Gilmore Girls Dinner

 We had an all day Gilmore event watching Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life!  We laughed, we cried, we ate, and then ate all of our feelings.  

Don't worry, no spoilers!

My dad, dressed like Luke, serving up coffee, pop tarts, and burgers.

Here's Olivia in a newspaper hat--- just like Rory!

For breakfast, we had Luke's Coffee and Pop Tarts.  For lunch, we had Luke's Diner's Bacon Cheeseburgers and more coffee.  For dinner, we had Sookie's Magic Risotto, Al's Pancake World's Lo Mein, and Founder's Day Punch.  For dessert, we had Taylor Doose's Ice Cream Parlor Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Luke's Coffee and Pop Tarts

Luke's Diner's Bacon Cheeseburgers
We just got Bacon Cheese Burger patties from the grocery store. My dad cooked them up on a skillet.  They were so good!

With coffee! (of course!)

Sookie's Magic Risotto
My Try the World: Italy box came with an excellent risotto mix!  I added in truffle zest which was amazing! 

Al's Pancake World's Lo Mein
I found this recipe and changed it a bit. 

Ingredients:
Udon noodles
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
8oz of mushrooms
1 red pepper, sliced
1 cup of snow peas
3 cups of spinach
2 teaspoons of garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
1 teaspoon of ginger
1/2 teaspoon of Sriracha 
2 teaspoons of sugar

Ingredients:
1. Boil noodles according to package directions
2. Mix together soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, Sriracha, sugar, and ginger in a small bowl.  Set aside.
3. Heat olive oil in a skillet
4. Add in mushrooms, garlic, and red pepper for 7 minutes
5. Add in snow peas and spinach until spinach is wilted. 
6. Mix in noodles and soy sauce mixture and serve immediately.

Founder's Day Punch
I found the recipe here and changed it a bit! 

Ingredients:
1 bottle of champagne
1/2 cup of Citron Vodka
1/2 cup of Bourbon 
2 cups of Orange juice
2 tablespoons of cherry juice
1/4 cup of Maraschino cherries
2 Halo oranges 

Taylor Doose's Ice Cream Parlor Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Here's me and my hubby!

Mom and I enjoying some Founder's day punch!  Cheers!

And here are some pictures from our fun Luke's pop up diner experience!!

Oy with the poodles already!

Spider-man Dinner

To prepare for Thanksgiving, we did an unlikely dinner to prepare: Spider-man!  They actually do have a Thanksgiving feast in the movie.

For dinner we had Aunt May's Thanksgiving Turkey, Daily Bugles, Peter's "I beat an old lady with a stick" Cranberry Goat Cheese and Crackers, Green Goblin Punch, and Pumpkin Bombs

Aunt May's Thanksgiving Turkey

We bought turkey breasts and Tim seasoned them with salt, pepper, and rosemary with a little vegetable oil for three minutes on each side on the stove top on medium high heat.

Daily Bugles

Peter's "I beat an old lady with a stick" Cranberry Goat Cheese and Crackers

Green Goblin Punch

I found the recipe here and tweaked it. 

Ingredients:

1oz of Midori

2oz of Rum

1/2 cup of Pineapple Juice

Fill with Sprite

Pumpkin Bombs

I used this recipe and changed it a little.

Ingredients:

7oz of shredded coconut
7oz of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup of flour
1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
3 tablespoons of pumpkin puree
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the coconut and condensed milk.  
3. Add flour, pumpkin pie spice, pumpkin puree, and vanilla.
4. Use two spoons to round out the cookie.
5. Place cookie on the baking sheet and cook for 14 minutes.
6. Let cool completely before serving.

Olivia also had some pumpkin puree!

Happy Thanksgiving!  Stay safe!

If you liked this dinner, check out our other Marvel dinners: The Avengers, Captain American: The First Avenger, Iron Man, Captain American: The Winter Soldier, and The Incredible Hulk. 

Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire Dinner

"Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them" comes out this week!  SQUEEEEEEEEE!

To get pumped (more pumped) for the movie, we watched Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire!

For dinner we had Yule Ball Pork Chops, Gillyweed Salad, Mad Eye Moody's Eyeballs, Goblet of Fire Cocktail, Dumbledore's Licorice Snaps, and Aunt Petunia's Pudding.  It was really good!

Yule Ball Pork Chops
I found the recipe here and tweaked it a bit!

Ingredients:
3 bone in pork chops
2 tablespoons of flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
3/4 cup of Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1.5 teaspoons of dried sage
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of butter

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a shallow dish, combine flour, salt, and pepper.
3. In another shallow dish, combine Parmesan cheese, Panko bread crumbs, and sage. 
4. Place the egg in a shallow bowl.
5. With each pork chop, dip in the flour mixture, then coat it with the egg, then cover with the Panko mixture.
6. In a skillet, brown the chops with butter and olive oil over medium high heat for two minutes on each side.
7. Transfer to a greased baking sheet and cook, uncovered for 15 minutes.


*These were amazing!

Gillyweed Salad
I found this recipe here and changed it quite a bit based on what we had in our kitchen. 

Ingredients for the salad: 
8oz of Spinach (or Gillyweed)
3/4 cup of Almonds
1/2 cup of dried cherries

*Mix together in a bowl

Ingredients for the dressing:
1/4 cup of Raspberry Blush Vinegar 
2 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 tablespoon of Ginger and Honey Acetate
2 tablespoons of finely minced shallots
2 tablespoons of sesame seeds

*Mix together and top the salad with. 

Mad Eye Moody's Eyeballs
I did the same eyeballs that I did for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Goblet of Fire Cocktail
Ingredients:
1oz Rum
1oz Blue Curacao
Fill with lemonade
Sprinkle with Cinnamon

If you want to light it on fire, use Bacardi 151.  We didn't because... ya know, I have a child and responsibilities and stuff. 

We just put a lighter behind the drink to cheat a bit.  WHAT?!?  Safety is important!

Dumbledore's Licorice Snaps
I got these Licorice candies from my Try The World Box Sweden!

Aunt Petunia's Pudding

I know, I know.  This pudding is actually NOT in this book.  But I have planned out my Harry Potter dinners.  You just have to trust me!  I got this recipe here!

Ingredients for crust:
1.5 cups of Nilla Wafers
5 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of sugar

Ingredients for filling:
16oz of cream cheese
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of sour cream
3 eggs
1 teaspoon of Vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of Lemon extract
The juice from one lemon and the zest.
Purple Gel Icing
Lavender Sprinkles


Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Lightly butter a 9 inch circular pan.
3. Cover the bottom of the pan with aluminum foil.
4. Combine crust ingredients until it looks like wet sand.
5. Pour crumbs into the bottom of the pan and compact with fingers. 
6. Using a mixer, combine the sugar and cream cheese until smooth.
7. Add sour cream, extracts, the juice and zest from a lemon.
8. Add in the eggs until well mixed. 
9. Pour filling into the crust.
10. Place circular pan in a larger rectangular pan.  Fill the rectangular pan with water so it hits the circular pan halfway up.
11. Bake for 50 minutes.
12. Turn the oven off and let sit in the warm oven for an hour.
13. Place in the fridge overnight. 
14. Decorate with purple icing and lavender sprinkles.

Can't wait to see "Fantastic Beasts" and neither can Olivia!

If you liked this dinner, check out our Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone dinner.

EXPECTO PATRONUS!

Rio Dinner

For tonight's dinner, we did a Rio theme!  I had never seen the movie but knew a little bit about it.  Olivia LOVED all of the bright colors and the beginning takes place in Minnesota!  

For dinner we had Lionel's Chicken Dinner, Cafe Rio's Queso Dip and Chips, Blu's Bird Food, Jabuticaba Caipirihna, and Macaw-pcakes 

Lionel's Chicken Dinner

Ingredients:
Two chicken breasts cut in half 
Flour (about a cup)
Panko Bread Crumbs (about a cup)
1 egg
1 teaspoon of Paprika
Salt and Pepper 
Olive Oil
Acai Glaze from Try the World

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. On a shallow plate mix the flour, salt, pepper, and paprika.
3. On a second shallow plate, beat the egg
4. On a third shallow plate, spread out the Panko crumbs.
5. Dip (and coat thoroughly) each chicken piece in the flour mixture, followed by the egg mixture and finish with the Panko bread crumbs
6. Brush both sides of the chicken pieces with olive oil.
7. Bake chicken for 10 minutes, flip each piece, and cook for 14 more minutes on the other side.
8. Add desired amount of Acai Glaze... which is amazing btw. 

Cafe Rio's Queso Dip and Chips
I found this recipe here and made it a tad less spicy! 

Ingredients:
2 cups of cheddar cheese
2oz of cream cheese
1 cup of salsa
1/8 teaspoon of Cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon of Cumin
1/4 teaspoon of Chili Powder
Tortilla chips

Directions:
1. Mix together both cheeses in a saucepan on medium heat until fully melted. 
2. Add the salsa and spices until warm. 
3. Serve in a bowl with chips. 

Blu's Bird Food
I combined Cheerios, Gummy Worms, and M&Ms

Jabuticaba Caipirihna
Mint Leaves (6)
3 tablespoons of Jabuticaba Jam, from the Try the World box
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 of a lime cut into wedges
3/4 cup of club soda
1/4 cup of rum (cachaca, if you have it)

Macaw-pcakes
I used our cupcake recipe from The Lorax dinner.

For the icing, I bought white icing and added two drops of teal gel food coloring drops. I covered all of the cupcakes with the blue frosting.  Then I took the Oreos and carefully split them in half and used the icing side as eyes (two icing side Oreos for each cupcake).  I used mini M&Ms as the beak (orange) and two for the eyes (I used blue and brown to reflect the characters).  To adhere the Iris in place, I used white/clear frosting.

We had a great time and it was nice to use some of my Try the World-Brazil items!