Favorites of September & October 2011.

So you've noticed that I haven't blogged in TWO months.... I haven't! Where has the time gone? I had to look through my last couple months worth of photos to see what I have been up that it seems as though it has only been a few weeks since my last post.

As I reminded myself of the recent happenings and reflected on them, I put together a compilation of photos that really brought a smile to my face or stood out among all things. I haven't included everything yet as I am going to do individual posts for the bigger and more important things, but I think you might enjoy these... for now:

1.) Fall is by far one of my favorite seasons; the changing colors of the leaves, to the slight chill in the air, and the need to wear a scarf :) Oh, and champagne is always in order!


2.) Weekly bonfires is also one of my favorites. I think sitting around a bonfire and just watching is so therapeutic, especially after a long and stressful day or week. It's kind of like watching a candle flame, but in larger terms, obviously.


3.) Scott Yoshimura, is my favorite too, of course. We all attended the release of his bands' new CD. Raygun, in the East Village, hosted the event and provided PBR while playing the new Envy Corps CD.


4.) I have a hard time saying no to a party! Joseph, Jenn (another one of my favorite people), and I attended the HUE event at The Des Moines Art Center. The color of the evening was Vermillion. It was a pretty fun time with a lot of fun people like Betsy Pearson & Lucy Shay, also a couple more of my favorite people :)


5.) Aside from cooking (which I will be posting more pics of later), I have also been baking up a storm. From cakes to cupcakes to cookies and even napoleons!


6.) Oktober Fest. Enough said? It was a blast! My favorite was that I got to hang out with all my long-time favorite people: Joseph, Sarah, Meredith, Bethany, Seth, and even some new ones like Mr. Sorenson, and his sister Emily, and her boyfriend Zach!

...And the one and only Garrett of course!


7.) We all attended the World Food Festival last month. It has grown so much since the last time I went... maybe 4-5 years go. It was awesome to see all the new additions to the once very small festival.


8.) Doing all things Fall is what I missed most about the Midwest while living in California. We never really saw the change of seasons or got o fully experience them. SO, we had to go to Apple Orchard picking and Pumpkin Patch searching. More on this later, but just a little teaser for now!


9.) Brunch. Probably of my favorite things that I picked up in San Diego. It was a must, ever week, for us and will continue I'm sure through Winter :)


10.) Camping, I have to confess is not one of my favorite things, but with the right people, it makes for an amazingly fun time.

11.) Weddings, one of my all time favorite things. You get to hang out with all the people you haven't seen in ages as well as all the people you love. We had (2) weddings within a matter of weeks within each other. Congratulations to my cousins' Debby & Chito, as well as my long time good friend Marci and her new hubby Andy :)

Squash Blossom Pizza.

Here's a little something that I forgot to post from a couple of months ago. I didn't get many pictures of the process, but Erin did, check out her blog post here.

We bought the pizza dough at Gateway Market and then while I made the garlic and white cheese sauce for the base, Erin fried up the squash blossoms. I had never had squash blossoms before and they totally made this pizza. They really taste like you are eating squash. We added some pieces of squash from Joseph's garden, tomatoes from Sarah's. Viola! We topped the pizza with the blossoms once it was all done, and I drizzled some honey on my slices to add a little sweet to the super savory taste. Love it!

French Madeleines.

Here's a little sneak peak into the video that Joseph made while I made homemade Madeleines for the first time. I have always loved the idea of them but never got around to buying the special baking pans for them. What do you think?

joey baking madeleines from joseph wanek on Vimeo.

More cooking, baking, roasting, and braising to come!

Homemade Pesto Pasta.

Some days after work, all I want to do is sit on the couch and order take-out.

But then most days I am sitting at work and thinking about what I want to eat for dinner and once I figure it out, I have to go through a mental list in my head to figure out if I have everything in my pantry/fridge....! It's kind of exhausting but also exciting to think about coming up with new recipes or just trying a new recipe in general.


A few weeks back, I talked myself into making pasta. I was at work, and thought, "I haven't used my new pasta extractor yet, I am going to use it tonight..." So I went home and started a simple egg noodle pasta. Needless to say, I didn't know how long it would take...


It was really easy at the beginning. A simple twirling of a few eggs in a pile of flour.


....and then it was really hard to get the rest of the flour to mix in.

Finally, I added one more egg and small amount of flour and got it to all come together. Then I realized that it would have to sit for about (30) to (60) minutes before I could put it into the pasta extractor. Oooops!


Not a problem though, Joseph and our friends weren't home yet, but once they got home and Joseph setup the machine, we went to work on the pasta!


It took us a while to get all of the pasta made. At first we thought that we wouldn't have enough but surprisingly that small ball of dough made probably made enough pasta for (6) people.


While Sarah, Erin, & Joseph put the dough through the extractor, I made a quick little tomato, caprese-style salad.


After about (30) minutes or so of extracting, I thought "...maybe I should have just bought the Kitchen-Aid Pasta Extractor Attachment!"


But it wouldn't have been as fun for all us if our Kitchen-Aid did all the work ;)


Once we were all done extracting, I quickly threw it all in boiling water for about (4-5) minutes until al dente. Then I strained it, threw it into a big bowl and tossed it in Joseph's homemade pesto.


I grated some Parmesan Cheese over all of it, tossed it again....

Finally, I topped it with tomatoes and basil leaves from Joseph's garden and time to eat!

BHG Tour.

If you remember Joseph's birthday post at all, you will definitely remember that fabulous cake that our friend Erin brought from a Better Homes & Gardens shoot. Well, after it was all gone, I had to take the cake stand back over to Erin's work, which is at the Meredith Corporation.

I sent Erin a text and let her know that I could drop it off anytime, and she responded quickly and told me to bring it right over.... which is super convenient because Meredith is right across the street from our apartment! I thought I was just going to drop it off at the front desk but Erin invited me in and asked me if I wanted a tour! Of course I did!



Erin's office has a such a wide array of cookbooks, I wish my cookbook collection looked like that!


Can you spot the cake stand in this picture?


I loved all the pictures that Erin had posted on her walls. She picks images that she really likes, recipes that she wants to try, and food that just inspires her for the magazine and at home.


Wouldn't it be nice to have a whole collection of Better Homes & Gardens back issue magazines at your disposal?


After Erin showed the all of the test kitchens, photo shoot sets, and food-filled meeting rooms, I was in total bliss. I didn't want to leave, it was like a big wonderland inside of the Meredith Corporation! It's no wonder it's so hard to get a job there.


I walked around the grounds on my way home. The gardeners for the magazine do such a splendid job.

This image changes seasonally, and what the best part about it? My living room window looks right out to it. I can't wait to have lunch with Erin in the actual Test Gardens. They are only open to the public one day a week, so I better get down there before the summer weather is gone! I'll be sure to document it well when I actually go.

Zombie Burger + Drink Lab.

The best part about new restaurants opening? I would have to say be able to try menu items for free for their Soft Opening Parties :) The latest hip, new place to open in the East Village is Zombie Burger + Drink Lab. George Formaro, the owner/chef, wanted to open up a place that combined burgers and zombies... clever, huh? It features crazy combinations of burgers, spiked milkshakes, and cocktails. Take a look...


Shannon had a couple extra tickets that she generously shared with Joseph and I for the Pre-Opening Shake Down. We were the first group of people to get to try everything :)


Can you see the excitement in Joseph's eyes?


The menu was crazy! You can check it out here. I ordered the Raygun Burger (monterrey jack cheese, fried jalapenos, caramelized onions, bacon, guacamole, & chipotle mayo). It was really good, super greasy, and left me feeling comatose.


Shannon ordered the Flamethrower Burger (buffalo sauce, blue cheese, onion rings, & ranch mayo) I don't really remember how good it was, but I'm sure I liked it because I love buffalo sauce!


And finally, Joseph ordered the mother of all of them, the Trailer Trash Zombie Burger (american cheese, fried pickle slices, chicken fried bacon, cheese curds, & ranch mayo) I just had a small bite of Joseph's but it was quite tasty. I don't think I would be able to finish a whole once, especially because we all ordered a double... I can't imagine even eating a triple!

If you haven't tried it yet, head down to Zombie Burger + Drink Lab. You're in for a real treat! Even if you aren't a fan of burgers, you will find something on the menu that you won't be able to resist...

Mobile Printing Press Party.

Have you ever heard of a Printing Press on Wheels? Had you said that such a thing existed more than a few weeks ago, I don't think that I would have believed you. After attending Domestica's AIGA Iowa + Type Truck + Poster Party, I fell in love all over again with letter pressed everything!


A group of us got together and drove down to the East Village to attend the event. The weather was typical that of a hot Midwest afternoon. We tried to stand in the shade of the truck to stay cool... and drank a couple of beers too, of course. There was a long line to get into the very small but very cute truck!

Kyle Durrie, the letter press printer from Portland, is making a cross country road-trip to teach workshops, doing demos, and inspiring people with her letter-pressing skills. She began her trip in June and it will last about (9) months. Interested in having her stop in your town, click here.

I had to make sure she had been through San Diego, and of course it was one of the first places she had already stopped :)


She had traveled through most of the Southwestern States and made her way to Iowa.


Kyle was really sweet, patient, and a great print pressing teacher!

I'm not sure how many people had already crammed themselves into her little truck but she made it seem as though we were her first group. I think I would have been a little grouchy, especially because it was so hot and humid!


The two colors she had out were Red & Blue.


We all decided to make a joint one, and wanted to make one half blue and the other half red.


It's all ready!


Next step? Picking out the paper's color and thickness.


Ready to lay it down... very carefully... making sure it's centered is hard!


One, two, three.... roll! And out it comes. Do you love it, or do you love it?! So much fun. Thank you Type Truck & Domestica for hosting the event, truly unique!