Our Honeymoon Plans!

So guess what? Dan and I are going on our dream honeymoon! A month long European adventure! Yaaahooo! We have a 2 week cruise in the Mediterranean followed by 2 weeks of backpacking.  We are so excited! Oh man, I'm feeling really spoiled right about now! We've been working hard and saving for years, so this honeymoon is a well deserved trip! We were thinking, you only get married once -- so why not go BIG!" And it's the perfect time in our lives to travel (no kids, flexible jobs etc.)

Europe here we come!

Here are some spots we'll be checking out.

If you have any recommendations let us know! We would love to hear about your favorite places, hideouts, restaurants and must do's!

Barcelona, Spain

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Florence/pisa (livorno)

Rome, Italy (civitavecchia)

Naples, Italy (for Capri & Pompeii)

Mykonos, Greece

Istanbul, Turkey

Kusadasi, Turkey (for Ephesus)

Athens, Greece

Venice, Italy

 

And then...

We hope to see these during our 2 weeks of backpacking

Germany for Oktoberfest and a visit to Opas hometown

Switzerland because we've heard it's cool...

Tuscany, Italy is a must (what we've been hearing from our friends).

Lake Como, Italy

Paris, France (We're flying out of Paris) and I need to get my booty over to Laudree! Oui Oui!

Oh my gosh! Is this really happening? I need to pinch myself sometimes...we are feeling very blessed and excited for such a grand adventure ahead of us! What a wonderful way to start our marriage. We can't wait!

Pictures: Istanbul, Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Ephesus, Florence, Venice, Rome, Naples, Mykonos, Switzerland, Paris, Munich, Tuscany, Lake Como

Churros con Chocolate

One of my dreams is to temporarily house swap and live in Spain with Danny! Oh how great would that be? Dan was a lucky duck; he grew up in a bilingual family and can switch from English to Spanish like it ain't no thing. Spain could be my chance to finally learn Spanish fluently! Until then, I will continue to practice my Rosetta Stone and make Churros con Chocolate -- a popular breakfast treat among Spaniards. Believe it or not, this recipe is really easy to make. And...it's AMAZING!

Churros are usually served plain with a hot chocolate dipping sauce in various European countries. And check this out...when we were in Costa Rica, they made their version with dulce de leche in the middle! Awww so good! But my all time favorite would be rolled in cinnamon-sugar and dipped in chocolate!

Makes approximately 20 churros (depending on size)
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter (I used salted butter, if you use unsalted add a pinch of salt to the batter)
2 tbsp sugar
1 cup flour
3 eggs
oil for frying

Cinnamon sugar
2 cups sugar
2 tbsp ground cinnamon

Chocolate sauce
100g (3.53 ounces) dark chocolate
50ml (1.69 fluid ounces) cream

• Start by making the chocolate sauce and the cinnamon sugar. Melt the chocolate and cream together and set aside. Mix together the cinnamon and sugar and set aside.
• In a saucepan, combine the water, butter, sugar and salt. Allow the butter to melt and stir everything together.
• Combine the saucepan mixture with sifted flour and stir until a ball starts to form.
• Transfer the mixture to your stand-alone mixer or to a separate bowl if you are using a hand-held blender.
• Allow the mixture to cool for 5 minutes.*You don't want the hot dough to currdle the eggs
• Place enough oil into a pot to fry the churros and allow to heat.
• Start beating the dough and add the eggs one at a time. Beat well after each addition. The mixture will become slightly sticky and more like a batter, but still thick.
• Place the batter into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.
• When the oil is hot, pipe long shapes into the oil and allow to fry until golden brown, flip them over and fry on the other side.
• Continue until all the batter has been used.
• Coat the churros in the cinnamon sugar.
• Serve warm with chocolate sauce.

Adapted from Simply Delicious

Almond Cake with Lemon Meringue

A few days ago I was watching one of my favorite shows; Spain on the Road Again. The mini series features Mario Batali, Gwyneth Paltrow, Claudia Bassols and Mark Bittman on a culinary road trip across Spain. What a dream! Please take me on the next one!

Any who… this particular episode followed Batali and Bassols as they explored restaurants in Mallorca, Spain. They came across this little cafe named Can Joan de S’aigo -- known for their coffee and pastries. Can Joan de S’aigo has been around since 1700! Wowza…they must have done something right with those pastries! I fell in love with their tarta de almendras (almond cake) with lemon meringue topping. So I set out to make my own.

I found a recipe for almond cake by David Lebovitz and a lemon meringue topping by the food network.

Here they are. Enjoy!

Almond Cake

1 1/3 cups (265g) sugar

8 ounces (225g) almond paste

3/4, plus 1/4 cup (140g total) flour

1 cup (8 ounces, 225g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cubed

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

6 large eggs, at room temperature

1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF (162ºC). Grease a 9- or 10-inch (23-25 cm) cake or spring form pan with butter, dust it with flour and tap out any excess. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper.

2. In the bowl of a food processor, grind the sugar, almond paste, and 1/4 cup (35g) of flour until the almond paste is finely ground and the mixture resembles sand.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 3/4 cup (105g) of flour, baking powder, and salt.

4. Once the almond paste is completely broken up, add the cubes of butter and the vanilla and almond extracts, then process until the batter is very smooth and fluffy.

5. Add the eggs one at a time, processing a bit before the next addition. (You may wish to open the machine and scrape the sides down to make sure the eggs are getting fully incorporated.)

After you add all the eggs, the mixture may look curdled. Don’t worry; it’ll come back together after the next step.

6. Add half the flour mixture and pulse the machine a few times, then add the rest, pulsing the machine until the drying ingredients are just incorporated, but do not over mix. (You can also transfer the batter to a bowl and mix the dry ingredients in, which ensures the dry ingredients get incorporated evenly and you don’t overbeat it.)

7. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake the cake for 65 minutes, or until the top is deep brown and feels set when you press in the center.

8. Remove the cake from the oven and run a sharp or serrated knife around the perimeter, loosing the cake from the sides of the pan. Let the cake cool completely in the pan.

Once cool, tap the cake out of the pan, remove the parchment paper, and set on a cake plate until ready to serve. (Tip: Warm the bottom of the cake pan directly on the stovetop for just a few seconds, which will help the cake release.)

Lemon Meringue Topping

• 4 large egg whites
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• Pinch cream of tartar
• Pinch fine salt

For Meringue: Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a saucepan that can hold a mixer's bowl above the water. Whisk the egg whites, sugar, lemon juice and zest, cream of tarter and salt in the bowl by hand. Set the bowl above the boiling water and continue whisking until the mixture is hot to the touch and the sugar dissolves, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat at medium-high speed until meringue is cool and holds stiff peaks, about 5-7 minutes.

To decorate: Using a spoon, offset spatula or piping bag, dollop, spread or pipe meringue on top of each cupcake. Use the back of a spoon to create peaks and valleys in the cupcake as desired.

picture: 1,2