Mountain Getaway

Now that my husband and I live in Colorado, trips to the mountains every so often are essential. This time my husband was bogged down with work so I decided to go all on my own. BUT that didn't mean I had to throw all my meals by the wayside. If this was truly my personal getaway for some solace, I deserved some well-thought out, delicious, soul-warming meals.

October is a beautiful time to visit the mountains, the Aspens are gorgeous hues of yellow, gold and maroon but it is quite cold so you definitely want meals that make you feel comforted.

I decided to make my breakfast for the week before I left:

Uber-Healthy Banana Bread
2/3 cup butter (softened)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
3 bananas
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
3 Tbsp chia seeds
1 cup oats
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar together, add the egg into your mixer. Toast sesame seeds for depth of flavor. I always freeze my bananas once they start to brown, I throw them in the microwave for a minute or so to thaw and then they are perfect for banana bread. Add them to your mixer, once combined start with dry ingredients. Add in flour a 1/4 cup at a time, then baking soda and salt. Next add your oats and seeds. Once the batter is combined pour into a loaf pan. I use silicone loaf pans and they are fantastic, no sticking! Bake for one hour and let cool for 10 minutes before taking out of pan.

I love banana bread, my mom's recipe is delicious but sometimes I like to change it up. For this recipe I added some super healthy ingredients to help keep my energy up while I was out and about in the mountains. If you have little ones, it's super easy to hide healthy ingredients when baking. Eat while warm and you will be in heaven!



French Onion Soup
2 large onions (sliced thin)
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 carton of beef stock
1/2 cup red wine
Gruyere cheese
loaf of crusty bread

Heat your butter and oil in a medium sized sauce pan. Add your sliced onions and fold into the butter mixture so each onion slice is coated. Let the onions carmelize and cook down for 10-15 minutes or so. While enjoying your getaway with a glass of wine, pour about 1/2 cup into the onions. Let alcohol cook off and dry the onions, about 5 minutes. If you have flour on hand (I
 didn't) sprinkle a little to coat the onions, this

helps the soup become thick. Next add in the beef stock and let reduce down for another 15 minutes. While soup is cooking down, slice a few slices of bread and sprinkle Gruyere cheese on top, put them in the broiler to get all bubbly. Once soup is ready, ladel into bowls, place a slice of bread topped with the bubbly Gruyere cheese and dive in. This soup warmed up my frigid soul right away while sitting by the fire, gazing out the window at gorgeous snow-capped mountains.

Chocolate-Raspberry Tiramisu
6 oz container of marscapone cheese
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups espresso (warm)
2 packages of Lady Finger cookies
chocolate shavings (garnish)
2 packages of raspberries

Chocolate Zabagilone
2 Tbsp heavy cream
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
4 large egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup prune juice (or Marsala)
pinch of salt

Scoop your marscapone cheese out of the container into a large bowl, set aside so it can reach room temperature. Meanwhile, beat the heavy cream and 1/4 cup sugar in a standing mixer until soft peaks start to form. Fold this whipped cream into the marscapone cheese, set aside while you make your chocolate zabagilone (mousse mixture).

Add two tablespoons of cream and chocolate bits to a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often until smooth and melted. Set aside and keep warm.  Whisk the egg yolks together, add the prune juice, sugar and salt until well blended in a glass bowl. Set bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, do not allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water. Whisk the egg mixture over the simmering water until thick and creamy, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat, fold egg mixture into chocolate mixture. Cove and chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Once chocolate mousse is chilled, fold into the marscapone mixture. Then chill this mousse completely, about another 30 minutes. Meanwhile brew your espresso and pour into a bowl, whisk remaining 1/4 cup of sugar until dissolved. Find your glass trifle container and dip your lady finger cookies into the sugary espresso mixture, place on the bottom of the trifle. Be quick when dipping the cookies because they are fragile and will fall apart fast. Once mousse is cooled, you will spoon the mixture over the first layer of cookies, top with a layer of raspberries and chocolate shavings then repeat until you've reached the top of the trifle. End with a layer of raspberries and chocolate shavings. Let cool for about six hours before serving so the layers can marry together.

You can also put this in a loaf pan if you don't have a trifle, then when you serve you'll place the solidified tiramisu on a serving platter (what I did in the picture above). My company loved this dessert so much I am thrilled to share it with my family for Christmas!

When you spend a getaway on your own, it is a perfect time to make your favorite recipes or try out new ones you can potentially share with company. As much as I love writing, it's time for me to spend some time outdoors in the gorgeous mountain air!

Enjoy! xoxo Lo

Ladies Night

Now that I have moved to another state, any time I am home, I love having a ladies night. Ladies nights are not to be stressful or overthought. They should be simple, thoughtful, delicious and fun.

This particular night I decided to do a few savory and a few sweet items. I didn't want to spend all day cooking so I made sure to include at least one dish that only needed to be assembled.


Carmelized Onion-Tomato Tarts
2 sheets of puff pastry
1 package of cherry tomatoes
1 red onion
block of feta cheese
2 green onions
olive oil
butter
salt
pepper

First thing you need to do is caramelize your onions, slice them thin and add them into a heated skillet with a mixture of olive oil and butter. While your onions are cooking, cut out little biscuit or flower-like rounds with a cookie cutter and place them on a baking sheet. Then slice your cherry tomatoes in half, crumble your feta and slice your green onions in really small bits.

Once the onions are carmelized you are ready to start compiling your tarts. Add onions first then top with tomatoes, bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Once the tarts come out add your feta, green onion, olive oil, salt and pepper. These are ready to serve!

Salami, Cheese & Cucumber
package of sliced salami
different types of cheese
1 cucumber
crackers

This was my dish to assemble, thinly slice the different types of cheese (whichever your favorites are) I chose cheddar, colby jack, jalapeno jack and swiss. Peel your cucumber half way where you have an even amount of dark lines from the skin and light green lines from the inner cucumber meat. Slice the cucumber and then place a cucumber, slice of cheese, slice of salami in long lines on your platter. Place assorted crackers on one end for guests to serve themselves.

Almond-Orange Mini Cakes
1 cup of ground almonds
1/4 cup flour
1 large orange
3 eggs
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup marmalade

Put your orange in a huge bowl covered in water in the microwave for 25 minutes (or heat over the stove in a saucepan for an hour). While the orange is "heating up" grind your almonds, set aside. Beat your eggs with the sugar until pale and thick. Fold in the flour, baking powder, almonds and finally the orange- when the orange is done, let cool and cut into quarters, remove seeds then add to food processor. Puree and pour into mini cupcake pan (make sure the cupcake pan is greased). Bake for 30 minutes and check by dipping a toothpick inside, let bake for a few more minutes if the toothpick comes out unclean.

While the cakes are baking, melt the marmalade, once cakes are baked let cool and brush marmalade on top to serve.

Peanut Butter Cookies with a Glazed Walnut 
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
walnuts (one for each cookie)
agave nectar/brown sugar

Cream sugars and butter together, beat in egg. Mix peanut butter and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Stir in salt, baking soda and flour until well combined. Roll dough into one inch balls and place on baking sheet. Next pour a dollop of agave nectar into a skillet with about a few tablespoons of brown sugar, heat up until melted and add in walnuts. Once walnuts are glazed place one on each cookie, then bake for 8 minutes at 350. Let cool then serve.





 Girls night should be full of laughter, memories and delicious food. If you create a spread like this your girls will definitely want to come back for more! For drinks serve a red and white wine to compliment the food.

Enjoy! xoxo Lo