michael and i got engaged back when we visited asheville and atlanta in the fall, 2010. we immediately started planning a great, big canoeing, camping, wedding extravaganza for the fall of 2011.

we lost a little bit of planning steam as we started researching food, port-o-potties, tents, tables, chairs, etc. having a wedding is a huge, expensive ordeal! planning and anticipating for all these details seemed to take the fun, love and spontaneity out of it for us. and as we got clearer and clearer about that- we quickly spun our wedding plans and ended up organizing a small group of friends and close family to be present at a simple ceremony at friendship park on friday, june 3.

my dad walked me to michael, and as we walked he said all sorts of great dad-isms that got the waterworks flowing immediately!

leah wrote and read a perfect, hilarious, sweet piece about love, marriage, hormones and life that had everyone laughing and crying!

we exchanged vows and rings, led by a lifelong friend, bill.

and we are married!

with my new family:

michael with his new family:

we had a great group of friends along to witness our wedding and celebrate with us! me with the dudes:

and my ladies:

we enjoyed tacos y cervezas at la mexicana after the ceremony (of course!). then headed to orchid’s in the hilton for dessert and cocktails.
it was a magically evening! i loved how intimate the whole night was. i felt so connected with everyone that was with us to celebrate, especially michael! YAY!

i like to give things a try, especially if it is something i’ve never done. in talking about last night’s mediterranean feast- i knew that baklava would come up for dessert… we’d be repeating some old faves- roasted eggplant/red pepper dip, hummus, those pita, that bacon date salad, falafel- things we’d done a few times. as good a time as ever to try a new dessert!

and so i found a recipe and read it a bunch and thought it over a bunch and it seemed like a pain in the butt, but i figured it was time for me to conquer my fear of the layers of phyllo- to risk it for this amazing baklava that leah is always drooling about.

OMG! now i know what all leah’s hype is about! this shiz is amazing. and really not THAT hard, all said and done (and eaten!)

buttery crispy flakey layers of golden phyllo, tons of toasty nuts, sweet honey and cinnamon. lightened up with dried apples and a touch of lemon… so rich and moist, but not sticky… i lost count of how many pieces i ate!

i’d almost suggest making a bigger batch. it’s the same amount of layering whether in a small or larger baking dish (and that is really the tedious part, in my mind..) give it a try when you know you’ll have lots of folks digging in!

from bon appetit mag:
(makes 24 squares-shown, or 48 “classic baklava” triangles)

SYRUP
put in a heavy bottomed pot:
4 c. sugar, 1 1/3 c. honey, 4 cinnamon sticks, juice of 2 lemons (ZEST THEM FIRST!), 2 c. water
bring to a boil, to dissolve the sugar and reduce just a bit, then set aside to cool.

BAKLAVA
toast 6 c. walnuts and 6 c. pistachios. when they’ve cooled, pulse in a processor.
toss chopped nuts in a bowl with 1 1/2 c. sugar, the zest of those 2 lemons, 3 tsp. ground cinnamon and 1 c. dried apple rings- chopped.
that already smells great, huh?!

40 17 x 12″ sheets of phyllo dough, thawed. didn’t make this part from scratch. i’m not a greek granny.
6 sticks of butter, melted.

brush a large baking pan with butter. lay phyllo to cover the bottom and brush with butter. do this 10 times. overlapping and sloppiness seems to work in your favor, here. just brush every bit liberally with butter.

when you’ve laid ten layers and buttered them all, sprinkle about 2 c. of your nut/apple mix evenly. yum.

this is the trickiest layer: cover the nut mix with phyllo and brush with butter. just be patient, because that nut mixture isn’t an even surface and it is harder to brush that butter on, i just globbed it on that brushed it up the side of the pan to get a good base layer.

then do this 5 more times. another layer of nut/apple mix. then 5 more layers of phyllo/butter.

again.

cut the top few layers of phyllo/nut filling without puncturing that bottom layer. this will allow the air to get up in that phyllo and poof each square. put the pan in a hot oven and bake for 45 minutes. after baking, enjoy the way your kitchen smells and drench the whole pan in that honey syrup. let the baklava cool and then cover it. i’d imagine it’d be good for a few days.

when serving, you’ll have to cut through to that bottom layer, and then again in triangles if you are dainty.

i couldn’t help but wonder if you could have a sweet bacon baklava? ahhh!

make your own cinco de mayo party with fish tacos and mexican street corn salad!

it is quite an interesting idea to me, this cookbook thing. you know i am not all that great about tracking exactly what i do when i’m cooking, and i like to change it up! but, it was fun to get practice in paying extra close attention when cooking up this meal… might be something i could get into!

with a freezer full of brown bananers, we went looking for a way to use em up!

cooked the bananas in butter and sugar and a touch of cinnamon- on the stovetop and layered them with cubed bread and golden raisins in a casserole. poured a custard (4 eggs with 3 TBSP. and 2 c. heavy cream + vanilla) to cover the bread. let it sit for a bit and baked.

whipped up a frantic salty caramel this morning- to send it through the roof! the mornings before brunch are interesting, looking up from a hopeful caramel project to see folks lining up outside a half hour before we open to try to get a table in the first go-round. adds to the adrenaline of getting the place open in the morning… the caramel: sugar browned on the stove until melted, then whisked in butter and cream until golden. gave it a shake of salt and called it our second to last brunch! whooooo!

guys. you go SO crazy for this and it is SO easy.
go to the store and buy this:

follow the instructions on the back! i make a graham crust that’s about 1 1/2 the normal crust- i like it thicker. whisk together the lime juice, sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks. pour into the crust and bake 15 minutes. chill and serve with sweet, whipped cream.

even timmy could do it!

we have had this recipe saved in our “favorites” file since very early on, but didn’t give it a try until this week! pork ‘country style’ ribs slow cooked in a poblano/tomatillo/corn stew with a cheddar cornbread topping that melts away… goooooo.

like a mexican cassoulet? would like to try again with beans and chorizo?…

i LOVED these. they were my first enchiladas, and i will be playing around with this concept in the future!

we rolled the corn tortillas full of a roasted butternut squash/corn/cheese mixture. then topped them with a spicy tomato/green chile sauce and baked them with more cheese…

for the squash filling:
cut the squash in half and roasted it (cut side down) til soft. let it cool a bit, scooped out the seeds, then scooped the flesh from the skin. while roasting: chopped onions, poblanos, jalapenos, etc. and sauteed them all together. adding corn kernels at the end. mashed this goodness up with the squash and seasoned it. that’s the filling!

i warmed the corn tortillas over a nonstick pan, getting them soft and easy to roll.. i did two at a time, and this seemed like a good speed- i would throw two tortillas on the pan, turn around and stuff the two on the table. a scoop of the squash filling and cheese (we used a pepperjack/mozzarella blend), rolled it all up and placed it seam side down in a casserole. then on to the next two.
(this actually moves pretty fast and it doesn’t have to look amazing, you are going to pour sauce and more cheese on the tortillas, so just keep moving!)

for the sauce:
onions, more poblanos, jalapenos etc. cooked on the stove, then pureed with some tomatoes, green chiles and a little of the adobo sauce from a can of chipotles. added some veggie stock to that (about equal parts liquid to veggies) and cooked everything down on the stove until it is saucy looking and full of flavor. poured the sauce on the enchiladas, covered in more cheese and baked about 20 minutes.

the sweetness of the squash, the texture of the corn kernels and the spicy sauce. yes. again.

using beets instead of carrots in a morning muffin is a GOOD IDEA!

let’s refresh- 2 c. ap flour, 1 1/4 c. sugar, 2 tsp. cinnamon, 2 tsp. baking soda, a pinch of salt, 2-3 c. shredded beets, 1 apple shredded, 1 c. canola oil, 3 eggs, 2 tsp. vanilla, 1 c. walnuts, lots of raisins, goldens and craisins.

we buy these great big cans of tomatoes- whole romas with basil. i like them and think they bring good tomato flavor when it’s not fresh season… i think the can is 6 pounds and 7 ounces. or 103 ounces. good luck making this recipe small!

in a big pot, the huge can of tomatoes, with the juices and basil. 8 cups of distilled white vinegar along with a splash of sherry vinegar. 3 cups of sugar. some fresh thyme and paprika and a few spoonfuls of vanilla. let it all cook together on the stovetop for a while. breaking up the tomatoes and cooking off a little vinegar.. after it had boiled a bit, i added the juice of a lemon (just to be sure it would gel a bit) and let it chill.

pretty fun! it definitely brings acid and sweet.. if i couldn’t see the beautiful red color, i might wonder if this was tomato at all! i think i like it! next time sweet and SPICY! i’m going to add some jalapenos…

peeled 12 pears (leaving the stems) and put them in a large pot with 4 cups of sugar, 6 cups of cheap white wine, 4 cups of water, the zest and juice of: 1 huge grapefruit, 4 oranges and 6 lemons. with a few stars of anise and sticks of cinnamon for depth. simmered everything together to dissolve the sugar and tenderize the pears and get it all together. cooled everything overnight and added a little vanilla for balance.

cut the pears in half and used a small spoon to remove the seeds. placed on our honey greek yogurt with some of that good juice and NUTS!

a super juicy, tender pear with the creamy, rich yogurt: dessert for breakfast!