Thursday, March 26, 2009

Crêpe Suzette - For my dear Mother (Suzete)


Je T'aime Maman!

(Te amo Mamãe!)


Merci pour les magnifiques souvenirs dans mon enfance.

(Obrigado pelas memories maravilhosas de minha infância)





Crêpes
100g plain flour
1 tbsp golden caster sugar
2 large eggs
1 tbsp sunflower oil
300ml semi-skimmed milk
splash of beer , about 2 tbsp (optional)

Method:
Put the flour, sugar and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, add the eggs, oil and 2 tbsp of the milk, and beat together with a wooden spoon until smooth.

Slowly start to pour in a little milk, mixing as you pour, to keep the batter smooth.

Pour in the rest of the milk, a bit more quickly now, until it looks like single cream. Finally, add the beer.
Heat a 15cm/6in crêpe pan.

Measure 21⁄2 tbsp of the batter into a jug, then pour into the pan, moving it around so the mixture swirls and fits the bottom of the pan. When the crêpe is golden underneath (in about 15 seconds if pan is the right temperature), turn and cook for a further 30 seconds, until spotted brown.
Slide the crêpe on to a plate. Wipe the pan with oiled kitchen paper and continue frying until all the batter is used, stacking the crêpes on top of each other as you cook them.

***You can freeze the pancakes at this stage, wrapped in cling film and foil. Or make a day ahead, wrap and keep in the fridge. To reheat, put on an ovenproof plate, cover with foil and warm in a 180C/Gas 4/fan oven 160C for 10-15 minutes. (If using for Crêpes Suzette, warm through in the sauce.)

Sauce
100g butter
100g golden caster sugar
150ml freshly squeezed orange juice (about 12 large oranges)
2 tsp finely grated orange zest
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
3 tbsp Grand Marnier
2 tbsp cognac
Method:
Heat the butter and sugar in a deep frying pan (about 25cm/10in) over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar begins to dissolve; turn up the heat and bubble quite fast, until the mixture just starts to go brown and caramelise (about 4 minutes), stirring only towards the end. Pour in the orange juice ; add the orange and lemon zests, letting the mixture bubble for 3-4 minutes to thicken slightly.
(OPTIONAL ) Add the Grand Marnier and cognac, heat for a few seconds and lower the heat.
Put one crêpe into the juices and, holding it with a fork, coat it well in the mixture. Fold it into quarters and push to one side of the pan. Continue the coating and folding with the remaining pancakes. Serve 2-3 crêpes per person with the sauce.

Nutrition Per serving
373 kcalories, protein 6g, carbohydrate 40g, fat 19 g, saturated fat 10g, fibre 1g, salt 0.46 g


Merci d'avoir suivi cette recette et bonne dégustation !


P.S: I love mine with ICE CREAM on the top :)

Monday, March 23, 2009

Las Vegas 02.11 to 16, 2009

Kaitlyn (our adorable, cute, teenager hormone-powered daughter) was in town today, after work Daren and I went to pick her up at the McCoys to have some fun. Kait was craving a hamburger and no better place to go than FIVE GUYS (yummy, yummy…). After we were stuffed to the max and happy, Kait convinced us, using her beautiful puppy dog eyes, to take her to the Zumiez store to the sadness of our pockets. Isn’t it amazing how our kids can leave us poor and happy? To finalize our night we decided to go watch a movie (KNOWING): great movie, it makes you think about your life and how short it can be.
We miss Kait so much, after she moved to Hurricane we spent 03.11th to 16th with her at St. George/Las Vegas, it was her first time in Las Vegas and we had so much fun. Ayaka, one of our past exchange students, came to visit us from Japan and according to her it was a dream come true.




Night Out 03.19,2009


Hello, There!

On 03/19, our dear friends Matilde & Tony Wosnjuk celebrated their 13th Anniversary treating 100 of their dear friends to a concert with the Spanish singing sensation Montserrat at SLCC’s Amphitheater.




Here a little bit about Montserrat:

Montserrat delighted us Boleros com Bossa Nova (Boleros with Bossa Nova), her second album, which is an infusion of traditional bolero with a modern/Latin twist made by the Brazilian composer and musician Roberto Menescal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7PZt8Hiw_8

Montserrat’s second album reached the # 1 in Spain and # 2 in Mexico. Also made “Top Ten” in countries such as France, Italy, Argentina, Japan and Brazil.
Her debut production, Añoranza (Longing)—a collection of Cuban and Mexican boleros recorded in Havana and São Paulo— It featured her collaborations with such musical legends as Jesús "Chucho" Valdés, Pablo Milanes, Pio Leiva and bolero king Mundito González.

Daren wasn’t feeling well, so I invited our friends Guillermo “Gigio” Brunet and Yerley Burgos to go with me. For those that don’t know Latin Music, Yerley was one of the 8th finalists for Objetivo Fama (the Spanish version of America Idol) and she knew all the songs from the concert. Yerly, besides being a wonderful and beautiful friend, is an amazing singer, see for yourself on the clip below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DVG0PPxUi8

Matilde sent me an email today thanking me for coming to their Anniversary celebration and for the Golden Grass earrings we gave her. Her exact words were “I loved it, I loved it, I loved it!” and my words to you Ma are: “Thank you, thank you, thank you for your friendship and the great time you are always providing your friends with. You and Tony are the best!”

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Busy Week 03.11 to 15, 2009

Last week was a pretty busy week for us, we were exhausted :( Besides the sad situation with the Sanders, we had the house full this week.

03/11 to 12 -We had the Morris (Shane & Marcel) on the way to Hawaii (yes, we are jealous, but who isn't? It's Hawaii, people!) with another couple (sorry it will sound rude, specially as they were our guests, but we forgot their names).We love the Morris! Marcel is Daren's sister and Shane is a brother to us, we always have so much fun having them around.

Shane & Marcel Morris
enjoying some good subs at Jimmy John's

On 03/13, my dear friend and former co-worker (Renee Hammond) and her better half (Matt Greg) came from Seattle to visit us for 4 days, it was so nice to see them.

On 03/14, we spent practically the whole day helping the Sanders: setting tables, cleaning, cooking, serving... trying to show our moral support anyway we could. We know this won't heal their pain, but I am sure it's nice to know people care about you. The Sanders are an example of faith and strenght for us.
During the night we had two dinners that we had already RSVP'D for so we couldn't miss...First we went to the Mango's (Tarek & Tabitha) and had a nice Italian dinner with good friends/ former co-workers. We had a blast, the Mangos are wonderful hosts and the guestlist couldn't have been more wonderful.
Renee Hammond, Greg Fowles, Charles "Chip" Bullen, Matt Greg and Daren







Sarah Seamons, Connie Lang & Jennifer Fowles







Tarek & Tabitha Mango







After the Mangos, Lisa Fick (Daren's former co-worker and good friend) got engaged with Aaron (yeah, again. we forgot his last name). We got there a little late, but it was nice to be able to share their happiness, we love Lisa and Aaron is a very nice guy. Congrats to them!

Oh, I almost forgot to make everything better : Daren and I got sick, too much food or something, we stayed awake the whole night. We were so exhausted we stayed home from Church and slept.

On Sunday (03/15) we were dying... By the end of the night when Renee and Matt came back home after a fun day of skiing , we were feeling much better. We are glad we didn't make them sick :)To end our busy weekend Daren was so exhausted on Sunday that he snored all night long, which kept me awake trying to find ways to block his noises without any success.One of my neighbors had her husband (who according to her was a chain shaw snorer) do a snoreplasty, a simple procedure that according to her stopped his snoring, only $250!!!http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/sleep-disorders/archives/Snoring_apnea_snoreplastyupdate2.htm

I will definetely take a look into that :)))

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Sad news 03.08, 2009

Today we received some sad news from our dear friends (The Sanders).
On Sunday (03/08) Mara Sanders went to the UofU Hospital for an emergency C-Section.
Baby Elijah was born but with complications... During the birth process a blood cloth went to his brain and he didn't move at all, no brain activity... It was so sad :(((
We went to visit the Sanders and we hope to hear some good news, but instead they informed us that after several exams they decided to turn off Elijah's life support.
Besides hold them, on situations like that you don't know what to say.
I can't even imagine what they are going through right now... What an awful decision to make!
They are devasted and heart broken, I ask all of you that know the Sanders to join us in our prayers for baby Elijah and his family.
Thank you,

Monday, March 9, 2009

Yeah, the Hoggans are online now!

Ok, I need to get better on this blog stuff... It took me ages to change the layout, pics, etc and I thought I was pretty savvy :)))
Now we are online, in keep in touch!

No excuses :)