Cutting + Cheesecake - Arizona

Greetings y'all! This was pretty much my Arizona "Jump Start Your Year" Horse Show outfit. It was chilly willy in the mornings so you know I had on layer upon layer. Bloggin' from our Ford 650...

I couldn't stand not taking a photo of these two dudes. Bobby and Scott have been friends for over 20 years. I love this photo.

Lunch at the horse show took a few trial and error runs but by the last day we finally got it right. They had a Pulled Pork Comb - Which included a sandwich, fries and a soda. I asked for the bun to be left off so I could make it a forked up meal. With each bite I snagged some sweet pork, a french fry or two and had it sauced up with ketchup and mustard. Now that was a meal. Washed down with Mountain Dew. Oh ya...

And for dinner? Why not another chain? On the scale of chain hood I would say Cheesecake factory is on the higher end. I have always had a good meal here and always left totally satisfied.

For dinner I had the Salmon Genovese and it was amazing! I was so pleased with order and ate every single bite. The salmon was a wonderful medium rare and rested on a bed of pearl couscous. The pool of almond pesto was so tasty, I wish I ordered a side of it so I could eat it up with a spoon. The sun dried tomatoes, green beans and artichoke hearts were all vegetables I could deal with. Order this and order this now. Delicious!

 How can you go to the Cheesecake Factory and not get a piece of cheesecake?!  I decided to go with the original version and was perfectly happy. Sometimes the toppings mask the taste of the good, old fashioned cream cheese so I was happy with my decision on keeping it classic. I was supposed to share with the table but I think I mowed down the most of it.

I love the Cheesecake Factory!

Christmas Day - San Juan Bautista, CA

On Christmas morning my Mom woke up peacefully to wander downstairs to make a hearty breakfast at an easy pace. As we did not need to do our usual Santa present madness this year as it was just us big kids to entertain. Christmas ham, hash potatoes and sunny side up eggs fueled us for a relaxed day ahead. 

We opened a few presents after breakfast. It was fun for me to play Santa and look at the faces of family as they opened each package. I would have to say, Scott was the best gift giver - my Mom cried with tears of happiness! Now that is what Christmas is all abut, making family happy!

My Dad got tons of books so he tore into them and starting reading after breakfast.

My Mom got started on squeezing lemons for her Lemon Meringue Pies...

Piping the meringue...

And finishing them off in the oven!

I got started on the prep work for our Shrimp and Scallop Puffed Pastry topped with Garlic Cream Sauce. New recipe...

Garlic, shallots...

Mushrooms... Chop, chop, chop.

I even made my Oven Baked Risotto recipe. It is a winner every time.

Too big of an Le Creuset pot for just 8 serving of risotto but it did the job.

James request these Stuffed Peppers at every holiday meal. Bacon, sausage, cream cheese, green onion... Easy peasy.

Dinner is served! It is not the most visually attractive meal but it tasted like heaven. Rich, creamy and totally the right amount of food. Everyone cleaned their plate and there were no left overs... Now that is the perfect sized meal.

Butter and cream live here.

Two of Santa's favorite elves!

Christmas Eve 2014 - San Juan Bautista, CA

I love, love, love going back home for Christmas. My parents are always the kindest hosts, cook the best food and make you feel so welcome. When I pulled into the driveway on Christmas Eve my Mom's house was already beautifully decorated and her cooking was in full swing.

Our table settings used to set for 30+ people but now they are usually set for 8. It is way less hectic and a much more enjoyable experience for my Mom I am sure.  

This Santa has been a part of every single one of my Christmas holidays. My Mom thinks he was born in the 1950's, I just like his jolly spirit. 

My Mom was making eclairs when I walked in. She then stuffed them with custard and whipped cream. She is just an amazing cook.  

 While she was making the desserts, I took a selfie.

Lol. True story.

Christmas time is always the best time. 

We didn't put out too many appetizers because we didn't want to be stuffed for dinner. My Mom was so kind and made me my favorite Chicken Liver Pate, I ate this until dinner was served and was perfectly happy. 

My sweet Dad. 

It has been a Christmas tradition to have soup and crab the night of Christmas Eve. My Mom would make clam chowder and sometimes split pea soup and then serve up hot buttered rolls.  

It is perfectly filling an a nice segway into the next day's full cooking agenda. I love soup so it is always is a favorite for me!

Cracked crab from Stagnero's in Santa Cruz is the only way to go for a fresh seafood platter. The crab was sweet, fresh and totally meaty. 

As you can see, we had a totally mellow night. It was pretty much heaven in my book...

Azu Anniversary Dinner - Ojai, CA

Our Anniversary dinners are always special to me. We usually spend them at The ranch House but due to a last minute plan change we ended up at Azu. I had been there with Dana for lunch not to long ago and enjoyed it so I was very excited. We ordered a celebratory cocktail and cheers to many more years!

Our starters came up and I was excited to dig in to my Beet and Burrata Salad. The cheese was lovely but the beets shared a plate with pickled carrots hat shocked the soft texture of the cheese and beets. I could have done without the carrots and just sunk my teeth into the creamy cheese and vibrant beets. The waitress talked Scott into a Kale Caesar that he absolutely loved. 

We both ordered the Fish of the Day and were both equally disappointed in the dish. When we ordered the halibut we both assumed it would be served in a small, thick cut as that is the way it usually served. Instead it was a razor thin, flat piece that took up 3/4 of the plate. Halibut is usually flaky and easily eaten with just a fork. I had to pick up a knife and saw up a piece to put in my mouth each bite. We should have sent it back and got something we enjoyed but we were so bummed out we just sent it away after several delicious bites of mashed potato. FAIL.

I thought a dessert might turn this night around and the Flourless Chocolate Torte at the very least put a better taste in our mouthes. It was nice.

I know better than to suffer through a meal without speaking up to the waitress but it is hard to complain n a special date night with the husband. You want to appear kind, sweet and demure not a bossy lady who complains about her meal. So, we took this one in the shorts. 

Maybe I should have stuck to my favorite bacon wrapped dates and honey baked brie for dinner...

Not So Healthy Blog Post...

 All my exercising has given me quite an appetite and I have acted on a few of my favorite Pinterest pins. I have had my eye on Tater Tot Casserole and Saltine Toffee for quite sometime now so over the weekend I whipped up them both...

Tater Tot Casserole

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• Cream of Chicken Soup 
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 16oz package frozen tater tots
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Brown ground beef. season with salt pepper.
3. Add chopped onion, cook until tender.
4. In a casserole dish, combine ground beef mixture, sour cream and  cream soup.
5. Top mixture with tater tots.
6. Bake, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes till bubbly and Tots are golden brown.
7. Remove from oven; top with cheese, return to oven until melted.
8. Enjoy!

Saltine Toffee

• 48 saltine crackers
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 pound unsalted butter
• 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips.

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan or large cookie sheet with sides with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Arrange the crackers side by side in a single layer on the foil.
2. In a small saucepan, melt the sugar and butter, stirring constantly until they bubble, about 2 to 3 minutes. 
3. Pour evenly over the crackers and, using a spatula, spread to cover evenly.
4. Bake immediately. 
5. After 7 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the crackers. 
6.  Spread the chocolate evenly over the crackers with a clean spatula. Cool for 20 to 30 minutes before transferring the tray to the freezer. 
7. The next day, peel off the foil and break the toffee into pieces. Keep frozen or refrigerated.

Your mouth will thank me for all the deliciousness but your jeans may be fitting you a little extra snug. Eat this in moderation and everything will be all right! 

Second Press - Paso Robles, CA

We spent the last few days cutting up at the Double R Cutting held at the Mid State Fairgrounds in Paso Robles. Scott did extremely well showing his futurity, derby and novice horse so I was very proud of him. Our customers showed in the pen as well and took a little bit of the pie with them as well! It was a great show for Team Weis that is for sure!

On Friday night we got to visit I had never been to before. Second Press is located on 12th Street just down from the movie thearter. Parking n this area is pretty sparse so be prepared to find a side street. Our reservation was for about 8:30 so I knew the waitresses were probably running out of steam on their shifts. I was right, we were greeted with not much enthusiasm. Scott and Ron grabbed draft beers and I the Lone madrone Cab.

Our food came out as described to us and I was really torn on ordering this dish. Ron had this Pork Belly served on a potato puree and he drizzle. He said it was nice and I believed him. I love a good braised pork belly! 

Scott went for the Cheeseburger and opted his fries out for salad. Unfortunately it was not the best burger he has ever had. He thought the meat tasted gamey and thought maybe the grass feed beef was the reason. I guess he likes his beef raised on corn in a feedlot! 

Deb went for something very boring... A Caesar with chicken added to it. The only cool thing about this dish was the parmesan lattice crisp. I have always loved when salads are served with these. 

Cara and I both ordered the Salmon served with gnocchi in a saffron white wine sauce, sunburst squash, baby zucchini and roasted tomatoes. First off the portion size and temperature of the salmon came out perfect! Wonderfully cooked. I was served five pieces of gnocchi which seemed a little skimpy, it was delicious though. Now here is the my issue, the tomatoes were cooked until mush but then the squash and zucchini were hard as bricks! It should be the other way around my friends, I couldn't even slice the squash with a knife because it was so hard and slipped around the plate, completely a waste.

 My table mates and I were talked into the Sticky Toffee Pudding and Chocolate Fondant served with whipped cream and ganache. They were fine, nice for sharing. The chocolate helped me finish up the rest of my red wine.

I am very conflicted on this review. I was disappointed in lack of enthusiasm from our server, I liked portions of dishes. I thought the prices were reasonable, but twas disappointed with portions of main entrees. I go back and forth and settle a probably a 'B' rating. It is not good enough to stand up to some greats located across the Paso Square but it is not bad enough to be completely reemed. You be the judge...

Silver Fox - Fort Worth, TX

Sally Harrison Photo

Yesterday was such a fun day! Not only was it my husband's birthday but he won the NCHA Summer Spectacular open Derby Gelding Finals! He drew up first and "Ruben" came out firing! They cut two cows and stayed hooked for tons of working time. I was screaming my guts out cheering for the duo in my one man band! I have some pretty fierce lungs though...

Sally Harrison Photo

We had to wait through two sets to see if our score remained on the top of the leader board and sure enough it did! We are both so honored to have such a fabulous horse in our barn. The only thing missing from yesterday was this guy...

Sally Harrison Photo.
Cowboy Ron! We wish you were there to celebrate with us and see your horse in action! Congratulations on your horse's big win!

We wanted to celebrate our success in the arena last night but I also wanted to treat the birthday boy to a nice meal as well. It was getting late by the time we were done with chores so we decided to stay close to our digs and dine at the Silver Fox. We haven't been there for years so it seemed like a visit was due. I ordered a bottle of Silver Oak to go with the theme of the Silver Fox and away we went...

Scott started his meal with the famous III Forks Salad complete with field greens, blue cheese, granny smith apples and pecans. I am not sure why it is called the III Fork Salad but all I can imagine is maybe when one person at a table orders it three fork's of other diners try to go in and enjoy it as well.

I had a tough decision on how I wanted to start my meal I was thrown Lobster bisque, Scallops and a Crab Cake into the list of options and I was just so torn. Ultimately, I went for the Crab Cake. The Crab Cake always wins. It was a large portion, enough for two people to share or just one really hungry loper.

Mid way through our dining experience Scott was brought over a chest to pick his option of knife to use for his upcoming steak. I though it was so clever. It is the little things that make a dining experience memorable and this is one of them.

This bright, cheery plate was of course mine! I went for the Chilean Sea Bass because I a seafood eating machine. The fish was cooked perfectly and was a real whopper in size. The one thing I missed on my plate was mashed potatoes, I think wild rice is fine but I just love, love the mashed potato of heaven. Green snap peas, slices of tomato and creamed corn made me feel like I met my vegetable quota for the day so I left feeling quite healthy.

The birthday boy ordered a filet was pleased with his order of medium rare. He was lucky enough to receive the prized potatoes as well as his favorite creamed corn. We also ordered asparagus on the side but I didn't grab a photo of it. 

Our waiter was so kind to have brought out a little bite of dessert even though we declined when he offered. I sang "Happy Birthday" in my best outdoor voice and Scott closed his eyes and made a wish...

We came home to enjoy a cupcake made by my friend, Mica Chartier. She is extremely talented so I hit her up to make an order for Scott Good Taste. When we got back to the hotel last night we both enjoyed one and called it a day!

What a really great experience.

Happy Birthday Scott!