A Gourmet Love Affair

Not just any old burger

Published on 2009-09-08 16:21:00

Corinne and I bought some thick sirloin patties from our local Supermarket, we do not eat a lot of hamburgers but these looked way too good to pass up (and they were super cheap!). We were talking about what to do to them, because we figured the just looked too good to ruin these bad boys with mustard and ketchup.Corinne suggested I add some applewood smoked bacon and the guacamole that we had recently made to mine. I suggested that she add pineapple, Teriyaki sauce and mayo to hers.Corinne love

Holy Guacamole! (come on, what else would I call it? lol)

Published on 2009-09-08 16:18:00

I figured its time to post a couple of more directly food related entries. Although I still have hundreds of more pics from our travels over the past year (Germany, Mexico, and various states around the U.S) and I will post those in between. I love traveling and trying new restaurants and new foods and I am eager to share those experience with you.But for now lets make some Guacamole!Two years ago, on a cruise we took of the Mexican Riviera, I discovered I liked Guacamole. Before that, as far as

Overseas Pizza

Published on 2009-08-24 10:59:00

Pizza in Switzerland:The toppings are Salami mit Ananas (Pineapple). Okay, I know what your thinking; "He's writing about pizza?" I know it sounds pretty boring for a post on this blog, but the differences between what we as Americans are used to and what we encountered in Europe, I found interesting enough to write a quick post about.We had this combination of Salami and Pineapples a few times in Germany, because its similar to a Hawaiian (but much better!) The Pizzas there can be very differen

Leipzig, Germany

Published on 2009-08-11 11:18:00

While Corinne and I were in Leipzig, Germany, we spent the first night in the Gasthof Alt Engelsdorf. We had never been to Leipzig so we took my Grandfathers hotel recomendation because he stays there everytime he is in Leipzig visiting his sister. It has a history dating back over 100 years, though it was completely torn down and rebuilt about 15 years ago (which disappointed us because we are big history buffs.) Since it is relatively new, the hotel was in good condition and nicely decorated.

Hofbräuhaus Dinner

Published on 2009-08-07 13:52:00

Here is just a quick look at what we had for dinner at the Hofbräuhaus in Munich. It isSpanferkel (Suckling Pig) with Klöße (dumplings) . It was very good, crispy skin, wonderful flavor, however the meat was not as tender as I anticipated. But overall it was fantastic!

Update: we are still alive

Published on 2009-08-05 13:25:00

It has been well over six months since Corinne or I have had a chance to post anything new. I just wanted to apologize to all of our readers and give a quick explanation of what has been happening in our lives. Since our last post, we have moved into our new house. That has taken up so much of our time getting things in order, fixing things that needed to be fixed and just getting settled in. Corinne finished up her student teaching semester which left basically no time for any good cooking or e

Goodbye Christmas, Hello New Year

Published on 2008-12-30 11:19:00

Another super busy Christmas has come and gone... New Years awaits.We are closing on our house in a little over a week and I, as I believe I have mentioned my teaching career before, I will be starting my student-teaching this semester...We can't wait to have a house! A larger kitchen to cook in... my little cook's heart is thumping in my chest thinking of the entertaining possibilities and all. Right now our kitchen is about the size of a large bathroom... and while it's been great for our fi

Off the Vine

Published on 2008-12-28 20:49:00

In our last entry, we told you about San Pedro Brewing Company, and right after eating there we took a walk over to Off The Vine which was another establishment we learned about from www.cruisecritic.com (which, by the way, is really great site to learn everything about cruises, including what to do in the cruise ports!) It was a short walk away, and they were having a wine tasting that night of Australian wines.Neither Corinne or I were very familiar with wines from down under, so we th

San Pedro Brewing Co.

Published on 2008-12-10 10:36:00

Just prior to the cruise that Corinne and I took last month, we spent the night in San Pedro. Of course being in a new town we had to try out the local restaurants. We decided on San Pedro Brewing Company because of good recommendations on cruisecritic.com. The brewing company is a small bar/grill in the heart of San Pedro with no more than 25 tables.The décor was mostly historical San Pedro, with old pictures and portraits of important figures in the cities history. We took a table in the corn

Italian with an Autumn Twist

Published on 2008-11-26 15:34:00

Have I ever mentioned that Autumn is my favorite time of year? It is one of the main reasons Daniel and I wed at this time of year, plus, the leaves are changing, the weather is cooling. And the food? Warm, spicy, earthy. I think I love the food of Autumn best.I have been wanting to make a Butternut Squash Lasagna for ages, but lasagna making is not in my repertoire, plus Daniel never seems too excited at the mention of it. Before we left on vacation, I had bought a nice butternut squash bu

We're Back!

Published on 2008-11-24 12:32:00

We're back!Lets face it. Cartoons make fun of them, comedians make cheap jokes about them. Cruises. A boat full of old people and all-you-can-eat-buffet-goers scarfing down platefuls of mass-produced "gourmet" food.Sheesh. People are harsh! Daniel and I have just celebrated our First Year Anniversay. When we got married, we went on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera for our honeymoon. He loved it so much we booked another on that very cruise, for a year later, to celebrate our One Year mark

Going on Vacation

Published on 2008-11-03 17:34:00

I can't believe so much time has gone by and we've got nothing to post!We've had a German bierfest (nothing foodie-worthy there except lots of beer), made a few noteworthy dishes... taken some pretty pictures... but the truth of the matter is, we have been so busy we've often just done pasta or pizza or frozen meals! How dare us you say!? Well... it is all for good reason. We are looking into buying a house! It is also a busy time in school for me, and we are leaving for a week-long vacation i

A Simple Side

Published on 2008-10-22 18:03:00

Here is one thing you might not think of as a side dish often. Radishes. I remember my father sitting down with a bowlful of them, stems removed, salt-shaker in hand. He'd sprinkle just a bit of salt on them and bite into the crunchy, peppery bulbs.The little ones were always to much for me, I preferred the larger, more mild ones. Then, I forgot about them, until I began eating out (as an adult) and noticing them as second-thought garnishes to pretty platefuls of glorious food.Daniel likes t

Gourmet. Comfort. Food. (and some new plates)

Published on 2008-10-15 12:10:00

Since we decided to go on this vacation to Mexico ("only 24 days!" Daniel reminds me), the idea that I've had to lose weight has loomed over me for many months... I love food. I'm not a thin or in-shape person. I'm active... but we love food and beer enough to outweigh that, no pun intended.In the summer, it is far too hot to do any exercising outside, but now that it has cooled down, I've began walking in the mornings. Walking along one Saturday, I passed a sale with some funky dishes displa

A Pefect [Pear]

Published on 2008-10-10 17:10:00

Strolling through the farmers' market I came upon some Asian pears that were quite inexpensive, they usually range from about a dollar to over a dollar per pound, so when I found them for for $0.69/lb I snatched some up quickly. If you've ever had an Asian pear, which I hadn't at the time, you'd have probably grabbed more than I did... I ended up with three and took them home very excited to try them. They are sometimes called apple-pears because they are firm like apples, but taste like pears

Foodbuzz Love

Published on 2008-10-07 19:13:00

Isn't this the coolest!? We got it in the mail this week... A green silicone spatula, and a totally awesome apron to protect the threads from our culinary concoctions! It even matches our totally cool tote-bag (for shopping green!) we got in the beginning of the summer!Foodbuzz, we have three words for you.We luuhhvve you.

Oktoberfest is Here

Published on 2008-10-06 10:43:00

Seeing how it is time for Oktoberfest we decided to celebrate by making schnitzel again (and drinking tons of Warsteiner beer!) This time I chose to make a Zigeunerschnitzel. Zigeunerschnitzel, "gypsy schnitzel," also known as paprikaschnitzel, is a schnitzel served with a spicy sauce of bell peppers and onions. We used veal cutlets again, dipped in egg first and then liberally coated in bread crumbs and fried on a medium-high heat until they were golden brown. (print recipe here)The sauce wa

Farewell to Summer

Published on 2008-09-27 14:43:00

Just because it is the end of summer does not mean it isn't hot anymore. In Arizona, it's always hot! But, I'm glad it will finally be cooling down, if even only by a few degrees. Our last summer barbecue included some delicious ribs. Now, we don't have a smoker, and our grill is gas (gasp!) so all you die-hard "real" barbecue fans should leave right now. But if you're open to new ideas, and don't have time to tend to smoked meat for 12-24 hours, this is a great recipe for tender, grilled b

Busy Weekend BLT

Published on 2008-09-24 13:53:00

Well, we are back after a long weekend away in the mountains. We've been to this spot before and we snagged a prime camping spot that fit all four parties/tents that attended. We've been meaning to do an entry on camping food, because we love some of the things we do, but unfortunately, we've never gotten good pictures of anything we make! We'll have to work on that the next time we go!Below is a view from the edge of the Colorado Plateau, its called the Mogollon Rim. It's a great cliff that

Off to Camp

Published on 2008-09-19 13:31:00

I hope you haven't missed us too much, we've been busy with the start of school but are both getting back into the groove of things. I miss you all! I've barely been able to make it around to all of my daily-reads, please don't forget about us!This weekend, we are heading north to go camping... we've been cooking, just not as often, but we still have some yummy dishes we are ready to post so look for them next week.Have a great weekend everyone!

A Thank You to Three of You

Published on 2008-09-12 14:00:00

Short post today... We are just AWFUL at this blog-business stuff... But over the past [few] month(s) we got the same award from three(!) people... So thank you to Haley of Appoggiatura, Ivy of Kopiaste, and Nancy of A Recipe A Day, thank you thank you!I in turn pass this Brilliant Diamond to three others:Lore of CulinartyMichelle of My Italian Grandmotherand The Blonde Duck of A Duck in Her PondAll of these gals are part of my routine reads and I consider them great blog-buddies! It is an hon

Country Style Ribs V - Beef Skewers

Published on 2008-09-05 19:50:00

Our fifth and final entry in Rib Week was inspired by my favorite thing to eat in Disneyland, beef skewers. If you are familiar with Disneyland, you can find them right across from the Indiana Jones ride at the Bengal BBQ. It’s a bit too far to drive and quite a bit too expensive to get into Disneyland whenever I want the skewers so I looked up the recipe online. I tried it a few times like the recipe states but I was unhappy with the outcome so I created my own recipe that is easier to wor

Country Style Ribs IV - Skillet-Braised Apple-Mustard Ribs

Published on 2008-09-03 17:33:00

So far we've done some of these delicious ribs on the grill, in the slow cooker, and as a stir fry. Today I'm going to tell you about cooking these ribs using another slow method - braising. In all technicality, slow-cooker cooking IS a form of braising, and many braising methods include transferring the cooking container to the oven to finish. We actually don't have ANY oven safe cookware (safe for stove-top and oven, that is), so we've learned to braise solely on the stove-top.This recipe i

Country Style Ribs III - Pork Stir Fry with Noodles

Published on 2008-09-03 15:48:00

As I've mentioned twice now, country style ribs are a great value. They can tend to be on the tough/gristle-y side, but the ones we get from our butcher are usually pretty good. Another thing that can be done to prevent toughness besides boiling or slow-cooking, is to cut across the grain, as you would a flank steak. When you cut across the grain, you have perfect little bits for fajitas or stir fry.I looooove stir fry. If our diets and budgets allowed, I'd get Chinese takeout way more than

Country Style Ribs II - Slow Cooker Ribs

Published on 2008-09-02 23:15:00

Slow cooking is the busy cook/mother/student/wife's dream. OK, so, maybe your memories of slow cooker meals include Momma's Pot Roast and Beef Stew, not exactly gourmet (but don't knock them!) New generations are waking up to the versatility of slow cooking. From soups and stews to casseroles to cakes, almost any recipe can be adapted for use in a slow cooker.Country style ribs are an ideal slow-cooked meal. The fat and gristle content is best cooked slow and long at lower temperatures. The