Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble ...!

So this week I attended a Cooking Class at a local cookery school, organised by the Scottsdale 'newcomers' group.   What a fun way to spend a morning!  This one was all about sauces and covered 6 savoury and one sweet.  Not only did we get to make the sauces though, we also made each of the dishes that went with them and best of all, got to eat them all afterwards!  The chef was a lady called Amy Barnes, and for those Phoenecians among you that might be reading this, if you ever get the chance to attend one of her classes I would definitely recommend it!  Not only did she provide excellent demonstration and 'insider' tips and techniques, but was also very humorous - right up my alley.

Once Amy had run through each of the dishes we were going to make, we then split into groups of two or three and decided between us which dishes we wanted to make.  My partner was a lovely lady called Jennifer who had also moved to the area fairly recently and we got along famously. Also by pure co-incidence *ahem* we also happened to be seated nearest to the dessert workstations, so we elected to make that.   It was a croissant bread pudding with a praline sauce and OMG! ... it was absolutely delicious (probably had something to do with the whole dairy herd's worth of butter and cream it contained, but hey ho).

Croissant Bread pudding

The rest of the dishes were equally delicious, well maybe with the exception of the Swiss Chard dish, which I have to say was not my favourite (at the end of the day you can call it what you like but it's still cabbage as far as I'm concerned... bleugh!).

The other dishes were :

• Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Citrus Pan Sauce - yum
• Turkey Piccata with Tarragon Cream - yum
• Pan-Fried Steak in Bourbon Peppercorn Sauce - my favourite (can't think why)
• Pork Tenderloin with Caramelized Apples & Brandy Cream Sauce - yum
• Sauteed Swiss Chard with Parmesan Cheese & Wine Sauce - meh (the sauce was nice!)
• Grilled Shrimp with Lemon Aioli

The quantities of each dish were designed to feed at least 4 (our pudding was 8!) and as there were only about 16 of us, it's fair to say that nobody left hungry.  I didn't eat for the rest of the day!

I will definitely be recreating these dishes at home, in fact I am cooking the pork and apple dish for dinner this evening (I thought I had better wait at least another week before making the bread pudding though to allow my arteries to recover!).

On a somewhat related note, I also made 90 scones this week. Yes, that's right.  90.  Those of you who follow on Facebook will already know the reason why, but for those who don't, let me elaborate.

Mr B came home from work a couple of weeks ago and announced that he needed to come up with an idea for work as part of a 'Give2gether' campaign he was involved with at work (to encourage charitable donations).
"I was thinking of doing something British ... maybe an Afternoon Tea? How much trouble would it be for you to make a few scones?"
"That should be ok ... how many do you need?"
"Hmmm, well enough for 90 should be ok"
"WHAT?!?! ..... 90?  f*%*#@  b#@**!!!"

"Hmmm, yes, that's what I thought you would say"

Fast forward to last Friday evening after making sure I had already consumed one very large margarita ...
"Erm ... you know those scones I mentioned?"
"Yeeeeees.....?"
"Well, I might have accidentally mentioned it at work and someone has already sent out an email telling everyone that I will be providing afternoon tea ... Oops!"
"Oops?!?  You are in soooo much trouble right now Barlow ... "
"Erm ... I don't suppose you would be able to make sandwiches as well ... and maybe a cake or ten?"You could hear the baking tray ricochet off the back of his head for miles around .... (the answer in case you were wondering was NO!)

This weekend is the much anticipated Halloween celebration - quite a big deal over here apparently, 

On Thursday evening the dance studio that Mr B and I have been attending held a Halloween Dance Party.  Sadly, Mr B wasn't able to come as he was slumming it at one of the swanky hotels on a work do, so I went along on my own.  There were some very glamorous costumes, from vampires, to can can girls ... and then there was me.  I hadn't been planning to go as I knew Mr B couldn't make it but was persuaded at the last minute during our lesson the evening before.  Oh God.  What could I come up with in 24 hours?  Apparently this.

Black eyed pea!

Once again though, my warped sense of humour was completely lost on the natives, and I had to explain to almost everybody (I think the only person that got it straight away was a fellow Brit!).  Note to self ... maybe avoid 'subtle' in future.

Sarah, our dance teacher!

Well, better go and light up my pumpkin and fill up the sweety bowl, although not sure how many trick or treaters we will get here as it's a gated community they can't really get in.  Not seen many children out and about round here either (although to be fair it has been hotter than the surface of the sun for most of the time we have been here) so we will have to wait and see.

Hope you all had a spooktacular Halloween!

TTFN and see you next time.

Bev x

Polo in the Park

This week has been another eventful week in the Barlow household.

School was closed on Wednesday, due to 'Parent/Teacher Conferences', which I discovered to be the equivalent of 'Parents Evening' in the UK .... except it is during the day and all the kids get the day off!  This would of course never happen in the UK where teachers are expected to put in a full day at school and then stay all evening to see parents in what is usually a rushed 5 minute slot which invariably after the first few, get progressively further and further behind before eventually becoming completely chaotic with everybody trying to jump in in a state of panic.  Also, the children themselves are usually prohibited from attending which means you also have to arrange sitters etc.  All very inconvenient for all concerned.

Not sure if it is the norm for all schools in the US or whether it is just peculiar to Ethan's school, but here, 15 minute slots are made available in advance for each teacher, for which you sign up online, receiving an email confirmation with your final schedule - a much better approach.  (Mind you, I did get the sense that teachers here don't like doing ANY school work outside of the working day as more than one made indignant reference to having to prepare for the session in their 'spare time'!)

The downside of having these held during the day of course, was that Mr B was not able to attend and so, as we had been advised that student attendance was optional, I dragged Ethan along with me, (mainly to remind me of each of the teachers names and keep me from putting my foot in it, an all too easy mistake to make as it turns out.  Well, honestly, how was I meant to know that Gaetano was pronounced 'Guy' and not 'Gay' and that Scarpone rhymed with phone and not pony?  As we sat outside the English Dept. waiting to see Dr Spencer, I kept myself amused by saying 'Mmm Betty!' at frequent intervals which of course was totally lost on the boy who just looked horrified and kept hissing "Mum!  Be quiet!"  and thinking up rhymes to help me remember who we were going to see next.  Well, it made me laugh anyway :D

Mr Vernado (rhymes with Mikado ... three little maids from school are we .... shhhhhh!), the Media Arts teacher, was full of praise for Ethan's advanced tech ability and the apparently complex video game that he had designed.  Really?  Considering that 99% of the time he is attached to some gadget or another, it came as no surprise to me.  He also advised that Ethan now has his own license to write games that can be sold & published on the Apple Store apparently, so as far as I'm concerned the sooner he can start earning his keep the better.  Knock yourself out!  Finally, he went on to say that Ethan was much more comfortable in this class with the 'Nerds' (?!) before distractedly gazing out of the window and mumbling that he also felt more comfortable with the Nerds and how he had found his first year at High School very difficult and how the 'football jocks' had given him a hard time .... erm ... Earth to Vernado ... come in Vernado....Back in the Room!  All of this was covered in the first 5 minutes ... the next 10 were spent discussing whether we had purchased our Star Wars movie tickets yet and if we were going to dress up .... THAT my friends, is the definition of a Nerd as far as I'm concerned! No wonder he is a hit with this class.

American History next with Mr Minneci (or Spaghetti as I have renamed him).  A lovely man, if a bit of an old duffer, who apparently has only had 3 days off sick in 40 years of teaching (2 of those were when his grandchildren were born apparently) and who clearly loves what he does.  After telling me how much he enjoyed Ethan's sense of humor and how he liked to rib him about being British at every available opportunity (they are studying the Colonies and Civil War at the moment), he then enthusiastically went on to enlighten me on the next two weeks of lessons he has prepared, whipping out a copy of the Declaration of Independence and associated quiz he has ready for next week and also a map highlighting the 13 colonies, all color coded and .... ZZzzzzzzzzzzz ......sorry, dozed off there for a minute.  Oh dear, time's up, what a shame ... I was just getting into that ... not.

Algebra (ugh ... as useful as a chocolate teapot if you ask me); Spanish (no clue there either... French was my thing); followed by Biology (where I was given a recommendation for a great Chinese restaurant and where to go to buy British sweets .. Whole Pay Check apparently) all had more or less the same things to say ... doing great ... makes us laugh ... popular with the other kids etc. etc.

Finally onto Yearbook, Ethan's elective subject, where they are creating and publishing the school yearbook (and where Ethan is the only boy apparently - not that he is bothered about that!).  The teacher for this class, Mrs Phillips, had worked for a large National newspaper and also been a War Photographer with the US Army, before leaving to start a family.  Besides being very 'cool' (her class are allowed to listen to music and she brings in popcorn for them to eat while they work) she is a really interesting person to talk to with some amazing life experiences as you can imagine and likes a bit of banter with the kids which Ethan loves.  The subject matter is approached as a realtime project with allocated tasks and deadlines, from the photography, journaling, interviews of staff, pupils, sports team captains etc., to the design and publishing of the finished product.  All great skills and much more useful to prepare kids for the 'real world' than 2x +3b - c = 2 pies divided by a purple alien.  Solve for x.

Sadly the 2nd meeting of the 'Mother't Tea' committee was postponed due to pressing business of Miss South Africa, so hopefully an update on that next week!  I can't wait.

Today (Saturday), Mr B spent a lovely afternoon hob nobbing in the sunshine with the Scottsdale elite at the 5th Bentley Polo Championship.  Ironic, that having lived close to the Sussex Polo team ground in the UK for years, we had to travel half way round the world to see our first match!  The nice thing about living here is that you can pretty much guarantee that when you are going to an outdoor event, it will be sunny and warm with deep blue skies and you will not be required to bring an umbrella/raincoat/warm cardigan/wellies/carf etc. and tramp through a muddy field to get there.  But to be honest, the events on the polo field came a poor second to the fabulous spectacle off the field.  One of the best places I have ever been to indulge in my favorite sport ... people watching!  In addition to the polo set, there was also the 'Ferrari Set', the 'Bentley Set', the older Scottsdale set and last but by no means least, the 'My Daddy's loaded' set.  They were my favorite.  The outfits alone were enough to keep me entertained for hours on end ... the boys all looked like they had just stepped off the Ralph Lauren or Tommy Hilfiger catwalk ... crisply pressed shorts, shirts & bow ties, blazers, fedoras, and ice cream colored sunglasses, many of them, bizarrely, with big fat cigars.   The girls ... well, the girls ranged from the classically elegant, tall, slender, tanned, in maxi dresses or revealing jumpsuits, huge straw hats, dark glasses, Tiffany jewellery, to ... well, how shall I put it ... larger  ... ladies with ample amounts of white flesh squeezed into too tight body con dresses, all lumps and bumps.  (Clearly a lot of them had also got dressed in a hurry as there were many who seemed to have forgotten to put their skirts on!)

Ethan had politely declined to attend when I asked if he wanted to come (well, actually it was more 'What?!  You have GOT to be joking?') suddenly declaring that he had a lot of homework to get done, and so we were free to roam unsupervised,  predictably stumbling into the Heineken bar tent, which proved to be the best vantage point for the majority of our people watching.  (I have a feeling that there were going to be some VERY drunk individuals by the end of the day!).  Mr B and I are still keeping up with our dance lessons and dropped in to say hello to our instructors and the rest of the Fred Astaire Dance Studio gang who were also demonstrating at the event (**whispers** we also managed a bit of dancing but don't tell Ethan as he would be mortified ... Shhhhh|)

Nedko, Sarah and Isis from FADS

Finally, in other random news, I seem to have become the focus of some very hungry mosquitos, and after a very pleasant evening grilling steaks on the patio yesterday, woke up this morning covered in large red welts which are now torturously itchy and which no amount of antihistamine or bite cream has as yet soothed.  B*#tards!   Thanks to all those who have offered suggestions for both prevention and treatment.  No doubt I will have the opportunity to try them all in due course!

Thanks for stopping by, have a great week and until next time ...
TTFN
Bev x

Tea for .... 80?!

Apologies for the lack of a post last week but we had our first visitors over from the UK and life was a bit more hectic than usual.  It was so lovely to see everybody and we had a fabulous 10 days of sightseeing, eating & drinking (of course) and lots of laughter.  Now that they have all gone back though, it seems very quiet - I even miss Boothy's constant wittering & early morning singing in the shower!

I also managed to slip out this week to attend the first school PTSA sub committee meeting for the Mother's Tea event in December which I was 'volunteered' to help with.  Blimey, what an eye opener that turned out to be!  Based on previous PTA events in the UK,  I was thinking that everybody would be charged with making a pile of sandwiches each, a plate of scones and a Victoria sponge etc., but it turns out I was WAY off the mark.  As the newcomer to the group, I decided I would take a bit of a back seat for this initial meeting and just observe until I had worked out how the land lay.  That turned out that was a very wise decision!

The committee 'chair' was a very bouncy South African lady, who skipped into the meeting room in a sparkly pink gym outfit, complete with immaculate hair and makeup, and after introducing herself, cheerfully went on to declare that she and I (the 'Brit') probably had the most expertise when it came to tea.   Oh God.  I am thinking she has probably never read 'How to Win Friends and Influence People'?  **cringes and sinks down in chair in an attempt to make self look smaller**
I have to say that whilst she seems very nice from the short time I have spent with her, I think she may have her work cut out persuading some of the 'veteran' PTSA members to go along with her proposal for this year's tea, judging by some of their faces as I glanced around the table.   Well, this is going to be entertaining!

I suppose, when I think Afternoon Tea, I think more Betty's Tea Room - comforting chintzy decor, piping hot tea poured into flowery china cups (with not necessarily matching saucers), giant scones (rhyming with stones) with lashings of clotted cream and jam, followed by hunks of homemade cake (you can tell I am a Northern Lass!).  Miss South Africa, on the other hand, was clearly thinking more, well ... a cross between tea at The Ritz and George Clooney's wedding.  She set the scene ... a vision of classic elegance in white, gold and silver; crisp white linens; fresh white flowers - orchids, roses, peonies; caterers; servers; fine bone china (all white of course); an 'uplifting' speaker ... etc. etc.  Ah.  I noticed with some amusement, the eyebrows of some of the existing members of the committee rising higher and higher as Miss S.A. continued.   It transpired that they had been responsible for organising the Mothers tea in previous years, which from what I could gather had been more 'Blue Peter' than 'Martha Stewart' and clearly didn't meet with Miss S.A's high standards.
"How are you going to cover all the costs?" one of them asked. Before adding rather smugly, "we didn't really have many costs last time as we brought all our own crockery and each committee member decorated their own table etc."
15-0.   Your serve S.A.
"Oh, well, I would like to have all the tables looking exactly the same ... which is far more elegant than a mixture of odd sets of china and decorations... "
Ouch!  15-15.
"We're not looking to make a profit. We just want to make sure that we cover our costs and the Mothers have a lovely time and get value for their $50"
Sorry what?!? ... For a minute there I thought she said $50! Haha!
So apparently I had heard correctly. $50?!?... for tea and cake?! I would be expecting David Beckham to ride in on a big white (obviously) unicorn for that!! ....... **sighs dreamily gazing out of window** ... sorry, was lost in my own little fantasy there for a minute  ... where were we? Oh yes. $50!!!!
It turns out though, that the Blue Peter version two years ago had been $45 which incredibly, everybody had been OK with and so nobody batted an eyelid at that part.  Good grief.
So, I guess I am still slightly confused.  If this isn't a school fundraising event, or even in aid of a local charity, then why would anyone want to pay $50 for what is essentially tea and cake in a school library?  Well, I say afternoon ... it's actually scheduled for 11.30am - 1.30pm  (don't even get me started on that!).  Perhaps, I have misunderstood and all will become clear after the next meeting (not holding my breath though).

Each member of the team was then tasked with getting quotes for caterers, servers, hire of crockery and flatware (took me a while to work out that that is cutlery to you and me), and also fresh flowers (assigned to me) ready to take to next week's meeting, together with suggestions for a speaker (can't wait to hear what they come back with for that!).
One member of Team USA (rather bravely I thought) suggested that maybe teapots filled with a small floral arrangement might look nice as table centrepieces?  Unfortunately, that idea was quickly smashed into the net by Team S.A. as having been "done to death ..."  Oh dear.  15-30

Whilst the proposed menu is as I would expect for an afternoon tea  ... finger sandwiches, scones with jam & cream, cake, petit fours etc., the beverage suggestions were a little strange to say the least.  Team USA wanted iced tea and pots of coffee, in addition to jugs of hot water (which would invariable be luke warm water) and an assortment of individual tea bags placed on tables.  Ugh!   That's not how you make tea!  Thankfully, Team S.A. overruled and it was agreed that proper teapots filled with English Breakfast tea (as Twinings is really the only half decent tea you can buy here) would be served at the table. More raised eyebrows from Team USA.  15-40

Team USA then rallied with a last ditch attempt to revert to the Blue Peter approach ...
"How do you propose to cover the costs if we don't sell enough tickets for the event?"
Fair point ... 30-40
"Well in that scenario, we may want to consider asking for donations ... or I will cover the costs myself if necessary".
Game to S. Africa.  New balls please!

I really can't wait for next week's meeting - its the most entertainment I have had since we have been here! To be continued ...

All that talk of tea has made me thirsty ... think I'll go and make a cuppa ... Sainsbury's Gold Label in case you're interested  ....

TTFN!
Bev x

Super Wicked...!

Last Saturday we went to see the musical Wicked at the ASU Gammage theatre in Tempe.  Not quite the West End but nonetheless a great performance and a great family trip out (which is becoming a rarity these days as the 'Tween' is reaching that age when it is soooo uncool to be seen out with your parents).  The highlight for aforementioned Tween and I though was not the spectacular musical performance, but the 'pre show' happening in the seats right next to us.  Allow me to explain.

We had settled in our seats some 20 minutes prior to the start of the performance, and were seated about a third of the way along a row.  Mr B, who still hasn't perfected the art of keeping his mouth shut in public, immediately caught the attention of the lady seated to his right who detected the whiff of a British accent faster than you could say Harry Potter.  Mistake No. 1.  After a few minutes of exchanging pleasantries with said lady, much to the amusement of the Tween and I, he then went on to introduce himself. Mistake No. 2.  Then, rather than politely closing off any further conversation, and feigning a sudden and intense interest in the programme (as is my usual approach), we heard him not only confirming knowledge of the place where Mrs Chatterbox lived but also advising that we had once stayed near there on holiday several years back. And that ladies and gents is where fatal Mistake No.3 was made and he was trapped until the start of the performance.  We pretended not to notice the frequent 'Rescue me, now!' glances in our direction and by the time she had started sharing her phone and scrolling through the many pictures of her grandchildren, we were in fits of hysterics! Lol! 

Fast forward 24 hours to Sunday, and the much awaited 'supermoon' event.   Previously, whenever there had been any such events in the UK, it was either cloudy, or the middle of the night, or both.  This time though we were lucky enough to be in the right time zone with the right weather conditions for a perfect view, which was expected to start around 5.30pm. Result!  We decided we would get the best view from a higher vantage point and so, after the Tween declined to come with us, Mr B and I drove 5 minutes up the road to a local supermarket car park, which has a great uninterrupted view across the valley.  There were already a few cars there, and a couple of pick up trucks where the occupants had set up their chairs, cool boxes and had their drinks and snacks ready.  Just as we were waiting for the moon to appear, another car pulled up alongside us and two ladies, who looked like Mother and Daughter, got out.  

"Are y'all waiting to see the blood moon?"

"Yes, it should be appearing any minute" Mr B replied. Uh-oh.  Wait for it.

"Ohhh! Where y'all from ...?"

You can probably guess how it went from there ... An hour and a half later, after we had covered the obligatory Harry Potter and the Royal family, we had pretty much heard the life stories of Sandy and her Mother, her brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces, seen all the photos of their recent trip to Monument Valley, Tucson & some canyon (can't remember the name as think I had nodded off by then) and how her niece and boyfriend were currently in England but couldn't get work visas.  

"Now what's the name of the town they are in again ...?  I'll think of it in a minute ... Oh yes, Wales."

That is the second time I have heard an American describe Wales as a small town in England! ...  But don't get me started on Geography and the US school curriculum!

We did actually get to see the 'supermoon' after all that, and pretty spectacular it was too.  Mr B even managed to get some great photos (which of course he emailed to Sandy when we got home as promised!).

 

Apparently we will have to wait 18 years to see the next one ... I wonder if Mr B will have learned to keep his trap shut by then? Probably not.

TTFN and have a great week!

Bev X