31 Days of Gratitude- {Day 11} OktoBEERfest 2015

This is officially our 3rd time hosting an OktoBEERfest and I'm just going to say that we #cantstopwontstop.  Clearly.

In case you were wondering, no one was even tipsy in this picture. we are all just this awesome ;P

The tradition has definitely become one of our favorites and each year we have found ways to improve upon the last year.  Some of the improvements include different and more flavorful, fun recipes, but we also have recipes we have loved that we have used for more than just one year.  Even more of the improvements are logistical and have made a huge difference in our ability to enjoy the day.  

For a look at last year's recipe line-up (there's a link from there to the previous year...) CLICK HERE.

The past couple year's have been fun, but I have to say that one of my favorite revisions we made this year was to ask my parents to watch the kids.  It was an entirely different experience without them.  We had only Sophie who is still nursing, and I was able to really enjoy all aspects of cooking/baking/prep before the party and more importantly, I was able to actually visit and hang out and have conversations with our friends during the event.  That being said, I miss my girls and I'm so excited that they are coming home today. Can't wait to hear all about their time with Nana and Granddaddy and give them big hugs and kisses. 

Time for the recipe line-up.  All of the recipes can also be found on my OktoBEERfest Pinterest board if you are a fellow pinner and want to pin away.

The Appetizers

1. Roasted Garlic and Parmesan Beer Cheese Dip- Beer Used: the Foret Libre Saison Ale

For dipping we had a variety of things: fresh veggies, tortilla chips, pretzel twists, and apple slices. 

The review: It was delicious.  A definite improvement over the still good, but rather plain beer cheese dip that we have done in previous years.  It was SO flavorful and opened up my world because--roasted garlic!  I might be addicted now that I know how to make it--roasted garlic for life ya'll!

2. Corn and Cotija Beer Cheese Dip- Beer used: the Coronado Brewing Company's Idiot IPA 

Yes, this dip was spilling out over the top of the mini-crock-pot.Guess I filled it a little too full...

The review: Also delicious.  I received a lot of positive feedback about both of these beer cheese dips.  I think of the two I actually preferred this one, but it was a mixed bag.  Everyone seemed to enjoy both, but when asked to choose which one they liked best, it was a fairly even split down the middle.  So proof that both were yummy and that they covered a range of personal tastes.  

3. Pimento Beer Cheese Pie Bites- Beer used: Karl Strauss Amber Lager

The pimento bites are on that square white tray on the right side of picture.

{picture taken by my lovely friend, Jacinta}

The review: As you can tell, this is a repeat recipe (one of two recipes we recycled this year).  We loved the taste of them as well as the fact that you can make them in advance and keep them in the freezer, so I was able to do these well in advance and take away some of the stress and pressure from the event day.  As I make them, I pop them into the freezer, a parchment-paper-lined-cookie-sheet at a time, until they are just frozen, and then throw them all in a ziploc.  So yummy and I made extra so that there is another bag in the freezer that Chris and I can pull out and heat up for an in-home date night at some point soon-ish. 

The appetizer set-up minus the pimento bites which were in the oven when I snapped the photo. 

The Main Course

1. Beer Braised Chicken Sliders- Beer used: Epic Brewing's Smoked Porter

Sorry there's no picture...it's what is in the silver crock pot on the right in the picture above.  haha. 

The review: This recipe, too, is a repeat that we used last year.  I made this the day prior to the Beerfest and then just put it in the crockpot to heat up and keep warm at the party.  I love a recipe that is easy AND delicious.  

2. Beer Braised Pulled Pork Sliders with Chipotle Beer Cheese Sauce- Beers used: Stone Smoked Porter (pulled pork) and the Northcoast Brewing Company's Scrimshaw Pilsner (chipotle cheese sauce)

horrible quality picture--because yeah, I'm awesome. 

The review: These were SO heavenly and the sauce added a nice kick.  If you aren't into spice, the slider is still yummy with just the braised pulled pork, but I love a nice kick and it was perfect.  It wasn't the kind of spicy kick that leaves you running for a cool beverage, but the effect was a nice zap of spicy flavorful deliciousness as you finished each bite.  

3. Spinach Salad with Bacon Stout Dressing- Beer used: Bear Republic's Big Bear Black Stout

The review: If you actually clicked on the recipe link, you'll notice I made some personal adjustments.  We didn't do the beer brined scallops aspect of the recipe.  I didn't want a lot of work that needed to be done during the party.   As you can see from the table though, I FORGOT the BACON! What a party fail.  How could I forget the bacon???  Anyway, there were bacon pieces in a container in the fridge that I cooked up that morning.  The dressing uses a bit of the pan drippings, the stout, (I used) dijon mustard, and honey.  I made the dressing part of the recipe (with the dijon mustard adjustment) and served it with goat cheese over a kale/spinach salad mix.  Some people opted to add the fresh raspberries to the salad as well and of course, it would have been a killer recipe if I hadn't FORGOT the BACON!  I'm going to have more today with all. the. bacon.  Or at least a nice generous serving of it.  

The Desserts

1. Guinness Vanilla Bourbon Stout Brownies- Beer used: The hubby's home-brewed Vanilla Bourbon Stout

The review:  This recipe is a partial recycle.  The recipe is one that we have used in previous years using Chris' chocolate cherry stout homebrew.  This year, we decided to change it up by using a different variety of stout that he brewed recently, a vanilla bourbon stout.  Both ways are utterly delicious, rich, chocolately goodness.  I'm sure they are good with guinness as the recipe calls for, but we think that hubby's beers are an even better flavor pairing.  

2. Wild Ale Blackberry (and Raspberry) Sauce- Beer used: the Black Market Brewing Company's Sour Ale with Blackberries. 

(Pictured above.  You can see that at that point in the night, I was done searching for my cute little serving bowls.  I made the sauces the night before, so they got served in the container they were stored in...classy, I know)

The review:  The recipe is a blackberry sauce to put over ice cream, but raspberries were on sale this week, and I love raspberries, so I made two half batches- one with blackberries as the recipe called for and one with raspberries instead.  Both were really yummy, but I personally loved the raspberry more.

And in case you were wondering about the good company....

 

 
(still not tipsy- that is just my face when I laugh)

 

 

bummed that the lighting and my laughing caused blurriness. 

These next several pictures were taken by my friend Jacinta (thanks for sharing them with me!)

           

Our friends are truly amazing.  We were missing some, but NEXT YEAR strong guys!  Everyone brought beer to share plus Chris had some of his homebrews on tap (of course!) and it was a really fun evening filled with good food, good company, and good beer.  

Shout-outs:

Cheers to Laura Dilanji who is pregnant (with her 7th kiddo-did I mention she's incredible?), and made it to the party after spending the day at both a baby shower and a bridal shower!  

Cheers to Jacinta who MADE my day before the party even started with a text about how she had woken up the day prior and was super excited because she thought it was the day of OktoBEERfest only to realize she had to wait another day for it.  Nothing makes planning a party feel so great as knowing that your friends are excited to come.  Also thanks for taking some pictures!!!

Cheers to Crystal who helped me put food away and wash and dry dishes and chatted away with me so that we almost didn't feel as though we were doing work.  

Cheers to Joy who brought these delicious and amazing pumpkin chips from Trader Joe's.  Oh my gosh--so yummy!

Cheers to "Auntie" Agnes and "Uncle" Paul, who brought Pancit to add to the table of delicious.  

Cheers to Anita and Jose for coming the furthest and traveling about an hour+ each way to come and join in the fun.  We really appreciate you guys taking the time to do that and had a great time hanging out with you!

Cheers to all the guys, Alan, Billy, Jonny, Gabe, Scott, Jose, and Paul, who brought great beer selections to share and then left the extras for Chris.  You know that is most assuredly appreciated. 

And a final Prost! (yes, a nod to our time in Europe together) to my husband, Chris, the best and cutest home-brewer in the world.  Thanks for helping me with all the prep, picking out beers that complemented the dishes we chose so well, taking out the trash, and putting up with me when I'm in party-prep mode.  You are incredible and I'm so lucky to have you in my life.  Can't wait to plan the next OktoBEERfest together.  

And there is even a picture of Chris and I and yes, I am drinking beer.  And it's actually one that Chris and I brewed together.  He kept referring to it as Laura's Beer all night, but he is the one who should really get credit.  He came up with the recipe, he gathered ingredients, and he told me what to do.  All I had to do was follow his instructions.  So not MY beer.  Not even HIS beer. I think we can call it OUR beer.  And it was really good.  So good I wanted another cup.  And though I am always willing to try all the beers, I'm not a beer drinker.  I consider myself a beer sipper.  With OUR beer, I could be a beer drinker.  It was good.  Come visit if you'd like a taste.  It's on tap!!

Pinterest Project: Grill Time

I met Bobbi at a Catholic women's blogging conference in April, and I just discovered that she has a Pinterest Party link-up similar to an idea that I used to do every once in awhile here on my blog (no link-up) where I'd try things I pinned on Pinterest just to make sure that I actually used some of the amazing ideas I was pinning.  

This week at Sprouts, cilantro was 3 bunches for $1, so I grabbed some and went looking through recipes on Pinterest to find recipes that used cilantro.  First I found this pin for a Thai Cilantro Grilled Chicken that I'd pinned long ago. Here's the link straight to the recipe/website. 

I have tried the chicken recipe before and it was good, but I felt like it needed a sauce the last time we made it, so since we had a bunch of cilantro and strawberries were also on sale at Sprouts this week, I searched for a cilantro/strawberry salsa to top the chicken.  I found this pin. With the pin, it gives a very simple "Strawberries, avocado, red onion, cilantro, fresh squeezed lime or lemon juice, with salt and pepper to taste!" description, which I used to whip up my own quick concoction.  I never even opened the actual recipe, just chopped up avocado, strawberries, and cilantro (no onions) and squeezed half a lime into it with a dash of salt and pepper.  It was delicious and perfect with the chicken.  (Note* click here for the actual recipe which actually has more than that description noted. It's probably very delicious too, but I can't attest to that since I did not actually follow the directions).

Cilantro Thai grilled chicken with a strawberry avocado salsa. 

Served with zucchini and grapes. 

I also checked out this tactile pin that I had pinned awhile back this week.  E is really touchy feel-y, so I thought it would be the perfect way for her to work a bit more on her number recognition.  Straight to website here. I just used Elmer's glue and markers for mine.  The girls love them!  

What great finds have you pinned on Pinterest lately? 

 Join the link-up herewith yours or just add some fun links in the comments.  

St. Patrick's Day + St. Joseph's Feast 2015

 Different years, we do different things for St. Patrick's Day.  Some things (like the basic components of the dinner meal) we keep mostly the same, but other things (like kid crafts etc.) we do differently from year to year.

One year we made shamrock shaped cinnamon rolls, fruit loop rainbows, and learned about the Holy Trinity using candles.

Another year, we had Lucky Charm parfaits, made a mosaic shamrock Irish flag, and a Trinity shamrock

Some years, we have done a mash-up of the above posts or I've pulled random ideas from Pinterest for a craft.  When my oldest was little I made orange and green finger paints for St. Patrick's Day.

This year, my friend and I decided to plan a little party playdate at the park for St. Patrick's Day.  We created this Pinterest board with fun ideas and chose a few each to make and bring for our St. Paddy's Day picnic.  And then we invited some other friends to join the festivities.

It's hard to tell from the pictures, but my friend made the White Chocolate-Mint Oreo Bark and the Spinach Dip Tortilla Chip boats and provided the bright green plates and napkins (plus the cauliflower for our Irish flag veggies).  

I volunteered to make the fruit rainbow with marshmallow clouds and pot'o'gold Rollos and the rest of the veggie Irish flag tray, plus several other green vegatable options (cucumber, green pepper, and celery).  

And because I can't live without fun crafts, I brought stuff for the kiddos to make cute Mosaic Shamrocks.  

Everything was delicious and the crafts were totally cute, so head over to that Pinterest board and pin some stuff for next year! Thanks, Jacinta, for all your work to bring this together!

This year, I thought I'd also share more of the recipes from our traditional dinner meal.  My parents never did corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick's Day, but my grandma always made it (my grandpa loved it!), so when we lived up near them the 2nd year of our marriage, we began the tradition through them.  Some years, we've spent with my grandmother (my grandpa passed away on St. Patrick's Day 5 years ago) and she'll make the corned beer and cabbage and potatoes and carrots, and I'd make this Pistachio Mallow Salad  and this amazingly easy Irish Soda Bread .  Both recipes are great and have always remained part of our St. Paddy's Day dinner meal even when we aren't at Grandma's and I have to make the corned beef and cabbage on my own.

I have used this Crock Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage recipe before and it's pretty darn good and very moist.  Unfortunately, though our family has continued to get larger, my crock pot has not.  So I went looking for a recipe to cook the corned beef and cabbage in the oven.  I found this delicious-looking one cooked with oranges, celery, and onion (for flavor, not for eating).

Sadly, I was distracted because my oldest daughter came home from the park complaining that her tummy hurt, so I was late getting dinner on, and I was rushing (never a good idea).  In my haste, I did not read the directions carefully and forgot to add the water in with the meat.  I realized several hours into the cooking and added water, but the end result was corned beef that (as my husband put it) had great flavor, but was dry. Needless to say, I was bummed.  I love a moist, falling-apart corned beef and cabbage and I totally botched it.  Next year, it's my hope to try this recipe again because the flavor was delicious.  I also hope to have purchased a bigger crock pot for our bigger family and adapt the recipe to make in in the slow-cooker.  Easy and keeps the house cool.  I will say that the cabbage with golden delicious apples was delicious and turned out perfectly.  Mmmmm. 

 These Oven Roasted Potatoes were delicious.  I didn't have Onion Soup Mix on hand, so I used this recipe to make my own.  And we like our meal to include carrots too, so I just made a little extra and threw in carrots with the potatoes.  Instead of cooking them for 450 degrees for 40 minutes, I threw them into the roasting pan next to the foil with the corned beef at 310 degrees for about an hour and 20 minutes or so.  They were perfect.  Saving that for next year too, and maybe adapting that to cook them in my current smaller crock pot.  :)

I made the Pistachio Mallow Salad (recipe in link above or here), but skipped our usual Irish Soda Bread.  Instead, because on St. Joseph's Day (tomorrow) it's traditional to have a variety of fun breads, we'll have it then.  Instead, to finish off our St. Patrick's Day meal this year, I made another of the Fruit Rainbows which was yummy and made the table look especially festive.  

Looking for some fun ideas for St. Joseph's Feast day?   Just click on the link.

This year, I found "Song of the Swallows" by Leo Politi which tells a story of the San Juan Capistrano Mission (which incidentally is quite near) and the swallows that arrive on St. Joseph's Feast each year.  I'm not brave enough to head down there with 4 littles this year, but reading the book will be fun.  We visited the San Juan Capistrano Mission back in January and it was beautiful.  

image found on kathleendeady.com

        

Happy Feasts, friends!

Saint Patrick, pray for us!

Saint Joseph, pray for us!

All Saints Day- 2014

Last year, we had a very fun feast and you can find some of the exciting things we did in this blog post.

1. SAINT BINGO- This year we kept some of last year's ideas as well as tried out a few new ones.  Saint BINGO could be played all day around here.  The girls love the Saints, the game, and the BINGO prizes, so in addition to last year's BINGO, I thought we might try one that was a little more advanced.  I found free printables for the BINGO cards here on Pinterest.  It was definitely a bit much for the 3 year old and 2 year old who needed quite a bit of extra assistance, but it was still fun, and will be a great resource to have around for many future years too.

2. SAINT PAPER DOLL CHAIN/WREATH- I found this awesome idea that the girls really enjoyed.  I made the paper doll chains prior and for my younger two, I helped them choose saints and draw them and they colored them.  The 5 year old looked at saint books, drew her own, and colored them like a little pro.  She wants to do another one tomorrow...

3. SAINT THEMED GUESSING JARS- There are really great guessing jar ideas AND printable labels for the jars available here, but I saw it last minute so my versions are way lamer, but still a fun, easy idea to put together.  My kids are really a little young for this, but with a little help and strategy discussion from Daddy, the 5 year old was able to make some pretty decent guesses.  And we got some great counting in because I had them count for practice.  The 3 year old did some of the smaller count jars by 1's and my 5 year counted by 2's on the larger count jars.  

    

4. FAMILY LITANY OF SAINTS- This is a neat idea I found on Pinterest from Catholicicing .  I made up a simple version in Microsoft Word and my 5 year old LOVED choosing Saints for the Litany and decorating the border with symbols of each saint she chose.  She was even more thrilled to read off the litany at bedtime when we said prayers and concluded with this.  

5. SAINTS, SAINTS, WHO DO YOU SEE? - We have not done this yet, but we are going to make our own version of this at some point in November because it is SO cute and I know all three girls will LOVE it.  

picture from sarahrosessupposes@blogspot.ca

6. READ SAINT BOOKS/STORIES- We read the last several chapters in a St. Elizabeth Ann Seton book that we've been working through for the past month.  We also read a great many short saint stories from a Lives of the Saints book we have.  The girls love to look through the pictures and choose saints to read about.  Some of them we've read over and over, and every so often they choose one we've never read about together.

7. COLORING PAGES- There are so many resources for Catholic coloring pages out there if you look.  Check out my religious crafts and learning Pinterest board for just a few... or do a quick search and find your own.  My kiddos love coloring, so this is always a win.  

8. DRESSING UP AS SAINTS- This year we had a St. Lucy, St. Cecilia, and a St. Elizabeth of Hungary.  We headed to Mass in the morning and they all wanted to wear their costumes.  The costumes stayed on for a good portion of the day for the younger two, but my 5 year old kept hers on all day including our trip to the grocery store.  I love how proud and uninhibited kids are.  

St. Lucy is wearing one of her Dad's sparkling white undershirts with a red ribbon sash and a construction paper crown fashioned lovingly by her mother.  

St. Cecilia is wearing one of our princess-y, dress-up dresses with a crown made last year out of a small plastic wreath and fake flowers and greenery.  It got a bit battered over the course of a year in the dress-up box, so Mom had to spruce it up a little with some green felt and fabric glue to make it look fabulous once again.  

St. Elizabeth of Hungary is dolled up in a Sunday dress with a swiftly fashioned felt cape and paper crown decorated with stickers.  

9. LITANY OF THE SAINTS SONG- We listened to and watched this version of Matt Maher's Litany of the Saints .  The girls like singing along with the "pray for us" parts as well as listening for some of their favorite saints like St. Lucy and St. Cecilia especially.  We also sang a few other praise songs like "Here I am to Worship" and "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus".  We like music around here. 

Happy Feast of All Saints Day!

Next year, my goal is to actually plan a party and invite some friends to celebrate with us.