Fun get-together idea for friends (19+)! GRC Week 3

Ahhhhh Monday.  We meet again.

For the past week, I've been taking things a bit easy and avoiding alcohol since the whole I-fainted-and-landed-on-my-face-splitting-my-chin-open-and-getting-six-stitches thing happened last weekend.  I'm starting to come around and have been feeling much better although I still have a visit to a cardiologist since my EKG test came up abnormal.

Staying off the booze hasn't been so bad however I was sad to be a spectator and not a full-on participant at my friend's* party on Saturday night.  She came up with a great idea to do an International Beer Tasting night.  Everyone in attendance chose a country (or region) of the world and brought a few different kinds of beer from that area for everyone to try.  We took turns pouring sample sized portions for each person to taste each kind.

One of the awesome things about living in a big city is that there is always a huge variety of single bottles and cans of beer that you can pick from.  All of the beers at the LCBO were labeled by country so it was easy to navigate through.  Often times, I go straight toward my old faithful, tried and true brands.  I'd encourage any beer lover to stop and take a little look around.  The beer tasting party was a great excuse to do so.

We ended up having quite the selection from England, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Jamaica and Asia.  It was a fun way for everyone to try some new flavours and share some laughs with friends.  Everyone discovered some beers that they really liked (and some they didn't).

This soiree was also a great excuse for me to try out a new appetizer recipe I've been eyeing.  You didn't think I'd forget about Week 3 of the Great Recipe Challenge (GRC), did you?!?!  Recipe Girl came to my rescue again with this SUPER tasty and VERY easy Pizza Pinwheels treat.

These Pizza Pinwheels will be a hit with your friends (young and old!)
Substitute pepperoni for your favorite veggie or other meat.

They seemed to be a big hit other than T being upset that I shared them with our friends and didn't hoard them all for him.

I didn't change a thing about the recipe.  My favorite part- the dough (which I usually find the most intimidating part of a pizza or pie recipe) is only two ingredients.  Just throw together some self-rising flour and some 2% plain greek yogurt and you have a fluffy, light pastry dough.  I literally threw the toppings on, rolled it all up and it was ready to bake.

1, 2, 3... Ready to roll!

Cut into 1/2" pieces and they're ready to head to the oven.

 So host your own international beer tasting event for your friends this winter (or attend one!) and try a new appetizer recipe to share.  Your friends will either be super grateful or think it's gross and you never have to make it for yourself or anyone else again!

*party planning credit goes to Meaghan :)

Share your recipes and party ideas with me!  Tweet me @darbyvt

The Great Recipe Challenge (Week 2): Oven-Roasted Pulled Pork

Spice rub, coleslaw, pork & beans.

Despite a slight medical set back yesterday morning resulting in six beautiful stitches in my chin, The Great Recipe Challenge must go on.

This week's meal: Oven-Roasted Pulled Pork with Spicy Slaw from The Food Network.  I've always been really intimidated by pulled pork because it takes so long and I thought it would be easy to screw up.  If I could execute this dish yesterday, you can execute it any day.

The key to this recipe is time.  You need lots and lots of it.  But the best part is that the majority of time requires little to no effort.  Heck- you don't even need to be awake for more than 20 or so minutes of preparation.  Perfect for a Sunday!

I was a bit overwhelmed by the number of ingredients used in all of the different components of this dish.   Upon taking a closer look, most items are things that I had (or should have had) in my cupboards already.  I was able to purchase any spices I didn't have for about $0.50 at bulk barn.  Even the pork shoulder itself was less than $10.

I put the rub on the pork around dinner time Saturday night, covered it with plastic wrap and threw it in the fridge.  Then, on Sunday around noon, I pre-heated the oven, put the meat in and came back at 5:30pm to take it out.  So so so easy.

Bake for 5.5-6h on 300 degrees.
Just out of the oven.

In the meantime, I mixed up the coleslaw a few hours before eating so that it had time to sit and thicken up a bit.

While putting together the "BBQ" sauce, keep in mind that it is not supposed to be a thick, sweet sauce like you have in the fridge.  It will taste as though there is far too much vinegar but I promise that it compliments the pork perfectly when mixed together.  I tossed the pork in the sauce before serving instead of pouring the sauce onto the sandwich to avoid the buns getting too soggy.

Cider Vinegar BBQ Sauce.
Don't let the vinegar flavour scare you.  It will be D-E-licious on the pork.

The coleslaw wasn't great.  A bit too tangy and "mustard-y" for my liking.  I planned on making homemade beans but just didn't have it in me that day so I cracked open a can of baked beans in molasses and it did the trick.

The pork was AMAZING.  So tender.  The bone in the meat literally fell out when I went to move it.  The bark on the outside is so tasty and just overall goooooood.

So juicy & tender.

We give this the absolute D&T stamp of approval.  Next time, I will try my own beans and a different coleslaw but the pork itself made up for absolutely any short comings in the side dishes.  The whole dish cost about $13 to make.  The Oven-Roasted Pulled Pork receives a whooping 9.5/10 on the yummy scale.  There was lots left for lunches the next day or would be great for feeding company.  I will definitely be making this again.  Who wants to come over?!

Send me your comments or recipe ideas!  Tweet me @darbyvt

Well that wasn't on my Bucket List...

I've never created a before-I-turn-30 Bucket List but if I had, there are two things that I would not have put on it.

1) go back to school

2) work toward becoming a Tea Sommelier

But, alas, I am George Brown College's newest student and, on Monday, I will start an eight-course certificate program to become a certified Tea Sommelier.  

I've developed a really keen interest in food and drink through my own experimentation and the exploration of the blogging world.  T had suggested that I try to find an evening course on social media or blogging.  He came across the Continuing Education courses in Hospitality & Culinary Arts at George Brown and the Tea Sommelier certification jumped out at me right away.  Artisan Bread Baking was a close second.

Although I'm not jumping ship on my current career to run off into the tea gardens and will only be going to class at night, I'm excited to dabble in something just because it interests me.  

I think it's completely weird and out there and I have no idea what to expect but I'm putting myself out there into the tea-iverse to try something new.  The class is either going to be filled with Queen West hipsters or 70 year olds.  

Now excuse me while I go buy Staples out of coil notebooks and new pens.  What am I going to wear on my first day?!?  Geeky cool?  Artsy fartsy?  Modern hippy?  

By the way, you're all getting tea for your birthday, Christmas and any other gift-giving occasion. 

Tweet me!  @darbyvt

The Great 52 (or at least 45...) week Recipe Challenge

Winter Sundays at my house are often pretty low-key.  They usually involve lazing about, coffee-drinking, recovering from the night before and the sound of crumpling Pro-Line tickets when T's football teams aren't doing well.  These days can cause episodes of daydream where my fabulous urban alter ego gallivants about the city with her three best girlfriends brunching and sipping on mimosas all while carrying armloads of shopping bags from the highest end stores.

In reality, I usually don't get out of my sweats and it's a big day if The Blind Side isn't playing on TV followed by a Hugh Grant movie followed by Pay It Forward.  

I must have been running a fever or something because I was feeling especially inspired and ambitious this weekend and decided to challenge myself to trying one new recipe every week this year.  I figure with vacation, work trips and other clever excuses, I can get 52 weeks down to 45 recipes at the most.  Totally do-able.  

I quickly found out that this little project will take some research and serious grocery prep but I'm up for it.  Let's be serious... I have the time...  

My week one recipe came to me from my new life hero, Lori (aka RecipeGirl.com).  I decided on the Baked Penne with Spinach, Roasted Peppers and B.A.C.O.N.  

A few things I did differently:

• I roasted my own red peppers instead of buying them in a jar (Super easy.  Just brush some oil on the pepper and throw it in the oven set to low broil for ~6 mins on each side)
• The recipe calls for frozen spinach but I cooked my own in a pan with a bit of butter, 1/4 of an onion and a clove of garlic
• I used pizza mozzarella instead of provolone
• President's Choice Blue Menu makes a Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper soup and was the only one I could find at my local grocery store.  Because it comes in a 500mL carton, I used 1 and 3/4 cups of milk instead of 2 cups

Tips:

• Prep took me about 35 mins since there are a number of things to pre-cook (peppers, spinach, bacon, penne).  You also have to prepare the sauce after everything is cooked which uses up more dishes and time
• Baking time of 35 was perfect but let the dish sit for ~10 mins before digging in (it's difficult- I know!) as the texture was a little bit soupier than I expected
• Prepare to wash about 14,097 pots, pans and spoons once the dish is in the oven.  I was able to double up on a few pots for different components but your sink is going to be full by the end of prep (see photo below).

                         

Prep: Roasting peppers, making pasta
and cooking spinach & bacon

Ready for the oven!

Finished product.  Beautiful dish.

Aftermath...  1,000,000 dishes

The finished product was rich, creamy and great for those who aren't watching their waistlines.  Give yourself just over an hour to make this meal start to finish.  Perfect for a lazy Sunday.  Also great if you are training your roommate, kids or significant other in the art of dish-washing.  There were 4-6 portions (yay leftovers!).

RecipeGirl's Baked Penne with Spinach, Roasted Red Peppers and B.A.C.O.N receives the D&T stamp of approval and, after a brief household survey was performed, received a 7.75/10 rating.  It has been added to our "Make Occasionally" meal list.

Tweet your comments and meal ideas to @darbyvt

...trying to get up that great big hill of hope... for a destination...

Considering my abundance of time, motivation and desire, this blogging thing is way harder than it looks.  I thought I could come on here once and week and share stories, clever antidotes, even inspirational quotes and ideas but one very important thing seems to be lacking- a focused point of view.

I look at Food Network stars, shows like Anna and Christina's Shopping Bag, friends who are passionate about yoga and mommy bloggers.  I want to have the charisma of Carrie Bradshaw, the sense of humour of Ashley Spivey, the great tips of the Smart Cookies.  But I feel more like Bridget Jones.

I want to tell the almost-30-something women out there that you CAN make your own crust for chicken pot pie and your entire kitchen will be covered in flour and bits of dough but that's ok!  People need to know which candles and shower gels are the best and what tea to drink with which book.  Everyone must be dying to know what Songza playlist I've been listening to when I work or cook or dance or just to unwind at the end of the day.  Don't you care what class I went to at the gym this week?!  Who do I think will win Sean's heart on this season of the Bachelor?!  Wouldn't you like to know...

So perhaps I just have to put things out there and a point of view will come together.  I'll leave it in the hands of the cyberverse to steer me toward courage, focus, articulation and an openness to create.

Your patience, feedback and readership are greatly appreciated.

Follow me on Twitter: @darbyvt