5 tips for a perfect Grill Out

Just because it's Labor Day weekend doesn't mean summer is over or the grill will need to be put away. We grill almost year round in our household, but on long holiday weekends it's always a staple. To me there is nothing better than getting together with friends and family, cracking open an ice cold beer, and firing up the grill. Ahhhhh pure happiness. You really can't go wrong with hosting a cook out, but just in case here are a few tips to help you along the way.

5 Tips for a great Grill Out

1. Depending on which type of grill you are using Charcoal vs. Gas you need to know when it's hot and ready. Obviously there is a temperature gage on your gas grill but not always on your charcoal grill. With Charcoal you want your coals to be smoldering, gray on the edges and still a little black in the middle. Rule of thumb for both types of grills is when you place your hand over the grill and it's to hot for you to hold your hand their for a couple seconds, then it's ready. You want a nice hot grill so it sears the outside of your meat but keeps the inside juicy.

2. When grilling don't move your proteins around to much. Place them on the grill and leave them, don't poke at them or flip them over every minute. Also don't cut into your meat to see if it's done or not. Meat will firm up the more it's done. Chicken obviously you want to feel totally firm, for red meat, rare will feel squishy with no give, med rare will be a more bouncy, med you will start to feel it firm up with just a little give, and well will have no give to the meat.

3. When cooking red meat always bring your meat to room temp before cooking. This will allow the meat to cook evenly. Also always allow 5-10 minutes of rest time for your proteins when you pull them off the grill. This will allow all the juices to redistribute throughout the meat. This will keep your protein tender and juicy

4.Having your grill properly cleaned is a must. Always clean your grill after each cook. It's easier to clean when it's hot. Also brushing your grill racks with some oil before you cook will help to keep your proteins from sticking.

5. Have a cooler of Ice Cold Beer around at all times. Everything at grill out's tastes better with an ice cold beer!

Great weeknight sidedish - Summer Gratin

 Gratin isn't just for potatoes folks, here is a great recipe for a zucchini and squash gratin.

2 whole Zucchini - sliced thin
2 whole Summer Squash - sliced thin
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup parsley
1 Tbs fresh thyme
1/4 cup cilantro
1 shallot
1 cup Swiss cheese - Shredded - use a decent Swiss
1 Tbs Kosher salt
Zest of 1 lemon

Slice all your squash and zucchini and place in a bowl with 1 Tablespoon Kosher salt, let sit for 20 minutes. After 20 min strain the liquid from your squash and try to pat dry as much as you can. Place your parsley, thyme, shallot, cilantro, and olive oil in a food processor and puree. When ingredients is very finely chopped add them to the squash along with 1/2 a cup of the shredded Swiss. Mix gently until the squash is coated. In a baking dish layer the zucchini and squash one by one until they are gone. Top with the rest of the Swiss cheese.
Bake 400 - for 35 minutes. Let set for 10 minutes after you pull it from the oven

***I served this as a side with steak but it can go with any meal and it's oh so yummy!

BLTE's a weeknight savior

This week has been a busy one. Sunday we started off with our son's very first baseball game. I now finally know why parents get so worked up over these things. Yes we were the parents in the stands yelling "That's my kid!" as he hit a line drive over the pitcher's head. Mind you the pitcher was the coach that decided he would put my son in the very back of the line up because he didn't play T-ball before he joined Coach Pitch. HA to you coach, my kid hit better than any kid on that team. Okay now that I got that out... back to my week. After baseball it was back to school week, we had open house night, had to get school supplies, take the boys to the doctor's for their checkup's, work out new child care for my youngest, and of course go to work everyday! By Thursday I was exhausted. I had forgotten to thaw out any sort of protein for dinner, I needed something quick and easy. I had a huge bag of fresh tomatoes from my dad's garden and I thought why not go with a good'ol BLT! Yes, can't go wrong with a BLT and I will add a delicious runny fried egg on top! I also had 3 potato's in my pantry that were about to grow sprouts so I decided to bake up some Parmesan garlic fries to go along side our sandwich's. It was a last minute meal, but the best one we had all week! When it comes to dinner I always like to have a plan, but usually those plans go out the door by Monday night.  As long as my family is around the dinner table that's all that matters to me :).

Parmesan Garlic Fries Recipe:

3 Whole Potatoes - Peeled
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbs Parmesan
1 clove garlic minced
salt and pepper
Pre-heat oven 425
Cut your potatoes in half length wise then cut in fourths length wise. You want them to be a little thick. Toss your fries in olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Use a little oil for the baking sheet so the fries don't stick. Bake your fries for 40 minutes, turn them over about half way through. Place your hot fries in a large bowl and add your minced garlic, parmesan, salt, and pepper then toss. Make sure all your fries get coated with the parmesan and garlic.

Morning Routine

Everyday I wake up and start my day exactly the same. My 2 boys have already made their way into my room and onto my bed with every toy they can carry. Somehow they still seem surprised that I wake up when they are playing cars on my face! And the morning rituals begin, which means checking my phone, email, and facebook while still lying in bed. Once I am motivated enough to actually move I make my way downstairs (along with my kids who decide they only leave mommy's room when she does) to find my husband who is already awake and has decided NOT to start a fresh pot of coffee. You would think the first one up starts the coffee, it's not that hard and he would have a much happier wife in the morning if the coffee is already made! Come on guys it's the little strings....
I of course get right on that! I get the kids their breakfast and then I turn around and face what I already knew was coming, what is there waiting for me every morning no matter how much I clean up the night before....it looks a little something like this

This isn't my kitchen, we would never keep a fish bowl in the kitchen, but to give you an idea of what my kitchen looks like this is it. It's the never ending pile of dishes. Does this happen to anyone else? We even have a dishwasher. I don't know how it happens, I cook dinner almost every night and I clean as I go then I do the dishes after dinner or my husband does. It doesn't matter though somehow the dishes just find their way back in the sink.
I always pictured my life would be exciting, stylish, fun, and glamorous you know like on TV. Yet another realization when you get older and have kids of your own is that some of the things your parents used to say to you is actually TRUE. Which brings me to this gem of a statement that my dad would say to me when I would tell him I wanted to grow up and be like the people on TV...
"That is not real, it is not real life now turn that off and go outside and play!" He was right, but what I do know is that I still have a pretty fun life and I am the one that can make it exciting. You work hard, you play hard, and you do a lot of darn dishes.
So from now on I will face those dishes and I will face them like all the hard working mothers before me just like this....

in a little apron, heels, pearls, and my husband looking on with a smile.....hahahahahahahaha! (bottle of wine not pictured)

all the little strings

To my followers and fellow recipe lovers this is not goodbye to 3 boys and a chef, it's hello to the woman behind it. I love trying out new recipes and writing about it, but I also love 100 other things. Things that make me who I am, things that make me strive to be more. These things or all the little strings of my life that pull me in a million different directions make up my world and that's what I want to put out there. I will still be staying true to what I love most cooking/cake decorating, but I will be adding in more everyday things I run into. Trying to be a mother, wife, career woman, and still staying true to who I am isn't always easy. This blog will be for all those ladies out there and their little strings of life. So ladies from our apron strings, to shoe strings, even to our G-strings, here's to having it all and doing it in a stylish pair of pumps!

Perfect Panna Cotta

In these hot and humid summer months of the Midwest, there is only a couple things that I crave dessert wise. One is just a good old chocolate and vanilla swirl cake cone with rainbow sprinkles, and the second is anything with juicy fresh fruits of the season. I am not a fan of eating hot desserts in the summer, give me something light and refreshing! This simple to make dessert is perfect for a hot summer night, it's cool, creamy, just a little sweet, and oh so delicious. Panna Cotta is a cream custard that's usually paired with a simple sauce and fresh fruit. I love to pair mine with fresh peaches soaked in a little Brandy and brown sugar.





Perfect Panna Cotta - serves 6-8

3 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 envelope powdered gelatin (about 1 Tbs)
4 ounces cream cheese (room temp)
1tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar

In small sauce pan heat your heavy cream and sugar. Bring to a low simmer. Pour your envelope of gelatin over your cup of cold milk and let set for about 2 minutes, then pour into hot cream. Let your cream and milk simmer for a couple more minutes. You want to make sure your gelatin is fully dissolved. Have your cream cheese ready in a bowl along with your 1tsp of vanilla. Pour your hot cream over your cream cheese and let sit for 2-3minutes. Using an emersion blender(hand blender), blend together the mixture until it is smooth. If you don't have a hand blender you can use a regular blender but be careful when blending the hot cream.
Pour your mixture into ramekins and place in the refrigerator until set, about 2-4 hours.

For the topping peel, pit, and dice 4 ripe peaches. Mix with 1Tbs brandy and 1Tbs brown sugar. Let peaches sit until the natural juices start to release. Spoon the peaches over the Panna Cotta and serve.

*Panna Cotta can be served either unmolded onto a plate or left in a parfait dish

Ice Cream Sandwiches - A messy success!

This past weekend my youngest son Jack turned 3! I can't believe how quickly time goes by when your older. I also can't believe I just said that, I am officially turning into my mother! Birthday's are a big deal to me and I always want my kids to know how special they are! I usually go all out and throw a big party with lots of food and I always make some elaborate cake specifically for them! For Jack's 3rd I decided against a huge cake and went with homemade ice cream sandwiches! It turned out to be one beautiful messy success! My boys are always wanting to help me in the kitchen when I am baking, so this dessert was a great way to let them be creative and feel involved. Now these can take you 10 minutes or a couple of hours depending on how much work you want to do. I will give you some ideas for the long version and also let you know the ultimate shortcuts!
First the cookie. I went with homemade chocolate chip. The boys got to get their hands dirty and that's just the thing that my boys love! They rolled up the cookies for mommy and placed them on the cookie sheet.
Short cut: Buy the cookies from the bakery at the grocery store any kind you like, you could even buy mini cookies and make bite size ice cream sandwiches.

Next the ice cream: I made homemade cream cheese ice cream. Yes it's as delicious as it sounds! Here's the recipe (you need an ice cream maker)

8oz cream cheese - room temperature
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cups sugar
1 Tbs light corn syrup

Have your cream cheese ready in a large bowl. Bring your milk, sugar, and corn syrup to a simmer. You want to simmer long enough for your sugar to dissolve about 10 min. After your milk is done simmering, pour over your cream cheese and let sit for 2 minutes. Using an emersion blender (use regular blender if you do not have emersion) blend your cream cheese into the milk until smooth and silky. Let cool fully in a refrigerator. Once your ice cream base is chilled all the way through, pour into your ice cream maker and spin until frozen.
Let your ice cream set in the freezer until it's frozen enough to scoop. You do not want your ice cream to be to soft when making your sandwiches.

Shortcut: Just buy the ice cream. Any flavor you want!

Once your cookies have cooled and your ice cream is soft enough to scoop, start to assemble your sandwiches. We had a nice little system down. I would scoop the ice cream onto the bottom cookie and Riley would place the other cookie on top. Then we chose to roll our sandwiches in mini M&M's. That was Jack's favorite part. Just make sure your ice cream is not to soft, this causes the M&M's to melt and fall all over the place. We learned the hard way!
As soon as you finish a sandwich place it directly in the freezer. That's it! You can make these ahead of time!
Also if you don't want to use M&M's you can choose any kind of candy your kids like! Get creative! It's all about spending time with your kids and getting them involved in the kitchen!
As much as I like my desserts or cakes to look beautiful, I had to put that aside and embrace the mess! It was a huge success in the Mandap house! Jack approved!
Happy Eatings!