Foodbuzz Tastemaker: Sargento

Disclaimer:  As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a gift card to buy some Sargento cheese.  The opinions below are my own.

I like cheese- I like cheese a lot.  We buy cheese and since our kitchen is under construction and currently looks like this, the gift card we received was a lifesaver and made up our dinner.

Despite being a (sometimes) food blogger, I am not a huge cheese fan.  I like goat cheese and the stinky kinds, but any sight of mold and I'm out.  I'm talking about you- blue cheese. Bleh!  When I went to select some sargento cheese for my tasting, I chose pepperjack and cheddar.  They sounded like easy choices and cheese that I normally buy.  For the competitor, I chose a store brand swiss cheese because it's really hard to mess up swiss cheese.

I also bought some grapes, pears, cucumbers, stuffed olives, cherry peppers, and added the mixed nuts I had in my pantry.

Here is the Sargento platter:

Here is the competitor:

The verdict: I really liked the pepperjack.  It had a nice zing to it and had a good texture.  I noticed that the sargento cheese was not shiny like the other and just seemed a little more natural.  The cheddar was just a regular cheddar- nothing to write home about.

I did have two other assistants- the hubby and the puppy.  They were torn on which they liked better but the husband noted that he couldn't tell a huge difference in quality and liked the swiss cheese more.

And puppy? The cheddar won him over.

Anniversary Meals

Since we knew that our kitchen would be a war zone, the weekend of our anniversary was spent going out and eating our weight in delicious foods.  What else can a food blogger (am I still allowed to call myself that?) and a man who just loves food do?  We went to two of my favorite restaurants and thoroughly enjoyed our meals:

Sweet potato fries to share from the counter:

Followed by a turkey burger with pineapple, grilled onions, and black bean salsa:

For our fancy anniversary dinner, we cleaned up the remodeling dust from ourselves and went to Havana for the evening.  They have half off mojito Mondays.  Mojitos are the only drinks that I can actually finish.  The evening ended with a drunken trip to Trader Joe's.  But first- our delicious meals:

Scallops and lamb chops small plates:

Halibut ceviche with plantain chips:

My date for the evening:

Mojito inhalation by yours truly:

And now it's back to sandwiches, salads, and wraps- or anything else I can can make with a fridge or a microwave...and a waffle iron, if that counts.

Do your celebrations involve meals?  Mine always seem to- food is part of a great experience!

2 Years: My MRS. Experience

Each Labor Day weekend since 2009, my husband and I celebrate our anniversary.  

On September 6, 2009, we got married and it was easily the happiest day of my life.  We went out to dinner to celebrate and discussed the past year tonight (recap will come later).

We had nothing to overcome in our first year and this last one was a doozy.  My husband's wise words said that we survived and our marriage is stronger.

Each day I have a coach, comedian, personal trainer, and best friend with me on my journey.  I still am the luckiest girl in the world.  Each year gets better and better and I can't wait to see what our future will bring.

Husband- you not only make me happy, you ARE my happy.