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Real Solutions for Real Parents by Autumn Rose Reo

Make it, Gift it, Drink it: Cranberry-Orange Vodka {Recipe}

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Food Fridays:


For several years our office tradition was we had a $10 limit and all the items had to be homemade. So I spent several years making things like truffles, pasta and alcoholic beverages like Gluhwein and Cranberry-Orange Infused Vodka. So today I’m sharing the recipe for one of the gifts I’ve actually been told was pretty good and makes great cosmos!



Cranberry–Orange Infused Vodka
1 cup cranberries
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 piece fresh orange peel
3 cups vodka

Directions
In a saucepan, heat cranberries, sugar, and water until the sugar dissolves, the liquid begins to turn a light-pink color, and the cranberries just begin to pop. Pour it into a large glass jar; stir in peel and vodka. Cover, and let stand at room temperature at least 3 days or up to one month. Strain before serving.

To give, I used pretty leftover tequila bottles, soaked off the labels and then attached a pretty tag like this one from Martha Stewart.

Sweeten Up Your Holidays with FnG Eats’ Carrot Cake French Toast {Recipe}

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Food Fridays: 
 
Thanksgiving has turned into a main course of shopping with a side of grub. However, as much as I love to shop on this day, I choose to concentrate on the best part of Turkey Day – the food. So this weekend while you’re out and about, I suggest you take a little trip over to Tarrant County to a perfectly place for tasty treats at Sugar and Frosting and delicious comfort food from FnG Eats in Keller, Texas.
 
 
FnG Eats, which opened in August, is Keller’s newest dining destination for locally sourced upscale-comfort food. Using fresh food offerings from the Keller Farmers Market, the FnG menu brings together a blend of creativity, inspiration and skill to create exciting dishes based on homestyle favorites as well as new innovative offerings. Everything from its small plates, entrees, desserts and even its cocktail menu are developed to be a culinary experience. And best of all, every dish is served with a big helping of hometown hospitality.
 
This Food Friday, to celebrate the launch of FnG Eats’ new brunch which begins this Saturday on 11/24/2012, I’m sharing a recipe from Chef Bob Stephenson for his Sweet Memories Carrot Cake French Toast. Doesn’t that sound delicious and just perfect for the holidays? And if you don’t have carrot cake, you can easily use banana or zucchini bread to make your own brunch bread.
 
 
Carrot Cake French Toast with Maple Cream Cheese Sauce

2                      Eggs
1/2 cup             Milk
1/4 tspn            Sea Salt
4 to 6                Slices Day old Carrot Cake


Pinch of Cinnamon and nutmeg per each side of the cake. Whip eggs, milk and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Dredge Carrot Cake in the liquid until lightly soaked. In a preheated skillet with butter, carefully lay each slice of soaked carrot cake in the skillet.  Brown and carefully flip over the carrot cake.  Brown the second side.  Remove from the skillet and serve immediately with Maple Cream Cheese Sauce and Fresh Fruit.

Cream Cheese Maple Syrup

To tie Carrot Cake to French Toast, you combine the toppings for both!
2 cups              Cream Cheese, softened at room temperature
1 cup               Natural Maple Syrup
1/4 tspn           Ground Chipotle Powder (optional)


1/8 tspn           Sea Salt
 
Combine all ingredients in a small mixer and blend until smooth. If you want a little twisted kick, add the chipotle powder to give a little kick to your sweetness.
 
And just in case you looking for something else to love, how about Macadamia Chicken & Stringer’s Waffles with Fried Plantains, Sweet Potato Hash with homemade chorizo, Pepper Bacon Biscuits and Chili Gravy, or the one that’s got me watering, “The Bowl” with OC greens, mushrooms and gruyere.
 
With a menu like that, it’s worth the drive. 
 
201 Town Center Suite 1101
Keller, Texas 76248
 
This post also appeared in on DallasFoodNerd.com.
Disclaimer: I proudly represent FnG Eats professionally to market and promote their concept.  However, this post and the contents within it are all my own. 

Thanksgiving: Did You Know?

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To NOT Do Thursdays:

It’s Thanksgiving, so that’s the to do this Thursday (and of course, online shop!) 
So today I’m thankful to Caloriecount.com for this great set of stats about Turkey Day, so I can enjoy mine. (Now do yourself a favor and wait to read these AFTER you eat.)

Thank you so much for following mamachallenge.com!

Now go spend some time just not doing anything…(now that’s a challenge!)


What to Toast with the Turkey: Wine Picks for Thanksgiving

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Tech Tuesdays:

It’s not just Tech Tuesday – it’s also two days before Thanksgiving! 

Whether you are cooking, visiting or even dining out, you are probably going to be met with the challenge of wine at Thanksgiving. Well never fear, I not only have a recommendation for your Thanksgiving needs as well as a resource that keeps on giving no matter the holiday or occasion for all your wine suggestions.  I’m so excited to share this info – especially since I was able to talk one-on-one with the creator.  (Heads up: Get out your smartphone so you can get ready to download this!)

Loved this photo from blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com.
Recommendations for Thanksgiving Wines 

From WinePoynt’s sommelier and president, Chris Taylor:   

“My advice is to offer two wines with your Thanksgiving dinner, a medium-bodied white wine with acidity and a touch of sweetness, and a smooth red wine with good fruit character that compliments the flavors on your plate without bossing them around too much.  With a white and a red to choose from that both complement the spread, plus the fact that one’s sweet and the other’s not, you should have all the bases covered.”

White
$ Rieslings from Washington
If your table will be heavy on the marshmallows and other sweets, you may want to go for a slightly sweeter white wine, like a Riesling.  Sweetness varies across different Rieslings, but most of the ones from Washington are versatile enough to go with dinner & dessert.

$$ Chenin Blanc wines from Loire Valley of France (e.g. Vouvray)
The balance of sweetness & acidity complements the tang of cranberries, the richness of sweet potatoes, AND the turkey!

Red
$-$$ Pinot Noir from California
Styles vary of course, but these smooth reds are easy to drink, bursting with fruit and spices, are generally crowd pleasers, and won’t trip over anything on the table.

$$ 2012 Beaujolais Nouveau
The first wines available from the French harvest each year go on sale the Third Thursday of each November, just in time for Thanksgiving.  These light, fruity offerings from the gamay grape are intended to help us give thanks and celebrate the bounty of the harvest.  Perfect!



DRINK. RATE. REPEAT.: A little about Chris and WinePoynt
What happens when you are an accomplished sommelier with volumes of wine knowledge and you want to be able to make recommendations for people no matter where they are and no matter their wine price point? You create an app called WinePoynt.

All the knowledge from WinePoynt’s sommelier and president, Chris Taylor, was repurposed, organized and optimized to create the newest must-download app on your smart device, WinePoynt.  Made for anyone from customers, restaurant owners, party planners and local spirit sellers, you can slice and dice wine info from what to buy, what to pair, what to drink, and more – all with a few clicks.

Using info from the user and their location, WinePoynt learns what individual users like as they rate wines, the more the better. Unlike any app on the market, WinePoynt offers the unique service of providing personalized wine recommendations for the users location, allowing them to create and publish custom wine lists, view wine details, rate wines, add notes, share wines, scan wines by UPC code and more, all with a single app. Additionally, app users can attach notes or pictures to wines and share them via social networks along with their ratings.  WinePoynt has a free and a premium version available to mobile users, the premium app costs $.99 a month or $4.99 per year. 

 Cheers to the Holidays!


The Perfect Thanksgiving Pairing: Donut Pumpkin Bread Pudding & Thanksgiving Sangria {Recipes}

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Food Fridays:

With all this year’s activities, the Reos will not be making Thanksgiving. It makes us sad since our way of doing Thanksgiving was a tradition we have enjoyed, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, to keep your sanity.

However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t relive the memories by sharing the best thing about our Thanksgiving The Reo Way…the food. So I’ve shared two recipes: one that still has us saying “OMG” and another one that makes our holiday complete. 

The Krispy Kreme Donut & Pumpkin Bread Pudding was on the menu for Reo Thanksgiving 2005. My husband made this amazing spread and his encore was this dish that we can’t even remember where he found it then, but I’m sure I have some cellulite that I can still credit from this dense dessert…But man, it is good. 

Krispy Kreme Donut & Pumpkin Bread Pudding

 

4 cups milk
1 cup granulated sugar
8 whole eggs
1/4 cup vanilla extract
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 (16-ounce) can pumpkin pie filling 
1 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts, cubed  
1 cup fresh cranberries
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
 
In a mixing bowl, blend all ingredients, except for bread and cranberries. Fill a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with donuts. Sprinkle cranberries over donuts. Pour custard mixture over donuts, making sure that all cubes are submerged (push cubes down if necessary). Bake for about 1 hour, or until pudding is set. Serve warm.
 
Butter Rum Sauce: 
1 stick butter
1 pound box confectioners’ sugar
Rum, to taste
 
Melt butter and slowly stir in confectioners’ sugar. Add rum and heat until bubbly. Pour over each serving.

Thanksgiving Sangria
 
While my hubby is the executive chef for Cocina de Reo, consider me the bartender. I’m all about the aperitifs and appetizers. And this basic recipe for Sangria is exactly what makes a long day of cooking totally worth it. However, I will promise you – it will knock you off your feet, so caution if you have to remember how to make mashed potatoes. 
 
 
 

* My recipe also appeared in the Junior League of Arlington’s “A Silver Celebration” ~ Celebrating 25 Years of Holiday Magic.

Happy Thanksgiving Preparations!

For other food news this week also see: Warm Cookies Mean Warm Meals for North Texans in Need


How to make a no-cook, no-clean Thanksgiving that Grandma Can be Proud of

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When my husband and I first were married, Thanksgiving was a special event where we made a unique meal  and invited our friends to dine in their PJs as we ate with china, crystal and silver. Each Thanksgiving meal was different like the year German theme so we had Sauerbraten, German Potato Salad (made with a pound of bacon) and a Krispy Kreme bread pudding (made with a dozen doughnuts!) After finishing off the meal, we’d all lay around in our elastic flannels and complain about how much food we ate. It was total bliss.


While I love the memories of those days, when our kiddos came into the picture, suddenly holidays with our families were much more important and somehow the traditional Thanksgiving meal found itself at back on the menu. However, this year’s schedule, no matter how hard we wish we could see our families, there’s just no time between work, school and the travel time to spend an entire day in the kitchen to make and clean up Thanksgiving with our families. The whole idea seemed kind of miserable. However, as parents we feel we are responsible for creating traditions that transcend our lifetime – just as our parents and grandparents did before us.

Since ordering pizza or going to a restaurant really wasn’t what we are looking to do, I was looking at home options. Naturally, Dickey’s and my local grocery store and HoneyBaked Ham came to mind as possibilities, but I wasn’t sure if turkey or ham was the right way to go. And then I found out HoneyBaked ham recently reformulated their turkey breast recipe, preparing it like their award-winning ham and wanted my family to be a part of the test-run. Score.

I actually had never been into a HoneyBaked Ham store so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Set up part warm meat shop and part frozen section at a grocery store, I was able to go straight to the front and order my meat, turn to the freezer case for my sides as well as my dessert choice. That easy.

Speaking with my associate, since it was pre-Thanksgiving the store featured several side order options, but during the holiday season there would be more available including bread options (a fundamental Thankgiving meal item!) However, there was so much to choose from just to create a perfect dinner or special Sunday meal.


Our selection included:
HoneyBaked’s New Recipe Turkey Breast
Broccoli Cheese Casserole
Herb Stuffing
Carrot Cake

When we returned home, the only work I had to do was put the sides in the oven for 30-45 minutes. When they came out, dinner was done and it smelled delicious. I’ll admit, I was a little skeptical and that the food would resemble those meals you get in the deli section that just don’t measure up. However, that wasn’t the case in the least.


The turkey ham (the name my son called it) was amazing. It was moist, tender, sweet and had that perfect crunch that HoneyBaked is known for. AND DID I MENTION IT WAS LESS THAN 2 GRAMS OF FAT PER SERVING, SO SECONDS ARE TOTALLY OK! Both sides, if I hadn’t kept them in their containers, could have easily been a better alternative to some of even my family’s homemade recipes. And that carrot cake. was really to die for. Unfortunately, it called to me at nighttime and thankfully, I was able to resist the urge some of the time. It really was an outstanding meal and contrary to the norm, we ate every part of those leftovers.


Best of all for me, no cleanup. I just threw the containers away when we were done. Cost? No different that what Thanksgiving normally would be and considering the time I saved not having to make anything. That made it even more attractive. My only work was to make the order and pick it up.

So Thanksgiving 2012’s busy schedule can actually take a break at least an hour this year for us to partake on what is already making me hungry again – the taste of that HoneyBaked turkey (and maybe some carrot cake, too.) Wondering about leftovers? They’ve got you covered with some pretty tasty recipes, but that’s IF you have leftovers. 

Curious? Hungry? Already making your order? Here’s a $3 off coupon!

DISCLAIMER:
I received one or more of the mentioned products for the sole purpose of this review. No other compensating was given and all opinions expressed are 100 percent my own. (Accordance with FTC’s 16 CFR Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)


How We Winged it in Napa Valley

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Well, this trip was one for the books! If you haven’t been following – Mama took on a real challenge this week and extended her Food Fridays, Sharing Saturdays, Mom Mondays and took a little rehab Tuesday for a four-day trip to Napa. 

In a word. Amazing. 


For a woman obsessed with food, wine and beautiful scenery, it was a dream come true. That and a friend with a hotel discount to share plus a free airline ticket from years of accumulated miles.

So I took a few days off the blog to get up close with the one and only Napa Valley…And while it was hard to eat at some of the most delicious restaurants in the region and sample the area’s biggest cash crop (that would be vino, people), I took one for the team so I can report my lessons to you. (I know it’s hard, but someone has to do it, right?) 

Understand – I had no reservations for anything before we went to Napa other than a plane ticket. So we totally winged it. Completely. And we did it pretty cheap. (Well as cheap as Napa can be.)

I will tell you that while every restaurant I wanted to eat at in Napa Valley said it was full and no reservations, I did manage to eat at 10 different restaurants in three days. (Again, another reason for everything in January to be focused on being healthy!) But since the food and the wine was the only thing anyone cares about, I’ll give you the list of my rundown. However, to answer the most asked question, I did not eat at The French Laundry. (But lucky for you I did take a photo of it to share with you and did a little Facebook “Check-in” for fun.)



1. Opa – San Francisco Area 
A local chain, but I was starving after my 7 AM flight and anything with goat cheese is fine by me.


Name summed up our trip. Small plate heaven and perfect for several sharable plates featuring cheeses, fried olives with goat cheese and mushrooms (probably with goat cheese.) Great service, unpretentious and very hip. Must go.


3. Fish Story – Napa 
Seemed like a pretty swanky place, but they let us in to enjoy their sustainable fresh fish choices. It was cold and I was close to the West Coast, I enjoyed a great Clam Chowder.
4. Morimoto – Napa
My first foam experience.  Found totally by accident we noticed all these interesting sweet treats in a window. After walking in and asking to see a menu, we realized we were in the Iron Chef’s cooking haven. Since we had devoured a few meals, we laid low with a ramen soup, chocolate cake with all kinds of stuff like a beer foam (see below) and drinks. While some pretty simple menu items, they were still very interesting to view as well as to eat. And they didn’t disappoint us and actually had us wanting more…but our stomach couldn’t have taken anything else for a while.

This small-town find quenched my craving for a good simple sandwich to eat that included fresh everything – homegrown arugula, white cheddar, cheese, red pepper pesto and meat from local sources. I could eat one of these every day and be happy.

6. LaSalette – Sonoma

Probably one of, if not, my favorite places we enjoyed in Napa Valley. Sat at the bar, watched first-hand the talent of a great kitchen at work  for my first Portuguese experience. Devoured some of the best scallops I’ve ever eaten ever along with a bowl of butternut squash soup and a delicious wine flight. Afterwards,  I didn’t want to eat anywhere else since I wanted to just hold on to the lingering flavor.

7. Taco Bell – Napa
I admit it, but like always, the gordita did its thing well.
While they didn’t serve brunch, they did serve a great outdoor patio, spicy bloody mary and some of the best breads ever including a housemade focaccia so perfect it made me cry. (Yes, it was that good.)  


9. Buchon Bakery – Yountville
Somehow I was going to get my Thomas Keller fix in somehow and it wasn’t going to be The French Laundry, his casual spot, Adhoc or his fried chicken/pork bbq outpost, Addendum, so Buchon Bakery was the winner. We lined up for 30 minutes to get our moment to order some lovely baked goods to go. Couldn’t pass up anything called “Oh, No You Didn’t” (a s’mores macaron dipped in chocolate) and the creamiest quiche I’ve ever tasted.


10. Redd – Yountville
This place had captured our interest online and when we drove through by its façade, but when the friendly gal at Hope and Grace told us it was great for small plates, cool for hanging out and that her hubby was the somm, we thought we’d try it out. Good call on our part to listen to the wifey. Lobster Risotto and Duck Potstickers were delish.

As for wineries visited, we didn’t do as many of these, but we had a great time where we did and what we did. With a limited budget, no reservations and a short weekend, we had to be smart. That’s why Tasting Rooms within most of the towns we visit we the right idea for this trip. And most of these, we ate there, too!

I actually posted realtime from the vineyard on Saturday, so you got a fresh look at my first wine and vineyard tour. Conducted by the nicest Estate Educator, Ryan Hortum, we learned so much about viniculture/viticulture as well about this multi-family business with a very interesting historical story, up a very winding hill and overlooking Sonoma. We basically called them the day before from our hotel and made a reservation, so about 18 hours notice.


2. Domaine Carneros – Sonoma 
One of my favorite places we visited since we stumbled upon it right before it closed as we were driving, we were able to quickly ordered all the wines we wanted to try, open up some deli crackers and goat cheese and just overlooked the countryside for an hour.


3. Hope & Grace – Yountville
We had 10 minutes left in Yontville before heading to Calistoga, so we stopped in to try a little local wine love. Cute spot. Cute name. Cute help (see “Redd” below for more info on her.) Had a great Cab and Pinot, so we grabbed a few half bottles for gifts and got on the road. 

4. Castello di Amorosa – Calistoga 
A pretty unique experience within itself, this 13thcentury styled castle included a tour reminiscent of many of the places I visited in Italy this summer and then the finale included a delicious food and wine pairing experience with Mary, the castle sommelier. I really enjoyed myself and purchased a few gifts to bring home, too including the most delicious almonds with truffle oil. OMG. For this reservation, we called about 15 hours in advance and so glad we were able to join because it was such a treat!


…and a few more small ones that while nice, didn’t make the list.

What did I learn from my fantastic trip? That it was possible to go many places just on a whim. Almost everywhere we went, we called prior to coming and told “we’re fully committed tonight.” Then we showed up and almost without any wait AT ALL, we got a table. Now it may have not be the best table in the house (sometimes we were seated at the bar, but at LaSalette the bar is the best place in the house since you can watch the chef staff create food masterpieces.) 

Also, what did I learn? That there’s lots of amazing food to be enjoyed in Napa Valley and it doesn’t have to be a $250 nine-course, three-hour tasting. (Unfortunately, my curiosity is still peaked and I still would like someone to sponsor my trip to The French Laundry to dispel all my thoughts about it…) It’s small, simple and enjoyable if you like food and wine. IF you are looking for other activities, seek refuge in San Francisco. The only “kid” thing I found in Napa Valley was Sonoma’s TrainTown and I bet it was way more than my tastings.

As my learning lesson comes to a close, I’ll share my advice. The next trip I would probably have a few ideas of what I wanted to and perhaps spend a little more time in Northern Napa Valley (Calistoga, St. Helena and Yountville) and skip Napa and Sonoma all together. And I totally would love to enjoy more sparkling wine experiences that I didn’t have time to visit this go around like my cousin’s favorite, Shramsberg, Mumm and Domaine Chandon. And certainly a trip to the recently awarded Michelin star in Calistoga, Solbar.  

So, I conquered this field trip…But what’s next for another food adventure? HOLIDAY!


Sharing Saturdays: Hanzell Vineyard

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Instead of taking a look at a must-read book, this week I’m sharing my trip to Napa & Sonoma. Today’s look is up a very tall hill overlooking the Hanzell Vineyard.

I’ve included 10 facts about the winery and some amazing views. And of course, delicious wine.


To-Do This Weekend: Treat Your Senses

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To-do Thursdays:


This weekend is all about preparation for fall…with Halloween next week, my 21st birthday (tee-hee) and a little chill actually roiling into Dallas/Fort Worth, I need a little time to get things in line. 

So with the exception of all the fun things I need to catch up on like laundry, dishes and holiday planning (I did say that), I’m planning on keeping the calendar light — well, kinda.

Here are a few events I’m planning on for this weekend:
Face Logic Spa, one of my favorite local spas owned by local mom Faryn Clark, is holding their annual Image Peel Event with an opportunity to see the future of your skin, Oct. 26 – 28. While I’d like to think my skin isn’t beginning to age, I can’t ignore the things I can see and even worse, the things I can’t see — YET.

The experience includes a special introduction to the Woods Lamp, which utilizes an ultra violet light to reveal color changes and areas of hyperpigmentation (age spots/sun damage) below the skin’s surface so they can prevent those imperfections before they are visible. 



A peek into the future is $25 and includes a Wood’s Lamp session and an aesthetician’s analysis of what it reveals. Consultation also includes a 20 minute Image Vitamin C or Orodemic Peel ($59 value) + a $25 gift card for any Image retail product -to use that same day, cocktails and a pass into the Peel Event reception. 

Annual Image Peel Event 
Facelogic Spa Highland Park
October 26th-28th
Reception – October 27th, 1 pm – 6 pm, featuring Jena Sorenson, LME 
Raffle, goody bags and more than $800 in giveaways
4518 Lovers Lane
214.696.3223

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