Fogo de Chao

I first heard about Fogo de Chao when I was getting my hair done. My hair dresser was telling me she had heard about this place. I kind of stored it in the back of my memory as it sounded like something that would interest Adam has he is a total meat man.

Fogo is a brazilan steak house. When I asked Adam if he wanted that our sushi he was unsure. But he finally decided on this instead of sushi because he knows I am not a sushi person.

So we had a 5:30 reservation and were one of the first people to be sat for dinner (they only open at 5.) They had an amazing salad bar, with fresh mozzarella, heart of palm, few different salads, amazing Cesar salad dressing. Along with the salad bar they brought out some cheese biscuit things. I really don't know how to explain them, but they were awesome.

Then came the main course, they bring out three sides for you, mashed potatoes, fried polenta, and fried bananas. The mashed potatoes were pretty average what you get else where. Neither Adam nor I had ever tried polenta, we thought it was amazing, it was like little french fries with parmesan on top, we had at least 3 trays of those brought out. I cannot review the bananas as I don't like bananas but Adam said they were good.

Then came the meats, we each had a disc. One side was red and one was green. When you wanted meat you turned to green and all these guys came around and served you whatever you want. They cut it right off of the bone it. We tried bacon wrapped chicken and sirloin, top sirloin, filet migion, pork and beef ribs, pork sausages, and bottom roast.

All was very good, but the bottom roast was AMAZING! Adam and I were just in awe of the flavor.

And lastly since we were celebrating Adam's birthday we got a piece of the chocolate mouse cake, also very good. It was so creamy, and soft and delicious.

We both left with a full and happy tummy and were not hungry for about 24 hours. Adam didn't even grab a toothpick on the way out because he was worried he would lose the wonderful beef flavor in his mouth :)

So if you are ever around one of these, although it is a little pricey it is WELL worth the money for any meat lover :)

Blogging with Purpose

Elizabeth at Elizabeth's Cooking Experiments has awarded me a blogging for purpose award. I was very honored to be awarded this as I feel like I am just a normal Midwestern cook. I like to make the family favorites as well as go out on a limb.

I always love receiving comments from others, as well as seeing how many people actually look at my blog.

It's my job to nominate five other bloggers whom I feel deserve this award.

Amber at Amber's Delectable Delights. Amber's pictures and bread recipes get me every time. I have noticed whenever I am searching for a recipe I always start at her blog.

Joelen at Joelens Culinary Adventures. I love reading about all the events that Joelen does around her community and all the interest things she puts in her blog.

Melissa at Meli can cook. Meli definitely can cook, almost everything in her blog makes me drool, I love her food and pictures.

Jamie at Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats. Whenever I log into my google reader I look at her blog first, I love all her posts and desserts!

Michelle at Sugar and Spice. I love reading about all the events Michelle participates in, and all her dessert recipes.

Now, here's what you five have to do

Nominate 5 blogs that haven't had this award before

Each of the blogs must have a purpose

The nominated blogs must have a link back to this blog

The logo from this award must be displayed in your blog

Over the Hill

It was my step-brothers 40th Birthday on Friday, there was a small party at his house on Saturday and my Sister-in-law called me and asked me to help make a cake, this was such a fun cake to make.
We used a dark chocolate cake mix and I made the buttercream frosting from wilton. For the "rocks" around the edge we used crushed animal crackers with black food coloring in it. For the "hill" I used a small pyrex bowl.Happy Birthday Drew!

Blog on Vacation :-)

Theres no menu plan this week, or for the next three weeks, Adam is out of town on training and I plan to live on take-out, mac and cheese, pizza etc. Our weeks are also pretty booked up. I hope to try and update once a week but I will be back in full swing come March :-)

Spicy Honey Brushed Chicken

This post has set a record for me, this is my 300th blog post. I really can't believe that I have really posted 300 things, that's crazy, I hope to make many many more. Thank you for reading my blog!

Tonight I made a recipe I have seen rave reviews for on The Nest board I am on, but the word spicy scared me away, Neither Adam and I are spicy people. But this chicken was AWESOME, it was SO flavorful and SO moist! I use chicken drumsticks because they were on sale this week, but I want to try this with chicken thighs, it was very good. If you don't like spicy please don't shy away from this one! Also this is my first time every broiling something. I want to try more broiled recipes now :-)

Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs (From: Cooking Light)

• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (I omitted for spiciness)
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (I used 4 chicken drumsticks)
• Cooking spray
• 6 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Preheat broiler.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss to coat. Place chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil chicken 5 minutes on each side.

Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl, stirring well. Remove chicken from oven; brush 1/4 cup honey mixture on chicken. Broil 1 minute. Remove chicken from oven and turn over. Brush chicken with remaining honey mixture. Broil 1 additional minute or until chicken is done.

New Camera

I know this isn't exactly cooking related but there is a very cooking related reason behind the new camera. I told Adam all I really wanted for my birthday was a new camera, I know my blog picture aren't the best, and I know it's not all the camera but I feel like it is a big part of it. I previously had a Cool Pix that I got for my 18th birthday, so that was 6 years ago. it was time for a new one.

Today we went to Best Buy and I got myself a new camera :-) I got a Olympus Stylus 820. So far this is a cool camera, every picture I have taken has turned out great, I can actually use no flash, and it has a cuisine setting. I look forward to becoming better at taking food pictures... Here are a few pictures with the new camera and my babies :-)

Food Saver

I have wanted a food saver for a long time, my wonderful mom got my one for my birthday this weekend. I can't wait to put it to good use! If you have any secrets or fun recipes to freeze, please post a comment :-)

I got the rival seal a meal. And so far I can't figure out how to work it right, but Adam gets it every time :-)

2008 Blog Resolutions

I say the 2008 Recipe Challenge Blog Event hosted by The Cook Mobile. I thought it would be a fun way to share my "goals" for my blog this year. This way I will feel accountable.

My 4 resolutions for the year:

1. To move my blog to it's own domain, and build a site to be what I have dreamed of my cooking blog to be.

2. To try atleast 5 yeast breads over the year, yeast is a scary thing to be, I know in the end it isn't that scary.

3. To try one crockpot recipes per week, I am going to try one new crockpot recipe each and every Monday.

4. To try more veggie recipes, Adam and I normally have one veggie with each dinner, but its cooked the same old boring way. I am excited to try new recipes!

Recipe I want to try this year...

Mac-n-Smoked Gouda with Cauliflower, I know it's not a super simple recipe but I tend to shy away from new things, I have never used nor I think tried Gouda I have had this recipe starred since starting my blog, so I REALLY want to try it this year!

Best of 2007

I can't believe the year is over, my blog is not even a year old yet, and I had over 200 blog posts, celebrated my one year wedding anniversary and had a great year overall! To end the new year, here are my favorite recipes from this year.

Appetizer: Stuffed Mushrooms
Breakfast: Clone of the Cinnabon
Snack: Carmel Nut Snack Mix
Dessert: Carrot Cake
Cookie: Coconut Cookies
Main Dish: Garlic and Citrus Chicken
Side Dish: Scalloped Potatoes
Biggest Blog Hit of the Year: Gravy Baked Pork Chops

Hope you and yours have a safe and happy new year.

Merry Christmas

A Day late and a dollar short but it's the thought that counts, We were running around to family since Sunday, but I always love this time of year. I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas! And have a very happy New Year.

Christmas Cookies

My mom and I make cookies every year for Christmas we make tons and then put them in tins and give them as gifts. This year my aunt wanted to help out, we were very excited and my mom planned out all the recipes, ingredients etc. Well the weather decided it had a different idea in mind. We got a huge snow storm yesterday. Adam and I beat the storm but my aunt didn't she got stuck in the ice storm, so she was unable to make it.

My mom and I continued on with our cookie making. We saved a few recipes to make for next weekend so my aunt can help out :)

On the slate for today are... Coconut macaroons, sugar cookies, peanut butter delights, chocolate covered pretzels, peanut butter kisses, and spritz.

This is all our ingredients.

And ofcourse you need the handy Kitchen Aides, this was the first year that my mom and I both had one!This is my mom and I before.And after, we were both VERY tired! We started at about 10 am and finished about 6pm.

Recipes to follow.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving day!!!

Here is a wonderful picture of the beautiful 27lb bird my mom made :-)

What's Cookin' Minnesota

I have created a What's Cookin' Minnesota Meet-up group. This group will get together every month or every few weeks and do fun cooking stuff around the Twin Cities area. If you are interest in joining my group here is the link. I hope to see some of you there soon!!

My Cookbook

I had a few people interested in see the cookbook/recipes that I made for my cousins wedding. I also promised it to a few people who's recipes I had used. I finally got it created into a PDF document, and am willing to e-mail it to anyone who would like a copy.

Just e-mail me at adamswife06@gmail.com, or click the little e-mail me guy on the right hand side.

New Kitchen Toys

I am the proud new owner of.....

Yes a food processor. I have wanted a food processor for a LONG time, I finally got one tonight. This is the one I have been eyeing for a while but thought it was a little more then I wanted to spend. Adam and I went to Target last night and found it on clearance. We pretty much forced me to get it. Granted. I have been telling him if he wants homemade carrot cake I need a food processor. :-) I will be making a carrot cake this weekend!!!

200 Posts!

This is my 200th post!! I can't believe my blog has taken off that much. I love updating it! I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I like posting!

This is a cake I made for my 3rd Wilton 1 Cake decorating class, I used a boxed mix as that is what I had on hand, and was short on time. But wanted to include it for my 200th post!

I look forward to sharing many more recipes with you!

Homemade Pasta

Isn't it pretty??? Adam bought me the pasta rollers for our anniversary, I can't wait to make have homemade pasta. I also bought some ravioli stampers. Look for lots of fresh pasta recipes in the future.

1 lovely year

Adam and I are now officially married for 1 year! I was very worried about our year old cake. It was wrapped in tin-foil for us by our caterer she had wrapped the night of the wedding, it got mushed and we put it in our fridge, when we got home from our honeymoon a week later I unwrapped it threw it in a plastic container and threw it in the freezer. I pulled it out of the freezer on Friday night and put it in the fridge.

It was AMAZINGLY good, it was still soft, great frosting, tasted just like it did the night we cut it on the wedding, granted it wasn't as pretty looking, this was the best picture I could get.

Adam and I went to Melting Pot for dinner, it was our first fondue experience, it was a great experience. I highly recommend everyone go at least once to try it out.

It was a GREAT anniversary, I look forward to celebrating many more :-)

E-mail

This is a non cooking blog... I know how dare I! I happened to log into goggle this evening (I never do I use a another program that grabs my mail from the sources), I had 10 junk mail (it deletes everything older then 30 days. If you have e-mailed me and didn't get a response I didn't get it, I am sorry and please e-mail me again!

I promise to have some cooking and baking posts this weekend, hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday weekend.

Me and My Cookbook

I found another blogging event, this was a super simple, and very fun one so I knew I had to participate right away. The hard part was choosing my favorite cookbook. I have many cookbooks and like all of them for different reasons. In the end I chose my trusty Betty Crocker New Edition Cookbook. My mom had one of these growing up, it is SO beat up because we always used it, this was the first thing I asked for when I moved out, and I believe my mom bought it for us for a house warming gift. I use this cookbook whenever I am in need of a tried and true recipe, I have yet to have a failed recipe from my trusty Betty Crocker.
Look here after August 24th to see everyones favorite cookbooks, maybe you will just be lucky enough to find a new favorite!