Last month Mr. Aitch and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary.
40 Fabulous Years!
We had a party at our house with lots of delicious food and drink.
My very talented sister made these beautiful cupcakes. I made fans in case anyone got too warm.
Of course we also had cake.
And I got the piece with my name on it.
Cheers to 40 more!
Mr. Aitch and I needed some sustenance while on our spontaneous weekend get-away to Gettysburg two weekends ago. The complementary breakfast at the hotel was good.
Coffee, tea, milk, apple and orange juice. Bread, bagels, muffins, Danish. Butter, jams, peanut butter, honey. Three kinds of cereal. One flavor of yogurt – strawberry banana. Fresh apples and oranges. “Scrambled” (aka powdered) or hard-boiled eggs. Sausage patties and links. And not one but two waffle makers with regular or blueberry waffle mix.
My only complaint about the waffle makers was that some parents allowed their children to operate them. And in doing so tied them up for more time than necessary because the children could not follow the directions. Of course, some of the adults had a hard time following the directions, too.
Fill. Close. Turn. The timer is activated when turned.
The waffle is done when the timer goes off. Don’t keep opening it up.
Sunday morning breakfast wasn’t as crowded as we thought it would be as most of the bikers were still in bed after the BIG doings the night before so Mr. Aitch and I could each have waffles without having to wait. Monday morning was a different story.
The kids were too short to fill, close, and turn the waffle makers. But they tried. And their parents allowed them to try. There is a reason why the sign says you must be 16 years of to operate it.
Waffle rant over.
I opted for “scrambles” eggs, sausage links, a Danish and some tea. Mr. Aitch wanted a waffle so since I had a clear view of the waffle makers, I alerted him when one was free. Waffles = happiness.
For dinner Sunday evening we decided to go to the Appalachian Brewing Company. They carry their handcrafted beers and sodas. Beer it was. Our waiter was great and since we had not been to an ABC before, he asked what kinds of beer we usually drank and suggested an ABC beer that each of us would probably enjoy. Mr. Aitch had a Maibock and I had a Hefe Weizen. Both were very good.
The “Epic” Trail Burgers were hard to pass up. Mr. Aitch had the Boo-Boo Burger with a side of sea salt fries.
Boo-Boo Burger is topped with caramelized onions, white cheddar cheese, BBQ pulled pork and cole slaw on a toasted brioche bum.
I had the Sasquatch with a side of ABC’s seasoned homemade Brewhaus chips.
Sasquatch Burger topped with brown sugar caramelized applewood smoked bacon, caramelized onions, apple slices, and Provolone (my choice) cheese also served on a toasted brioche bun.
Zeppole for dessert: Deep-fried dough sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar and drizzled with raspberry vanilla sauce. Yum!
Perfect ending for such a sobering day.
Are you wearing green today?
My St. Patrick’s Day starts off with one of my favorite treats: Irish Soda Bread. I’ve tried to make it myself but it just doesn’t come out quite right. Plus I’m the only one who eats it in our house.
So I usually buy a loaf every time I see it in the market…which only happens in March.
One of these is at my house with a big wedge cut out of it. Yum!
…I beginning to like pizza.
Yeah, I’m one of those weird people who does not choose pizza over anything else on the Favorite Foods Menu.
Real pizza isn’t bad actually. And by “real” I mean not frozen. Ever.
And we’ve tried just about every brand. None have ever hit the mark.
Some things should be frozen. Like ice cream. Or pound cake. Or fresh fruit.
Some things should not. Like green beans (I prefer canned). Or lettuce. Or pizza.
Frozen pizza is convenient. And that’s the only positive thing I can say about it.
My frozen pizza is never bubbly. It has never, ever looked like the picture on the pizza box.
Pizza box pizza. Mine never looks like this.
The crust is either hard and dry or dry on the outside and soggy in the center and always tasteless. The sauce is so-so. The cheese melts but I’m not sure if it is real cheese or some oily cheese wanna be. The pepperoni and/or other toppings are never evenly distributed and the pepperoni sits in a puddle of oil. Even when I doctor up the plain pizza, the added toppings sit on the impenetrable surface and don’t melt into the cheese.
I follow the directions on the box to a “T” because I really, really want it to turn out right. Every frozen pizza manufacturer has their own special cooking directions: a certain oven temperature, the correct rack placement in the oven (upper, middle, lower), the right amount of time, and a recommended surface (directly on the rack, in a pan, never on a stone). When I manage to eat one piece, I burn the roof of my mouth. Every. Single. Time.
So when Mr. Aitch suggested I pick up a pizza for dinner one day last week, you can image my enthusiasm.
I had to wait a few minutes so the pizza was right out of the oven and stayed hot for the twelve-minute drive home. I didn’t even turn on the seat warmer in my car. The pepperoni, onions, and mushrooms (I like most anything except sausage and anchovies) were evenly distributed over the surface of the pizza and had melted into the cheese. The crust was thick, soft, chewy and delicious. I did not burn the roof of my mouth with the first bite.
I ate three pieces. It was so good. Still not my favorite food but I would eat this again.
Of course when you have “better ingredients”, you end up with “better pizza”.
Not our pizza but just as good as this looks.
Knitting In Flashes 