Harry Potter Wedding Cake

Where are my Harry Potter fans??

July 31st (yesterday) is always a fun day for Potter fans, since July 31st is Harry’s birthday!

So what better day than to share this fun Harry Potter themed cake?

To make things even better, Tina from Squirrel Head Manor is hosting this month's Food n Flix and she chose Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone!

Caprese Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

It’s time again for Food n Flix - the online club where participants watch the selected movie and whip up something delicious!

This month’s movie was Coyote Ugly, hosted by Kimberly at Coffee and Casseroles.

The movie Coyote Ugly is inspired by the actual bar/saloon by the same name.  As always, there are similarities and differences between the movie and real life.  The movie follows a small town girl as she moves to New York to follow her dreams to become a songwriter.  Her dreams aren’t as easy to follow as she thought, so she ends up working at the Coyote Ugly Bar where each night is a party, including line dances on the bar.

Patriotic Cauliflower and Beet Salad

*Disclosure: I received an advanced reader copy of All Stirred Up, courtesy of The Book Club Cook Book, Pegasus Books, and Laura Kumin.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This month, I got the opportunity to read an advance copy for the book All Stirred Up by Laura Kumin.

All Stirred Up provide a comprehensive history of the women's suffrage movement from the late 1800’s to the 1920s.  Plus, the end of each chapter includes recipes!  The recipes come from suffragists cookbooks and are accompanied by modern adaptations!

 I have to say, I learned a lot I did not previously know about the suffrage movement.  For instance, I did not know that cookbooks were commonly used to get the suffragist message to a wider audience.  The suffragists had a number of other fascinating methods of getting their message across as well.

Peking-Style Pork

This month’s Cook the Books Club pick was Kitchen Chinese.  Kitchen Chinese is a novel that follows Isabelle (Iz) as her personal and professional life hit a dead end in the United States, where Isabelle is a first generation American born to Chinese parents.

In response to the loss of her job and romantic relationship, Iz decides to move to Beijing to rediscover her roots and to reconnect with her older sister who has also returned to Beijing.

Through her well-connected sister, Iz gets a job as a restaurant critic at an Expat magazine.  It’s at this point that the book becomes a foodie’s dream, as Iz eats her way through Beijing!

The rest of the story follows Iz’s personal life as she navigates life in Beijing looking like everyone else, but unfamiliar with the language and customs while also navigating her relationship with her sister and attempts at romance.  This book got 3 ½ stars from me.

So how about the food?  The very first recipe mentioned in the book is Peking Duck and the main character loves it so much that I almost wanted to make it - but having never prepared duck (or even knowing where to acquire a duck for that matter), I quickly passed it by.

Super Soft Sugar Cookies (Small Batch)

This recipe originally appeared on my other blog, but since I'm no longer updating it, I'm merging the recipes here for all to enjoy!

Over the summer, my parents celebrated their 35^th wedding anniversary!  And they were in town to see the kids play their summer sports, so I wanted to make them something a little special to celebrate!

Cucumber Pomegranate Mule

When Hubs and I went out for our anniversary last month, the restaurant had 2 signature cocktails: a cucumber mule, and a pomegranate rosemary mule.  Only I misread the menu and thought it was a cucumber pomegranate rosemary mule.  Once corrected, I ordered the pomegranate, but couldn’t get my misinterpreted idea out of my head.

So, I infused my own Cucumber-Rosemary Vodka and created my signature cocktail.  And it was everything I’d hoped it would be!  The fruity pomegranate, mixed with the fresh cucumber earthy rosemary is the perfect summer drink!

Ice Cream Sundae Cupcakes

These fun Ice Cream Sundae Cupcakes were made for my son’s Cub Scout Blue & Gold Banquet this year!

The theme was “Scouts are Cool” and there was a whole sundae bar set up for the kids (and parents!)