RhodeyGirl Tests

Valentine’s Day is coming upon us. Cupid is busy at work, ready to sprinkle love over all of us. I never have made Valentine’s Day a big deal, but it always ends up being fun.

In 2005 I had a few girlfriends over and we made lots of Valentine’s treats for friends, who loved their baked goods. We made X&O brownies, slice and bake sugar cookies, and more! It was one of my first ventures into what I then called “baking”, but what was really just making fun treats… from a box.

In 2008 I almost forgot about Valentine’s Day, but my husband-to-be (boyfriend at the time) did not. He called my dad on Valentine’s Day and said he was going to surprise me for dinner but wanted to get a drink with him first. My dad, not knowing that PhillyBoy wanted to use that opportunity to ask for my hand in marriage, made an elaborate dinner plan last minute. He told me I **had** to go to a dinner meeting with him and a potential employee because she was due to start the following week and he needed my approval. I complained that it was awkward to have a dinner date on Valentine’s Day, but went anyway…. and who showed up? PB! That wasn’t the end of it though. The next day I came home from work and found some penguins waiting at the door with gifts. SO creative. Oh, and the penguins were from his personal collection… no joke.

For Valentine’s Day last year, PB and I went to LaCroix in Center City (Rittenhouse Square) for lunch. We had such a nice time, and the food was delicious. I still remember parts of our conversation from that lunch.

This year I decided to make some extra special chocolate covered pretzel rods for PhillyBoy. He doesn’t like sweets that much, but I know he loves these. Chocolate covered pretzels are inexpensive to make, and a great way to spend a snowy afternoon! During the storm on Saturday I tackled my to do list before being lazier than I have been in years. First on my list? Making these for PB and for the winner of the auction in The Chic Life’s Bake Sale for Haiti!

Steal My Heart Double Dipped Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods

Makes 10

Ingredients:
10 Pretzel rods
A good amount of medium dark chocolate (I used 2 large Ghirardelli bars)
1/2 cup red (or pink) peanut M&Ms
2 tbs red sugar crystals
2 tbs Valentine’s sprinkles

Directions:
1. Place the M&Ms in a large ziploc bag and seal. Smash using a mallet until every piece is broken up into fairly small pieces. Pour out onto a piece of wax paper and add the red sugar crystals and Valentine’s sprinkles. Mix together.
2. Lay out a sheet of wax paper to put your completed pretzel rods. Break up the chocolate bars with yuor hands and place in a large heat and microwave safe vessel. I used a large water glass. Microwave on high in 30 second increments, stirring the chocolate each time. For 2 bars of chocolate, I microwaved for one minute total. You want a few chunks to still be visible. The heat from the melted chocolate will help to melt the rest. Stir vigorously until all chocolate has melted.
3. Dip your pretzel rod into the vessel until 90% is covered. Pull the pretzel rod out while twirling it to remove excess chocolate. Place on the wax paper to dry. Repeat until all the pretzel rods are covered in one layer of chocolate.*
4. When all the chocolate has dried on the first layer of chocolate, dip them a second time (heat your chocolate again if necessary), removing excess chocolate by twirling the rod and using a spatula to help, if necessary. Place immediately in the M&M, sugar crystal, and Valentine’s sprinkle mix and cover completely. Place back on the wax paper to dry. Repeat until all the pretzel rods are covered. Share with your loved ones on Valentine’s Day, and enjoy!**

**When I finished these I mixed the excess chocolate with some melted peanut butter and dipped some pretzel nuggets into it. They are delicious!

**After dipping the chocolate once, they should look like this:

After dipping them a second time and adding your topping, they will be much thicker (shown here dipped in crushed Oreo cookies):

Previous chocolate covered pretzel rod posts, for inspiration:

Candy Cane Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods
Tips & Thoughts

My trip to New York has been amazing, and I will be writing complete recaps for you later this week. I just didn’t want to leave you without a Valentine’s Day activity to do in the snowstorm. This is the perfect way to spend the snow day and to get ready for Cupid’s visit!

Please take the time to vote for our MOD SQUAD cake. Electrolux is donating $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund for every vote! Thank you! http://www.kelly-confidential.com/team_details/mod-squad.html

I really love New York. I haven’t been here in a long time! The energy is addicting and revitalizing.

Before Tina and I met up for lunch I headed into the Chelsea Market to waste a little time. The market smelled so good, and I can’t believe I had never been there before.

I ended up in a large Italian market where I found the Flott brand of canned tuna- imported from Italy. It is my aunt’s favorite brand, and she and my nonna swear by it!

I bought 5 cans.

I personally find it hilarious that so far in NYC I have bought Christmas ornaments and canned tuna. Very random.

When I headed back to the hotel I was texting with Meghann. Little did I know she, her mom, and her twin brother were sitting in the lobby! We hung out while I waited for Tina and Meghann waited for her room. Meghann let me try one of her One Lucky Duck goodies. It was very interesting, and not what I expected at all. It almost tasted a bit like chocolate protein powder? I think after a bag I would really like them, but it might take that long to become obsessed.

Anyway, Tina and I finally headed off to lunch in the Chelsea Market. We strolled the different shops and cafes before deciding on Friedmans lunch. The menu had a lot of great selections in the sandwich and salad genre.

I ordered a grilled chicken salad with dried cranberries, toasted walnuts, carrots, avocado and balsamic vinaigrette. It was absolutely delicious and just the healthy lunch I needed.

They served the water in wine bottles whose labels had been removed. I will definitely do this at a rustic dinner party soon! I loved the simple presentation.

When I first had walked in all of the chocolate at … smelled so good, but I am very happy we ended up at Friedmans. I would definitely go back!

Back at the hotel I was going to head up directly to my room to change for the gym, but the PH button in the elevator was calling our names. I have heard a lot about the gorgeous penthouse floor bar, and I had to see it. When Tina and I headed up there who did we see? Meghann! Small hotel! We got a few shots outside. New York is really beautiful, isn’t it?

The gym at the hotel is pretty small, but I have come to expect that from hotels! I got my three miles in (24:17- record treadmill time for me) and did a few strength moves. I had just the right amount of time for a workout and a shower!

This trip has really been incredible. I am so thankful to Electrolux and Foodbuzz for this opportunity. It is now Tuesday afternoon (I have a lot of blogging to catch up on already it seems) and we are about to head over to Kelly’s Cake Off For A Cause. I hope my team wins! We will really be depending on your votes, but until then, send us some good cake decorating karma!

Previous New York posts:
New York!

When I started sharing my recipes and food adventures a couple of years ago, I never thought I would have the opportunities I have been given. From attending the Foodbuzz Festival in 2009 as a Nature’s Pride Bread Ambassador, to sampling and giving feedback on raw items for a new online bakery to today, I am a lucky woman.

Today’s adventure began early. I woke up unhappy to hear such an early alarm, but it is worth it. I am in New York City for the next two days for an event featuring Electrolux and Kelly Ripa benefiting the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. I applied through Foodbuzz to participate in the event, and am one of 15 bloggers chosen to be here. When the time comes, I will need all of your help voting on our cake creation. That’s right, we are participating in a cake decorating contest! Buddy Valastro from Cake Boss will instruct us on a few cake decorating techniques. The event will be held tomorrow afternoon, but until then, lots of fun is to be had!

I got to the hotel bright and early and was able to check into my room right away. Each blogger was given a beautiful gift bag.

It had the following items:

-Electrolux tote bag
-heart shaped bowls by Zak designs
-spatulas, sugar shaker, measuring cups and spoons from Williams Sonoma
-Carlo’s Bake Shop t-shirt (and mine actually fits!)
-Electrolux wine cooler!

The wine cooler will be delivered at a later date, and I already know where it is going to go in our home!

I unpacked my bag so my clothes would be wrinkle free, and explored the hotel a bit. The Hotel Gansevoort is really beautiful. It is in the Meatpacking District, an area I haven’t explored since my cousin was a fashion design intern for Yigal Azrouel. The style of the hotel is similar to the one I stayed at in Chicago, but even sleeker.

It is directly across the street from Pastis and Spice Market.

I have lunch plans with Tina in a little bit, but until then I decided to walk around the area. I am vaguely familiar with it from the day I spent roaming the area before the Yigal Azrouel show I attended three years ago. Of course, I had to stop by his store to see the latest collection.

A few more shops piqued my interest and I checked them out. I saw a beautiful shirt at Catherine Malandrino, but at $345, it wasn’t worth buying. On my way back to the hotel I saw a SALE sign in front of charles nolan. Have you ever heard of him? I hadn’t before, but he designed for Ellen Tracy and Anne Klein for many years, and more recently has sold pieces from his charles nolan collection at Sak’s Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s and more. He currently is selling his work only at this store.

I loved the warm, family feeling in the store, and I took a good look at everything for sale. I ended up buying an oversized cream sweater, kelly green tank for St. Patrick’s Day, and three beautiful ornaments that were 70% off! If you are in the area, definitely check out their store!

I will be blogging about this entire trip in extensive detail, so keep checking back for more updates! Feel free to also follow me on Twitter as I share the smaller details of the trip! For now, I’m off to lunch!

P.S. I am so excited to have Tina & Joseline on my cake decorating team!

P.P.S. I already miss PhillyBoy.

Don’t ask me who is in the Super Bowl, because I have no idea.

I do, however, know what I would make for a Super Bowl party. Add a healthy twist to old favorites, and you can enjoy this Super Bowl guilt-free… unless, however, you are like me and fall asleep halfway through the game!

(Source)

Healthy SuperBowl Party

Snack Tray:
Sabra Hummus
Guacamole
Stacy’s chips, unsalted pretzels, carrots, and cucumbers

Dinner:
Healthy Turkey Burgers
Veggie Burgers
Baked Sweet Potato Fries (recipe below)
Baked Potato Fries
Turkey Bean Chili w. cornbread (made from a mix)
My favorite salad (sans chicken)
Exotic fruit tray (mango, pineapple, kiwi)
Blue Moon beer & Unsweetened Iced Tea

RhodeyGirl’s Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato
olive oil spray
kosher salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Boil a pot of water. Wash your potato and cut to the desired fry shape. Boil them for 5 minutes. Meanwhile spray a baking sheet with olive oil (or Pam). Drain the potatoes and spread them on the sheet in one layer. Sprinkle with salt (and whatever spices you want) and spray with more oil or cooking spray. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Flip each fry carefully (I use tongs). Put the heat up to 425 and pull out when they reach the desired brownness/crunchiness.

I will be in New York at the beginning of next week for an event with Electrolux and Kelly Ripa, benefiting the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. I am really excited! Keep your eyes open for lots of posts next week! I will be joining 14 other bloggers for a fun cake decorating contest, including Tina & Meghann!

If you missed the rest of this week’s posts, you may find them here:
Working from Home
You Can Learn to Cook: Part 1

For all the Philadelphia & New Jersey readers, enjoy being snowed in this weekend!!!!