Surprise! Bahamas.

Last year for my birthday, we went to Hawaii. I thought that couldn’t be topped. He did it big, and he did it better this year. And it was completely unexpected. In the weeks leading up to this trip, he mentioned that we were going to take a weekend getaway “south” about 3-4 hours away. Me thinking I am Sherlock, assumed that it would be a ROAD TRIP to North or South Carolina.

I was completely wrong.

Friday morning, we loaded up the car, and I thought I was headed to work, but no. I soon realized we were headed to the airport. Freaking out, because I am type A and need to be prepared for all situations, I exclaim that I am not packed for the airport. He says he’s got it covered, and when we parked, he pulls out a bag of small empty containers. Time to dump my full sized goodies into tiny bottles.

We walk into the terminal, and he hands me my passport. WAIT, WHAT. I’m not prepared to go out of the country!? We made it through security and sit down at our gate. I still have no idea where we are going. He hands me my boarding pass. WE ARE GOING TO THE BAHAMAS?!…I’m not packed for the Bahamas!!? I had jeans and sweaters in my luggage. Lucky me, he packed my flip flops, bathing suits and “summer” clothes.

It was a complete surprise, with much more in store. I was so happy to escape the snow!

Posted on March 5, 2014 by miemo 0

Mardi Gras/Birthday

Thank you so much to everyone who came to my birthday party, mardi gras celebration. Every year it gets better and better and I’m so happy to share it with them.

This cake was the best cake ever. My friend Tiffany was in charge, and I told her to make whatever she wanted, as long as I got to blow out candles. She went above and beyond what normal friends would do if you asked a friend to make you a cake. SHE MADE ME AN ICE CREAM CAKE.

No this wasn’t your normal chocolate vanilla ice cream cake. She made a red bean and green tea ice cream cake, with a fluffy chiffon cake. YUM. I almost didn’t have any cake leftover, it was such a hit! (Tiffany managed to hide a piece in the freezer for me, for later).

I have the best friends, fiance and family. So happy to have lived another year!

Posted on March 3, 2014 by miemo 0

Birthday Week

My how the year has flown by! I am typing this to you on my surprise weekend trip to the Bahamas, which my honey gifted me! My actual birthday is Thursday, Feburary 27th. Since last year we went to Hawaii, and this year I was planning on joining my annual Mardi Gras party with my birthday party, he wanted to sneak me out of the country for a quick paradise getaway! More on my trip later.

In celebration of my birthday, I wanted to do a giveaway! Stay tuned! One of my favorite aprons will be up for grabs.

Posted on February 24, 2014 by miemo 0

Honey Soy Braised Ribs

I wish you could smell this. It smells amazing. And it was simple! I would put this under “Whats for dinner” except for the fact that it takes about two hours to make, and well… “ain’t nobody got time for that”.

Ingredients for the braising liquid.

Boil the ribs in ginger and water for about 30 minutes, skimming off the fat. Rinse in cold water, pat dry.

In a heavy pot, brown it in a little oil, salt & pepper it.

Now the fun part. Let it simmer in the goodness for about 45 minutes, or until the meat is tender and falls off the bone.

I took the ribs out, strained out the braising liquid into another small sauce pot. Added honey and let it reduce down into a glaze, then served it over brown rice topped with green onion and sesame seeds. YUM.

Honey Soy Braised Ribs
(exactly from Spoon Fork Bacon)
Serves 5 to 7

Ingredients:
3 lbs. pork spare ribs, cut into 1 1/2-2 inch pieces
1 inch piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 cups dry sherry
1/4 cup superfine sugar (granulated is fine)
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
honey-soy glaze:
2/3 cup braising liquid
1/4 cup honey
garnishes:
thinly sliced green onion
toasted sesame seeds

Directions:
1. Rinse rib pieces under cold water and place in a large pot. Fill with water and add ginger. Place pot over high heat and boil for 30 minutes, skimming the fat from the surface as it forms.
2. Drain and rinse rib pieces in cold water for a second time, removing any excess fat, debris and ginger.
3. Place a large Dutch oven, or heavy bottom pot over medium-high heat and add oil. Add ribs and season with salt and pepper. Brown for about 3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients to the pot and stir together.
4. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover.
5. Simmer mixture for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender.
6. Scoop 2/3 cup of the sauce into a small pot (skimming off any excess fat) and stir in honey. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until mixture has reduced by 1/3. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 15 minutes.
7. Brush glaze over rib pieces and serve over white or brown rice. Top with sliced green onions and sesame seeds. Serve.

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I love this site for dinner/party food ideas!

Posted on February 21, 2014 by miemo 0

Happy Valentine’s Day

Happy Valentine’s day! I hope you all have a special day today, and the rest of the year of course! Every Valentine’s is “Gal”entine’s for me, because I feel like Valentine’s day is every day in my relationship (ugh, so CORNY, I know ;)) Well every year, for…I don’t know how many years now, my friend Vitya and I spend it together. Whether or not we’re in relationships, Valentine’s day is our day.

We call it Meatless Meatful (hehe, you can figure out why). And we always order meat lover’s pizza and breadsticks, or just have a meat feast. We tend to watch girly movies, and do girly things, whether it be painting each other’s nails or waxing each other’s mustaches (haha) to wearing creepy facemasks. I look forward to this every year, and even though she’s engaged now, I’m still so glad that we spend it together.

Here’s to us, my ride or die!

Posted on February 14, 2014 by miemo 0

Dangerously Delicious

I have a new favorite pie. Not the Baltimore bomb, but THE TRIPLE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE. Holy OH MY. I haven’t found a chocolate mousse that I loved as much as when I was in France. But this pie. Takes the cake.. (haha!) So yes. That my go to slice now at Dangerously Delicious Pies. Chocolate lovers have to try. You’re welcome.

It’s not on the their site though. So it makes me a little sad. I had it at Killer E.S.P. the first weekend in February and it’s all I can think about!

Posted on February 12, 2014 by miemo 0

Sloppy Joes

I love that the honey is cooking more. That frees up time for me to do other things …like laundry and write about what he’s cooking. Hah! This week he brings…

SLOPPY JOES!

I haven’t had these in forever. And it’s usually from a can. But it seems much healthier if you make it from scratch right?

Sloppy Joes
Adapted from Foodnetwork

Ingredients
1 pound extra-lean ground beef
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
1 red pepper, diced
1 can small red beans or pinto beans, preferably low sodium drained and rinsed
1 cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 tablespoon A1 sauce
1 teaspoon mustard powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons brown sugar
Freshly ground black pepper
8 potato burger buns

Directions
Brown the meat and the onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, breaking up the meat as it cooks.

Pour the drippings out of the pan and discard. Add the garlic, jalapeno, and red pepper and cook 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the red wine vinegar, the molasses and the rest of the seasonings. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes more.

Scoop onto buns and enjoy!

Posted on February 10, 2014 by miemo 0

Burger Fi

After barely eating meat for a week, it was time to enjoy some cow. We drove down to see our friend Anna, where she suggested this kinda new place in her town BurgerFi. They’re burgers are a little on the small side according to the guys, but it was the perfect size for me. They have EVERYTHING that I could possibly imagine to put on a burger. But then again, my burgers are always the same. Bacon, cheese, sauteed mushrooms, pickles…and whatever their special sauce it.

I love it. And you can get fries in multiple ways! Definitely worth a try.

Posted on February 7, 2014 by miemo 0

Anniversary Food Adventure

Okay, so I usually don’t write lovey gushy stuff. So I’ll try to refrain from that. But my honey and I celebrated another year together by eating! We started off at his favorite pizza place in Leesburg, Fireworks Pizza. We normally just go straight to the point here. Pizza, and dessert. At the Arlington location, I like to get their appetizers. But today we were so hungry, after a 45 minute wait, we got spinach dip to start.

Then the main event, PIZZA! Smokey Blue with shrimp. There’s bacon, bleu cheese, balsamic glaze, sauteed onions along with rosemary, which just ties everything together. Afterwards, we had the chocolate chip cookie sundae. It didn’t last long enough to take a picture. Picture cookie dough in a shallow ramekin, blasted in a wood fired oven, until its crisp on top and the chocolate is bubbling. Top it off with a cold scoop of vanilla ice cream. Oh MY.

Afterwards we went to paper source to feed my stationary and paper goods addiction. And we found this gem.

I took too long staring at pens, stickers and stamps, so he went and got us starbucks!

We went to get pampered before going to our dinner date!

Bistro Cacao. I love this place. It’s so french, it makes me miss Paris more, but fills the void.

Lobster bisque with white truffle oil.

Pan seared duck with a blueberry reduction, braised endives and potato gratin

Mousse au chocolat with raspberry and mango sauce.

I love food. And my life. Le sigh.

Posted on February 5, 2014 by miemo 0

Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

I have a new favorite dressing. It takes some planning, and I can’t just whip it up out of my cupboard like my zesty italian dressing, but still pretty simple.

I had it over my quinoa, edamame salad and everyone loved it. So happy! I hope you like it too!

First you start off with a pound of fresh strawberries. Wash ’em, trim em’ halve ’em. Put them in a small pot, add sugar, salt and water and cook on medium heat.

Once they are broken down and soft, and leaked out their juices, hit it with the immersion blender until smooth.

Even then, it’s still not smooth enough! Strain that baby into a bowl. Let it cool down to the touch. Or cooler.

Add seasoning, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Whisk until incorporated. And delicious.

Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Yeah, right. Like it will last that long 😉

Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

1 lb Fresh Strawberries, stems removed, chopped

1 tsp of sugar

a pinch of salt

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 bag of Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix

Directions:
In a small pot over medium heat, stir strawberries, sugar, salt and water over medium heat. When juices release and strawberries are soft, remove from heat. Blend with an immersion blender (or transfer to a blender) and pulse until smooth.

Strain into a bowl. Let cool. Whisk in the rest of the ingredients. Store in fridge in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Enjoy over salad!

Posted on January 31, 2014 by miemo 0

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