Ireland, Weddings, and Food, OH MY!

          Where to start on this post...? Regardless of where I start, I've got a LOT to write about this time around, so pour yourself a glass of wine, a mug of hot chocolate, or whatever your preferred treat may be, and get comfortable.

          To start off, I have to talk about my second trip to Dublin to visit my lovely friend and hostess, G. Well, more gush than talk, really. I absolutely adore Ireland. It may be cold and rainy this time of year, but the people and atmosphere are still as welcoming and friendly as ever. Everyone I come across in Ireland is always so laid back and genial, not to mention my host is probably the best ever (going so far as to make me hot chocolate and a toastie at 4:00 AM after getting back from a night out). Dublin itself is such a small, big city. It's a city that is probably on most people's list of places they want to see before they die; yet, in many ways, it feels more like a large village, where everyone knows one-another and anyone is welcome. In addition to how wonderful the atmosphere is, it really is that green. Even in November, there was still so much green. It's gorgeous. Just look at it:

          Anyway, to end my raving, just go visit Ireland if you haven't. DO IT. Ok, rant over. 

          While I was in Dublin this time, we saw quite a few sites (and had a wonderful few sleep in days, too!). The first night, we went and had dinner at Counter Burger: this amazing hamburger place where they have a mile long of toppings to choose from to build your own burger. Mine was delicious topped with a feta cheese spread, cheddar cheese, crispy fried onions, grilled pineapple, black bean and corn salsa, cranberries, and green onions. I know, sounds weird, but if you don't like it, go build your own. We also had a side of parmesan, aioli fries which were possibly some of the best things I've ever put in my mouth. 

          After enjoying our delicious hamburgers with a pint of cider, we strolled on down the avenue to catch our bus for the Haunted Tour of Dublin. This tour was SO MUCH FUN! It was the perfect amount of creepy, interesting, and funny. I would totally recommend looking into it if you visit Dublin. Unfortunately, I didn't get any good pictures because I forgot my camera and an iPhone flash is just not up to taking pictures in a creepy, pitch-black setting. 

          On Saturday, we visited the Irish president's house. This wasn't like getting a tour of the White House. We simply walked in and said we wanted to do the tour, the lady wrote our names down, we got in a couple of regular vans, drove on out to the president's place, and had a tour around. No security except for one guarda (police) chilling in the background. Like I said, Irish=laid back. 

          Earlier while we were waiting for the next tour to start, we walked around a bit of Phoenix Park (the park where the president's house is and one of the largest parks in Europe). We saw the American Ambassador's house (not too far away from the president's house) and the memorial cross where Pope John Paul II visited in 1979. 

          After we left the lovely president's home, we did another very touristy thing everyone must do while visiting Ireland: visited the Guinness Brewery. We learned how Guinness is made and how to pour the perfect pint. We then enjoyed said pints at the top of the Guinness Brewery in the Gravity Bar overlooking Dublin. 

          We then went home, got ready, and had a fun night out in Dublin! (After which the aforementioned toastie and hot chocolate were consumed). 

          The next day we had a pretty lazy attitude, so we meandered around Temple Bar and had some lunch in an Irish restaurant. My Guinness Stew was to-die-for. 

          We then made our way to the second alcohol-inspired tourist destination: The Jameson Distillery. Here we had a tour of the distillery and learned about the history of Jameson and how it was made and differs from other whiskeys. At the end of this tour, we also received a complementary beverage, which I was, unfortunately, unable to finish, as pretty as it was. But here is a picture of the aesthetically pleasing Jameson with ginger ale and lime that I did not drink: 

          That night we took it easy. Ate a couple of pizzas and watched some TV. Perfect ending to a wonderful weekend. The next day before I had to catch my flight home, I got a tour of G's university: Maynooth which, of course, has a castle on he grounds (because it's in Ireland). I also got to enjoy one last wonderful meal in a real Irish village pub before catching my Aer Lingus flight back to Home Sweet Holland.  

          Thanks, G, for another wonderful weekend in Ireland! Can't wait to visit again! And now that I'm done talking about my Ireland trip (for now), on to the next topic of discussion: 

          Not only did I find out while I was in Ireland that my big cousin got engaged, but one of my best and oldest friends is GETTING MARRIED!!! SO, CONGRATULATIONS TO BOTH OF THEM!! I'M SO, SO, SO EXCITED FOR Y'ALL!!! 

          I'm also super excited to help K plan her wedding, even from a few thousand miles away! First step toward becoming and event planner! She already has tons of ideas and I have tons of suggestions and ideas as well! I'm so tickled for her and her new fiancé, E! Can't wait to be there for her when they tie the knot in October! So be warned, I'm sure I'll throw in tons about the wedding as the months progress! 

          Now that I've blabbed about Ireland and congratulated K for about the ten zillionth time, I think I'll wrap this blog up with a recipe I prepared for my host family yesterday. I haven't done much since getting back from Ireland, since I babysat last weekend and was, unfortunately, in bed with a flu-like sore throat bug all this past weekend. 

          So, luckily for YOU, my dear reader, this blog will not go on forever. On to my shrimp and crab chowder:

          I decided to make my daddy's famous crab chowder this week, though the recipe did have to be adapted for ingredient availability. Instead of crab (which the local grocery store does not keep in stock), I used shrimp. Also, instead of the jarred, pre-made Alfredo sauce and half and half usually used at home, I had to substitute from-scratch Alfredo and cream. This recipe is a go-to crowd pleaser for my family and, even with the few alterations and substitutions I made, it still turned out fabulous and the host family loved it just as much as everyone always does! 

Shrimp and Corn Chowder

Ingredients:

- 3 tablespoons of butter 

- 3 large stalks of celery 

- 10 small mushrooms

- 2 medium yellow onions

- 2 cloves of garlic 

- 2 cans of whole-kernel corn

- 3 cups heavy cream

- 2 cups milk

- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

- cheese sauce, cream sauce, or white gravy mix 

- 3 tablespoons garlic powder

- 1 tablespoons onion powder

- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

- salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Finely chop celery, mushrooms, onions, and garlic. 

2. Heat butter in large pot over medium heat. 

3. Sauté vegetables in butter until tender.  Add corn and let simmer over low heat while preparing next step. 

4. In a large sauce-pan or skillet, carefully heat half of the cream until simmering. 

5. Slowly add shredded parmesan and whisk, making sure that the cheese melts smoothly. 

6. Add the rest of the cream and half of the milk to the sauce. Whisk together.

7. Slowly add cheese and/or cream sauce mix, whisking to prevent clumps. 

8. Season to taste with garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. 

9. Add sauce to vegetables and stir from the bottom, making sure all ingredients are evenly combined. 

10. Add the additional milk a little at a time until desired consistency is reached. 

11. Cover top of the chowder with a layer of black pepper and add cayenne pepper. Stir thoroughly and season with any additional salt or other seasonings to taste. 

12. Add pre-cooked shrimp and allow the chowder to simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally from the bottom, for about 20 more minutes. 

13. Enjoy alone or with rolls, garlic bread, or any other type of dipping bread! 

          Well that's that for this time 'round! Friday (because obviously no one has Thursday off for a holiday that doesn't exist is the Netherlands and I also have Friday off, so I can spend all day cooking) I'm preparing a real American Thanksgiving dinner for my host family and some friends, so there'll be a nice long, food-inspired post after that! I'm also trying out a few new casserole recipes this week, so hopefully I can blog a bit about those too! 

Until next time!

Y'all come back now! 

          

       

ATTENTION: New Life Plan!

          Many of you (meaning most, if not all, of you who are my Facebook friends) are already aware that I have recently made a decision to change my life plan.

          I am currently living in the Netherlands for a year as an Au Pair (that much is evident from the title of my blog). I graduated with a B.A. in History from The University of Mississippi in May. For a while now, it's been my plan to spend the year in Europe and then return to the states to start law school, eventually becoming either an international lawyer, or some other form of attorney, but not any more.

          During a normal Facetime conversation with my mama one evening last week, she casually asked me if I had ever thought about doing catering or event planning. I responding saying that of course I had thought about it! It would be a dream job, either that or simply owning my own restaurant. I always thought of the idea, however, in more of an it'd be awesome, but it's just not possible: I'd never make it kind of way. But the thought, supported and suggested by both my parents, quickly escalated into a full blown plan, and I mean quickly, as in, within the next two hours.

          I had been realizing gradually over the past few moths, that law wasn't something that I was particularly dead-set on pursuing. It was becoming more and more evident that each time I informed someone of my plan to attend law school after my year abroad, that I was actually trying to convince myself that it was what I really wanted. Don't get me wrong: I think that I would make an excellent attorney and I would find international law extremely interesting. I don't, however, think I would find it interesting enough to spend ten years after school working my butt off to not only rise up within the ranks of whichever company or firm I worked for, but also to pay off tens of thousands of dollars of student loan debt.

          Everyone always tells me that I should have my own restaurant or bakery or run a catering business. My response is always the same, something along the lines of: "maybe one day in the far future after I have plenty of money from whatever other job I've slaved at for years."

          Why slave away for years over something else that I don't truly love? Why not spend that time and effort to have and do what I really want now?

           So, with my parents suggestion now firmly in the category of definite possibilities, I did the next thing my mom recommended: seeing if my younger sister, who was also struggling with what she really wanted to do with her life, would be interested in joining me in my endeavor.

          After I ended the Facetime call with my parents, I wasted no time in immediately Facetiming my sister, who answered while in her Student Union. I told her to get ready because I had to tell her our new life plan. I did and she was, similarly, immediately all for it! She thought I was joking at first, of course. Who wouldn't think I was kidding after telling everyone for the past year that my plan was law school and then all of a sudden, in less than a couple of hours, completely and totally changing my mind? Once she got over that, though, and actually believed me, she was game.

          So, my sister Erin and I are going to get our Culinary Arts/Hospitality Management/Event Planning Associates Degrees atone of the local community colleges, while living at our family's beach house next year. She only has to transfer, since she is currently finishing up an Associates degree at the college's other campus this year. I have to register with the college and then we'll be all set to start our new adventure!

          After finishing school up, we plan to eventually open our own catering/event planning company. So, we're now taking suggestions and ideas for the perfect company name!

          I know this path is drastically different than the one I was one before. I realize that some people may think I'm crazy. I also, however, know that this will make me much happier than a law degree ever would. I think I finally found what I really want to do and I'm extremely happy and excited, and obviously a bit nervous about it!

I can't wait to start our adventure next year! 

Until then, more adventures in Europe to look forward to, both culinary and otherwise! 

I made this delicious quiche for dinner the day after I decided all of this:

For which the recipe will, unfortunately have to wait till another day.

Maybe it will be on the menu of our catering company one day! Who knows...

Paris: The City of Lights

          Well, here I am, the long lost blogger, finally getting around to writing about Paris, my change in life plans, and everything else in-between! I did not intend to go this long without writing up another post, but I've been too busy, lazy, and/or sick in the past couple of weeks to bother blogging. I am, however, back in full force and ready to regale you with tales of Euro-tripping, crazy kids, and last, but certainly not least, cooking!

          I think, for the sake of readability, I will separate the events/stories/recipes from the past couple of weeks into a couple of different posts. You're welcome.

          I got back from my Paris trip a week and a day ago. It was everything I remembered from my school trip when I was 16, and, obviously, so much more. By the end of two days, our feet were ready to fall off from trekking all over Paris and Versailles and from waiting in multiple lines for a sum of four hours to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower at night. It was all worth it though. Paris is definitely worth a visit if you've never been there, if for nothing more than the cheese, bread, cheese, wine, and cheese.

          K and I took the Megabus overnight Thursday from Amsterdam to Paris, so, needless to say, we were pretty tired when we arrived (though the very nice gentleman checking people's tickets let us sit in the VIP seats up front behind the driver so we had our own quiet, dark cave to sleep in and talk to Peter, our lovely Scottish driver). When we got into Paris at 5:44 AM, we first had to find my beautiful French friend M's apartment. Thanks again for letting us stay! When we finally found it, we passed out for an hour, then rallied, got ready, and went on our walking/metro-ing adventure around The City of Light!

          We, of course, started the first day in Paris off right with with a very French breakfast of croissants, cheeses, and coffee:

          We, then,  got tons of gorgeous and stereotypical pictures of and with the Eiffel Tower, despite being harassed by "Hakuna-Matata-ing" African guys and being paparazzi-forced into taking pictures with these guys who said I looked like an Egyptian celebrity?:

          Saw Napoleon's tomb at Les Invalides:

          Saw way too many male parts (of which we were not allowed to take pictures) at a special exhibition going on at the Musée d'Orsay:

          Pondered the meaning of life with the Thinker in the garden at the Musée Rodin:

          Sealed our love with a lock on the Pont des Arts:

          Had a glass of wine with Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo at the Louvre:

          And paid our respects inside the awe-inspiring Notre Dame:

          With originally good intentions of having a night out in Paris, our feet decided they just couldn't take it, so we ended the night with a meal out with M and an early night for another early start the next morning. 

          On the second morning, we rose early and made our way to Versailles. We spent the whole morning and part of the early afternoon roaming the halls of Louis XIV's masterpiece of a palace and gardens. We even enjoyed a bit of cake in the cafeteria, at Marie Antoinette's expense. And yes, we did in typical touristy cliché fashion, take mirror-selfies in the Hall of Mirrors... How could we resist? 

          We, then, made our way back into the city to finish up the last bit of sight-seeing. We went straight to the Archeological Crypt that is currently being excavated under the square across from Notre Dame (as we had been too late to visit it the previous evening). Being a history buff, particularly interested in Medieval European history, I found this extremely interesting. So much history buried under the ground, only now being unearthed... But I'll not bore those of you who find history less than intriguing. 

          It then decided to start raining cats and dogs outside, so we chose that moment to do some souvenir shopping and have another baguette and coffee (if we must...). The rain didn't last too long and we made our way past a beautiful Parisian sunset on the Seine back over to the Eiffel Tower to see it sparkle and go all the way to the top! 

          Now, if you don't like waiting in lines, going to the top of the Eiffel Tower may not be for you. After waiting for two hours in line at the bottom, we had to wait in line for another hour to go to the tope from the second floor and, not surprisingly, when we were done at the top, we had to wait in line for yet another hour to get back down. We did, however, manage to get many beautiful photos both from the ground and at the top, all while waiting in line! And, of course, who could resist more mirror-selfies on top of the Eiffel Tower when you're stuck in line for an hour and there just so happens to be a series of floor-length mirrors right beside you? Well, not us, anyway. 

          After finally getting back to M's after our line-waiting at the Eiffel Tower, our feet were, once again understandably, in considerable pain, but we manned up and decided to go have one last glass of wine in Paris to celebrate our wonderful trip. 

          We then went back for a good-night's sleep before our long bus ride back the next morning. 

          On the way to the bus station, we made plans to go by the Arc de Triomphe to take more touristy pictures, and I'm glad we did. I'm even glad it was raining because it made for the perfect setting for my favorite photo of the trip:

          Overall, our trip was perfection! One more European city down, many more to go!