Chocolate Truffle Bites

I love food served bite-sized or in a mini version. It's so cute and perfect for a party. I also appreciate how the portion size is smaller on a mini food item. You get a couple of bites of flavor without all the indulgence! Here's a recipe I've made several times now and been pleased with each time. It's pretty tasty considering how easy it is! The recipe comes from Southern Living, and I'll share the 3 ways I've served them to make it even easier!

Chocolate Truffle Bites

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Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 (15-oz.) packages refrigerated piecrusts OR 2 packages of frozen phyllo mini shells OR 2 boxes of pre-baked tart shells (found in the baking section)
• 2 (4-oz.) semisweet chocolate baking bars, chopped (I buy premium chocolate, like Ghirardelli)
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt 
• Sweetened whipped cream 
• Garnish: chocolate shavings

If you buy pie crusts follow steps 1 & 2, otherwise, skip to #3:

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Unroll 3 piecrusts, and stack on top of one another. Cut piecrust stack 10 times using a 3-inch round cutter, making 30 rounds. Press rounds into bottoms of ungreased muffin cups. (Dough will come halfway up sides, forming a cup.) Flute edges with a fork, if desired.
   
2. Bake rounds at 425° for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden. Let cool on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks, and let cool completely (about 20 minutes).
   
3. Stir together chocolate and cream in a 3 1/2-qt. heavy saucepan over low heat, and cook, stirring constantly, 4 to 5 minutes or until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and salt. Let cool 30 minutes.
   
4. Pour 1 Tbsp. chocolate mixture into each crust. Cover and chill 1 to 24 hours. Top each with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream. Garnish wish chocolate shavings.

As mentioned above, you can use pie crusts that you bake, phyllo shells or tart shells. My picture above is using tart shells and it could not have been easier. The phyllo option gives it a nice flaky quality. And, the pie crust makes it feel most like a miniature pie. You can't go wrong any way you prepare them!

Enjoy

Baja Fish Tacos

When it comes to kitchen and cooking-related items, I'm somewhat of an addict. I've confessed my recipe addiction here once before. I am a sucker for kitchen gadgets and tools, I love serving and table setting pieces, but I have a real weakness for gourmet food products. Any time I'm in a gift shop, cooking store or something like a Williams-Sonoma, I can't help but want to taste (and buy) every sauce, salsa and spice in sight. I love jars of jams, relishes, oils and dips. The packaging also has a lot to do with which items I gravitate towards. I wish I had a gigantic pantry that I could fill with all kinds of special food items.

My problem, in addition to buying too much of this stuff, is that I don't always use it. Something in my subconscious is saving these things for a special occasion or for entertaining. I've thrown away many a gourmet food item because I let it go bad. I once bought a delicious artisan-made chocolate bar in Dallas that was made to pair really well with wine (believe it or not, it was called like Chocolate Fungi and had mushrooms in it). I kept it in the pantry thinking about how I needed to make a night of it and have a little chocolate and wine tasting session, and I never did. And it spoiled. So, recently I've made a commitment to using the dang stuff! What am I waiting on? I buy these tasty goodies because someone else has gone to the trouble to make them, and they make my life easier. So, no more waiting until a special occasion. Time to use the loot! I can always buy more :)

Here's a sauce I purchased at a cute pantry shop in downtown Hot Springs, Arkansas - Mango Tequila Jalapeno Grilling and Dipping Sauce. The brand is Earth and Vine Provisions and it's sold in many places. It can also be ordered from their website. It's currently on sale, too - bonus!

When I purchased the sauce, there was a free recipe card next to it for Baja Fish Tacos using this signature sauce. I recently gave them a try. We loved it so much, I've made it twice since and my bottle of sauce is delightfully half-way empty :)

Baja Fish Tacos

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2 cups shredded cabbage (I buy a mixed bag of slaw)
½ lb white flaky fish, such as halibut, orange roughy or catfish (I've used tilapia, too)
1 ripe avocado, sliced
6 small or 4 medium-sized corn tortillas
Mango Tequila Jalapeno Grilling and Dipping sauce by Earth and Vine Provisions*
1 Tablespoon oil
2 limes, cut into 4 wedges each
Hot Sauce (I have Mango hot sauce that pairs perfectly with this!)
Chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium sized skillet over medium heat, heat the tortillas individually until they become a little toasty. Set aside.

Heat oil over medium heat. Cook fish until fish becomes flaky. Season with salt and pepper and remove skillet from heat.  Place warm tortillas on plates and fill each with shredded cabbage and fish. Top with slices of avocado and drizzle with Mango Tequila Jalapeno Grilling and Dipping Sauce and top with hot sauce to taste. Garnish with some chopped cilantro and serve.

*If you don't have, or don't want to purchase, the Earth and Vine sauce mentioned above, you could use any sauce that has a mango flavor, or a salsa.






So, do you have an addition to this stuff like me!? Do tell.

Anniversary Trip to Charleston, South Carolina

For the past 4 days, we have been celebrating our 4th anniversary in Charleston, South Carolina! We had a wonderful time. As a graduation present to Keith, I purchased tickets for us to have a little getaway. I debated between Charleston and Savannah, Georgia, but S.C. won out and Georgia will have to wait for another time. I was not disappointed in my selection! I wanted us to relax, eat AMAZING food, and enjoy some scenery without feeling pressure to spend our days with an agenda.

Charleston was the perfect location for this. The food alone is reason to return! Add to that the most gorgeous, historic downtown filled with the nicest people and you've got a great gem of a city. We took lots of pictures, so I'll only share the highlights here. I also kept detailed notes of things we liked, didn't like, and any restaurant that was recommended to us so that I can refer to it on our next visit.... I did make Keith promise that we could come back :) So, if you make a trip to Charleston any time soon, shoot me an email!

We left the morning of our anniversary on Thursday and made it to Charleston by 1:30 - we were so excited to have a little time off together!

We stayed at the lovely Francis Marion Hotel on the square. We loved it and I would recommend it to anyone!

I don't know what they had wafting from the lobby and entrance, but every time we got close to the door I could smell the lavender. Heavenly!

Our room was so nice, and we had an awesome view!

In our corner room, we could see the harbor and square out of this view...

...and downtown through the other window.

The traditional gift for the 4th Anniversary is fruit and/or flowers. Keith was such a good hubby - he had flowers ordered and waiting in the room when we walked in! He even made sure the flower for 4th anniversary was used, the geranium. So sweet!

I gave him an Apple Nano (to play off of the fruit part of the tradition...get it? Apple. Yeah, I was stretching for that one! :)

Keith is going to let me pick out a fruit or floral painting by a local artist as my gift. I can't wait to find the perfect one!

The hotel concierge, Joy, was great! She helped us with anything we needed and sent us a little welcome treat on our first day, too.

We immediately set out to explore. The harbor is beautiful!

Perusing the Charleston City Market is a must.

I loved the residential areas of downtown Charleston - everything was steeped in history, and I saw something new around every turn.

How gorgeous is this front door entry?

Love the ivy-like covering!

Even though it's tight quarters, there are some rather large homes that have probably been there since the area was developed.

We loved this old car parked outside of this matching house.

Even garage doors are more lovely here...

Lanterns and iron work galore!

We took a carriage ride through downtown and learned a lot about Charleston, I would recommend this to a first time visitor.

We also did a 2.5 hour Culinary Tour of Charleston that was a lot of fun. We had an excellent tour guide, Mary, who told us so much about the history and the food and how it's all woven together to make the city the food destination it is today. And, we got to sample some goodies along the way.

Turtles - yum!

For our first night out on the town, we got decked out to celebrate our 4th year of marriage! Decked out in comfy clothes, that is. Nothing too fancy in the lowcountry...

We rode a rickshaw to dinner and loved it so much that we used them to get around downtown at least 6 more times.

It was warm during the day, but so beautiful at night. The breeze was so perfect.

Our anniversary dinner was at Magnolia's - a famous Charleston establishment.

We really loved Magnolia's - everything about it!

PS - I spotted Recipe Girl as soon as we walked in, sitting at the table next to us. Being the total foodie that I am, I was so excited to talk to her and tell her I was a big fan of her blog! She and her husband were so nice. They were only in Charleston for one night, so it was pretty cool to bump into her! If you aren't already reading and obsessing over Lori's recipes, click on over and bookmark it! She's one of my go-to resources.

Fried Green Tomatoes = Heaven!!

After dinner, we took our full bellies down to the pier and swung on a wooden bench swing. The breeze from the ocean and a great 4th year of marriage to recap made it a perfect night!

Friday's breakfast was at Glazed, a famous bakery with killer doughnuts. The selection was really impressive, but it was hard not to choose one of the most unique creations:

Maple-Bacon Glazed Doughnut.

UMM, yeah. It was so amazing that we swung by there again this morning before heading to the airport.

We decided to venture outside of Charleston just a bit on Friday to visit one of the local beaches. After just a short 15-20 minute ride, we arrived at Isle of Palms for a relaxing day in the sun.

I read, read and read while Keith explored the pier, people watched and swam in the ocean.

It was hot, but we were prepared having come from Memphis! There's not much like the humidity here :)

It's not a vacation without a fruity drink at some point!

Cheers!

We headed back to Charleston after our day in the sun, and had dinner at Amen Street.

This was a neat restaurant with a cool history, I would definitely recommend it!

Light fixtures with oyster shells!

We ate A LOT of seafood on our trip - it was delicious!

And I had some of the best cocktails I've ever tasted.

Another breakfast spot was Virginia's on King, right by our hotel.

Also delicious!!

Headed out for our last night!

Riding another Rickshaw - fun way to get around!

We had drinks at the Rooftop Bar at Vendue Inn - a must see! This was a wonderful spot and we loved the view.

It doesn't get much better than that!

I don't have pictures, but we had dinner that night at Blossom - and it was outstanding!!

We are all unpacked now, and I have a few souvenirs to show for our visit:

A cookbook from Magnolia's, where we dined for our anniversary

A crab ornament to hang on our Christmas tree (we try to buy one every where we go)

Locally-made 'sweet tea' body scrub (picked up at the Saturday farmer's market)

Basil-infused olive oil from a charming olive oil shop on King street

Strawberry sugar - yes, that's a real thing. I found this at a cool spice shop that we stopped in on our tour.

...I think it's safe to say I like FOOD! Somehow, it all goes back to that.

All in all, I can't say enough good things about Charleston, South Carolina. And, I sure can't wait to go back!!

4 Years

4 years ago today, we said I do!

It was my dream wedding...

...to a man that was better than anything I had dreamed.

Our 4th year of marriage has been a great one! I look back at some of these pictures and realize just how fast it flies by. Each year with Keith just gets sweeter and sweeter. There will always be stress and challenges, but I love how much our relationship grows and becomes stronger for it. I can't imagine a better life partner and friend.

I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite moments from the last year:

We had a wonderful, much-needed vacation in Mexico in August! We both soaked up every bit of the relaxation. It was DIVINE.

We also attended A LOT of weddings in this 4th year of marriage. More than most years! I have been in several over the last 12 months. They have each been a blast, and as a married couple, it's always fun to celebrate a wedding and remember your own. Here's the camera roll!

Meredith and Ryan's Wedding

July 2011

Jessica and Brandon's Wedding

October 2011

Collin and Zach's Wedding

October 2011

Katie and Channin's Wedding

December 2011

Joanna and Jeremy's Wedding

April 2012

Payton and Katie's Wedding

April 2012

Ashley and Jaycob's Wedding

June 2012

Brooke and Josh's Wedding

June 2012

Whew - that's a lot of matrimony!! In a way, each of those celebrations have reinforced our vows and our love for each other. It's also made me thankful that my wedding planning days are long since over. I don't miss it one bit! :)

We cheered on our Arkansas Razorbacks several times last fall - this is one of our favorite things to do together - we've been each others' game dates for 9 years :)

Christmas. This is my favorite time of year. I always take off work, and the down time with Keith is so nice. We spend the days leading up to Christmas cooking together, shopping, and wrapping presents. This past year was especially wonderful - we had so much fun!

We toasted to a New Year - 2012. A big one for us! This was the year we had been counting down to for graduation!

We attended our last Dental Prom - and danced the night away.

Sidebar - I am certain that Keith has spent our 4th year of marriage becoming better and better looking with each passing week. Men just age so well, don't they?

And, of course, the best moment of our 4th year of marriage - watching Keith graduate! This is a goal he has worked towards since the day I met him over 8 years ago. I can't even begin to describe how proud I am, and how relieved he is. We are still celebrating this accomplishment!

But, of all the parties, holidays and celebrations, my favorite parts of marriage are the routine things -

spooning in 'the biscuit' as we call it

playing music while we get ready

showing my outfit to Keith every morning and asking his opinion

Keith reading the daily devotion for us

our lunch time check-in phone call

a 'when are you coming home?' text inevitably between 5 and 6 from Keith

a welcome home kiss

Keith taking care of our yard and plants with such care

cooking together

eating dinner on the patio while playing music on pandora

procrastinating on doing the dishes knowing that Keith will eventually do them :)

begging him to pick up his shoes from the middle of the floor

watching our favorite tv shows together - we always have something exciting on DVR

staying up way too late every. single. night.

picking out pajamas that I think he likes

putting sticky notes on mirrors for each other

a date night on the weekend

singing along to our favorite worship songs at church

Keith's help on laundry and grocery store runs on sundays

continuing to nest and make our house a home

a kiss goodnight

Keith - thank you for making the small things the best things. You are a wonderful husband, and I'm so proud of who you are and what you've done. This 5th year is sure to be our best yet! I love you. To the moon and back!