Tuesday was another busy day of calls, so I knew I wasn't making it back to Atlanta at any reasonable hour of the night so I decided to drive part of the way back and stop in Charlotte since it was right at dinner time and I knew I would have company! After checking in to the hotel and caught up on emails (as much as you can in the working world), Meredith picked me up and we headed to her place to wait on Amber to come into town then headed out for a late dinner. Although I have only known them for such a short time, I feel like I have known them forever and I count down the days until I get to see them again (3!!!!) It's crazy to think we only met a couple of months ago. Dinner was at a restaurant called Cowfish. We got there past 8 and we still had to wait to get seated! It is such a cool restaurant and I would definitely suggest it to anyone that lives there. It is hard to explain the food but they have sushi that is made from burgers (so sushi with ground beef, lamb, bison, bbq, etc.) and burgers that are made from sushi. I went for the burger (well really sandwich) option and had a sandwich where they took rice paper to wrap a very thin layer of rice into a patty and used it as the bread, then put lettuce, tomato, and ahi tuna in the middle as well as other sauces. It was absolutely amazing and a little lighter than a burger which was nice! After dinner we headed out to desert at a place called Crave right near my hotel. We had so much fun making smores and catching up and before we knew it it was incredibly late and bed time! I always love seeing these girls because they are the sweetest most genuine girls out there. Since I had a lot of work to catch up on after all my calls, I did some work in the morning before heading back south.
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| LOVE these girls! |
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| Recap of Charlotte! |
Greek Marinated Chicken
Ingredients
1 cup Greek Yogurt
2 tbsp. olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1/2 tbsp dried oregano
juice from 1 medium lemon
pinch of salt and pepper
1 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
2-3 lbs chicken
Directions
Mix all of the ingredients together in a bag then place chicken into bag. Let it sit for a few minutes then bake the chicken on 350 for about 30 minutes.
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| yummmmy chicken :) |
Friday was here before I knew it and it was the weekend! This weekend was reserved for cleaning out Joe's old house since he had his move out inspection coming up and there was still lots to throw away/sell/move/clean. Friday we had some friends come over (Kellie Ann, Reza, and Tareq) for an evening of fun. After hanging out at the house for a bit we headed out to the bars that were a bit further away and walked a full mile! It was so fun getting to walk somewhere because the weather was nice and it wasn't raining.
After a late night, we got moving fairly early on Saturday to start cleaning the house and then headed up to Joe's place to do some cleaning. After cleaning for a bit we went to Joe's parent's house to hang out by the pool and eat dinner before going back to the old house to clean. Sunday was a lot of the same, house cleaning and some pool time, before heading home for dinner.
Dinner on Sunday was an impromptu belated birthday for Kellie Ann! They came over and instead of celebrating Kellie Ann's Birthday, they brought us a house warming gift that is beautiful! We love plants and its just a perfect fit for our roof top :) We grilled out on the rooftop since it was perfect weather. We had Kellie Ann's amazing buffalo chicken dip( I'll have to get that recipe to share one day) and kielbasi for appetizers and burgers, asparagus, and baked potatoes. After grilling out we headed downstairs to get desert ready.
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| Grilling time on the roof top :) |
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| LOVE our housewarming gift! |
Desert was a peanut butter chocolate souffle. I had never made one and I heard they were heard but I had ramekins that I wanted to use so it was the perfect challenge. It takes time, but it was well worth it. The batters can be made a day in advance so if you don't have all day to make them it is easy to break it up! I made the batter earlier in the day so it was easy to assemble once dinner was done and then stick in the oven since you serve it hot. It gave us time to clean and let our food settle before desert time. Below you will find the recipe. After desert, they headed out and after a long weekend of cleaning/moving, it was bed time for Joe and I because we both have quite the week ahead of us before vacation!!! So, 3 crazy days and a quick trip to Boston ahead of me but it is almost cruise time!!!
CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE WITH PEANUT BUTTER CENTER
PEANUT BUTTER PASTRY CREAM
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (do not use old-fashioned-style or freshly ground)
CHOCOLATE SOUFFLÉS
- 10 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 5 large egg yolks
- 7 tablespoons water
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 large egg whites
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
PEANUT BUTTER PASTRY CREAM
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Bring milk and half and half to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Whisk egg and egg yolk in medium bowl. Add sugar, cornstarch, and flour to eggs; whisk to blend. Gradually whisk hot milk mixture into egg mixture, then return to same saucepan. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly. Boil 1 minute, whisking constantly. Remove from heat. Whisk peanut butter into hot pastry cream. Strain into medium bowl. Season with salt. Place plastic wrap directly onto surface of pastry cream. Chill until cold, at least 3 hours. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.
CHOCOLATE SOUFFLÉS
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Place chocolate and butter in large heat-resistant bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water; stir until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat; cover.
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Whisk yolks, 7 tablespoons water, milk, and cocoa in medium bowl until cocoa dissolves. Using electric mixer, beat whites, cream of tartar, and salt in large bowl until frothy. With mixer running, gradually add sugar to egg white mixture; beat until shiny peaks form, about 3 minutes. Add yolk mixture to white mixture; fold (there may be a small amount of liquid that will not blend in). Fold half of egg mixture into warm (not hot) chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining egg mixture. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Place plastic wrap directly onto surface of soufflé mixture; chill.
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and sugar eight 3/4-cup ramekins or custard cups. Fill halfway with souffl mixture. Spoon rounded tablespoon peanut butter pastry cream into center of each. Spoon remaining souffl mixture atop pastry cream to cover and fill ramekins. Bake until soufflés rise about 1 inch above dish and are almost set in center, about 24 minutes. Serve immediately.
Chocolate Souffle with Peanut Butter Center!
Desert Time :)
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