The First of the Gourmet Club Recipes

Yesterday I decided to tackle a new project...The Gourmet Club files.

What are The Gourmet Club files you ask? Is it totally top secret? Did you join some secret society? Well, yes the files are sort of a secret, but not totally, as I would not be sharing them on a blog. Did I join a secret society? Yes, but that was 10 years ago when I joined my sorority:) Here is the true story. When my Grandma and Grandpa Calderwood were living in Monmouth, Illinois, they joined a gourmet cooking club. About once a month, the club would get together and cook a meal according to a theme. Everyone was assigned a task such as beverages, desserts, main course, side dishes, appetizers, etc. My grandparents saved every menu from every dinner. Each menu has countless stories and the files are a big deal in our family. I was fortunate enough to have the files passed down to me. One of the most popular dinners my grandparents attended was the Viennese Dinner and the Doboschtorte.
This recipe is not for the faint of heart or for those who are concerned with their weight. There is 1 1/2 lbs. of butter in this recipe; however, the work that goes into making this masterpiece burns at least a quarter of the calories one would consume after enjoying this cake. I now understand why people love their Kitchen Aide mixers, as I do not own one and spent over 25 minutes beating and creaming the frosting and filling for the cake. My grandfather always said it was worth it and he is right. Just look at this beauty!
To accompany the dessert, I made Wiener Schnitzel and a salad. Who knew Wiener Schnitzel is not really a sausage or hot dog? It is actually a cut of veal that is breaded and pan fried similar to its American cousin Chicken Fried Steak. The flavors are brightened; however, by marinating the cutlets in lemon juice. Overall the meal was a great success. My grandfather told me before he passed to take the recipes and enjoy them. I am certainly looking forward to future gourmet meals.

ISU Homecoming

Last week, Justin and I decided to head back to Ames for Iowa State's homecoming weekend. It seemed appropriate since the Cyclones were playing KU. So, feeling the need to recharge our batteries a little, I took the whole day off and Justin took a half day on Friday. This let us leave by 1:30, which lent itself to very light traffic and daylight driving. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing good friends, family, the crisp fall weather, and of course the victory over the Jayhawks. It was a very good weekend:)

Cleaning out the Cobwebs

My recent time has been spent cleaning and reorganizing my house. I realized that since the end of summer, I had not done the best job with housekeeping. On my three day weekend, I reorganized three closets, swept, swiffered, mopped, and double swiffered my floors, and did a deep cleansing of all other rooms and things that needed a good face lift. Needless to say, there were many surprises. One being the toy hammer under our coffee table from three weeks ago when we had our good friends and their kids stay over for a weekend. I also found that while our a.c./heater was off, the air ducts had collected piles of something in the air vents. While, I've been intending to pay for an good air duct cleaning, my stingy ways have gotten the best of me and have decided to let this one go until spring. This could change though, if the more retentive side gets a hold of me. Amongst all this cleaning, I also decided to check my blog. Oh, how things change in two months. Some, have totally changed or been evolving into something new, some of remained the same, and others have totally stopped their blogs. The yin and yang got me thinking about how I'd like to keep my blog going. I hope to keep this blog as a means to stay in contact with those who I do not see on a regular basis. Secondly, I hope to keep this blog going as a means to document life. Justin and I enjoy family, friends, small adventures, and the cuisine and recipes I create. This is a wide array and I hope others enjoy it too. Above all, this little blog has been a sweet hobby, which I hope you enjoy too. There may be breaks, but I will hang in there! Hopefully, there will only be more joy to come:)

So...It's Been a While

Lately every time I think about sitting down and actually writing a post, I've been distracted. What has been happening? Let's back up to August. School started, we had my grandfather's funeral, and then had a break. Then came September. We had the typical revolving door of visitors, getting preparations under way for my sister's shower and bachelorette party, a trip to Weston to visit the Red Barn Farm, and then October snuck up on us. The first weekend of October marked the first of two birthdays (my dad's on the 3rd, my sister Erin's on the 10th) and the couples wedding shower for the bride and groom to be. Then we celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary on the 6th, with a celebratory dinner at Lidia's later that weekend. On the 15th, I headed back to Iowa sans Justin for the bachelorette party. This weekend, I finally got a break from traveling and celebrating; however, MUST FINISH CLEANING! Yes, it has been the major project this weekend. So, I apologize for the two month sabbatical, but not worry. I am back:)

The Little Engine That Could

I love sleep. I especially love sleep when I'm feeling down in the dumps. For some odd reason, this time of year makes me feel this way. Number one, the stinkin' heat is killin' me smalls. At first I thought, "Well, it's not snow." Then, it turned into the heat where you can't do anything without getting heat stroke. Second, it's the start of another school year. While others are exhilarated with the energy from the start of a new school year, I find it extremely anxiety provoking. In special education, there is a ton of work at the beginning and you never know who is going to show up on the door step. It is better when you can get yourself and students into a routine ASAP; however, your schedule is completely dependent on the regular education teachers' schedules and everyone else that makes a school run. Thirdly, my grandfather passed away two weeks ago. His quality of life had really slipped and it is for the best. We are all worried more about my mom. The funeral is next weekend, since everyone has to travel long distance to Tennessee. I think the closure will be good, as this has been an incredibly long and sad journey for everyone. Along with some good sleep, I've been privately crying (I hate crying in front of people), thinking a lot, and searching for the positive. Hopefully, today I can make it out for a long walk since the weather finally cooled down.

On the upside, I like this picture of Justin and I. We took the picture last weekend while visiting my dad. I like the picture of my awesome golf swing too. It is my little engine story.

The trip was well needed and I will post more pictures of the Orpheum soon. My dad lives on a golf course, so we played a fun game of golf. Although I really am not a good golfer, I enjoy the game. Justin had found an awesome pink ball for me. On the last hole, I kept telling myself I could really swing and actually make it up the hill. Kind of like the little engine that could. Well, my swing was awesome, but I lost the ball amongst a bunch of crab apple trees. My ball blended in with the fallen crab apples perfectly, but I kept saying to everyone, "We can find this ball. I can do it!" Just when we all about gave up, Justin held up the ball and said, "You're right I found it!" Long story, but we found the ball and I made bogey! So, I had to complain a little at first. What I am learning though is to keep telling myself "I can do it," just like the little engine that could.

Floors Done- Check

Here are the pictures of the before and after shots of the basement floors. Before...








and after!
Now we just need the electrical, drywall, texturizing, painting, lighting, shelving, and the list goes on and on. Oh the joys of being a happy homeowner! Really we have no room to complain though. We are truly blessed to have each other and our lovely home:)

I Smell Freedom

The past three days, I've had contractors in my house. Justin started finishing a portion of the basement in April. We are trying to do a majority of it ourselves; however, have decided some things need to be left to the professionals. The flooring is one of them. We have several cracks in the concrete, which left tiling out of the question. We also had a little bit of moisture accumulate after the many inches of snow and heavy rain this spring. This left carpet out of our choices. Justin would be fine with leaving the concrete and throwing down area rugs. Although this is Justin's future man cave, I also do not want it looking like a room in a fraternity house. So, we looked into staining the concrete with a polished top coat. While I am really looking forward to the end results (which should be today), I am also looking forward to having my freedom back. Don't worry, pictures of the before and after are soon to come:)