Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts

January 3, 2012

Recipes of the Week: Guacamole Bruschetta & Feta Dip

Made these two appetizers for our New Years Eve party and they were simply to die for (If I do say so myself). These would be recipes for just about any occasion.

Guacamole Bruschetta:

Ingredients:
1/2 Loaf French Bread (we chose to use a whole wheat sour dough bread and that was just perfect)
1 Clove of Garlic
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tomatoes, chopped
2 Avocados, chopped
1/3 Cup Onion, finely chopped
1/4 Cup Cilantro, chopped
2 Tablespoons Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Pepper

Directions:
- Slice the bread into 1/2" rounds and place on baking sheet
- Toast the sliced bread in the oven for 3 minutes, then flip each piece over and toast an additional 3 minutes
- Remove the toasted bread from the oven and immediately rub with the clove of garlic (it works best to first cut a small tip off the garlic clove so that the oils will seep out)
- Brush the tops of the garlic-rubbed toasts with olive oil and set aside
- In a large bowl, combine the chopped tomatoes, avocados, onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper. Mix together gently making sure the avocado is well coated in the lime juice.
- Spoon a portion of the mixture onto each of the garlic toasts and serve.

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Feta Dip:

Ingredients:
Olive Oil
Feta Cheese (about one block)
Tomatoes (roughly 3 Roma)
1 Bunch of Green Onions (we used a little less)
1 Baguette (we opted for Pita Chips and Crackers)
Greek Seasoning (or just use oregano, salt and pepper)
1 Platter

Directions:
- Wet the platter generously with the olive oil
- Dice green onions and tomatoes. Put them on the platter.
- Crumble feta cheese and add that to the platter.
- Sprinkle seasoning on top
- Mix everything together, gently.
- Slice the bread (if that is what you are using)

Serve.


December 29, 2011

Oh what a difference a year makes. A year ago we were heavy into the wedding planning phase and I was enjoying a nice long two month break from school (Thanks Samford for JanTerm). This year, reality hit hard with only a couple days off from work. Despite the dramatic change in meaning of the phrase "Christmas break," I could not have asked for a sweeter time. It was simply perfect.

Everything was lovely.

We celebrated Christmas Eve with a wonderful meal prepared by my rockstar-of-a-cook mom and a time of fellowship with Nathan's parents, Harvey and Karen, who joined us for the Christmas Eve service at Perimeter (which was incredible as always).

The weekend was full of joy.

Just a funny story from the weekend:
Growing up, my parents always gave my brother Adam and I some sort of board game for Christmas. As Nathan and I had been racking our brains for new traditions to start as a family we decided to start our own board game collection (buy one every Christmas). We picked the game Zero. Nathan and I packed Zero for the trip and were so excited to share the new game with my family. After a round of the game (which was a hit with all) my parents exchanged glances and just laughed while uttering the words-"should we tell them." Well, turns out that dad did tons of research and decided he and mom were going to give Adam, Nathan and I the game...Zero. It was quite a funny little story but ended well as we concluded each of us had good game-picking skills. Take our word for it and go get Zero, a fun twist on classic trivia games.

Our first Christmas as husband and wife could not have been more perfect. We are utterly blessed to have two families who love us unconditionally and give us so much support.

Weekend snapshots...

December 8, 2011

December 1, 2011

Thanksgiving in Nashville

Reality has set in. I no longer have multiple days off for Thanksgiving, not to mention essentially two months off for Christmas (due to "Jan Term" at Samford). Oh the joys of post-grad life. Now, let me just tell you that because I have don't have quite as many "days-off," those non-working days are enjoyed to the fullest especially since I am completely free of everything. No lingering papers or projects to turn in at the return of a break.  

I digress. 

It's been exactly a week since Thanksgiving and what a year truly filled with blessings it has been. The Lord has been so faithful.

This year Nathan and I spent Thanksgiving in Nashville with the Kirkpatrick side of the family. In college I had many a friend from the Nashville area so it was especially fun to explore their stomping grounds and much of what the city had to offer.

Despite getting to Nashville around 1am on Wednesday, the excitement about the Boulevard Bolt didn't dwindle due to a lack of great sleep. For years I have seen the Boulevard Bolt t-shirts and I was utterly thrilled to have my very own (that is the best part of races). Those of us running the race headed over to Belle Meade and I was able to rendezvous with my racing buddy, Smo (fun fact: the last race we did was a 5k in the Cayman Islands). It was at the start line that I realized the Boulevard Bolt was actually a five mile race, not a 5k (two mile difference here people). Though this came as a little bit of a shock, I couldn't help but be excited due to people being decked out in turkey hats and reindeer costumes. This year, there were 8,000 other people who decided a Thanksgiving Day race would be fun, so it wasn't until about mile two that Smo and I were really able to get our pace and find a hole in the pack to actually run. Five miles later, I was an official Boulevard Bolt runner. The race was such a fun experience and I loved getting to see my dear friend Smo and being a part of a Nashville tradition. 

Post Race Pic
The Kirkpatrick Runners: Post Race.
It was a wonderful weekend of delicious food and fellowship. Oh, and of course a Saturday filled with stellar rival football games. Another one added to the "W" column for my Dawgs (pumped for the SEC Champ on Saturday btw).

On our last day in Nashville Nathan took me to the famous Loveless Cafe. Let me just say, it was as good as advertised. Those blackberry preserves are divine and from this no-jelly/jam/preserves girl, that is sayin' a whole lot. Of course the biscuits added to the divine nature of the preserves. Simply delightful and so glad we were able to go.





November 22, 2011

The Grove Park Inn

My mom's Carolina (no need to specify, North Carolina is the only "Carolina") roots run deep and for the past several years we have made it a Thanksgiving tradition to return for some Carolina history at the Grove Park Inn.

The Grove Park Inn, surprisingly was built by workers who worked 'round the clock for a measly one dollar per day (actually really impressive for the time). The architecture is immaculate and with a back drop of the blue ridge mountains anyone is sure to fall in love with the place.

via
One of the reasons my family has always loved to visit The Grove Park Inn during the holiday season is because it's serves as the host of the National Gingerbread House contest and display. These gingerbread houses are the best around and are so detailed you would never know everything was edible.

Grand Prize Winner.

This year our trip to Asheville was simply perfect and a great time was had by all. Lunch at the Sunset Terrace followed by a tour of the gingerbread houses was a fantastic combo for our thanksgiving with the Hart fam.

Loved having Adam back from the Windy City.