So Tired, but Fully Satisfied!

So, we have been noticeably absent the past couple of weeks, but don't worry we are back and hope that you all are coming back too! It's been so busy the past two weeks! For those of you who have been following, you know that I travel with my job! Well, pair the travel, with my full time salon job, a marriage and a three year old, who at this current time is bawling his eyes out because and I quote, "Daddy!!! You poked me in the tummy!!!", it gets a little chaotic!! Abel our three year old is usually an extremely playful, rambunctious and all-around cool kid; however, he has been sick this week. With the change in the weather, also came a change in our allergies!! Abel is not taking it well! Whining is at an all-time high and he's extremely demanding and fit-prone. Oh well, that song that poignantly states, "It won't be like this for long," definitely is playing in my brain right now! I just wish time would slow down at tad! He's growing so fast and I can hardly keep up. All of these Pinterest ideas, make for a Mommy and Daddy who try to compare themselves to something that is unattainably high! Alas, I keep on pinning! I'm a Pinterest junkie and food, drinks and tips are what I pin a lot of. So, we are going to start this week off with a post about our dinner inspired by all those delicious Pinterest Pictures!

On the Menu: 

So, we decided that we wanted to do our own oven-baked cheese sticks. We absolutely love cheese sticks, some of the best we have had were in Las Vegas earlier this year at Maggiano's an Italian restaurant. The cheese was just so creamy! We knew that, of course, ours may not be as good as an Italian restaurant, but we definitely wanted to give it a try. So, we took wonton wrappers, 60 calorie string cheese and a bit of water and Pam spray and created our own. We see all of these oven-baked cheese stick recipes on Pinterest, so here is our own! 

Recipe:

String Cheese

Wonton Wrappers

Water

Pam or other comparable cooking spray

First things first, freeze the string cheese. This makes it hold inside the wrappers while in the oven. Wrap the string cheese up in the wontons. We found that starting from the corner of the wrapper and then folding the sides in an egg roll style wrap created the best stick. Utilize the water to get the dough of the wrappers to stick so as not to have any exposure that the cheese could run out of. A great tip is to work relatively fast while wrapping to keep the cheese as frozen as possible, again this keeps the ooey, gooey goodness where it's supposed to be and not laying in the cookie sheet. 

Spray the pan lined with parchment paper with a light layer of Pam or other comparable cooking spray and pop in a 350 degree oven for about 15-18 minutes or until the wrappers appear golden brown. These great little snacks paired with a pizza marinara sauce were a great appetizer to our spread!

For the main course we had been craving something hearty and filling! What's more filling than Italian, right?! So, we created our own Calzones! 

Recipe

Pizza Crust (We used pre-made)

Shady Brook Farms breakfast sausage

Ricotta Cheese

Fresh Mozzarella Cheese

Marinara Sauce

All the veggies you'd like

We've always enjoyed a good comfort meal and this definitely fit the script! We browned up our sausage in a sauté pan with a little cooking spray. Cut up some green peppers, onions and tomatoes, drained and rinsed some black olives and kneaded out the pizza crust. After the sausage finished, we mixed it with some Ricotta cheese and set that to the side. 

After rolling out the crust to our desired size we put just a tiny bit of marinara sauce on the crust, spooned our sausage mixture in and topped it with slices of Mozzarella cheese and all of the veggies. 

We then sealed our edges with a fork and vented the top.  We then baked it in a 350 degree oven until golden brown, which was approximately 15-20 minutes. 

After we got everything to the table and started our meal, I had an epiphany…I am in love with the olive oil/Balsamic vinegar mixture that most of the Italian restaurants serve with their bread basket beforehand. It just so happened that I had both olive oil and some balsamic in the cabinet. So, I got out my LBSP, or Little Black Sauce Plate, out and poured my mixture in…DIVINE!! We also had a side sauce of the leftover marinara. 

Overall, I'd say this was a pretty successful Cheat Day. Abel even turned his frown upside down!

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Love and Cheat Days,

J & A

Our Malaysian Vacation...In our minds!

This past Saturday, Jason and I took off to our normal downtown Greenville to have a nice dinner and see a movie. I checked the movie times and decided Riddick at 8:10 would be our best bet! We had already made plans to go to Yap!, a Malaysian style bistro for our Cheat Day dinner. This particular place is right on Main Street in Downtown. Such a beautiful place to dine. Many of the restaurants in downtown have outside dining, which is really nice especially as the Fall weather starts to roll in! We rounded the corner, walked across the crosswalk and ended up seeing some old friends also enjoying the beautiful night in downtown. They were dining out with their two little pretties and enjoying the Mexican style restaurant that is located off Main Street as well! We made our pleasantries and then headed next door for dinner, we were both famished! Jason especially had a rough day at the lake. He enjoys tournament fishing and due to some unfortunate circumstances was unable to get out on the lake that day! Just 411, that doesn't make for a very happy man! So, a good meal is just what the doctor ordered. 

We walked in and had already decided to inform the restaurant that we were bloggers and that we would be featuring them on our blog. We had actually searched for food blog etiquette on our way down to the restaurant and found out its always a good idea to let the restaurants know you are going to feature them. This gives the restaurant the opportunity to enjoy the review of there pride and joy!

So, we informed the staff and they were extremely open to us and inviting! We even received a great little sampler of their #1 dish, how nice! Mr Yap, owns the restaurant and specializes in Malaysian dishes. Those who are not as adventurous don't fear because the menu is split in two, an American side and a Malaysian side. Well, Jason and I are up for any adventure so we definitely ordered from the Malaysian side! We were not disappointed! 

On the Menu:

For starters we ordered the Duxelles Strudel, which includes spinach, bacon, sautéed mushroom and goat cheese all wrapped up in phyllo crust drizzled with a balsamic reduction. Anything to do with phyllo, goat cheese and balsamic reduction has me at hello!! This was fabulous. The first bite was marvelous, just the right amount of crunch on the outside with the creaminess of the goat cheese and pop of the balsamic you just can't get much better. I'm a serious texture person and this texture was the perfect blend!

Jason had the Kuala Lumputz Ribs. Of course, I had to have a bite! These had to be some of the best ribs I have tasted. I am a huge fan of anything with a tropical background and I am pretty sure Southeast Asia fits the bill! The meat was so tender and juicy it literally fell off the bone and just to see the beautiful presentation made you think it was too lovely to be food! The ribs are braised in a savory black bean sauce and served with a cucumber salad and coconut rice. The rice is phenomenal, you can really taste the coconut that is infused into the rice, which is presented as a mound of white, fluffiness reminiscent of the white foam that washes up on beautiful white powdery beaches. Jason enjoyed every last bite! 

I had the Malay Sweet and Sour Chicken. Again, this had the tropical take on a classic dish. Featuring pineapples, peppers and chile sauce, this was the perfect meal to have sitting in a hammock between two palm trees by a South China Sea beach! The marinated chicken was also paired with that sultry, sweet rice!! I've been practicing with my chopsticks and have gotten pretty good, let's face it rice isn't the easiest dish to eat with the sticks, but I DID IT!! So proud, I feel like I have graduated some sort of food utensil education course!

As mentioned above, we were given a sample of the Chicken Satay, which is their #1 dish. Jason and I could definitely understand why! Dark meat served in an in-house roasted peanut butter sauce that's spiced just right with curry and sweetened with Coconut Milk, Chicken Satay was absolutely perfect. This dish was served with sliced cucumbers and onion on the side, to which we promptly ate dipped in the leftover sauce. It was a perfect ending to a great meal! 

After leaving Yap! as friends of Travis, a great concierge of sorts that welcomed us with open arms, we headed down the street to grab some Poppington's Kettle Corn, our favorite. Yes, we smuggle our own popcorn….GASP!!! We are just too in love with homemade kettle corn to not have it with our M&M's and movie! Unfortunately, our best made plans did not pan out, we arrived at the movie to only find out we had chosen a movie time that was wrong! Oh well, at least not all was lost, we had a fabulous time and filled our stomachs with the flavors of the Asian tropics! 

Does this make you want a Malaysian Vacation? Well, visit Yap! and you just might be transported to an island oasis!

For more information check out:

www.yapgreenville.com

www.poppingtons.com

Love and Cheat Days,

J & A

A Glance at our Cheat Days

Ok, fellow food addicts we are going to try to give you a quick glance at the great food we eat every weekend. Here is the first installment. Stay tuned for the full scoop on these fantastic eats. Let us know if you like these post and we will keep them coming.

      

 

Sea Island Escape

Jason and I love to travel, and the great thing about my career is that I get to visit different places, see different cultures and indulge in various cuisines. I am a hairstylist, however, I am not an ordinary hairstylist. I work for an amazing company called Redken 5th Ave. NYC! I love my career and all of the aspects of the beauty industry! For Redken, I educate other salon professionals and I am provided with great opportunities to travel, hone my craft and excel far beyond ordinary expectations. I am so very thankful for the chance to succeed. I remember from high school, a quote that one of my teachers lived by and that was, "If I ever walk through those doors and it feels like work or just a job, I'll walk out and never come back." That's how Jason and I both carry on our lives and we both are blessed to have careers that we love. 

This particular blog will be the first of many travel/food specials. As I said, I travel a lot and Jason thankfully gets to travel with me when his schedule permits. This specific trip was to Sea Island, GA to share the Redken message at the Sea Island Spa. If you aren't aware of this special spot definitely check out their website and plan a trip! 

We reached our destination around 3:30-4:00 in the day. We checked in at the hotel and asked the very knowledgeable front desk staff member to offer up a few suggestions on some local cuisine. We were given several suggestions on some great spots, everything from Mediterranean to American style food. We chose a nice seafood spot called Coastal Kitchen. The beautiful location right on the water created a soothing ambiance. 

On the Menu:

To start, a wonderful little bread basket was brought out with some creamy butter to spread on the warm, soft sweet rolls. We also ordered the lobster nachos as an appetizer. Perfectly proportioned lobster to nachos along with a creamy cheese sauce and buttery guacamole, what could be a better beginning?!

Following that up was a scrumptious salad and our delicious entrees. Jason had the Blackened Redfish which was served with crawfish, Cajun sausage and peppers, Monterrey jack and cheddar grits with an almond brown butter sauce. The fish was unfailingly flaky and the butter sauce added the correct amount of juiciness. Grits are a southern delicacy, usually prepared with cheese and butter, of course! These were no different and Jason loved them. Apparently, I'm strange I don't care for butter and cheese in my grits, I'd rather have sugar! Jason says I am disgusting!! 

I am a true pasta lover, so I chose the house made lobster and crab ravioli, which featured blue crab, lobster, tomato basil cream, sauteed spinach and shredded Parmesan cheese.  The cream sauce was divine! The pasta pockets themselves were perfectly cooked, just enough bite to be al dente and filled with the crab and lobster. I truly enjoyed every last bit! 

To round things out we shared the homemade honey and butter pecan ice cream. So Delicious! 

The next afternoon, on our way out from Sea Island, we stopped at a recommended pizza place called Sal's. Sal, "The Pie Guy" formerly a professional boxer from New Jersey, decided to open up a pizzeria, with the idea of it becoming the neighborhood hotspot. So after helping the Cafe Portofino in NYC become popular, he and his wife decided to move down south to St Simons Island, GA and create their dream! 

Jason had to be at work the next day so we had an early dinner of the signature Margherita pizza, which has mozzarella, ricotta, tomatoes, basil and extra virgin olive oil on it. We also decided to be fancy and add sliced meatballs, green peppers, onions and black olives. For anyone living in the South Carolina area is probably use to the normal pizza places around here, which menus include typically a meat lovers, a supreme, maybe a Hawaiian style pizza, but in NYC and Jersey pizza is typically called Margherita with the same basic principles and then added to with toppings. At Sal's they also offer a Deluxe and Neapolitan, along with a calzone renamed the "Salzone." After filling our tummies with the yummy, we headed back to Spartanburg. It was only a short stay over, but gave us the opportunity to enjoy each other, gave me the pleasure of meeting new salon professionals and visiting a beautiful establishment and allowed us some great new foodie experiences!! 

Does this make you want to see Sea Island?! If you do head out to the spa tell the girls Redken Artist Audra Worthy sent you! Along the way stop in for some great seafood and a pizza or two!

For more information visit these websites:

www.seaisland.com

www.coastalkitchenandrawbar.com

www.salsneighborhoodpizzeria.com

No, Really! Eat those Brussel Sprouts!

To keep our sanity, every Saturday that Jason has off from the Fire Dept., we take off and go to Downtown Greenville. In one of our previous posts, we discussed 21 East, an awesome eatery off of East Washington in downtown. Well, today we want to talk about West Washington's off-the-beaten path eatery. The Trappe Door is an awesome place to take in a great pub meal with the added bonus of a true handcrafted Belgian beer. The Trappe Door is that pub you'd think of if you were in Belgium off the side of a dirt road somewhere in the country land, but keeps it classy with gourmet dishes, atmosphere and decor!

On the menu:

We shared a superb appetizer of Seafood Stuffed Tomatoes. Roma Tomatoes are stuffed with The Trappe Door's homemade mayonnaise based seafood salad. Every morsel had that fresh, crisp juicy bite. Perfect firm tomatoes with a sweet, fruity taste stuffed with a refreshing filling that definitely pleased the palate.

Jason had the Seafood Waterzooi. If you are looking for a lighter dish this is it, a completely traditional Belgian stew that includes poached seafood including scallops, shrimp, mussels and fish in a gloriously, creamy broth served with vegetables and great crusty bread for dipping, or in our neck of the woods that is called sopping! Ok, so Jason and I don't sop for manners sake,  but that is definitely what the bread is for! He really enjoyed his dish, noting the lightness of it. Jason tends to want more hearty dishes, but this tapas style portion packed in all the needed flavor. Perfect for a dinner followed up with a cone of gelato! You have to save room for dessert!

I enjoyed the Carbonades Flamandes, that's a mouthful! This traditional Flemish beef stew cooked in Belgian beer and served with a side salad and Belgian frites was definitely not your average beef stew! The meat was so tender it literally just fell off my fork, enough to switch to a spoon! The broth in this dish was so hearty and seasoned beautifully! It really coated my tummy with such warmth! I plan to order this again in the fall, when the leaves are orange and red and hot chocolate is plentiful, along with a cool, crisp breeze in the air. I really love fall weather! I have come to realize that frites are my favorite type of fry! They tend to be a pretty slim fry, which I love, I dipped these in The Trappe Door's homemade mayo choices. I chose Chipotle sweet chili and BBQ Bourbon, which were fabulous. My favorite was the sweet chili! 

Our Drink Selections

The decor of the hideaway, sets up an intense atmosphere. You think of big, burly, beer-bellied men sauntering up to the bar pounding their fists, all while giving a great, big toothy grin, asking for another round. It's exciting and quite a friendly place. Servers are able to reflect a brother/sister style atmosphere. Medieval style architecture, with wood beams and a masterfully, crafted bar area, this place deserves to be named one of the best atmospheres in Greenville. Welcoming and Exciting, this eatery is a must stop in the Greenville, SC area!

Check out The Trappe Door's Website, for a history on creating the name, atmosphere and their awesome menu! Have you been to a Belgian style restaurant before? Does this make you want to check it out? We hope so!

For more information and a cool story, check out:

www.trappedoor.com

Love and Cheat Days,

J and A

Little, French Table

As we mentioned before, Jason and I indulge at Mon Amie once a week. This past week was no different! Our Cheat Days this weekend were a little off because Jason had to work 2 shifts rather than just one at the fire department. So, we only had ONE real Cheat Day, GASP!! I find that it just isn't as much fun to indulge when my best friend isn't there to experience it with me! I suppose with that logic if I were a single woman I'd be skinny! Let me just go on record to say, I'd definitely be a depressed woman too! This boasts the question is it better to be Fat and Happy or Skinny and Depressed? Fortunately, I do believe I have found the answer and that is to be neither! I definitely am beginning to think that Fit, Fabulous and Fortunate are the three parameters to strive for! 

So, this week's FABULOUS menu included:

Jason: The Featured Crepe and Egg which included fresh mozzarella, caramelized onions, local tomato topped with egg and balsamic glaze and garnished with home potatoes. 

Audra: The Beef Gourmet Burger which was cooked to order and topped with fresh spinach, mozzarella, red onions, local tomatoes and pesto mayo. This hearty meal was served with frites.

Let me just say, this makes the second burger I have had from Mon Amie and I will go as far to say that it is the best burger I've ever put in my mouth! I'm pretty sure Heaven's gates opened up and blessed this burger with righteousness! It was so good in fact that it became a crime to not eat every last bite. Being the law abiding citizen I am, I proceeded to eat every single, solitary morsel! The perfect medium well patty was so juicy and seasoned to perfection. Also, both meals had locally grown tomatoes, which were by far the best tomatoes we have had all season. I'm not sure who their source is for fresh ingredients, but whoever you are kudos to you!! With all the rain we have had in SC this summer it is hard to get much taste out of tomatoes and those were out of this world. The fresh mozzarella was so light and fluffy, you felt like you were biting into a marshmallow! Often known as "Pizza Cheese," Mozzarella is a semi-soft creamy cheese, easily moldable and mild in flavor. This cheese paired with the burger, spinach and glorious roasted tomato really just set the bar for burgers as far as I am concerned and Jason seemed equally as pleased with it's use in the crepe. 

Thanks Mon Amie for never failing to impress! Does this make your mouth water? If so, we encourage you to check out Mon Amie, you will not be disappointed! Did you love the pairings of ingredients in these dishes? We think they were spot on! In fact, this is something we might try at home! Stay tuned for another great post!!

Creole or Cajun, That is the Question?!

For our summer vacation this year we decided to visit beautiful Alabama and take in the turquoise water and white, powdery sand that is the Gulf coast! We spent a full week enjoying the sun, sand and relaxation by the sea. 

There is definitely something to be said for just a beach chair, sand and the sounds of the ocean. Of course, the sounds of two toddlers and three school age kids are pretty good too!

We had all discussed visiting New Orleans while down South, so when the opportunity presented itself in the form of Mother Nature's volatility, we decided to make the 3 1/2 hour drive to the "Big Easy." After 13 people piled up in 2 vehicles (We all had a seat belts, don't worry!), we headed across the coast. The drive was beautiful and something to really take in. It was interesting and almost a bit emotional to see the remnants of hotels and establishments left from Hurricane Katrina and Rita. We decided to stop in Biloxi, MI at the Hard Rock Cafe and Casino. We left $20.00 in the positive due to a couple of good rounds at the craps table. ;-)

We finally arrived in New Orleans around 1:00. While there we enjoyed a stroll down Bourbon St., the sights and sounds of the city, the French Market and enjoyed true Louisiana cuisine. On the menu for dinner was a well known restaurant, The Gumbo Pot. The Gumbo Pot serves authentic New Orleans dishes including gumbo, jambalaya and red beans and rice! This "ain't no" Zatarain's commercial, no offense. 

Jason had the Creole Combo which featured Louisiana jambalaya, shrimp creole and crawfish étouffée, and Audra had an appetizer of Boudin Balls and a side of jambalaya.

Boudin Balls are a Cajun favorite! It's essentially a deep fried batter stuffed with sausage and rice. Talk about savory.  We had to try them! When in Rome, right?! 

Speaking of Cajun favorites…Many have asked the question what is the difference between Cajun and Creole? Well, apparently it's pretty simple, Cajun cuisine uses tomatoes and Creole does not, according to Louisianan native and BBQ expert Jay Ducote. He goes on to say in his article for the Menuism BBQ Blog, that "an over-simplified way to describe the two cuisines is to deem Creole cuisine "city food" and Cajun cuisine "country food."' Jay explains in his article, that Cajun is a term for French colonists from the Acadia region of Canada, who were forcibly moved from their homes and ended up settling in the swamps of Louisiana. Creole describes settlers in French colonial New Orleans, LA. These were of French and Spanish upper-class. This term also refers to the native-born slaves of African descent and those who were freed. A French Creole has European ancestry and a Louisiana Creole is someone of mixed racial ancestry. Just as the people of Creole and Cajun descent were different so is the food. Creole food tends to feature more exotic ingredients from a wide mix of cultures and Cajun utilizes onion, celery and bell pepper to create dishes. Also, an interesting difference is in the roux. Creole roux is made with butter and flour and a Cajun roux is made with oil and flour. Now that you all know the difference, you can eat at any restaurant that deems itself authentic N'awlins style and be a bonafide food critic!

So, we ended our little road trip to New Orleans full of culture, new experiences and FOOD. It was definitely a city we will be visiting again! Does this make you want to search for an authentic New Orleans restaurant to try out? Or better yet does it make you want to visit the big city itself? We hope so! 

Love and Cheat Days,

J & A

Source:

Ducote, Jay, Menuism BBQ Blog, "Cajun vs. Creole: What's The Difference? "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/Menuism/cajun-vs-creole_b_1447822.html