Spiced Nuts

(updated below)

I am not a food blogger, but these are so freaking good, I had to share. I am invited to a BBQ tomorrow for the 4th of July holiday. It is a standing invitation with a friend's family and I am never expected to bring anything but myself. Today, though, my friend jokingly said that everyone was required to bring something and then I realized that maybe I should. Knowing I have to work tomorrow before the party, it would have to be something that can be made ahead of time and stored in the tiny fridge at work. I was thinking about what I would want to eat at a party and I started to think about the Chocolate Bar and all the yummy things they offered on the cheese platters. So, I made my own cheese platter. I bought various kinds of cheese slices, some nice crackers, toasted some Bosnian bread and some nuts for spiced nuts. Mmm spiced nuts! I actually had a recipe from a long ago Camp Jeep, but some where in the moving I seem to have lost it. Food Network to the rescue! This is a recipe from Emeril and I've been "tasting" them all night to make sure they're all right. ;)

I didn't think about taking pictures until the end, so this is the last few minutes of folding the nuts into the glaze.

The Bosnian bread that I ruined under the broiler, apparently Rachel Ray and I DO have something in common. (Yes, I really do watch too much Food Network!)

Smoothed it out to cool

Yummy! Sweet and salty with a spicy kick!
It didn't turn out like the ones at the Chocolate bar, but I'm not sure if it's just the recipe or the fact that I multiplied the recipe by 4.
(It's a big family, but I'll be eating these for weeks, which is A-Ok with me!)

Update: The nuts and cheese platter were a hit but I was greeted periodically with,"Oh Bri, your nuts are great." and "Excellent job with the nuts, Bri!" Yes, we are all a bunch of 12 year old boys. (Even my friend's grandmother!)

A Tidbit That is Too Many Characters for Twitter

I was sitting in Blueberry Hill (Chuck Berry's restaurant) a couple of nights ago and I kept hearing this very distinctive laugh. I felt like I knew this person, but I couldn't remember who it was, or tell where exactly the laugh was coming from....until it hit me. Duff from Charm City Cakes! It wasn't actually him, but I'm thinking that I watch too much late night Food Network.

So, I had this idea.....

I still didn't have any photos or art for my kitchen and I thought...why don't I go to Soulard and take pictures of produce, see what I can come up with? So, I did. Wanna see? Why, of course you do! :) These are my favorites, all the photos I took today are also on Flickr.

"What's she doing here?" "I carried a watermelon."

Caliente

One pineapple, two pineapple, three

Apple a day

Kissing Cousins

I a-pear to be green with envy

You say tomato, I say tomahto, but I still won't eat them

Cabbage Patch, no kid

Hi-Ho Cherry-o

And, now, for the details (or what I can remember through the haze of cocktails)

After being a nervous twit about it for several days (one of my frustrated friends yelled at me over the phone, "Yeesh, it's not a date!!) I left my apartment in a new top and heeled sandals to meet MP at The Chocolate Bar in Lafayette Square. I had looked up the address from the website and studied the map (I have a ridiculous ability to "see" maps. It's weird and I don't know how to explain it, but I was a pizza delivery driver for a while and I rocked at it.), but I neglected to write down the number, so I knew that if I took a certain exit and went down two blocks and turned on Park, it would be there before I hit the park. BUT, for some reason I thought it was on the left, rather than the right, so I passed it and didn't see it. So, I knew I was in the right place, I parked and walked, figuring it would be easier to see on foot. MP called as I was walking and she waved me down from the door. We hugged and giggled, because how else do you greet someone you've been talking to for months but had never actually met in person? ;)

She had already spoken to the staff, who other than giving us a couple of odd looks, were very helpful as people trickled in and struggled to explain the group they were looking for. lol

MP

MP and I decided to get started with the drinking (and yes, I downloaded the menu at home, so I would be able to pick what I was going to order. am. FREAK.) and ordered a couple of chocolate martinis. And, as I said last night, took pictures before we even tasted them. Hee. They were delicious, but we'd barely even started when BOSSY arrived with her host, Tempered Woman.

Bossy

Let me tell you, Bossy really is as gorgeous as she looks online, maybe more. She was so funny and just natural to be around, I would NEVER have been able to do what she has done, travel around meeting strangers every day, I thought I was going have a nervous breakdown and I didn't even have to drive, but for a few miles. We all settled in at a back table on their patio and just chatted like we had all known each other for years.

Over the next few hours, I met Angie from Fluid Pudding, Raquita from WOBL in Training(wise old black woman, how funny is that?!), Heather from Three Boys and Me, MP from My Second Journal, Sonrie from 1017, Jenny from Mommymae (it turns out that Jenny and I went to high school together in Southern Illinois, though we didn't know each other), Kelly from Mocha Momma, her daughter, Mallory, Tempered Woman, and her sister. (I can't remember her name at the moment, she doesn't have a blog and for a while, we were calling her Dooce.)

Everyone but Jenny, who arrived later

Bossy, Mallory, and Kelly

Conversation was fast and furious as we chatted about, I swear, everything under the sun. I found myself telling Heather and Raquita about my clothing woes and at one point, we all talked about my eyebrows, again.

Raquita and Heather

We discussed politics and Barack Oboyfriend, and our encounters with Bill Clinton (three of us had actually met him). We argued about education and the St. Louis city school district. Photography and cameras were dissected and lusted after. Bossy suggested that I look for a used Nikon D70 rather than shelling out for the new D40, and it was like, duh, why didn't I think of that?
Proof that I really did drink a beer, and my only photo of Jenny
(not sure how that happened)

BlogHer was brought up, past sessions, and who was planning on going this year to San Fran. Angie confessed to drinking her breast milk in the hotel room last year in Chicago and we all learned Bossy's middle name! As she put it, her parents were hippies, and that's all I'll reveal. As we all loosened up, (some more than others) I realized that I've made a real connection with a truly amazing group of women that I would never have met without the help of Bossy. THANK YOU, BOSSY!!!!!

Angie, Sonrie, and Tempered Woman's sister

With a short bit about The Chocolate Bar, I'll end this longer than normal post. Yay you, if you've made it this far!!!

Even sitting on the patio with this group of rowdy women, the service was quite good, prompt and attentive. Food and drinks were prettily served and the tables set with candles and flowers felt fancy and lovely.

the table

More expensive than a casual night out would warrant, it's perfect for a special date or birthday celebration. The cheese plates were amazing and the drinks strong, I certainly felt like I got my moneys worth. My only complaint? The bathrooms, while completely charming and nicely appointed, are down a set of steep stairs and the bathrooms are unisex, so not marked with ladies or gentlemen. While it is probably more convenient that way, my inebriated self had the worst time figuring out which door to choose. ;)

My inebriated self in the bathroom mirror

I love this vanity!

To sum up....had a great time....food and drinks were good....company was excellent.

If you haven't already, please visit everyone else's blogs!!!!

Mmm Mmm Good!!

I love to cook, but being a single girl, it can lose it's charm when I go through all that effort for just myself. I've been trying to eat better and cut out the fast food lately, so rather than being empty like it usually is, my kitchen is full of food. I wanted to share a couple of recipes that I tried last week that worked out really well.

Daddy's "If They'da had This at the Alamo We Would'ha Won!' Texas Chili

This link will take you to the allrecipes website, where I found the recipe. What I love about this site is that you can adjust the serving size, so instead of making a recipe for 20, I can make it for 4. That makes the leftovers much easier to handle. I really don't want to eat one meal for a week.

For this recipe, I used ground hamburger instead of stew meat, and I couldn't find the flour, but it was thick enough without it. (This is a texas chili, which means without beans, but you can add them if you like, I don't.) It is pretty yummy, but HOT. I've never had chili before, so I had no idea what to put in it (cheese? crackers?). I found some shredded cheese in the fridge and I didn't have any crackers, so I used some corn chips. Yum!

Cheesy Potato Soup II

I adjusted this one to 3. I pretty much kept to the recipe, but I cooked the crap out of the onions and celery, cuz I'm weird and it freaks me out when I'm eating something soft, but it also crunches. (shudder) Oh I also added some sharp cheddar cheese cubes and crumbled bacon. It's really good, I would recommend it, especially for kids who are freaked out by vegetables. I chopped them so small and cooked them long enough that you can't tell that they're in there. Nom Nom Nom

Anyway, if you're looking for a new recipe to try, these were both good, I recommend them.

Update!!
My good friend, Sarah, emailed me today to remind me that I still haven't sent her the recipe for my Cheesy Enchiladas, and since we are talking about recipes today, I thought I would add it here too. My mom has been famous in the lives of mine and my siblings' friends for several dishes, I have used the promise of her Scotcheroos to barter favors and my sister's friends fight over the chance for leftover baked ham, I am not kidding. Cheesy Enchiladas is one of those recipes. They are just that good. If you like cheese, this is for you. Yummy, comforting, and filling...just perfect. Here's the recipe and then I'll tell you how it can be altered.....

Baked Cheesy Enchiladas
1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 cup shredded cheese
1 package flour tortillas
1 lb Mild Mexican Velveeta
1 can Cream of Mushroom
1 can of water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown the ground beef and onion together and drain.

Divide beef and onion mixture into flour tortillas in a baking dish (glass 9x13 pans work best). Sprinkle shredded cheese in tortillas and roll up in pan.

In the microwave or saucepan, mix together Velveeta, soup and water. Stir together until cheese is melted. Pour mixture over filled tortillas and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Now, to change it up....chicken in this dish is just as good. I'm not a big fan of onion, so I usually leave that out, or brown the beef with big pieces and fish them out. My Dad likes to spice things up with homemade salsa added in and on top of the enchiladas. Also, I hate mushrooms, but you can't taste them, so no worries there. This is super easy and yummy good.

There you go, Sarah, enjoy!

Some photos I have taken recently....

I heard this tow truck outside and thought maybe someone was having trouble with their car, or they were on my street for a repo job....but a woman drove her car right up on it, so I have no idea what this was about.


My grandma gave me this frog on a rock when she found out about my love of frogs...I had quite a collection going on in my former apartment's bathroom and he was part of it. I moved the frogs outside to the terrace when I decided to change the feel of the bathroom in this apartment...I've had the worst time with this, can't decide for the life of me. I noticed when watching the tow truck activity that this frog has had an accident. I have no idea how this happened, the goofy thing is made to go outside in a garden, so it couldn't have been ice, right? Maybe some freak hail or rocks falling from the sky, I just don't know.


This is my new favorite soda. Soda is really my only real vice, I'm addicted to Mountain Dew, but I found this little lovely at the grocery store in the ethnic section. I tried a couple out of curiosity and my favorite is the guava flavor. The best part? They're made with real sugar instead of that high fructose corn syrup stuff. Yum!

One little thing...ok maybe two

I'm taking this little break from being DEATHLY ILL to tell you that I have to drive back to my parents house tomorrow for more family togetherness. My parents are having my Dad's side of the family over for Christmas lunch/dinner (linner). I usually avoid these people, who include the crazy grandma that I talked about after thanksgiving, but my Dad is right that she may not have any idea who I am by next Christmas, if she's even around, so for him I'll make the hour plus drive there and back again with a head cold. I am a good daughter. I still have pictures to share and stories, but it feels like the back of my eyes are on fire, so I'm going to leave you with this one.....

Me and my nephew, Hayden making cookies...we are painting them with a food colored egg wash before baking, which sounds gross but looked neat and tasted yummy. He was VERY serious about the whole thing and absolutely delighted to have my whole attention for the afternoon. He's cute as hell and rotten in the way only a four year old boy can be. I'll post pics of the cookies later and tell you about my Mom calling bingo numbers on Christmas and how I resembled a Whoville Who with my Christmas outfit.

note: I'm not dying, I'm fine just pissed about having a cold and feeling like crap when I have so much to do.

In the drive-thru

"Oh. My. God. Did you have me on speaker-phone?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Could the girl at the window hear me?"

"I doubt it. I didn't even hear you.....why?"

"Because I just called you a fucking crackhead!"

"Oh. Well, yeah, that might have been awkward."

"Can you imagine? Out of nowhere a disembodied voice calls you a fucking crackhead and all you're trying to do is your job, giving people their stupid food in their stupid cars......"

"Yeah. That would suck."

"There's something seriously wrong with you."

"What? I'm hungry."

I learned to knit today! Woot!

Got this link from Kendra and it cracked my ass up. It's a story of a girl, a dog, and a lot of sweet potatoes!

Tonight, I was eating some cookies that my mom made me last weekend (mmm, mom cookies!) and Angel started to give me the look. It's weird how when you have a pet, you start to be able to identify their moods and non-verbal "hints". This was not the innocent "I haven't done anything, please don't look under the bed" look, or the "I'm starving, my bowl has been empty for FIVE WHOLE MINUTES!" look, and it wasn't the panicked "I have an important meeting, and nothing to wear" look that usually procedes a mad tear about the apartment. This look was the "Look into my eyes, I will seduce you into doing my will. GIVE ME THE COOKIES!" Then she reached up to pat my cheek and smell my cookie breath. She's so funny.

What I did this past Saturday...in pictures

One of my favorite things to do on Saturday mornings is wander around Soulard Market. There are tons of people, lots of things to look at and smell...and I feel like I'm doing something good for the world when I buy produce here rather than at Shop n' Save. I usually make at least three loops around before I feel like I've seen everything and it was all I could do not to take pictures of everything...but I'm still getting the hang of this taking pictures in public thing. Even though no one says anything, I feel like they're all staring at me, condemning me with their eyes...for something..."Stop taking pictures of my artfully displayed produce, woman! How dare you try to steal my soul with your black box of doom!" (Hello paranoia, my name is Bri.) le sigh

First up is my snack, because oh. my. god. funnelcake batter in the shape of a donut in a handy dandy mouth-sized morsel of heaven...with vanilla icing. So. good. These people should be knighted or given an oscar or kissed repeatedly, that's all I'm saying....ahem...moving on.
Next, a couple of still-lifes...lives...whatever...

Vegetables
or Romaine lettuce, which I have tried to like and continue to dislike no matter how much dressing is involved.....

And Fruit
pretty, pretty pears...they look like little dumpy ladies all lined up in row like that

Yeah, I chickened out after two pictures inside and took my happy ass out to the pretty streets...

...you can find these guys just outside the market on the park grounds...I don't know...they amuse me....

After wandering around the grounds, I took off down 9th Street to see what I could see. I am in love with the neighborhood...maybe after getting over the trauma of moving to my current apartment (which, frankly, may never happen) this may be where I land next.

Many of the buildings have little gardens where butterflies can be found....

I mean, really....how cute is this?


There are little concrete benches every where, just in case you feel the need for a breather while taking a walk.

I didn't, but I did squat down to take a picture and almost fell on my ass...

Everything is just so neat and pretty, though I'm sure it looks very different during Mardi Gras.

Further down the wall, I came across this gate...open and welcoming...

....back to the market and my car...all this walking has worn me out...time for a nap.

A St. Louis staple

I just ordered my first pizza delivery in the new apartment. Why is this blog worthy? Normally it wouldn't be, but the pizza I ordered is a pizza that you can only find here in St. Louis. Imo's, the square beyond compare. Yum! The secret is the provel cheese, which as a cheese lover, is my very favorite part. Imo's added a hand-tossed crust a few years ago, but the best is still the thin crust with your favorite toppings, covered in gooey cheese. While some would like to debate New York vs. Chicago style, I'll take St. Louis style any day.

So, so good!!