Show Us Your... Main Dishes

The past few weeks I've been linking up with Kelly's Korner sharing our favorite recipes. And today we're continuing that tradition with main dishes. Here's some of my favorites, and hopefully you can find the perfect one for yourself!
72 Market Street Meatloaf
Angel Hair con i Funghi
Coca-Cola Pot Roast
Chili
Hurry Up Chicken Pot Pie
Lemon Risotto
Peanut Soba Noodles
Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken with Sage Pesto
Risotto Cakes
Spiced Meatballs
Zapps Cajun Crawtator Crusted Chicken

Which ones of these dishes would you most want to try? And if you're here from Kelly's Korner, be sure to say hi in the comments

Crash-Landing on Ooleeoo

The Adventures of Tila Pinkerton by Angela Shelton
I'm not really sure with what genre to describe this book. It takes place on another planet in a different galaxy, but it doesn't really feel like science fiction. And it is in a fantasy world where cows eat chocolate grass to make chocolate milk, but it doesn't really feel like fantasy. I think because the theme of finding ones inner strength and being a good person are so universal, and the personalities and relationships felt so real, it's hard to pinpoint this as "make-beleive."

I think my biggest complaint with this book is that it's confusing. There was a time jump 4 or 5 chapters in, that I didn't notice. I spent far too long thinking I skipped something important, but when I went back and read it over, there was nothing that said just how long it has been since Tilda Pinkerton had crash-landed on Ooleeoo. Also there were a lot of characters, and I had a hard time keeping track of them all. I realize there was a list of characters, but when you start a book with 6 pages of names it is a little intimidating. Even with the confusion, about halfway through I was able to recognize who people were, which made it a far easier read.

One aspect I love about this book were the actual character names and the fun vocabulary. There are a lot of words in here that I hadn't seen before, and wouldn't have been able to define, whiffet for example. But since this was a book for children, everytime a crazy new word was introduced there was a footnote at the bottom of the page defining it. I have a soft spot for footnotes in general, and would probably never look up these words otherwise, so I really loved this aspect.

Overall this is a heartwarming book, that brought me close to tears. The book ends with some unanswered questions, that have me looking forward to the sequel. Although until that comes out there's also a companion book, instead meant for K-3rd grade, Tilda Pinkerton’s Magical Hats about Tilda adventures on earth that I would love to get a copy of.

4/5

Disclosure: I was provided this book through Virtual Author Book Tours. All opinions expressed are my own.

Waiting on Wednesday (3)

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where we share the books we're just dying to read. I definitely think I have an exciting one I'm linking up with today!

The Ward by Jordana Frankel
Expected publication: April 30th 2013
Publisher: Katherine Tegen BooksSynopsis via Goodreads: Sixteen-year-old Ren is a daredevil mobile racer who will risk everything to survive in the Ward, what remains of a water-logged Manhattan. To save her sister, who is suffering from a deadly illness thought to be caused by years of pollution, Ren accepts a secret mission from the government: to search for a freshwater source in the Ward, with the hope of it leading to a cure.

However, she never expects that her search will lead to dangerous encounters with a passionate young scientist; a web of deceit and lies; and an earth-shattering mystery that’s lurking deep beneath the water’s rippling surface.

Jordana Frankel’s ambitious debut novel and the first in a two-book series, The Ward is arresting, cinematic, and thrilling—perfect for fans of Scott Westerfeld or Ann Aguirre.

First of all this sounds amazing! I'm always a fan of dystopian books, so I know I'll be loving this one too. It's from the same publishing house which brought us Divergent, and I have a feeling it will have a similar impact. Plus the cover is awesome. And while so much of what happened with Hurricane Sandy is horrific, the fact that we have a flooded NYC on the cover adds an eerie realism.

But the number 1 reason why I can't wait to read this book? Well, here's a photo of me and the author (and a wedding sneak peak!).

Taken by Sabree Hill PhotographyYes, Bridesmaid NYC is the author of this book! So, while I do realize I have a biased opinion, even if I didn't know the author I know this is the type of book I'd love. I'm so excited for Jordana, and seriously CANNOT wait till I'm able to purchase her book in a bookstore.

What are you waiting for this Wednesday? And how proud do you get over your friends' accomplishments?

Fields of Poppy in a Cake

Last weekend for the LSU vs. Alabama game, I wanted to make something special. The boy is a fan of poppy seed muffins, so I decided to make some with a little twist, by turning it into a cake. Unfortunately, while the boy had a bite of my slice, he didn't have a slice of his own. During the game he said he was too worried to eat any, but that he'd had a slice once LSU won. Except that didn't happen, and after the game he wasn't quite in the mood for dessert either. Next time I guess.

I found this recipe on The Wednesday Chef although it is a Deborah Madison recipe. While it is a slightly complicated recipe, I was happy with how well I pulled it off. And while I'm not sure if my mom ever made it, if definitely remind me of something should would have made, which made me enjoy it even more.

Poppy Seed Cake
from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
via The Wednesday Chef
Ingredients
1 cup poppy seeds
1/2 cup milk, heated, but not boiling
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/8 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1. In a small mixing bowl, combine the poppy seeds and the hot milk. Set aside until needed.
2. Heat the oven to 375ᵒF. Butter and flour a 9-inch spring form pan. Set aside.
3. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.4. Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium-high until firm but moist peaks form. Transfer the egg whites to a small mixing bowl.
5. Using the same bowl as for the egg whites, but now using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla, then beat in the egg yolks, adding one at a time and beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, as needed.
6. Drain the milk from the poppy seeds, discarding the milk. Add the buttermilk and the drained poppy seeds to the batter. Beat until well combined, then again scrape down the sides of the bowl with the rubber spatula. Add the flour mixture to the batter, in thirds. Again scrape the bowl with the rubber spatula, making sure it’s all well mixed.
7. Fold in about a quarter of the beaten egg whites with the spatula, then fold in the rest, mixing gently until just combined.
Transfer the batter into the prepared cake pan, smoothing the top with the rubber spatula. Bake until golden and firm, with the sides just beginning to pull away from the pan, about 40-50 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack. Carefully run a sharp, thin knife along the sides of the cake, just against the pan, then gently remove the rim and allow the cake to cool to room temperature before slicing.
It turned out really delcious, minus the fact that it cracked. I know that the crack doesn't really impact the flavor, but I do think it would have been a lot prettier if it came out perfect. And just for fun, since this is a Deborah Madison recipe, here's a photo of my mom and Deborah Madison.
Have you ever met a celebrity chef? And do you have a fool-proof way of keeping cakes from cracking?

Sky with the Iron Fall

Man with the Iron Fists
In case you didn't guess, this wasn't my pick to see. But it actually wasn't that bad. Think of it like the urban streets meets Asia, if that makes any sense at all. There was a love story that I enjoyed, and while that wasn't the point of the movie, it was pretty central to the plot.

As you might expect it was a pretty gory movie, but most of it was so over the top it didn't feel real. It isn't a movie I'm dying to see again, but if it's one you being dragged to see it really isn't that bad.

Skyfall
Another movie I didn't pick. (I just may be saving my picks to get the boy see something he's going to fight against ::cough:: Breaking Dawn: Part 2 ::cough::) But even so, this one really wasn't that bad either. I haven't seen most of the Bond movies. (Growing up my mom and brother would watch them together, and I tended to be in the other room, probably reading.) But even though I haven't seen them, I still know a bit about the old movies, enough to get a few of the references to the older films in this.

I did enjoy this, and do like Daniel Craig as bond. So again, not one I'm dying to see again, but still enjoyable. Although if I had to pick one to watch again, I would probably go with Skyfall.

Mailbox Monday (12)

I was all set to share these books with last week's Mailbox Monday. Except I got tired of my computer forgetting it had internet access every 5 minutes, and needed to restart, so I decided to re-install Windows. Unfortunatly my laptop has an issue where it won't load all the drivers, and needs a work-around to load windows correctly. And while I have been able to get Windows back, I haven't fixed that little work-around. But my computer is working, and should hold out till I decided to finally upgrade.

Anyways, back to the point of this post. I'm linking up with Mailbox Monday, which for November is hosted by BermudaOnion's Weblog. (And sorry in advance that the lighting is so awful in this photo.)
From TLC Book Tours
A Cowboy For Christmas by Lori Wilde
I've already finished the cute story. (But as of last Sunday when I was supposed to post this, hadn't even started.) It was a cute & fun story, and my review will be up in early December.

A Desire Path by Jan Shapin
This is a historical fiction that takes place during WWII. I am a little unsure about how this one is going to be for me, but I'm excited to see!

For Review from the Publisher
Winning the City by Theodore Weesner
I previously read Weesner's The Car Thief , and was excited to have the chance to read another of his. I did enjoy him previously, so hopefully this is another one with a positive review coming.

What did you find in your mailbox this week? And when was the last time computer issues kept you from blogging?

From Miss to Mrs: The Last Single Night

Twas the night before the wedding when all through the house, not a creature was heard, not even a mouse... except that's not quite how it went down. After the rehearsal I went back to the house along with my MOH, Bridesmaid Chicago, and Bridesmaid NYC (yes, I kicked the boy out of our house the night before the wedding). I figured we could have a fun girl's night while accomplishing the last few tasks for the wedding.

Except my lists of things to do a morphed into something unimaginable, and to me, we had to get them ALL done. There were things that had to get done just before the wedding (like washing out all the candy jars), things that I would have finished earlier if I hadn't been dealing with Isaac (like those programs), and things that I just hadn't made time for (like mapping out where each assigned table would be).

Tensions were high, we were all tired, and I may have had a mini-breakdown. I was just so nervous about everything going as planned the following day, and felt so stressed and alone in a way. I know I didn't plan the wedding by myself, and I had a lot of people who were there and who wanted to help, but I think the fact that it was the night before the wedding and my mom really wasn't there made me a little emotional. (As it is I'm tearing up writing this.)

Just in times past I would talk to my mom and work out details with her, and she would then talk to everyone else and make sure everyone knew what was happening. Without my mom as point person, I didn't feel like I knew how to communicate to friends and family what was happening and what I expected from them, but I also didn't feel like anyone was trying to communicate to me either. My dad and I didn't really talk about the wedding, so for all I know people were talking to him, and the message never got to me. But I guess part of me just felt alone, and that I was having to deal with all the stress of the completely by myself. I know that isn't the case, and I'm not saying I don't appreciate all the help I received (because I did receive a lot!), I'm really just trying to say if you are lucky enough to have your mom there to help you plan your wedding, just be appreciative.

After I felt awful, and made my bridesmaids feel awful, which in turn made me feel awful for hurting them, we finally made it to bed and I slept miserable. I remember being awake at 2am with such a miserable headache, that I got out of bed to take advil. Then remember looking at my phone around 4am, and couldn't believe I hadn't feel back asleep yet. But from there actually did sleep until my 8am alarm.

How did you spend the night before your wedding (or any other type of big event)? Was it a blissful night with your future husband, or did you wind up a little over- stressed?

Miss a Recap Post?
From Miss to Mrs: The Calm Before the Storm
From Miss to Mrs: There's a Hurricane Coming?
From Miss to Mrs: Here Comes Isaac
From Miss to Mrs: Weathering the Cane
From Miss to Mrs: After the Storm
From Miss to Mrs: Trials and Tribulations
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Errands
From Miss to Mrs: A Night on the Town
From Miss to Mrs: The Hangover
From Miss to Mrs: Rehearsing in the Heat
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Single Supper
From Miss to Mrs: Gifting the Girls