron chef Chairman is dreamy, and the Barefoot Contessa is a genius with her herb garden and even the nasty mean judge Kerry Vincent on the cake challenges has some good points to make.

But Alton is better than all of them. I still remember the first episode I ever saw, when he talked about the chemistry of using eggs (they are an emulsifier, in case you needed to know) and hhe explained the science of every step of making something wonderful, and then he did it! And with the science and the explaining, he taught me how to vary things to make them my own too. Oh Alton. Be still my heart.

So here is my very favorite Alton recipe. Now mind you, just because it says its mac and cheese, and its not from a box, doesn't mean its scary or takes a ton of time. It's really quite simple, takes only as much time and effort as the whole from-a-box stuff as far as I am concerned, but its worlds better. And you should play around with the spices so you get something you love. His are great, you can't go wrong with this recipe, but if you don't have them, just throw in some that you do have and love. I don't use the bay leaf and paprika anymore, I prefer herbs de provence and garlic.

I'm telling you, this stuff is amazing. (the crust on top is my favoritest. yum. Now I have to make this tonight.)

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon powdered mustard
• 3 cups milk
• 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 large egg
• 12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Fresh black pepper

Topping:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.

Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

Bad Date Champion

The winner of the Bad Date Hall of Fame poll...

with 12 votes...

is NANCY!!!

Not too surprised there! Nancy, I will get you the gift card ASAP! Thanks for sharing your trauma, and now you are the CHAMPION of Bad Dates. Be proud of that title.

(runner up Emily. We feel for you girl!)

Food Network/Cookbook Week: Especially for Megan

This if for Megan, who was sad that Alton Brown was not in any of the pictures under the intro post for this topic. He's just for you :)

I'm pretty sure Nancy will have something to say about this man, so I won't say much...

Here's his most popular recipe on Foodnetwork.com

Fried Chicken

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Prep Time:

20 min

Inactive Prep Time:

--

Cook Time:

20 min

Level:

Intermediate

Serves:

3 to 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 broiler/fryer chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• 2 cups low fat buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Flour, for dredging
• Vegetable shortening, for frying

Directions

Place chicken pieces into a plastic container and cover with buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.

Melt enough shortening (over low heat) to come just 1/8-inch up the side of a 12-inch cast iron skillet or heavy fry pan. Once shortening liquefies raise heat to 325 degrees F. Do not allow oil to go over 325 degrees F.

Drain chicken in a colander. Combine salt, paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Liberally season chicken with this mixture. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

Place chicken skin side down into the pan. Put thighs in the center, and breast and legs around the edge of the pan. The oil should come half way up the pan. Cook chicken until golden brown on each side, approximately 10 to 12 minutes per side. More importantly, the internal temperature should be right around 180 degrees. (Be careful to monitor shortening temperature every few minutes.)

Drain chicken on a rack over a sheet pan. Don't drain by setting chicken directly on paper towels or brown paper bags. If you need to hold the chicken before serving, cover loosely with foil but avoid holding in a warm oven, especially if it's a gas oven.

Hopefully this appeases the ladies out there :)

Food Network/Cookbook Week: Ally

I want to hang out with this lady, and I want to grow up to be her one day.
Paula Deen! Today I heard her say "If there's a way to fit in an extra calorie to a recipe, you know Paula'll find it!" I love that.

I am friends with "Food Network" on facebook, and it posts recipes every day. Today it posted this from Paula:

Toffee Brownies

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen, 2007

Prep Time:

8 min

Inactive Prep Time:

--

Cook Time:

25 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

24 large/48 small brownies

Ingredients

• 1 (17.6-ounce) package brownie mix with walnuts
• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 3 (6-ounce) candy bars with almonds and toffee chips (recommended: Symphony brand)

Directions

Prepare the brownie mix according to package directions.

Line a 13 by 9-inch cake pan with aluminum foil and spray with vegetable oil cooking spray. Spoon in half of the brownie batter and smooth with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Place the candy bars side by side on top of the batter. Cover with the remaining batter.

Bake according to package directions. Let cool completely, then lift from the pan using the edges of the foil. This makes it easy to cut the brownies into squares.

Major yum and so easy! I need to make these, ASAP.
PS: I have more Food Network posts to come, so you'll have to indulge me by allowing me to post as much as I want. It's my blog, I'll do what I want. :)

New Topic: Chefs & Cookbooks

I am going to leave the Bad Date Hall of Fame polls open until the end of the week. So if you haven't voted, do it! And if you have voted, you can vote again and I won't tell :)

New topic...new topic...

All I can think of is food. Blame the pregnancy if you will, but even before I was pregnant I loved food.

Do you guys watch Food Network like I do?? I might be a little obsessed.

Here's the question of the week:
1) Who is your favorite Food Network Chef and why?
And/OR
2) What is your favorite cookbook? (This question is for those of you who don't watch Food Network, congratulations on having more of a life than me.)

Include a favorite recipe from your favorite person or cookbook if you are feeling ambitious.

Vote!

Time to pick the winner of the Bath and Body Works e-gift card!

(The poll is now closed!!)

Bad Date Hall of Fame: Nancy

I've told this story before. I've even blogged it before. The thing to remember is that I am a nice person. Not overly so, just normal and respectful and not entirely unfortunate looking. I mean, I've had my fat and mean days just like every girl, but generally speaking I like to think of myself as nice and average. And every girl, particularly the very most average of us, has bad dates. I'm sure every guy does too. What happens is that the average manage to somehow get paired up with someone who is so far below average as to make the rest of us look positively celestial in our average-ness. (Think about how often you see the nicest guy friend you have and are probably secretly interested in go out with some probably gorgeous girl who totally manipulates and destroys all of his kindness... I know it sounds like a Taylor Swift song, but talk about below average! )

I digress. Let's recap: I'm nice. I'm normal. But since I've had the experience, so it might as well be worth its weight in storytelling. The damage has been done, I hate hate hate dating.. I'd even rather do laundry than go on a date. (And that is a something if you know how much I hate doing laundry, with that starchy feeling on your hands and the sneezing and the waiting and the folding...) I hope then that you all enjoy the fruits of my misery.

I've been known to be a lousy date. Not mean or frightening, just kind of socially dumb. Boys get that scared rabbit look at the end of the date, and sort of shove me out of the passenger side door of their car before pealing out as fast as their 1992 sedan can turn around. I used to joke about it too, and the people who know me outside of the social pressure of dating would feel bad for me and "fix me up" with people. Ah the blind date. A cultural phenomenon directly in opposition to the natural selection of the species. It is punishment for the socially odd inflicted by the well meaning but misinformed. I worked at an elementary school, and I loved my job and my co-workers. We had so much fun in that office and in that faculty lounge. I wasn't socially weird among my co-workers, who were primarily women and as accepting and kind as elementary school teachers should be. They didn't understand why I had such limited success, and it wasn't long before talk of "setting me up" got started. My friend and school secretary "Jill" asked me one day how I would feel if she set me up on a blind date with someone, and I told her that I was just fine with it as long as he didn't have a prison record. I thought I was joking, but she got very quiet for a moment and then said "I'll think of someone else then." Enter awkward silence.

Ooops. Oh well, some things should be obvious, right?

Of course this made it so that the next time she approached me with a blind date prospect I was both more hesitant to trust her judgement as well as more hesitant to make jokes or ask for specifics. I agreed to go and she passed along my phone number to Jake.

What makes someone decide that two of their friends are just right for each other? Is it simply because they are both single, and at 27 and 29, there must not be very many options left? At some point people must decide that because I am a.) a returned missionary, b.) graduated from college, or c.) over 25, I should learn to take what I can get? Oh yes, there she goes, that sad sad SINGLE girl. I bet its because her standards are too high. She wants someone who is both breathing and that has an IQ greater than a rusty bobby pin.

Oh dear, I'm on another tangent. Someone needs to keep me on target here.

Jake was 29. I was 27. That's about where the match made in heaven ended. He called the very same night that Jill gave him my number. He asked me what I studied in college, and I said music. His response should have been my first clue.

"Oh I LOVE music!" and then he launched into an un-interrupt-able spiel about his music collection. Of 80's hair bands and 90's alternative stuff. Now don't mis-judge me here. I do love most music, and there is a place in my heart even for a few of the 80's hair bands and the 90's alternative stuff. But when someone says they studied music in college, it generally does not indicate that they have a deep affinity for screaming guitars and biting heads off of helpless dachsunds. His enthusiasm for metal and the mainstream left me wondering what the heck I was getting myself into.. He kept asking me if I had heard of such and such and so and so, and he was appalled that any music person would not have. I finally managed to communicate to him that the heaviest metal I was familiar with would be the French Horn and the most mainstream vocalists were probably the King Singers. Oh well, he said. When should we go out?

Side note: If boys happen to be reading this, particularly single boys who may be asking girls out, blind date or not, you don't call without a plan. You call with a plan, and then you can either make the plan flexible or acknowledge that things aren't going to happen. But you absolutely must have a plan.

I made him come up with a plan. He arranged for 6:00 on Friday night, mini golf. Early, and not entirely creative, but it had details I could work with.

Let's move forward to the actual date. He was on my doorstep at 6:00. We got in his car and he began telling me about himself. I should mention here that it was early march. Chilly, and the plan was for mini golf. As we drove and I listened to him blather on about himself, a nagging part of my brain wondered if he had had the presence of mind to see if the mini golf place was open. Surely he was at least that smart? Ah no. It was still closed for the season. He drove to the next mini-golf place, same story, he drove to two more, you'll never guess, all closed. Now it is 7:30. He has, in the time it took to drive to four mini-golf locations, been bragging to me. His self-proclaimed greatest skill in life is that he knows how to do the absolute minimum work required at any job.. He prides himself on never doing more than absolutely necessary. He brags about the evidence of this skill. What evidence? Well, he has only been fired 3 times. All of his other jobs kept him on because they couldn't think of anything to fire him for. The most recent firing was from a telemarketing place, and he was OK with that because he didn't like them anyways, even if they did pay more than any of his other jobs. Wow wow wow. How do you thing of the correct and polite conversational responses to that?

I was kind of getting hopeful. Maybe since all the mini golf places were closed, he could just take me home and we could be done with the experiment in misery. I should be so lucky. He decided a movie would be a great substitute for mini golf. We began stopping at movie theatres to see what was playing and when. The first movie theatre had nothing beginning for another 45 minutes, so we went to the next theatre. And so forth. We had been driving north looking for mini golf places, now we reversed course and began checking movie theatres as we headed back south. For another hour we drove to every theatre between North Ogden and Layton. By the time we finally got to the Layton Theatre, we could have been half an hour into the movie in Ogden. We got to Layton, he chose a movie that was starting in 35 minutes, because he wanted to have time to run to the store for candy. He didn't consult me on a movie, he simply chose and bought the tickets while I waited in the car so he wouldn't have to park.

We went to the dollar store, and he bought himself 3 bags of his favorite candy and some soda. He informed me that since he didn't plan on having to pay for a movie, he didn't have enough money to get anything for me. Nice. When we got out to the parking lot, he asked me to hide his candy and soda in my bag and my coat, so he wouldn't get caught sneaking it in. I was nearly speechless at this point, and my reflex was to start playing the role of some other person. I told him I felt too dishonest about that. Now I know any of you who have been to a movie with me can attest, I bring entire meals in. There is nothing quite like sitting through a romantic comedy with chinese take out, or a classic drama with coldstone and a burger and fires. But I wanted to see him struggle, so I made him feel guilty. Lovely Passive-Aggressive me. We went back to the theatre and took our seats. The movie began, and suddenly he said "This is a Stephen King Movie, I hate scary movies".

I was aware of that. I was aware because I hate hate hate hate hate horror movies, in my brain I am thinking "way to go, jerk. It's only been advertised and in theatres for a month now. You would have to live under a rock to not have known that." Whatever. I was beyond words at this point, so I shrugged and sat there. About halfway through the movie, he leaned over to me and told me the rest of the plot. I asked him how he was so sure and he said "I love this stuff. It's always so cliche and predictable."

Blithering Idiot. What was his motivation in lying and telling me this type of movie scared him? I can only imagine, and most of what I imagine causes shudders in the deepest core of me.

About 10 minutes after his plot reveal, his cell phone rang. He hadn't turned it off. Idiot.

He answered it. In the movie theatre, while the movie was going. Blithering idiot.

It was his mom. He finished the phone conversation, and then he said to me "That was my mom. She says I have to go home and go to bed because I work at 8 tomorrow morning."
And then he got up and left .
That's right. He left the movie. He left the theatre. He left me sitting there. He left because his mom told him to. And I was relieved. I was grateful to have to call my roommate and ask her to pick me up. I was ecstatic that I didn't have to keep thinking about where to put my hands. I was thrilled to no longer have to come up with a polite "uh-huh" every 7 minutes. I was overjoyed that I didn't have to get back into his car. And most of all, I was giddy that I didn't have to go through the doorstep scene. No awkward attempt at a hug or a handshake.

And there you have it. I have, in fact, been on blind dates since this one, but they were extremely screened and in large groups and the friends who did the setting up had to be present and accountable for their choices. And I invite each of you to consider that next time the thought crosses your mind. Whether it is me or any of you other Single friends, it is only fair that we exact the same emotional punishment from you that you have inflicted upon us. I'm not bitter. I just derive the logic I use to function from past experience.