I will be here one week from now:

Sotogrande, Spain!

I think this is our actual villa....pinch me, seriously.

I will be here one week from now:

PRAGUE!

It's the final countdown

Only 17 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes, aaaaand 28 seconds until I leave for my trip! Not that I'm counting or anything.....

Speaking of calendars and what not, here's a fun calendar from Little Brown Pen:

Such a good idea!! Be sure to go to their website to check out the "making of" video.

Tentative Itinerary

As I've mentioned before, I love making itineraries. My OCD organizational skills are allowed to let their hair down and really run free. Here's what my upcoming trip is looking like thus far:

November 21

• Arrive in Munich at 8:00 a.m. (apologies in advance to my sister and her husband)

• Attempt to stay awake despite a likely Tylenol P.M. induced coma

• Explore the area where my sister lives (near Parsberg in Bavaria)

• (*fingers crossed*) Eat a döner Turkish pizza, a variation of a döner kebob. If you haven't experienced the heaven that is döner, I'm sorry. It's like a gyro, but far far better. The Travelling Hungryboy has a good description.

Nov. 22-24: Prague (woo hoo for the USD being strong somewhere!)

Nov. 25: Early Thanksgiving

• Herb and mustard turkey with green onion gravy

• Apple, sausage, parsnip, and sage dressing

• Mashed potatoes with garlic, mascarpone, and caramelized leeks

• Brussels sprout hash with caramelized shallots

• Apple streusel tart with honey crust

• Pear (replace with apple?) cobbler with blueberries and corn biscuits

Nov. 26-29: Sotogrande, Spain with various day trips

Seville

Gibraltar


Tangier

Nov. 30-Dec. 5: Bavaria

Christmas Markets

Dachau

Castles

Dec. 6: depart for home

Dec. 7: go back to work

What I will look like at work

(Creepy witch from "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves")

One of my many loves

I am completely obsessed with Mad Men. This week's episode was AMAZING. For my fellow Mad Men addicts, here are the blogs I read every Monday morning; they give some really great insights:

• The Watcher
• What's Alan Watching?
• Basket of Kisses

And now for your viewing pleasure, I give you Don Draper (swoon!).

(Photo courtesy of AMC)

A southern feast

I've lived in the south all my life, with the exception of a year spent in New York, but I never had shrimp 'n' grits until about 6 month ago. I have been missing out all these years! When my BFF Kiwi a.k.a. Ninja Kitty and her boyfriend visited Atlanta for Labor Day, we decided to cook a southern feast of shrimp 'n' grits and macaroni and cheese casserole (we love a good casserole in the south; hopefully Ninja Kitty will post her chicken casserole recipe soon....hint hint!). Warning: the following recipes will cause extreme fullness of the stomach.

Shrimp 'n' Grits

Ingredients for grits:

• 3 cups milk
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup stone ground white cornmeal
• 2 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 3 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper

Ingredients for shrimp:

• 2 Tbs. canola oil or olive oil (not extra virgin)
• 1 medium onion
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 lbs. spicy Italian or andoulille sausage (or regular pork sausage for those sensitive to heat)
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 2 lbs. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 bunch scallions, minced

Directions for grits:

1. In a 3 quart pot over medium-high heat, add milk, cream, butter, salt, and pepper.
   
2. Slowly whisk in grits. Keep whisking every couple of minutes to keep grits from clumping.
   
3. Once grits begin to bubble and thicken, turn heat off and move pot to back burner. Keep covered.

Directions for shrimp:

1. Mince the onion and sautee with oil and garlic in a large pan over medium heat.
2. Add sausage, and brown.
3. Sprinkle pan with flour and stir to make a roux. Roux should be the color of caramel.
4. Add stock and bay leaves, and simmer.
5. Peel and devein shrimp.
6. Add shrimp to the sausage and cook for 2-3 minutes until they're firm and pink.
7. Add lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.
8. Serve immediately over grits.

Macaroni and Cheese Casserole

Ingredients:

• 4 cups milk
• 1/2 stick of unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
  
• 2 Tbs. cornstarch
  
• 1 lbs. cooked macaroni (wheat if you want to attempt to be healthy)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded munster cheese
• 1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
  

Directions:

1. Melt butter over medium heat (every good recipe starts with butter).
2. Add milk and bring to a simmer.
3. In a small bowl, stir cornstarch with 1/4 cup cold milk. Slowly pour into simmering milk, and whisk constantly.
   
4. Keep whisking and allow sauce to thicken. Once sauce covers a spoon, remove from heat.
5. I a large bowl, mix three cheeses together. Remove 1/3, and set aside.
   
6. Add sauce to the large cheese mixture, and stir until cheese is melted.
   
7. Add pasta and stir until it's completely coated.
8. Place macaroni in a buttered casserole dish and top with reserved shredded cheese.
9. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until top is brown and bubbly.
   
10. Cool for 15 minutes and serve.

My favorite dessert

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Ingredients for crust:

• 1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup cold vegetable shortening (Crisco)
  
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbs. granulated sugar
• 1/4-1/2 cup ice water
  

Ingredients for filling:

• 3 eggs
• 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 Tbs. melted butter
  
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 5 Tbs. all purpose flour
• Pinch of salt
• 2 lbs. fresh or frozen strawberries
• 2 lbs. fresh or frozen rhubarb in about 1'' pieces
  

Crust directions:

1. Dice butter and put in back in the refrigerator.
2. In a mixing bowl, stir together dry ingredients.
3. Add butter and shortening, and mix until ingredients combine to form almost little peas.
4. Add ice cold water a tablespoon at a time until mixture beings to form a solid ball. The dough should hold together without being sticky.
5. Wrap dough in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
   
6. Divide dough in two, and roll out on a lightly floured surface.
   
7. Place first rolled-out dough in a 9'' or 10'' pie pan. Place in freezer.
   
8. Roll out second half of dough. Fold in half and cut 3-1'' slits. Set aside.
   

Filling recipe:

1. In a mixing bowl, beat together all ingredients except for strawberries and rhubarb.
   
2. Once mixture is combined, stir in strawberries and rhubarb.

To assemble the pie:

1. Remove pie pan with crust from the freezer, pour in filling, and cover with top crust. Pinch the edges together to ensure that they are well-sealed.
2. Brush the top with water and sprinkle with sugar.
3. Place pie on the bottom rack of a preheated 425 degree oven for 10 minutes.
4. Reduce heat to 350 and bake for another 30-40 or until rhubarb is tender when pierced with a fork.
   
5. Allow to cool for several hours before serving as the filling needs time to thicken.

Enjoy!