Jones's Wedding

Tea time

Broke out the hot tea and the chiminea this weekend... Ahhh, the pleasures of fall!

Crawfish Pasta

It started with finally getting the anniversary wedding cake out of the fridge. (Someone froze the whole top layer of the cake for us, not just a piece. And they wrapped it wonderfully, but it had taken up the bottom shelf of a side-by-side freezer for a year.) When I finally got it out, it set off some kind of cleaning-out-the-cabinets frenzy.

Last night was crawfish pasta, using the crawfish we had saved from crawfish boils all summer. And it was actually a recipe worth keeping!

1 ziploc bag of frozen crawfish (about 2 cups)
2 tbsp butter
Minced garlic
1 block cream cheese
1 cup milk
1 lb fettucine
Parsley
Parmesan cheese

Thaw the crawfish. Prepare the pasta as described on bag or box. Melt the butter over medium heat in a Dutch oven and add garlic and crawfish. Add cream cheese and melt. Slowly add 1 cup milk. (If you want it to be a thicker sauce, you can use half heavy cream and half milk.) Put the drained pasta in with the sauce and mix. Warm and serve with fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese on top.

10/31/11 Happy Halloween!

First Halloween! (Well, really the second...but our first one doing trick-or-treat at the Mandarin house)

Shawn = She Devil
Quentin = Zombie
Quinn = Jason Vorhees (Fri 13th)

Breesy Beefy Mac

Well, the Saints lost, but this recipe - Drew Brees' favorite pre-game carb loading dinner - won big at our house. Leave it to New Orleans to take a basic mac-and-cheese recipe and make it absolutely decadent! (But this is the kind of hamburger helper the adults will be just as thrilled with as the kids!)

Breesy Beefy Mac

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup chopped andouille
• 1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 tablespoon flour 
• 1-1/2 cups heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes 
• 1 tablespoon chopped jalapeños
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar and American cheese (plus extra for topping)
• 3/4 cup uncooked macaroni or pasta of your choice, cooked and drained

Melt the butter in a hot skillet, add andouille and sauté. Once the andouille is crispy, add ground beef. Break up the ground beef, and cook until the beef is done all the way through. Stir in flour until smooth.

Add heavy cream and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer until mixture thickens. Add tomatoes, jalapeños, salt, pepper and cheese. Cook until cheese is melted, stirring slowly (about 2 minutes

Mix the cheese sauce with the cooked pasta, and place into a well-greased oven safe dish. Top with a layer of shredded cheddar and bake for 7 minutes or more at 375 degrees, until dish is heated through and cheese is golden brown.

[ via Times Picayune ]

Monster Cupcake Factory!

Our new Who Dat nation flag!

Our 1st anniversary photos

The 1st anniversary photos were MUCH cheaper than the ones a year ago, for sure!

Anniversary flowers!

Don't they make the mess on my desk look smaller?! ;)

In search of a winter beer...

I started my search for a winter beer tonight, as the temps are dropping for the first time. (Which gave me an excuse to get that variety pack at the grocery store too.) I like this one. It's sweet without being too sweet and has a thick taste, which makes it good for winter, I think.