Turkey for a day…

Happy Sunday all!  I had not planned on abandoning you all for the whole weekend, but, we have had a blast visiting friends and going to Turkey for a day and seeing my family to celebrate my “older” brothers birthday.

I cannot believe this weekend is already over and we were home this weekend pretty much just to sleep, eat breakfast and bake.  Funny combination, but, true.

I whipped up scrambled eggs with chives for us both days…..1 egg plus 1 egg white, 2 Tbsp chives, sea salt, pepper and lots of hot Jamaican hot sauce post picture. SF – (2 points+)

Along with Trader Joe’s Sweet Maple Chicken Apple Sausages.  Of all of Trader Joe’s sausages, these are my personal favorite and they are only 3 points+ each.

I didn’t really need to make a dessert for our day trip to Turkey, but, I couldn’t resist making these Sweet and Saltine “crack” Squares after watching Trisha Yearwood make them on the Food Network.  I have never watched her show before, but, she managed to get me to make these after about 5 minutes….that may or may not be a good thing

This is probably one of the easiest desserts you will ever make and it reminds me a lot of my Pecan Bark as the “toffee” is made the same way.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and clear shelf space for a cookie sheet in your freezer.

Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray it with nonstick spray.  Then add a single layer of saltine crackers, salt side down to cover the pan, about 35.

Melt the butter and brown sugar over medium heat stirring constantly.  Bring it to a boil and boil for up to 5 minutes or until the butter is completely absorbed into the brown sugar and it turns a nice caramel brown.

Pour the caramel over the saltines and use your spoon to gently push to cover them.

Cook in the oven for 3-4 minutes or until bubbly.

Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top.  I used half dark and half milk chocolate – next time I think I’d use all milk chocolate.  Allow the chocolate chips to melt, about 5 minutes.

Then, use a spatula to spread the chocolate all over the toffee.  The one change I made to her recipe was to add a sprinkle of course sea salt on the top to enhance the salty, sweet, crunchy, flavor. 

Put the pan in the freezer for 20 minutes.  Once everything is chilled, break into pieces and resist eating it all.

OMG ~ you all ~ I get why she calls this “crack” seriously…..if you love SKOR Candy Bars, you will love this ~ it tastes just like a SKOR bar, but, better. 

I mean, what’s not to love about sea salty chocolate covered toffee with crunchy saltines. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon before heading to Turkey for a Day getting ready for our trip to Australia.  We shopped way too many stores looking for new luggage.

Who knew they made luggage now with overweight indicator lights?! So funny yet brilliant for people like me who pack too much.

All week long I have been looking forward to our dinner ~ aka, our trip to Turkey for a day.  As several of you know, I am totally addicted to Kabob at Tarla Mediterranean Grill in Napa.

One of our good friends is from Turkey and I couldn’t wait to take them here so they could talk turkey and more importantly, eat Turkey   Ok…Turkish cuisine, but, that counts the same, right?  That totally makes me wonder now, do they eat turkey in Turkey? 

I brought a bottle of the Uncensored Red Blend from Geyser Peak to share with the table.

Delicious ~ I love how all the grapes are blended to make a wine that is perfectly balanced, a little sweet and it has an excellent finish. 

We started with a round of “Mezes” (appetizers) for the table to share. 

Meatballs in a wild mushroom cream sauce with the most amazing Brussels sprout and butternut squash blend.  I was totally the girl stealing the vegetables and leaving the balls behind LOL.

We shared Hummus Among Us   The pine nuts were a great addition.

I passed on the “beer” olives

Then, loads and loads of food including some chef specials came for all of us to share.  Every single dish was absolutely amazing and I’d order each of them again….although Kabob is still my favorite.

The Special of the Night ~ Spiced Rubbed New York Steak with crispy potatoes and Brussels sprout chips (I knew I loved the already, but, then, they had to go and add Crispy Brussels Sprout Chips.)  This might have been my favorite dish of the night.

Stuffed Eggplant (Imam Bayildi) ~  Caramelized Onions-Red Pepper Stuffed Japanese Eggplant
Parsley / California Jasmine Rice / Fresh Tomato Garlic Sauce

Pomegranate-Cabernet Braised Short Ribs of Beef ~ Pumpkin Sage Risotto / Pickled Sweet Peppers Fried Shallot Petals

Caramelized Diver Scallops ~ Shrimp-Wax Bean Kataifi / Sunchoke Puree / Lemon-Caper Sauce  (I totally loved those funky wrapped shrink/green bean things and scallops)

Grilled Mixed Kabobs ~ with grilled tomatoes and jalapeno with lemon oregano bulgur.  I could probably live on this plate (well with chicken only)

We finished the meal with Turkish Coffee and desserts.  Did you all know that Turkish coffee is known for the foam ring on the top?  It’s pretty thick stuff.

The dessert special of the night ~ Apple Crumble Bread Pudding with caramel sauce and vanilla gelato.  Ummmm…yes, it sounds just as amazing as it sounds. 

Chocolate Crème Brule ~ I am not a fan of Brule’d anything, but, this was amazing ~ it was like having a super creamy, decadent, dark chocolate brownie but with a mousse texture.

Walnut Baklava!

Stuffed Turkish Apricots with Apricot Chardonnay Sorbet ~ Poached Turkish apricots stuffed with mascarpone cheese and rolled in pistachios

The apricots tasted just like candy and that sorbet was so refreshing.

And the dessert I was the most scared to try, but, truly loved.  You cannot taste the cheese ~ it’s like having this sweet, dense, coconut pancake.

Kunefe ~ Shredded Filo Dough with Cheese Filling and coconut

We just got home and I am thinking I should probably start packing!  3 days and a million and one things left to do. 

No Weekly Menu this week, but, I plan on seeing you all tomorrow with this month’s K-Cup promotion and hopefully a somewhat regular daily.  I know things have been a bit sporadic and probably won’t settle down until we return from Australia….but, I do plan on posting about all of our Aussie adventures ~ I cannot wait.

Night all!