Early Birthday Surprise

So, on Friday, Andy and I planned to go watch National Treasure 2 at the theatre on Saturday. After we got home from work, Andy started asking me if it were possible that he didn't give me a gift on my actual birthday. I started playing around and saying it wasn't but of course told him that it was okay.

Anyway, Saturday morning we woke up to go to the gym and Andy said he wanted to go up to the cities. I said that I thought he wanted to go to see the movie. He said that he didn't feel like seeing the movie. So, I agreed to go to the city. After going to the gym, Andy was talking about how it was a long drive and he wanted to go up just to eat good Chinese food....also, we had to go up the following week for his biometrics. So, I said that we could just wait then. Andy said it was up to me but that I would really regret it. I knew something was up. We got home and I cut Andy's hair..then we started talking more about what we do in the cities. Finally, I asked him to tell me what we were doing. To my surprise, Andy had learned that the U.S. Figure Skating championships was being held in the cities. He knew I loved to watch figure skating so he bought tickets for Saturday night.

I was sooo excited!! Off to the cities we went. We stopped by the USCIS building to cancel his appointment for the next week since we were expecting his green card to come. However, the guy suggested we still do it since it was already paid for. Plus, we didn't know exactly when the card would come. Luckily, they were nice enough to let him do it right then and there.

The figure skating championship was a ton of fun! We watched the Senior Couple Dance and the Ladies Free Skate. I'm so happy that Andy bought the tickets for an early birthday gift. It was definitely a fun surprise for me! :) I'll have to post some pics later.

Gourmet Club

I had mentioned long ago that Andy and i were participating in the ward's gourmet club. Well, this month we were assigned to be the host. This meant that we were in charge of the main dish and it would be at our home. There were 2 things that made me a bit nervous.

#1 - I was a bit apprehensive because our place is on not very big and we only had a table and 4 chairs. Our group consisted of 4 other couples. How in the world could we have a nice dinner with that many people? Whenever we have friends over for potlucks, we just sit on the floor. Anyway, gourmet club was tonight so to solve the issue, Andy went to Wal-mart and bought a small table that came with 4 chairs. We figured it would come in handy and we needed to replace our other plastic table anyways because it got damaged during the summer rain storms. We then used our couch to fit the 10th couple.

#2 - Cooking the main dish. The main dish was a pork roast. I had never really roasted anything and I was concerned about it being really dry. I had some cooking tips from the cooking demos that I had been going too but i still wasn't sure if it would turn out good.

In the end, everything turned out great! The pork roast was very tender!! If it weren't for the tips I had learned, who knows if it would have been as tender as it was. The flavoring was really yummy too. Also, everyone didn't mind that we were a little cozy. It was basically all about eating good food and being in good company. After we ate, we we played a quick game of fluxx. I had a lot of fun and it was great getting to know more people.

Cooking with alcohol?

I have always heard that it was okay to cook with wines and other alcoholic beverages because the alcohol will cook out. I have been attending some cooking demonstrations at Mayo and learned that this isn't true. The chef mentioned that there is still some alcohol that doesn't cook out. So, the question remains....is it okay? I figured everyone will have their different opinions on this but the one thing I learned at the demo was you could substitute the alcoholic content with other items. For example, for red wines you could use red grape juice.

Anyways, I didn't know what type of substitutions would be good for the different alochols so I was excited when I found this information. It's fairly long so if your not interested, you won't need to read any further. :)

Alcohol Substitutions in Cooking (http://whatscookingamerica.net/alcoholsub.htm)
Following is a general list of non-alcoholic substitutes that can be used in cooking. choose the option that best matches the flavor of the dish you are making:

• Amaretto - Almond extract. (Substitute 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon almond extract for 2 tablespoons Amaretto.)
• Anisette - Anise Italian soda syrup or fennel.
• Beer - Chicken broth, beef broth, mushroom broth, white grape juice, ginger ale.
• Bourbon - 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of non-alcoholic vanilla extract.
• Brandy - Water, white grape juice, apple cider or apple juice, diluted peach or apricot syrups. (Substitute equal amounts of liquid.)
• Champagne - Ginger ale, sparkling apple cider, sparkling cranberry juice, or sparkling white grape juice.
• Cointreau - Orange juice or frozen orange juice concentrate.
• Coffee Liqueur - To replace 2 tablespoons of liqueur, use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of chocolate extract mixed with 1 teaspoon of instant coffee, which has been mixed in 2 tablespoons of water. Can also substitute expresso, non-alcoholic coffee extract or coffee syrup.
• Cognac - Juice from peaches, apricots, or pears.
• Creme de menthe - Spearmint extract or oil of spearmint diluted with a little water or grapefruit juice.
• Grand Marnier or Orange-Flavored Liqueur - Unsweetened orange juice concentrate or orange juice. (Substitute 2 tablespoons unsweetened orange juice concentrate or 2 tablespoons orange juice and 1/2 teaspoon orange extract for 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier.)
• Kahlua - Coffee or chocolate-flavored liqueur. (Substitute 1/2 to 1 teaspoon chocolate extract or substitute 1/2 to 1 teaspoon instant coffee in 2 tablespoons water for 2 tablespoons Kahlua.)
• Kirsch - Syrup or juices from cherries, raspberries, boysenberries, currants, or cider. (Substitute equal amounts of liquid.)
• Peppermint Schnapps - Non-alcoholic mint or peppermint extract, mint Italian soda syrup, or mint leaves.
• Port Wine, Sweet Sherry, or Fruit-Flavored Liqueur - Orange juice or apple juice. (Substitute equal amount of liquid.)
• Rum (light or dark) - Water, white grape juice, pineapple juice, apple juice or apple cider, or syrup flavored with almond extract. (Substitute equal amounts of liquid.)
• Sake - Rice vinegar.
• Sherry or Bourbon - Orange or pineapple juices, peach syrup, or non-alcoholic vanilla extract. (Substitute equal amount of liquid 1 to 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.)
• Southern Comfort - Peach flavored nectar combined with a small amount of cider vinegar.
• Tequila - Cactus juice or nectar.
• Triple Sec - Orange juice concentrate, orange juice, orange zest or orange marmalade.
• Vermouth, Dry - White grape juice, white wine vinegar, or non-alcoholic white wine.
• Vermouth, Sweet - Apple juice, grape juice, balsamic vinegar, non-alcoholic sweet wine, or water with lemon juice.
• Whiskey - If a small amount is called for, it can be eliminated.
• Vodka - White grape juice or apple cider combined with lime juice or use plain water in place of the vodka.

Wines:

• Gewurztraminer - White grape juice combined with lemon juice.
• Grappa - Grape juice.
• Port Wine - Concord grape juice with some lime zest added, cranberry juice with some lemon juice added, or grape juice concentrate. Substitute orange juice or apple juice for lighter ports
• Red Wine - Red grape juice, cranberry juice, chicken broth, beef broth, vegetable broth, clam juice, fruit juices, flavored vinegar. (Substitute equal amount of liquid.)
• White Wine - Water, chicken broth, vegetable broth, white grape juice, ginger ale, white grape juice.
• Sweet White Wine - White grape juice plus 1 tablespoons Karo corn syrup. (Substitute equal amount of liquid.)
  

Andy and Tanya

I've been wanting to get a nice picture taken but Andy thought it was funny to actually go to a studio since it was just the two of us. I didn't think it was a big deal since I had found a coupon for a free sitting and free 8X10 at JcPennys. Anyway, luckily, my younger sister was kind enough to help us take a picture. I think it turned out really nice. :)

Family Picture

My whole family was finally able to take a really nice family picture...thanks to Stacy's dad and some editing by Julia.


Top: Tim, Aaron, Mike, Cassidy, Dad, Adam, Ted, Andy
Middle: Julia, Allison, Tanner, Dorothy, Mikenna, Mom, Stacy, Kyle, Tanya
Bottom: Ashton, Dallin, Kiera, Kaylee, James, Emma