August 21, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Savory Palmiers

Sounds fancy, doesn’t it?

The other day, was my friend’s birthday. And what she wanted for her birthday was to go to a local winery and have a potluck picnic with some of her girlfriends. I wondered what I should bring, but then it hit me.

Enter the palmier.

That sounds like an elaborate made-up foreign boyfriend who drives a Porsche and only drinks champagne as he serenades you with a poem that he just wrote about the way you two first met… Which incidentally, you lied about, too.

But Palmier doesn’t need to know that.

Ahem.

Getting back on track.

Palmiers might sound complicated, but you can use all store bought ingredients and whip up a beautiful little ~~boyfriend~~ appetizer that nobody would ever guess took you less than fifteen minutes to create. The palmiers are flaky and melt in your mouth as they burst with different flavors.

We are making two different types of palmiers here. One is Ina Garten’s Recipe using pesto, feta, and sundried tomatoes. The other palmier is one that I created. It is more of a pizza roll using cream cheese, pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and sun-dried tomatoes. When I make these I freeze half and then I have an appetizer or spare dinner when I need it. Each log makes about twenty to twenty five palmiers depending upon how thin you slice them.

Ingredients For Pesto Palmiers:

1 package frozen puff pastry
1/4-1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
1/2 cup of crumbled feta
1/2 cup store bought pesto
1/2 cup flour

Ingredients for Pizza Palmiers:

1 package frozen puff pastry
2 cups mozzarella shredded cheese
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1/2 cup pizza sauce
1/4-1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
1/2 cup flour

Optional:

Chopped pepperoni

Directions:

Let frozen pastry defrost on counter for twenty-thirty minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Lightly flour your counter and place one pastry sheet on floured surface. Lightly flour pastry surface and roll with a rolling pin into a 9 X 11 inch rectangle.

For the pesto palmiers, layer 1/2 of the ingredients per pastry sheet: first the pesto, then sun-dried tomatoes, then feta.

For the pizza palmiers, layer 1/2 the ingredients per pastry sheet: first the cream cheese, then pizza sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, and mozzarella. You could also cut up some pepperoni and place that in, too. I happen to not like pepperoni, so I do not add it.

When all of the ingredients are layered, take half of the long length of the palmier and fold it in half towards the center. Repeat with the other side until they are touching. Then fold again until the pastry dough is halfway to the center. Repeat with other side so that the two sides meet in the middle again. Whew.

Does your roll look like this?

Or this? Yesterday I made these for my daughter, because she got her braces off and this is what she requested for dinner (these are one of her favorite things I make). The appetizer makes a great fun dinner option served family style in the middle of the table alongside a separate bowl of salad. I accidentally folded mine horizontally yesterday. So, if your roll looks like the ones above, that is okay. You just will not have as many palmiers at the end, but you will have bigger ones. If you want bigger palmiers, fold the pastry sheet width wise. If you want a larger quantity of small appetizers, fold length wise.

Wrap in plastic wrap. If you have made both types of palmiers, you will have four rolls. Refrigerate until needed. You can make these the day before a party and have them on hand. Freeze for thirty minutes before cutting to make cutting easier. Freeze remaining logs (I only use one log of each type of palmier for each event) and just defrost them the next time you need a quick appetizer.

After taking palmier logs out of the freezer, cut palmiers into 1/4 inch slices and place on a parchment lined baking sheet (the parchment is important. I have tried making these without the parchment paper and just cooking spray and the palmiers stick) two inches a part. I do not have a picture of that. I do, however, have a picture of my back. Isn’t that ~~vain~~ helpful?

Bake sliced palmiers for 17-19 minutes. Mine are never as pretty as Ina’s, but they taste good.

Transfer the hot palmiers to a paper towel lined plate and allow to cool before placing on a platter to serve.

Now celebrate your hard work with some champagne alongside Palmier before he takes you for a ride in that Porsche. If he tries to serenade you with another one of his cheesy poems, just shove one of these babies in his mouth. Your ears and your mouth will thank you.

*I could not help sneaking some pictures of my new dress into this post. Blame ~~the champagne~~ Palmier. He told me to do it. Dress is from Anthropologie here.

July 16, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

When Pigs Fly Cry

The last time we went to the fair was when my daughter was eight and the moment we got there was the first and only time a child of ours has slammed their finger in the car door. She swears that this is why her thumb on her right hand is slightly larger than the other. I say it is the best souvenir ever. She doesn’t quite agree. Well, we went to the fair again this summer. I told her maybe she could get a souvenir for her other hand this time and then they would be even. The kid was not amused. I’m not sure why. I am very helpful.

When we got there, they had Monster Trucks that were tearing around the dirt arena one at a time. We made it through watching one truck. They are loud. And, well, how many times can you watch a truck go over a dirt hill?

That is a serious question.

My limit is seven. For life.

Have you ever heard a pig cry? I mean really heard a pig scream? Because we had not before the trip to the fair this summer. It is the most horrifying sound we had ever heard. The pig was ginormous. In fact, in searching for this picture on my camera, I had to do a double take. In my memory, the pig had been coal black with raised tufts of fur and gleaming red eyes. I was shocked to see a plain pink pig instead. Funny how the ~~crazy~~ mind works.

The pig was bellowing in a way that only monsters in my dreams do. Or kids slamming their fingers in car doors, but we won’t go there.

And then after terrifying everyone in its vicinity, the pig let out a torrential flow of urine that I thought was never, ever going to stop.

It was madness.

None of us will ever be the same.

The fair. It changes a person.

So, we decided to go eat some food. As one does after watching an animal relieve itself. Doesn’t that always make you hungry? In fact, I am sure you are thrilled just to be reading this right now.

We ate.

And we ate.

And then we could not eat any more. The best thing we had were the Tasty Chips. They were, well… I think you can guess.

We had fifty ride tokens to use from our Costco package. None of us wanted to do any rides. But we persevered. The kids went into The House of Mirrors. I stayed outside. I still find it terrifying. I am not the most space oriented person, and as a child I got helplessly lost in The House Of Mirrors. Then I watched “Watcher In The Woods” and I never went in the contraption again.

But sending my innocent children into The House of Mirrors?

Priceless.

They made it out in less than three minutes. They obviously take after their father.

And we played some games and lost $30. Or rather, we paid $30 for a small stuffed zebra that I do not think has migrated himself from the jungle of my car. Poor guy.

We rode on the carousel two times and my son went down the giant slide twice. He loved it. Times sure have changed since I was a kid. We used to fly down on burlap sacks. Now the kids have these fabric bags with straps. So fancy. It still looks frightening to me.

The kids had their sculptures made. That post can be found here.

We found a gnome hidden in the bonsai trees. So, he, of course, must be included in this post. He did not cry. Nor did he create any bodily fluids, but I still like him the best.

I had to take an outfit picture with my pink $10 H&M dress against the pink ride.

It was a pink day.

Pink ride.

Pink dress.

Pink pig.

Later that day I saw a pink elephant and I was tickled…

Have you been to a fair this summer? What memories and souvenirs do you bring home? Some folks go home with large stuffed animals. Some folks go home with full bellies. As for us, we go home with longer appendages and nightmares of screaming pigs.

I think we must be doing it wrong.

June 22, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Things We Did and ate On Maui

On Monday, I will finish our Maui trip with pictures of sand, surf, and the resort we stayed at. But today, let’s travel around town. We all ready traveled to a volcano, a lavender farm, a waterfall and ate at Mama’s Fish House.

But we did much more. And nothing at all. I feel like we spent so much of our trip relaxing, but the following pictures showed we actually got around the island, too. It was the perfect trip.

We ate breakfast one day at Kihei Caffe. This still remains my very favorite breakfast spot. It is insanely inexpensive (for Maui) with huge portions and the food is just darn good. Greasy. Buttery. Good. Comfort food.

Upon the recommendation of the owner (I believe the man is the owner. He is always there. Has a command of authority. And is always smiling), we tried this pastry thing. It was filled with cream cheese frosting. It was groan-out-loud-but-not-in-a-“When-Harry-Met-Sally”in-a-public-restaurant-good. I am still thinking about it. It was amazing, like a homemade Toaster Strudel.

We all enjoyed our meal and the kids were happy they split their ginormous plate of pancakes.

After going ziplining last year, I knew I was going to be sitting out of the family’s ziplining excursion this year. That is, unless L.B. was one of the instructors. I told my family I would join them if he was there to catch me. I am nothing if not a team player.

Alas, L.B. was not working. Some other lovely young men were.

I stayed on the ground and took pictures of my family in the air.

It was actually very peaceful. I did not regret not ziplining. Heights are just not my thing. It was my son’s favorite thing he did on Maui. They had a blast.

We also ate at The Monkeypod Kitchen on this trip. Twice. This restaurant is very good. The buns on my pulled pork sandwich are made on the premises. Everything there is fresh and proudly created in their kitchen. My kids could not get enough of their fish and chips.

We had a bottle of my favorite Firefly Red Flash wine left over on our last night in Maui (we bought six bottles of wine at the grocery store when we got there. Five Barefoot Pink Moscatos and one Firefly. This was such a cost saver. Our room had a small refrigerator and came with a wine opener). We did not want it to go to waste, because we could not bring it home. Even though it was $25 to uncork it at the restaurant, it was still cheaper than a single bottle of wine there. We are so unbelievably fancy.

We will pay $25 to uncork a $6 bottle of wine. But that is how much we love that wine.

It was worth it.

We have tried different shaved ice places on Maui. The best one? Ululani’s. Hands down.

I am boring. I know what I like. And I always get the same thing.

Strawberry and blue raspberry syrup (made on the premises from their sugar cane) over vanilla ice cream and shaved ice.

It is heaven. The tables even have holes so your ice cup can rest on the table and you can very ladylike shovel the delectable treat into your mouth.

We ate here so often that we filled a punch card and got an icee free. If you go to Maui, you have to have shaved ice. It is not the same as snow cones or shaved ice near you. I promise.

We went to a luau at The Marriott in Wailea.

I wore a Free People dress I purchased last summer and my Forever 21 Floral Kimono.

The food was delicious.

The drinks were all included and I liked them… Maybe a little too much.

The show was entertaining. We were seated at a table with four teenage girls and a separate party consisting of two honeymooners. It was an interesting dynamic. We had a good time.

I loved the couple’s dance they incorporated for the adults that were together.

We brought back so many memories from this trip. But like most experiences, my being cannot process them all at once. They simply combine together into one simple feeling: pure happiness.

What has been your favorite vacation destination? Is your favorite part the food? Or the experiences?

June 18, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Mama’s Fish House

Whilst in Maui, we decided one day to take a drive to eat lunch at Maui’s most famous of restaurants, Mama’s Fish House. I had avoided it the previous year, because I thought that it was located many hours from our hotel. But in reality, or to put it more bluntly, if I was smart enough to actually know how to look at and read a map, I would know it was a mere thirty five minutes away. That run-on sentence took longer to write than it took to drive there.

In truth, I also wanted to go there because a reviewer of the restaurant, in an attempt to write something negative, declared it was like Disneyland. How soon after reading those words did I decide to go there? Faster than it took to write this word: immediately.

I wore my Anthropologie Songbird Skirt and an older black tee. The shoes are Anthropologie’s Almanac Sandals.

I hope it goes without saying that I would not be writing this post if the food had not been phenomenal. Because it was. It was honestly the best meal I have ever had. We eat one big meal out a day while on vacation and the rest of the meals we either make in our hotel room or catch a quick cheap bite somewhere.

This particular lunch was expensive, but food in Maui is expensive. For example, I grabbed three bags of Hostess Donettes at the grocery store and they were almost $17. They would have been $6 at home. How soon after reading that purchase are you discrediting that I know good food? Somewhere between the word “immediately” and a long run-on sentence, I bet. But trust me.

We had eaten one of the worst meals I have ever had at a different fish house in Maui and the prices were very similar. That made us appreciate Mama’s all the more.

Their poppy bread was delicious.

They brought out a small noodle appetizer compliments of the chef. I will be spending my whole summer trying to replicate it. It was one of the best things I have ever had. Here is what I know it had: cilantro, noodles, carrots, cabbage, lime, and if I were to guess, I would say mirin, fish sauce and sesame oil. I cannot wait to experiment with this. We all scraped our plates (’cause we’re fancy) clean. And look at the cute little fork they served with it. And being the ~~awesome and super sophisticated~~ mother that I am, I let my son eat his entree with that little fork, too.

Blame that decision on the best drink I have ever had. In my life. It is called “The Relaxer.” I drank two of these and this is another thing I will be recreating at home.

The menu changes daily as the fish is caught and it features the fisherman/woman’s name who caught the fish. How cool is that?

We all tried a different fish dish. My family loves fish. We ate fish every day while we were in Maui. Everyone’s favorite fish was the dish I chose. It was a trio of three white fish. And it had Thai curry sauce (the chefs are from Thailand).

The restaurant is also known for their Lilikoi Creme Brûlée. It was on the show, “The Best Thing I Ever Ate.” This was the one thing I did not care for. I like passion fruit and I like creme brûlée. But together? Not so much. It was definitely not bad. Just not my favorite.

I am the only one of us that felt this way. The rest of my family liked it.

We noticed as we were leaving that my son’s napkin remained untouched throughout the meal.

“You didn’t use your napkin?” I asked slightly horrified. I say slightly, because by this time, I had all ready let him eat lunch with a tiny fork and had indulged in two Relaxers. Manners were a moot point at this stage.

“I didn’t want to ruin it. It looks so pretty,” was his reply.

I wish he felt the same way about his pants. But he is right. The napkin was pretty. I suppose it was a fair sacrifice.

We went outside for more pictures. The little restaurant is on a small quaint white sand beach.

I loved the curve of the palm trees.

Have you ever eaten somewhere that you would take a trip again, just to return to it?

We have decided we must return to Maui if only to eat here again. It was amazing. And the service was fantastic, too. This was definitely a highlight of our trip. How long do you think it would take to travel there from my house? The map is saying something crazy, like seven hours (and that involves air travel). I am choosing to be believe that is simply incorrect.

Now, if you will excuse me, I’m off to go eat a Donette (not to be confused with a “donut”. I did not earn my fancy palate for nothin’).

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

food

Savory Palmiers

When Pigs Fly Cry

Things We Did and ate On Maui

Mama’s Fish House