Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Why I Love The Fair

NEW FOOD ITEMS FOR THE 2006 STATE FAIR OF TEXAS
(These are the new items only--they don't include all the good ol' stuff like corn dogs and fried pickles with spicy ranch!)

Beef & Beans Fire Bowl – A fired-up, one-dish meal made from ground beef, spicy beans, corn, crushed red peppers and Hotter N Hell seasoning covered with a baked-on jalapeno cornbread top. Not for the weak-hearted.

Cajun Shrimp On A Stick – Spicy shrimp in a custom Cajun batter, fried and served with a choice of dipping sauce.

Candy Apple Turnover – A flaky turnover, filled with apples, crushed red candy and brown sugar, is deep fried and topped with powdered sugar.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries On-a-Stick – Fresh strawberries are skewered on a stick and dipped in deliciously warmed chocolate.

Cinnamon Praline Bananas Foster -- Caramelized banana rum sauce poured over Blue Bell Cinnamon ice cream, covered with whipped cream and topped off with a rich pecan praline sauce.

Deep Fried Cosmopolitan - Contest Finalist – A delicious fried pastry is filled with rich cheesecake and topped with a sweet & tangy cranberry glaze and a lime wedge. Served on a stick.

Donkey Tails - Contest Finalist – Large all-beef franks, slit on one side and generously stuffed with sharp cheddar cheese, are wrapped tightly in a large flour tortilla and fried until golden brown. Served with mustard, chili, or Ruth's salsa.

Down Home Banana Pudding Cheesecake – Created for people who like the rich flavor of homemade pudding or the elegance of cheesecake, the ingredients include bananas, pecans, cream cheese, brown sugar, coffee liqueur in a vanilla wafer crust. Served on a small plate.

Fernie's Fried Chicken n' Waffle – A toasted 7" round waffle, brushed with melted butter and topped with three extra-crunchy honey-battered chicken breast tenders. Served with syrup or white cream gravy. Sweet and salty.

Fernie's Fried Choco-rito - Contest Finalist – A flour tortilla – stuffed with marshmallows, coconut, candy bar pieces, caramel morsels and cinnamon – is dipped in pancake batter and deep fried to a crispy, crunchy outside and sweet, gooey inside. Drizzled with honey and topped with whipped cream.

Fernie's Fried Mac 'n Cheese - Contest Finalist – Texas-sized bites of macaroni & cheese, covered with a layer of garlic & herb-flavored bread crumbs, are deep fried until crispy outside and hot & cheesy inside. Served on a stick with a side of dipping sauces.

Fried Avocadoes – Hand-battered chunks of scrumptious avocado are breaded and fried to perfection. Choice of dipping sauces. A culinary hit in California.

Fried Baked Potatoes – French fries right out of the fryer are topped with a choice of queso cheese sauce, bacon bits, chives or butter.

Fried Cinnamon Crispas – Hand-cut strips of flour tortillas are crispy fried and dusted with cinnamon sugar.

Fried Coke - Contest Finalist – Smooth spheres of Coca-Cola-flavored batter are deep fried, drizzled with pure Coke fountain syrup, topped with whipped cream, cinnamon sugar and a cherry. Served in souvenir contoured glasses.

Fried Pancake Sundae – Tasty country sausage bites wrapped in a light pancake batter, deep fried to perfection , topped with whipped cream, lightly glazed with hot fudge sauce and finished with a cherry on top. Pineapple and strawberry glaze options available.

Fried Praline Perfection - Contest Finalist – Guaranteed to melt in your mouth. Plump coconut and pecan pralines, battered and fried to a rich golden crust. Served warm with powdered sugar.

Hast Texas BBQ Nachos – Fair-famous Hast Texas Nachos are topped with BBQ beef and covered with a special-recipe sauce.

Melon Monroe – Honey dew melon sauce ladled over chocolate chip ice cream, topped with whipped cream then garnished with two fried-dough, shaped "legs" filled with a special caramel sauce. Served fresh out of the fryer. "Some like it hot !"

S'mores – A new twist on a campfire favorite. Two graham crackers are pressed together with a marshmallow crème filling, skewered on a stick and dipped in delicious chocolate.

Texas Cajun Steak On-a-Stick – Tender morsels of steak coated in a spicy Cajun batter, fried golden brown and served on a stick with red or white dipping sauce.

Texas Waffle – An extra large waffle is freshly cooked and topped with whipped cream and a choice of chocolate, strawberry or pineapple sauce.

Texas Trash – In response to fairgoers' requests, this to-go sack of less-than-whole Hast Texas Nacho chips is served up in a white doughnut-style bag.

Wedgee's – Frozen chocolate-covered Wisconsin cheesecake-on-a-stick offered in Turtle (caramel) and Key Lime flavors.

Monday, September 25, 2006

Make New Friends But Keep The Old

Today I got an email from one on my old bosses and good friends, Christina. It was so good to hear from her! She was always more of a friend than a boss to me, which made my work life much more enjoyable. She now has a second son, David, which I'm so excited about! I remember when she was pregnant with Joey and I got to see him at the hospital the day after he was born--such a cute little guy! I'm only sorry that we're so much farther away from her now or I'd go and see her right away!

I start working at my new WS tomorrow. Pray that I meet some great people and enjoy the new management! I had such a great team at my old store and I miss them but I'm hoping my new team is just as wonderful. Stop by if you're in the Galleria, I just might be working! The demo area in my new store is quite a bit bigger than my old space so I'm hoping they remember how much I said I love doing demo. I think I'll print out some WS recipes today to show some initiative. Gotta go do some work around this place--I think Sam is calling my name to go outside!

4 days until the Fair, the Fair!

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Cool Weather

The heat has finally subsided! Last I saw the weather this morning, it was a cool 67--that's amazing for middle-of-September Dallas weather! Yesterday couldn't have been prettier for Stephanie's moving day: it was sunny, but not hot, and there was even a little bit of a breeze. Of course, the night ended on a good note: a trip to IKEA! Hooray! Stephanie needed some CD/DVD holders (the same ones that we got--we've now spread the joy to both Becca and Steph) and a tv stand since her current one is a bit rickety. I hope everything is going ok at her new place; I haven't talked to her yet this morning...

Michael's new job is going well. He got his new laptop and case yesterday and had his first "real" workday. He also had to wear a tie and suit all day since he got his picture taken for the website (www.pattonboggs.com but the picture's not up as of this morning). He also had to do a draft of some sort of legal document (I don't remember what he said, sorry) that a partner wanted by this afternoon but he got it done yesterday late afternoon/evening! (Can you tell I'm proud of him?!) Oh, and he has a secretary! Her name is Bernice and he shares her with 2 other attorneys but still it's very fancy schmancy. And I'm sure she's nice and helpful. He does have his own office (with a window!) on the 28th floor but he'll only be there for 3 weeks, after that, they're moving him up to the 32nd floor so he's waiting to put pictures up and whatnot. Smart move, I think.

That's about it for now. I'm going to venture forth and try and find the closest Kohls today, I think. I also have some cleaning and wrapping of baby presents to do. Oh, and I start working at WS next Mon. so wish me luck that everything goes well with my new team!

10 days until The Fair!!!

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Ireland Photos

Powerscourt Gardens

Powerscourt Manor

Newgrange Passage Tomb

Guinness Factory

Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin

Sunday, September 10, 2006

We're Baaaack!

Hello all,

Well, we survived 4 plane flights and the perils of jet-lag and being without luggage for a few days and are now back to an almost-normal life! Ireland was WONDERFUL!! So gorgeous, so green, so rural (outside of Dublin and Shannon, of course). I'll post pictures later when I'm on a faster connection. We both highly recommend visiting Ireland but only if you're going to be brave and drive around the countryside by yourself. You really can't see Ireland any other way. Once you get past the initial terror and nervousness of driving on the wrong side of the road (which only took us 1 day to get over!) you can revel in the joy of being able to stop wherever, and whenever, you want. You can get a million great pictures on your own (or, in our case, almost 800) and it's a very freeing sensation. I just can't believe we're back already. As all vacations go, after so much planning, it's over too quickly. I wonder where we'll go next...


We missed our adorable Sam, of course, but he says he had a grand old time with Aunt Stephanie, Aunt Bunny, Aunt Keri, Uncle Nathen, Gracie, Teeny and Sadie. Thank you for taking such good care of him!!


Michael got his diploma today and it says "High Honors" on it, which is FANTASTIC!! I can't wait to frame it and hang it in his office downtown! I call in to work on the 18th (yes, I transferred to another WS here until I figure out what I want to do next) and Michael starts on the 14th, so he'll have a very short first week. After sleeping all of yesterday away, Sam is now...sleeping...again...on our couch. Such is the life of a dog. Our upcoming events include: Stephanie's birthday (hooray!!!), packing/moving Steph, going to the Fair (the Fair, the Fair!), and then going to Sea World for our 2nd ticket day once it cools off a bit. Not sure how holidays are going to work yet with Michael's schedule. We'll see how that goes soon, I suppose.


Maybe I'll go swimming today...Slainte! (
Slan-cha...Irish for cheers!)