Super Bowl XLVIII Grub

This years Super Bowl meal planning has been a lot of fun.  Especially since my family and I will be spending it together with my sister and her family up in Michigan.  Here is the menu we have planned and just so you know, we always plan our menu around the cities each teams come from.  So, here goes. . . . .

 

Burger Sliders

 

Posole

Chile con Queso

Hot Chicken Wings

Mussels, in a wine & garlic sauce

Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce

Salmon Pattie  Sliders

DESSERTS

Molten Chocolate Orange Lava cakes

We have a busy few days ahead before the BIG game!  Have a great weekend and remember to savor every moment!!

Snow, Sun and then more Snow!

My trip to Upper Michigan is everything I expected it to be plus more.  Snow, snow and more snow.  More than I ever saw in the five years I lived in upstate New York.  Definitely more than Virginia.

Thursday morning my sister and I decided to head up to Traverse City, MI to do some shopping.  We woke up to the first sunny day I've seen in about 2 1/2 weeks.

 Sunshine, blue skies and frozen snow on the trees and ground were a magnificent sight of God's handiwork!

The roads for the most part were like this.  The temperature was 10F degrees when we started out and probably rose up to 12F degrees by the time we headed back home.

I'm so impressed with the way this picture taken from the passenger seat I was sitting on.  What a view, wouldn't you say?  This is Rt.31 headed to Traverse City, from Manistee, MI.

On our way back, my sister made sure I saw the same herd of buffalo I saw on our last trip up here.  Sure enough, they were there!  I was so excited!

This is the sign leading into our LRBOI reservation.  So colorful against the beautiful white snow.

This is Moe and I.  Moe has been my buddy since I arrived in Michigan.  I sure am going to miss him when I head back to VA.

Today the sun hid behind the clouds.  We also had white outs and blizzard like conditions.  It's a good thing we drove to Traverse City yesterday when we did.  Who knows how long these blizzard like conditions will last??  Oh, and the weatherman is predicting another "Polar Vortex" (again) for the next couple of days!  Yay!!  :)

Enjoy your weekend, I hope it's warm where you are and remember to savor every moment!!

NFL Conference Championships and Their Quarterbacks

It's hard to believe football season is coming to another end, ending with the Super Bowl this coming February 2nd.  Why does it go by so fast?!! 

This coming Sunday, January  19th, the above four teams will be playing for their conference championships.  There are two conferences, the American Football Conference or better known as the AFC and the National Football Conference, better known as the NFC.  The winners for the AFC and NFC Conference championships will head to the Super Bowl.  

In the above image, I have selected the winners (in my opinion) of each game.

In the AFC, I'm voting with my heart, as I would love to see the Patriots and Tom Brady go to the Super Bowl once again.  Tom needs to win this SB as it could be his last one, he's no longer a spring chicken!

In the NFC, I'm voting with my brain, the Seahawks.  The Seahawks have been stupendous this year and in my opinion it's because of the their QB, Russell Wilson.  I don't want to give the credit to their coach, Pete Carroll, whom I can't stand.  Russell is a great kid too!

Below, I have posted a picture of each quarterback playing this coming Sunday:

 

Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning

Patriots vs. Broncos

 Colin Kaepernick vs. Russell Wilson

49'ers vs. Seahawks

Which ones do you think will make it to the Super Bowl??

Have a great NFL Conference Championship weekend and remember to savor every moment!

Smitten by the Mitten

Lake Michigan, Manistee, Michigan

This is my home for the next month!

Not this spot actually but I will be visiting with my sister and her family who live in this town until the end of January when hubby comes back to pick me up.

The wind was wicked cold today, I had to hurry up and take this pic because the wind was spitting tiny snow pellets into my face and camera lens.  I'm thrilled with the way this pic came out.  Those waves were slapping the shore so loud and so hard.

Downtown Manistee, Michigan - a lovely Victorian town

We are testing ourselves to see how much we can handle these N. Michigan winters for our possible move up here.  So far . . . so good.

Hubby is in heaven.  Since he grew up in upstate NY, he's used to these type of winters, where there's snow all winter.

They do a very good job here in Manistee in clearing the roads.  You can't tell that there's a lot of snow on the ground with this picture.

This is how most of the city looked like today, covered in snow.

This is a ritzy section of Manistee.  These are some homes with a view of Lake Michigan.

The wind was still blowing hard as we took a drive around our tribe's reservation.

We had a wonderful turkey meal at my sister's home.  As we waited they gave me a glass of water with these ice cubes in the shape of the state of Michigan.  Aren't they adorable??

Needless to say, I am, "smitten by the mitten"

Savoring every moment . . . . -Bev

SHARED WITH:
The Tablescaper: Oh, the Places I've Been

Christmas Meal - Stuffed Crown Roast of Pork

Chestnut and Pear Stuffing:

Extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces slab bacon, cut into 1/4-inch dice
4 ribs celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 Spanish onions, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/4 fennel bulb, cut into 1/4-inch dice
Kosher salt
4 sprigs rosemary, picked and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped
8 ounces peeled chestnuts, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup dried cranberries
4 Anjou pears, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 cups dry white wine
12 cups cubed crustless, stale sourdough or peasant bread
4 cups chicken stock, warmed

I made the sourdough stuffing bread crumbs a few days ahead of time as it needs time to dry and get stale.

I bought two packages of six sourdough rolls and cut them up.

Placed in a large cookie sheet covered in olive oil.  Spread out and bake in 350F pre-heated oven until browned 10-14 minutes.

Remove from pan and cool.  Place in a container or baggie, set aside.

On medium heat, cook the bacon until all the fat has rendered and it's crispy.  Add the celery, onions, garlic, rosemary and fennel.  Sprinkle with salt, stir and cook until the vegetables are tender, 7-10 minutes.

Add the cranberries, chestnuts and stir.  Isn't this a festive looking part of the stuffing?  So pretty :)

Stir in the pears and then add the white wine, let it reduce to half.  Place the bread crumbs into a large bowl, add the veggie mixture and half of the stock. 

Place in a baking dish reserving enough for the center of the roast crown of pork.  Bake in 350 for half hour, until topping is browned.  On a side note, my son offered some constructive criticism and said the bread should have been a bit more crispier.  I should have brown them some more on a lower heat and for a longer time.  I will take that into consideration next time I make stuffing from scratch.

Here is my Crown Roast of Pork, just the way Fresh Market gave it to me.  I did remove the apple before I stuffed the roast.

SAUCE TO RUB ON CROWN ROAST of PORK

Combine the following ingredients for an eight-to-nine-pound crown roast of pork:

Salt and freshly ground pepper
5 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
Grated zest of 1 orange
4 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

1 cup of white wine

2-4 cups of chicken broth

 Preheat oven to 425F degrees.

Place the roast on rack inside roasting pan.  Stuff the cavity with a cup and a half of stuffing.  Rub the buttery garlic sauce in and around all over the roast.  Sprinkle with a generous portion of salt and pepper.  Cover each pork bone with a piece of foil.  Pour 2 cups of broth and the cup of wine in roasting pan.  Place roast in preheated oven and bake for 1/2 hour.  Reduce heat to 320F degrees and bake for 2 1/2 hours.  Remove from oven when done and cover with foil and let sit for 25 minutes before serving. Make gravy from leftover juice liquids left in pan.

Place on a serving dish, drizzle with pan gravy and dress with chop frills. 

CHRISTMAS EVE TABLE SETTING

Everybody got an extra goody on their plate (a N. France tradition) thanks to our family in upstate NY.

I bought six large plates of Charter Club Dinnerware, Holly Berry Collection

plus two smaller plates, my favorite pattern from Macy's.  They were on sale and that's all I wanted at the time.  In the future I will get a few more matching pieces one at a time.  

This was the first time I ever cooked a Crown Roast of anything.  I was a little anxious at first but what I usually do in this situation is just take one step at a time.

It looked great when it came out of the oven and even better when placed on the table.  My husband and son thought it was DELICIOUS, the best yet.  I on the other hand was a little disappointed.  My piece was dry with no taste and didn't understand why they were so happy with it.  What we came to find out was that they were eating pork closest to the bone.  They were practically devouring it.  When I had a piece like theirs I felt the same way.  The dressing was also a hit with them, I wasn't crazy about it.  Perhaps the bread should have been a little more drier and crispier and a little more savory.  It was a treat to have for leftovers and most of it is all gone this day after Christmas.

We had a wonderful time with family, especially the grandkids who happen to make Christmas morning a lot of fun.  We are so blessed! 

Happy blessed New Year to you and yours!

Bev and family