These zucchini roll-ups caught my eye a while ago. I can always count on Shutterbean.com to give me inspiration for appetizers and party dishes. I love the fresh flavor profiles Tracy creates, and the ingredients she uses are easily accessible to me, even in Belgium.

We attended a potluck, “Mad Men- theme” surprise party last night. I have secretly been dying to go to one of these. Yes, it’s a total thing! I remember seeing this on the Web last year for the show’s season premier. I thought to myself, man I could totally partake in something like that! It’s amazing how many dresses I have in my closet that could pass for the 1950s or 60s. And for someone who usually can’t get away with red lipstick and a full head of curls, this was a great excuse to do it. Not to mention the dress and heels… it’s been a while since that too.

Check out my overly eager expression! And the hands on the hips, popped knee pose. What a dream! This is right after I came out of the bathroom, where I spent entirely too much time trying to recreate a youtube tutorial hair style. Garrett caught me doing my best 1950′s house wife interpretation (are we so different, after all?). I swear a few people at the party didn’t even recognize me like this.

On a side note – I was so pumped that I actually remembered to take my camera to the party. There were some amazing vintage looks going on! And hair!! Of course, as soon as I went to snap my first shot of the night, I found my battery dead. Womp womp. Hopefully I can snag a few pics from a friend so you can see the incredible effort that went into this shin dig. And the birthday girl being surprised!

Back to these babies. This is a perfect appetizer or potluck item to bring to a party. It’s  healthy and green so it balances out a plate full of honey baked ham, baked beans with pancetta, deviled eggs, etc. (hello last night). Remember, we need to save room for dessert too!

We bought a cast iron grill pan last year and it’s been one of the most used items in our kitchen. Maybe because we barely see the sun long enough to use our outdoor grill? Anyway. I love the grill marks on the zucchini, they scream “effort!” And anything stuffed with herby goat cheese is excellent. These little guys are perfectly portioned and easy to serve. OH! And everyone loved them. So there you go.

Point in case – the last three left over from the party.

Grilled Zucchini Roll-Ups

recipe from Shutterbean.com

makes about 30 roll-ups

6 zucchini – sliced lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices

100 grams goat cheese

2 Tbs minced fresh parsley

2 cups (estimated) baby spinach

2/3 cup (estimated) fresh basil leaves

2 TB olive oil

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

salt and pepper

Discard the outermost slices of zucchini. Brush the remaining slices with olive oil on both  sides. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Place zucchini slices on a preheated grill pan on medium heat for 3-4 minutes per side, or until tender. Set aside and allow to cool.

In a small bowl mix goat cheese, parsley and lemon juice. Mash and combine with a fork.

Place 1/2 tsp of goat cheese mixture about a 1/2 inch from the end of the zucchini slice. Top with a few spinach leaves and a basil leaf (or half of a large basil leaf). Starting from the goat cheese end, roll the zucchini and place it on a dish seam side down. Store in the fridge before serving. * You can make them the day before, store in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.

It was a “grown up” feeling hosting Christmas for my family for the first time. Especially since for the first time, we have a home that can sleep everyone. But, with hosting a holiday, also comes creating new traditions and cooking a Christmas dinner that can stand up to your mother’s Christmas dinner…

My family always has a standing rib roast, twice baked potatoes and my mom’s caesar salad. It’s the quintessential holiday meal, and it’s perfect. However, this year I changed it up and no one complained. We live right near a butcher who specializes in lamb, so I thought leg of lamb was a nice alternative to standing rib roast (and a lot easier for me to get!). I found this recipe, and it turned out pretty good! I also made my favorite brussels sprouts salad, and converted my dad into a brussels sprouts believer. I have to say the potatoes stole the show. Though what could be better than roasted potatoes coated in lamb drippings?

After Christmas day, I still had three more days with my entire family in Antwerp. We did a lot of walking around and exploring the city, even in the rain. We visited Rubens House, saw an organ concert in Our Lady Cathedral, shopped for Belgian delicacies like chocolate and lace, and took a quick day trip to Ghent, all six squeezed into our new Honda.

And in true Hoffman/Bruno spirit, we enjoyed many delicious meals. For Doug and Marcella’s last night, I made reservations at Boris, which came highly recommended to me. I gotta say, this may have been the best meal I’ve had in Antwerp. It was a four-course fixed menu, and every course was so perfectly prepared, beautifully plated, and simply delicious. It was a great night together as six and the perfect ending to my brother and Marcella’s stay.

Saturday, Garrett and my Dad drove the kids to the airport. Back at home, we packed for a night in Bastogne. If you’ve been reading the blog, I probably posted about our trip to Bastogne last year. Garrett, a few friends and I did a full day tour and it rained the entire day (and was freezing, and we were all underdressed). Despite the poor weather conditions of last year, I knew the Battle of the Bulge Tour was something my Dad had to experience. We had a different guide this year who offered a whole new perspective. He was a nine year old boy when his town (just outside of Bastogne) was occupied by Germans in WWII. He showed us different sites than last year and told new stories. It was an incredible day. 

We ended my parents’ visit with a nice New Year’s Eve celebration at home. We popped the champagne we had bought over summer when we were all together in the champagne region. I cooked dinner at home, and then we headed to a friend’s party for a drink. We were back by midnight for one final toast and retired to the couches to watch “Band of Brothers” the episode on Battle of the Bulge.

And on New Year’s Day, our house was empty again. I’ve spent the past week doing lots of laundry and getting our lives back in order. As always, time with my family went by way too fast. But, we’re looking forward to 2013. For the first time in a long time, we have no plans! Hopefully we’ll start to put some trips together for the upcoming months. Until then, we’re finally relaxing… for now.

 

 

 

It has been such an amazing two weeks over here at our place in Antwerp. I still cannot believe my mom, dad, brother and girlfriend all came to spend the holidays with us. I wish the six of us could get together more often! Though I am SO GRATEFUL even for this one Christmas.

The trip started off with my brother and his girlfriend Marcella visiting from New York. They arrived the Saturday before Christmas. My mom and dad didn’t come in until Christmas morning which gave us kids a good chunk of time to catch up just the four of us. It had been over a year since I had seen these two, so it was so awesome to spend time together again.

I was impressed by Doug and Marcella’s stamina. They arrived at 9:30am but were ready to power through the day with us. We went to lunch, had a few beers in the city and then by late afternoon they were ready for a quick nap. For the evening, I cooked dinner at home and we kept it pretty low key. We watched movies and laughed together until we were all ready to hit our beds. The next day we had plans to drive to Germany for a Christmas market, but the weather was dreary and no one was in the mood to be stuck out in the cold rain. We did some walking and site seeing around Antwerp instead. We got wet, but at least home was nearby.

Christmas Eve I forced everyone to go to church. Service was early, so we were back in time to prepare dinner and enjoy a festive evening at home. I prepared a “Feast of Seven Fishes” meal, keeping Garrett’s family tradition alive. For appetizers we served oysters on the half shell, smoked salmon with fixing, and anchovies on crackers. Dinner was my mom’s cioppino with mussels, cod, shrimp, and scallops. Seven fishes!

Christmas morning came early and Doug and Garrett drove to the Brussels airport to pick up my mom and dad. Apparently there was a screaming baby on board and mom and dad got little sleep on the flight. None the less, they powered through mimosas and beers, cinnamon buns and present opening before laying down for a nice four hour nap.

We decided to do all stocking stuffers this year rather than big gifts. I thought this was so much fun! The real present, of course, was everyone being together on Christmas.

And that is just the beginning of our great trip. More to come later, but for now I’ll give the pictures a rest.

 

 

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! We are loving Antwerp during the holiday season. I love the festive lights draping over the city streets. It feels especially magical taking a stroll around the Cathedral in the evening, admiring all the Christmas decor. Makes me remember that I’m actually living in Europe! OH and it’s SNOWING this week!!

I’ve been cooking a lot over here, but not posting many recipes, I know. It’s the whole remembering to grab my camera thing.

This one was a personal accomplishment though. After Thanksgiving, I wanted to do something with the left over turkey situation. We had SO MUCH. Note to self – you really don’t need an 18 lb turkey for 13 people. Especially when there are so many delicious side dishes. Lucky for us, we typically like left overs.

For like a day… then I’m over it.

Like most of my Thanksgiving dishes, I snagged this turkey pot pie from the Pioneer Woman. She has the best recipes for comfort food, I think. I had already made a few of her pie crusts for Thanksgiving dessert, so all I had to do was whip one of those bad boys out of the freezer.

Confession – I had never had a pot pie before this one. It’s not really something that has appealed to me in the past. But let me tell you, this was AWESOME! Pure creamy comfort in a bowl, really. I was surprised by the depth of flavor too, the ingredients marry so well together especially when cooked in a hot oven until bubbly. It was rich, but not over the top heavy… depending on how much of the pie crust you eat, I guess.

Anyway, if you haven’t tried to make your own pot pie, I suggest you give it a go. It was so worth it and this recipe came together in no time.

Oh! And I got to bust out these adorable ramekins from our wedding! Perfect for individual pot pies. Or apple crumbles, we’ve done that too.

Turkey or Chicken Pot Pie

By the Pioneer Woman (adapted slightly)

1 pie curst (half of the Perfect Pie Crust recipe) Or I’m sure you could just buy one.

2-3 Tbs butter

1/2 cup finely diced onion

1/2 cup finely diced carrot

1/2 cup finely diced celery

2 cups of left over turkey (or chicken) diced or shredded. Use dark or light meat, or both!

2-3 cups low sodium chicken or turkey broth

3/4 cup heavy cream

frozen peas (I probably used about 1/3 cup, but didn’t measure)

fresh thyme

salt and pepper

Cooking Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and celery and cook until translucent. Just a few minutes.

Add chopped or shredded turkey (or chicken) and stir to combine.

Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir again. Cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly.

Pour in stock and stir. Add cream and stir. Add your frozen peas.

Bring to a slow boil allowing everything to cook and thicken for a few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, and fresh or dried thyme to taste. Taste as you go and adjust seasonings to your preference.

Pour the mixture into a casserole dish, a deep pie dish, or individual ramekins.

Shape your pie crust to cover your dish, and leave an inch or so of overlap. Shape the edges as you want, or simply press them into the side of the dish. Cut a few slits into the top of the crust.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until the pie crust is golden brown. Allow to cool before serving! 

Enjoy on a cold night with someone you love!

What a difference a year makes. Last Thanksgiving we had five people at our table (including Garrett and I). This year, 13.

And no, our guests weren’t Casper and all his friends, I just never managed to take a flattering picture of everyone (ie – sans food in their mouths) to post on the blog. Here’s what I mean:

Sorry friends! But you probably don’t read my site, so therefore I don’t have to worry about you getting angry that your eyes were closed for this one (which is half of the group).

Also different than last year, everyone brought dishes! Man does that take the stress away… even though I’m somewhat of a control freak in the kitchen and LOVE planning out a meal in its entirety. But for 13 people, no thanks. I welcomed all the help that was offered! 

My friend Kerstin decorated the tables beautifully, don’t you think!? She made festive vases out of hollowed out sugar pumpkins that she painted sparkly gold. She also picked out and arranged all the flowers. The final touch, candlesticks of different shapes and sizes. Classic and lovely.

To accomodate the number of guests, we pulled in our terrace table from outside and joined it with our dining room table. The two tables were exactly the same size in width! Who knew! Kerstin cut some white fabric she had lying around in her house (conveniently) and did a make-shift table cloth. It worked brilliantly!

I could tell you about a few disasters I had in the kitchen. Like how I tried to brine an 18 lb turkey for the first time. Given, this is only the SECOND turkey I’ve ever cooked. I bought and brining bag when I was back in the States just for the occasion. I followed a  recipe and boiled two gallons of water mixed with peppercorns, bay leaves, herbs, orange peels, salt and sugar. I got my huge bag ready in the sink, poured in the cooled brine mixture (all TWO GALLONS) and carefully lowered my baby… I mean, turkey… into the mixture. All was good at this point. I actually thought the hard part was over.

Then, I decided that I could lift the bag, holding two gallons of water and an 18 lb turkey, and move it out of the sink and onto the roasting pan on the kitchen counter. And with a lot of careful maneuvering, I did it! And just about as quickly as I got the turkey on the tray, the bag unsealed and about a gallon (not kidding) of brine mixture flooded my kitchen counter, my kitchen floor and much of it was completely covering me. I called Garrett at work and told him that I may or may not have ruined Thanksgiving. Thankfully, this was Wednesday night. There was still time…

In natural husband form, or Garrett form, he came home and saved the day. I had already cleaned the awful mess, so he just came home to the smell of citrus and herby brine mixture, not the sight of it. He then was able to move the big ass bird into the fridge. All was good until the morning came and I had to empty the brine and get the bird ready for roasting. And this is where I tell you that I managed to spill the brine mixture all over the floor… again. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. 

The bird turned out good. Not sure I’ll ever brine again, but would you? Everyone brought delicious food and boy oh boy, did we have a spread! I didn’t stuff myself or drink as much wine as I could have, so I count those two things as accomplishments on Thanksgiving. Best of all, our table was filled with laughs and lively conversation. Most of us were far away from home, but we gathered together to recreate the family atmosphere we’re all use to and miss for Thanksgiving dinner. It was really nice.

I say what a difference a year makes because I remember when Garrett and I had just a few friends here (whom I still love and cherish, by the way). But, I now have girlfriends in a foreign country that I can call up any day of the week to go for a walk, or get together for girl time and drinks, or go to a movie that our husbands/boyfriends don’t really want to see (I may be talking Twilight here). It’s those kind of comfortable friendships that I’ve been longing for to make Antwerp feel more complete. And I tell you what, the company we keep really makes all the difference in our state of mind. I am so thankful for my Antwerp friends, for their stories, and for the experiences that we’re getting to share. Garrett and I are really lucky.

 

 

 

 

We had a good weekend over here! So good that I took 0 pictures, but here’s a quick recap. 

I’ll start with Thursday night. A friend and I organized a “girls night out” for a group of younger expat ladies, some new to Antwerp, some old. And I say younger only because a ton of my friends here are more around my mom’s age, but this group ranged from 25 to 37 years old. There was six of us at dinner, and a few more joined for a drink after dinner. It was a great night! And I discovered an adorable restaurant right around the corner that Garrett and I have been dying to try. I can’t wait to take him back for a date night. I also bonded with some new friends! It’s so important to get out of the house and into the world, especially when you’re an “expat spouse” and don’t have the social outlet that an office setting brings. I think everyone appreciated a night out.

Friday night Garrett and I took it easy. We are obsessed with the show “Breaking Bad” right now and have been watching several episodes on i-tunes in one sitting. So Friday we ate pasta, watched TV, and went to bed. Saturday after the rain subsided, we ran eleven miles. Eleven miles is not fun… don’t let anyone kid you. The good news is just two more weeks until the half marathon!

Sunday we had plans for a football party at our place with friends. In total, there were ten of us. I made a huge pot of chicken chili Saturday night in preparation. The recipe is from a Barefoot Contessa Cookbook my mom gave me last Christmas. I love this book! It is so good for entertaining and helps me get so many ideas. I also love Ina Garten, so I’m a little bias. To go with the chili, I made green chili cheddar corn bread which everyone went crazy over (I had several guests who are also from the South). For dessert I set out some simple brownies with a carton of vanilla ice-cream and let everyone serve themselves. The evening was casual (we stood up eating, or sat on the couch for the game) and just a lot of fun. I usually do a sit down dinner when we have people over, but I particularly enjoyed this easy and relaxed set up!

In other news, I have officially joined the Board of the American Women’s Club as the Hospitality Director. I am sharing the role with a good friend, which of course takes the pressure off. I’m looking forward to getting more involved though and joining in on the Board Meetings. Another exciting tidbit of news, Garrett and I are seriously considering buying our friends’ car. Their moving back to the UK and getting rid of some things. This could be a total game changer for us! I’ll keep you posted.

Another week into October! Garrett’s brother comes back from traveling this Friday. We haven’t figured out exactly what we are doing with him over the weekend, but Garrett took Monday off and we’ve rented a car for the three days. The weather has been amazingly fall-like lately with temps around 60 F, and for today, sunny skies! I’ve got two pumpkins sitting on my kitchen table ready for use, I’m thinking pumpkin bread…