Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

This photo was taken in 1984. My sister and I are with our grandmother, Mammie, at our grandparents' house. I'm the clown.

Justin, I'm sorry I broke the handle on your car door.

The photos below are of the passenger side interior door handle that used to be on Justin's car. I am apparently stronger than I realize because I grabbed the handle yesterday and heard a little crack. I sheepishly turned my head and looked at Justin and he was looking at me with his jaw dropped. I smiled at him, but he didn't respond with a smile. I mentioned that it got cold the night before and that might have made the plastic brittle. I didn't buy that excuse and I know he didn't either. In my defense, I didn't completely break the handle off the door. These photos were taken after Justin removed the damaged part so he could find the part online.

I had to ride with my hands in my lap because I was afraid of touching anything else. I was also afraid I might grab the handle and completely remove it from the door. Justin didn't kill me, so I was happy. Surprisingly, he wasn't mad at all. I love him!

Dog Training: Week 3

We completed our third dog training class last night. Pete and Annabelle are doing well. Pete still won't participate in class, but she's getting better.

I arrived at Petsmart about twenty-five minutes early. I gathered our stuff, got leashes on the dogs, and headed inside. I carried Pete since she refuses to walk in the parking lot. We wandered around the store for a few minutes (I was still carrying Pete) until we ran into our instructor. He let us go in the room early, which was nice so Pete and Annabelle could explore without the other dogs and people and without leashes. That's probably a big no-no, but I did it anyway. They really enjoyed it and sniffed everywhere! They spotted Justin when he was walking toward the classroom and they were trying so hard to get through that glass wall.

Last week, we practiced the "down" command. Their underbelly is supposed to be on the ground. Annabelle does really well with this. We haven't gotten Pete down, yet. She sits, but when I move my hand down lower and say, "Down", her rear end pops up and her head goes down. We're working on it. They both have "sit", which is really good.

We began working on "leave it" this week. The "leave it" command is to get the dog to stop any undesirable behavior, like barking or sniffing things while walking. Justin worked with Anne during class and I think she obeyed the command a few times in class. I got Pete to actually take a treat from me this week. She immediately spit it out, but she did take it. She does much better at home.

We also began working on loose leash walking. Your dog is supposed to walk beside you, not in front. Your dog is also supposed to keep your pace and not try to run ahead. This isn't a huge problem with Pete, but Annabelle will drag you when we take walks. We practiced this in the store last night. We took our dogs to different aisles and were supposed to teach them to walk beside us. Pete wouldn't walk, as usual. Annabelle walked, but it was to the shelf so she could try to see Pete underneath the shelf on the next aisle. It was great. I eventually got Pete to walk with me around the store. I didn't stop and give treats like we were supposed to. I was just glad she was walking.

We also began practicing the "stay" command. The instructor introduced this at the end of week 2, so we started working on it last week. They're getting better.

He also taught the "come to me" command. Anne did this very well. When it was Pete's turn to come to me, she just sat and looked at me. I joked that she was practicing "stay". She eventually started walking, but it was toward Justin and Annabelle.

They've been hanging out with me in the guest room this afternoon. They're behaving so well.

Grilled Halibut

About a month ago, I visited my aunt and uncle and I was sent home with some fish my uncle caught while on a fishing trip to British Columbia, Canada. I cooked the salmon fillet shortly after the visit and it was delicious. I decided to cook the halibut last night. I think it was the first time I've had a halibut fillet and it was very tasty.

I sauteed some squash and zucchini as a side dish.
After chopping the veggies, I heated a little olive oil in a pan and added a little minced garlic. After that cooked for a few seconds, I added the squash and zucchini with a little more olive oil and some salt and pepper. I sauteed that for about ten or so minutes and it was done.

I thawed the halibut in some warm water and then removed it from the pouch. I cut it in half (Like I said last time, cutting through fish skin gives me the heebie jeebies.) and patted it dry. I splashed a little lemon juice on it then added some olive oil and salt and pepper.

I preheated the grill for about ten or so minutes and then I added the fish. I used grill-safe aluminum foil so that clean up would be easy. I started the fish with the skin side up and cooked it like that for about three or four minutes. I then flipped it and finished grilling it skin side down for about five or six minutes.

I served the fish and veggies with rice pilaf with almonds. It was all very yummy!

Thanks Uncle Frank and Aunt Susan! Justin and I enjoyed the halibut!

Lenox Cupcakes

I mentioned that I purchased some cupcakes for the eye doctor and his staff after the "incident" last week. I'd seen some reviews of Lenox Cupcakes online and wanted to try them. I love cupcakes! After I ate lunch, I headed to Phipps Plaza, which is where Lenox Cupcakes is located. I parked in the parking deck and just happened to park pretty close to the escalator that took me right to Lenox Cupcakes. Yay me!

It looked like they had gotten in a shipment of new boxes or tables or something because the store was kind of a mess. It wasn't dirty, but a little messy. That didn't bother me at all. I've worked retail and know that you will get in the middle of something and the entire town decides to come shop. The lady behind the counter was finishing up with another customer, so that gave me some time to pick out the cupcakes I wanted. I chose two caramel vanilla, two red velvet, and two chocolate/vanilla cupcakes as my gift. I also purchased a caramel vanilla and a pumpkin spice for me to share with Justin. The cupcakes are $2.50 each, which is about what other bakeries charge. These are standard size cupcakes with lots of icing.

I dropped off the box at the doctor's office and headed home. I waited a few hours before I tried some of the caramel vanilla cupcake. I was actually slightly disappointed. The cake was a little dry and the icing was nothing special. The cupcake did have a gooey caramel filling that was unexpected and good. I didn't hate the cupcake, but in my opinion, it wasn't anything special. When Justin got home, he tried a bite of the pumpkin cupcake and then moved on to the caramel vanilla one. He said he liked the caramel vanilla one better. I tried the pumpkin one and loved it! It was fantastic! The cake was moist, but not too moist, and the icing was perfect. It was light and fluffy cream cheese icing. Mmmm... Justin actually preferred the caramel vanilla cupcake and I preferred the pumpkin cupcake.

I'll probably visit Lenox Cupcakes again in the near future. Maybe they'll still have the pumpkin cupcakes.

My niece turns fifteen today!

I cannot believe my niece is already fifteen! I feel so old!

She is only a couple of months old in this photo. She was a tiny baby and had actually put on some weight in this photo.

I think she was eight or nine months old in this photo. She had filled out nicely by this age.

She was four in this photo. She was as sweet as she looks.

She was seven years old when she was my flower girl.

Doesn't she look angelic?

This was taken last December at our cousin's wedding. She is fourteen in this photo.

She gets to take the driving test to get her learner's permit on Tuesday (The DMV isn't open on Mondays.). I can remember how excited I was before I turned fifteen and I know she is, too.

Happy fifteenth birthday!

Optometrist visit and a vasovagal episode

I last saw the eye doctor just under two years ago. I wasn't having vision problems, but figured I needed to find a doctor in Atlanta and get my eyes checked. I researched optometrists that are in our insurance network and decided to make an appointment with Optique Atlanta. Their location is good and they are open on Saturdays. They also had good ratings at various websites. My appointment was yesterday morning.

After filling out the usual paperwork, I waited for minute or so before one of the ladies took me to the room to do the pretests. It was painless and over in a few minutes. I then waited for about five or ten minutes to be taken back to the doctor's exam room. He chatted with me about my eyes for a couple of minutes and then got to work. After the usual stuff, he asked about dialating my eyes. He recommended it since I hadn't had it done in the last few years. I agreed and he said first he was going to do the glaucoma test. He doesn't do the "puff test". The puff test is when they have you look at a light in a machine and then a quick puff of air is shot into your eye to check the pressure in your eye. My previous doctor had lots of trouble catching my eye open for this test. I was anticipating the puff and blinked very rapidly. I'm not sure that he ever got an accurate reading.

This doctor uses a different method for the glaucoma test. He puts a couple of numbing drops into each eye and then uses a device that's about the size of a writing pen with a rubber tip to touch each eye and check the pressure. It was completely painless and actually much quicker than the puff test. Within a few seconds of him putting the numbing drops in my eyes, I began to feel super anxious and knew what was coming. A vasovagal episode. This happens every time I have blood drawn, but it has never happened at the eye doctor. I was embarrassed but there was nothing I could do about it. Once it starts, it has to run it course. The doctor sensed that something wasn't right and asked if I was ok. I mentioned that I had just gotten very nauseous and didn't feel well. He said he's had a few patients who have had this reaction to the numbing drops. I don't think my body is reacting to the actual drop. I think it's more of a psychological reaction to them.

He very quickly (maybe two seconds) finished the test and got me to prop up my feet. He leaned the chair back and turned off the lights. He turned down the air and it got pretty cool in the room. After getting me some water, he said he would leave me in the room for a few minutes while it passed and would check on me then. I sat there for about five minutes and eventually calmed down. I never passed out, but I was close. My lips were numb, my hearing got muffled, and I was freezing. He returned and said that he didn't think dialating my eyes would be a good idea and I agreed. He said he's had people slide out of the chair and onto the floor at the foot of the chair after he dialated them. I didn't want to be that person. We finished up and I went out to pay. I was mortified. After about ten minutes, I began sweating profusely and I felt just awful. I spent a few minutes in the waiting room while the lady finished up the paperwork and that helped me get even better before I left. When I got to my car, I turned on the air to cool me down. After a minute or two, I was freezing again.

I took it easy for the rest of the day. I was ok, but I didn't feel 100%. On a positive note, my prescription appears to be nearly the same. He did find astigmatism, but said it was minor and he wouldn't recommend any corrective lenses for it. Woo hoo! On a another positive note, they no longer make the contacts I was wearing so I'm trying out a new brand. So far, they're great. I did not realize how much my last contacts didn't allow my eye to breathe. These feel like I'm not wearing anything. Naturally, these cost more. Not a lot, but more.

Georgia Power was doing some work across the street from our house, so we didn't have electricity when I got home. It wasn't too bad, but I ate in silence and in slight darkness. After I ate lunch and allowed some of the lunch traffic to die down, I headed to Lenox Cupcakes to treat myself and to buy a thank you treat for Dr. Moresi and his staff. Anyone who can deal with my freakish reactions to eye drops is great in my book and deserves a cupcake or two. I'll tell you about Lenox Cupcakes later.

Dog Training: Week 2

Last week, Justin left work about an hour early so he could get home and ride with the dogs and me to class. This worked out really well because we got to take the HOV lane and use an HOV exit that helped us avoid some nasty traffic. However, this week, he met us at Petsmart. I left a little early so I could make sure I got through traffic. While driving, some bozo decided to jump into my lane and then hit the brakes. I hit my brakes and the dog carrier tipped over and Pete and Annabelle went tumbling, too. As soon as I started driving again, which was almost immediately, the carrier righted itself and all was good. No injuries! Yay!

When we arrived at Petsmart, Justin wasn't there, yet, so I decided it would be a good idea to take the dogs inside, alone, without Justin. Probably not my best idea. I get in the backseat with the carrier and open the carrier door. I get leashes on both dogs and begin getting out of the car. I manage to drop Annabelle's leash and she takes off. I chase her through the parking lot, screaming like a mad woman. I'm also dragging Pete behind me. I am literally dragging her because she freezes up in the Petsmart parking lot and won't walk. I've dropped the bag with our supplies and my car door is wide open. I get close enough to Anne that I stomp her leash and it jerks her and she hits the ground. It was great. Good times.

Last night at class, we got to demonstrate our hard work the previous week by showing the whole class how well our dogs could look at us and sit. Annabelle did really well. We're so surprised that she isn't easily distracted by the other dogs in the class. Pete is still having some anxiety issues. We got to class about fifteen minutes early and Pete and Anne got to wander around the room and sniff. Pete explored but kept running into the glass walls.

We began learning the down command. This is to get your dog to lie down on the ground. Annabelle is getting this command. Her rear end always pops up for me, but she's going all the way down for Justin. Justin has been working on roll over with Anne so she also rolls over for me when I'm trying to get her to go down. Pete is still working on the down command. I know she'll have it in a day or so.

We also practiced walking on a leash and getting the dogs to walk beside us and not in front. All the dogs did well, with the exception on Pete. She still froze up during class and wouldn't take treats or follow commands. We had to get up and demonstrate walking in front of the class. Pete crouched down on the ground and I demonstrated how well Pete slides across the smooth floors. Robert, the teacher, separated the class and Pete and Annabelle were left in the room with one other dog (we had a fifth dog join the class this week) and Pete actually walked with me on the leash. Robert figured she would do much better with fewer dogs and if Annabelle was up walking, too. He was right! We've never had a problem with Pete trying to lead when we take walks. She is usually a step or two behind us.

We've been really pleased with the class and I should also report that our dogs aren't having accidents in the house overnight. I've been taking their food and water up several times during the day (Robert suggested this) and the accidents have stopped!

Grand Slam

Justin and I visited the Grand Slam Baseball batting cages Sunday afternoon. He has mentioned wanting to do this several times and he finally dragged me there. He initially got four tokens and went back and got several more. I even used one token in the softball cage. Justin used several tokens in the 62 mph cage and then spent the rest of the time in the 72 mph cage.

This is a video I shot through the fence with Justin's phone.

The Red Snapper

After running some errands yesterday evening, Justin and I were discussing where to eat supper. I remembered us discussing The Red Snapper a while back, but never eating there. I suggested it and we both agreed to give it a try.

The restaurant is in an old shopping center that has probably seen better days. Parking wasn't a problem when we arrived, but I could see it becoming a problem later in the evening when more people were out eating. We arrived around 6:30 p.m. and were by far the youngest people in there. We were immediately seated and our server arrived within seconds to ask about drinks. After ordering, our server brought fresh bread and butter. The bread was really good and the butter was very soft, so we could easily spread it. Yum!

Our entrees arrived fairly quickly. I had the best of the sea with shrimp and crab. It was very good, but not quite what I was expecting. Justin ordered the evening's special, which was snapper and shrimp served over rice. I tried his and it was also very good. A table near us ordered the broccoli with hollandaise sauce and it looked very yummy. I'll need to try that next time.

We decided to skip dessert, but the desserts sounded delicious. Maybe next time. We had great service and the food was also very good. I think we'll probably try The Red Snapper again.

Dog Training: Week 1

About a month ago, Justin and I began seriously discussing taking Pete and Annabelle to training classes. They're both nearly six years old (Pete is already six and Anne is less than two months away from turning six) and have had no previous training. Since they've been in Atlanta, some of their actions mimic those of puppies and not adult dogs. It has been frustrating for Justin and me since they were doing fairly well in South Georgia. They had the occasional accident in the house, but it wasn't an every night occurrence.

We got some information from Petsmart several months back, but tabled the discussion since we figured the bad behavior would quickly resolve itself. This did not happen. If anything, they've gotten worse. We've been working with them, but they're just not "getting it". We researched the classes and decided to try the Petsmart Beginner's Class. This class is for puppies and adult dogs that have had no prior training. The class is a one hour class that meets one evening a week for eight weeks. The class started last night.

I'm not sure about Justin, but I was a little embarrassed about being in a beginner class with six year old dogs. I didn't want people to think that we've lived with these hooligans for six years and waited until now to deal with them. I was also concerned that one or both dogs would misbehave and be asked to leave and not return. My fears quickly disappeared when class began. There are four dogs in the class, including Pete and Annabelle. One is a Boston terrier named Buckley. Buckley is six years old and has been having an occasional accident overnight and also needs obedience training. He already knows the sit command. The other dog is Pedro, a one year old chihuahua. Pedro has frequent accidents and needs some obedience training. Pete and Annabelle need some potty training for their frequent overnight accidents and lots of obedience training. They know the treat command.

The trainer is an older man named Robert who has been training dogs for fifteen years. He seems to be a very soft spoken man who is very patient, which is good since Pete and Anne are in the class. He brought his dog, a border collie named Sky, to demonstrate what the results of our class should be. His dog is soooo well trained. Justin and I were impressed. He never had to be told a command twice. When Robert placed a treat very near Sky and said, "Leave it", the dog left the treat alone. He never stopped looking at it, but he left it alone. Robert eventually said, "Ok" and Sky ate the treat. Wow!

Last night, we went around the room and discussed our individual needs and desires for the class. It was great that pretty much everyone in the class had basically the same needs and desires. Pedro's owner also said Pedro has some issues with larger dogs (barks and needs to show his dominance) and said she was very glad there were no large dogs in the class. Pete and Annabelle do this, too, sometimes. Robert went over some basic potty training ideas for us to try. One suggestion is to limit their time around food and water. The food thing I can do, but it will be very hard for me to keep water from them. I know they really don't need much, if any, water when they're asleep in the crates, but it's still hard to swallow that concept.

We began working on the look at me command. You hold a treat near your face so the dog will look at you and when he/she does, you give them the treat. Justin worked with Annabelle and she did very well with this command. Pete was over stimulated and wouldn't take the treats from me. She wasn't interested in any treats during the class.

The next command we worked on was the sit command. You hold a treat near the dog and say "sit". When the dog sits, you immediately give him/her the treat and say "yes". Annabelle took several tries for this command to work, but she eventually got it. Justin practiced with her at home and she did it very well. Once again, Pete just laid on the floor and shook. I felt so sorry for her, but I'm hoping we can get to class early next week or even take a field trip during the week and let her explore the room and get comfortable with it. She was happy once we got her in the carrier in the car. That's her safe place and she was fine in there.

I think the other two dogs did well with these two basic commands. Buckley already knew sit and demonstrated it very well. Hopefully class will go well next week, too!

Weekend visit with the In-Laws

Justin's parents came up for a short visit this weekend. They arrived Saturday just before noon and left around 5:00 or 6:00 Sunday evening. It was a short visit, but a nice one since they haven't seen Justin in several months.

Since the North Georgia Premium Outlets mall was having their Columbus Day sale this past weekend, Justin and I had been planning a trip for a month or so. Luckily, Justin's parents were up for a day of shopping with us. After a quick lunch at the Whole Foods hot food bar in Sandy Springs, we headed to the outlet mall. Once we arrived, we all kind of headed our separate ways, with the occasional "meet-up".

After spending a few hours shopping, we headed back to Atlanta. We detoured at the Perimeter Mall. Brad and Janice are looking for some furniture for their newly renovated house and Justin and I wanted to show them some of our favorite furniture spots.

As we were finishing up at the mall, we all began discussing dinner. Justin and I looked at the online menu for one of our favorite restaurants in Atlanta and decided we would take his parents there. Violette is a great French restaurant down the road from our house. We were a little apprehensive about going to Violette since we realize not everyone enjoys French cuisine. We are really glad we went because Brad and Janice loved it!

Violette Restaurant
(photo source)

Justin ordered the special, which was half of a duck (baked? roasted?) with mashed potatoes and vegetables. He said the duck was incredibly good. I ordered the feuillete aux fruits de mer, which is salmon, shrimp, and scallops in a puff pastry with leek cream sauce served with rice and vegetables. It was wonderful! Definitely some of the best food I've ever eaten. Justin's parents split the bouchee a la Reine, which is a puff pastry filled with chicken and topped with a mushroom cream sauce. It was served with rice and vegetables, too. They also ordered the pommes de terre a l'alsacienne, which was fried pieces of potato with a sour cream, garlic, onion and herb dipping sauce. The potatoes were delicious. Brad and Janice also seemed to really enjoy their entree. For dessert, we ordered two crepe miltons, which is a crepe filled with chocolate mousse and vanilla ice cream. There was some debate about which end of the crepe had the mousse and which end had the ice cream. Three of us were in the dark about this.

After sleeping off the feast from the night before, we awoke Sunday morning, ready to hit the town. We stopped for brunch at Sun in my Belly Neighborhood Cafe. We waited for about thirty minutes for a table, which is typical for brunch in Atlanta. Justin enjoyed the french toast and I had the shrimp and grits (without sausage). Brad and Janice each ordered a scrambled egg pressed panini. After filling up on the tasty food, we headed to Ikea for a little while.

Sun in my Belly
(photo source)

We spent several hours wandering around the store. By the time we finally made it outside, we were a little hungry again. Since we were so close to Flip, we headed there for some milkshakes and french fries. Justin and I shared a shrimp po boyger and an order of fries. Brad ordered a nutella and burnt marshmallow milkshake and Janice ordered a turtle milkshake. They, too, shared some fries. Since Flip opened, Justin has been very curious about their foie gras milkshake. If you're not familiar, foie gras is a fattened duck or goose liver. Justin has had foie gras before and has described it as very rich and kind of sweet, so he was very interested in the foie gras milkshake. He debated it, but finally gave in and ordered it. He loved it! I tasted it and it tasted like a very rich vanilla milkshake with a little caramel. Brad said it tasted like slightly soured vanilla ice cream. Janice declined to taste it, which is understandable.

Flip Burger Boutique
(photo source)

We made a quick trip to Target and headed back home. After spending a few minutes playing with Pete and Annabelle in the yard, Justin's parents packed their bags and headed south. We enjoyed our weekend guests and are glad they were able to visit with us. Pete and Annabelle really enjoyed the extra attention, especially Pete since Brad played "tennis ball fetch" with Pete. I hesitate to call it fetch since she chases the ball and holds it in her mouth. You have to go to her to retrieve it since she won't bring it back to you.

Cooking for Dinner Club

It was my turn to cook for dinner club this week. I initially wanted to cook grilled barbecue chicken, but eventually decided on the honey mustard grilled chicken. The recipe came from Allrecipes.com and had an excellent rating. I also knew I wanted to cook Paula Deen's Corn Casserole after enjoying some at a friend's cookout. In the beginning I wanted to serve asparagus, but decided to go with something a little more casual than asparagus. I decided on green beans and while searching for green bean recipes, I found Paula Deen's recipe for Honey Balsamic Green Beans.

Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken
1/3 c. Dijon mustard
1/4 c. honey
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tsp. steak sauce (I used A-1 steak sauce.)
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Mix the mustard, honey, mayonnaise, and steak sauce. Set aside a small amount for basting while grilling. Dip the chicken in the remaining sauce to coat.

Preheat the grill for medium heat. Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill chicken over indirect heat for 18-20 minutes, turning occasionally, or until juices run clear. Baste occasionally with the reserved sauce during the last 10 minutes of cooking. Watch carefully to prevent burning.

I cooked nine chicken breasts, so I doubled the honey mustard sauce. I put the chicken in a dish, poured the sauce over it, and marinated the chicken for about eight hours in the fridge. I made one additional recipe of the honey mustard sauce for dipping. I also used a little of the third batch to brush on the chicken while I cooked it.

Since I don't eat chicken, I have no idea how it tasted, but everyone raved about the chicken. I did taste the sauce and it was good. Pete and Annabelle got some leftovers from someone's plate and they, too, approved. I was very pleased that the chicken was edible since it was my first time ever grilling chicken. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the chicken, but it looked good.


Paula Deen's Corn Casserole
1 15.25 oz. can whole kernel corn, drained
1 14.75 oz. can creamed corn
1 8 oz. pkg. corn muffin mix (Jiffy is recommended.)
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, melted
1 - 1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, stir together the two cans of corn, the corn muffin mix, sour cream, and melted butter. Pour into a greased 9x13 casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with cheddar cheese. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let stand for at least 5 minutes and then serve warm.

I had to cook mine for an additional 10 minutes. This could have been due to the double recipe or the depth of the dish.

Before going into the oven:

Immediately out of the oven (topped with cheese):

I made a double recipe of the corn casserole. The recipe says it will serve six to eight people and since eight people would be eating, I erred on the side of caution. This was good because the corn casserole is delicious and several people had seconds. We consumed one full dish and about half of the second.

Paula Deen's Honey Balsamic Green Beans
16 oz. green beans
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced (I used the refrigerated chopped garlic in a jar.)
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. onion powder
salt and freshly cracked black pepper (I used regular black pepper.)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium heat. Add the beans and blanch for 2 minutes. Immediately remove the beans from the water and add them to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Drain.

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and green beans. Cover, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover, then stir in the vinegar, honey, onion powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook to desired degree of doneness, about 4 to 6 minutes.

I also doubled this recipe since it said it would serve four to six people. The finished product wasn't all that beautiful, but it was definitely appealing. The balsamic vinegar added a nice tang to the meal.

Unfortunately, this is the only photo I have of the beans. Flattering, I know. The kitchen was hot.


Margaritas

ice cubes

3 oz. tequila (I used Jose Cuervo.)

2 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice (I used bottled lime juice since I don't have a juicer.)

1 oz. simple syrup (recipe below)

1/2 to 1 tsp. orange liqueur (I used Grand Marnier.)

1 Tbsp. lime-salt-sugar (recipe below)

Fill cocktail shaker with ice. Add tequila, lime juice, and simple syrup. Cover and shake until mixed and chilled, about 30 seconds. Coat rim of glass with lime-salt-sugar (several comments suggested only coating about half of the rim). Strain margarita into glass.

I just realized the recipe never indicates when to add the orange liqueur. I guess it could be added when the tequila is added?

Simple Syrup

1 c. sugar

1 c. water

Place sugar and water in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to one month.

I just poured the sugar into the water.

It's getting there:

Almost done:

The finished product. I made this the day before so it would have time to get cold.

Lime-Salt-Sugar

zest of one lime

2 Tbsp. kosher salt

2 Tbsp. sugar

Blend together lime, salt, and sugar in a blender or mini food chopper.

This glass rimming mixture was very tasty. I agree that the glass only needed to be partially coated.

I need to point out that the margaritas are fairly strong. I decided to mix everything together a few hours before dinner so that all people would have to do is rim the glass with the lime-salt-sugar, pour the beverage into the glass, and enjoy. I felt like I was adding a lot of tequila, but I followed the recipe. After downing more than one of these (in my defense, I was using a very small glass), I realized how potent they were. They were good, but very strong. Just a warning.

Apple Cake with Browned Butter Frosting

It was my turn to cook for dinner club this week and for dessert, I baked an apple cake. I found the recipe in the October edition of Southern Living. It sounded good and the photo was pretty.

Fresh Apple Cake
1 1/2 c. chopped pecans
1/2 c. butter, melted
2 c. sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 1/2 lbs. Granny Smith apples (about 4 large), peeled and cut into 1/4" thick wedges

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan for 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.

Stir together butter and next three ingredients in a large bowl until blended.

Combine flour and next three ingredients. Add to butter mixture, stirring until blended. Stir in apples and 1 c. pecans (Batter will be very thick, like cookie dough). Spread batter into lightly greased 9x13 pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack (about 45 minutes). Spread frosting over top of cake; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 c. pecans.

The pecans are about to go into the oven.

The batter before adding the apples and pecans:

The apples:

About to go into the oven:

The recipe said to bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. I took the cake out of the oven after 45 minutes. After looking at it several times, I decided it needed to bake longer. It had been out of the oven for about 25 minutes when I finally got the oven preheated again and the cake inside it. It baked for 30 additional minutes.

Yay! It's finally done.

This recipe was in the October issue of Southern Living. They had three frostings listed (browned butter frosting, dark chocolate frosting, and cream cheese frosting) that you could choose from. I decided to try the browned butter frosting since I've never browned butter before.

Browned Butter Frosting

1 c. butter

1 16 oz. pkg. powdered sugar

1/4 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Cook butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, 6 to 8 minutes or until butter begins to turn golden brown. Remove pan from heat immediately and pour butter into a small bowl. Cover and chill 1 hour or until butter is cool and begins to solidify.

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar alternately with milk, beginning and ending with powdered sugar. Beat mixture at low speed until well blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla.

The butter immediately after being removed from the stove and poured from the saucepan:

The recipe said to let the browned butter cool in the fridge for about an hour or until it began to get solid. I let it stay in the fridge for about two hours (while I ate lunch, showered, and did hair and make-up) and it was pretty hard when I was ready to use it. A spatula helped me remove the butter from the bowl, in pieces, and the hand mixer whipped it right up. It looked very tasty, but without sugar, it tasted pretty bad.

After adding the sugar, milk, and vanilla, it was very yummy. Pete and Annabelle licked the beaters and they approved. It had a slighty nutty, caramel flavor.

The finished product:

Edited to add:
Everyone seemed to enjoy the cake. It does seem a little sweet, but if you only eat a small amount, then it's doable. It also seemed slightly undercooked, but that could have been due to the apples. The frosting is good, but I imagine the cake would also be delicious with the cream cheese frosting.

Pete's Birthday at Bruster's

We took Pete and Annabelle to Bruster's for Pete's birthday on Saturday. When we lived in Tifton, they got to go to the Dairy Queen near our house and they always seemed to really enjoy this. Their birthday car ride is special because they don't have to ride in their carrier, which means they get to kind of hang out of the car. Annabelle loves this! Pete isn't as brave and just lets one ear flap in the wind.

Bruster's gives doggies a free cup of vanilla ice cream with a dog bone. Justin and I shared a chocolate milkshake. Since Saturday was absolutely beautiful, we parked ourselves on a bench beside Bruster's and let the dogs enjoy their treats while we enjoyed ours. Annabelle LOVES ice cream and immediately began eating out of both cups. Pete usually enjoys ice cream, but she seemed a little overwhelmed with everything Saturday and didn't eat any.

Happy 6th Birthday, Pete!

Pete is six years old today!

Happy Birthday, Pete!