Romantic Places

Imagine having this fantasy tub with this view.

It is just inspiring!

Today I decided to share

a selection of Romantic Places from

my Pinterest Board including some tablescapes.

A blue misted fairy tale castle

A chippy aqua blue door

(I have to say that turquoise and aqua are

my favorite shaes of blue - like the ocean.)

Rest with me on this fabulous hammock in this perfect

setting.

Such a fun table for a romantic party.

And now a romantic table for a crowd.

I wonder if they really used this for a party.

Enter paradise through these palm fronds.

Such gorgeous water and a gorgeous dress.

Now there is a romantic getaway tub.

Just a touch of aqua here.

I couldn't resist hopping in this cool pool bed.

And I love this ruffled umbrella.

Here we are (I wish) just dreaming of

romantic blues.

I will be posting this romantic escape 

with

Tablescapes Thursday

Blue Monday

Sticky Finger Salad

This copycat version of Winger's salad just

might become one of your family's new

summer favorites.

It is so easy and so delicious.  There are recipes

for a Winger's style sauce all over the internet.

We tweak ours just a little using Frank's Buffalo

sauce rather than Frank's Hot Sauce.

Sticky Fingers Salad Recipe

1 head Romaine lettuce, washed, chopped and

refrigerated

2 lb. deli chicken strips

fresh Ranch dressing (made with buttermilk)

1/2 C. Franks Buffalo Sauce (not hot)

1 1/2 C. brown sugar

Prepare the lettuce and make sure to take the

time to refrigerate it for at least half an hour before

using so that the lettuce is crisp.  Slice the chicken

strips from the deli into bite size pieces.  We have also

bought chicken strips from KFC. (They are usually 

more pricey than the ones from your grocery store deli.)  

You can also buy frozen chicken strips and cook them

yourself , but I find the deli ones are a lot meatier and

juicier.

In a small saucepan place the Buffalo sauce and the brown

sugar.  Heat until the brown sugar is dissolved, stirring and

making sure that the sauce doesn't burn on the sides

of the pan.  Let cool for a few minutes.

Toss the chicken with the sauce.  Place the lettuce

on a serving dish and top with saucy chicken.  Drizzle

fresh Ranch dressing over.  (Don't use the bottled Ranch,

it is worth the effort to make it, and be sure to make it

with real mayo and buttermilk to get the best flavor.)

Serve right away.

Of course you can make Sticky Fingers

without the salad too and serve it with

Ranch or blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.

This is so fantastic and so easy.

Click here for a printable recipe.

I will be posting this with 

Foodie Friday

A Week's Menu - Houseboating at Lake Powell

I decided to give you our whole menu for a trip

we just took to Lake Powell.

Now if you want to gain weight, come along

with us to Lake Powell for a week.

We have three married children and

two singles.  Everyone gets a day and

everyone picks their favorite recipes

to make.  We have even created

a Lake Powell favorites cookbook.

 (Of course cooking is easier on a houseboat. We have

a full kitchen with fridge and freezer, microwave

and oven.  You might notice it is purple.)

The first night was Sticky Finger Salad

(pictured above) - it was quick and easy

after a six hour drive from our home.

It is a Winger's style sauce on deli chicken

fingers over romaine with fresh Ranch dressing.

Brunch the next day was thick sliced French toast

with Buttermilk syrup and fresh strawberries

and blueberries.  Click here for the recipe.

If you haven't made Buttermilk Syrup, you have to

try it.  You won't go back to regular syrup.

The second night was yummy Philly Cheesesteaks

This is my son's specialty, yum.

(I would add mushrooms to mine though.)

and a rich Tollhouse Pie.

Click here for that recipe.

(Leftovers are great for breakfast!)

We slept well under a full moon with all of that yummy

food in our tummies.

These incredible Ham and Cheese Sliders 

were packed warm

and taken on the speedboat for a 

picnic on the Lake.  Lake Powell

is 150 miles long and has a shoreline as big

as the California coastline.

  My DIL found the

recipe for these on Pinterest.

Click here for a recipe.

One of our favorite local restaurants Cafe Rio

makes a wonderful salad.  We bought their

tin bowls and their salad dressing and made

an imitation of their Sweet Pork Salad.

It starts with romaine, then add cilantro lime

rice, black beans, sweet pork, pico de gallo,

fresh guacamole, tortilla strips, fresh lime

and their cilantro ranch salad dressing.  I bought

the dressing, pico, and chips and made the rice

and pork at home.

Home made ice cream is a regular event

at Lake Powell.  We make it and ripen it

in the freezer.  This one was Caramel Cashew

and this one was Candy Bar ice cream

Cheeseburgers and brats are always a favorite.

Growing up in Wisconsin, I learned early

to love brats.  My kids now love them too.

(The brats disappeared too quickly for a photo!)

These are our "Disneyland Nachos"  based on

the ones we got poolside at the Disneyland hotel

at Croc's Bits and Bites.

Our final evening started with a seriously

delicious Iceberg Wedge Salad with

fresh ranch dressing (BYU Creamery Ranch),

thick sliced peppered bacon, red and yellow 

tomatoes, blue cheese crumbles and a drizzle

of balsamic glace (who needed anything else?)

This recipe is self explanatory.

We always call it the Captain's Gala Farewell Dinner.

Rosemary Shrimp Skewers were the appetizers.

My daughter found the recipe for these in her

Culinary Arts Cookbook.

Just mix chopped fresh rosemary, olive oil and

salt and brush on colossal sized shrimp.  Thread

on skewers that you have soaked in water for 30 minutes

and then grill.  Be sure not to overcook them.

Have you been to a Hot Rocks restaurant and had 

Hot Rocks Steak?

 Basically it is a steak seasoned and

seared on the outside  then delivered to the table.

Each guest then slices off a few pieces of steak at a time

and finishes cooking them on a hot rock.  We found it

works just as good on a griddle set in the middle of the

table.  This way each bite is piping hot.  You can do it

with shrimp and chicken too.  It is our new favorite

way to serve steaks and everyone's steak is cooked

exactly the way they like it.  You have to try this.

It is like eating steak no other way.

We love tenderloin seasoned just with Montreal

Steak Seasoning.

And of course more ice cream - this time Almond

Cookies and Cream.  Click here for recipe.

Meals were rounded out with lots of fresh

corn on the cob, fresh fruit and salads.

I don't just take photos of  food at Lake Powell,  I also get

action shots of wakeboarding, surfing,  body surfing,

boogie boarding, water skiing, cliff jumping

and my personal favorite - water rocket wars!

(The idea here is to take out the other rocket! Yes I

am out there too - 2nd back on the right -having

a blast!

We ate and played and ate and played until the

moon finally came up on our last night.  

As we love to say, "GOODBYE LAKE POWELL".

Hope you enjoyed sharing our week with us at

Lake Powell.

I will be posting this with

What's On The Menu Monday

Outdoor Wednesday

Wayfaring Wednesday

Foodie Friday

What Bird Wouldn't Love These Mansions - Tablescape

These beautiful bird houses in red and cream

usually sit on my front porch.

So stately and elegant, they are too

magnificent to be called houses, I

think we better refer to them as bird mansions.

Today these mansions are the inspiration for my

table.

Beautiful reds and creams are layered today

to match the bird houses.

Like many a stately mansion, their colors

have faded with time and the elements,

but they retain their beautiful details.

Look through the dainty scrolled

windows to catch a view of 

our red bowl.  

Such fun ornamentation!

The largest one is my favorite. because of its detail.

Its red has really faded but I still love it.

Isn't it's size just grand?

Here again you can see through little

metal doors with oval windows on this

top balcony. 

These are just ornamental and so far

no birds have tried to take up residence.

(I don't think I would let them!)

Now - on to the table...

The red and cream stack is underscored by a beautiful

red and cream toile.

I think toile is so romantic.

The linen goes perfectly with the dishes.

I love all the textured edges on the plates and bowl.

The red flatware looks so lovely

on the toile and its detail fits in beautifully

with the ornamentation on the bird houses

and plates.

These pretty stems mimic the

red and white theme.

The tiered dessert server also has a bird theme.

A couple of birds have come to nest under 

the dessert server.

A few red rose petals from the

garden are scattered around

the table.

Each place setting is finished off with a 

deep red organza napkin with a red and cream napkin ring.

The birds have never had it so good.

(Hope none of them decide to move in after all!)

I will be posting this with

Tablescapes Thursday

Feathered Nest Friday

Waverly Toile Linen  and napkins- Home Goods

Red plates and bowls - Home Goods

Tall red and white bird house - Home Goods

Red bird house - Tai Pan

White plates - Tai Pan

Tiered dessert server - Tai Pan

Red stemmed bubble goblets - Crate and Barrel (15  years ago)

Red flatware - Horchow

Nestle's Tollhouse Pie

I love it when my family requests dishes

I have made in the past.  This was requested

for Sunday dinner by my 17 year old son

and he wants me to make it at 

Lake Powell.

Nestle has some fabulous recipes out

there and their Tollhouse Pie is one of our

favorites.  It reminds me of a pecan pie 

stuffed to overflowing

 with chocolate chips.

It is so easy to make and people always

ask for a copy of the recipe.

Nestle Tollhouse Pie Recipe

1 - 9 inch pie shell (I used Marie Callender's

frozen pie shell - really delicious if you

have them in your stores.)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 C. melted butter, cooled

1/2 C. flour

1/2 C. white sugar

1/2 C. brown sugar

1 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 C. pecans, roughly broken

Mix the eggs and melted butter

together with a whisk.  Then stir in the

sugars and flour until well combined.  Fold

in the chips and nuts.

Bake at 325 for 60-65 minutes.  Let cool.  

You can eat this while warm but it cuts

better once it has cooled.  We like to

microwave each piece just a bit to melt

the chips slightly.

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

This adorable butterfly is one of the fun

decorating items I bought in Paris at

the Galleries Lafayette Gourmet store.

It came in a large box of sugar butterflies

in different shades of brown sugar, and

none of them broke on the way home!

Enjoy every bite!

I will be posting with

Foodie Fridays

Sweets for a Saturday