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Like mother, like daughter (tries to be)...

During the past 3 days of a whirlwind visit home to Atlanta, I was reminded what an amazing cook and hostess my mom is... I can only hope that one day I'll be able to entertain, cook and bake with the ease that she does, but until then, I will continue to seeking her advice and copying her creative flair.

Upon our arrival, even into the wee hours of the night, thanks to an AirTran delay, we were treated to one of my summer favorites... a cold salad with marinated strips of steak, potatoes, and fresh green beans and asparagus. It hit the spot, as I'd been strangely craving red meat. This is a great salad for a crowd, and guys especially like it because of the strips of tender steak throughout.

As soon as we'd had enough of that, my dad, who, I'd noticed, had been lingering around the kitchen, whips out some homemade ice cream sandwiches. My mom had sandwiched some vanilla ice cream between two of her giant "Kitchen-Sink Cookies" and individually wrapped each one.

Friday we visited and had a quick lunch with Granny and then headed back to my parents to prepare for the evening festivities. Before everyone arrived, as if we weren't going to eat enough later, we had a casual (but delicious) meal of "white gazpacho" with a variety of bite-sized mix-ins, including cooked shrimp, green onions, sliced almonds, and diced tomato. Talk about refreshing!

That evening, we hosted some family friends for a fun and competitive night of Tripoley... AND, of course, everyone brought some munchies and mom provided the dessertS. I've asked her, from now on, to give me advance warning when she's going to serve something as incredible as the layered ice cream cake she pulled out later in the evening - so let this be your notice as well.

(This goes without saying) but this cake is both professional looking AND delicious (and secretly SO easy to make!)... it was absolutely perfect for the heat of an Atlanta summer.

Ice Cream Cake

1 qt each of chocolate, butter pecan, and coffee ice cream

1 1/2 pkgs of chocolate wafers

1 1/2 jars of Smuckers Chocolate Fudge Sundae Sauce

1 jar of Smuckers Wet Walnuts

Line a 10-inch spring form pan with chocolate wafers. Line sides of pan with wafers; you will need a layer of ice cream to hold wafers in place. Spread first quart of ice cream in pan. Next place a layer of chocolate wafers and then spoon 1/2 jar of chocolate fudge sauce. Spoon second quart of ice cream over cake. Repeat wafer and fudge sauce layer. Spread third quart of ice cream and top with walnut sundae topping, some fudge sauce, and crumbled/broken chocolate wafers. Freeze before serving.

*Mom altered the recipe by making a chocolate wafer crust (processed wafers with butter) and pressed it about 2-inches up the sides of the springform pan. To cut some of the richness of the dessert, we recommend not using all of the fudge sauce.

In a great weekend that was all about food (as it turns out)... Saturday afternoon, we met up with our friend, Denise, for what we thought would be just a fun lunch. Turns out we were treated both to a delicious Cuban meal at Papi's (we recommend the Cuban Sandwich, I had it without mayo and it was still amazing) and a walking tour of everything new and upcoming in Midtown. Yes, I'm from Atlanta... but don't ask me how to get ANYwhere in the city, though I now know all about the new SoNo District and how the city is revamping the Buckhead strip to be Atlanta's "Rodeo Drive" (you still won't find me there).

That night we headed (with the rest of Atlanta) to Stone Mountain for the Laser Show which has always been one of my favorite things to do. The show was even more patriotic this year than usual so it was very well-received. And so was my mom's picnic spread... gouda and crackers, shrimp salad on croissants, broccoli salad, and fruit salad. Coming home to left-over ice cream cake wasn't half-bad either!

As usual, Sunday was bittersweet... we visited again with Granny who had finished recovering from Friday night's game night, and great friends, Lindsay and Ron, but then packed up and headed out for one last meal, at The Brickery, on our way to the airport.

And while our flight, this time, actually wasn't delayed, we decided to volunteer to get bumped in order to get a free roundtrip! THIS kind of delay didn't put me in nearly as foul of a mood as I'd been on Thursday trying to get home to mom's cooking.

Thanks, Mom & Dad, for such a great weekend! See you soon!!

*If you're interested in any of these other recipes, let me know... I'm waiting for my mom to pass them along but I'd be happy to send them your way as soon as I get them myself!

Quack Quack

Disclaimer: It was late and I wanted to get this post up... hence the silly subject.

My first official visit to the Outer Banks of North Carolina was an absolute success. As a matter of fact, I'd like to be back there right about now.

But since another vacation (admittedly, we have had two fantastic vacations in a row so at this point we are quite spoiled) is but a pipe dream (though we do have quite the series of upcoming weddings just around the corner), for now a quick wrap-up of the extended Memorial Day weekend trip is about all I've got.

We arrived in Duck, North Carolina, this past Saturday; since we were early (a rarity in my life so I felt okay calling it out), Chris and I took a quick tour while waiting on the rest of our entourage. Mom, Dad, and Sophie arrived soon after, so the 4 of us grabbed lunch at the cute Duck Deli (highly recommend their pulled pork platter - with 3 tasty sides, it was more than enough for Chris and I to share).

Where to begin... the trip consisted of a couple of great days full of lots of walks on the beach... eating... laying, reading and digging (thanks to my 2.5 year old nephew) on the beach... more walks... lots of tennis... some ice cream and various desserts... and tons of memories with my family (including my mom's *0th birthday), whom I am more thankful for each and every day (yes, it seems that my marriage and increased age have rendered me even more sappy, if that is possible).

Charlie wasted no time and got to digging and building straight-away. He is truly a boy's boy... I teased Robyn that she wasn't going to know what to do when baby girl Wallace arrives in August!

No one was exactly sure who was chasing whom here but Sophie didn't seem to mind; we'd left Annabelle in the house to keep her sand-free for a few more hours.

I was so fortunate to be able to celebrate my birthday with my family for the first time in I don't even know how many years. Mom was sad that we had to buy my cake but having my entire family there to enjoy it with me made it taste more than homemade (Harris Teeter's carrot cake... NOT bad!!!).

New day... new hole to dig... same little boy having a ball... still digging.

After each one of Charlie's daily post-beach outdoor showers, we got to see our adorable little guy wrapped up in his new favorite bug towel.
The "young adults" (are we really adults now?) took Charlie to the town playground and then walked out onto the long system of piers out over the Sound - we had great weather the whole week and this night was no exception.

One of the main reasons I love beach towns? They always seem to have a Rita's close by! Only Chris and I knew the magic of Rita's but we introduced the rest of my clan who immediately began plotting out their next visits to their local stores - thankfully there are two new Rita's... one in the suburbs of Atlanta and one in Columbia!

Our last day at the beach Charlie got a super special treat... a real John Deere tractor up close. This is what it looks like when the 3 Wallace men have seen a tractor pull up on the beach. Note that Charlie first learned the color green by calling it "John Deere".

More beachtime... Annabelle had just darted out of the picture - I assume it was because she hadn't brushed her hair.

And on our last night, we celebrated Mom's birthday (who's counting anyway!) at Sunset Grille Restaurant - she was especially, shall we call it, "surprised" by the fun hat! (it must be said, though, that in the end, she asked if she could keep the hat and take it home... the restaurant said no)

Charlie shared in the celebration with his "special" drink (i.e. lemonade but served in a fun-for-kids-of-all-ages flamingo cup).

Before our time in Duck came to an end, Chris and I took mom and dad to Roadside Raw Bar & Grill for lunch on our way out of town. It was bittersweet - that morning had been our only day of rain, which always makes it a little easier to leave but I still hated to go.

I told my mom before we left that I could get use to this family vacation thing. It was really the perfect trip - a few ultra-relaxing days spent with everyone who I love the most!

Yes, there are more pictures... just in case that wasn't enough.

Hits the Spot

Alternate Title: Yet Another of my Mom's Treasures

I'm pretty much (sorta) over apologizing for the fact that I quote my mom here over and over and over... though saying "quoting her" should be taken lightly, seeing as how quoting anything is neither of our strong suits.

Speaking of strengths, I must give credit for the presence any athletic bone in my body to (wait for it) my ice cream-loving father. Gotcha, didn't I!? You'd have guessed my mom - and I wouldn't have blamed you - except for the fact that I've seen her (attempt to) tread water and break her toe at the mere touch of a soccer ball. Luckily, while my dad and I take care of the sports in our family, my mom can do just about everything else.

And this time, she exercised (no pun intended) her gift of uncovering a treasure (which happens to be my favorite spot #3 - I told you it was just a spot!).

If you don't recognize those dogs, then you must be new (welcome!). Seeing as how we're a little black-and-tan-long-haired-dachshund-obsessed around here, when my mom spied this beautiful, life-like graphic of two long-haired dachshunds in a vintage garden book (because dachshunds like gardens?!?), she snatched it up knowing I'd be all too happy to find it a home.

And it didn't take long... about 3.5 seconds after she presented it to us and I had quieted down from my ooohing and aahing (finding pictures of these wonderful creatures, especially of the long-haired variety, is much harder than you'd think), this space on our family room (yes, that same room that fills me with "eh") bookshelf was cleared, ever-so-slightly rearranged and then voila!

Who'd have thought that just a small piece of art could provide me so much happiness. It has since provided me countless moments of secret glances... not that the real thing is ever that far away.

'On My Mind

There are places to which, it feels like, we are inextricably linked. Or in some cases... quite extricably linked. (and I'm using that word whether spell-check and dictionaries around the world like it or not) For a few reasons, this is one of those places for me.

(yes, these pictures were taken at Thanksgiving, hence the fall decorations... and I give you every permission to be upset with me for holding out on you)

The most obvious is because I spent the majority of my formative (although there remains to be a lot of forming yet to be done) years in this house. My brother and I were fortunate to grew up here, in a loving home, amidst beauty that went all but unrecognized; and to that, my mom will say that the reason for it is because it was and is continually evolving.

But regardless how and when it got the way it is, you undoubtedly now see reason number two for why I feel so connected to this place. It's beautiful and well-thought out and balanced... in my opinion (and if I've learned anything, it's that style and home decorating is very personal) almost well... perfect. I pretty much love everything about the house... and as if it needs saying, the way my parents have put it all together (but then, mom, you already knew this).

Speaking of learning anything... I should warn you before you proceed any further that while I read a lot of DIY and decorating articles and blogs and occasionally masquerade as someone who has developed her own sense of style in our house, I know zero of the technical terms associated with this field so you're about to read a lot of "my favorites" and "beautifuls" and... you get the idea.

Even with our own house, I've tried to emulate not necessarily my mom's style per se, but how she went about, through the years, building upon their initial foundation. It seems that she puts just the slightest bit of extra thought and care into each room (or place setting or centerpiece or...) that somehow makes it work. And as is evident, she loves to mix and match unique pieces that she loves, no matter what the trends and gurus would say. *that water glass was my grandmother's crystal... apparently, she had the knack of picking out gorgeous things too so maybe one day we'll find out that it runs in the family?!)

It bears mentioning that Chris is generally less-than-pleased that I continue to refer to this lovely house as "home" (and I admit, I should really get over it... it's been quite a few years since I laid my head down in a room that was still called "mine" in this gorgeous home), but when something looks (and truthfully, it feels as amazing as it looks) this good, tell me I'm not the only one who wouldn't be holding on for dear life!!

One day I will show you our house, more than just one of our sorry guest rooms, and you'll see how far we have to go - and why my mom is consulted on almost a daily basis with cries for help.

So now you know... a little bit about the place I love to claim as "home" and also, that not only is my mom my baking and cooking mentor and go-to expert, she is also my design consultant and home-decorating-everything extraordinaire. Oh, and fellow dachshund-adorer.

Another Season

It's true - there are many "new" seasons in my life right now, but the one I'm most excited about at the moment is the start of the American Idol season... TONIGHT at 8/7c! I'm taping it on my trusty VCR (yes, I still have and use one) since I'll be cheering on my Deacs at the Wake-Maryland basketball game.

But before I get ahead of myself... even though it's been a while since I've been 'here', I have been occasionally jotting down a note or two to myself when I've come across or done something somewhat interesting, thinking "one day, I'll put that on the blog"... so I thought I'd share some of those things with you from the past couple of weeks before we are off to the "next season".

Turns out the last few weeks have actually provided a good glimpse into an overview of my year in review... funny how that works out.

Over Christmas, I spent a great week+ down in Atlanta - it's true that thanks to the events of August 29, it may have been more wedding-planning (more on that to come) than Christmas but I think we still got to celebrate the real season as friends and family were in and out of town at various times helping remind us.

Of course one of the highlights was watching my adorable, ever-growing and learning 2+ year old nephew (with a new understanding of "surprises") open his gifts from his nana and g-dad (his version of "grandad").

Children, even those who spend the rest of their waking hours running around with endless energy, have an amazing innate ability to show us what is really important. To Charlie, that means lots of hugs and kisses all around.

Charlie was also big into practicing being gentle with his stuffed animals and our two dogs (Annabelle make the trek down with me and spent the next 9 days being terrorized by my parents' still-puppy dachschund)... this became especially important when we were presented with a bib that said "I love my big brother" on it! Jacob and Robyn are pregnant with their second child (though Jacob swears "it" is twin boys)!!! This just means the fun for our family doesn't stop come March 2... it's just begun! My mom's already talking about getting a bigger kitchen table for family meals.

At the last minute of Christmas evening, I did take a break from wedding planning to help make us dinner and our traditional dessert (Kara back in the Kitchen!); it wasn't stated as such but I knew my future hung in the balance when I heard that because of the craziness of late, my mom hadn't been able to make both my dad's favorite cookies or our family-favorite Christmas Strawberry Trifle. Luckily, I was finally able to master the trifle recipe this fateful holiday and our Christmas went on!

Once we made it through the holidays, we were given a brief reprise; shortly after Christmas, my mom and I spent a wonderful, leisurely afternoon with some of our closest friends at my friend, Anne Marie's beautiful home. My aunt and cousin were in town as well as my sister-in-law so we were lucky to have them join us as well!

Soon after my return to DC, we welcomed little Evan Leech into this world... we'd been waiting for him since March so his arrival was a nice last Christmas present. It's been obvious by his affection for his mom and dad from the moment he saw them that he just couldn't wait any longer to meet his family which is why he arrived a few weeks early (but healthy - what a blessing!).

Recently, the camera has been used mostly for wedding-related activities so I won't bore you with those pictures... except to say I've remembered how much I love pictures and recording memories for the ages so I'm hoping to bring out the camera more often.

Sadly, since the our fun, low-key game-night New Year's with Megan and Brad, Sara and Shiu, we haven't had the chance to be very social save for an occasional quick dinner with friends. We are trying to make more time for quality evenings with friends who we especially haven't seen in some time, hoping to carry that theme throughout 2008 (though we welcome any and all to the house after 3/1!); I realized far too late in 2007 that I really dislike ending the year with "shoot, I wish I'd been better about doing x or y this year... oh well - next year...". There'll always be things you think of too late in the year but I really want to make the most of the time I have... so being more productive and better time management are two of my goals for the near future. I have been vowing, each day more and more, that I will soon be back to in the kitchen, experimenting, cooking, and baking away (slow-cooker recipes anyone?) and also maybe picking up a fun new trade or two, little by little. I'm asking you all to hold me to these goals... ask me how my progress is going throughout the year and I'll keep you all posted on my status as well as anything that comes of my goals that might be useful for you!

** Wedding update... 6 weeks and 4 days to go! Even though I've promised this wouldn't become a wedding blog, I am just dying to mention one part of the wedding planning that I think is often over-looked or not mentioned and appreciated. I'm talking about meeting and working with my church's music director, Clair Maxwell. This was the part of the planning that we knew the least about but it quickly became the easiest part of our preparations, thanks to Clair's knowledge and easy-going attitude! I could not be more excited about the music that will ring in the church as our wedding gets underway, throughout the ceremony, and as we happily exit as a married couple. I hope I'm not the only one who's had such a great experience planning for the music that plays such an important part in your wedding ceremony.

"Momma Said"

I like working in the yard! I do. I'm even okay with the heat and sweat that accompanies it - the bug bites I could do without but they aren't unbearable - but the results... I LIVE for those.

But this wasn't without a fight. I've teetered between loving yard work and hating it with a passion for some time. My mom will vouch that this most likely stems from years of weeding our family's yard. I certainly don't deny that everything I know, I learned from my parents (thanks, mom & dad!), but I also came dangerously close to hating many of the house chores (okay! all of them!) while being 'taught'. Faithfully, though, they remained confident that it'd work itself out in its own time.

To date, I will readily admit that I dust and clean the leaves of our houseplants (they get so dirty!), daily walk through our yard, picking weeds along the way and talking to our flowers and our vegetable garden, and was happy to windex our windows in a fit of spring cleaning earlier this year. Insert a soundbite from my mom here and it'd sound something like a big, huge "I told you so".

Are these just one of the many ways I can prove I'm "all growed up"? Or another example of how I'm, uh, turning into my mother (which I'm actually okay with - minus the mixed up cliches that she inserts into conversation)?

In honor of the hard-fought battle, as we worked outside today, I took note of the things we were doing because of advice our parents had given us:

Turning over the bed of lettuce so we'll be ready for another crop in late summer/early fall...

The result of thinning out and moving some of our lilies... (told you, I live for the results!)

Our garden 'angel' perfectly positioned to watch over our shrubs... (excuse the weeds - I swear I took care of those post-photo shoot)

Our ginormous lavender bush (which will be cut back thanks to some good advice ) doing its summer-best to attract the 'birds and bees' (or just the bees)...

Checking on another season's (mercifully) prosperous tomato, bell pepper, and bean plants...

AND learning to enjoy your own harvest!

Weeds or not, and hard-work in the yard aside, it's silly moments like these that I am most grateful for what my parents did to influence who I am today - my love of family and friends (and hopefully an eager willingness to help them!), gardening, making things pretty (while staying on budget, of course!), entertaining, and last but not least, all things "in the kitchen".

Speaking of in the kitchen, strawberries are in season and at $1/lb around here, you can bet a note or two of brilliant red berries will welcome you the next time around.

Thanks, Mom

Growing up, my mom (read: baker and cook-extraordinaire) allowed us to pick out our favorite dessert for our birthday "cake" - and no matter what we chose, she made it happen (or at least that's how I remember it going down - for certain, I know I was never disappointed when the big day rolled around).

For many (many) years, my mom didn't even have to ask me - she knew the answer was always "cheesecake, please" (it's best to respond very politely to those willing to make you homemade delicious-ness).

Not sure how many years this unnatural obsession lasted but going through my childhood pictures last year to make our wedding slideshow, it quickly became apparent that [fill in the blank variety of] cheesecake became as much a part of my life as my family for a good long while.

Since today is the celebration of no-one-in-particular's birthday (although I could claim a late - oops - Mother's Day tribute)... more-like "had a 3 lb hunk of Philly picked up on super-sale at Costco", I decided it would just be down-right uncelebratory (I just verified that this isn't a word - but I like the sound of it) of me to not share this delicious Brownie Bottom Lemon Cheesecake.

It was only fitting that I find a recipe calling for an incredible amount of cream cheese given how much I currently had staring back at me from the fridge, but as it turns out, this recipe is best (if you're like me and your 9-in springform pan only has 1.5-2 inch sides) if you make only 2/3 of the filling. So while I didn't (and you can't make me!!) change any of the ingredients, here's that version for people with vertically challenged springform pans:

Crust:
nonstick cooking spray
6 TBSP flour
1.5 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 tsp salt
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 c unsalted butter
3/4 c sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla

Filling:
3 1/3 8 oz pkgs cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/6 c sugar
1 1/3 TBSP flour
2/3 TBSP finely grated lemon peel
2 2/3 tsp fresh lemon juice
3 1/3 eggs
1 1/3 egg yolk
1/3 c sour cream
1/6 c heavy whipping cream

Topping:
1 c sour cream

Crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray inside of springform pan with nonstick spray.

Whisk flour, cocoa, and salt in small bowl. Combine chocolate and butter in medium metal bowl; place bowl over pan with simmering water and stir until melted and smooth. Remove from over water. Add both sugars to chocolate and whisk until blended. Let cool until mixture is barely warm, about 10 minutes. Whisk egg and vanilla into chocolate. Fold flour mixture into chocolate and spread brownie batter evenly over bottom of prepared pan.

Bake crust until top looks slightly cracked and tester inserted into center comes out with some moist crumbs attached about 20 minutes. Cool crust to room temperature.

Filling:
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar, flour, lemon peel, and lemon juice; beat until smooth. Add eggs and yolks, 1 at a time, beating just until incorporated after each addition. Beat in 1/3 c sour cream and whipping cream. Pour filling over brownie crust and smooth top. Bake until top is puffed, light golden, and set around edges (center will still move slightly), about 1 hour 20 minutes. Remove cake from oven; maintain oven temperature.

Topping:
Spoon 1 cup sour cream in dollops over top of cake and then spread gently over top with offset spatula. Return cake to oven and bake 5 minutes. Run small sharp knife around sides of cake to loosen. Place pan in refrigerator and chill at least 5 hours.

*I made the brownie crust one night and finished making the filling the following day

What birthday (or any-day) desserts are you obsessed with?

Just Like I Remember

Growing up, one of my dreams was to have my birthday party at this cute little food shop, where they hosted many a hands-on food preparation event (and so the story begins... perhaps this is where all of this stems from). Picture a local, everyone-knows-everyone, version of Williams-Sonoma, but with early 1990s pricing (and menus, but we'll get to that later). Even though I never realized my own dream *tear*, I was fortunate enough to attend a few of my friends' birthday parties at the shop, and they were all I'd imagined they'd be... and some deep dish pizza.

You see, at one of those fateful shindigs, the star of the show was a delicious deep dish pizza. It was so good in fact that I did what any obedient little girl in my shoes would do: I brought that recipe home and announced to my mom that we just must make it (and at this point in my life, by "we", I meant "she"). And so, over the course of my childhood, we (err... she) did, again and again and again.

Unlike the original, however, which as I recall is prepared in a 9x13 baking dish, this recipe bakes up in a well-oiled and cornmeal dusted (which, by the way, is the answer to all of your homemade pizza-making woes) cast iron skillet. Also unlike the original, this is done Chicago-style which means the cheese is layered directly on top of the crust (along with your choice of meat and/or veggies) and then the sauce is spooned over the toppings ("over the toppings" - that's ironic).

But like the original (or the version stuck in my head), both are eaten mostly with a fork and knife since their gooey yumminess makes it a bit hard to eat with your hands (though that didn't stop some people from trying).

So while this isn't the recipe I came home with that day, *see, I don't always go running to my mom for ideas or recipes (shhh... mom, can you send it to me?)*, it was a darn good rendition, and perhaps it just might be 2009's answer to cooking-store-birthday-parties-that-dreams-are-made-of's deep dish pizza.

Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza

from Cooking Light