Mommy and Me Mother’s Day Photo Contest

Today’s post isn’t really a food entry, but more of a plea for a vote. I hate entering voting contest, but since this one is such a short one I thought I would give it a try. You will have to register to vote, but you can easily unsubscribe once you cast your vote. Click HERE for my entry. I appreciate any help you can send my way!!

Newest Addition…

I want to introduce the newest member of our family, Travis. He arrived a little earlier then we expected (Feb 22, 2013 instead of March 5th), but he’s a blessing we have been waiting for. We had a rough start with me having high blood pressure at the end of my pregnancy which caused me to have to deliver sooner then later. I had a hard c-section and finally feeling better and getting caught back up on everything. Our little guy spent an extra night in the hospital due to jaundice, but since then has recovered and is gaining weight. It’s been an adjustment on all of us with an extra person around, but it’s been so exciting.

Best wishes for a very Happy St. Patrick’s Day from Mocha and Travis!!

German Chocolate Cake Cocktail

Holy cow what a weekend we had! So we where going to go to the rodeo on Friday to see Toby Keith, but decided to take the night off, relax a little and catch up on some tv shows. Saturday we headed up to the Steer Auction about 8:30 am for the breakfast then the auction started at noon. I got my picture taken with Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison who was out there. She was really nice and it was a pleasure meeting her.

We bought our steer around 1:30pm and headed to the car for a quick cat nap before heading into the stadium to see Blake Shelton. By the time we got home we had been up there 12 hours. Sunday we stayed home and lounged by the pool while the hubby smoked a brisket all day. We had our steak night and I have a super yummy side dish I can't wait to share with you on Wednesday!

It's the last week of rodeo and we'll be out there every night so I thought I would start the week off with a cocktail. The sad thing was I wasn't 100% sold on this drink. While it tasted a little like german chocolate cake it's a lot of work.

German Chocolate Cake

(Adapted from Guy Fieri)

2 cups ice
2 ounces citrus vodka
2 ounces hazelnut liqueur (Frangelico)
1 fresh lemon wedge
1 teaspoon sugar


Fill a shaker with ice. Add vodka and hazelnut liqueur and shake to combine. Dip lemon wedge into sugar.

Strain vodka and hazelnut liqueur into a snifter or lowball glass. Bite lemon with sugar, then drink from snifter. Swallow, then exhale. Tastes just like German chocolate cake.

Beer Bread and Weekend Happenings

We took it kind of easy this past weekend since rodeo starts full swing on Tuesday with Alan Jackson kicking things off. Friday night we stayed in and watched a movie then Saturday my hubby had a class to take so I went shopping and enjoyed the lovely weather we had. Saturday night was my friends birthday party. She's my crafting buddy and when I got her invite I knew she would go all out.

Audrey Hepburn is her favorite person in the world. Laura made her own little black dress accented with the light blue Tiffany's colored belt. Her aunt is a hair dresser so you know she was looking good. Before we left the house I tried out a new martini mix I found at HEB. I've been in love with key lime pie martini's and this was a simple one to make instead of making it from scratch. I used crushed honey graham crackers around the rim. Yummy!

When we arrived she had all sorts of tasty treats out and of course all sorts of jewels to decorate with. Once every arrived and grabbed a plate and cocktail we watched Breakfast at Tiffany's. It was a wonderful party and it was a lot of fun to dress up and have a good time. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAURA!!!!

I wanted to post a recipe today as well as share my weekend so of course with "Sunday Steak Night" I had to make some bread! There's many copy cat recipes out there for Saltgrasss Steakhouse Shiner Bock Beer Bread so I picked one a long time ago and just got around to making it. Of course I don't have where I got it, but like I said they're all over the Internet. If your not a fan of Shiner you can use a good IPA so you have that beer taste come out, if you use a pale ale you won't have that much flavor in your bread.

Saltgrass Steakhouse Shiner Bock Beer Bread

1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups Shiner Bock Beer (flat)
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large mixing bowl.

Add honey and stir.

Mix in wheat flour, salt and all-purpose flour in bowl.

Stir in oil and slowly add flat beer.

Mix all ingredients together.

Place dough on a floured surface and knead for at least 10 to 15 minutes. The dough may need a little more flour added to it if it becomes too sticky. The finished dough will feel smooth and spongy and will not stick to your hands.

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic until it doubles in size. Do not place dough in a draft or in an overheated area. The dough should be left to rise at room temperature.

When dough has doubled, punch down in the middle and let rest for 5 minutes.

Divide dough into 4 equal parts and shape into round loves. Place loaves on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Score twice on top of each loaf with a knife tow inches apart and about 2 1/2 inches long. Cover loosely with plastic wrap until the loaves doubled in size. Place in a preheated 350 degree F oven, and bake for 30 minutes.

While your bread is baking make the honey butter.

Honey Butter

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk (I left this out)
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon honey

In a small food processor or blender whip butter, milk and honey until the mixture lightens in color and turns a light cream color. Shape with melon ball maker. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

Sesame Tofu (or chicken) and HLSR BBQ Cookoff

Another Friday without meat for me. It's a good thing I ate myself full last night at the HLSR (Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo) BBQ Cookoff. This is the most insane event I've ever been to and I'm surprised I'm able to function this early! We usually go the first night because it's less crowded and it's also sponsor night so they have a couple extra tasters they normally wouldn't on the weekend.

Here's a picture from the HLSR website of an overview shot to show you how many BBQ teams there are:

Here's a couple pictures from last night:

Jack Daniel's booth is a booth we go to every year and these tickets are golden to get your hands on:

After eating and drinking a few drinks we walked down to Holy Cow Cookers which is ran by friends of ours.

They did a really cool thing by putting a wagon from Randy's grandmother up above the band and dance floor.

After we said hi to everyone and tasted their BBQ we walked around to check out some of the other tents layouts. We saw a water wheel turning a whole hog over a fire, unique pits in all sorts of designs and then a huge pit on the back of an 18 wheeler:

For today's dish I made tofu. I had been teasing my husband he was gonna eat it and like it then decided to be the good wife and make some chicken for him. He tasted it and didn't know it was chicken till I told him. hahaha He did try the tofu and didn't hate it, but didn't love it at the same time. I thought it was good. I didn't get to try the chicken, but he said it was tasty. We did have to add a little extra spice (couple dashes of cayenne), but overall we really liked the flavor.

Don't be scared of tofu! The one thing that comes to mind when I hear tofu is to-furkey. Never had it and have no idea of it's taste, but I can asure you tofu's not nasty it really doesn't have any taste at all, and it's good for you.

Better-Than-Takeout Sesame Tofu (or chicken)

(Adapted from Love & Olive Oil)

1 package extra firm tofu
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup peanut or canola oil
sesame seeds
8 stalks broccolini

Sauce:
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup water
1/8 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon chili paste
1 garlic clove, minced

Cut tofu into 1/2 thick slices. Place in a 9×13″ baking pan lined with a tea towel, top with another towel followed by another baking pan. Weight with something heavy (soup cans or something), and let press for 20-30 minutes. Cut into cubes.

Coat tofu cubes in egg, then toss in cornstarch until coated and dry. Shake off extra cornstarch.

Combine sauce ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and boil for 5 minutes, until thick.
While sauce is cooking, heat oil in large non-stick skillet or wok. Carefully place tofu in hot oil, spacing evenly so the pieces don’t stick together. Cook (without touching!) for 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom, and then carefully turn and cook other side. Continue to turn until cubes are golden on a few sides. Remove to a paper-towel lined plate.

Chicken:

Wipe out tofu pan and heat a drizzle of oil. Sautà broccolini, turning once, for about 2-4 minutes or until bright green and tender. Remove from heat.

Return tofu cubes to pan, and pour over sauce. Stir until well coated. Serve with jasmine rice and sprinkled with lightly toasted sesame seeds.

Chicken:
Tofu: