Broccoli Slaw with diced apples.

Go ahead and google "Broccoli Slaw"...there are exactly one million recipes floating around out there on how exactly to make the perfect Broccoli slaw. There are creamy dressings made from mayo, there are oil based dressings, some people add dries cherries, some add dried cranberries or raisins, some people even add onions (my personal preference is that onions do NOT go well with this...again, personal preference). I took two ideas and blended them. I took a vinaigrette dressing and mixed it with some ingredients I found here and there.


What you will need:

Slaw

• 1 package of Broccoli Slaw (I use the Trader Joe's slaw)
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds (I use unsalted) (some people use walnuts here instead)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup diced apples
• (I've also seen sunflower seeds added to this recipe)

Vinaigrette

• 1/3 cup brown sugar (I substituted 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons of Splenda brown sugar instead but I've done it both ways and it tastes the same)
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper 
• (I just add salt and pepper to taste on top of it all once mixed together)

What to do:

(This is kind of self-explanatory). Mix all of the slaw ingredients together in a bowl. Whisk together all of the vinaigrette in as well. Pour vinaigrette over slaw and mix well. 

Holiday Treats!

It has become a small tradition in my family that I bring some sort of festive dessert/treat to celebrate the holidays. This is not an amazing dessert that we are talking about here, rather something fun and cute to keep things a little festive. As I've shared these "treats" with some of my friends and co-workers, I have been told that I will be a "good mom" because I love to do these little projects. Being far from ready for all of that, Lucas and I are having so much fun doing these together!



THANKSGIVING


On Thanksgiving I brought "turkeys. This was probably the easiest out of all of them. We started with a package of Keebler Fudge Stripe Cookies, a package of rolos, a package of caramels (we used the chewy werthers, but any caramel candies will work), and the orange reese's pieces (you are actually recommended to use candy corn, but since I waited until November and Halloween was long gone, I went with the next best thing!) Take the caramels and heat them in the microwave until a little warm and flexible. Stick the warmed caramel over the rolo and stick the cookie to the back of it. Stick the reese's piece or the candy corn in the front to act as a beak. See, easy, huh?


CHRISTMAS


For Christmas, I decided that Christmas Mice would be fun to make. (You know, like "not a creature was stirring, not even a MOUSE").  What you will need: 24 maraschino cherries (stems still on), drained, about 3/4 of a cup of chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate, but you can use semi-sweet), 24 unwrapped milk chocolate hershey's kisses, and 48 almond slices. You will also need black, white and pink icing for the eyes and nose (if you want). 

Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl in 15-20 second intervals (being careful not to burn the chocolate chips). Mix the chocolate chips until they are smooth. Holding the cherry by the stems, cover the cherries with chocolate and place them in rows on a waxed-paper covered cookie sheet. While they are still warm, press a hershey kiss into the front of the cherry, and place two almond slices about the hershey kiss (for the ears). Place the "mice" in the refrigerator to stick together. Make two white dots on the hershey kiss for the eyes - place back in the refrigerator to set (about 10 minutes) and then repeat with smaller black icing dots for the pupils. You can do a pink dot for the nose, however, we didn't think it was necessary.


EASTER

Last but not least, last weekend...EASTER! Now I had seen more "bunny rabbit" cupcakes and cakes to try, but I wanted to do something not only for easter, but to celebrate spring and the beautiful weather that we've been having. I decided that birds nests would be a lot of fun (and they tasted amazing as well!) What you will need: one bag of butterscotch chips (12 oz), one cup of peanut butter, 2 cups of mini-marshmallows, one bag of chow mein noodles (6 oz) and some kind of oval shaped candy. I used the chocolate candy-coated eggs. I  had bought a bag of the easter colored peanut m&m's, but they didn't look as big and "egg-like".

Like always, line a cookie sheet with waxed paper (we had to line 2). In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the chips until completely melted (30 second intervals being careful not to burn them). Mix in the cup of peanut butter (should be really creamy). Add chow mein noodles and marshmellows and stir until everything is evenly coated. Take tablespoons and drop onto the waxed paper (make a little indent in the middle of them to place the "eggs"). Gently place three eggs per nest and let sit until hardened (it was hot this weekend, and even with the air conditioning on, we had to refrigerate them). ENJOY!

Grilled Mojo Chicken and Pineapple

It is a tradition in our house that friday night is Sushi Date Night. We have gone to the same sushi restaurant MOST Fridays since the Fall of 2008. This past saturday, however, we met my best friend and her husband (and new baby!) for Japanese, so Friday night I decided I would cook in.

Lucas really enjoyed this recipe, and I really enjoyed making it.

Grilled Mojo Chicken and Pineapple (From Woman's Day Magazine)

(Please note that while it only takes about 5 minutes of "active time", the chicken will need to marinate prior to grilling for at least 2 hours)

What you will need

• Five slices of fresh pineapple (cut about 3/4 inches thick).
• 1/2 Cup Mojo Criollo Marinade
• 1 Tbsp Oil (this is to rub on the pineapple before grilling and the grill)
• 4 boneless. skinless chicken breast halves

What to do:

1. Chop 1 slice of the pineapple and process it in a blender with the Mojo Criollo Marinade until smooth. Remove and reserve approx. 2 Tbsp of the mixture. Pour the remaining mixture into a large zip top bag; add chicken and turn in bag to coat. Refrigerate in marinade at least 2 hours. (I poked a few holes in the chicken breast to allow the mixture to seep in.)
2. Heat outdoor grill or indoor electric grill. Brush grill (if necessary) and pineapple slices with oil.
3. Remove chicken from the bag and discard the bag with the marinage
4. Grill chicken 10 minutes on grill (if it is a one sided grill, grill 5 minutes per side). Add pineapple to grill.Grill them both, turning pineapple once (approx. 3 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and pineapple is lightly charred).
 
5. Slice the chicken; drizzle with the reserved 2 tbsp marinade. Serve with the grilled pineapple and garnish with chopped cilantro, if desired.

-- Recommended to be served with black beans and plantain chips.

I served this with a sauted spinach, tomato and scallion salad in olive oil because I didn't have black beans in the house and had some left over ingredients for the salad.

Enjoy!

Nutrition facts (per serving)

Calories 273| Total Fat 7g| Cholesterol 99mg| Sodium 468mg|

Total Carbohydrates 14g| Protein 40g

Prince Michel Winery

For Valentines Day weekend, Lucas and I took a mini-vacation to Charlottesville, VA. We stayed at the most WONDERFUL and RELAXING Inn, just a few miles off of Route 29 near downtown (UVA). Cedar Spring Inn & Spa has contemporary styled rooms, with luxurious tubs, fire places, and other accommodations. The owners are absolutely fabulous and are EXTREMELY helpful when it comes to recommendations of restaurants, things to do, and of course, wineries. I just couldn't say enough about this place, you should visit and love it too!

Okay, back to the point. During our "weekend away", we visited 4 wineries on the Virginia Wine trail (we were in the Central VA region of the Virginia wine trail in case you follow it). We visited Prince Michel on our way down (it's about 1 hour away from Northern, VA and 35 miles North of Charlottesville). This is our favorite winery to date- we are actually "wine of the month" club members. I wanted to share with you some of our most memorable tastings from this winery. I will revisit the other 3 wineries from this weekend in another Post at another time, so keep checking back.

A little background/side note on our experience with Prince Michel Winery - I graduated from Liberty University, and spent many years traveling from home in DC to Lynchburg, VA. I always passed Prince Michel and always swore that I would visit when I turned 21. We actually visited Prince Michel's Old Town Alexandria store  (before it was closed) for a tasting in the summer of 2009 before ever venturing out to Leon, VA.

Prince Michel produces both Prince Michel and Rapidan River Wines (all Virginia wines). They have one numerous awards for their wines, some I will highlight below.

Dry Rose: Neither myself or Lucas are big white wine or champagne drinkers, and we tend to navigate away from the sweet wines, however, this Rose is does not have typical characteristics of a traditional Rose (it is not a sweet wine). This wine is made 100% of merlot and is a dry wine made in stainless steel. It has the essence of strawberry and apricot and has a very smooth finish. This year, the Dry Rose one the Silver at the American Fine Wines Competition. I would highly recommend this wine.


Symbius: One of our favorites. I am a big fan of Meritages, or blended wines. This wine consists of 48% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc and 10% of Petit Verdot. It is rich in blackberry flavors with dark chocolate notes that evolve into a tobacco finish. It is aged 21 months in french and american barrels. Symbius has won multiple Gold and Bronze awards, and is definitely one of my "must haves" when I visit the winery.


Petit Verdot: This wine is usually a blending wine (exactly as it sounds, it is meant for blending, not necessarily sipping). 2007 happened to be a great year for this wine and produced a deep, rich red wine, full-bodied in character with a very smooth finish. It has a full palate of berries. With this wine, however, once it's gone, it's gone.


Merlot: This is a classic merlot with about 3% shiraz. It is made with over 1 year of Oak Aging. It has a soft, silky texture. You can really taste the ripe berry flavors that linger on your palate and you can smell the berry aromas. Again, this wine is an award winning wine and very easy to drink.

For all you sweet/fruit wine lovers: While we don't always enjoy the sweet, dessert wines, we do love fruit wine. We were first turned on to fruit wines in 2007 upon our first visit to Peaks of Otter Winery, where they make most of their wines with a variety of fruits (and no, grape is not the common fruit at that winery). I will go into more detail about them at another time.
Okay so fruit wines at Prince Michel. They have raspberry, peach, and blackberry fruit wines here. Our favorite by far was the blackberry. The blackberry actually won the Best of Class, Best of Bridal AND the Platinum award for 2011 at the New World International Wine Competition. This is a dark, rich wine and actually tastes as though you are drinking blackberries. Best served chilled, it is composed of cab franc, cab sauvignon, and merlot.

And the deliciousness does not stop there. I would encourage you (for those of you close enough), visit the winery or you can visit/buy online! I have found a few of their wines at the Total Wine in Fairfax, VA, but am not sure if you are not local if you will find it there.

What's Cooking, good-lookin'

Okay, cheesy title. This week Shoppers had fresh tuna steaks on sale, so I wanted to take advantage of it! I found a great recipe (healthy and delicious), courtesy of Rachael Ray. It was surprisingly easy, and did not leave the house smelling "fishy".

Tuscan-Style Grilled Tuna Steaks

You can make them on a charcoal grill, however, I used my George Foreman indoor grill, aka the most-used appliance in my kitchen.

What you will Need:

• 4 Fresh Tuna Steaks (about 1 inch thick, 8 oz. each)
• 1 Lemon, zested
• 3 Sprigs of fresh rosemary - about 2 tablespoons of leaves stripped from the stem
• a handful of flat leaf parsley
• 3 cloves of garlic - crushed. A good video on how to crush garlic can be seen here
• salt and pepper to taste
• extra virgin olive oil, used for cooking

What to do:

1. Rinse and pat tuna steaks dry. Place the lemon zest on top of your cutting board. Pile the rosemary and parsley leaves on top of the zest.
2. Pile garlic, salt and pepper on top of the herbs. Finely chop them all together
3. Drizzle olive oil over tuna steaks, just enough to coat EACH side.
4. Rub the herb and garlic mixture into the fish, making sure to coat the pieces evenly on each side. Let stand for approx. 10 minutes before grilling.
5. Grill Tuna Steaks on HIGH on your george foreman grill for 4-6 minutes (if it is a one-sided electric grill, do 4-6 minutes per side of steak). **4 minutes will leave the tuna pink in the center if preferred, 6 minutes will fully cook.

I served this with a side spinach salad with cranberries, almonds and a homemade vinaigrette because I had some left overs from a recipe made the day before. 

Enjoy!!

Allow me to introduce myself....

Hello! My name is Amber.  I am one of the many Johnson's living in this world. Johnson is my new last name, as I just married my best friend and got the happily-ever-after I have always dreamed of. We live in the DC area in our small apartment with our two cats (if you understand the traffic pattern in DC I am sure you understand that having a dog is almost impossible with a commute).

I am new to "blogging", but am excited to share with you adventures in cooking, wine tasting, and anything else that may come up. That being said, allow me to elaborate on my title...

Life and Love: These two categories are basically the same thing to me. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Well that is proven in my life daily.  I am a newlywed, married in September of 2010. I met my husband, Lucas, in 2006 on Super Bowl Sunday. He is the love of my life and the main person in my life. We enjoy everything from a rainy saturday in watching movies to a night out on the town...we enjoy wineries and weekends away, and we enjoy family. I love my God, who is my creator, and therefore He is my life.  I love my church and the community of friends and support that it gives me...if you're ever in DC, you need to go here. My life consists of creativity. I love to create and be creative in all aspects of my life. I love photography and practice it often.  I love to cook - healthy cooking to be exact. I love to create meals that look, smell and most importantly TASTE delicious and know that it is something that is healthy for those who enjoy it. (disclaimer - I may throw in some not so healthy things here and there...every girl deserves to splurge!)

Pursuit of Wine: I love wine, and love to savour wine. One of our absolute favorite things to do is venture the Virginia Wine Trail. You wouldn't even believe how many wineries are in Virginia!  Oh, and by the way, I am in complete belief that not all "fine wines" need to "break the bank". Most of the wines my husband and I enjoy are fairly priced (Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and Wegmans have great selections). We've enjoyed everything from the Trader Joe's Charles Shaw Shiraz or Merlot (at one time was called "two-buck-chuck" but has now jumped to about $3.29 a bottle), and we have savoured a $450 bottle of wine (trust me, it was an accident and no, we weren't paying).




So there you go. That pretty much sums up what I am about. These are my stories in life, love and wine.