Guys, Valentine’s Day is this weekend – well that sure snuck up on us, and fast! This year we didn’t make a heart cake, but we still want you to have the option to make one if that’s your thing. In 2013, we made a red heart cake with Mary (of Mary Costa Photography), in 2014, we made a black heart, and last year we made a smaller mint colored heart. Over the years we’ve pulled in various friends of various talents to help us shoot this fun cake, and we encourage you to make this with a friend, your family, or your Valentine!

The tutorial is here and explains just how to cut and carve your way to a three or four layer cake of hearty goodness (I can’t stop/won’t stop these puns!).

Thanks to Mary for most of the above photos! If you make a heart cake, let us know! Tweet at us and use our hashtag, #GMSForRealLife! Happy almost-Valentine’s Day, lovers!

Hey guys! This week was a doozy, and I will report that our eating was not so hot, but what are you gonna do with a busy work week?

On Friday night, we had take-out sushi with Ana and Eric and watched Ex-Machina. I love sushi so it was a nice treat for me – that paired with popcorn made for a perfect double date night.

On Saturday night we had pizza as we prepped for Traci’s epic 30th Birthday Party which was held in our magical backyard (photo above by Ana!) Then we had tons of snacks and a cookie cake that was delightful – I’ll have to make it again for y’all.

Sunday, I taught a cooking class on pizza, and managed to have some leftover calzone to eat for dinner. Basically it was all pizza all weekend.

Monday and Tuesday Jeff made dinner for us and saved the day – we had Chicken Sausage with Bowties and red sauce, and Ravioli and Meatballs respectively.

On Wednesday we both worked late, so we had Poquito Mas (I had fish tacos!).

And, as always, last night I went to Mendocino Farms before my soccer game and got my Kale Caesar. Up this weekend is a double date tonight (with cheese enchiladas!) and a trip to Disney tomorrow, followed by a quiet Sunday and another busy week – this time hopefully I’ll organize dinner plans on Sunday and we’ll make a few new recipes.

Happy weekend, everyone! Let me know what you’re eating for dinner – tweet at me @GarlicMySoul or comment on this – I love to know what’s making you happy.

Happy New Year Folks!

With the holidays past us and the craziness calmed, we wanted to focus on new endeavors and new goals for this year. With the success of our first two test kitchens in the fall of 2015, Jennie and I decided it was best to keep this new and exciting tradition going, this time with seafood. With so many delicious choices to choose from, with nothing too heavy or rich, we were leaving the holiday season behind and headed toward healthy goals in 2016.

For those of you that are new to the blog, our goal for these dinners is to try out fun and exciting recipes and to spend great times with friends – this time we had Lauren and Ryan on board (along with Jeff, per usual.) We’re all from the east coast, so the sea calls to us. We had a wonderful evening filled with great food, amazing drinks, enlightening conversation, and of course a few after dinner games! We hope our experiments inspire your imagination in the kitchen as well. Here’s what was on our menu:

Appetizer 1: Alaskan Crab Puffs with a Cucumber, Lemon, Dill Vodka Martini

For this appetizer we started out with a cocktail recipe of my own creation that really enhanced the sweetness of our puff pastries filled with Alaskan crab and cream cheese. We tried these like wontons as well as more of a ravioli, and determined both ways is delicious but the ravioli were easier to keep contained.

Appetizer 2: Scallops with Couscous and Arugula with a 2014 Brecon Estate Viogner/Grenache Blanc Blend

For this dish, we wanted to compliment the sweet and citrus notes of Brecon Estates 2014 Viogner/Grenache Blanc Blend with the earthiness of the bacon and arugula and the sweetness of the pan seared honey-glazed scallops. Served over buttered couscous, this appetizer could have been a meal by itself, but we didn’t want to stop there!

Main Course: Dry-Rubbed Salmon with Broccolini and Dill Potatoes with a 2012 Kenneth Volk Vin Gris Pinot Noir Rosé

Fresh Atlantic salmon is one of my favorite dishes to cook and eat. When you get it right it’s an extraordinary dish. I wanted to make sure that the salmon had a wonderful crust, but also a citrus undertone.

Before dry rubbing the salmon with selected spices to add a little kick, I let the top of the fish rest in some freshly squeezed lemon juice (we’re talking off-the-tree fresh!) for about 15 minutes. Fun fact: the acidity of the citrus caused the top layer of the salmon to almost begin cooking, and once you apply the dry rub you have an infused taste that’s phenomenal.

This dish, along with the dill-sprinkled potatoes and orange-zested broccolini, complemented perfectly with the bold and balanced rosé. (Jennie’s note: there is no photo of this dish because we ate it too quickly AND because we were having too much fun. And too much wine. That’s my bad.)

Dessert: Pots de Creme with a 2010 Halter Ranch Vin De Paille Dessert Wine

 We used the Pioneer Woman’s recipe for Pots de Creme, adding a little orange zest to bring in the hint of citrus, and this was quite a crowd pleaser. Extra points for whipping the cream at the table (although our guests may have missed it because we were focused on our game!)

We look forward to our next test kitchen in early March and would love hear about any exciting recipes you’re trying with your friends – the best meals and spirits are those shared with the people you care about, am I right?

Good Spirits Folks!

Oh hey, February! Today’s a month of love – both for each other, and for the almost end of winter and beginning of thawing into spring. Something we can all agree on is love for pizza – our love is strong over here. So in honor of that deep love, this month’s desktop calendar is dedicated to our #1 food. Download below!

Hey guys! How did we manage to make it to Friday again? What a dream. This week was almost all eating in, and we managed to get a few new recipes in, too!

On Friday, Jeff and I made our fave tried and true: chicken quesadillas. We eat these a lot, so it occurs to me I need to make them up for you guys. Coming to a blog near you!

On Saturday, George and I made dinner for a group of our friends, coming to the blog too – seafood heavy and very delicious. It’s a departure from what we normally cook so it was a lot of fun, too.

On Sunday, we had our old neighbors over and made the PW’s Lemon Pasta. This is easily one of my fave dishes to make for a group – it’s so easy, so delicious, and it makes great leftovers.

On Monday night, we had a girls night to watch a friend’s show (have you seen Hit the Floor? OMG you should watch it. Preferably in a crowd of ladies talking loudly. So fun!) So we ate leftover salmon and pasta – perfect!

On Tuesday night, I made a Chicken & Broccoli Stir-fry (with bok choy, too, because I had some) loosely based on this recipe. I used sesame oil to make the veggies, then added sriracha, and served it over rice noodles. Have you guys had the ones from Trader Joe’s? That’s what I used…but they got so gluely! I’ll have to try again…but I wanted these to be good because they’re ready in 3 minutes. What do you guys eat with stir fry?

On Wednesday, I went out for my friend Traci’s birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN TRACI) to Sadie Kitchen & Lounge. This was part of Dine LA, which was awesome, and we ate ourselves stuffed. Perfection.

On Thursday, per usual, I went to Mendo and got a Kale Caesar Salad before soccer.

And that takes us to today! Up this week is homemade pizza, and hopefully some quality nights at home making something new. What are you getting at this weekend? What’s been your go-to dinner? Talk to me, chickadees!