I Like Saying "Twenty Eleven"

What can I say?  Mr. Drinkwater and I are really gunning for 2011.  I’ve never had a year that I actually wished would end, but I think I honestly say we had our fill.  Hopefully 2011 is really super boring with no serious medical scares, close family deaths, international moves, and other major events. 

Completely random picture I pulled out of early 2010 archives...we were en route to another jungle city.

 But on a more positive note, let’s all remember what this blog is actually about!  ME.  Learning.  In the Kitchen . . .

Things I’ve learned:

·         Don’t grease the sides of a loaf pan when making banana bread or it will fall in the middle

·         Desserts are a whole lot easier to photograph because most of them look good cold (hot meals have to be photographed quickly and served to the hungry husband before hungry husband turns into grumpy husband)

·         I can’t just slap a picture up without actually caring what it looks like!

·         Hot ovens do not like being touched by skin…or is it vice versa?

·         If you slightly wet the bottom crust of an apple pie, it’ll stick better to the top

·         Dishwashers are a blessing from God (and I only have one for 2 more weeks!).

·         How to roast really yummy flavors of pumpkin seeds.

·         How to burn applesauce (I haven’t retried yet!).

·         That I really like this whole blogging thing!

I have to say that I am really REALLY excited for 2011 and what it’s going to bring.  I’ve learned significantly this past year in various peoples’ kitchens so I can’t imagine all the fun things to learn next year!

Tomorrow, also known as 1-1-11, is The Drinkwater Kitchen’s first Bloggaversary!  It is also my husband’s BIRTHDAY!  So we will be celebrating the new year by eating birthday cake and watching lots of football.  Last year, we of course rooted for the Ducks in the Rose Bowl on his birthday.  This year, we will be rooting for Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl!  If I knew their mascot, I would type the equivalent of "Go Ducks" but I'm really just going along with the crowd (aka Husband).  Heh.

Awesome t-shirts mailed to us last year by Mike's mom!

 Happy New Year’s everyone!  I pray all of you are safe and having a super enjoyable night.  2011, here we come!

Merry 2010 Christmas, Friends!

I just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!  I hope that it has been a good season and the busyness hasn't taken over too many of our lives so that we can truly appreciate the gift God gave us on this day many years ago.  Let us not forget the REASON for the Season!

And, now, my little Christmas treat to you all - a fun goodie I made for Christmas dinner [dessert] later today.  Any of Mike's Eugene family reading this - you get to have some!

They are pretty rich for me, but I think they would be perfect would coffee.  Others just scarf them up whole!

Anything with these ingredients ought to make your mouth water:

Click here for the printable recipe.

Have a wonderful Christmas day with your friends and family!

The OG in Gresham

For those of you who have never spent time living in a country that's not your own, it will be hard for you to fully imagine the surprise desires of FOOD.  We craved all sorts of things we were so used to eating while living in Peru and, fortunately, received a few lovely care packages to help curb some of that craving.  Yet, among a few other places, there's nothing to replace walking into that ole Olive Garden...the smell...the dishes...the BREAD....ahhh.

It was definitely one of the first places we had to go to and it was also for my good friend, Sarah, who is still living in Peru with her husband and boys.  They are in the States for Christmas and his parents live 2 hours from us!  Mike and I went up to visit for the afternoon/evening and it was so wonderful.  And nice of his parents to let us steal them for an evening!

Abby, another good friend who used to live in Peru and now is back in the States ALSO lives nearby, so she drove over as well.  Yea!

Anyway, so we left the boys behind and caught up just us girls.  The two of them wanted to go bowling.  I didn't tell them then but I guess I'll tell them now...I hate bowling.  Haha.  Probably mostly because I have a lame wrist in my good arm (I'm left-handed) so I have to bowl with my right.  It is ridiculous.  Check out my score from the second game (middle line):

Not that they did much better!   :)  Sorry to any of Mike's Wisconsin amazing-bowler relatives, if you are reading this...you have to love me anyway...

After bowling we drove over to Olive Garden.  As we were walking in, one of them (to remain unnamed until further approval) asked me if I was going to do a restaurant review on it.  I said, nahh, I don't really want to tonight (which is often the case!).  But she was sad because "she really wanted to be on the blog" so then of course we had to do one!  I told them, though, that they'd have to help me remember to take pictures because I always forget.

With Olive Garden being everywhere, I've dined there many times throughout my life.  Plus, it was a company favorite at one place I worked in the past.  I enjoy several dishes but I think I have to say that my top favorite is the Chicken Scampi.  If I haven't been in a really long time, I'll order that.  If I've been recently, I'll sometimes branch out to try other things just because I've had my Chicken Scampi "fix" in recent taste bud memory!

Abby ordered one of their new dishes, the Grilled Chicken Flatbread.  It looked, smelled and apparently tasted marvelously.  She easily gave it a 9/10 overall and was considering even higher.  The look on her face when she said "and the Cheeeeeese" said it all.

Unfortunately, our little Peru girl had a disappointment with her dish, the Stuffed Chicken Marsala.  She wasn't impressed with the mushroom sauce or really the overall taste.  It received a 4/10.  But don't worry, apparently she had already gone to OG the stinking night before and had her favorite (Smoked Mozzarella Fonduta - a 10/10 she says), so don't feel too sorry for her. :)

Oh, and Sarah was talking and forgot to say "when," which resulted in a giant pile of cheese!  It looked even funnier in person.

And a completely irrelevant picture of my favorite 2 little neighbor boys all cozy in their PJs...

Needless to say, I will definitely return to the Olive Garden.  It is a classic.

P.S. The mints...they are 10/10.

White Chocolate-Dipped Cranberry-Oatmeal Cookies

Whew!  Long name.  But turns out not that difficult to make...plus they're pretty!

It's basically a normal cookie recipe made fancy by the dipped look!

When they're almost cool, you can start melting your chocolate.

This isn't really a necessary step but it sure is fun grabbing the heaviest hammer you can find in the garage and breaking the chocolate on the counter.  Don't worry, the counters came out unharmed!

And something I'm newly excited about...printable recipes!  I've had several people ask about them and I've always wanted to provide them but never knew how before.  Turns out, once I finally looked into it, it was extremely easy - using programs I'm already familiar with.

So!  (And I know you're just as excited as I am...) Click here for my very first printable recipe!

Bake-They-Do-Nots

All you need is a little heat!  Oh, and all the ingredients...

I love making these because they're so easy and quick.  No-Bake Cookies have always been a common dessert in our house and of course I am partial to my mother's version of the recipe:

2 c. sugar

1/2 c. milk

1/2 c. butter

1/4 c. cocoa (unsweetened)

3 c. quick oats

1 t. vanilla

1/2 c. peanut butter

Boil sugar, milk, butter & cocoa for 3 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Stir in oats, vanilla & peanut butter (quickly).  Drop by teaspoonfuls onto wax paper & let cool.

Trust me when I say you can't just eat one - better just pile up a plate like this one!

Here I am about a year ago making the same cookies for the White Elephant Christmas party I threw last year in Peru.  Our Peruvian friends loved it and they did an amazing job at grasping this weird American tradition!

I see there are at least 4 flashlights out on the counter...no surprise...electricity was often taking its own little vacation...  Oh, and, no.  We did not paint the cabinets pink. They came that way!  :)

White Elephant Fortunes

Are you one of the probably millions of people who are involved in a White Elephant Christmas party every year?  We are!  It sure is fun but sometimes I get tired of the same thing every year...you, too?  Well, put a new spin on it!

Instead of pulling random numbers out of a bag or jar, why not put the numbers inside a fortune cookie?  Then people receive their numbers AND a sweet goodie all in one!

Check out this recipe I adapted from a Southern Living cookbook I recently purchased:
Sidenote: Dillard's is selling these books for only $10 in support of Ronald McDonald Houses - definitely a worthy cause to buy a new cookbook! :)

Ingredients:
2 egg whites
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. almond extract
3 T. vegetable oil
1/4 c. flour
1 1/5 t. cornstarch
1/4 T. sugar
4 t. water

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 300 F.  Grease 2 cookie sheets.

Separate eggs.  Whisk egg whites.  Add extracts and oil and whisk again until the mixture becomes a little foamy.

Combine the flour, cornstarch, salt and sugar into a kitchen aid mixing bowl and stir in the water.

Slowly add the egg mixture to the flour mixture.  Completely mix until the batter is smooth and slightly runny.

Use a Tablespoon to place the batter onto the cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.  Spread slightly with back of spoon - the baking with further spread the circle.  I highly recommend beginning with 2 cookies at a time until you become skilled at the next step.

Bake for 9 minutes or until the edges of the cookies start to turn a golden brown and the cookie starts to pull away from the cookie sheet.

(Do this step very quickly.)  Remove sheet from the oven.  Remove cookie with a spatula and place cookie on a plate.  Place the pre-cut fortune (or white elephant numbers!) in the middle of the cookie.  Fold the cookie in half, pinching the 2 outer points together.
Grasp each end of cookie and place over the edge of a mug or bowl, drawing the edges down to form a crease.  Place the folded cookie into one of the cavities of a muffin tray and leave to cool.

And, for even more fun, I put 10 Christmas jokes in 10 random cookies - before they could pick out their gifts to open, they had to read the joke to the group!

If you try this, let me know how it goes!

Perfect Pumpkin Cookie

When we had to go to Idaho last month I brought with me all sorts of ingredients I needed for various things I wanted to cook while there.  I needed to keep up the blog!  But cooking in various relatives' kitchens was harder than it appeared...As you know, I ended up posting almost nothing during that time, but I did manage to bake these terrific cookies!  When it was posted 2 months ago, I had saved it immediately.  A must-try.  And now I'm finally sharing it with you!

Adapted from Erin Cooks, enjoy the Perfect Pumpkin Cookie!

Ingredients
3 cups flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. pumpkin puree (I used fresh)
1 egg, beaten
1 t. vanilla extract
1 pkg. (6 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. cinnamon chips


Instructions
Set oven to 350 F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.  Set aside.
In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment combine the butter, sugar, pumpkin, egg, and vanilla - beating until just blended.
Mix in the dry ingredients.
Remove the bowl from the mixer stand.  Stir in the chips.
Using a cookie scoop drop the dough 1-inch apart on the baking sheet.
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 13-15 minutes or until lightly browned.  Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 2 minutes.  Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

And share the joy of this tasty cookie with those around you!

Spinach Pear Salad

I was attending a social gathering of some sort a few years ago when I ate this salad.  I immediately had to ask my friend the ingredients and promptly wrote them down.  Many many moons later I remembered I liked my friend Patrick's spinach salad but I couldn't remember what was in it exactly...so I messaged his wife and she wrote me back the ingredients.  Have you figured it out yet?  Many MORE moons later, after I had moved again (good time to lose things), I remembered I really liked Patrick's salad but couldn't quite remember all the ingredients.  I emailed his wife one more time and vowed to store it in a million different places so I'd never lose it again. : )

What better place than the internet?

The funniest part is the simplicity of the actual ingredient list that I am so good at forgetting:
          Fresh spinach
          Fresh pears, chopped
          Candied almonds
          Poppyseed dressing

I swear that list was longer 3 years ago...now I just feel silly.

Johnny Carino's

This restaurant is apparently just called Carino’s now, but I affectionately remember it from my Idaho days as Johnny Carino’s.  Not sure when they changed the name but I guess it makes for a shorter URL?

Anyway, turns out it is STILL one of my favs.  I met up with a lot of fellow co-workers/friends one night but our big size didn’t affect the service.  I think, overall, the girl did great.  I wish I could remember her name.  We had 2 different spills and she still was nice!  Heh.

I love Italian food and different dishes within, but when I’m at Carino’s I typically have to get the Chicken Parmigiana.  This traditional dish found at most Italian restaurants is ehh-okay, but it is stupendous at Carino’s.  Love it.

Only after Mike ordered the minestrone was it when we remembered he ordered that last time and it wasn’t very good.  So that received a 2 out of 5 stars in Mike’s opinion.

Others enjoyed many other various dishes – all of which are NOT listed on my phone where I usually take restaurant notes...

The highlight for most everyone, besides their ordered plates, was the bread.  Warm wonderful bread comes out regularly throughout the meal along with a terrific dipping oil.  I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t love it.

There are many locations all across the USA (and a few outside of the USA), so I encourage all of you who haven’t yet to go try it!

Umm...

Well, you can certainly tell when the Drinkwater Kitchen has too much on its plate [no pun intended], can’t you?!  Sparing you details, we’ve had quite the last month of surprises, sadness, more surprises, and a little bit of fun too.

We were in Idaho for 2 weeks for Thanksgiving slash a funeral slash my job slash Husband’s job.  That combined with a key employee quitting (and me therefore taking over all her duties until we can find a replacement) PLUS a strange medical issue PLUS having to speak to 100+ ladies last week when normally I’m terrified of public speaking PLUS adding a member to our household all caused little sleep and zilch blog writing. 

Enough complaining for now?  I think so.  I’m just fine.  Exhausted but fine.  The hubby is traveling again but I have a new companion!  We were going to wait a couple months till we moved back into our house, but the local humane society was inundated with ~60 small dogs from a breeder who could no longer care for them.  We took advantage of the opportunity for a good dog and welcomed little Chicha into our home.  Here is the only good picture I have of her so far:

The story even made the news and, after successfully avoiding the 2 stations that were there with cameras, I was eventually pinned in and interviewed by one of them.  Mike caught a screenshot of me.  Makes me laugh.

But anyway, back to FOOD.  That’s why we’re here, isn’t it?  Thanks for so patiently waiting for my next post.  I am planning on quite a few coming up, what with all the holiday baking I have done none of so far!  I must catch up!  (Not only with cooking but I’ve missed so many posts from all my favorite bloggers…must read those!)

I have a couple restaurant reviews from our Idaho travels that I’ll post here shortly, along with a couple other items I made while there.  And then here I come, Christmas!