Oh, hello there!

Well, it's been awhile! And lots of fun things have happened! Here's the rundown..

Two weekends ago was Greek Week at Hampden-Sydney! I took the day off on Friday so I would be able to spend lots of time there with Adam and all of his friends. It was so much fun! The weather was so nice, so we were able to hang out each day in the sunshine! There were all kinds of bands all weekend long ranging from a real bluegrass band to a Guns and Roses cover band.. costumes and all! The Last Waltz also made a repeat appearance on Saturday night, which was my favorite night! I ran into so many friends from USC and all over, and it was nice to just kick back and have a great time. I'm sad it's over, but maybe next year I can convince Adam to stop by HSC for one more GW!

I have mentioned before about the mutual love Adam and I have for onion rings, and one of our favorite places to order them is Macado's in Farmville. Not only are their onion rings the bomb, but they have great food in general. The sandwiches are the most popular because they have a variety of about 40 different kinds. I took a picture of the menu, much to Adam's embarrassment, but I knew it would be necessary to this blog post. Here it is.

This is only one side of it. I couldn't risk any more stares from people in other booths, so this is all I got. But, that's the largest menu I have every seen. The entire right side are different sandwiches called "Macado's Friends" because they are all named after someone or something famous. And it continues on the other side. Crazy!

Of course, we ordered the onion rings, and scarfed them down in about 2.5 seconds. I always get a side of ranch with rings, but Adam is all about the spicy dip. Here's a peek.

I have tried several different sandwiches at Macado's over the last two years, but my favorite is definitely the "Betty Boop." It has Mesquite turkey, bacon, melted Muenster cheese and mayo on Rye bread. I always ask them to add some lettuce and tomato, for crunch. :) It comes with a pickle and chips. Here it is below..

Adam ordered the "Steak Stack Sandwich" as a wrap, which are also just as delicious. It had Grilled London broil, melted Cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onion rings and bistro sauce. I don't know what bistro sauce is, but there was nothing left, so I am assuming it was good.

Needless to say, I was happy as a clam after my weekend in HSC. Lots of food, friends, fun, beer and bands. Too much? Mmm kk. Moving on.

Last Thursday, I attended the USC Alumni happy hour at Crystal City Sports Pub. I dragged Adam and Courtney along with me, since all of my friends that actually graduated from USC were all busy. No worries though, they welcomed the LSU grad and HSC kid with open arms. It was nice chatting with everyone there, but I was really excited about the raffle prize: two free tickets to the Nationals baseball game the next night!! I thought I had a pretty good shot, considering A and C both received raffle tickets when they came in. Well, we didn't win them, but by some stroke of amazing-ness, the president of the group, Melissa, gave them to me!! She said she was busy, and was more than happy to let me take them! I was so happy and thankful! It was so nice of her to do that for us.  After CCSP, we ventured to Clarendon Grill for the weekly happy hour with my friends. We had a fun time, as always and ventured home pretty early.

On Friday, we went here, despite the impending storm:

Although it did rain a bit during the game, we found some really good standing spots under the overhang near the beer stand, so we were happy campers for the most part. When it stopped raining, we would venture back down to the seats. We had a good time and the Nats ended up winning! So that made it even better!

On Saturday, I got tickets for us to go to the White House Garden Tour. I was pretty excited, since it is pretty rare you get to be up-close and personal with the WH. We took the Metro into the city, and found the line backed up 5 blocks and around the corner. Yeah, the WHGT didn't happen. We decided to walk around some more instead. We ended up traveling 1.5 miles to Foggy Bottom, Adam's old stomping ground last summer, and found ourselves in Froggy Bottom Pub.* It was so fun to be there again. I can't believe it's been a year since we first went there. Time is flying that's for sure. Overall the rest of the weekend was great too. We went to Katie and Heather's apartment and also went to Georgetown and Glover Park for a bit. Definite success.

So that's about it, up until now. Last night, I made Salmon Cakes for dinner and they were amazing. Thank you again, Giada. I changed some of it, but for the most part it's the same. Also, let me point out that this recipe takes about 2 hours from start to finish, so if you are super hungry make the salmon a day in advance. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. fresh salmon fillet
Olive oil
S & P
1 large egg, beaten
1/3 cup fresh chives, chopped
1 sleeve saltine crackers, crushed finely
1/4 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Juice of half a lemon
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

Recipe:

For the salmon, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the salmon on a baking sheet lined with tin foil and coat with olive oil, S & P. Bake for 20 minutes until done. Let cool.

For the cakes, using a fork, flake the salmon into pieces and add to a medium bowl. Add the egg, chives, half of the saltine crackers, mayo, mustard, corn, lemon juice and zest. Mix gently until combined. If the mixture is a bit dry, add a bit more mayo. Form the mixture into patties, the size of each is up to you. I was able to make 5 out of this mixture. Lay the rest of the crushed saltines on a plate. Carefully coat and cover the patties with the crackers. Be careful to handle them gently, as they fall apart easily. Refrigerate them for one hour. This is to ensure they set and don't fall apart when cooking.

In a large skillet, melt the butter and vegetable oil together over medium heat. Starting two at a time, place the patties in the skillet and cook them about 4 minutes per side, depending on your stove. Be careful to check them for burning. Place on a paper towel to drain. Serve with tartar sauce.

Here they are.. I made corn bread muffins with Cheddar cheese, green onions and corn as a side.

They are realllllllly good. The cracker coating makes them really crispy, but the inside is so creamy with lots of salmon. The lemon juice and zest really go well and give them a bit of a punch. Definitely try them if you are tired of baked or broiled fish!

Well, there are two weeks worth of updates for you! Nothing too exciting is happening this weekend, so maybe I'll get creative and have more foods to blog about! Adam graduates in three weeks, so I'll be heading up to HSC for the last time that weekend. And in 37 days, my whole family is heading to Corolla Beach in the Outer Banks of NC for a WEEK! I can't wait!

Have a great weekend!

PS: Here is a little pic for you to enjoy. Those who know Adam's little friend, Jeero,  will appreciate this. Good thing he looks manly with his Budweiser and that he doesn't read my blog that much. Bahaha. You can find out more info about Uglydolls here. Hehe!

* Note to self: Jack Rogers are NOT conducive to roaming around a concrete jungle with a boy that sprints when he walks.

My triumph over seafood!

Last night, I came home after work to an empty apartment. Randan is in California and Courtney was working the night shift at the hospital. I have come to find that I am very good at occupying my time by myself. I think this is a good quality to have, because then you are rarely bored. I doddled around the apartment for a while before deciding I was a bit hungry.* I had stocked up on meals at the grocery store earlier this week, and on my pre-planned menu, decided on Asian Grilled Salmon with roasted vegetables for dinner. Sounds daunting, but it is SO easy.


Before I move on to the recipe that was had, let me explain a little background on me and seafood. I started to move out of my land animal comfort zone to the world of sea creatures about three years ago, and I haven't looked back. One of my best friends from high school is to take credit for finally pushing me into the light. During a beach trip the summer after we graduated from Lexington High, her parents made Beaufort Stew.** Right then and there, Kaley MADE me peel shrimp for the first time. It was gross, but man, oh man, was it worth it! I still can't get myself to peel a large number of shrimp or eat the tentacles of calamari, but other than that, I am game for just about anything that had been swimming in a tank or the ocean just hours before. There are a few restaurants that I go to especially for the seafood. I always get excited when I go visit Adam in his hometown of Virginia Beach because of the fresh selection of seafood they serve in the restaurants there. Chicks' steamed combo of shrimp, clams, oysters and crab legs is my FAVE. But, you can't beat the mussels at Sequoia on the Georgetown Waterfront. And - for those of you in Columbia, SC -holy cow, have you tried Bang Bang Shrimp at Bonefish?!? Whoa!! My sister swears by them, and I think she would eat them everyday if she could! There are so many more places that I die over the seafood, but I digress.


So-- Asian Grilled Salmon. I adapted this recipe to my liking after finding it from the Barefoot Contessa. I had never bought a fresh slice of fish at the seafood counter before, but it was very easy. You just pick what you want and they reach in there and get it for you. It can be a bit expensive if you are buying for more people, but with just one filet, it's not too bad.*** I asked the nice man behind the counter if he could slice the outer layer of skin off because, frankly, I just don't like to think about scales being on what I'm about to eat. I kept it wrapped in the paper and stuck it in the fridge overnight. You can't keep fish for too long unless you freeze it, so eat it within a few days of purchase. Any who, here are some pictures and the recipes for what I made.


Asian Grilled Salmon with Roasted Vegetables


Ingredients:


1 filet fresh salmon
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove minced garlic


Directions:


Whisk together the mustard, soy sauce, olive oil and garlic in a small bowl. Drizzle half the marinade onto the salmon and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes. Cut the salmon filet into pieces if you can't fit in one dish to marinate.


Spray a large pan liberally with cooking spray and heat to medium-high on the stove. Lay the salmon in the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes on one side. Throw out the rest of the used marinade. Take a wide spatula and carefully flip the salmon to the other side for another 4-5 minutes. It will depend on the thickness of the piece of fish, but if you can stick a fork in the fish and it flakes off and is slightly pinkish-white in the center, then it is done. Transfer to a plate and let it rest under tin foil for about 5 minutes. Drizzle the rest of the reserved marinade over the fish and serve with Roasted Vegetables. (Recipe below)


Roasted Vegetables


Ingredients:


1 yellow squash
1 zuccinni
1 small onion
1 package of sliced white mushrooms
Garlic salt or regular salt
Pepper
Olive oil


Directions:


Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with tin foil. Slice all veggies into similar sizes and toss them on the baking sheet with a liberal amount of olive oil until they are covered. Sprinkle garlic salt and pepper all over the veggies. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes.


You can use whatever combination of veggies you like. This would also be really yummy with broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus or bell peppers! There are so many options!


This meal will serve two people, so adjust ingredients when cooking for more.

Salmon just after marinating and into the HOT pan.

After the first flip. The soy and olive oil create a crispy crust.

Veggies roasting!

Finished dish.. once again, I apologize for taking a few bites before taking the photo. :)

This dish was so yum! I ate and watched the Crimson Tide roll all over the Texas Longhorns! I'm a Gamecock at heart, but who doesn't love to see an SEC team win the National Championship!! I had leftovers and was really excited about eating it for lunch today, when my dad called me and said he and my mom had a layover in DC for a few hours on their flight to Detroit today! So, needless to say, I will be eating it for my dinner later tonight!

Hope y'all have a great weekend! Also, as a side note, please keep my Grandma Marshall in your prayers. She is very ill and your thoughts are very much appreciated by my whole family. :)

*When I say "doddled" I mean I cleaned the living room and my room and watched some TV and played a few rounds of MarioKart Wii. Yes, MarioKart. Laugh if you must, but I know a select handful of people I am friends with would thoroughly appreciate the above mentioned activity. And, watch out, because Yoshi and I are getting pre-tty awesome.


**For those who are not familiar, Beaufort Stew (which can go by many other names) is just unpeeled shrimp, sausage, potatoes and corn on the cob all simmered together with some Old Bay and other spices. It is heaven!


***Plus, "one filet of salmon" can probably feed two people if you cut it in half, and serve lots of sides.