Adapted Straw and Hay

Remember that one time Patrick had an odd request for dinner? Simply ground chicken soup? You forgot, you say?! Refresh your memory here. Well that happened again. This time it was "pasta with sweet Italian sausage". Sometimes asking Patrick for dinner suggestions creates more trouble than help! Luckily I didn't have to think too hard about this one.

One of our favorite neighborhood restaurant offers such a dish! Here's how their menu describes it:

City Beverage “Straw and Grass” – Italian Sausage, Portobello Mushrooms and Rosemary on Spinach and Egg Noodles with a Parmigiano Cream Sauce and Crostini.

It's a take on the straw and hay/grass pasta dish which traditionally has both spinach and egg noodles in the dish to resemble straw and hay/grass. I believe other traditional components included prosciutto and peas (but I'm not 100% sure).

I used Ina Garten's recipe as a starting point. You can read her recipe here. I made a few modifications and switched things up a bit so it's an adapted version of Straw and Hay. Instead of prosciutto I used Patrick's request of sweet Italian sausage. Patrick & I were attempting fresh pasta again this night and I thought making two batches of pasta (egg pasta and spinach pasta) would be a bit cumbersome; I decided to make the egg pasta and throw in some fresh spinach to the cream sauce. Read on for what we did!

Adapted Straw and Hay
Ingredients
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3/4 lb sweet Italian sausage
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 cups cream
4 oz basil goat cheese*
1/2 lb fettuccine
1 small package frozen peas, cooked according to package directions
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
   *Ina Garten's recipe called for gorgonzola which you could substitute for and also fresh basil. I had basil goat cheese on hand and thought that would be a fine cheese to use for the dish.
Directions
   Fill a large pot of water with 1 tablespoon of salt and bring to a boil. Once boiling add pasta and cook according to directions.
   Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook until browned and no pink remains. Remove to a plate and set aside. Wipe the remaining fat out of the pan.
   Add the other tablespoon of oil to the pan and begin to saute onions. Once tender add garlic and cook just until fragrant (one minute more). Add the cream, goat cheese, and a small handful of the Parmesan; salt and pepper to taste. Bring the sauce to a boil; lower the heat and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.
   Then add cooked pasta to the sauce (reserving pasta water). Return the sausage to the sauce and add the peas and fresh spinach. Toss well; add some of the reserved pasta water if the sauce needs to be loosened.
   Top with remaining Parmesan to serve.

Be on the lookout for a post detailing more of our homemade pasta adventures!

Roasted Cherry Tomato & Artichoke Flatbread Pizza

This is a great simple meal for a quick weeknight dinner. I used a pita sandwich bun for the crust which I already had in the pantry. The roasted cherry tomatoes act as a sauce and the parmesan cheese satisfies the craving for melted cheese. Throw this with a side salad and it's a win-win! Patrick isn't a big fan of artichoke hearts but he did say he would eat this again. So that makes this a win-win-win! Read on for the recipe.

Roasted Cherry Tomato & Artichoke Flatbread Pizza from health.com
Ingredients
1 pint grape tomatoes (2 cups)
1 (13 3/4-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 naan flatbreads or lavash I used pita bread
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions
   Preheat broiler.
   Toss tomatoes and artichokes with 1 teaspoon oil, and arrange in a shallow baking pan. Broil, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes or until charred and tomatoes are wilted.

   I tossed the tomatoes and artichokes with a little salt and pepper to taste plus a dash of Italian seasoning.
   Preheat oven to 450°. Top each flatbread with half of tomatoes and artichokes. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan; bake in bottom third of oven 10 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.
   While the pizza is baking, prepare the side salad. We used buttercrunch lettuce and added sunflower seeds.
   Cut pizza into wedges, and serve with salad alongside.

Bacon Egg & Cheese Grits + Avocado

Time to put a spin on bacon egg and cheese! Have any of yall been watching "A Chef's Life" on PBS?? It's a documentary that follows Chef Vivian Howard and her husband who brought fine dining at its best to eastern North Carolina. Here's a description from the PBS website:

"Vivian Howard originally made a name for herself in the Manhattan restaurant world and with her own gourmet delivery service. Acclaim and potential investors poured in, but it was the offer from her own parents that called to her the loudest. They would help her build a restaurant — but with one catch. She had to open it back home in Eastern North Carolina, a place to which she swore she would never return.
And so The Chef & the Farmer, located in Kinston, North Carolina, was born. Six years in, Vivian and her restaurant have won numerous accolades, including her selection as a James Beard semi-finalist, but the challenges continue. As the series opens, Vivian and Ben are juggling the restaurant, raising twins and anxiously building their own home — right next door to her parents."

It's a really interesting show to watch especially when you have ties to eastern NC! In one episode Chef Vivian decides to offer grits with various toppings. She called it "Pimp my grits"; click here to see the episode and more information. So with this as inspiration I set off to pimp some grits for Patrick (we had grits leftover from shrimp and grits!).

For the grits

I wanted to find some good stone ground grits like Chef Vivian uses in the show but I think I need to go to a specialty store... Harris Teeter let me down here. I settled for the Quaker Quick Grits which cook in 5 minutes. For two servings all you had to do was boil 2 cups of water (I used chicken stock) and then add 1/2 cup of the grits. After the five minutes I whisked in 1 tbsp of butter and a dash of milk.

For the topping

As soon as the grits were ladled into the bowl I topped them with shredded cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon, an avocado, and a fried egg.

Want to learn more about Chef Vivian Howard? Watch full episodes of A Chef's Life here.

Or visit their restaurant Chef and the Farmer in Kinston, NC. Patrick and I plan to visit before too long!

Brunch for the newly engaged couple!

We wish Jake and Natalie many years of wedded bliss and love together! Jake, a groomsmen at our wedding, proposed to his girlfriend Natalie over the holidays! And we couldn't be more thrilled for them. We look forward to celebrating their nuptials.

Jake and Natalie live in DC like so many of our other friends but have decided to get married in good ol' North Carolina! Who could blame them?! They came down in the middle of January to check out some venues and were able to squeeze us in for a Sunday brunch before heading back up to DC. We enjoyed chatting about wedding planning and fun things going on in our lives.

We wanted to showcase our Brocade china so that fellow Millennials can see that using fine china can be cool.

The sunlight filled the room and the simplicity of the setting just radiated on the table. I thought a pop of color would be nice and selected a bouquet with some pinks, purple, and lots of greenery.

Patrick was in charge of folding the napkins; he followed this pyramid napkin fold technique tutorial.

We served blueberry muffins, fresh fruit (strawberries, kiwi, and pineapple), and served shrimp and grits. We had made shrimp and grits a few weeks previously when we hosted my dad for brunch right after the holidays. Patrick must've been working on perfecting his technique because these were better than the first time! Unfortunately they looked too good to stop and take another picture.

Congratulations once again to Jake and Natalie! We look forward to more brunches and supporting you in anyway during your engagement.

Wedding throwback: Parties

Patrick and I had a sixteen month engagement. During this time our family and friends expressed their excitement and approval of our upcoming union with various parties. The first was a spring shower hosted by close family friends. Then the groomsmen hosted Patrick in Savannah over St. Patrick's Day for his bachelor party and the bridesmaids hosted a fabulous DC Bachelorette party for myself. There were two summer social parties in my hometown to get together local folks. And finally a bridesmaids luncheon (which coincidentally kicked off the wedding the weekend) was hosted by my aunt!

Patrick and I were so humbled by the outpouring of love and support during this time. We had fun celebrating with everyone throughout the engagement. It was such a special time!

My phone put together this "gif" of Patrick opening this bottle of champagne. His sister sent it to DC for my bachelorette party but it didn't quite make it and arrived via Christine a little later. What a nice way to end the parties.

And this concludes our February Month of Love Wedding Throwback posts!! Woo hoo... if you missed any, here are all the links to the various wedding topics we blogged about:

   Addressing things

   Brocade themed wedding

   Pinterest non-inspiration

   Honeymoon

   Making felt flowers

   Thursday of wedding weekend

   More Pinterest inspiration

   Bridal portraits behind the scenes

   Tasting things

   Will you be my...

   Wedding day timeline

   Dressing the wedding party

Hope you enjoyed reading them as much as we loved getting married! Thanks for letting us share with you.

BBQ Cornbread

When Patrick and I hosted family the Thursday evening before the wedding weekend we ordered lots of bbq -- chicken & pork! We did this because a) we weren't sure what folks would want and b) knew we could freeze the surplus! And freeze the surplus we did!

We mixed the chicken and pork bbq together and stashed it in the freezer for a quick meal down the road that would remind us of that special evening. To make the bbq extra special in honor of the evening we made inverted bbq cornbread! We tried a new potato salad that is now our favorite way to make it. Read on for the details! 

BBQ spread: potato salad, baked beans, coleslaw, and inverted BBQ cornbread.

Inverted BBQ Cornbread

   I started by warming my bbq in a saucepan with some extra bbq sauce. Once warmed I set aside.

   I used a Jiffy box of cornbread muffins (made according to package directions). In a medium skillet over medium-high heat I poured in the Jiffy mix then scattered the bbq over top of the cornbread. Then I moved the skillet to a preheated 400F oven for 10-15 minutes until the cornbread was set.

Ina Garten's Potato Salad from FoodNetwork.com
     Total time: 30 min | Prep 10 min | Cook 15 min | Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
3 pounds small white potatoes
Kosher salt
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill (instead of fresh dill I use dill pickle juice, noted below)
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped red onion

   I halved everything and used Yukon gold potatoes (what I hand in the pantry)
Directions
   Place the potatoes and 2 tablespoons of salt in a large pot of water. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are barely tender when pierced with a knife. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then place the colander with the potatoes over the empty pot and cover with a clean, dry kitchen towel. Allow the potatoes to steam for 15 to 20 minutes.
   Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, buttermilk, Dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, dill (I added dill pickle juice), 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Set aside.
   When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them in quarters or in half, depending on their size. Place the cut potatoes in a large bowl. While the potatoes are still warm, pour enough dressing over them to moisten. Add the celery and red onion, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Toss well, cover, and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend. Serve cold or at room temperature.
   I also boil the potatoes already diced 1-inch cubes.

To makes things come together easy I used canned baked beans and prepared coleslaw from the grocery store. This meal is especially tasty when everything is all served together in a bowl! Patrick probably wouldn't agree with that though...

Wedding Throwback: Dressing the wedding party

This is our next to last wedding wrap up post! Today we'll go through a bit of the process of how the wedding party came to be adorned the way they did. Patrick and I were very mindful of our renovated textile warehouse venue, our daytime wedding, and the ambiance everything created together.

Patrick and I wanted to present a unified newlywed couple so early on in my dress selection process I asked him if he would want to wear a tuxedo or not. He was leaning towards a lightweight cotton suit. I knew this ruled out fancy ballgowns for me.

Off I went dress shopping. I actually selected my dress about a year before the wedding. Thankfully I loved it just as much on the wedding day as the day I selected it!

Here's the winner:

Even though I ended up with more ball gown than I was initially envisioning, I fell in love with their cotton shantung taffeta material. As soon I put it on I felt like it was perfect for our daytime wedding. It didn't have any frills and there was a bit of texture on the bodice. I thought the bow at the waistline added a nice feminine touch.

The bridesmaids' outfits were selected in March so about five months before the wedding. I had done a bit of research for styles I liked for the girls before we went to the store. After process of elimination from Rachel and Stephanie we ended up with two styles that they both liked and ultimately decided on this chiffon strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline that mirrored my dress (that's what made it the winner)! The tough decision was then decided on the color. We were torn with how blue or green the dresses should be. Ultimately we decided on 'peacock'.

Next up Patrick and the groomsmen! On a spring trip to Chicago to visit his family Patrick snagged his brother and best man for some suit shopping. They went all over Michigan Avenue and a J.Crew suit from the Ludlow collection caught his eye. He continued to browse for suits over the next few months but ultimately selected the J. Crew Ludlow cotton suit with a fine stripe.

This one didn't make the cut

To differentiate himself as the groom Patrick chose the 3 piece suit and added the vest to his ensemble while the groomsmen just wore the 2 piece suit.

Trying everything on after its arrival

Patrick wasn't quite out of the woods yet with outfit choices. He needed to finalize his tie and accessories! We stumbled upon a local NC store (flagship store is actually in downtown Raleigh) producing cotton bow ties. Patrick knew this would be the perfect addition to the Ludlow suit. There was quite a bit of debate about pattern and who would wear what. Ultimately we liked Patrick in a lone darker blue stripe with  pink accent stripes bow tie. The groomsmen wore a blue and white stripe bow tie with the ushers in a light blue and white stripe bow tie. Our ring bearer, Patrick's nephew, then wore the children's version of Patrick's bow tie. Everyone completed their outfit with a light pink pocket square.

Putting everything together.

So much to consider with dressing the wedding party! We thought we presented a uniform-looking wedding party without being too obvious.