Hurricane!

Today our beloved Dawgs played LSU in Louisiana.  To say this was a painful game to watch is an understatement.  At least both teams colors are purple and gold so no matter what happened there was a lot of school spirit!

In honor of Louisiana I made a huge batch of Hurricane cocktails.  I have had a hurricane or two in New Orleans and they are super tasty, super fruity and super strong.  I mean, super strong.  Nothing like almost two full bottles of rum mixed in with grenadine to get a hurricane swirl'n!

Thanks to Emeril Lagasse, the king of southern cuisine, I had a mega batch of hurricanes to bring to our friend's Dawg watching party!  Warning, many of the guys thought the drink was a tad sweet, nothing a splash of club soda couldn't resolve.  But the rest of us loved it.  So much that it was almost gone!

Mix the batch in advance in a large pitcher and place in fridge to get very cold.  Serve over ice and with a wedge of orange.  This is a great party recipe because it makes a lot of drinks at once.

Click here for Emeril's recipe. 

Perfect Thursday

Tonight we had some great friends over for dinner.  One couple was visiting from Boston and the other are local.  We wanted to treat our friends to a great, late summer BBQ and some of our household faves. 

To start, I picked hydrangeas from our yard (my favorite flower) mixed in with a few roses and orchids leftover from a bouquet my husband sent me for our engagement anniversary.  Yes, he actually remembers that date every year!

One of our appetizers is a new favorite.  Grilled watermelon topped with blue cheese crumbles and strips of pancetta.  Oh so good and easy! 

And no party is a party without margaritas!  For this occassion I made pink cadillac margs and they were way too good. 

As a salad course I made a three layered crab tower.  We had some fresh caught crab from an outing my husband took and were excited to use it up!  Recipe is here.

And the main course was ribs.  Slow smoked ribs that had been bathing in low heat and smoke since 8am - a 9 hour adventure.  Tender and fall off the bone moist.  I consider our Traeger BBQ my 3rd child.

To cap off the evening we were given beautiful flowers from Pike Place Market and we had yummy cake and ice cream to celebrate Kellie's birthday. 

1st Day of School Teacher Gift

I've heard all about 'Welcome Back to School' gifts for kids.  But what about the teachers?  My son is heading to kindergarten and already has a new backpack, lunchbag, clothes and shoes... he doesn't need another gift!  Though we thought his teacher might appreciate a little something.  And after a visit to the Walmart near our cabin I found a perfect idea that didn't break the bank, a $3 insulated beverage cup that looks just like the ones sold at Starbucks and Tullys.  

So I combined the insulated cold drink holder with two packets of cold brew ice tea and two Starbucks Via iced coffee packets.  Add some cello and a tag and it looks pretty fancy! 

Now to figure out what we'll do for C's preschool teacher.  I mean teachers!  I had no idea there would be two teachers for her class so now I've got to get creative... But darn... that might mean I get to keep the other insulated cup! :)

Grilled Watermelon Appetizer

I'm still trying to eat through our 18lb watermelon.  After hauling it to our cabin I was set on using it up... Nothing says summer like eating huge slices of watermelon and spitting the seed over the deck to the bushes below.  And nothing says summer like BBQ.  So why not BBQ some watermelon!?

I cut some watermelon in to one or two bite triangle shapes and put on a hot grill for a few minutes per side.

I topped each grilled watermelon slice with pancetta and a sprinkling of crumbled blue cheese.  I added a dash of fresh cracked black pepper and a touch of salt.  This created a heavenly summer appetizer.  Plus, it doesn't get much easier than this!  Smokey, juicy watermelon topped with salty and creamy goodness.  I will definitely make this appetizer again.

Watermelon and Goat Cheese Appetizer

Ever been asked to provide an appetizer for a summer party and can't think of anything?  Well, anything besides chips and salsa?  I was reading a magazine that gave a few watermelon based appetizers... with a whopping 18lb watermelon sitting in my fridge this was the answer! 

My husband is hosting a pool party for a bunch of his fraternity brothers tonight.  Smoked ribs, beer, baked beans and tempuratures in the upper 90's.  I figured adding a watermelon appetizer to his spread wouldn't hurt.

I cut a portion of my monster sized watermelon in to about 24 small cubes, about 1 1/2"*.  Then I used a melon baller and took out just a tiny scoop on the 'top' of the watermelon cubes.  I then set these aside with a paper towel on top (to soak up excessive watermelon juice).

Next, I grabbed a small package of plain goat cheese, about 5oz and mixed in a few tablespoons of finely chopped fresh basil.  Using a small spoon I put little scoops of the goat cheese mix on to the top of each watermelon cube.  I garnished with the tiny leaves from the tip of the basil plants in my yard.  This appetizer can be made a few hours in advance, just make sure to store in the fridge!   

*Side note... I prefer these to be a one or maybe two bite appetizer.  Cut a sample watermelon cube and pop it in your mouth.  If its too big, cut a smaller size and test it.  Darn, you have to eat fresh summer watermelon while making this?  Things could be worse.

Steamers

We dug almost eight pounds of clams at our cabin this weekend.  Typically I just steam the clams and we eat them alongside some good bread and melted butter.  What is your favorite way to prepare clams or shellfish?

Garden

Look what I found in my garden today!  Carrots that are in love with each other...

 And a mega sized zucchini!

Now its time to start making lots and lots (and lots) of zucchini involved stuff....