A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

Caprese Salad with Pickled Green Tomatoes

 

Auntie Miranda went with friends to The Keeter Center in Branson for dinner the night before last night.  The Keeter Center is the small hotel and dining room run by the Hospitality Dept of School of the Ozarks.  And run very well.  We have a respiratory conference down there that's dynamite as a conference and The Keeter Center as a venue is superb.

In the dining room, Auntie chose this Caprese salad with fresh red and pickled green tomatoes.  She said she took one bite, rolled her eyes in delight, and said to the waiter "Can I get one of these to go?"  I went to bed early that night but it was waiting for me in the fridge when i got up the next day. 

Wow. I don't know how much better it could have been fresh because it was still incredibly fresh, crispy, and wonderful the next day.  This is definitely a do at home thing too. I know you can buy green tomato pickles, or even better would be to can them from the garden.  I'm thinking even fresh green tomatoes mixed with red tomatoes and fresh mozzarella would be wonderful fresh out of the garden....maybe drizzle a little honey across the top with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar to add that sweetness from the pickling syrup.

Thanks Aunti Miranda! What a lovely and healthy lunch. We'll definitely be working on a home recipe for this one!

We're Home! Maui Food Travelogue

 

The Bridal Table.  Keep reading...I can explain....

The Big Pink Congratulations Cake was what I took in to work the last night we all worked together before leaving for Maui and the wedding.  Believe me, time was short so I ran by the grocery store, picked up the best of what they had and called it a celebration.  Chris, smartass that he is (and I'm so proud!) said "Wow, Glenna.  You must have worked really hard to make that look just like a Wal-mart cake."  Hehe.  Yeah, amazing.  But it really wasn't too bad. The cake was moist and the frosting was that fluffy stuff that's not too horrible.  What the hell. It's the idea of the celebration that's important and, let me tell you, when it's bad on nightshift, anything with sugar and/or caffeine is a good thing!

 

First Class American Airlines Food--I actually have only good things to say about the airline food and service.  At the last minute Gene had said "Screw the money! We're going First Class so we can be comfortable!" and it was so much more comfortable than being squeezed into coach.  Sigh.  What fun!

We started off the last leg of the journey with Mimosas.

 

Last Day of Laying on the Beach. :-(

The wedding went off beautifully.  Chris and Kendall both looked radiant.  Yes, I know, Chris probably would probably cringe at being called radiant but he was and she was too.  Gorgeous wedding.  I can't even describe it. I'll let the pics do it for me when I get them posted.  It was everything I wanted it to be for them; I'm sure they felt t'he same!

Had dinner last night at The Melting Pot, recommended by my friend Cindy.  That was sort of funny.  They asked "have you ever been to the Melting Pot before?" and we had to say "Well, no.  Our friend frm Rhode Island said this is her favorite chain restaurant and if we ever got the chance to come here...so now we're in Maui...and we're coming here".  Rhode Island...Missouri...Maui...that's a bit of a distance but we went and it was wonderful.  We had a lot of fun.  Like a Japanese steak house/hibachi, it's an adventue to kids or big kids like us.  We made tons of jokes about paying to cook our own food.  The great part was the waitress was so nice we were discussing fondue recipes and how to do it at home with a cheap hot plate instead of buying an expensive fondu set...unless you wanted the set for the "look".

So maybe in October, Cindy, we'll do fondue at home from cheese to cooking to chocolate...we'll have Lynn and Diane over and have a girl party! 

Gene was fascinated by the heating elements in the center of the table.  They were some kind of magnetic something...I'll have to get him to explain. He said it was something originally created for home use but since the cooking ware was too expensive to do feasibly at home it never really got off the ground.

Another Day in Paradise

Had a wonderful day yesterday hanging out with the hubby and our friends:  great seaside lunch, incredibly scenic drive along the coastline, and mucho fun at the resort's luau.  One word to dispel the myth: the pig in the pit is fake which Gene and Dirk went to great lengths to prove (haha) but the food and show and were very fun nonetheless. 

Lots of pics when we get home!