A Proper Party.

All the prep work from the posts below was nothing compared to the party that was had for these two love birds...

Together, all of their friends threw them a Surprise Engagement Party :)

After the planning, baking, and cooking was done... all we could do was wait for them to walk through the door. It was hard for all of us to keep quiet!

Yes, you better believe I made all of the desserts.... right down to the chocolate ganache frosting on those mini-cupcakes :)

Yes, I put together that gorgeous arrangement as well. Notice the bread sticks too!

Vanilla Custard & Berry Napoleons? No problem! I was literally putting the finishing touches on these babies as Sam & Erin were heading up the elevator...

Not to forget that it was ALSO Erin's birthday!

After we'd love a few, we decided to quickly take a group shot. Such a happy little family!

The night before the party... they had no idea what we had in store for them! I think it was quite a success. Special thanks to everyone to helped by bringing food and drinks... and to Sarah B. of course for doing a lot of the planning, while I did the cooking & baking!

Thyme & Parmesan Breadsticks.

Like I said, I had to make everything by hand for this special little party. It only makes sense to make the best of things when you are hosting one of the Food Editors from Better Homes & Gardens. I felt the pressure, but I was up for the challenge :)

Funny, what mixing a few key ingredients will produce! I think I threw in flour, yeast, salt, some herbs, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and olive oil into my mixing bowl and slowly mixed them all together.

The batter quicky became thick and dough-like. I rolled the dough into a long loaf -like shape and cut small pieces off of it, and then rolled the small pieces into long bread sticks.

After baking them for about (15) minutes or so, they were ready to eat!

Making about (50) or more of these yummy sticks was fun, but not as fun as eating them. This is all that was left after the party. I have to say, they are quite the people pleasers!

Pumpkin-Chocolate-Oatmeal Cookies.

Prepping for Erin & Sam's Engagement Party was quite a task. I had decided that I was going to make (3) different homemade desserts, as well as snacks, for the party... and I only had a couple of days to make it happen!

So I went to town. I made the pumpkin puree the night before attempting to make and bake the cookies, so lucky for me I had part of the recipe done ;) It actually called for puree in a can, but I knew I could make my own and be an over achiever.

After picking up all of the different spices I needed from allspice, I went to town and threw together the batter. The smell of everything mixed in was kind of intoxicating. If I remember correctly, I used freshly ground nutmeg, clove, allspice, cinnamon, and ginger.

Then I threw in one of my favorite ingredients... dark chocolate!

I scooped small spoonfuls onto a parchment sheet and into the oven they went!

Yum. I taste tested more than a few before the party... :)

Meredith Gardens.

I promised all of you (but mostly myself) that I would make it over to see the Meredith Gardens before the end of Fall.... lucky for me, the Summer and Fall both went late into the year for the first time ever and I was able to make it down right before they closed the gates!

I loved this little gazebo area. To bad it wasn't a day that was open to the public so I wasn't able to really sit an enjoy for too long.

On Fridays, anyone can go down and have lunch and just enjoy the scenery.

I didn't get to see much more than half of the gardens because Better Homes & Gardens were doing a photo shoot for their Spring/Summer issues. Can you believe they were already planning those shoots as the rest of us were preparing for the coldness.... which luckily still has not struck too bad yet :)

Rekindled Love.

If you know, you have to know how much I love weddings. I love to plan them... attend them... and work at them too! I fell in love with the idea of weddings a long time ago.

The moment that realized how much I loved them was when I read "The Five People You Meet in Heaven". I don't remember the exact quote from it but I do remember that when Eddie meets Marguerite in "heaven", she explained that she chose weddings as her "heaven" because they are a time of supreme happiness and she wanted to experience that happiness forever...

So, after leaving the wedding industry for a while, it should be no surprise that when Saley from DiVine Flowers asked me to help her coordinate, I jumped right back on board! Take a look at the world that I love t be a part of. How could walking into this wonderland not make you smile inside?

The entire room was so fragrant with the essence of roses. If I remember correctly, she said she used over 10,000 of them.

I love when weddings have a lounge area. It makes the setting so cozy and relaxed.

Candy Bars: Not just for kids anymore.

I really enjoy decorating the honeymoon suite. I know that by the time that the couple makes it up, they are either too exhausted to care or too drunk... but the thought they might appreciate it makes me happy.

There few things that I am truly passionate about... weddings are one of them!

Pumpkin Puree.

Have you ever tried to make your own pumpkin puree? Sure, it's easy to throw one in your shopping cart while you're at the grocery store, but I had a thought this year... "What's really in this, and why haven't I made my own before?"

So, after Halloween had come and gone, I used the (4) pumpkins that Joseph had grown in his garden. I was delightfully surprised how easy it was to make my own puree.

I started with (1) medium sized pumpkin.

I cut it in half and scraped everything out of the center, and then cut them into quarters.

I ended up using two more pumpkins because one didn't look like enough. I buttered up the pumpkin slices and baked them for (2) hours.

The apartment smelled SO good. They looked really pretty when they came out too.

I let them fully cool and then I scraped out everything from the skins. Once I had most of them scraped out, I threw them into the food processor.

And this was the finished product. I had to let it strain over night to get all of the excess liquid out, but once it was done, it was perfect. The endless possibilities I thought to myself: pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies! I love pumpkin flavored everything, it's the best. Stay tuned for what I actually used it for :)

Breakfast Treat.

What's your favorite breakfast food? Mine just happen to be eggs...

And this morning, since I had a late start into work, I thought I would make something that happens to be my weakness: Garlic & Herb Baked Eggs. It's quite sinful. I thought I was starting a new diet this week but I just couldn't resist making them since I had all of the ingredients.


The only thing missing?? A nice crisp piece of a french baguette. Shoot!

It's the perfect way to start the First Snow Day in Iowa :)

Lamb Burgers.

Did you get a chance to see what we did with the massive lamb leg in my previous post?

Well, this is what we did with the left overs, and I must say, I impressed even myself with the following creation:


I diced up all of the left over rare lamb leg meat, and discarded the parts that I thought were too cooked. Then I threw the pieces into the our food processor.


I processed them on a consistent setting until I thought that the meat was well ground and ready to handle.


Erin, Joseph, and I talked about what flavors we thought would compliment our lamb-burgers. After a quick trip to Gateway Market, we picked up some Feta Cheese, and stuffed the inside of the burgers with it.


I carefully combined the "top" and "bottom" of the patties halves and molded them closed to seal the cheese in during the grilling process.


I threw them into the grill pan on medium-high heat and let them cook on each side for about (6) minutes, per side.


While they cooked, I drizzled oil all over our "buns" and thew them into the oven to quickly brown.


I periodically checked in with the meat to make sure it was cooking to perfection.


Once the buns and meat were done, I threw them onto plate and had Joseph & Erin dress them with the condiments that they liked.


The small bar of condiments included everything from sauteed mushrooms to avocado to jalapenos. The final end result was a.maz.ing. The flavor combinations that we created were incredible. The meat was perfectly seasoned from the night before and all of the spices really stood out. I can't wait to make these again.... or even a slight variation!

Braised Lamb Leg.

A while ago, Erin and I collaborated in the kitchen and made the most amazing Braised Lamb Leg. One of the many perks of her job at Better Homes & Gardens as an Associate Food Editor requires her to take her work home with her, literally. The lamb board sent her a huge lamb leg to try, so to our gain, she brought it over and we made a dinner night out of it.

We had this massive lamb leg and started by poking small holes into the top of it.


For added flavor, we peeled a bunch of garlic cloves and inserted them into the holes.


While Erin finished up with inserting all of the garlic cloves, I started slicing up potatoes and onions to go into the roasting pan with the lamb leg. I threw them into a saucier with some salt, pepper, and broth, and brought the broth to a slow simmer.

While we cooked, Joseph photographed and made sure we had something to drink.


Someone has to make sure the cooks are taken care of!

Once the broth was simmering, I added some fresh thyme to the mix.


Erin and I concocted a small batch of special herbs and spices that we would smear all over the lamb leg.


Erin sprinkled the fatty side of the leg first.


Once the top was all covered, she started to rub it in.


...and then turned it over and did the same to the bottom of the leg.


Once it was coated in herbs, we flipped it over and threw it in the roasting pan with the onion & potato mix.


Into the oven it goes!

After a couple of hours, we were ready to serve it up and finally eat!


While the lamb was braising, I made some sides: Kale with Sauteed Mushrooms.


Red Wine Risotto.


And finally.... everything came together :)


The meat was SO tender and flavorful. It was one of the most memorable meals that I have ever had or made. Up next? What we did with the leftover lamb leg.