Miz Shirley Marie's - Wilton, CA

 My Mom dis some guest blogging for me at the horse show while I was away. Miz Shirley Marie's Food Truck was all the rage from what I heard from my fellow cutters. From the jambalya to the wings the food rocked.

Based on the menu alone you know I would have had to the try the Nacho Fries. I can just imagine the boat of deep fried fries smothered in an excessive amount of nacho cheese and then hopefully topped with some sort of sinful protein. Ah yes, I can imagine those fries. 

My friend, Beth was a kind model for what my Mom called one of the "best sandwiches she has ever had in her life"- the Shrimp Po Boy. I thought it was a bold statement but based on the rave reviews from every person who dined with them that day, it must be true.

I like the looks of the sandwich immediately because it appeared to be perfectly sauced. I like a sandwich that is moist and this looks like it is done so. The shrimp were freshly battered and fried, giving each bite a snap. The bun had been warm and browned on the griddle, ding ding! More points earned! But, those fries, look at those glorious fries! I love a good steak fry and those look great.

Ok, my readers if you are located in the northern California area you can check out Miz Shirley's yorself. Their reviews can be found on Yelp: MIZ SHIRLEY MARIE'S and it gives you a link to their locations for the day. Give it a try!

El Rancho Futurity #2 - Rancho Murieta, CA

 Days came and went with early mornings and warm evenings during the 8 day show. It seemed like it all blended together and I opened my eyes and the last day was upon is. We managed to get off the show grounds a couple times and during one of those trips we decided to give Big Al's BBQ in Elk Grove a try.

Animal hide on the wall, different BBQ sauces to try and an all wood interior got us in the mood to get our fingers messy with some BBQ. The menu was pretty straight forward: Pulled Pork, Brisket, Chicken and Ribs. 

 Scott went for a Brisket Sandwich Special with Beans and Potato Salad. He said the brisket was tasty as he doused the entire sandwich with their BBQ Sauce that is made in house. The potato salad was fresh and the beans lacked the pizazz he was looking for.

I wanted to get down with some ribs so I decided to do a Combination Plate as well. The ribs were fine, nothing that my momma can't do better. The french fries were divine. I was really craving french fries. Dipped in the BBQ Sauce was just perfection. They served a small piece of cornbread that I was not expecting and that was my favorite thing on the plate! Ask for the cornbread...

Back at the horse show...

Cowboy Ron made both of his finals the in the Non-Pro Derby and Amateur Derby. How cool is that? He walked away with a big check and two trophy knives!

Are you curious how Elvis and I ended up?

We navigated our way to Reserve Champions of the Non-Pro Futurity! I could not be any prouder of my horse, help and myself! It was just an outstanding experience. I got to add another El Rancho Futurity buckle to my belt and I could not be any more thrilled to sport it.

Thank you to show producer, Carol Ward and her entire staff... 

Cheers to the memories!

El Rancho Futurity #1 - Rancho Murieta, CA

Have you met Elvis yet? This is my horse, Elvis and I am sure he is thrilled to meet you. Elvis has a back story too long to post but let me sum it up. He was bought in a sale in Texas with my horse show winnings in 2012 and I paid for a shipper to ship him to California. After 3 weeks of being stranded in Texas, he finally made it home. We soon discovered he had no tear ducts and had artificial ones (hence his registered name... "Metallic Tears") put in at UC Davis, twice! He then caught the herpes virus while at Davis and was in quarantine for 3 months! Shortly after we had him castrated at UC Davis and a whole mess of problems with infection hit him after that. So needless to say his start in life was not the best. But, through good faith and a lot of luck Elvis is here today cutting at the 2014 futurities!

I got to show him for the first time last week at the El Rancho Futurity. Just to walk him to the herd seemed surreal, it seemed like problem after problem with him medically sealed his fate of never cutting. But look at us go! I was not nervous to show him, as I sometimes get when I walk to the herd on my horses. I was just happy to be there!

Cutting on him was so much fun! He is a cool, calm competitor that doesn't get rattled during his run. He is small in size but a pretty steady dude. I cruised through the first round of competition with a score of 213, which is just above an average score in the National Cutting Horse Association's five judge system. With the first round over, I felt pretty excited to continue to show my horse well and advance through the rest of the rounds.

My Mom was the one who had to haul poor Elvis to his grueling veterinary appointments. She is the one who received the bad news when his procedures went not to plan. She is the one who kept me upbeat when I thought all was lost. My Mom never lost hope. She was thrilled to watch Elvis show his stuff, I think she was mostly nervous though.  

After we put Elvis in his stall and feed him some treats my mom and I decided to go treat ourselves to a Mexican food lunch that we enjoyed many times before - Coyote's in Lockeford. 

And this is me howling like a coyote portrayed on the menu...

Sometimes I am a little dramatic.

My mom had to actually take my photo doing this.

What a sport! 

Listed as a special on the menu board was "Real Crab Enchiladas" and I knew my mom would order it. It was served with a tangy green sauce. I sometimes regret ordering seafood type entrees at Mexican restaurants because I know they do their shredded beef right. So I leave the seafood section alone when dining la Mexicana! She did not seem to mind it but in my heart I know she wished she ordered her usual order of "Chile Relleno".

I ordered what I always do because on that day I felt like staying on course. One shredded beef enchilada and taco with rice and beans. It was perfect! I loved their enchilada sauce, it was smoky and not heavy on tomato taste. I know that sounds weird but I like a doctored up version. Make it sweet, make it spicy, smoke it up even if it is from the can it does wonders. The rice was fluffy although beans lack luster.

The chips and salsa are worth the drive alone. They sneak in flour chips with their tasty salsa and that is just my favorite! It was a perfect day. Horse show fun, socializing with my mom and eating Mexican food. My idea of perfection! 

Are you wondering how the rest of the horse show turned out? 

Stay tuned...

Stonehouse Bistro - Rancho Murieta, CA

One of our last few nights in Rancho Murieta was spent at the Stonehouse Bistro. It is always a place we visit at least once and it generally is pretty good.

I ordered the Salmon, it had a bit of parmesan broiled on top - nice touch, and sat on a bed of noodles with tomato and goat cheese. The hot noodles and fish, melted the goat cheese created a kind of sauce, if you will. I loved the salmon, I was craving protein that day. I will order this again.

Scott is a sucker for Meatloaf so he went that way. It was wrapped with bacon, that was not totally an addition to the dish, but a mere disctraction. it was under cooked so we just set it to the side. He ate through the hamburger, taking recess in the mashed potatoes but just wasn't overly impressed. I should make him my Meatloaf this week, to cheer him back up on how it is supposed to taste.

Miss Karley basically ordered the same dish as me but my salmon was replaced with her desired pesto chicken. She loved every bite and I don't blame her.

The Stonehouse seems to try to please, it is on the higher end of the budget in the shopping mall compared to the Chinese, pizza and mexican food joints but it is nice to visit them all. Cheers to you Rancho Murieta and we will see you all again soon, I am sure.

CHAMPION! - Rancho Murieta, CA

I have had very good luck showing at the El Rancho Futurity. The first aged event I went to there, Scott showed my mare - Winnie - to a fourth place finish in the Open Futurity. The following year, that same horse and I won the Limited Derby with a 222! This year, I entered the Limited Derby on Scotty, my Hick Chicaroo 4 year old, and was fortunate enough to win it again!  

Congratulations Hip Hip Roo Rey!

That evening we had a nice meal with a few people from the show at the Rancho Murieta Country Club. I was a little dehydrated from being out in the sun all day so wine wasn't going down as well as water was. Although, I do highly recommend Western Wind Chardonnay - It is one of my personal favorites.

A wonderful plate of beef, mashed potatoes and butternut squash raviolis were laid out in front of everyone and we happily dug in. I immediately dug into the raviolis and loved every bite, I secretly wished for a never ending bowl of them! The mashed potatoes were fluffy and comforting, carbohydrate heaven. By the time I got to the steak, I was on the verge of full - I tucked in a few bites though!

The dessert tray was passed and I declared the lemon my favorite!

What a terrific day it was! Many thanks to my husband, Scott Weis for his knowledge and ability to get someone into the winners circle is amazing. My parents could not be more supportive! They are also my good luck charms, when they come and watch they bring that extra sparkle! I am one blessed little foodie!!

China Palace - Rancho Murieta, CA

In the little community of Rancho Murieta there are very few restaurants: Chinese, Pizza, Mexican and a Bistro. This particular evening we chose Chinese since we were going to be there awhile we would mark it off the list. Scott joked with the waiter and ordered a Tsingtao, the waiter did not have much of a sense of humor.

I was fighting off catching the cold that Scott had so I figured Hot and Sour Soup was just the ticket. It wasn't very spicy, in fact mild in flavor - and taste.

For my main, I ordered the Spicy Scallops with Cashews... I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the dish! I am not going to lie, I picked around the undercooked peppers and onions but the sauce, scallops and cashews made a trio of lovely!

Scott ordered a combination plate and ate to his content. It was entirely too much food and he didn't seem excited about any of it. It really did look just like chinese food made in bulk.

This was the only night we dined at  the Chinese Restaurant, next restaurant coming up!

Taste - Plymouth, CA

I love a good restaurant recommendation from friends. It is a reminder that they like to follow what I do and think enough about me to let me in on their idea of good food. On that note, thank you Tim and Diane Smith for suggesting I dine at Taste in Plymouth. Reservations were strongly recommended so I made them after our cutting at the El Rancho Futurity held in Rancho Murrieta.

We dined with friends Cookie, Katie & Bella Banuelos with Cowboy Ron in tow. We were in our horse show gear and were complimented on the behaved baby dinning and our grace with cowboy hats and spurs. Other diners were apparently watching us through dinner. We passed the inspection it seemed!

We started with their "Mushroom Cigars" for which they are famously known for. Crimini, Shiitake and Oyster mushrooms combined with herbs and goat cheese are wrapped in ever so delicate phyllo and baked until golden delicious. We ordered enough for the table and we loved ever last bite down tot he potato and gravy they came out resting on.

I love when restaurant make their own soup, I can tell when it is a Sysco brand or boat through commercial kitchens. I knew this place was the real deal so I went heavy and ordered their Butternut Squash with a corn fritter soaking up the liquid gold. It was fantastic, it tasted like Fall and had me craving Thanksgiving.

The whole table, besides me of course, ordered the Filet. They must have been upset with the cows they worked at the cutting because they wanted their beef, and they wanted it right now... on a plate, in front of them! The only complaint I had heard on the way home is that the steaks ordered medium rare came out medium. I told them they should have spoke up, a place like that would have no problem replacing. Maybe they were just too hungry.

My plate was amazing! The scallops lovely, just perfection in my world. The polenta was a delicious mattress for those three scallops - not too hard and not too soft. The corn, red onion, peaches and basil lit up the dish without taking over. Simple, elegant, cool.

Flan! Cinnamon! Gelato! Cookie and Scott had fun with their play on the dessert fiesta... Right down to the deep fried tortilla strips. Ole!

A trio of Creme Brulee for Melissa Good Taste! Absolutely delicious although I did have trouble figuring out which flavor was which, I thought the consistency was spot on. 

This was a fantastic meal, in fact the best meal we had in our 8 days spent in Rancho Murieta. Really good food, made right - that was obvious. My one gripe? Our service was pretty slow. I know good food takes time but good service should never be compromised.

CHAMPION!

Cowgirl Melissa Good Taste does it again! This time my champion mount was "This Cats Dazzlin" also known as "Winnie" to most of my friends. Winnie and I are long term friends, but let me introduce you to her current siblings... She has family!

Meet Roxy:

This is Winnie's mom! Isn't she a beauty? It is no wonder her children are little stunners...

The first baby born out of Roxy is "Roddy"- named after a great steer wrestler, Roddy Watson from the Big Sky Country. His daddy is Fresnos Ima Master.

This is Winnie if course, the middle child. (Like me!!) Her proud papa is WR This Cats Smart.

This is little "Kassie" she is the baby of the group and her daddy is Hick Chicaroo. Her formal name is "A Dazzlin Roo" and I cannot wait to bet on the grey! ;)

The El Rancho Futurity Horse Show was outstanding, I marked a 222 - My highest score ever and won my first aged event. I have never felt more accomplished in the show pen than I felt today. When your hot, your hot! These are the days I will always cherish and hold on to. Loving life...  

Glamping! - Rancho Murieta, CA

The show is going well! All the horses are behaving and we are all working towards our goals! 

During the evenings Scott and I have been hanging out at our trailer. We have a nice spot and are all settled into glamping life. 

All the comforts from home! 

We love this little trailer, it is so perfect! 

My cooking station, last night our meal was not too fancy. But notice we have the cutting playing as I cook? We love cutting! 

Spicy Brown Mustard was a hit with the sausages we bbq'ed up!

And as I ate a bag of Doritos I learned how Jessica Simpson lost her baby weight. I am so bad!

Happy Friday peeps!