September | 2015 | Home Is Where The Haggis Is

Monthly Archives: September 2015
- W.O.W. Penfolds
  
  Posted at 3:38 pm by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Sep 30th
  Happy last day of September! Chilly weather equals a change over to red wine, don’t you think? For you fans of white, not to worry, I have a new white to write about just as soon as I try it. Which I hope will be over the weekend when we are planning to grill salmon.
  
  The Penfolds Cabernet Shiraz was compliments of a good friend who also happens to love wine. She shared this bottle with me recently and we both agreed that the color was beautiful and deep, the flavors very smooth and typical of a Cabernet with lots of fruit like cherries with a spicy finish from the Shiraz. You can buy this wine at your local wine store for just under $20. I would save this wine for a night to hang out with friends that you haven’t seen in a while…which is exactly what we did. 🙂
  
  Rating: 🍷🍷🍷/4 wine glasses
  
  Thank you Debbie for a fun night. Let’s plan another one very soon!
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  Posted in Wine | Tagged Penfolds Bin 8, Penfolds Cabernet Shiraz
- Blood Moon
  
  Posted at 6:08 am by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Sep 28th
  I bet most of you caught a glimpse of the Super/Blood Moon last night, right? I was able to capture a couple of okay shots on my Canon camera, but things like breathing got in the way of a perfectly clear photo. After many failed attempts, I decided to simply enjoy the view with my own eyes. What a sight! Still, a tripod might have to go on my wish list for Christmas.
  
  Here’s a view of the Super Moon as it began to rise at around 7:00.
  
  I raced inside to grab the girls shoes and we walked down the street to get a less obstructed view. I was about to take the picture, when the clouds began to float in. Nooooooo!
  
  Luckily the clouds parted and I was able to capture the eclipse in the first photo at around 9:45 p.m. And now, 18 more years to wait until the next Super Moon eclipse. Hmmm…maybe we’ll have to plan a family trip to fall around October 8, 2033. I picture all of us sipping a cocktail along the beach or out on the balcony of a rustic lodge watching the moon rise together. No rush though, now it is one day at a time…or make that one minute at a time on certain days. 😉
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  Posted in Travel | Tagged Lunar Eclipse, Super Moon
- W.O.W. Chateau De La Coste: Margaux
  
  Posted at 6:16 am by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Sep 16th
  Wine On Wednesday is back! It’s been over a month since my last post on wine and, frankly I needed to detox a little. 😉 In all seriousness, where has the time gone? I feel like school just started, but soon it will be a month that my oldest has been back with her classmates. Then I thought that with school starting I would have plenty of time to write. Ah, no. Extracirricular activities, homework, volunteering at school, etc. Where the heck is the pause button?!
  
  So this wine was a gift from a dear friend along with a very cute wine glass for simply picking up her mail and watering some plants while her family went on vacation over the summer. Michelle Y, I will gladly do that for you any day and a gift is never expected or necessary… but always appreciated.
  
  This wine is produced in the Margaux appellation of the Bordeaux region. This wine is soft, subtle and elegant with flavors of lush berries and a hint of cinnamon. The blend is 50% Cabernet, 45% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. A very easy wine to drink with asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, mushroom risotto or pair with Montrechet (goat) cheese.
  
  My palette is still adjusting to appreciate the softer wines so here’s my rating:
  
  🍷🍷🍷 out of 4 wine glasses.
  
  Cheers!
  
  Credit: Edvwines for their serving suggestions.
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  Posted in Wine | Tagged Chateau De La Coste, Margaux 2010
- S’mores Bars
  
  Posted at 9:00 am by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Sep 7th
  Happy Labor Day! Are you taking it easy this weekend or finishing up some projects around the house? We are doing both. School and life schedules have been a little hectic lately so it’s kind of nice to tackle a few home maintenance tasks and still enjoy some relaxing downtime with the family.
  
  With fall coming up, I thought I would share a recipe that has turned out to be my husband’s favorite. The old-fashioned S’mores are fun to make, but these S’mores bars take that dessert up a notch. Let’s call it the gourmet version for adults.
  
  Enjoy your day however you choose to spend it!
  
  Recipe from Cooking Classy
  S'mores Bars
  - Servings: 9
  - Time: 40 minutes
  - Difficulty: moderate
  - Print
  Ingredients:
  
  1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  
  3/4 cup fine graham cracker crumbs (just run them through the food processor)
  
  1/4 tsp baking soda
  
  1/4 tsp salt
  
  1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  
  1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
  
  1/4 cup granulated sugar
  
  1 tsp vanilla extract
  
  1 large egg
  
  1 7 oz jar marshmallow Fluff
  
  3 full-size Hershey bars (1.55 oz each)
  
  Directions:
  
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8×8-inch baking dish. (You can line it with parchment paper for easier lifting and cutting, but if you plan to serve these bars straight from the dish, you can skip that step.)
  
  In a mixing bowl whisk together graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking soda and salt until combined. Set aside.
  
  In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add egg and vanilla and mix again. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet until dough begins to form. Separate dough in half.
  
  Take one half and place in bottom of baking dish. You can use a flat-bottomed glass sprayed with non-stick cooking spray to evenly spread the dough out. Remove this piece of dough from your pan and place on a non-stick cookie sheet as you will be using this as your final layer.
  
  Now, take your other half of dough and press this into the bottom of your pan.
  
  Take your chocolate bars and place on top of the dough.
  
  Carefully spread out marshmallow Fluff evenly over the top of the chocolate layer.
  
  Bake in oven for 27-30 minutes, until top layer is golden brown.
  Here are the steps:
  
  Second layer.
  
  Third layer.
  
  Final layer.
  
  Enjoy! If I can make one more suggestion, use a spoon to get out the last bit of marshmallow creme to make your own peanut butter/Fluff sandwich. Remember those? Mmmm! So good.
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  Posted in Baking | Tagged S'mores Bars
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