Freuhlings Fest

Its been almost a year since I was at Fruehlings Fest in Stuttgart. And it was one of the best times I've had. T and I rodes rides, played carnival games, drank beer, ate chicken, and danced on tables. I still have the green gorilla that he won me. I kept it suction-cupped to my mas all night long. And while I can't relive that night, I am going to throw a German-style beer party at our house. We have enough beer to serve almost a whole tent worth of people, but I'm just hoping for a porch-full. I'm still working on the menu, but I'm thinking that it will be some combination of the following:

• Wurst (weisswurst if I can get it)
• Jagerschnitzel
• Kase Spatzle
• Potato Salad
• Suggestions?........

This time we are combining T's co-workers and my friends. We'll see how that goes. Hopefully it won't be too strange. I'm a little afraid that people won't want to talk to me. I'm afraid that I'm not very interesting. I also feel strange around T's co-workers. I'm always self conscious about whether they are looking down on me because I'm young, or afraid they think I'm not very smart. Well, hopefully I'll have enough of my friends there that they will talk to me.

Well, time to make my shopping list for the party and finish my class.

And in other news, I got below 130 lbs. this morning. It helped that I didn't have dinner last night, but I'm still pretty happy that I'm starting to finally lose the weight. I guess part of being an engineer is being results-oriented. So I'm pretty pleased about hitting a mid-way milestone. Of course the beer and wurst don't help with the weight loss, but hopefully I'll jabber so much with everyone that I won't eat as much as I normally would.

Here's to the weekend! PROST!

On the Porch Again

Its finally getting warm! Its really windy, but at least it is sunny. So I'm sitting on the porch working on a menu for Wed. A couple friends will be coming over, one whom I've never cooked for. So I'm allowed to go a little over-the-top. Which of course means it will be a heavy, fattening, stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal.

Because C. likes red meat, and I like seafood, and T. likes anything I cook, I think the menu I have thus far will meet all requirements:

Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
Filet Mignon Wrapped in Bacon
Lobster Thermidor
Purple Potato Gallette
Popovers
Mini Lemon Cheesecakes with Strawberries
Mini Chocolate Mouse Cups
Cheese and Port Board

Some of those things are repeats, but it is a Wed night and I really do want to impress them. The purple potatoes are hard to work with, so those will be my challenge. Plus the mini cheesecakes and mousse are going to be difficult to put together. With T and I on a diet, I don't get to cook like this very often. So I'm going all out for this one.

UPDATE (Posted April 24):
I nixed the potato gallette for french browned carrots (trying to make things a little lighter). And I didn't serve the cheese and port board. But the best thing I did was to substitute my two mini deserts with a traditional Grand Marnier Souffle. It was beautiful and light and fluffy. I spent a ton of time looking at souffle advice. Souffles are easy, kind of. And don't take that long to make. I think I made the base too thick, because it didn't puff as much as I wanted, but it did puff nicely and it tasted wonderful. Trudy loved it, so that made me really happy. And the lobster thermidor is always my favorite (plus the popovers). On the whole, really, really nice evening. Plus the wine was good. T. picks really good wine, which is surprising for someone who didn't know anything about wine until he met me.

A Trifling of Sweets

I want to make something sweet. I don't know why. I don't even really want to eat it. I just want to make something. I'm going crazy. With T and I watching what we eat, I feel so stymied. So I decided to make Spiced Pear and White Chocolate Trifle. It turned out beautiful, and not all that hard to make. It was a very light desert. Very refreshing, in a way.

I also made the same red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting that I made for my birthday last year. I haven't cut into it yet, but I know it will be good. I think that even though I want to make the most complicated, over-the-top things my taste still runs to the basics, good cheese, good wine, good cake, and the occaisional fried food. Ugh, this diet is hard.

Well, here's a picture of the trifle. Back to my veggies and fiber.