Recipe - Argentinean Pork

Made this recipe two times now. First time I just seared it in a pan and then transferred to the oven. Second time I seared it in a pan and then transferred it to the grill. Either way, it still comes out amazing.


http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/argentinean-pork-50400000115204/

Potato & Bacon Potato Salad

With Memorial Day this weekend, I am planning to make this potato salad that I had first tried out back in September for tailgating with R, Dad K, and some good friends. This dish was the hit of the day. This time, I'm going to try substituting Greek Yogurt for 1/2 of the mayo.

Ingredients

4	cups cubed red potatoes
1	cup chopped onion
7	bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
2	tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1-⅓	cups mayonnaise
3	tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
3	tablespoons prepared ranch salad dressing
2	tablespoons prepared mustard (we used Dijon)
4	teaspoons white vinegar
½	teaspoon minced garlic
¼	teaspoon salt
¼	teaspoon pepper

Directions

Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, onion, bacon and parsley. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Pour over potato mixture; toss to coat. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until chilled.

Recipe retrieved from Pinterest:  http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/12955041/potato-bacon-potato-salad/

Appetizers

Just a few of our favorite appetizers that I wanted to share.


Baked Goat Cheese with Caramelized Onions, Garlic, and Mission Figs
This recipe I first made for R back in 2005/2006 when I was trying to impress him with my culinary abilities (which at the time, I severely lacked but of coursed didn't want him to know this!). Serve with sliced baguette.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dan-smith-and-steve-mcdonagh/baked-goat-cheese-with-caramelized-onion-garlic-and-mission-figs-recipe/index.html

Medjool Dates with Gorgonzola
We tasted these at our local TJ's with a wine tasting. Oh my...can't even begin to describe the "party-in-your-mouth" experience with this combination.
Recipe consists of the following ingredients:

• Medjool Dates
• Gorgonzola* (you can either buy already crumbled or a block and then cut into small pieces/chunks to stuff inside)
• Honey (this is optional)

Directions: cut date in half (carefully removing pit), stuff with Gorgonzola; repeat. Set on a platter and then drizzle lightly with honey, or you can just eat them as is. *You could sub blue cheese, but we were not as impressed with that combo.

Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps
First had these at our engagement party hosted by Mom and Dad K.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/sweet-chicken-bacon-wraps-recipe/index.html

Mothers Day Brunch (Recipe: Bacon, Mushroom, Swiss Quiche)

 We were lucky enough to spend Mother's Day with both mothers this year! This has never happened before, so it was very special. R and I got up and made a quiche based off a recipe I found on Pinterest, but we tweaked it quite a bit (recipe below). We served the quiche with a fruit salad (strawberries, green grapes, blackberries, blueberries, clementines, and added some lemon zest and juice).

 
                                         Courtesy of Auntie Loretta, we devoured the remaining chocolate covered strawberries that we had leftover from the visit the night before. Probably the best chocolate covered strawberries I have ever had - she had picked the berries from a local field that morning and they were incredibly ripe (naturally) and juicy. I loved how she left the full stem so you could easily pick them up to eat. She also made the beautiful centerpiece on the table.

Of course, no Kelley brunch would be complete without mimosas.

So, onto the quiche recipe. Here is a link the to recipe we used as a base for the quiche:  http://voices.yahoo.com/fathers-day-brunch-ideas-6074000.html?cat=22

We doubled the recipe since we were feeding six adults. Here's the recipe with our changes:
10 eggs
1 cup milk
2 ½ cups shredded Swiss cheese
1 pint of cremini mushrooms - slice into bite size
1 small package of mixed gourmet mushrooms (shitake, oyster, etc.) - chop into bite size pieces
1 bunch of green scallions (chopped)
10 slices of bacon
2 ready made pie crust
Fresh ground black pepper and sea salt (to taste)
Fresh rosemary & thyme
Grated nutmeg

Recipe
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook bacon according to package. Let cool.
2. While bacon is cooling place pie crust in a glass pie plate.
3. Saute mushrooms in butter until softened or appear to caramelize. Season with fresh ground black pepper, fresh rosemary and thyme. Take off the heat and let cool.
4. In a large bowl combine eggs and milk. Whisk until blended.
5. Add bacon, cheese, sliced scallions and mushrooms to egg/milk mixture. Mix.
6. Divide and pour egg mixture into the crusts.
7. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes. We set timer for 30 minutes and then added a little bit more cheese to top along with grated nutmeg. Bake until knife comes out clean (~another 10 minutes depending on the oven).
8. Let cool for 5 minutes. Slice and serve with fresh fruit of your choice.

Restaurant Review - Beer Run, Charlottesville, VA

After our hike this past weekend in Shenandoah National Park, we ventured down to Charlottesville. I had wanted R to try, Beer Run (http://www.beerrun.com/), a place Julia and I had visited together last March based off a recommendation. I had long raved about the beer selection and knew R would enjoy it. The drive from Shenandoah to Cville was not long at all - maybe 30 minutes. We got to Beer Run around 5:30 and were able to snatch up a table outside under their covered patio. Beer Run offers a large variety of beer and wine inside their store and on their menu. Inside the shop, it reminded me of the huge selection and prices that you can get at Total Wine. Each week, they change up what they have on tap. It was perfect timing for us to visit as they had the Lagunitas A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale American Wheat Pale Ale on tap, which is a new favorite in the Kelley household. I had picked up a 6 pack of this several months ago when it was advertised at Total Wine (we try to pick up new selections each time we go. I tend to pick beers based on their ratings as I don't know a ton about beer - I know...not the best way to pick, but it has worked out for the most part!) Anyhow, I digress. The Lagunitas Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale was even more fantastic on tap. The great part about Beer Run is that you can get their beers on tap in 3 different sizes (oz). I got the Allagash White Belgian from Maine (have had it many times before and it is great in the bottle, but even better on tap).

For dinner, I ordered the Rock Barn Brats (probably the best brats I have ever had - they are local, so next time we are down that way, we plan to pick some up) with apples and onions with pureed parsnip and sweet potato mash. It was delicious, but it does seem like a menu item that would be more suited for Fall weather. It didn't stop either of us from practically licking the plate. R got the Bison "Crunch" Burger. It was served on their homemade pretzal roll and topped with bbq potato chips and a chipolte sauce (I think). I love that we always order different things so we can switch half way through.

Finally, for dessert, we had talked about sharing the "Red Velvet," which is a blended beer of a bourbon barrel stout with Lambic Framboise. We purchased a bottle of the Williamsburg Bourbon Barrel Porter so we can recreate this drink at home. Alongside, we got a slice of the Guinness Chocolate Cake...super rich, moist, and flavorful cake. The cake and "Red Velvet" were a great combination - highly recommend!

Between service, wine/beer and food selection, and atmosphere, we would give Beer Run an 8/10. We will be back! :-)

Vermont Trip - Sept/Oct 2010

 Notes from our trip to Vermont that we took in the Fall of 2010.

We stayed in Warren, VT (where Robert's company's condo is located...it is a ski resort area, so not much else to do other than ski). We went in the Fall, so no skiing. The mountain also had a really cool disc golf course, but we didn't have time to get to it, so that would definitely be something we do if we go back in the future. We did spend time just hiking the different trails (http://www.madrivervalley.com/activities/hiking-walking-and-trekking) and checked out this waterfall: http://www.northeastwaterfalls.com/waterfall.php?num=404&p=0
Here's a link to the other waterfalls New England: http://www.newenglandwaterfalls.com

Montpelier - Toured the State Capitol (very cool tour and gave insight into how their State/Local government operates). Montpelier is just down the road from Burlington (about 40 minutes). One of the cool things about Burlington, other than it being a college town, is that it's right next to Lake Champlain. We loved Burlington. We did the 20 mile bike ride loop that my cousin, Jeff had suggested (find those below). We also took a ferry across the Lake when we arrived (we had driven through upstate NY and that is how we crossed into VT). We have friends that took a guided boat tour around the lake, but we didn't do this. Montpelier is also very close to Waterbury (where the Ben and Jerry's factory is located. We stopped by there on our way down to New Hampshire. It's a short tour/presentation, but the downside is that it is jam packed with tourists [lots of tour buses]). We got to try a new flavor that wasn't released yet, but other than that, we would not go there again due to it being so touristy and not really anything "special."

In East Montpelier (on our way to State Capitol), we stopped at the Bragg Farm for a little tour and to buy maple syrup. http://www.braggfarm.com/visitus.html

Other things in Waterbury: We checked out the Cabot Cheese Annex (http://www.cabotcheese.coop/pages/visit_us/cabot_annex.php).  They had samples of basically all of their cheeses and then sold them at a discounted rate. We love cheese and it was fun to taste test flavors that we have never seen in the stores down here. Across the street is the Cold Hollow Cider Mill, where you can get apples, cider donuts and shop for overpriced goods.

Honestly, a lot of our trip was spent walking/hiking through different parts - we had lucked out and got the peak week, so it was just so nice to be outside and take in all of the scenery. We loved driving on the country roads and stopping at places that came up a long the way. Lots of covered bridges. Here's a site I found that lists covered bridges: http://www.central-vt.com/visit/cvrbridge/index.html (this link is for the Montpelier region)

Email from my cousin, Jeff on his suggestions for Middlebury and Burlington, VT. Jeff went to school at Middlebury College.

Here are some ideas for Middlebury and Burlington things to do/places to eat:

Middlebury Attractions

1.      College campus is pretty and can occupy you for an hour or 2, and it might be worth checking to see if there are any concerts at the college if you end up spending a night in Middlebury 

2.      Otter Creek brewery is kind of cool if you’re into breweries.  But if you’re not big into them, you may just want to visit the Magic Hat brewery in Burlington because that one is bigger, more  interesting, and you can get a tour which is kind of fun

3.      Middlebury College Center for the Arts – this is a small art museum that has some interesting art pieces, but it is quite small and won’t keep you busy for too long.  I recommend checking the website to see what exhibit is currently running

4.      That’s about it for stuff to do – Middlebury is a pretty small town :)

Middlebury Restaurants

1.      Fire and Ice – a little bit pricey but this was my favorite restaurant in Middlebury. Try to make a reservation if you’re going on a weekend when school is in session because it can get busy

2.      American Flatbread – very good brick oven pizza.  Try to make a reservation if you’re going on a weekend when school is in session because it can get busy

3.      Mister Ups – more casual restaurant but has a good salad bar and pretty solid American food

4. Steve's Park Diner - good breakfast, very cheap as well

Burlington Attractions

1. Church Street: a cool, cobblestone street that has some shops and food places, and sometimes street performers.  It's very similar to Pearl St. in Boulder, CO
2. Biking through Lake Champlain: if you go right down Main Street toward Lake Champlain, you can rent bikes and then ride north on a great bike path.  At one point you actually ride through Lake Champlain on a path that used to be a railroad track, Rachel and I had fun doing this when we went a couple of years ago
3. Concerts: you might want to check to see who's playing at Higher Ground, Nectar's, and the Flynn while you're there - these are all good music venues that attract some pretty good bands (a lot of hippie type stuff but also some other genres)
4. Hiking:  Mt. Mansfield is well known for having good hiking.  I have never been, but I think that's the place to go if you want to hike
5. Magic Hat brewery is pretty cool - you can get a tour and also taste some of the different beers at the end of the tour for free, which is fun

I actually can't remember which restaurants we went to in Burlington, but here's a great link from the NYTimes series called "36 hours in..."  with some additional suggestions: http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/travel/02hours.html

Dijon makes everything better

We love our dijon mustard around here and thought we'd share some recipes that have been enhanced by this ingredient! At Christmas, Kathy and the boys sent us a large jar of mustard that they had made, which got us motivated to start making our own mustard. Below you will find the mustard recipe from Kathy, along with some recipes that we love using dijon mustard. In fact, all four of these recipes would probably come together well for a whole meal. Enjoy!


Recipe for Dijon Mustard - http://www.food.com/recipe/delicious-homemade-dijon-mustard-79999


DIJON-ROASTED RED CABBAGE - recipe from www.HeathersDish.com

• 1 small head of red cabbage, shredded (mine was about the size of a large grapefruit)
• 2 Tbsp dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.  In a bowl whisk together the mustard, Worchestershire sauce, oil, garlic, salt and pepper.  You want the mixture to be fairly runny, so if it’s thick then add a bit more Worchestershire.  Toss the cabbage with the wet ingredients in a large bowl and then spread evenly over the baking sheet.  Roast at 400 for 20-30 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes, until the leaves are starting to get both tender and crunchy at the same time (I roasted mine for about 25).  Remove from oven and eat either hot or at room temperature.
 
Holy Yum Chicken (http://www.tablefortwoblog.com/2013/02/06/holy-yum-chicken/)

Roasted Mustard Potatoes (http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/roasted-mustard-potatoes/)

Honey Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette (we make this dressing often to have on hand for salads during the week - i don't have exact measurements, just make it to taste.)

• freshly squeezed lemon juice
• dijon mustard
• honey
• EVOO
• white balsamic vinegar
• minced garlic or garlic powder
• sea salt
• fresh ground pepper