Last night we had a fondue celebration dinner.  Why are we celebrating, you ask??  I got a new job!! WOOHOOO!  I am moving to another law firm and will still be doing some business development (as I am now) but I will also be doing a lot of events in the Chicago office.  I am SO EXCITED for this move.  I will definitely miss the friends I have made at my current job, but I think this is a really good opportunity for me to get back to doing something I am passionate about. 

So we had a lovely French/Swiss themed dinner last night with cheese fondue and champagne.  It was the PERFECT way to celebrate.  Note: I am eating only lettuce today though….

Here is how I made it:

Fondue:

1 clove garlic

1 cup (or more) dry white wine

1 lb. Beaufort, gruyere, swiss, or comte. (I used a mixture of all four)

1 tsp. nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbs. Cornstarch  

We ate it with a crusty French baguette, granny smith apples, and pears. I suggest going ahead and cutting them up before starting the fondue because it goes very quickly once you start. 

Grate the cheese and set aside in bowl.  Rub the garlic clove around the pot then bring the wine to a simmer in it.  While the wine is coming to a simmer, toss the cheese in the cornstarch.  Slowly add the cheese to the wine, whisking in a figure 8 motion. (I added about a handful at a time and waited for it to fully melt before adding more).  Once all the cheese is added, add the nutmeg and salt and pepper.  Pour in a bowl to serve and voila!

If it starts to get cold just stick it in the microwave for about 30 seconds and it will be perfect! 

Happy fondue-ing :)

Four Kinda weird things I missed about Richmond

Sorry it's been so long since a post!  It's been a really crazy couple of weeks.  I am working out of the Richmond office this week while visiting family and friends in town and it has been really strange being back.  I don't think I realized until this week how over stimulating being in Chicago is.  Every single thing there is new, I never know where I am, and I don't know more than 20 people.  It was so refreshing to walk out to lunch here in Richmond and know exactly what was around me, what their menu was, and how long it would take to get my food.  Don't get me wrong, I am really enjoying exploring a new city with Luke but it is definitely nice to be home.  Here are 4 kinda weird things I have missed:

1. Using the stairs at work.  I work on the 44th floor in Chicago and the second in Richmond.  It was weirdly really nice to just be able to pop onto the stairs to go down one floor and then be outside.

2. Pimento Cheese.  Not much else really needs to be said about this one.  But I love pimento cheese. I haven't seen it in Chicago.  It is delicious. 

3. Driving and not feeling like I'm going to have a heart attack. Chicago has intersections where 95 million streets intersect at once.  There is such thing as a "hard left" and a "soft left" in the same intersection.  That's some confusing craziness.

4. Darkness.  I seriously hadn't noticed that I hadn't seen stars or just general complete darkness for a month.  Everything is always all lit up in Chicago.  Don't get me wrong, I am glad it is, but it was really peaceful to be in the country surrounded by stars and sounds of bugs (and also one super loud frog that I was very impressed with). 

And because every blog post should have a picture, here is my drive down Monument the other day.

Easy Weeknight Dinner: Salmon Quesadilla

In need of a super easy weeknight dinner?  Last night, I made Luke's dad's recipe for salmon quesadillas and they were delicious!  I will admit, the title sounded a bit strange and I was a little nervous to try it. But, like everything else Louis makes, it was packed with super delicious flavor.  This is definitely being added to our "crap, what should I make for dinner" box. 

Ingredients:
2 oz goat cheese
1 Tbs fresh horseradish
1 Tbs sour cream
1 Tbs + 1 tsp chopped fresh dill
white pepper to taste
1 chipotle pepper 
3 Tbs olive oil
capers
1 lemon
1 package smoked salmon
flour tortillas

-Start by whipping together (with a wooden spoon) the goat cheese, horseradish, south cream, Tbs of dill, and chopped chipotle pepper in a bowl until airy. Set aside

-Heat the oil in a pan and fry the tortilla  on both sides.  Drain on paper towels.

-  spread about 2 Tbs of the sauce on each tortilla, add some capers on top, then layer the salmon.  Sprinkle some fresh dill and a little lemon juice over the top and, voila! You have dinner!

Wedding Weekend: Real Pictures!!!

I don't think these pictures even need any lead in but I feel like I should write something anyway. There are over 1000 pictures…. I've chosen my favorites that tell the best story of the day.  Y'all, I can't even get over how special and amazing these are.  It literally was the best day of my life and I am so thankful for every single moment that these pictures capture.  God has truly blessed Luke and me.

  

 

 

Officially husband and wife!!

 

Venue: Bolling Haxall House

Flowers: The Green Flamingo

Cake: The Buttercream Bee

Photography: Lauryn Galloway Photography

Band: Three Sheets to the Wind

Catering: A Sharper Palate

Rentals: Classic Party Rentals of VA

Ombre Red Velvet Cake

This weekend was my friend, Margaret's, birthday.  She and her fiancé hosted a fabulous fiesta dinner party and we were in charge of bring the birthday cake!  I found a picture of an ombre cake a couple weeks ago on Pinterest and was waiting for a time to get to make it! What a better reason than a birthday cake?!

First, I baked a red velvet cake using this recipe. I then wrapped the two layers in plastic wrap and froze them overnight.  I froze it overnight because I only had time to make the cake one night and then to frost it the night of the party.

First, make the cream cheese icing.  I used this recipe:

Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
-1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
-1 - 8 ounce cream cheese, room temperature
-1 - 8 ounce tub of Mascarpone cheese, room temperature
-3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
-1 cup powdered sugar
In your food processor, or with a hand mixer, process the cream cheese and mascarpone cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and process until smooth. Transfer this mixture to a large mixing bowl.
Then, in the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. With a large spatula, gently but quickly fold a little of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture to lighten it. Then fold in the remaining whipped cream, in two stages. If the frosting is not thick enough to spread, cover and place in the refrigerator for an hour, or until it is firm enough to spread.

 I unwrapped the layers, put a piece of wax paper on the cake stand and put the layers together with a dollop of white icing in between.  

 I then split the icing into 3 bowls so I could dye them the colors for my ombre. 

 I started slowly with adding the color and just saw what happens.  Remember you can always add more but you can't take it away! 

 I then started with the darkest layer on top.

 I spread it out leaving a little bit hanging over the edge so it can blend with the middle color. 

 I then took the lightest color and put it around the bottom layer.

 I then took the middle color and slowly blended it in between the other colors.  Slow is better because if you over blend, you can't go backwards! 

 I then took a long spatula dipped in hot water and traced around the cake to clean it up.  This really made a huge difference so if you're at the step before and you're not super happy with it yet, I would stop before you over blend and clean it up.  

 Then take the wax paper out from below it

 and put sprinkles on it!

 Here is the lovely birthday girl about to blow out her candle. *we couldn't find the candles we bought so we used a tea light lol.  **Margaret found the candles after we left.  Murphy's Law....

 Voila!