Birthday Cake

Drumroll please.....

I present to you my very first cake from scratch for my hubby's 37th birthday! Yellow butter cake with chocolate frosting recipe from Martha Stewart. Baking a cake was serious work. It took me about an hour to prep the kitchen, then another hour to mix, and another hour to bake, cool, and frost. Don't even get me started on the cleanup. Chocolate EVERYWHERE. But, would I do it again? In a heart beat! I think this was the first time in my life that I actually enjoyed baking. It was sort of magical watching it all come together. And of course the end result was pretty and absolutely delicious!

 

Roasted Quail

So I finally built up enough courage to try to prepare some quail that we had frozen in the freezer. Steve  previously skinned and cleaned the birds immediately after shooting, and I placed them in the freezer. Easy as that!

To cook the quail, I sauteed onions in butter on the stove, then browned the quail slightly on all sides. I transferred the quail and onion to a baking dish with white wine. I added orange bell pepper and large pieces of tomato. I baked the dish for about 35 minutes at 300 degrees. It actually turned out really good!! It tasted just like chicken. It was a little tough and slightly dry but that's probably because I overcooked it just a little. Next time I will try wrapping in bacon - I think that will help keep the birds a little more tender! Overall, it was a fun new dish and I would definitely do it again! We're becoming quite sustainable around here :)

10 Foodie Things to Do Before Summer Ends

1. Eat hot, buttered corn on the cob.
2. Make a root beer float.
3. Watch the sunset with a glass of champagne or white wine in hand. 4 Champagne Cocktails
4. Add an umbrella to your drink of choice and enjoy it poolside or at the beach. Pina Colada Recipe
5. Eat a hot dog at a baseball game. Go to a Minor League game. They're lots of fun and you won't pay Major League prices. Hot Dog Recipes
6. Grill something, anything!
7. Go out for ice cream. Haagen Dazs pints have nothing on ambling with a dripping ice cream cone. Better yet, catch the ice cream man. (You're never too old to chase Mister Softee.)
8. Kick back with an icy cold summer ale of choice. Summer Seasonals, 13 different types of beer
9. Enjoy some funnel cake, a corn dog or some other purely summer food found only at a fair.
10. One word: S'mores.

From Shine on Yahoo.com

Japanese Style

One of my favorite things about eating in Japan was all the little sides in individual dishes. So last week, instead of making a traditional meal with an entree with sides all on one plate, I put together a Japanese style dinner with a small salad, bread, baked beans, and mango for dessert, all in separate dishes. The only thing missing was the Asahi beer! It was a nice change from a big, heavy meal and it took us back to our sweet honeymoon!

Veal Scallopini

On a trip to the grocery store to pick up some tri-tip for this weekend's BBQ, Steve found some Veal Scallopini on "Manager's Special". I looked at him like he was insane. First of all, I've never had veal and I wasn't really interested in trying it now. Secondly, "manager's special" gives me the heeby jeebies when it comes to meat. The sticker should say "this meat will be dog food soon".

Anyway we argued over the veal for a few minutes. He said I never try anything new. I told him it was no different than him not eating corn on the cob or green beans. He argued that it was completely different because he was forced to eat corn on the cob and green beans as a child and never liked them, and he continues not to like them. I on the other hand, have never even tried veal, yet have this instinctual aversion to it. Baby cow? NT, Steve! "But look how tender it looks", he says. That's my point. EW.

Well, Steve won the battle and we took that baby cow home. I googled veal scallopini and came across a recipe that didn't look too bad. Breaded veal, browned on the stove in hot oil and garlic, then simmered with green bell peppers and mushrooms. How bad can it be?!

The verdict? STRANGE! Not necessarily BAD, but weird. And honestly, I couldn't tell if it was the meat that tasted weird, or the sauce or the mushrooms. I just started eating mushrooms recently and usually only eat baby bellas. Trader Joe's only had "white mushrooms" whatever that means, so I used those. The sauce was made from sauted minced garlic in olive oil and white wine. Steve thinks the "weird" taste came from burnt garlic. Could be.

Anyway, would I try it again? Yes...without the garlic and with baby bellas, and without the Manager's Special sticker!!!