Spring is here! (and where I've been hiding)

2011 was a busy year for us. In the beginning of the year, I started this blog and remained faithful to it for 8 months until August came and we bought a house, a puppy, and a lot of responsibilities. Oh, and did I mention I also decided to go back to school for my masters degree a midst all the chaos? I haven't been able to commit as much time as I'd like to cooking, recipe searching, and typing blog entries. Instead, there's been a lot of painting and DIY projects around the house to bring our 100 year old home to the 21st century. Also, there's been a lot of playing with a very hyper German Wirehair Pointer named Sawyer, taking him to the vet (since he decided to break his leg at 13 weeks old and several other miniature disasters since with this clumsy little pup), taking him on lots of long walks, and going on puppy play dates and to obedience classes. I never knew owning a pet was so time and energy consuming.

Then, in February 2012, I broke both wrists snowboarding. Yes, both. Endured splints up past my elbows for two weeks, then surgery on one wrists and a cast on the other, and now physical therapy. I miss blogging, and I look forward to starting back up again. However, it is like having a second job to make it entirely about cooking and recipes. It's much more realistic for me to post a recipe once a week and include more personal posts - whether it be chronicling the triumphs, hazards, and mishaps of raising an energetic puppy or projects around our 100 year-old house that results in finds such as pea green painted hardwood floors under our carpeting. So until I get back into the swing of things here, I am going to think of a new blog title and will post a link to forward you there. Any suggestions for titles appreciated!

Beer 'n' Cheese Mac

I was so distraught over how to name this recipe, combining beer, cheese, caramelized onions, bacon. Beer Mac 'n' Cheese... Mac 'n' Beer Cheese ... Mac 'n' Cheese with Beer 'n' Bacon, Beer-Cheezy Mac (yeah, with a z)... so that's the ever-so (not) creative title I have. Beer, bacon, cheese, caramelized onion, awesomeness... can you dig it?

This recipe is a great example of accidental ingenuity. I often start out with one idea in my head that turns into something completely else once I start cooking (and realize I don't have half the ingredients I need in the house), or I will have no idea what I want to make and just start looking for food that needs to be used up in the kitchen. I was going to make mac 'n' cheese... but then that ever so important ingredient just happened to be missing, MILK. So beer and flour it was. It's days like these I wonder if I could be on top chef or chopped one day... and then I come back to reality (and realize I took an hour to make everything and the timer would've run out light-years ago... not to mention I'm not the first person to ever make this food).

A natural pairing for this recipe is whatever beer you cooked with. I used a run-of-the-mill light beer because it's what I had on hand, but lager would probably be best to cook and drink. But if you must pop the cork, opt for a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.

Puppy, Rain, & Baked Potato Soup

Where have I been this past month or so? Well, Mr. B. and I have had a busy end of summer/start of fall. We bought and moved into our first home (yaayyy but so stressful!), I started grad school (yay, but so stressful...), and we became the parents of a handsome German Wirehair Pointer named Sawyer.

Yeah, he's pretty much the cutest, craziest thing ever.

And then, just when we thought we were getting the routine down... Sawyer hurt his leg on one sunny Saturday morning at obedience class. Now, we have a 14-week old puppy who would love nothing more but to run, run, run, and run some more but should be resting & healing (which he only did for the first few days... then went back to running, splint & all). 

So this is our cute puppy, down for a nap, with his new blue cast :(

Mommy (as I now refer to myself in the third person...) gets to come home from being orthopedic nurse at hospital all day to orthopedic nurse at home for a stubborn puppy. Moreover, his splint must stay dry and it's pretty much done nothing but rain for the last two months.

And again, it's raining outside. No suprise. Hurricane season is no fun for anyone... and it's a shame because September is one of my favorite months here in the Northeast; sun-soaked days in the 70s, flip flops and jeans. My September was held hostage by rain, and now it's October. Perfect weather at night to sit around the fire with friends.

So to comfort myself in this mopey weather, I've made a baked potato soup will all the fixin's. This recipe yields A LOT so cut down if you don't want to be eating this for days. Pair your bowl of yummy baked potato soup with a Chablis or Sauvignon Blanc.

Changes to come

I might be having a short hiatus of blogging for the next week or so. Mr. B and I are moving out of our tiny apartment next week into our first home (almost twice the size of our apartment). With this new move, there's going to be a lot of DIY home improvement projects going on over the next several years to make this house into something we really love (and then we'll sell it!). As much as I love cooking, I'm really excited to add home decor, DIY projects, and weekend fix-ups to my list of hobbies and continual learning experiences. And I think I may expand this blog to include these adventures. I know I don't have much of a following right now so I'm not quite sure who I'm addressing. But I'm not blessed with enough ingenuity or patience or time to cook something new every night, photograph, edit, and blog about it. I will continue to talk about my cooking adventures, new recipes, and wine recommendations because I still love food and wine, but I feel like making this blog a little more full circle about my life. 

So there it is. More coming soon :)

Caprese Salad Bites

These little appetizers are yummy, fresh-tasting, and perfect for your next dinner party. Moreover, you don't have to use your oven, crockpot, or skillet. Just chop, skewer, and refrigerate until the guests arrive. This little app' is very versatile when it comes to wine pairing so just pick your favorite bottle of Italian red or white to make it the Italian feature of your next wine/dinner party.

Sweet & Tangy Veggie Kabobs

One of my favorite parts of grilling season is grilled veggies. Marinate them and grill 'em up til they get a nice light char - eating your vegetables has never been so easy. You can plan to spend a lot of prep time on any kabob dish so take this into account when preparing for dinner: you'll need to wash and cut your veggies, marinate them, and then the oh-so tedious task of skewering them. But when it's done, you'll be thankful for such a yummy feel-good dish.

Summertime makes me think of crisp, light white wines. Most of these will pair great with this veggie selection.  Reach for a bottle of Pinot Grigio, Muscadet, or Sauvignon Blanc ... or plan ahead the day before and make a pitcher of white sangria (so you can get your daily servings of fruit, too, of course).

Happy grilling!

Buffalo Chicken Chopped Salad

If you like hot sauce, this is your recipe. If you don't, don't even bother reading on (and shame on you... I never understand a dislike of all things spicy unless of course for medical reasons). Yummy chopped salad full of healthy vegetables such as broccoli, cucumbers, and carrots gets topped with spicy pan-fried buffalo chicken strips and blue cheese. Drooling, yet? Because I am (yes, I confess I drool at the sight, smell, thought of hot sauce). Sometimes I get an unbelievable craving for buffalo wings, but don't feel like leaving the house or consuming the calories of deep-fried butter-and-hot-sauce-laden chicken wings. This recipe uses skinless boneless chicken breast cutlets, a light coat of breading, and pure hot sauce to get that lip-puckering, mouth-burning taste I crave. Meanwhile, the salad and blue cheese helps cool down the fire in your mouth.

Hot sauce and blue cheese poses a difficult wine pairing. Spicy foods pair well with a glass of semi-sweet Riesling. For a bottle of red, opt for Zinfandel. Otherwise, reach for a bottle of hoppy IPA (India Pale Ale) - if that's your thing, I'm not a fan - or a "sweeter" beer such as Blue Moon or a variety of Belgian Wheat.