Blogger Award Nominees

Today we found out that we had received the The Versatile Blogger Award from our friends at The Ardent Epicure at www.theardentepicure.com  It is a nice surprise to be acknowledged, since we are still a young blog, by a beautiful blog like The Ardent Epicure and we are truly honored and we thank them!

The Guidelines for accepting this award are:

- Thank the person who gave it to you.

- Tell 7 things about yourself

- Pass the award on to 15 bloggers whom you have recently discovered,
  and think are fantastic!


7 Things We Would Like to Share About Us:

1.  We love motorcycle's and husband has a Harley Sportster

2.   We are a family of two sons, Alex is 25 and is currently in the
       Marine Reserves.  Jason is 20 and currently a junior at University
       of North Texas.

3.   We have two dogs Abby a.k.a Miss. Mule (pointer beagle mix) and Bailey  a.k.a Bad Boy Bailey (shih tzu)

4.    Our names our Rowland and Ronnie a.k.a RnR

5.    Married 5/2002, honeymooned at Martha's Vineyard

6.    Ronnie works with special needs children part time

7.    Rowland works in the financial field for a large brokerage firm


Our 15 Choices for recently discovered bloggers:

1.    A Happy Girl & Loving Life www.archintrain.blogspot.com
Love this Jersey girl's approach to good eats, and sharing her light hearted stories along with great recipes and food photos.

2.    Simply Maran www.simplymaran.com
Her blog promotes eating healthy, sharing her healthy lifestyle while attending college.

3.    My Life As a Mrs. www.kristinawiley.blogspot.com
A beautiful blog documenting a newly married brides life, beautiful stories and photos.

4.     Joseph's Grainery www.josephsgrainery.com
This blog is all about creating beautiful recipes with wheat, barley and lentils.  Great stories and recipes.

5.    The Mom Chef www.themomchef.blogspot.com
I can totally relate to this blog because I to am a magazine collector.  This mom documents recipes made in her test kitchen from home that she gets from magazines she has collected.   Great stories and photos

6.     Chef Dennis - More than a Mount Full www.morethanamountfull.blogspot.com
I know why Chef Dennis receives numerous awards, he has a warmth and sense of humor that is very evident in his blog posts.  When we started our blog he was our first follower.  I look to him for inspiration and love visiting his blog and you should to!

7.     Monet - Anedotes and Apple Cores www.anedotesandapples.weebly.com
I love Monet's baked goods, she shares a warmth through each of her recipes and beautiful photo's.  We are big fans!

8.    Weekend Food Projects www.weekendfoodprojects.com
A blog dedicated to food and photography.  This blog is a mix of beautiful recipes and food.

9.    Bittersweet Blog www.bittersweetsugarandsarcasm.blogspot.com
I have to say this is one of my favorite blogs.  Rick cracks me up with his great sense of humor, and his very different twist on food keeps us coming back!

10.  Baking Serendipity www.bakingserendipity.blogspot.com
Great family recipes and good conversation with beautiful food photos.

11.   Queen Bee Eats For A Day www.queenbeeeatsforaday.wordpress.com
Beautiful recipes and photos accompanied by great stories.

12.    The College Critic www.collegecritic.wordpress.com
An insight on a college students prospective on bland college food.  Beautifully documented.

13.     The Voice of Joyce www.voiceofjoyce.net
Fun filled blog with beautiful home baked goods recipes.

14.    Foodalution www.foodalution.com
With an emphasis on a healthy lifestyle, Megan takes a fresh and healthy food and turns them into delicious recipes.

15.     JoeynGoy www.joeyngoy.com
Simple and straight forward approach to food.  The recipes and food are beautiful.   Makes me want to cook!

If you haven't already visited these blogs, stop by and visit them!

Sunday Brunch at Vinoteca Wine Bar & Bistro, Washington, DC

My older son called me today and told me he was visiting an old friend in Washington, DC  and was having brunch at a great neighborhood place.    Vinoteca Wine Bar & Bistro, Washington, DC is located in the heart of the historical district of U Street & 11th Street Corridor.  My son Alex and his friends love this restaurant for the casual, laid back atmosphere.  It nestles itself among the neighborhood and nearby shops. 

Offering wine classes and Flamenco Sunday (dancers and all).  Offering over 100 wines from all over the world along with a brunch, dinner , dessert, and happy hour menu.

Alex choose a selection off the brunch menu called Pan Catalan and eggs, 2 sunny side up eggs on Gruyere toast, tomato pulp, prosciutto, manchego cheese and a side of fresh arugula salad, accompanied by a cool champagne mimosa.

Other brunch offerings include cheddar grits to omelets to granola made from scratch.  I would say my son Alex did a great job with his food commentary and said he will offer his input from time to time.

Thanks Alex!  

Cinnamon Sugar Banana Bread Cupcakes

Did I say I love cupcakes!!!!    Besides loving to cook I also love to bake, the only thing is it takes more time and sometimes I just don't have a moment to squeeze into my already hectic day, but when I want to relax I bake.  Baking brings happiness to me from mixing the creamy batter to the homemade creamy frosting's I create.  I do this as a favorite past time and always love the end result.  I don't have to think about anything else other than the precise measurements it takes to make my cupcake batter and filling the batter into paper cups and waiting as my creation comes to life in the oven. 

I know why their is such a cupcake craze that appeals to so many people, because if you are the person that is just buying cupcakes, just stepping into a cupcake bakery brings instant happiness the moment you lay eyes on all the pretty color frosting's and details of each cupcake.  Now if you are the person that bakes cupcakes like me than happiness comes from your homemade baked creations.

This weekend I had some time on my hands to relax and decided to make my Cinnamon Sugar Banana Bread Cupcakes, which I haven't made in a while.  I have a separate folder I keep all my cake recipes and decided to look through it and choose this recipe.  My cupcakes are cream cheese frosted with a light powder of cinnamon and sugar on top.  I also sliced some fresh banana's and used them as a finishing touch on top.  I'm glad I took my pictures fast because between friends and family they were gone in a few hours.   My husband said he liked them even without frosting with just a dusting of powered sugar.   I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do.  Bake and be happy!

INGREDIENTS:
Makes 12 cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose four (leveled)

3/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 - 2 cups mashed bananas (about 4-5 bananas) plus 1 whole banana for garnish 
Note:  Depending on the banana taste you want I found 4 banana's was a mild taste and I prefer 5 bananas because I like to taste the banana more.

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


METHOD:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

Make a well in the center of flour mixture.  In well, mix together butter, mashed bananas, eggs and vanilla.  Stir to incorporate flour mixture (do not over mix this tends to make cupcakes dry).  Dividing evenly, spoon batter into muffin cups filling 3/4 high, (Using an ice scream scooper makes it easy to evenly portion batter).

Bake for about 25-30 minutes.   Toothpick should come out clean.  Remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely on wire rack.  When cool spread tops with creamy cream cheese frosting and sprinkle with equal parts fresh cinnamon and sugar, top with slice of fresh banana.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients:

1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted

12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

8   ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4  teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method:

Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy about 3 minutes, also make sure butter and cream cheese are at room temperature so you have no lumps when mixing. 

Reduce speed to low and add sugar, 1 cup at a time and then vanilla, mix until smooth and creamy.  Frosting can be refrigerated for up to 3 days just bring to room temperature and beat until smooth before using.

My Simple Lemon Chicken

This past weekend when I went to the farmer's market I picked up quite a bit of fresh lemons and wondered ok, what am I going to do with them?   I love lemon in sweet and savory dishes and tonight as I wondered what I was going to do with a package of boneless chicken breasts it occurred to me to make lemon chicken.

 Now I have only made it one time before this and totally forgot, so I looked on line at different recipes and realized they had similar ingredients in common, butter, onions, garlic, chicken stock and of course lemons.  I already had the butter,onions,garlic and lemons but no chicken stock, but I had beef stock and I thought how would it taste with a little beef stock, so I began preparation of my chicken browning 6 boneless chicken breasts first in a combination of butter and a little olive oil.  With chicken browned. I chopped 1/2 onion to brown in pan along with a teaspoon of fresh minced garlic, cooked until translucent I added a small amount of flour to thicken and added 1 cup of beef broth and scrapped the brown bits from the bottom to thicken with the chicken juices, then cut 1 lemon and squeezed into the mixture.  and that's it.  I put the chicken in a baking pan and poured mixture over chicken and then sliced two more lemons to place on top of chicken.  I baked in a 350 oven for 30 minutes.

 It came out pretty good, the beef stock just adds a deeper flavor to the sauce and I served it with a bean salad on the side.   My husband loved it!   Sometimes I like to improvise and take a risk to see what happens and sometimes the outcome is great and sometimes not so good!

Broiled Pineapple with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

With the upcoming 4th of July weekend coming up alot of us will be entertaining and with this sweet pineapple and ice cream how could you go wrong?  The sweet juiciness from the pineapples and the cool creaminess from the vanilla bean ice cream make this a simple dessert that you can serve to guests at your next backyard party because it is quick and easy!  I sometimes add pound cake into this recipe by layering cake, ice cream and pineapple, absolutely delicious!  Also, instead of vanilla bean ice cream you can use a coconut sorbet for that tropical taste.  Fresh pineapple is best for this recipe since the method will be broiling or you can also grill for 10 minutes.  Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:
Serves 4

nonstick cooking spray

1 - 3 1/2 pound pineapple

vanilla bean ice cream

METHOD:

Preheat broiler; set rack 6 inches from heat.  Coat a broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray. 

Core pineapple for wedges.  Halve wedges lengthwise to make 8 spears.

Lay spears on a prepared pan.  Cook turning once, until golden brown and tender about 20 minutes (at this point the sugars will caramelize and release).
If grilling make sure you coat grill with nonstick cooking spray when grilling pineapple (do not put on high flame - medium to low is best) cooking time approximately 10 minutes, turn once.

Divide among bowls; serve vanilla bean ice cream or coconut sorbet.

Summer Blackberry Crumbles

I am always trying to think of different ways to use summer fruit, since having a passion for anything sweet and my love of summer fruit.   You can also substitute blackberries for blueberries.    This dessert goes great with vanilla bean ice cream!

INGREDIENTS:
Serves 4

4        cups fresh blackberries (about 14 ounces)

1/4     cup sugar, plus 1 teaspoon

3        tablespoons all-purpose flour

3        tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3        tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the ramekins

1/4     teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

6        store-bought sugar cookies (about 2 ounces), coarsely crushed

1/4     cup rolled oats


METHOD:

Preheat oven to 375.  Stir blackberries, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 1/2 tablespoons flour, and lemon juice in a bowl; set aside.

Put butter, cinnamon, salt and remaining tablespoon sugar into a small bowl.  Stir vigorously with a rubber spatula until creamy.  Stir in cookies, oaks, and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons flour.  Work mixture through fingers until it forms coarse crumbs ranging in size from peas to gum balls.

Butter four 5-ounce ramekins (about 3 1/2 inches in diameter).  Divide blackberry mixture among ramekins; transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.  Sprinkle with crumb topping.  Bake until juices are bubbling and topping is a golden brown about 20-25 minutes.  Let cool on a rack for about 20 minutes before serving.  

I like to serve this with vanilla bean ice cream on top!   Enjoy!

Lemon Butter Angel Hair Pasta with Farm Fresh Veggies

I made this light pasta dish tonight for dinner with grilled london broil.  After visiting the Dallas Farmers Market I was anxious to fix something with the veggies I had picked up.  This light healthful dish is perfect with any grilled meats and any leftovers can be refrigerated for a couple days and either be served warm or cold. 

INGREDIENTS:
Serves 6-8

1 lb.      angel hair pasta (any kind) follow pkg directions.

2 tsp.     minced garlic

2 tbsp.    Olive Oil - extra virgin or reg is fine

2 med.   Zucchini

2 med    Squash

1/2 tsp. course salt

1 whole fresh lemon

4 tbsp.   butter, salted

1/2 cup grated Reggianno cheese or Parmesan

Med size skillet.

METHOD:

Slice zucchini and squash in 1/2" rounds.

Heat skillet on med. heat and add olive oil

Add zucchini, squash, garlic, butter, course salt, stir

Cover and saute over medium heat until fork tender - about 10 minutes, stir

Cut lemon in half and squeeze each half onto vegetables (watch for seeds), stir

Remove skillet from heat and pour vegetable mixture over cooked angel hair pasta, toss together and add chopped cilantro and grated cheese, add salt to taste.

Serve in a big colorful family style bowl!  Enjoy!