Wifey Wednesday

We are in love with our Colquitt pecans! We are trying every excuse to eat some more, so here is another yummy recipe we whipped up (remember our brie en croute??).

Easy Pecan Pesto

Ingredients
1 C Colquitt pecans
1 C basil (or more!)
1/2 - 1 C Parmesan cheese
2 T olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Throw all ingredients in Cuisinart
Pulse until fine
If too chunky, add more olive oil
If too oily, add more pecans, basil and cheese
Add salt and pepper to taste
Serve as an appetizer, over chicken, or as a sauce for pasta
We recommend microwaving the pesto ever-so-slightly (under 10 seconds) because it is SO yummy when warm!

Enjoy!

Snow in Stowe

Slightly overdue, but when we were planning our ski trip to Vermont, all I could think about were scenes from one of our all-time favorite movies (and movie on our first date!), White Christmas.

And, while we may not have been in the same train car as Bing Crosby ...  or even in a train for that matter ... it didn't stop us from having a fantastic time in the quaint little ski village of Stowe for a long weekend! 

Both first-time east coast skiers, Hubby and I had a great time making our maiden voyage up to Vermont and enjoying all that accompanied the trip. The maple syrup shops, the cozy towns, and finally, the esteemed ski terrain. Stowe totally surpassed our expectations - we just loved it! However, skiing here is different. I found it quite chilly and overall not as powdery - but the lack of powder is not for lack of snow! We attributed it mainly to the freeeeeeeeezing temps that left us running for hot cocoa a bit earlier than usual in the day :)

As you can see... we had a mix of clear and foggy days. Stowe is a great town - perfect mix of food, culture and cozy ski lodge feel - a true apres ski must!

Skis up!

White Christmas photo from: http://soundofthunder.wordpress.com/2009/12/24/white-christmas/ 

Why, happy birthday!

Happy birthday, Life as a Wife! Welcome to the (hopefully-not-so-) terrible two's...

I also want to take this opportunity to sincerely thank everyone who passes a glance here at my blog (hi, Mom!) - your readership is much appreciated and I am grateful for your loyalty and encouragement. I'm excited to enter this third year of blogging, and hope it will be fun-filled and that I'll be able to share some new and exciting adventures with you, so don't be a stranger! Follow along and please, pretty please, leave me some notes! Have I ever mentioned how much I love when you leave comments? :)

In the meantime, let's celebrate with brie en croute! Thanks for the inspiration, Paula Deen.

Ingredients
1 8 oz wheel of brie (or a large wedge like I used)
1 sheet puff pastry
1/2 C COLQUITT pecans (thank you Sass and JB!)
1/4 C brown sugar
1 T butter
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 large egg

Directions
Preheat oven to 375
Remove puff pastry from freezer and let thaw for 15 minutes or until soft
Melt butter in warm skillet and add pecans
Saute until golden, just a few minutes
Add cinnamon to pecans and coat thoroughly
Once puff pastry is thawed, roll out over flour if necessary to achieve a flat surface (my Pepperidge Farm puff pastry arrived in a tri-fold, so I did have to roll out with a pin)
When pastry is flat, place brie in the center
Pour toasted pecan mixture on top of brie
Sprinkle brown sugar on top of pecans
Now, wrap up your brie! You'll see I made a very simple envelope fold below. Typically I would add some cute shapes (hello, Shamrocks for March!), but Hubby was taking this to a Scotch night party, so I didn't want to overdo it :)
Beat the egg and lightly brush crust with egg wash
Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes or until golden (just imagine how all that brown sugary goodness is getting ooey gooey melty inside!)
Serve and enjoy!

Wise words from my Dad: Keep in mind that brie melts fast in the oven. Especially if you are using a wedge like me, you'll want to keep a close eye on it.