Featured on White Thread!

So, yes, it's been a couple months since our wedding. But, I planned for the wedding for soo long before, it took a while for me to get used to the fact that I wasn't going to be planning a big event anymore.  I can really see why people love being event/wedding planners, I LOVED creating all of the details! Anyways, our wedding was recently featured on White Thread!

It's a really cute wedding planning blog for brides in North Carolina and South Carolina. I'm so excited that they chose to share the details of our wedding with other brides who are planning. I hope our event can be an inspiration to others planning NC/SC brides! Check it out at:

http://www.white-thread.com/real-wedding-meredith-kevin-in-raleigh-nc

Be sure to check out the rest of the blog/site, there are some beautiful weddings from NC/SC on there and lots of other inspiration! :)

Shrimp Linguine Alfredo

Last night, I made shrimp linguine alfredo for dinner. It was really good and I can't wait to have leftovers for lunch today! :)  Kevin and I celebrated 4 months of being married, too!  Part of me feels like it's gone by so fast, but it also seems like forever since we were on our honeymoon in Paris. I want to be back there right now!! Well, here's my recipe for the dish:

Shrimp Linguine Alfredo with Asparagus
- 1 lb linguine pasta
- 1 lb frozen shrimp, thawed and peeled
- 4 tbs butter
- 1/2 small onion, finely diced
- 6 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cups whipping cream or half and half
- 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 bunch of asparagus spears, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp Italian spices
- salt, pepper to taste
     Boil pasta in salted water until al dente.  Remove pasta from water, drain and set aside.
     In large non-stick pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add diced onion and sauté for 2 minutes.  Add garlic and sauté for 1-2 additional minutes, stirring often.  Be very careful not to burn the garlic. 
     Meanwhile, in a small sauté pan, add the asparagus spears, 2 tbs water, and 1 tbs olive oil.  Cook for 5 minutes on medium-low heat.  Remove from pan and set aside. 
     Add the shrimp to the large pan and heat for 2-3 minutes, until somewhat pink.  Remove shrimp from pan and set aside, leaving garlic, onion and butter remaining. Add the cream or half and half and bring to a boil.  Stir often and season with salt, pepper, Italian spices and lemon juice, and reduce to low heat.  
     Allow cream to thicken some and add the shrimp and asparagus to the sauce.  Continue to cook for a couple more minutes and then pour over linguine pasta.  Toss and serve while warm.  

It's been so long!

I just posted about the gyro recipes from over a week ago. Oops, I've been neglecting the blog. Things have been really busy with work and school lately... but, here's what we've been up to.

We went to the NC State/Cincinnati  football game last Thursday and the UNC/GT game on Saturday. It was fun, lots of football! Although, we got sunburned on Saturday, and Kevin has looked somewhat like a lobster for the past few days. 

On Friday, I went to a new sushi place near Duke, Sushi Love, with Angela and some of her nursing friends. It was SO good. We all split a HUGE plate of 13 rolls = awesome! Everything was really good and I can't wait to go back!  :)

Oh and TGIT... I'm so glad it's Thursday!  I've been looking forward to today for a few weeks. Why, you ask? Well, because my favorite tv shows are returning tonight, and there are a lot of new shows I want to check out too. Thank goodness for DVR! I'm excited about Bones, Grey's Anatomy, and Private Practice tonight! :)


Have a great end of the week everyone! 

Greek Night! Part II

I forgot to finish the Greek Night recipes update last week.  Here are the other recipes that we used.

Lamb Gyro Meat

source: Mediterranean-food.net

- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1/2 cup very finely chopped onion
- 2 tsp fresh minced garlic
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp dried ground marjoram
- 1/2 tsp dried ground rosemary
- 1/4 tsp black pepper

     Mix everything together and let sit in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
     Blend in a food processor for about 1 minute. Place mixture in loaf pan, and pack down tightly. Bake in the for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, at 325 degrees F. It should be a bit dry.
     Cut meat into slices and make gyros with pita bread, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and tzatziki sauce.


Tzatziki Sauce
source: Alton Brown
- 16 ounces plain yogurt (I used Greek yogurt)
- 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
- Pinch kosher salt
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 5 to 6 mint leaves, finely minced

     Strain excess liquid from yogurt or place the the yogurt in a tea towel, gather up the edges, suspend over a bowl, and drain for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
     Place the chopped cucumber in a tea towel and squeeze to remove the liquid; discard liquid. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the drained yogurt, cucumber, salt, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and mint. Serve as a sauce for gyros. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.


Greek Seasoned Fries

source: modified from Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee
- 1/2 bag frozen french fries (recommended: Ore-Ida)
- 2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp Greek seasoning
     On a baking sheet, toss together fries, olive oil, garlic, and seasoning. Arrange fries in a single layer. Bake fries according to package directions.
     Once they are done, broil on high for a few minutes to make them crispy.
     Serve fries hot with tzatziki for dipping and a gyro.

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Greek Night! Part I

On Friday night, Kevin and I decided to make our favorite Mediterranean restaurant meal from home and from scratch! It was a big undertaking, but it was fun and came out great! So, we made lamb gyros with homemade pita bread, tzatziki sauce, greek seasoned fries and hummus. Everything turned out really well and it was all so delicious!

Hummus is SO easy to make! I probably won't be buying it pre-made much anymore. The pita bread was also actually easier than I expected. I never would have imagined that I'd randomly make homemade pita bread, but it tastes so good, better than store-bought! Here are the recipes for the hummus and pita bread... More to come later!

Hummus
source: modified from Medditerrasian.com

- 16 oz can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained

- 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

- ¼ cup lemon juice

- ¼ cup water

- ½ cup tahini

- 1 ½ tsp sea salt

- 1-2 tbs olive oil

- ¼ tsp paprika or cayenne

Place chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice, water, tahini and salt in a food processor or blender and process until smooth, scraping the sides occasionally. Spoon hummus into a bowl and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with paprika or cayenne, depending on how spicy you want it. Serve with pita chips, bread, or veggies and enjoy! Hummus can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 3 months.

Pita Bread
source: modified from Brown Eyed Baker

Makes 8 pitas

- 3 cups flour
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbs sugar

- 1 packet yeast
- 1 ½ cups water, roughly at room temperature
- 2 tbs butter, melted

Mix the yeast in with the flour, salt, and sugar. Add the butter and water and stir together with a wooden spoon. All of the ingredients should form a ball. If some of the flour will not stick to the ball, add more water.

Once all of the ingredients form a ball, place the ball on a work surface, such as a cutting board, and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes. If you are using an electric mixer, mix it at low speed for 10 minutes.

When you are done kneading the dough, place it in a bowl that has been lightly coated with oil. Form a ball out of the dough and place it into the bowl, rolling the ball of dough around in the bowl so that it has a light coat of oil on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and set aside to rise until it has doubled in size, approximately 90 minutes.

When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down to release some of the trapped gases and divide it into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, cover the balls with a damp kitchen towel, and let them rest for 20 minutes. This step allows the dough to relax so that it’ll be easier to shape.

While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to preheat as well. If you do not have a baking stone, turn a cookie sheet upside down and place it on the middle rack of the oven while you are preheating the oven. This will be the surface on which you bake your pitas.

After the dough has relaxed for 20 minutes, spread a light coating of flour on a work surface and place one of the balls of dough there. Sprinkle a little bit of flour on top of the dough and use a rolling pin or your hands to stretch and flatten the dough. You should be able to roll it out to between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick – 6 inches in diameter. If the dough does not stretch sufficiently you can cover it with the damp towel and let it rest 5 to 10 minutes before trying again.

Place discs on a lightly greased baking sheet or parchment paper and let rise, uncovered, until barely doubled in thickness, about 30-45 minutes.

Open the oven and place as many pitas as you can fit on the hot baking surface. They should be baked through and puffy after 3-5 minutes. If you want your pitas to be crispy and brown you can bake them for a few additional minutes.