What's for Dinner? Part 16.

After I made this Corn Succotash recipe for Thanksgiving and my Dad actually ate his vegetables, I knew I had a hit on my hands.  Whenever we go to Cheesecake Factory his usual go-to is this Meatloaf with their Corn Succotash.  In fact, when we went the last time before I came back to LA, he ate all the Succotash, not pushing the peppers or zucchini out of it!  That means that when I made it at Thanksgiving and he watched me prep the recipe he actually didn't mind eating those random veggies he would normally avoid...SCORE!  I made the Corn Succotash again at Christmas for our big family dinner and everyone enjoyed it.  So here I am back, with a new recipe to share!

Corn Succotash

3 to 4 Cups Corn (I like to over-power with corn)

1.5 Cups Bell Peppers (diced, preferably Red or one whole Pepper)

1.5 Cups Zucchini (quartered or one whole zucchini)

1 Cup Onion (chopped)

4-6 Cloves of Garlic

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Tbsp Butter or Margarine

1/2 Cup to 1 Cup of Chicken or Vegetable Stock

Salt & Pepper

1 Tsp Cinnamon

1 Tsp Ginger Powder 

1/4 Cup Chopped Cilantro (optional)
Any other seasonings you may like, Garlic or Onion Powder, Cumin, Nutmeg, 21 Seasoning Salute (I like Onion Powder and the 21 Seasoning Salute from Trader Joe's)

Succotash getting it's cook on!

Start by heating the olive oil in a big frying pan and once it's hot add in your corn and chopped onion.  While that's blackening over medium high heat, chop up your peppers and zucchini.  Make sure to frequently stir the corn and onion and season with salt and pepper.  When that has turned golden or slightly blackened, add in your butter, peppers and zucchini.  I love garlic and I use a garlic press for my six cloves for a more subtle hint but you could chop which would bring more of the garlic out. Once again season with salt and pepper.  You're going to add in your other seasonings at this point, and that's where the hint of sweetness will come in thanks to your Cinnamon and Ginger.  Let that cook for about five minutes and let the veggies you just added in, soften.  After that, add in your Stock of choice; I prefer Chicken for more flavor but you could use Vegetable to make the dish vegetarian.  You cold also skip the Butter and make the dish Vegan; there's plenty of options!  You want to let your succotash simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until all the vegetables are cooked through and soft.  You don't want them macerated, but you also don't want a crunch when you're taking a bite.  After that you'll season one more time with salt and pepper and before serving stir in your chopped cilantro.  I love the brightness of cilantro but know it's not for everyone, so if you prefer Basil, that would be great as well, or you can skip it all together.  Trust me, your succotash will not be lacking in flavor!

Thanksgiving Dinner with my Corn Succotash

My Dad has been my sous chef both times I've made this recipe and is surprisingly a big help in the kitchen.  I love the way this recipe turned out!  Because it was Fall when I first made the Succotash, fresh Corn wasn't in season, but I can just imagine how wonderful it would be straight from the cob and into this dish.  I love the idea of the sweet seasonings to bring in more flavors and it felt very hearty and warm especially during the Holidays!  This recipe makes a good ten servings (we had leftovers too).  While it's easy to just do a single vegetable, I really wanted to try something different and I knew if I could make a dish my Dad would eat, everyone else would enjoy it as well.  Two thumbs up from Dad makes me a happy girl :)  

Home for the Holidays! Part 2.

As stated in my previous blog, I love going back to Wisconsin and it's mostly because I get to spend some quality time with my family and I get a break from LA's craziness.  Here are a few more of my favorite things from my time home for my Christmas vacation!

At Antonio's in Plymouth with Neil!

When I'm at home I usually try to go out at least one night to catch up with friends from Plymouth and one of them is my friend, Brittany, whom I've known since Kindergarten.  So this trip was no different as Neil and I met up with her and her boyfriend, Josh, at Antonio's and had a wild night there!  It was complete with shots, Gin & Sprites, 'Catchphrase' while at the bar, and blowing fire!  We literally had a group of 10 people playing Catchphrase while we were out and it was a blast.  I even taught one of the Bartender's at Antonio's how to blow fire, and we even got a video of us blowing fire together and she learned it on her first try!  Go Gena!!  Before the night was over we wanted a change of pace and City Club (which used to be where my Dad would pick up Dinner on Friday's during Lent for the Fish Fry) was our next destination.  What a change from when I used to go with my Dad to get Dinner!  It was a lot of young people, playing bar games, taking shots, and the lay-out was totally different.  It was kind of nice to have somewhere else fun to go to!

Christmas also means a wonderful family meal and this year we had family over on Christmas Eve Day and had an awesome meal of turkey and ham, mashed potatoes, dressing, sweet potatoes, fresh rolls, corn, and some sort of pistachio and whipped cream salad that has always scared me but was delicious along with appetizers that included Cheese Fondue and Shrimp Cocktail and also had an awesome dessert of Chocolate Lava Cake, made by my Mom, which was INCREDIBLE!  I can't wait to try the recipe here in LA using my Crock Pot.  And of course, no Christmas would be complete without Old Fashions and Cocktail Hour!  It's been a tradition in my family to take Christmas Pictures for the Christmas Card that goes out the following year and the paparazzi was in full effect!  We had Grayson and Greta, the little ones playing and doing my tradition of taking pictures with the Maker's Mark and Malibu bottles, and then everyone's family photo time.

Wegner Family Christmas Photo

Lastly, aside from opening presents and being excited about what I got my family, this year I had picked out a ring for my Mom from a Boutique on LA called Brandy Melville and another ring similar to hers so my Mom and I would have matching rings which I thought was a fun idea.  I had also gotten my brother a super cool Nirvana T-Shirt that was worn-in from H&M and although my Dad was more difficult this year, he was very happy to use his Barnes & Noble Gift Card to pick out a great book.  Of course, there was plenty more but I really enjoy seeing my family's faces when they see the gift I got them that took some planning or that I figured out would be something they would really get use out of.  After Christmas my Mom and I usually grab Lunch at Victoria's, which is an Italian Restaurant in Green Bay, hit up the mall to return or exchange things that don't fit, and our new thing is going to the Casino.  Unfortunately, I lost but had a couple really good rounds on some games but didn't come out ahead and Mom broke even so I'm sure she was happy about that!

Those are a few of my favorite things when I go back to Wisconsin for the Holiday's and the time always goes way too fast, even though this time I was home for a week.  We always have so much planned that it seems like I'm only home for a couple of days but that just gets me excited for my next trip home :)  Merry Christmas & Happy New Year Everyone!

Home for the Holidays!

One of my favorite things about the Holiday Season is going back to Wisconsin for Christmas and spending a week with my family!  I always take a nice long break from Los Angeles to relax, enjoy the time with family and friends, and get back to a normal and real environment!   Spending time in Wisconsin is not complete without a few things and I'll be telling you about some of my favorite things to do when I go back to Wisconsin for an extended vacation.  

First off, my flight back to LA was showing signs of complications as a Blizzard Warning was present days in advance and as my flight got closer I noticed more and more flights being canceled.  I called Southwest to make sure my flight was going to take off and someone at the Customer Service Center told me because my flight was coming from the West Coast we had a good chance of making it to Milwaukee without any pitfalls.  I arrived at the airport with plenty of time and sat at my gate for almost 2 hours to hear just before we boarded, we might be re-routed somewhere but nothing was certain at this point.  The flight went well and I only noticed the weather and slight turbulence as we got closer to Wisconsin and a half hour before we were going to land in Milwaukee.  The snow was flying by my window, I couldn't see the ground, and I started to pray and grip my seat as we were getting within landing distance at the airport.  I feared that the plane wouldn't be able to stop because of the snow and ice and we would crash into the terminal and the Mayan prediction would come true one day early.  Thankfully, the plane landed in one of the most peaceful landings I've ever had as the Flight Attendant said over the loud speaker, 'Thank you, Jesus.'  The Pilot wasn't the only person I thanked during my trip back to Wisconsin, I had to thank my Dad for his incredible driving skills during the drive from Milwaukee into Plymouth.  I don't know how he maintained 55-60 mph during this blizzard but he did and not once did the car slide or get out of control like so many others did as we saw cars in ditches and swerving in front of us.  Thank you Dad!!

Winter Wonderland in our Backyard in Wisconsin

My Dad definitely likes when I come home because that means we're going out for Steak Dinner at least once and St. Anne is our go-to spot close to home.  It was my Uncle Ollie's Birthday so my parents and I, along with Ollie, Aunt Mary, and their son, Tyler, all had Dinner at St. Anne.  Unfortunately, it wasn't the best steak (even though it's been on my Top 5 for years) so it was a little disappointing but not as disappointing as my Mom's gamey Tilapia.  Typical Wisconsin fish that tastes like lake water and why I never ordered fish at a restaurant for a long time!  We all had a great night and enjoyed cocktails, Birthday cake, and interesting conversations :)

Another favorite thing of being home for the Holidays means that my whole family gets together to play games.  While my Mom, Dad, and brother, Bobby and I played 'The Prisoners of Eskiban' which is actually The Settlers of Catan (I prefer to call it the "Harry Potter" movie name, that I'm not even sure if it's the real title or not) on Christmas Day, it was fun nerding out to a new game!  Neil had bought my parents Beatles Trivial Pursuit so we also played that in teams considering Bobby and Dad would have an extreme advantage, and I surprisingly knew some questions and got some wedges on my own.  YAY!  Then we played a Trivial Pursuit Game I had gotten from Santa which involved everyone betting on whether you would get the answer correct or not, and had more recent trivia and random categories like 'Beer,' 'Barnyard Animals' and '80's Sitcoms.'  While we're with my extended family we tend to play more card games like Spades or Bavarian Rummy so we did that on the last night I was home and enjoyed Old Fashions and Fat Squirrel Beer.  No one makes an Old Fashion like my Uncle Ollie!  We also like to play big group games like Catch Phrase and this year our new game was 5 Second Rule where you had 5 seconds to list 3 things in the category given to you.  Tricky tricky.  We are definitely a Board Game kind of family!

Settlers of Catan on Christmas Morning with Cheli

There's more photos, stories and fun to be told, so part two about my Christmas Vacation in Wisconsin will be coming at you soon...these are a few of my favorite things!  Happy Holidays Everyone :)