CI / FNL Night

There are two American things that I've come to dearly love in Luxembourg.  This post is about those two things that, when paired together, make for a near perfect evening at home.  Several months ago, the Queens introduced us to Cooks Illustrated.  That's where the CI comes in.

For those of you who don't know, Cooks Illustrated is basically a group of "foodie" scientists who (rewording their motto a bit) "bake 1,000 cakes so you only have to bake one."  These food scientists come up with very in-depth recipes as close to food perfection as I've ever seen.  And let me tell you, these recipes aren't for the faint of heart.  Cooks Illustrated recipes require a plethera of ingredients, several hours in the kitchen and lots of patience :)  Since I have the time now, with Sarah's help, I've ventured into these complicated recipes and to my delight (and Alex's), each meal has proven to be worth every new random spice I've bought that now sits in the back of my spice rack.

The second set of abbreviations makes me smile just thinking about what they stand for.  Friday Night Lights is practically the only television show that I've ever watched on a consistent basis.  I'm so passionate about this show and everything in it: the proud state of Texas, the southern drawls and 'y'alls' that make me feel at home, the beloved game of football, the brilliant character development and the emotional ride that takes me from tears to elation in each episode.  Coach Eric Taylor, his wife Tami and the kids of Dillon High School seem embarrassingly real to me and have won my heart a hundred times over.  You get the picture :)

As Alex and I continued to get to know the Queens, it was apparent that we needed to share our love of FNL with our dear friends.  It only took one episode and Sarah was hooked.  Since our first introduction a few weeks ago, Sarah and Chris have been tearing through the first few seasons from the Martin library.  We have made two new believers.

CI / FNL Night was born in an attempt to fill our evening with a few of our favorite things.  Sarah and I let the boys decide on the menu and they landed on the Cook's Illustrated shrimp gumbo.  Alex has been asking for CI's chocolate ganache-filled cupcakes so after we finally found all of the ingredients we started cooking!  First the gumbo...

The evening was filled with all things Southern - including Sarah and Chris' first experience with okra!

Sarah's cowboy boots even made an appearance :)

Devaining the shrimp was DEFINITELY the worst part.  Gross.

The gumbo had to cook for 4 hours!

Viola!



And finally, the chocolate ganache-filled cupcakes.

After dinner, we enjoyed the cupcakes over a few episodes of Friday Night Lights.  Alex and I have seen all 5 seasons about twice through now but, if you've ever seen the show, you know that it just doesn't get old.  We're happy to support Sarah and Chris as they discover it for the first time.  A great evening - certainly to be repeated :)

Love until next time...Melanie