Weekend in Pictures

A trip to the Riverwalk...

 Playing in the leaves...

 A Hungry Girl recipe... Mini Pigs in a Blanket...

 And a little something I am working on... Whole Wheat Cranberry Muffins!  This was take two... they are just about right... one more try and then I'll share the recipe.

Anniversary Dinner: The Concord Cove (Lake Wylie)

So, remember how I told you that Ryan and I were celebrating our 9th anniversary on Wednesday?  Only, I went with my friends to the Southern Christmas Show, instead?  Well, last night we decided to go have a (child-free) special dinner to celebrate.

We couldn't decide where to go.  We considered heading to Charlotte, but in the end we decided to try The Concord Cove in Lake Wylie.  We've been meaning to go there for a while, but you know how it goes... life gets in the way...

We looked at the menu on the web site and we were drooling... it all sounded so delicious!

These pictures are terrible... the lighting was low and everything looked awful, no matter what setting I used.

I ordered a glass of the Ruffino Chianti, which I really liked!  I am going to have to try more Chiantis.  Lately, I've been on a Pinot Noir kick.

We had some delicious warm bread...

I loved that it was served on a really warm plate.  It kept the bread warm until we finished it. 

They also had hand-stamped butter, which I love.  How can you not like flower-shaped butter pats?  And that little dish over on the left had 3 different spreads.  The first was a pimento cheese, the second tasted like a pesto, and not sure about the third, but maybe a garlic spread?  All were delicious.

Ryan and I both had salads...

We had a little bit of a wait for the main course, so we tossed around ideas for our 10th anniversary trip... Chicago?  California?  Hmmmmm...... But when we got our entrees, it was worth the wait.

Ryan ordered the NY Strip with Garlic Mashed Potatoes.  It came with a pepper cream sauce.  Yum.

I opted for the special: almond-crusted sea bass with a lemon-butter sauce.  This fish.  O.M.G.  It was really amazing.  I LOVED my entree.  The fish was cooked perfectly-- still firm, but it flaked easily, and the almond crust on the outside was crunchy and delicious.  I had a baked potato, but I was kind of wishing I had gotten a vegetable.  The people across the aisle from us got asparagus and broccoli and when I saw that I had some food envy. 

We were so stuffed, we couldn't order dessert!

All in all, it was a great dinner.  I didn't ask about the price of my entree (it was a special not listed on the menu) and when we got the bill I was a little surprised... it was more expensive than I was expecting at $32... more than other menu items... but we did have a City Pass coupon, so that helped!

I would definitely give this restaurant a try if you haven't been there yet. 

Giveaway Winner!

Several of you entered my drawing for the POM Wonderful bag.

and the winner is...

LYNN!!!

Thanks to everyone who entered by commenting!  I wish I had more bags to give everyone one!

Here's a look at what you're getting, Lynn:

For those of you who don't know Lynn, she's one of the most inspiring people EVER.  And she is a fellow blogger, too!  Check her out at her blog, Hill Warning.

Lynn, get ready to try pomegranates for the first time! :)

Ok, now I am headed to dinner at The Concord Cove in Lake Wylie for our anniversary dinner...

Happy Friday!  Hello weekend!!!

The Southern Christmas Show!

Yesterday was a special day.  My husband and I celebrated 9 years of wedded bliss!  I can’t believe that 9 years have passed since our wedding day!

And… how sad is this… we didn’t even see each other!  (Well, not much anyway… we had about an hour and a half together.)

My friends and I like to hit the Southern Christmas Show in Charlotte each year, and this was the ONLY day we could all agree to go.  So… Ryan and I are going to celebrate our anniversary this weekend instead!

Have you ever been to the Southern Christmas Show?  If you are like me and LOVE a chance to get into the holiday spirit, you must go.  Angie, Mandy, and I got on the road yesterday as soon as we could and headed to the Queen City!

As soon as you walk in the door, there are beautiful holiday displays, holiday songs playing, and all kinds of wonderful smells. 

The first place we went was to the wine tastings.  Now, don’t judge.  It’s literally right by the entrance.  It’s not that we TRIED to go there first.

We went to the Duplin Winery booth.  I usually totally ignore this wine, because I don’t like sweet wine at all.  For those who don’t know, Duplin is a winery close to Wilmington, NC, and they make Muscadine wines.  There are LOADS of people out there who love it.  So yesterday I asked if they had any wines that weren’t sweet.  I tasted their Burgundy, and I actually really liked it.  It’s not at ALL the kind of wine that I usually like.  It’s dry, yet it tastes like Muscadines… It’s very light and fruity!  I think this would be a great summertime red wine.  I don’t think I would drink this all the time, but I actually bought a bottle to take home.

We saw all kinds of cute gift ideas… but we did more tasting than shopping!  

I tasted all kinds of goodies….

Some delicious bread from Elaine’s Slices of Heaven…

This was actually some of the zucchini bread, which was wonderful, but I ended up getting the cranberry bread.  It was delicious!  It has this amazing icing on it, and it is so moist!  This bread has oranges, cranberries, walnuts… it is perfect for the holidays. 

If you are interested in looking at all the different flavors, take a look at their web site: http://www.slicesofheaven.com/ .  They also do amazing gift baskets, too.  You can order online, but there are also places you can buy it in Charlotte. 

Take a look at this fudge display…

I tasted several yummy kinds, such as Cheerwine fudge, Fudge with jalapenos, and Raspberry Cheesecake fudge. 

I took some of the raspberry cheesecake flavor home with me. 

There were also soup samples…

ciders and coffees…

dips and spreads...

Just an aside... this dip was called "Crack."  Actually, it was "Cajun Candy," but the salesperson said it was also known as Crack because it's so addictive.  His sales technique was to call out, "Wanna try some crack?" to everyone who passed by his booth.  Amazingly... it worked really well.  The booth was flooded with people.  I didn't bring any "Crack" home with me, though!

And there was so much more!  Here's a peek at the goodies I brought home...

If you’d like to go, the show lasts a few more days.  You can visit the web site for more information about the Southern Christmas Show.  Make sure to wear comfortable shoes!  This show is HUGE!!!

When I got home, hubby and I enjoyed some wine and fudge and toasted to the next 9 years!  Next year’s a biggie for us… wonder where we should go for our 10^th anniversary???



Top Ten Things That Happen When You Start Writing a Food Blog

I'm getting closer to my 100th post!  Wow!  It seems like I just started this blog yesterday, but in just a week or two, I'll have 100 posts.

So I started thinking about things that I do differently, now that I am a food blogger.  Lots about me has changed.  I've tried new foods and sooooo many new recipes!  And my photos?  Seriously.  Let me show you some of my first photos...

UGH!  I am so embarassed by those.  Let me show you my dinner tonight. 

So... I am still not a pro by any means, but I am getting better.  I've changed in other ways, too.  I thought I would share them with all of you.  If you're a fellow food blogger, I think you'll find something on this list you can relate to.

If you think of things I have left out, feel free to comment!

In the style of David Letterman, we'll start with number 10 and work our way down.

10.  You start to say things like, "Wow.  That broccoli is beautiful."  And then your friends look at you like you've grown a third head.

9.  You carry your camera to restaurants.  You take pictures of everything.  The menu, the plates, the waiter... who looks at you like you've grown a third head.

8.  After keeping your blog a secret for a while, you finally tell some of your friends you have a food blog.  Their reaction?  "Why?"  or "What's a food blog?"  followed by "Why?"

7.  When you go out to brunch with your husband, you hope you'll get seated near the window so you'll have natural light to photograph your omelette.

6.  You stop going to places like Taco Bell because, let's face it, Bean and Cheese burritos just don't look all that great, no matter how you photograph them.

5.  You go back to Taco Bell occasionally, but you never, EVER write about it in your blog, because a food blogger would NEVER go to Taco Bell.  (You can feel free to insert other Fast Food names here to make it work for you.)

4.  You plan out your dinners by color.  "Hmmm... I  need something red to go with this..."

3.  Your husband starts to think you might be looking up porn on the Internet, because, seriously... who would be spending THAT much time online reading and writing... about FOOD?

2.  You learn the difference between the Macro and Infinity settings on your camera.  Then you buy new lenses.  Then you put a DSLR on your Christmas list.

and the number one thing that happens when you start writing a food blog is...

1.  Every time your blog gets a comment, you feel like you've struck gold.  Oh, and when you get FOLLOWERS?  Well, that's like finding platinum.

Thanks to all of you who read my blog.  This really has been such a fun and interesting journey.  I'm excited to keep going.

POM Dinner Party Recap #5: What We Did With Our Leftovers!

Well... sadly, I have just about come to the end of my recaps on my POM Wonderful Dinner Party... if you are joining me here at the end and would like to catch up on the previous posts and recaps. please click on the links below!

Recap # 1: Preparations and Decorations
Recap # 2: Drinks and Appetizers
Recap #3: The Main Course
Video Tutorial: How to Open a Pomegranate AND a Giveaway!
Recap #4: Dessert

Now, you might think that this story ends with dessert... but you are wrong!  What do you always have after a dinner party?  Leftovers, of course!  We ended up with a LOT of leftovers, because we ended up 3 short at our dinner party! :(  It was ok... the rest of us enjoyed the extras and it made it possible for us to all squeeze in at one table.  Here we are enjoying some of the specialty POM drinks...

By the way... Lucas is holding the cheesecake in his hand... I just didn't get it in the picture!

Now, I knew that Ryan and I would get tired of eating leftovers, so we called in reinforcements: family!  We had Ryan's parents, as well as his sister and her two boys join us for Sunday lunch. 

Hello, Pom Party # 2!  Yes, we had TWO Pom Parties!!!  We just reheated everything and did it all over again! 

While I reheated everything, Ryan entertained the kiddos in the back yard.

Then it was time to eat!

What a fun weekend!

I am so grateful to POM Wonderful for such a generous shipment of gift bags for the guests, the two cases of beautiful, juicy pomegranates, and all of the fun goodies!  I am HOOKED on pomegranates now, and this opportunity gave me a chance to cook new dishes with an ingredient I was not that familiar with.  NOW, I will definitely buy lots of poms to use each fall and winter!  (I LOVE that you can freeze the arils to use later!)

Thanks to all of you for reading and for taking this journey with me (either via blog or actually at the dinner table)!

Don't forget... you can still enter the giveaway by clicking here.  Then you can take your own POM journey!