Easter Dinner!

Saturday evening my brothers and I all got together at my mom’s for an Easter dinner. A perfect ending to a pretty perfect day! My mom baked a ham, made a new baked macaroni and cheese recipe, green bean casserole and steamed broccoli.

I knew I wanted to bring a dessert since I have not made one in quite a while. I also knew I wanted it to include fresh berries now that they are back in season. After spending almost an hour searching for the perfect recipe…I finally stumbled across Tyler Florence’s trifle recipe. It calls for homemade lemon curd and while it does not have a lot of ingredients, whisking the curd for 10 minutes constantly almost made me change my mind. But it was worth every minute of vigorously whisking! Trifles are always pretty easy desserts that usually do not require baking…they are always beautiful in a glass bowl! This one did not disappoint and the lemon flavor with the berries was a perfect Easter flavor.

Lemon Curd Trifle with Fresh Berries

• 6 large egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 lemons, zested and juiced
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut in chunks
• 1 pint fresh strawberries, stemmed and halved lengthwise
• 1 pint fresh blueberries
• 1 pint fresh blackberries
• 2 cups sweetened whipped cream
• 1 prepared lemon pound cake, sliced
• 1/4 cup Lemoncello or Grand Marnier liqueur (optional)
• Fresh mint leaves, for garnish

To make the lemon curd: Bring a pot of water to a simmer over medium-low heat. Combine the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and zest in a metal or glass heat-resistant bowl and whisk until smooth. Set the bowl over the simmering water, without letting the bottom touch, and continue to whisk. Keep working-out that arm and whisk it vigorously for a good 10 minutes, until the curd has doubled in volume and is very thick and yellow. Don't let it boil. Remove the bowl from heat and whisk in the butter, a couple of chunks at a time, until melted. Refrigerate until the custard is cold and firm.

To build the trifle: put the berries in a mixing bowl and toss them together so they are evenly distributed. Fold the whipped cream into the chilled lemon curd to lighten it up into a mousse. Line a glass trifle bowl with pieces of pound cake to fit. Drizzle or brush the cake with the Lemoncello, spoon a layer of the lemon curd over the cake, and then a layer of mixed berries. Repeat the layers until the ingredients are used up, the last layer looks best if it's the berries. Chill before serving. Garnish with fresh mint.

Beachin' & Shoppin’

Thursday evening, we departed for a great vacation at the beach with our friends Tara and Rick. Even after arriving at almost 11pm, the night would not have been complete without a very tastings of beer!

Friday morning, we were pretty lazy getting up and relishing in the fact our coworkers had been at work for quite awhile while we enjoyed Lemon Poppy seed muffins and fruit salad in our pjs. Our morning also included a quick walk on the beach.

Since it was cloudy and raining we decided on shopping for the day's activity...a little retail therapy was really needed after the week I'd had! The boys were not too thrilled and dropped us off while they went to the movies. Bad mistake! Two girls running around the outlets for almost 4 hours...we did some damage. We ended up buying out most of Ann Taylor Loft, but there were some amazing deals. We each ended up with a new spring wardrobe and I found dresses for the upcoming bridal showers and weddings in the next few months. Ben and Rick were pleasantly surprised when they picked us up that we had gifts for them too! They got a lot of matching things (including matching cowboy hats and beer boxers)!

For dinner, Ben and I introduce the Kups to T-Bonz...our absolute favorite place to eat the beach. The meal would not be complete without an appetizer of Tommy Fries, baked potato wedges smothered with cheese, bacon and ranch dressing. I could barely eat my dinner! We all brought home leftovers.

Friday night was our official beer tasting night. We tried 8 different beers and different they were. It always seems our beer  tastings end up with all Stouts and Porters, but we had quite a few Belgians included this time. For several hours we spent hovered over tasting sheets, making notes and discussing beers like a bunch of nerds!  Here's our list:

Drunkin' Punkin'
1809 Berliner Style Weisse
Thristy Dog Raspberry Ale
Stone Vertical Epic
Struise Pannepot
Żywiec Porter
Terrapin Side Project #4 Dos Cocoas Chocolate Porter
Thristy Dog Siberian Night Imperial Stout

Christmas Celebrations

Beginning Christmas Eve, Ben and I started our celebrations with family. Over the past few years, we've started a tradition and get to spend special times with all of our families. On Christmas Eve we headed to Sanford for gifts, Candlelight Service at Church, and our special dinner. We received so many great gifts from my parents and sisters and can't wait to "play" with them all!


Ben and I woke up early Christmas morning! I'm pretty sure when we have kids, we'll be just as excited as they will be. Ben did a fabulous job of gift giving this year...he really set the bar for future gifts! We gave each other bikes for Christmas, but in addition to that he filled my stocking with Godiva truffles, Itunes & Starbucks gift cards, 2 bottles of rare beer, a silver monogrammed book mark and a beautiful pearl and diamond pendant necklace. He also gave me new pj's, books, and accessories for my bike.


From me, Ben got a few new dress shirts, lounge clothes, accessories for his bike, Godiva truffles, Breckenridge Christmas Ale, a few gift cards, boxers, and tons of candy. We love shopping for each other and all the surprises. Even Freddie got a few surprises too...a new Chew-Proof bed from Orvis and some treats!


Our second celebration was held at our house, Brunch, with my mom and brothers. I made the usual Creme Brulee French Toast, fruit with dip, bacon, sausage, and my mom and Amanda brought an egg casserole and sweet danishes. We also enjoyed Christmas mimosas! I love tradtions and hosting everyone at my house really puts us in the Christmas mood.


After another round of gift giving, we headed to Ben's family Christmas Swap. With so many people in his family we do a Secret Santa and it's always fun to see who has each other. We enjoyed more food and great company with them. Hopefully, we'll see them at the beach this week too!

All in all, we've had a wonderful Christmas. We're so appreciative of all the gifts we've recieved and love them all. We love giving gifts and shopping for each person too! We're headed to the beach for much needed relaxing after a crazy few weeks of the normal holiday stress.

The 3rd Annual Stafford Cookie Swap!

The 2008 Holiday season has officially begun with our 3rd Annual Cookie Swap. Ben and I were so excited to be hosting it again this year since we've moved into our new house. Not only did we have a ton of space for everyone, but we got to decorate even more with our fireplace, the outside decor and of course or ginormous tree! It's great that we are "forced" to get the house almost entirely ready for Christmas. It's a ton of work, but we get to enjoy the next few weeks with a spotlessly clean house that's completely decorated for the season.

It was a chilly afternoon, but inside where it was warm, we enjoyed a spread of Herb Ranch Cheeseball, Veggies with Spinach Dip, Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Sugar Chips, Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies, Fig & Goat Cheese Bruschetta, Christmas Punch and Hot Apple Cider.

After snacking and chatting the swap got underway. This year Ben and I found actual Christmas baskets for the cookies.

I'm pretty sure this was the best year yet with the cookies we took home! Since this post is a little late and all of cookies are down to the last few bites, let me see if I can remember each cookie.

~Chocolate Almond Biscotti
~Chocolate Chip Cookies
~Christmas Cookies
~Sophie Kisses
~White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
~Whoppers
~Oatmeal Creme Pies
~Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles
~Gingerbread with Vanilla Icing
~Oreo Truffles
~Almond Crescents
~Snikerdoodles
~Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

I also made some Doggie cookies, Snickerpoodles since so many of us have pups at home that would enjoy a treat! They were a big hit by all the Pup parents as well as Freddie...he was my taste tester.

All in all, it was another successful swap and we're aleady looking forward to next year's party. In fact I overheard people at the swap talking about ideas for their cookie next year!

Ballet, Bowties and Brews

This has been a pretty fun weekend so far and we've been busy!! Friday after work, we braved the rain and headed to Sanford to see Laura in the Nutcracker. She was a gum drop and a clown this year...and did an awesome job as the littlest clown! Afterwards we had dinner at my parents and stayed chatting with them until 10:30!

We woke up really surprised by the weather...it was tricky on Saturday, teasing us all day long. I headed to the grocery store, while Ben did the dreaded chore of taking Freddie to get his nails cut! I told him I'd reward him with a trip to Carolina Brewing Co. in Holly Springs since they were tapping their Winter Porter. We met Chris, Sam & Shane there and I was pretty disappointed in the Winter Porter. It was slightly smokey and just bland, not at all what I'd expect from a Porter.

We walked out of the brewery after a torrential downpour with angry skies, but by the time we got home it was clearing up. I got everything ready for dinner and Tara and Rick showed up with the most awesome selection of beer and an amazing FAT-FREE mexican dip!

I made a fall salad with mixed greens, pears, pomegranate seeds and raspberry vinagrette. I've only had a pomegranate once, but I think they'll become more of a regular in our house. I love how the seeds pop in your mouth. I also made Grilled Chicken and Pesto Farfalle. Technically Ben grilled the chicken and I made everything else. It's a new recipe that got rave reviews and it turned out delicious! I'm so excited there are leftovers.




Once dinner was out of the way, we started our beer tasting. Including the few beers we shared during appetizers and dinner here is our line up:


~ Ben's Cinnamon Oatmeal Stout
~Laqunitas Cappucinno Stout
~Abita Pecan Harvest
~Smuttynose Winter Ale
~Baron's Black Wattle Seed Ale
~Ben's Smoked Vanilla Bean Porter
~Ben's Ginger Ale
~Ben's Blackberry Chocolate Stout
~Weeping Raddish Pumpkin Bock
~Terrapin Side Project III Gamma Ray
~Heavy Weight Lunacy
~Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout
~Dogfish Head Theobrama
~Dogfish Head Raison D'Extra


Ben printed everyone score sheets based on appearance, aroma, taste, drinkability, and overall likeness. All but one or two we really good...my favorites were the Creme Brulee Stout, Terrapin Gamma Ray and Dogfish Raison D'Extra!


In between rounds we snacked on Pumpkin Scones and Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake tarts. I think we all had a great time...it's so nice to not only have new friends, but ones that enjoy our nerdiness love of beer.



This morning, I'm sipping coffee and mentally preparing for my 10k run this afternoon. I'm so happy the sun has decided to make it's appearance and stay out although it's a little chilly...we're enjoying our coffee by the gas logs!


The things I'm grateful for: (Fri and Sat)


~How close we live to family: It's so nice that we can go see our family whenever we want and I love being a part of my little sisters' lives.


~Soup: It was rainy day and I love chicken noodle soup when it's cold and rainy out


~The internet: information is always at your fingertips...you just gotta know where to look


~New friends: No surprise we love entertaining and having new friends to join us is the icing on the cake


~Beer: We're beer snobs!


~Quick & Easy dinners that look gourmet: The pasta was incredibily easy to make and delicious at the same time...perfect for enteraining.

Peak City Grill

Saturday my parents came over to our house and had appetizers and champagne and then took us out to dinner at Peak City Grill. I have been dying to try this restaurant since so many people have given it great reviews. Plus I'm in love with downtown Apex and how convenient it is to us...less than 2 miles from our house!

We enjoyed raw oysters with cocktail sauce, cream cheese with pepper jelly on crackers and champagne. I was excited to use the serving plate, dip bowl and spreader that Jessica gave me for my birthday. She knows me well and my love for unique serving peices for entertaining.

It was so nice to ride the quick 5 minutes downtown. Peak City Grill is located in the old historic section of Apex. The interior has the high ceilings, exposed brick and wood bar area. I don't think I'll ever get tired of eating here as the menu changes monthly. They have different specials daily as well as monthly events like a couples dinner, dinner with wine pairings, live music and Sunday brunch.

I can only review one appetizer and one main dish, since that's what we all ordered. Dispite the appetizers we had just finished we couldn't reist an order of Firecracker Shrimp Hush Puppies. The special of diver scallops, burgandy wine risotto and spinach and roasted tomatoes sounded amazing, which we all ordered. The scallops were huge and very rich and buttery. My only complaint was I didn't get any greens. Ben shared and they were very fresh and delicious. We skipped dessert, but next time I think I'll order it. The Orange Creamsicle Creme Brulee was very tempting.

Congratulations to the Graduate!

This past Sunday, Ben officially graduated with the first part of his degree in Network Technology. After 3 years of working full time and taking classes, I couldn't be more proud of all of his hard work.

We hosted a celebration brunch for our families on Sunday morning. Everyone had a great time and Ben received a ton of wonderful gifts. Thanks to everyone who brought food...everything was wonderful we appreciated all the help since we just got back from vacation. But, mostly we appreciate all the support you give us.

Now, it's onto the next phase at ECU...all of the hardwork will be worth in the end!

The Big 5-0 Birthday

This year was my mom's big 50th birthday party. It was my dad's too, but he wasn't interested in having a big party as he had a big suprise for this 40th. My brother and I started planning this party back in Feburary and it turned out wonderful. Her actual birthday was Tuesday, May 27. After spending 2 weeks at the beach, she came back and we surprised her with dinner at the Weathervane. As a general rule our family celebrates at home rather than go out, but since this year was a big one, we splurged. Not only did we splurge on dinner, I think we gave her one of the best birthday gifts ever.

She's been wanting a nice COACH bag for quite some time. I think every time we go shopping she looks at them. My brother, Zack and I went in together and bought her one that I knew she'd love. It's the perfect size and shape...a hobo, so it's comfy. Needless to say, she was quite surprised and overly giddy. She kept kidding she was going to sleep with it, but I wouldn't put it past her!

If the new handbag and dinner wasn't enough, we threw her a big party catered by Daniel's for all our family and friends. Everything turned out better than expected. The food was wonderful and it was so nice to see friends we haven't seen in years that came to celebrate. My sister in law, Amanda and I made a few appetizers that were a huge hit. Her brushetta, caprese and antipasta salads were delicious and I got rave reviews on my stuffed mushrooms and tiramisu.

Mouth-Watering Stuffed Mushrooms

12 whole fresh mushrooms

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground onion powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 340 F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding any touch ends of the stems.Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped msuhroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, taking care not to burn the garlic. Set aside to cool.

When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in cream cheese, parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Mixture should be very thick. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on a prepared cookie sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the msuhrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form until caps.

White Russian Tiramisu

1/2 cup ground coffee beans

1 3/4 cups cold water

1/4 cup Kahlúa (coffee-flavored liqueur), divided

1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) mascarpone cheese

1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

24 ladyfingers (2 [3-ounce] packages)

2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa, divided

Assemble drip coffee maker according to manufacturer's directions. Place the ground coffee in the coffee filter or filter basket. Add cold water to coffee maker and brew to make 1 1/2 cups. Combine the brewed coffee and 2 tablespoons Kahlúa in a shallow dish, and cool.

Combine cheeses in a large bowl. Beat at high speed of a mixer until smooth. Add sugars and 2 tablespoons Kahlua, and beat until well-blended.

Split ladyfingers in half lengthwise.

Quickly dip 24 ladyfinger halves, flat sides down, into coffee mixture; place, dipped sides down, in the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish, slightly overlapping ladyfinger halves. Spread half of cheese mixture over ladyfingers; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon cocoa. Repeat procedure with remaining ladyfinger halves, coffee mixture, cheese mixture, and 1 teaspoon cocoa.

Place 1 toothpick in each corner and 1 in the center of tiramisu (to prevent plastic wrap from sticking to cheese mixture); cover with plastic wrap. Chill 2 hours.

I have to give a huge shout to the Lowes Foods bakery in Apex. Originally I wanted Cinda's Creative Cakes to make a wine-themed birthday cake. When she couldn't, I panicked, then procastinated, then ran to Lowes 2 days before the party to see what they could do. I gave them a black and white photo of a cake design I had in mind and they exceeded my greatest expectations. The cake was beautiful and decorated in an "Aged to Perfection" wine theme.

My uncle tried to have a little fun and have the Sheriff come and out arrest her for being too old. Too bad they didn't have enough coverage and couldn't play along with the little idea. Otherwise he would have gotten her good.

All in all it was a great party...one she'll never forget!