Remembering Our Honeymoon - 2004

Erik and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary on September 20 of this year. We wanted to share a little of our honeymoon with the rest of the world (the culinary part anyway).

We spent our honeymoon in the Northeast United States. Four nights at Ceasar's Poconos Resort (with 7 foot tall champagne glass hot tubs) then on to spend 4 nights at a bed and breakfast in New Hampshire. From there we took a whirlwind tour of the northeast - Boston, Mass.; Salem, Mass.; Kittery, Maine; White Mountains, New Hampshire; and finally Lexington and Concord, Mass. After that, we spent 4 days in Minneapolis, Minnesota where we visited with my family, had a second wedding reception and ran the Twin Cities Marathon!

To start our meal, we had a toast with the champagne cocktail that we served at our wedding (for one glass - 2 Tablespoons Cruzan Banana Rum, 1 1/2 Tablespons Pineapple Juice, 1 Teaspoon Blue Curacao and 1/2 Cup Champagne - yum!)

Then we served some of the food we ate while on our trip:

Boston Clam Chowder
New England Pot Roast
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Lobster Thermadore

... all washed down with Hurricanes (we had a mardi gras night at Caesar's where we won 3 solid gold medallions!) and then finished off the meal with a rich and delicious Boston Cream Pie.

We had a lot of fun remembering our trip and telling stories of our travels while enjoying a great meal.

First Day of Fall - 2004

It's the first day of fall! We picked up fallen leaves and pasted them to pieces of construction paper and hung them all over the dining room - it was very pretty!

We enjoyed a lovely fall dinner -

Roasted Fall Vegetables
Roast Chicken
Baked Potatoes
Homemade Rustic Bread
Fresh Apple Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream and Cheddar Cheese

Great way to welcome in the season!

9/11 Tribute Dinner - 2004

I lost a dear friend in the World Trade Center attack. We wanted to do something to remember those lost, but thought it would be better celebrate what is good about New York City rather than dwell on the disaster.

We had each of our guests represent something of the spirit of New York City, and had them wear matching hats:
Bob - NYPD
Jonathan - NYFD
Donna - Statue of Liberty
Erik - Mayor Guilliani
Kathy - Broadway
Susan - American Spirit

We made a New York dinner too.

To Start:
Manhattan Clam Chowder
Long Island Ice Tea

The Main Course:
New York Strip Steak
Empire State Building Asparagus
Pentagon Bisquits (5 sided!)
Liberty Bell Peppers

And for Dessert...
New York Cheesecake (naturally)

We drank a toast to the memory of my friend and to all of those lost that day. We had a lovely dinner, and hope that we had a fitting tribute to the victims of 9/11.