Bourbon Cinnamon Rolls

Got some requests to publish this recipe.  I made these a few weekends ago, and oh my gracious, thank the good Lord for bourbon.  I love bourbon in every form, but I think it's especially amazing in chocolate and desserts.  Make sure you have a large glass of cold milk to go with these babies

for the rolls

1 package active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water (make sure it's actually warm, not hot or the yeast won't work)

1/3 cup + a pinch of sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup softened butter

1 cup hot milk

1 egg

3 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Stir together the warm water and a pinch of sugar.  Stir the yeast into the water and let sit for 5-8 minutes.  It should start to look foamy.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine your yeast mixture with the sugar, salt, butter, and hot milk.  (You want the milk to melt the butter).  Stir it all together and let it cool to room temperature.  Stir in the egg.

Stir in the flour, 1 cup at a time, until a very soft dough forms.

Once the dough comes together (you can add more flour, if necessary), place it on a floured surface and knead for a few minutes.  It should be really soft.  Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl.  Cover and let the dough rise in a warm place until double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.  My dough would not rise, so I filled a pan with boiling water and place it on the bottom rack of my oven.  I put the bowl of dough on the top rack.  The dough finally began to rise, so if you live in a cold place or are having trouble with the dough riding, this seemed to do the trick.

for the filling

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and roll out into a long rectangle.  Melt 3 tablespoons of butter and brush (or fingerprint!) all over the dough.  Stir together the cinnamon and sugar, and sprinkle on the dough.

Roll the dough up into jelly roll, and slice.  Place the rolls in a lightly buttered pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25-27 minutes, or until the edges are browned.

for the glaze

3 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon bourbon (so I used like 4 big tablespoons because I wanted to taste the bourbon.  I highly recommend over pouring your liquor)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups powdered sugar

Whisk together the glaze ingredients and pour over the warm cinnamon rolls.

The finished product. So delicious. 

Enjoy, folks.

My Week in Oregon

A few years ago, while studying in Zanzibar, I met my good friend Meredith Holley.  She and I haven't seen each other in a few years, but from the day we left Zanzibar, I have told her over and over that I would come visit her someday.  I ventured out to Oregon the Saturday before Thanksgiving and stayed until the Saturday after.  We did pretty much everything there is to do in Oregon!  Here is a recap of my week! 

Sunday

After arrival later than expected on Saturday night, we decided to have an easy day on Sunday.  I got to sleep late which was a nice start to vacation.  We started the morning by eating some fantastic waffles at "Off the Waffle" where I had a waffle which chocolate chips, strawberries and whipped cream.  We then ventured down to the river to watch a 5K that many of Meredith's friends participated in that morning.  After meeting everyone, we decided to drive around Eugene.  We stopped by the University, saw the law school, Hayward Track, and the basketball arena.  It's a beautiful campus.  We also decided to go watch a movie, as "Catching Fire" had just been release, and we are both avid Hunger Games fans.  All in all, a great, relaxing start to the week. 

Oregon Law

Hayward Field

Hayward Field, the most famous track and field in the country.  It also looks like Nike threw up all over the University.

Monday and Tuesday

We made our way to Portland for a few days to do some sightseeing.  We stayed with Meredith's married friends, McKenzie and Tiffany.  They were super amazing and welcoming, allowing us to crash in their cozy little home.  When we arrived to Portland, we decided to spend some time in Powell's Books, one of the most famous bookstores in the US.  It spans an entire city block.  It's a little overwhelming, but a great place to explore if you are a book lover.  We then made our way to VooDoo doughnuts, my only request for the entire trip.  I have seen VooDoo on the travel channel and other food shows countless times, and being a lover of all things doughy and round, this was a must-see.  We got a day-old bucket of doughnuts for $5, as well as a few fresh ones to enjoy at the picnic tables outside of the shop.  I indulged in the "Old Dirty Bastard" which was a doughnut with chocolate glaze, Oreo crumbles and peanut butter.  We finished the night by going out to dinner with our hosts at a place called "Bollywood Theatre," a fusion Indian place.  It was delicious and totally hit the spot, as I had been craving Indian food for a few days.

On Tuesday, we went to Multnomah Falls, which is the second largest waterfall in the US.  It was beautiful, and not too packed which was nice as I believe it is usually crammed with tourists.  We opted for the coastal route back to Eugene, which although much longer, allowed me the opportunity to view the Pacific Ocean from the US for the first time.  I've seen it from some Central and South American countries, but never from the US.  It was beautiful.  Very rugged and wild, completely different from the Atlantic.

Powell's Book Store

The bucket of doughnuts

VooDoo Doughnut Shoppe

My Happy Place

Culmination of my entire life, maybe?

Loving the doughnuts also!

Beautiful, crisp day to be outside.

Pacific Ocean

I insisted on touching the water

A little unfocused, but my only pic with the Ocean, so it made the blog.

Meredith

Wednesday

We climbed Mt. Pisgah. It was beautiful, and after the bucket of doughnuts, we decided it was probably in our best interest to hike.  We were also extremely exhausted, so we opted for some RedBox movies and a quiet afternoon laying around on the couch.  I also had checked out some books front he library, so I was happy to sit around a read.  On a side note, this was my first Thanksgiving not having to study for finals, so it was a nice activities to read books for fun and not some stupid law school outline.

I also went to my friend's Eric and Ally Ringer's home for dinner that evening.  Eric and I worked PASSPORTkids! together my first summer.  I knew that they had moved to Eugene a year ago, so I decided to see if I could meet up with them sometime over my trip.  Ally made a wonderful dinner, and it was nice to catch up with them.

Almost to the top of Mt. Pisgah.  Above the clouds. 

Thursday

We decided another hike was in order, so as to earn our Thanksgiving meal.  We went to Spencer's Butte.  We took the steep trail up the mountain, and the longer trail down.  We were not the only people who had this idea, the top was packed with hikers, enjoying the crisp morning.  It was a beautiful hike. The sky was blue, the forest was lush and green, and the trees were huge!  I had a blast hiking.

Later, we went to Meredith's friends home and enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner.  We stayed there for most of the afternoon and evening, then returned home to watch some television and go to sleep wary after our big meal.

We were told these were the Three Sisters. 

Queen of the World

Love my sweet friend

Friday

We slept late on Friday, and decided to brave the stores and do a small bit of Black Friday shopping.  We went to TJ Maxx, Nordstrom's Off the Rack, and Old Navy.  I didn't find too much, but it was fun to be out and feel in the holiday spirit.  We also went to the U of O bookstore so I could get some Oregon/Nike gear for the big game.

At 3 pm, we headed towards the stadium.  I was decked out in Duck gear, and ready for some intense rivalry football.  Meredith scored us some amazing, club seats right on the 50 yard line.  All I can say is that the stadium was rocking.  It's a great football atmosphere, the student section was awesome, people were pumped up!  The Ducks won 36-35, but it went down to the last minute of the game.  Such an intense, great game, could not have asked for a better game.  After the game, we went home, I packed my suitcase and went to sleep as I nada 5 am flight bright and early.

Club Seats. 50 Yard Line.  Boom. 

The U of O band and OSU band.  

Last night with my pal :) 

Decked out in Duck.  Let's go Ducks!

All in all, such a great weekend with Meredith.  I was so thankful to spend so much time with my friend in such a beautiful place.  Now, I've just gotta get Meredith to Kentucky!

Half Marathon Success

So back in June, I was going through a rough time.  I thought I was the kind of person who couldn't do something hard.  I was going through a challenging time, so I thought needed a challenge to occupy my time.  I had always wanted to do a half-marathon, but I'm not a runner, by any means.  My extent of running was in high school, and I view running as punishment, not something to be enjoyed.  All that to say, I signed up for a half-marathon that would take place in November, and somehow convinced one of my good friends, Miss Emily McCracken, that running the half-marathon would be a great idea! 

I trained and trained, signing up for multiple 5Ks, spending tons of time in the gym.  I would go on long runs through downtown Lexington and spend my Saturday mornings running the Legacy Trail from Lexington to the horse park.  I had a lot of issues with my ankles and knees; turns out, I suponate (meaning I run towards the outside of my feet) which caused a lot of pain on the outside of my feet, ankles, and knees.  I had to try a few different types of running shoes, but by the time the half rolled around, I felt ready to go!  

We arrived early on Sunday, November 10.  Emily brought her boyfriend, Jeremy to cheer her on.  My mom and Blair rode up with me to join "Team Emily and Ashley."  Blair even made a shirt, it was pretty amazing to have the support and encouragement from my loved ones.  The half was much easier than I believed it would be.  I had some pain in my knees around mile 2, but then got into my stride.  The half-marathon was in downtown Louisville, so part of the race went through Cherokee Park.  Therefore, miles 4-8ish involved a lot of hills, which I was not totally prepared for.  However, Emily and I kept trucking, getting excited at EVERY mile marker, knowing we were getting closer and closer to our goal each time.  

We ran into some problems around mile 9.  Emily started dying…haha.  She was having a lot of pain in her legs, and I was afraid she was going to have to stop the race.  I knew we had started together, and how disappointed, after the all the training, she would be if she stopped.  So I stayed with her, encouraged her, pushed her to keep running.  The last 2 miles were killer.  Literally, they were miserable.  At that point in the race, I was so over running, so ready to eat and just get off my feet.  We finally saw the finish line, and I told Emily to run hard.  We took off and made it to the finish line.  I was so extremely happy (although I didn't cry!), and Emily just laid down, literally crossed the finished line and laid on the ground. 

We decided to go to the Cheesecake Factory and carb up.  I ordered food, then immediately felt sick.  I threw up in the bathroom, then asked for my food to be boxed up.  It's crazy how your body responds to running so far.  I really could hardly eat for the next day, but once my appetite finally returned, I pretty much ate everything in sight.  

All in all, it was a successful first half-marathon.  And I'm planning on doing the Derby Half Marathon in April.  I loved the training, the intensity, and the feeling of accomplishment after you finish.  I think I'm addicted :) 

Here are some pictures from the big day! 

My running partner.  Getting ready to head to the starting line. 

Blair's amazing shirt.  She was totally reppin' "Team Ash and Em"!

Starting line.  We were in the back, not upfront with all the real runners.  Haha.

…And I'm off. 

Hanging out at mile 9, waiting for Emily and I to pass by. 

Yay!  We see people we know!  Who came to cheer for us! Very important pick-me-up at mile 9.

13.1--Finish line in sight!!! Yesssssss

SO. SO. HAPPY!!!!!!

Emily, laying on the ground at the finish line.

Kissing my medal.  That thing is getting framed. 

So relieved to be done.  She did it!  I was so proud of her; she struggled through! 

Showing off her medal.  

Carbs, thank the Lord.