Horse Country

Fall is my favorite season. Each year I look forward to wearing leggings, oversized sweaters, and boots. I love the holidays and seeing family and friends. Unfortunately it is one of the most difficult seasons to dress when it comes to weddings or fancier daytime events. There is an art to looking fashionable but not too summery. Darker colors and sleeves are key to a good fall dress.  As a worker in a boutique, I am daily helping women find the perfect dress to wear to any and every occasion. 

This past weekend I needed to find a dress for fall Steeplechase. In the springtime, a standard Steeplechase outfit for women consists of a Lilly sundress and matching floppy hat. Fall horse races are different. Not many women wear large sun hats. I still wanted to wear a dress but I needed something that was warm and not too summery. What a dilemma! But, I found the perfect dress! It was orange with light blue, navy, and black flowers. I paired it with my Marley Lilly riding boots and leggings. 

I received several compliments on both my dress and the dip I made for the tailgate. The only downer of the day was forgetting to bring the mango orange juice for the mimosas! 

My roommate and dear friend Holley! 

My sorority sister Caro! 

My date Matt sporting his Dogwood Stables hat! 

(Street Fight from Dogwood Stables won the first race!) 

Mirror picture before leaving and putting leggings on to keep me warm. 

Tailgating on the rail makes for an excellent view of the track. 

The girls at our tailgate! 

Now for the dip recipe which will rock your pasture! 

It was very easy to make. I found the base recipe on Pinterest but edited the amount of ingredients I put in to make it my own. 

-16 oz of reduced fat sour cream

- 8oz of cream cheese

- 3/4 cub of chopped ham (I bought premade chopped ham at Kroger) 

- 4 green onion chopped  

- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese (save a little to sprinkle on top) 

- 1 tsp of hot sauce 

- 2 tsp of Worshestershire sauce 

- salt

- pepper 

- Italian Bread Loaf (baked) 

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl except the loaf. Add the hot sauce and Worshestershire to taste. I added a little at a time to make sure they weren't overpowering. 

Cut the football shaped center top out of the bread and use a knife and spoon to carve out the center of the bread. 

Fill the bread bowl with dip. Sprinkle extra cheddar cheese on the dip. Wrap completely in tin foil. 

Bake the dip for 350 degrees for 1 hour (wrapped in tin foil)

It serves well immediately or after it is cool.

I used pita bread but any sort of chip would work well with it. 

The picture is from Pinterest because mine was gone by the time I thought to snap a shot! 

Ciao for now! 

Jaclyn 

Let's Talk About Guac

One of my favorite snacks and my ultimate comfort food is guacamole. Growing up I would spend my summers at my grandparents' house in Miami. Their neighborhood was on an old mango orchard. My grandfather had many mango trees, a banana tree, and my favorite, an avocado tree. Florida avocados are very different than the avocados that are sold on Georgia supermarkets. Florida avocados are the size of my head and a haas avocado is the size of my palm. 

Here is my guacamole recipe which is based on the recipe from my Cuban grandfather. 

Ingredients: 

1 Roma tomatoes 

1/4 of a white onion 

A sliver of jalapeño pepper

A pinch of cilantro 

2 haas avocados (one Florida or California one) 

A bag of Tostitos Scoops chips! 

Finely chop (put in magic bullet) tomato, onion, a little bit of cilantro, and a sliver of jalapeño.
Cut the avocados in half, remove the pit, and scoop out the meat. Chop avocados. 

Mix the blended ingredients with the chopped avocados until you get a creamy but chunky consistancy. Scoop in and enjoy! 

Ciao for now! 

Jaclyn

A Recipe That Will Make Some Noise

Beer Battered Asparagus 

For my first post, I thought I'd share a dandy recipe which I found on Pinterest. I love beer battered anything and I am a huge fan of asparagus. So this combination seemed like a match made in culinary heaven! It is not the most healthy recipe in the world but it is better than french fries. I have made it on several occasions and I have always gotten compliments on the way tastes. 

The first time I made this recipe was for a wine night.  My best friend, Callie always comes over to watch the Bachelor and drink wine. This specific night, I decided to try my hand at cooking.  I was running late and Callie was already on her way over to my townhouse, so I figured I could finish my make-up while the oil heated in the skillet. BAD IDEA. NEVER, I repeat, NEVER leave oil unattended on the stove. The oil caught on fire and the entire townhouse ALMOST did also. I ran next-door to my neighbor's house and asked to borrow a fire extinguisher, but they didn't have one either. My neighbor came over and put a cookie sheet over the open flame, that I had just been staring at in horror. (Which was a very easy and practical fix, deny fire oxygen. Apparently I didn't learn anything in High School Chemistry). I was so spooked by the giant fire that I wasn't thinking very logically... Anyway, the fire alarm went off for a solid 15 minutes... We had to open every window in the house. Even the cob webs near the ceiling were black from all the smoke. Sorry, roommates. It was a scary moment and I am so glad that my neighbor was there to help. 

I still ended up making the recipe after the smoke cleared because I had prepared all the ingredients and dip already. It turned out delicious and would be great for a tailgate or as an horderve! 

picture and recipe from Pinterest. I did take a picture of mine but I guess I deleted it. (Dumb, iPhone storage problems)

Ingredients

Dipping Sauce

½ cup mayonnaise

Juice of ½ a lemon (watch out for seeds)

½ teaspoon lemon pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

½ teaspoon dried rosemary leaves

Pinch salt

You can substitute the herbs for what you prefer. Also, I used dry herbs and you can use fresh.

Combine all ingredients, chill until ready to serve

Beer Battered Asparagus

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 lemon zested (use microplaner)

1 cup beer

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed (I used green beans as well because my best friend doesn't like asparagus, blasphemy, I know!)

Directions

This recipe is a lot easier if you have a deep fryer but you can do it in a deep skillet with an inch or two of oil. Make sure to heat the oil to 375 degrees. (Since I don’t have a thermometer, I turned the stove on high and waited about 5-7 minutes. You will see the oil ripple) DO NOT LEAVE THE OIL ALONE! 

Whisk together the flour, salt, pepper and lemon zest, until thoroughly combined. Then whisk in the beer (I have used a bottle of Bud Light, Micholob Ultra, and Blue Moon... all have tasted the same) Dip asparagus into the batter. Make sure to get rid of the excess batter. Fry until golden brown. Line a cookie sheet with paper towels and put in the oven at 200 degrees to keep warm.

Serve as soon as possible so that the asparagus don't loose their crunch. (If you make the asparagus then I HIGHLY recommend making the dipping sauce as well. It is divine!) 

Ciao for Now,

                       Jaclyn