Double Date Day

Knowing that little baby is soon to arrive, D. and I took advantage of our last few days together as just the two of us. On Sunday we had two yummy dates, and this never happens in one day! Oh what fun we had. First off, Panera Bread. 

Yeah, yeah I know Panera is a chain but one just opened within walking distance from our apartment, and their breakfast is my absolute favorite. I just can't say 'no' to a scrumptious bagel breakfast sandwich.  I suppose technically I could, but I don't want to.

While it is true that I spent 2.5 years of my life working at Panera Bread, I still enjoy eating there. Consequently I perfected my ideal breakfast sandwich. What does this consist of, you ask? It's an egg and white cheddar cheese on a jalapeno bagel with tomatoes, peppadew peppers and ancho sauce. For a long time, we (the employees of Panera) all thought 'ancho' meant there was anchovies in the sauce. This is because we are all little dorks. We later found out that ancho is a type of pepper and that's when I started eating it. No way was I going to eat anchovy sauce!

I realized this picture looks kind of disgusting with our trash, but I just wanted to show you how much we enjoyed our sandwiches (I got D. hooked on my sandwich too!)

On to the next scrumptious little date at Anh Hong Pho...

This place is so good, if you have never had pho before, you really must try it. It consists of a ginormous bowl of broth with rice noodles, veggies and in our case tofu. You top it off with mint, bean, sprouts, jalapenos (if you're so inclined, and I always am) basil and a squeeze of lime, and then they have a myriad of spicy sauces to add to the broth. Oh man, so good and inexpensive.

Mmm, we like pho! See that little cup with the metal thing on top? We got Vietnamese coffee, which is strong brewed coffee with sweetened condensed milk. Doesn't that sound rich and decadent? I think I could eat here every day. Too bad there are about a million traffic lights from the time you get off the freeway to the time you reach this little gem, but it's worth it! Little baby will be making the rounds here with us in no time, of this I am certain.

What's Cookin'?

Today's post should be "what's bakin'?" oh well, mere technicality. I saw a recipe in Martha Stewart Living (of course) for popovers and I decided to try my hand at making them. Popovers are one of those recipes that intimidated me but I found out they are really simple to make. The recipe is so easy, but it does require that you have a popover pan. I had a merchandise card from Williams-Sonoma left over from my wedding plus 20% off so I stopped in my local store and picked up one of the funny looking pans. You can also find it on their website. 

They turned out picture perfect, I was pleasantly surprised.

Something about having these for breakfast was Christmas-y, always a bonus. I will certainly be making them again and again, so delicious with apricot preserves.

Popovers

2 1/2 C. whole milk (I used skim)

2 1/2 C. flour

1 t. coarse salt

6 large eggs, lightly whisked

Heat oven to 425 degrees. whisk together milk, flour, and salt. Whisk in eggs. (Mixture will be slightly lumpy) Heat two 6-cup popover pans in oven for 5 minutes, then quickly brush cups generously with butter. Fill each cup a little more than halfway with batter. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes. Turn our popovers, and serve warm.

Note: If not serving immediately, poke a small hole in each to release steam. Reheat before serving.

Makes 1 dozen.

Thistletop Inn

Yes, this is a bit backwards; posting pictures of the honeymoon before the wedding pictures. Oh, well.

We stayed at a most lovely bed and breakfast right outside of Nashville, Tennessee called the Thistletop Inn. The inn is run by a charming couple; Fred and Mary Jane Peace. They are sure to make you feel quite welcome.

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Black coffee, orange juice, almond milk, strawberries and cantaloupe, portobello mushrooms, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, fried mozzarella, spinach, eggs and whole wheat english muffins. I never had almond milk before but it was delicious. I now have some in my fridge. One of the best breakfasts that I have ever eaten. And I have eaten a lot of good breakfasts. 

Potato wheels. Yum. Let me tell you, that pickled garlic is s-t-r-o-n-g!

What can I say? That Tennessee air gets to you.

 D. really took to the country lifestyle. This should be a postcard.

This was the only way to take a picture of our rings without my fingers looking like Skeletor.

This is the beginning of forever, and I couldn't be happier...