I'm melting...melting...melting...

More perfect words were never uttered by the Wicked Witch of the West - who, by the way is memorialized in the Oz Museum about 12 miles from where we now live. (There is also an Oz Winery - I will be checking it out, if only to get a bottle of wine with some striped stockings and ruby red slippers on the label - I totally buy wine by label...)

Anyhow, I fully grasp what the wise witch really meant when she said "I'm melting...melting...melting..." Since she was "born" in NE Kansas, likely in the dead middle of summer, she was melting from the combination of ridiculously high temperatures and humidity. Today's heat index: 110* - NEAT. Could it BE any hotter in the Midwest in the summer?!? Seriously, I've become a shut-in, refusing to leave my house in the middle of the day. I only go out under the cover of night or early in the morning when it is only the humidity that attacks. I cannot take it for much longer. It probably doesn't help that I am 38 weeks prego, and therefore running on high heat anyhow.

Alas, the ultimate cure for this insipid heat is Fudge Sundae Pie. No joke. We are having dinner at a friend's house tonight and she asked that I bring dessert - what better than an ice cream pie laced with fudge and peanut butter with a yummy Rice Krispy crust?! I've only made it a few times, but I can't for the life of me remember why I've not made it every week of this pregnancy. You better believe I am going to fit a few more in before this bambino makes his or her grand entrance! Thank you mammers for this tasty delight!

Fudge Sundae Pie

Crust:

1/4 cup corn syrup

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. butter

3 cups Rice Krispies

Spray a 10 inch pie plate with Pam, or grease with butter. In a batter bowl, combine syrup, sugar and butter. Microwave until bubbly, about 2 minutes. Add Rice Krispies and mix to combine. Press mixture into a pie plate to form a crust.

Filling:

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup chocolate fudge topping

3 Tbsp. corn syrup

1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened (I've used peanut butter frozen yogurt and it is DELICIOUS!!)

Microwave peanut butter, chocolate fudge, and corn syrup until it can be mixed easily. Spread 1/2 of the chocolate/peanut butter mixture onto pie crust. Spread softened ice cream on top of chocolate/peanut butter layer. Top with remaining chocolate/peanut butter mixture. Freeze until firm. (You can also use a 9X13.)

Dairy Bar and Turkey Burgers

As you all know, the J man and I have recently relocated to the dead center of America and now reside in the heartland. We are fortunate enough to live in a college town, and not just any college - an agricultural college. Now I hail from UC Davis, also an agricultural college complete with a dairy farm on campus. My roommate couldn't major in business, she had to major in agricultural economics. Go Ags! But we did not have a Dairy Bar...maybe it was for the best as I would have gained a freshman 50 instead of the freshman 15. But I would like to point out we had a wine cellar on campus and I learned to wine taste in my Intro to Viticulture and Enology class. Anyhow, Kansas State has this amazing little shop called the "Dairy Bar." We found it with the Astors a few weeks ago, and I took my parents back to get more ice cream.

We left with the above cornucopia of dairy related products: two pints of the most delectable ice cream I have EVER, I mean EVER eaten; two types of cheese (Colby and White Sharp Cheddar); a gall on of fresh milk; and 2 1/2 dozen eggs (for $2, what a steal!) But let's get back to the ice cream. For serious. If you ever decide to visit us in the middle of America (I'd recommend NOT the summer as it is 90* at 8 PM - and ridiculously humid), I will treat you to the BEST ICE CREAM EVER. My current faves are the toffee crunch and the cookie dough. And its the type of cookie dough like my mom used to make at work (she worked in a test kitchen) and bring home to make cookies. Unfortunately, she'd get home so late that she'd pop it in the freezer. Fortunately for my sister and I, that frozen cookie dough was the BEST little treat ever - esp'lly in the summer. We always ended up eating it before my mom could bake it :) Anyhow, the giant chunks of cookie dough in this ice cream remind me of my mom's cookie dough.

While my parents were in town, not only did they help us settle into our nest, but they got us a grill as an early birthday/Christmas present! Thank you mom and dad! My parents and I (while the J man was cooling his heals at work) spent three full hours putting this sucker together. It was stinking hot - but totally worth it! Our first meal was burgers! (Please note that the pic is a little blurry due to the humidity causing the lens to fog up!)

This is the "advisor" - my dad. He advised the J man on when the burgers were done, but focused mainly on staying cool (nearly impossible) and enjoying a cold one!

It was a joint effort getting these turkey burgers made - my mom used the most amazing recipe that a friend of hers developed.

The finished product, complete with pepper jack cheese on top from, you guessed it, the Dairy Bar! I know Turkey Burgers are not the most popular burger on the menu, but you HAVE to try these!!

Ingredients

1 1/4 lbs turkey (I prefer the 93% fat, otherwise the turkey is way too dry)

1 egg

1/3 c seasoned bread crumbs

1 6 oz package of dry Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix

Cheddar cheese (I'd recommend pepper jack from the Dairy Bar...)

Instructions

Mix it all together, save the cheese. Unless, of course, you want to put the cheese in the middle of the burgers, yummy. And then grill until desired doneness. J man cooked his 5 and 5 (he thinks).

Thanks mom and dad for a great visit! Can't wait for you to come back and meet your second grand baby in about one month's time!!

Poor Little Piggy

No, not this lovely family! I'm referring to our amazing weekend of consuming copious amounts of pork product! This past weekend we had our first house guests! The Astor family took on heck of a road trip from California to Kansas with Manhattan (the Little Apple, not the Big Apple) being the Eastern most point of their adventure! We had so much fun spending time with life long friends and practicing parenthood with their 5, 3, and 1 year old! There were tons of hot dogs, cheerios, and mac'n'cheese consumed by the kidlets. For the adults, however, it was all about the poor little piggy. Every night. It was amazing.

Di got us matching Kansas shirts - NICE!

Di and I compared our piggy weekend it to the time my sister and I went to visit Di at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for Poly Royal (kind of like an open house for incoming students). Di and I called it the "Weekend of Meat" because we were able to eat as much meat as possible from tri-tip sandwiches to chorizo on a stick, it was a weekend to remember. My vegetarian sister stuck with corn on a cob - seriously. Em was super grossed out by our meat frenzy.

Any how, our first meal was Pasta Shells with Corn and Bacon that my cousin Jamie and I made way back when we were both living in San Francisco - I will save that recipe for later. My fave was the Herb Marinated Pork Tenderloins from, you guessed it, Ina! This recipe is in Back to Basics or on her Food Network website. I made the cookbook version and was disappointed - you grill it and it was SO DRY. But the web version directs you to brown it on the cooktop and throw it in the oven - AMAZING.

Ingredients

1 lemon, zest grated

3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4 to 6 lemons)

Olive oil

2 tablespoons minced garlic (6 cloves)

1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Kosher salt

3 pork tenderloins (about 1 pound each - I only used 2 loins)

Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme, mustard, and 2 teaspoons salt in a sturdy 1-gallon resealable plastic bag. Add the pork tenderloins and turn to coat with the marinade. Squeeze out the air and seal the bag. Marinate the pork in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours but preferably overnight. I marinated it for about 6 hours and it was perfect. I also accidentally switched the amounts for rosemary and thyme - no noticeable difference.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Remove the tenderloins from the marinade and discard the marinade but leave the herbs that cling to the meat. Sprinkle the tenderloins generously with salt and pepper. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large oven-proof saute pan over medium-high heat. Sear the pork tenderloins on all sides until golden brown. Place the saute pan in the oven and roast the tenderloins for 10 to 15 minutes or until the meat registers 137 degrees F at the thickest part. I would recommend flipping the meat halfway through - my thermometer did not read 137* on one side, but then I flipped it over and it read 140* on the other side. I used my dutch oven, so that might have had something to do with it.

Transfer the tenderloins to a platter and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. Carve in 1/2-inch-thick diagonal slices. The thickest part of the tenderloin will be quite pink (it's just fine! - Ina's words, and I couldn't agree more!) and the thinnest part will be well done. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm, or at room temperature with the juices that collect in the platter.

Bon Appetit!

To wrap up the visit, we had EXCELLENT BBQ at Jack Stack in Kansas City (thank you for the recommendation David!). I had the burnt ends - simply divine. Jeremy had Beef and Pork ribs.

And Kevin had prime rib, pork rib and brisket. SO MUCH MEAT. Are you gagging Em? It was fabulousness! And the sides, oh the sides. The cheesy potatoes were A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. And don't forget the cheesy corn. OH MY. My parents are in town this weekend, we are SO going back.

Absent

So...it has been ages. In the last few months I've quit my job, packed up, moved to Kansas, jetted to California to meet my perfect little peanut (my first nephew!!), didn't have internet for two whole weeks, and now I am in the middle of boxes. It is not that I haven't been cooking, because I have. Its more that I've not had time to post anything OR I can't find my camera amongst the boxes OR I didn't have the internet! I am so tired of not being unpacked, but I'm so tired (literally) trying to get organized. 6 weeks to go with the bun growing in my oven. I'm SO excited to meet this wee one - especially after meeting my nephew, can't wait! Alas, we have so much sorting and organizing (and mold removal) to take care of first. Here's hoping he or she takes his or her time!! I will be posting this week a few little treats along with a restaurant review of Cracker Barrel - a weekly fave of my Grandfather-in-law!Our new house :) It would be perfect if not for the mold...I am praying our landlord understands the seriousness of this sitch and gets it fixed right quick!