Backyard Brewery (Manchester, NH)

03/08/201802/09/2019Leave a comment

The Backyard Brewery is a family ownedbrewery and pub located in Manchester, NH right down the road from Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. There are many pubs and restaurants located in Manchester, NH, but this is one of my favorite restaurants to eat at everytime I’m in Manchester. They have a wide variety of homemade craft beers with a huge glass window in the brewery for viewing the beer vats while you enjoy your meal. Although they offer a variety of food, their most popular dish is prime rib, which is served everyday starting at 4 pm. When customers arrive, they will find a variety of seating in the dining room, the brewery, the pub, and outside on the patio, which is a great place to bring your dog.The food is a little pricy, but very high quality. Some of my favorite meals at the Backyard Brewery include their Prime rib with extraAu jus, and the Dragon steak with a side of chicky sauce. The prime rib is the best prime rib there is. It melts in your mouth. That’s how delicious it is.

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Next, the Dragon steak is a soy ginger flat iron steak with broccolini, pineapple salsa, and sriracha fries. The steak is very moist and the pineapple salsa complements the flavor of the steak very well. I will admit I did think the siracha fries were going to be a little too spicy for my liking, but they were actually very good. Not too much spice, but just enough to give you a taste of sriracha.

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Customers can also substitute their starch such as mashed potatoes with a side salad. My favorite salad is their Smokin Caesar which includes fresh parmesan, applewood bacon, and delicious caesar dressing.

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Customers will also find the atmosphere a little busy both inside and outside, but the staff is very nice and takes great care of their customers. Finally, one of their best desserts is their Smore’s mud pie. This includes graham cracker crust topped with chocolate ice cream, toasted marshmallows and chocolate ganache. YUM!!!! Definitely one of my favorite desserts, and I highly recommend it. If you are interested in checking out Backyard Brewery online, click here: https://backyardbrewerynh.com

Lemon Bars 🍋

02/08/201802/09/2019Leave a comment

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If you’re a big fan of Lemon Meringue Pie like I am, then this recipe is a must! Lemon bars are one of my favorite treats to make during the summer. They are great for snacks or bringing to a party. They go extremely quickly!! I also love them because the lemon flavor isn’t too powerful, but just enough to give a hint of lemon. It is super easy to make, and very delicious. Definitely a great recipe to get the kids involved. I look forward to reading your comments!

Makes approximately: 12 bars or slices

Things you will need:

1 box of Supreme Lemon Bars (I used Betty Crocker)

1/3 cups of water

3 eggs

8 inch pan (Can be square or round)

Powdered sugar (Optional)

Fork

Mixing bowl

Instructions for Lemon Bars:

Heat oven to 350 degrees
Take the ready-mixed crust mixture and empty it into your ungreased pan.
Take your fork and press the crust mixture down
Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes
While crust is baking, take your mixing bowl mix in the Lemon mix, 1/3 cup of water and 3 eggs.
Once crust is out of the oven, mix the lemon mixture again before pouring over the hot crust.
Place in oven for 30 minutes.
Once timer goes off, pull out of oven and let cool completely.
As a finishing touch to dress it up a little, you can sprinkle powdered sugar over the top.
Enjoy!!!

A Day in Venice, Italy 🇮🇹

31/07/201802/09/2019Leave a comment

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Buongiorno Italia! Today’s blog is on a day in Venice, also known as Venezia, Italy. Venice is an island city that is surrounded by water. The only transportation visitors can take to travel around Venice is by boat or walking through the cobblestone streets. So, be sure to wear comfortable shoes. Venice, is filled with numerous famous attractions and things to do. It also has two small islands across the canal which include, The island of Murano and Burano. My top things to do in Venice included taking a Gondola ride, visiting the Saint Mark’s Basilica, and finally the island of Murano. The Gondola ride was fantastic and the most relaxing activity in Venice. It is a great way to see the city from a different perspective and learn about some of the history.

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The streets and piazzas in Venice were extremely crowded with tourists and the lines were so long that unfortunately, I couldn’t see Saint Mark’s Basilica from the inside.

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It is important to schedule your day to accommodate the local customs because there are very few restaurants that open before 7 pm for dinner. Many of the bars were open, yet only offered light snacks. Next, the island of Burano is filled with colorful houses and many hand crafted lace garments and linens. As a keep sake from the island of Burano, I bought a beautiful pink blouse with pearls sewn onto it.

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Finally, The island of Murano was full of glass artists that display their intricate glass works of art in shops. Some of the glass artists open their factories for glass blowing demonstrations. Their skill and talent for designing and developing their works of art is truly mind blowing.

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Venice, is a wonderful city to experience in Italy. I recommend doing all your exploring during the morning hours due to the busy crowds in the afternoon and evening. I also added a short video of the glass blowing down below for your enjoyment.

Ciao Italia!

Red Forest Cake

30/07/201802/09/2019Leave a comment

Black Forest Cake is a popular dessert over in Germany especially in the Black Forest., It is one of my favorite desserts. This dessert usually uses chocolate cake, but since I didn’t have the right cake mix, I decided to add my own spin on it by creating a Red Forest Cake using red velvet cake. This recipe is super easy to make, and is a great treat for dessert, a snack, or a special occasion. It is also a great recipe to get kids involved.I look forward to reading your comments!

Things you will need:

1 box red velvet cake (I used Betty Crocker)

1 ¼ cup of water

½ cup of vegetable oil

3 eggs

Toothpick

2 8 inch round cake pans

2 21 ounce cans of Cherry filling (I used Great Value)

Cool whip (16 oz)

Instructions for Cake:

Heat oven to 350 degrees
Spray pans with cooking spray
Divide batter between the two pans
Bake cake as directed on box until toothpick comes out clean
Let cake cool

Instructions for decorating:

Once cake is cool, cut the two cakes in half so you have 4 circle slices.

2. Spread cool whip over first slice.

3. Take some cherries and lay on top of cool whip.

4. Take second layer of cake and lay it on top and repeat steps 2 & 3 until all four layers are complete.

5. Put some cool whip in a bag and decorate cake as shown in the picture above.

6. Enjoy!!!!!!

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Note: If cool whip starts becoming too soft, place in fridge or freezer for 15-20 minutes.

Pizzeria Tortuga (Venice, Italy) 🇮🇹

28/07/201802/09/2019Leave a comment

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Buongiorno! Venice is an island city in Italy that is surrounded by water. The only transportation visitors can take to get around the city is to travel by boat or walk through the cobblestone streets. Vehicles are not an option. Venice, is filled with a variety of delicious pizzeria and pasta restaurants. However, I recommend visiting the smaller local mom and pop restaurants, to experience the atmosphere with traditional Italian dishes.

My favorite mom and pop restaurant in Venice, is Pizzeria Tortuga, where many of the locals eat. Pizzeria Tortuga is a small Italian restaurant that is located on Salizada dei Spechieri, around the corner from the ferry to Murano Island. They serve a variety of pizza, pasta, and wine. When customers walk in, they will find a variety of seating throughout the dining room, bar, and outside. The food was very delicious from start to finish. A few of my favorites included the Lasagna with Bolognese Sauce, Cannelloni, and Gnocchi with red sauce.

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Customers will find the food very fresh and reasonably priced, which makes it definitely worth it. Best pasta dishes I’ve had! The owner was very friendly and attentive to our needs. This restaurant was open extended hours between lunch and dinner, when all the other restaurants were closed, . Finally, customers who dine at Pizzeria Tortuga will find the atmosphere very relaxing in both the dining room and the bar, and full of activity outside. I look forward to coming back to this restaurant the next time I visit Venice.

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Ciao!

Sundown Pointe

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