the eilembergs: July 2009

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Dinner at the Miller's

Last Sunday, our friends, Meredith and Simon invited us over for dinner.
The food was delicious and the company was great! Asher and Jade were perfectly content playing with Jade's gadgets.

Asher took a test drive on their swing in the backyard. He gave it a two thumbs up.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

I adapted this recipe from a few different key lime recipes, and the crust from a cheesecake crust. ENJOY!

CRUST:
9 whole graham crackers
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 slivered almonds, toasted and cooled
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FILLING:
2 14oz. cans sweetened condensed milk
2 large egg yolks
1 cup fresh lime juice from key limes
2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest

GARNISH:
1 cup heavy cream
2tsp. granulated sugar
1 lime zested into thin strips

PREPARE THE CRUST:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Blend first three ingredients in food processor until graham crackers are finely ground. Add oats and almonds and pulse until the almonds are coarsely chopped. Add butter and vanilla until crumbs form. Press crumb mixture into bottom and side of a 10-inch pie plate and bake the shell until golden brown about 12 minutes. Let cool.

PREPARE THE FILLING:
In a medium bowl, whisk the condensed milk, egg yolks, lime juice, and zest. Pour into cooled pie crust and bake at 350 F until set, about 30 minutes. The center may still be jiggly. Let cool completely on a rack and then cover and refrigerate for at least three hours but no longer than a day.

GARNISH:
Just before serving, whip the cream and sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread the cream on top of the pie or spoon a dollop of cream on each slice, garnish with the strips of lime zest and serve.

Just some cute pics...

Play group at Kathy and Brenna's

I don't sync my iphone as much as I'm suppose to. As a result I end up with a lot of photos from months ago. So here are some cute ones that I took during our playgroup at Kathy and Brenna's house a couple of months ago. Asher and Liam hung out together playing in this little car.

I think Julio...

...has officially claimed this "his" spot.

Gazpacho

This is hands down the best gazpacho I've had. It's so easy to make and gets better after a couple of days in the fridge.

1 hard boiled egg
2 cups chopped fresh plum tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped green or yellow pepper
1 cup chopped cucumber, seeds removed
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
2/3 cup olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cups beef broth (or vegetable broth)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup finely minced parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
Pepper, coarsely ground
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt
1 46-ounce can tomato juice
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
Tabasco, to taste

Garnish (optional): chopped parsley, minced red onion, chopped olives, cubed avocado

Preparation

In a pot or large bowl, combine tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, red onion, olive oil, lemon juice, cold beef broth (optional), red wine vinegar, parsley, oregano, Worcestershire, and coarsely ground black pepper to taste. Stir.

Sprinkle garlic with a pinch of salt, and set in bowl.

Remove shell from egg, add to garlic and salt mixture, and mash together with fork.

Pour tomato juice into large pot or bowl with vegetables, and add garlic, egg, and salt mixture. Add bread crumbs and stir so that they dissolve into liquid.

Taste for seasoning and add salt, pepper, and Tabasco to taste. Chill for at least 4 hours and serve. Garnish with chopped parsley, minced red onion, and chopped olives if desired.

Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies

I got this recipe from Epicurious.com (where I get about half of my recipes). I must say, these are like no other chocolate cookie, gooey on the inside and chewy on the outside. Because they are made without butter or flour, these come out very rich and dense... just the recipe to satisfy the strongest chocolate craving!

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (about 9 ounces), divided
3 large egg whites, room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray 2 large baking sheets with nonstick spray. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips in glass bowl in microwave, stirring twice, about 2 minutes. Cool slightly.

Using electric mixer, beat whites in large bowl to soft peaks. Gradually beat in 1 cup sugar. Continue beating until mixture resembles soft marshmallow creme. Whisk 1 cup sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl to blend. On low speed, beat dry ingredients into meringue. Stir in lukewarm chocolate and 1/2 cup chocolate chips (dough will become very stiff).

Place 1/2 cup sugar in bowl. Roll 1 rounded tablespoon dough into ball; roll in sugar, coating thickly. Place on prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until puffed and tops crack, about 10 minutes. Cool on sheets on rack 10 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool.

Tips:

If the dough is too soft or messy to easily form balls, let it cool further or chill it for a few minutes.

You can add 3/8 TSP CAYENNE PEPPER and 5/8 TSP CINNAMON with the dry ingredients to give it a slight zip.

Chocolte Monster

Above: catching him in the act...

...and after taking the chocolate bar away.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Our trip to Salt Lake and Miami

On Monday we came back from a two-week trip to Salt Lake and Miami combined. Asher and I spent the first part visiting my family in Salt Lake. We went for no reason in particular, just to enjoy visiting family. For the second half, Asher and I went with Moises to visit his family in Miami. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit because several of Moises' cousins (traveling in from Boston, Mexico, Venezuela, and Colombia) were there for a wedding. So we had BBQs, pool parties and paella parties just about everyday!