Spoonful of Cinnamon

Chicken Béchamel Lasagna

2012-01-15T12:27:00.000-08:00

A few years ago I made a Chicken Béchamel Lasagna, and my friend Angie has been on my case ever since to make it again, and actually write down the recipe for her! Last night Gimpy and I were having her over for dinner with a few others, so I decided to make it and actually write down what I did for once. This lasagna is great, and if you are looking to make it more low carb, you can do it as manicotti instead. I did that once for a ski weekend because another friend was making a lasagna with red sauce, so I wanted to mix it up.

Chicken Béchamel Lasagna
1 lb chicken
1 lb spinach
7 cups milk
1 lb mushrooms
1 cup onion, diced
3 garlic cloves
1 stick unsalted butter
4 cups shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Balsamic vinegar
Package of lasagna noodles

Preheat oven to 350. Put chicken in a pan, and cover with balsamic vinegar. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cooked through. Cool, then shred in the food processor. In the meantime, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Blanch your spinach and remove it. Put your pasta in the spinach water and cook until al dente. Drain and set aside.

Put the butter in a deep pan, melt and add the mushrooms. Cook about 5 minutes until tender.

Add the onions and diced garlic, and cook until translucent. Add the flour, and cook for 2 minutes to form a roux.

Whisk in the milk, and cook 5 minutes until it starts to thicken, stirring occasionally. Add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 2 cups of the cheese, and the spinach. Cook another 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Spray your lasagna pan with olive oil, and then put 3/4 of a cup of the béchamel sauce on the bottom of the pan. Set aside a cup of the sauce, and add chicken to the pot of sauce. Begin to assemble your lasagna with a layer of pasta, sauce, parmesan cheese, and continue till your ingredients are used up. For the top layer, use the sauce that you set aside without the chicken on it.

Cook in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. Cut, serve, and enjoy! Of course I forgot to take a picture of the finished lasagna, but at least I wrote down the recipe for Angie this time!

Another Banner Year

2012-01-01T17:10:00.000-08:00

It's January 1st, which means that everyone in the bloggosphere is doing a year end wrap up, so I think I'm obliged to as well! 2011 was an amazing year, my life is so blessed in so many ways. I have the most unbelievably amazing boyfriend, fantastic friends, and a wonderful family.

We started the year with the Gimpster's friends visiting from Virginia, me teaching him how to snowboard and a few celebrations of St Patrick's Day. Gimpy's brother got married down in Virginia Beach, we had a luau, a suit party, and I ran the Long Branch half in my best time ever (2h 02m)!

The girls and I went into the City for the Derby, and had a blast at the Preppy Pub Crawl. Gimpy got a new job locally, and we celebrated with wine tasting, hiking, and just having a great day together. We had some more weddings, more birthdays, and did some boating.

We had a mechanical bull riding party, the girls and I had a killer tailgate at the Kenny Chesney concert, and we hosted a White Party to rival P Diddy's. For that, I made vanilla pudding shots!

Vanilla Pudding Shots
Packet of vanilla pudding mix
1 cup cold milk
1 cup cold caramel baileys

Mix the pudding powder with the milk and baileys according to the package direction and put it in small cups. Chill for a few hours, and then take them like a jello shot! So tasty, it's like vanilla frosting!

We went on the wine bus tour, and did some apple picking. Had Halloween, twice. Went on Santacon, which was not very well organized, did some sewing and had the 4th annual 12 Bars of Christmas. We had a wonderful Christmas in Virginia with Gimpy's family, and got the amazing news that the people whose house we're buying signed the contract!

So we have lots to celebrate in 2012! I am so looking forward to this year coming up. Gimpy and I have so much to be excited for. We close on our new house January 27th, and will be cleaning and moving in that weekend. It's a huge step for us, but I am so ready for this next stage in our life together.

On that, I resolve that I will be much better about blogging in 2012!

Happy New Year!

Butternut Squash Gnocchi

2011-11-10T14:14:00.000-08:00

There is a restaurant in town that makes this unbelievable butternut squash gnocchi. It is the right amount of sweet, salty, and completely delicious; the perfect Fall meal. I could eat it by the bucket, and so could most of my friends, but at $8 per plate it's not a habit to get into!

The Gimpster and I are house shopping - yes, you read right - house shopping, so our house budget is taking away most of our restaurant and bars budget so I was determined to get this one right. I need to get the sauce right also, but I mastered the gnocchi!

Butternut Squash Gnocchi
1.5-2lb butternut squash
1/4 cup brown sugar
pinch of nutmeg
2 pinches of cinnamon
2 tbsp butter
3-4 cups of flour
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 400.
Chop the butternut squash into little cubes and put in a glass baking dish. Toss with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and chop the butter into 8 pieces and sprinkle them around. Bake for 45 minutes until fork tender.

Put in a bowl and mash with a fork until there are no lumps. Let cool to room temperature.

Add flour a cup at a time until it forms a dough that pulls away from the sides. It took me close to 4 cups to reach the right consistency. Flour a smooth surface and your hands. Put a pot of slightly salted water on the stove and bring to a boil while you begin to roll out the first thing of gnocchi.

On the floured surface, make sure you have a small pile of flour on the side and put a scoop of the dough on the board. Roll a long thin piece of gnocchi out, and cut into 1" pieces. I pinch mine from the sides so they look a little bow shaped, but you can use a fork to give them the traditional grooves if you'd like.

Drop one into the boiling water and let it cook for 3-4 minutes until it floats to the surface. Taste it, if it tastes gummy or falls apart in the water you need more flour. If it is good, roll out all the dough and boil the portion you want to eat. In a small pan, heat up some butter, pour over the top of the gnocchi, and top with shredded parmesan cheese.

This recipe ended up making enough that I froze several portions of it. To freeze, put a piece of wax paper on a cookie sheet, put the gnocchi on it and put the sheet in the freezer. Once they are solid, peel off and put in plastic bags and freeze.

I Love Fall, and Especially Apple Picking

2011-10-27T11:34:00.000-07:00

There is something magical to me about Fall. It's my all time favorite time of the year, the crisp air, the beautiful colors of the leaves changing, pumpkin spice latte, boot season, and let's be honest, much better hair weather than the Summer time!

A few weeks ago the Gimpster and I went apple picking with a small group of friends. The sad thing was - it ended up being 80 degrees and it was the second weekend of October! Needless to say, I could not wear any of my cute boots, but we did get to go on a hayride.

The next weekend we were headed to Virginia for Gimpy's homecoming, so I had to figure out something to do with all of my apples aside from the required apple crisp that I made that afternoon. I wanted to be able to use a lot of apples - I had 28 or so to cut up and cook - so I made two batches of apple cumble coffee cake.

Apple Crumble Coffee Cake

For the cake:

1 stick unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups peeled, cored, and chopped apples

For the crumble:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp cinnamon

4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

Preheat the oven to 350.

In your mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until fully mixed in. In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add to the wet ingredients a little at a time, alternating with the sour cream and vanilla until all are blended together. Fold in the apples and pour into a buttered 13x9 baking dish.

To make the topping, mix the dry ingredients in a new bowl and cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, or if you're like me and don't have one, two knives. Pour the crumble over the cake and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Once I made the coffee cake, I realized I still had a TON of apples left, and I didn't know what I could do with them all. I don't have the freezer space right now to freeze whole pies or anything! Luckily a co-worker told me that you can easily freeze apples. I set off right away peeling, coring, and slicing the rest of my apples so that I now have about 6 baggies in my freezer each filled with 2-3 apples ready to be thawed and used in baked goods all winter long!

Happy 95th Birthday Grandma

2011-10-03T08:42:00.000-07:00

My paternal grandmother is one of the strongest, most amazing women I've ever met. She married a man she loved and very importantly respected, raised six strong sons, traveled the world, and continues to teach everyone around her on a daily basis. This weekend, she turned 95, and we had a big family birthday party to celebrate.

I was in charge of flowers, so I went out to Whole Foods and looked around to see what would be appropriate for five centerpieces on a beautiful Fall day. I am a big believe that the mark-up florists charge is astronomical, and I know their overhead is huge, and flowers are fragile so they need to have their prices to make a decent living and profit, but I also think with a little imagination you can create something beautiful for considerably less money.

Gimpy and I went after church to check out the flower selection. They always have beautiful blooms, and have much more of a selection than other grocery stores, and better prices than a florist. I picked out some Harvest Bloom roses, which have an interesting meaning - friendship that's falling in love. I got some beautiful mustardish colored daisies, some hypericum berries, and some greenery. I think they came out beautifully.

Negligence

2011-09-29T09:41:00.000-07:00

I have been a total slacker this summer. I stopped working out, went to far too many happy hours, and spent all of August taking care of The Gimpster after yet another ACL surgery. Don't even get me started on how much I want to pull a Shane Stant on the jerk that maliciously took out his knee...

That being said, I promise to write all about new fantastic barb-e-que foods, the White Party, this year's wine tasting mini-bus, vanilla pudding shots (seriously, amazing), and more. Starting this weekend - so by Monday there will be a new post.

xoxo,
Little J

A Perfect Date

2011-06-03T13:02:00.000-07:00

Gimpy starts his new job on Monday, so we decided that we should do something fun together, and I should take a vacation day this week. We settled on Thursday, and I arranged for the day off. Wednesday night we mapped out our strategy, and decided that we would go to two new wineries - one of them just opened May 1st - and go hiking.

We got up early yesterday, and went to Fairway to get some bread, cheese, fruit, tomatoes, and pack my little wine picnic basket. Then we got on the road!

The new winery we went to was called Paradise Hills. It was a beautiful new building, but they were getting their growing pains out. One of our favorite things is being able to collect a signature glass from each winery we visit, but sadly they were out of glasses AND their most popular wine. I guess we'll have to go back!

From there we went up the street to Gouveia Vineyards, because we knew they'd be an amazing place to have a picnic, and we weren't disappointed! There were several places we could sit and overlook the vineyards, and I was in heaven.

I unpacked our picnic while I sent Gimpy in to deliver a slice of my new favorite cheese (Parrano) to the ladies who helped us. It was a beautiful day, and a delicious spread.

We stuffed ourselves silly, and then went hiking for a little over an hour. When we got home, exhausted, we had some sushi and went to see The Hangover II. Hysterical. If you haven't seen it yet, GO!
I hope you all have a great weekend!

What's the big deal? You just call a bunch of bars and show up...

2011-06-03T07:29:00.000-07:00

"What's the big deal? You just call a bunch of bars and show up..."

A friend of mine said that last night at softball when I was stressing out about the Preppy Pub Crawl next weekend. You see, now that I know we'll be over 115 people (we have 104 confirmed so far), it requires much more planning than the first year when we were 35.

Where we live, there are a lot of bars, and the great thing is that most of them are in close enough walking distance to have a successful pub crawl. The bad thing, is that some of them have a maximum occupancy of about 200 people. When you are bringing 120-130 people with you, you need to make sure that they will have the capacity, the staffing, and the drink specials. It's a bit of a balancing act to make sure that you are going to the smaller places earlier in the night, avoiding the ones with a busy dinner crowd at dinner time, and making sure everyone can get in!

With that being said, I am totally stressed out. I had ordered the koozies and planned my outfit, but then the outfit came and looked awful on me. I had planned out timing of bars and then started arranging drink specials. Then, I got a new dress... and called two of the early evening bars. First bombshell hit!

Butterface has a comedy show and can't accomodate us unless we start there - which we aren't doing. The Showgirl informed me that they really, really, really wanted us to come, but their dinner crowd started at 6, so we would need to be gone before then. I thought about things a lot during a run on Tuesday night, and decided I was going to move things around a little to accomodate. We're starting at 3:30 this year, and were going to go to Crabby until 4:45 - it's on the water.

We'd then go to The Showgirl, hit my least favorite bar in town, and then head to a cute Irish pub before continuing our crawl. Perfect. I call the Showgirl's manager back, and he is excited, until he tells me that he has too many dinner reservations at 5, so we can no longer come there.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? I JUST MOVED MY ENTIRE PUB CRAWL AROUND FOR YOU!

Needless to say, I wasn't happy. Then I went to softball with this weight on my shoulders, trying to decide what to do. I pretty much had decided I would discuss with a beach bar next to Crabby to fill in my now vacant slot, when I went to the Grizzly for drinks with my softball team. The manager told me that Hula Skanks (huge, open spaces) would no longer be closed for renovations, as they are waiting till after the summer. So of course, now I don't know what to do!

Luckily, I don't have dinner plans until about 7 tonight... so I am going to do some mental shifting again during my run. Hopefully I can get it all worked out.

We're Going Out for Steak

2011-05-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

So Gimpy tells me the other day that he and some of our guy buddies got this really great deal for a steak restaurant in the City. They had to use it by the end of June, and so they were going to go in the night before the Preppy Pub Crawl and enjoy these amazing steaks.

Everyone who knows me, knows that two things are true.
1. I LOVE food. I look at restaurant menus for fun, and when I go out to eat I try to make dishes at home that I've enjoyed.
2. I'm absurdly insecure. Always worried that Gimpy is going to find someone prettier, skinnier, just all around better.

Keeping these things in mind, I asked Gimpy what the name of the restaurant was. I was thinking it would be fun to send over a round of drinks for these boys - since I adore them all - so I looked it up to find the location and check out the menu.

I thought he was getting this

Here it is.

"Roberts may sit a balcony of the Penthouse Executive Club, and be filled with flirtatious strippers, but it serves a steak that is above reproach." Um.....

Apparently he's getting this

The insecure little girl in me immediately goes to one thought - "Oh, so now I understand why he didn't want to come over tonight because he doesn't know how late he'll be home because he'll be too busy motorboating strippers and getting bernaise sauce on their g-strings."

And I decided I wasn't drinking tonight??

Dinner for Twenty

2011-05-08T15:13:00.000-07:00

My dear friend V will be meeting her new boyfriend's extended family in June, and they are up for cooking dinner for all twenty people that will be staying at the house. She asked me for some ideas on what she could cook for a big group - so I figured I'd come up with some for her here!

The first thought I had, was that she should have a Mexican theme dinner. Nothing is easier than throwing together fajitas, nachos, guacamole, queso, salsa, margaritas, and sangria. It's a crowd pleaser, and you can have something for everyone by getting chicken, steak, and shrimp and throwing them all on the grill. You can even get a few portobella mushroom caps if you have any vegetarians. I know V can make some serious margaritas and sangria!

Another idea I have for them, is to whip up a lasagna or two. You can do a veggie one with spinach, mushrooms, peppers, and a creamy bechemel sauce and do manicotti with a meat and red sauce. Pair that with salad, garlic bread, and it's always a crowd pleaser!

You can do an old fashioned bar-b-que too! Make some ribs and bar-b-que chicken, cole slaw, potato salad, and baked beans. Grill up corn on the cob, and add a festive beach element to it by doing mussels or steamers in a white wine garlic sauce.

Any of these are great options when you have to entertain a large crowd and give you something for even the most picky eaters.

Salmon Shells in a Creamy Tomato Sauce

2011-04-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we had free biometric screenings at work. The good news, is that everything about me was wonderfully healthy except my good cholesterol levels were low - they told me I need to eat more salmon! Gimpy and I love salmon, but it's one of those things that I feel like I have to buy the day I'm going to cook it. So, on Good Friday I stopped at Whole Foods and picked up some salmon fillets and made a creamy tomato sauce with shells and salmon.

Salmon Shells in a Creamy Tomato Sauce
2 salmon filets
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp tomato paste
15 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 cups small shells

Spray a sautee pan with a little olive oil and heat to medium. When the pan is hot, add the salmon filets. Make sure your pan is hot, or the fish will stick! In the meantime, bring salted water to a boil and cook your pasta.

In a small bowl, mix the heavy cream until it gets foamy and doubles in size. Mix in the tomato paste. Cook your fish about 3 minutes per side, until they turn more opaque. Remove the skin, add in the tomato halves, and chop the fish into small pieces. Add the pasta.

Once the pasta, tomatoes, and salmon are mixed together, add the cream sauce, toss together and add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with a little parmesan cheese and enjoy!

You've Been Invited to a Dinner Party

2011-04-15T07:59:00.000-07:00

You've been invited to a dinner party. Your hostess is known for how much she loves to cook, entertain, and being your only friend that has a dining table that extends to seat 12 comfortably. It's a major religious holiday, and she's stressed several times that she'd like you to bring wine. Wine only. Please, please don't bring anything but wine. I'm serious, all she needs you to bring is wine. You know that stuff that they mostly make from grapes that's got an alcohol content and comes in a pretty bottle? Yeah... that stuff.

Do not bring:

Any side dish

She's probably got that covered

Any appetizer

Chances are this hostess already has appetizers planned

If you've asked her if you should bring it, and she says no, don't bring it
Anything to be consumed that night that she hasn't specifically requested

When someone invites you to a dinner party, it is lovely and thoughtful to bring a gift to your host and hostess. Chances are, they've spent a fair amount of money on food, flowers, candles, etc., and it's a lovely gesture. Chances are also good that they've spent weeks planning their menu and they don't really want you to bring anything else for people to eat, because it can be perceived as a bit insulting (What? You don't think I'm going to serve enough that you like or want to eat? You think I'm not going to have appetizers, or enough sides?).

Flowers Brought to me for Thanksgiving - Great Idea!

The things you can bring as a hostess gift to a dinner party are pretty simple

A nice bottle of wine or champagne for them, not something you're going to drink at said party, but actually a gift for your hosts
Flowers. Flowers are always welcome and nice
A gift basket - you can bring them cheeses, crackers, jams, coffee, etc in a gift package for them - JUST NOT TO BE SERVED AT THE DINNER PARTY
A thoughtful gift for their house
If you must bring something edible, bring a dessert. Italian cookies, brownies, etc. Something simple.

I had a conversation with B this morning about this. I don't understand if people just weren't raised the way we were to know these things, but I am always shocked when someone informs me that to Easter they are bringing wine, and like 6 kinds of cheese to sample before dinner! Just say no, and practice safe dinner party etiquette.

Wine Tasting Makes a Long Drive Easier

2011-04-12T12:03:00.000-07:00

This title makes me sound like I drink and drive. I don't - that's dangerous people! It was just a little wine tasting! As I mentioned before, Gimpy's brother got married this weekend down in Virginia Beach, which is quite the drive from home for us! We were making pretty good time, when I saw a sign that said Chatham Vineyards, 3.2 miles with a left facing arrow. I clearly had to stop, because you know Gimpy and I love to wine taste!

We tried all of their wines and had a lovely chat with the woman who works there. She was funny, because she tried to talk a good game on the whites, but you could tell she loves her red wine! We did too, and purchased our tasting glasses and some of their Vitner's Blend, before getting back on the road!

As we drove further down the road, we saw another vineyard, but missed the turn off. Apparently there are 140 wineries in the state of Virginia, so we figured we might see another one! Sadly, we did not, until we got to Maryland.

Gimpy was sleeping, I was driving, and we were supposed to be finding a place to stop for lunch when I saw it - a simple road sign that was just a bunch of grapes and an arrow. I had to think fast, so I quickly jumped in the left lane and slowed for the turn. Gimpy woke up in a daze, and I simply said "Vineyard, 5 miles this way." It was on. We drove down some windy twisty roads and came upon Bordeleau Vineyard. It was stunning! A beautiful brick house nestled among vines, and right along the lake. Their tasting room was exquisite, and we were fortunate enough to meet Tom, the owner and winemaker!

We tasted, we tasted some more, and we fell in love. No, not with each other (silly), but with their 2009 Sauvignon Blanc and their 2009 Cab Franc. Tom ensured that we'd be back after the wedding we have in June because these two wines that we needed - were not yet bottled. We'll be back Tom, and we'll be buying several of each!

We came back with a bottle of their Wicomico Red for my sister and a bottle of cabernet for us. All in all, a great little detour that I'd totally recommend!

I Cook More Than You, and Entertain More Than You....

2011-04-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

So why can't I have a registry too?

We just got back from Gimpy's brother's wedding this weekend, and last night had dinner with some friends who are getting married in June, so I have registries on the brain. Plus with Easter coming up, I keep thinking of all the serving dished and things I wish I had.

I also want a new wine rack. Gimpy and I have been venturing to more wineries lately, which is a lot of fun, but we have too much wine now and no place to put it. Gimpy told me I can't buy one because we both need to save money, and I agree with him totally because I really want a house.

What I should probably do, is just bring my wine rack, that never stays full, over to his place, but then we'd have nothing at Liberty, and there would be no place to put my wine glasses. I basically just need to stop indulging myself, save my money, buy my little house, and then pull a V and invite everyone over for a housewarming, where they can buy things off MY registry... I just don't understand why you have to wait until you're married to have people buy you things to "help you get started on your life together". I've started my life, and it's a pretty darn good one!

Do You Love Jello Shots Like I Love Jello Shots?

2011-04-07T10:40:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, a friend sent me a link to an Austin Wedding Blog that was talking about these amazing little jello shot creations. I wanted ALL of them. Today, I finally found the genius behind it all.

The Jelly Shot Test Kitchen. Have you heard of it? Go. Now. It'll change the way you look at alcoholic jello forever. I mean, who wouldn't want to make Candy Cane Martini Jello Shots?

Or Cosmopolitan Jello Shots? Seriously, if I ever get married, I WILL be serving these.

Or espresso style at a brunch?

Oh! Watermelon Basil Martini Shot. I might be in love... sorry Gimpy, these look amazing!

Or for those of you who know my deep love of Sweet Tea Vodka, you know I'm going to try to make these Arnie Palmers with the Skinny Sweet Tea Vodka!

Oh Summer... You're about to get more interesting...

Koozies Ordered, Countdown Begins!

2011-04-06T08:56:00.000-07:00

We are officially 45 days from the Third Annual Preppy Pub Crawl. That's approximately 1,080 hours, or 64,800 minutes, or 3,888,000 seconds. Last year was so much fun, that I am already thinking about my outfit for this year, and just ordered our koozies today. They'll be teal, with pink writing and an anchor - so excited!

For my outfit this year, I want something like this:

Or something like this:

I am leaning toward the Vineyard Vines option because my friend works there and can get a discount... Thoughts?

Easter Menu 2011

2011-04-04T12:55:00.000-07:00

Last year for Easter I adopted all of my "orphan" friends. People who either weren't going to be with their families because of distance or scheduling, and hosted dinner at my house. It turned into a crazy night.

This year I've decided to step it up a notch and have started working on my menu, it's nearly complete, and I'm getting excited. The one snag, is that I've decided I really want to make two tarts. One is a wild mushroom tart with a bit of truffle oil, and the other is an asparagus tart. Lovely and filled with Spring flavors! Leftover they would also be amazing for dinner with salad. I don't have any tart pans right now, but Williams Sonoma has a great one for $9. I think I may have to invest in a few...

I'm thinking my menu will lay out like this...

Appetizers

Shrimp cocktail

Baked brie

Deviled eggs

Artichoke dip

Dinner

Sugarcane baked ham with spiced apples and pears

Honey glazed carrots and sugar snap peas

Asparagus tart

Wild mushroom tart

Caesar salad in parmesan bowls

Rolls (according to Gimpy, as long as they are soft, warm, and buttery, he'll be happy)

Maybe another side? Not sure....

Dessert

Strawberry rhubarb crumble with vanilla bean ice cream

Rhubarb wine sangria

(Putney Mountain Winery makes a rhubarb wine that we got a bottle of that would be perfect with this)

Carrot cake with homemade cream cheese frosting

Mountain Dew Vertical Challenge

2011-04-01T07:40:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the Mountain Dew Vertical Challenge Finals, and my dad is racing his snowboard in the finals (he qualified in the 60+ category, yes, he's badass). While he has no expectations of winning, he invited us all to go up and ski/snowboard for the day and have a fabulous tailgate in the parking lot.

It's a small group heading up, but I found some great discounted lift tickets on Liftopia and we'll be on the road at like 6:30 in the morning (yikes!). All day long there will be tons of free stuff they are giving away - muscle milk, mountain dew, cranberry juice, floss (haha), etc., music, and games. It should be a great time!

I am bringing my little tailgating grill, and will be grilling up some of my favorite jalepeno mango chicken sausage, turkey burgers, veggie skewers, and rocking the chips and salsa. Oh and beer. Lot's of beer - though mostly for everyone else to drink because I'll be driving home... It'll be a long day, but it should be a blast!

Shiny Monkey

2011-03-30T05:54:00.000-07:00

I made the mistake of telling Gimpy recently that I have "shiny monkey" syndrome. You know the concept that if you put something shiny in a jar, a monkey will reach it's hand inside and get stuck because they refuse to let go of whatever object they covet? That's me, and right now the item in the jar is the kindle.

Last month at book club, my friend Meridith showed me her kindle, and I became enamored. It was so light, the screen so clear, and you could pack it easily in your purse and read on the beach! You can fit thousands of books on it, and it would help me downgrade a ton of stuff, and save a lot of space in my house. Last night, I was looking at hers again, and I really, really, really want it. Sigh. Damn shiny monkey.

When I got home from BC last night I looked it up - $139 isn't bad! But of course I would need to buy a case too, I think that's where they get you. I like the kind you can open up, not the kind you have to slip the kindle in and out of. I of course want this one, because it's hot pink, but I feel like I should consider the green because it would match my Franklin Covey planner...

I have a bad feeling it'll be mine by the end of the day...

I Want a Lot of Things...

2011-03-22T13:03:00.000-07:00

I think living in Texas for four years ruined me. When I lived down there, I was able to rent a 1200 square foot, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom place with a pool, a fitness room, and a walking path around a golf course for $799 per month - and I split that with my roommate. Now I think nothing of my friends getting an apartment that's half the size, and splitting $2,500 a month in rent.

Today I have encountered the huge problem of wanting a house with a big back yard for entertaining. I clearly want this every day, but today I am especially frustrated by it. Gimpy and I want to save money so that we can afford the things we want for the future (aka the little cozy house with a big sunny backyard), so for his birthday this year in April we (HE) decided he just wanted a casual house party.

To me, a casual house party welcoming Spring and Gimpy to another year of being awesome means that I need some decorations and a luau party! That means, I need some of these for sure -

You fill them with ice and store your beverages! I have one for Halloween that's a pumpkin, so you get multiple parties our of them for sure. It also means I need some of these -

As clearly not everyone drinks beer. And finally (not really, but all I am going to give away for now), you need some of these for doing your hair.

The problem I am running into, is where to have this luau. I have two friends with club houses that we can rent out, but at $100+ each, it defeats the purpose of saving money. So now I am faced with really, really wanting one of these.

Or one of these

Or really.... both. Sadly, it's not in the cards now, so I may have to settle for a park or on the beach, both great options, but a little chilly for mid-April! Start praying now for an unseasonably warm April 16th, as I don't want B to freeze in her coconut bra...

Fat Tuesday

2011-03-14T13:42:00.000-07:00

Last week I was talking to my friend V about her upcoming Fat Tuesday party, so I decided to have one of my own. I quickly emailed a bunch of the girls and got everyone together for a quick dinner.

I threw together some quick decorations

I mixed up a signature cocktail, I know that most of the Mardi Gras cocktails are made with rum, but my girls drink vodka and champagne, so I made a fabulous punch!

Punch

1 cup wildberry vodka

1 bottle champagne

A splash of crystal light pomegranate juice

Frozen fruit

I made some jambalaya, we had 4 pitchers of punch, a few bottles of wine (a miserable Wednesday) and I made homemade beignets!

Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup

2011-03-07T18:14:00.000-08:00

When I was sick the other week, all I wanted was some soup. I have a horrible habit of only wanting homemade soup though, so it required a little bit of work!

Cream of Mushroom Soup
16 oz assorted wild mushrooms - I used henhouse, cremini, and shitake
1 oz olive oil
4 tbsp unsalted butter, separated
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 carrot chopped
1 sprig fresh thyme, plus 1 tsp minced thyme leaves
kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chopped leeks (2 leeks), white and green parts
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup dry white wine
2 cup half-and-half or light cream

Clean the mushrooms, separating the stems from the caps. Chop the caps to bite sized pieces, set aside.

To make the stock -
Trim off the mushroom stems, and coarsely chop them. Heat the olive oil and a tablespoon of butter in a large pot. Add the mushroom stems, the onion, carrot, sprig of thyme, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper and cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes until the veggies are soft. Add 6 cups of water, bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Strain, reserving the liquid. You should have about 4 1/2 cups of stock.

Meanwhile in another large pot melt 3 tablespoons of butter and add the leeks. Cook over low heat 15-20 minutes until they begin to brown. Add the sliced mushroom caps and cook for another 10 minutes or so until they are soft.

Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the white wine and stir for another minute, scraping the bottom of the pot. Add the stock, minced thyme leaves, 1 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the half-and-half, cream, parsley, season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat through but do not boil.

An Epic Find and an Alcohol Dream

2011-03-01T09:02:00.000-08:00

The title of this post sounds a little bit like I drink too much, so don't judge me. In gearing up for three weekends in a row of St Patrick's Day parades, I have to share three things I'm really excited about.

The first - this cool new trend in wedding drinks. You have to love those fabulous girls in Austin, TX who discovered how to take jello shots and make them classy and wedding appropriate.

The second - one of my best friends and her husband just closed on a wine store. Wine Styles in Flower Mound, TX. They want Gimpy and me to come for the grand re-opening, and I'm really hoping to make it work, but it doesn't look likely with the weekends they are thinking. Sadness. Go down and buy lots of wine!

The third - Firefly Sweet Tea vodka is coming out with a low calorie, carb free version. Hello bathing suit season and bottomless John Daily's! For those of you who don't know, it's sweet tea vodka and lemonade. Yum! Just in time for boating season.

I Like to Celebrate Holidays When It's Convenient for Me...

2011-02-25T06:48:00.000-08:00

Tuesday was National Margarita Day. I was sick, and spent much of my week making home made soups (I'll post those later). So, I decided that we'd celebrate tonight!

There is a fabulous bar in town that makes the most delicious guava margaritas. Seriously, these things are epic. I've had margaritas in Mexico, tons when I lived in Texas, and when I was in college, we used to go to Margaritaville on Tuesday nights, and NOTHING compares to these things. They are trouble - which is why it's better to have National Margarita Day on a Friday.

So, I wish you a Happy National Margarita Day. I will be celebrating at Riviera Maya, wishing I was drinking their guava margaritas at this Riviera Maya...

Valentine's Day

2011-02-11T10:15:00.000-08:00

Today kicks off the many nights that couples choose to celebrate Valentine's Day. Restaurants offer their free champagne, prix fixe, limited menu options tonight through Monday. Flower prices more than double - last Monday you could get a dozen red roses for $10, this weekend, they'll be more than double that.

Last year Gimpy and I went out on Valentine's Day. It was our first, and I asked if we could go to Mitchell's Fish Market - yum. We arrived at the packed restaurant, ordered our food which was off of their special menu, and waited. While we sat there and enjoyed our wine and salad, we were shocked when someone dropped off our dinners and walked away, leaving us a little shocked to find where our lobster tails were supposed to be, there were Alaskan King crab legs - and Gimpy was not feeling it. After another 10 minutes we finally got someone's attention, were told they were supposed to alert us, and they hadn't. We ordered new entrees (I wasn't about to eat my dinner and wait another 30 minutes for his to come), had our meals comped, and went home.

After that event, I decided that this year, I didn't want to go out on Valentine's Day.

I was talking to my friend Carolyn yesterday and it perfectly summed up how I feel about this...
Me: Do you know if Morton's has a fireplace?
Carolyn: Hmmm.... no clue, why?
Me: We're going for dinner on Tuesday night
Carolyn: For Valentine's Day?
Me: Yup!!
Carolyn: So fun!
Me: I'm excited, I've never been, and the food looks amazing
Carolyn: Ummm.... you two know Valentine's Day is Monday, right?
Me: That's exactly why we're going Tuesday...

I feel like it's just too much pressure to go out on the actual day, and too much money. I've told Gimpy I don't want flowers on V-day either (that's not to say I would turn them down if he brought some the following week!), so I'm hoping we can just have a nice relaxed night out and not end up like any of these people with crazy Valentine's stories~

Death by Chocolate

2011-02-08T19:24:00.000-08:00

Sunday we had, of course, a Superbowl party! I made potato salad and Death by Chocolate, which is what I am sharing with you today...

For Death by Chocolate, a lot of it depends on what it is that you like, you can really use any type of candy for a filler. You can also use chocolate cake, or brownies, and you can use cool whip layers or chocolate pudding if you want it to be super chocolatey!

For this Death by Chocolate, I started with a layer of browies and a layer of chocolate syrup. I layer them into a trifle dish, and top with cool whip.

After the cool whip, I added a layer of chopped heath bar - yum. Followed by another layer of brownie, syrup, cool whip, heath bar, brownie, syrup, and cool whip!

Add a final layer of syrup and another of chopped heath bar - I'm not a huge fan of chocolate, so this is the perfect dessert balance for me. I've also done it with chopped peanut butter cups, which is fabulous.

Serve and enjoy!

Chicken Parmesan

2011-02-02T11:20:00.000-08:00

On Monday night, I was supposed to make big salads for dinner for me and Gimpy. I decided after Zumba however, that I really wanted chicken parmesan. So it was time to make some spaghetti sauce, pasta, and chicken parm with gooey slices of mozzerella on top. I wanted to go all out, not do the overly healthy version I make!

Chicken Parmesan
2 chicken breasts, pounded thin
1 egg
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
Dried basil and oregano
2 thick slices of mozzerella

Preheat oven to 350. Beat the egg in a bowl, and put the bread crumbs on a plate with the spices. Dredge your chicken breasts through the egg, and then cover with the bread crumb mixture. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Switch the oven to broil, and place the cheese on the top of the chicken. Broil for 4 minutes until golden and crispy. Serve over spaghetti and your favorite sauce.

Let's Take Bets on When I Black Out Tonight

2011-01-28T09:47:00.000-08:00

I am officially over today. The sales team I work with is being completely horrible, and just making me crazy. I feel like I have no support at work, and I'm bummed because I think I have to miss two super fun vacations this year - Kentucky Derby AND Nantucket because I have to save money.

The only thing really getting me through today is the Lafite Wine Mixer tonight. Once a month the Saltwater Grille does all you can drink wine from a region for $25 plus tax (let's call it $30), plus snacks. Problem is, all the snacks for tonight have meats that I can't eat with them, so from 6:30 - 9 I will be drinking bottomless red wine.

Should we take bets as to what time I black out?

Flourless Chocolate Cake

2011-01-26T06:32:00.000-08:00

Last night I had a dinner party, and I suck as a blogger because I took no pictures! I made scallops and risotto again, but the risotto had three kinds of peppers. I feel like it's a nice warm wintery meal, with the creaminess of the risotto, and the lightness of the scallops. Of course there will be salad, and to top off the meal - a flourless chocolate cake with homemade whipped cream, and a warm raspberry sauce.

Flourless Chocolate Cake
12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter
6 large eggs, room temperature

Preheat oven to 325 and butter and flour a 9x2 pan.

Put the chocolate, butter, and salt into a microwave safe bowl. Melt for 2 minutes, and stir until the chocolate is smooth and creamy. Meanwhile, beat the eggs and sugar until light and thickened - about 8 minutes. Fold the egg mixture slowly into the chocolate until fully mixed. Pour into the pan.

Bake at 325 for 1 hr 25 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Serve with whipped cream and fruit!

I also made a warm raspberry sauce - yum.

Raspberry Sauce
In a sauce pan mix the following ingredients
10 oz frozen raspberries
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp raspberry preserves

Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, stirring till thick. Serve over chocolate cake or ice cream.

Sushi X II

2011-01-24T13:05:00.000-08:00

Last week I threw a "Bye Bye Jersey, Welcome Home" party for a friend who finally was able to get a job in town. We went to this new place, Sushi X. They do a $22 all you can eat sushi, all you can drink hot sake. Basically a recipe for disaster, as all other booze was BYOB, and we had wine and Sapporo flowing.

We were a huge group, 25 people total, so it was a little tricky for the staff. They asked us to order in groups of 6, and my group was the middle one at the big table. Unfortunately they didn't bring us our sushi - they lost our order and we had to resubmit it after everyone else had ordered their second plates!

Luckily we had sake bombs to tied us over - yum! We ordered another round of appetizers while we waited, and then the sushi finally came. It was good, but we were also pretty darn drunk, so I think we'll have to go back again another time to try it again.

Wine Tasting Class!

2011-01-24T12:11:00.000-08:00

There is a fabulous wine bar down the street from me, and I've approached them to do a private wine tasting class for my friends. We're working on scheduling the date right now, but we're leaning toward the first weekend in March.

The class is an hour long, and we'll taste 6 different wine varieties - I've requested that they not serve chardonnay. We'll do riesling, pinot noir, pinot grigio, cabernet, sauvignon blanc, and merlot. It should be a really educational class, and we'll follow it with wine and cheese at a friend's place, and then downtown. It'll also be a nice precursor for the wine bus part 2 this Spring!

We'll learn about different wine regions, pairings, and how the regions affect the taste of the grapes. I'm very excited for it because they are letting us do the class while the restaurant is closed and it will be limited to 25 of our friends!

Their wine is amazing, and they have cute bartenders, so I'm hoping my friends will have a great time.

Salsa Chicken

2011-01-14T15:56:00.000-08:00

Last week Gimpy had some problems with his left knee. I guess I should back up a bit and let you all know that about 15 months ago (right when we started dating - seriously 4 days in), he had massive surgery to repair his ACL and meniscus. Hence the Gimpy nickname... So, last Wednesday he picked me up to go out to dinner, and was complaining about his knee. It had a giant lump that shouldn't have been there directly over the knee! It was killing him, so Thursday we went to see his doctor, and I skipped girls night to make him a yummy dinner and take care of him.

I seared two chicken breasts in a pan while cooking some arborio rice. Preheated the oven to 350, and when the chicken was nice and brown on both sides I put it into a glass baking dish, topped with some fresh salsa, a slice of pepperjack cheese, and threw it in the oven for 18 minutes. I sauteed some asparagus, sliced an avocado, and put it all together.

Pile of rice, topped with half the avocado slices, piece of chicken, and asparagus on the side!

It turned out very yummy! I think it would be great with a piece of tilapia too... next time!

Fresh Salsa

Chop two medium tomatoes

1/2 cup black beans, rinsed

1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed

1 red pepper, diced

Jalepeno, diced

Cilantro

Salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients and let sit for 2-3 hours. Serve and enjoy!

A Year in Review...

2010-12-31T08:23:00.000-08:00

A lot of people are talking about 2010, and how they didn't have a great year, are ready for it to be over, and are putting a lot of hope that 2011 will be better. For me, I feel lucky to have had an amazing year. From the very first second, to hopefully the last, it was a great year for me.

The very first second of 2010, Gimpy told me he loved me for the first time. How could you have a more perfect start to a year? I was with all of my friends, and a man I loved (but was too scared to tell him that back yet!) It was a truely wonderful start to the year. Plus, look how skinny I was - can you believe that arm?? (I'm on the right of Mike doing the cheek kissing)

January was a great month of fun, relaxing, and just being with my friends, while still training for my half marathons with Kitty. We had a ski trip to Mt Snow with one group of our friends that we don't hang out with a lot, and learned that if you put 10 people in a hot tub, there won't be a lot of water left when you get out!

February kicked off with Melissa's birthday, and a Jersey Shore party. How Jersey do Gimpy and I look?

We had an awesome Valentine's Day - both out with all of our single friends, and then when we went to dinner together. We had more birthdays, more nights out, and more fun than we can handle. March kicked off with a trip to Orlando with Kitty and MM, one of my favorite people in the world who was living in SC, but moving to Alaska with her husband. The three of us girls were running the Disney Princess half marathon. We were up at 3am, started the race as the sun came up, and while I didn't finish with my best time (2h 8m), I was able to have an unbeliveable experience with two of my best friends.

March fun continued with my birthday where half of the City lost power, and we were able to party for basically three days straight. We had St Patrick's Day, and a little bit of an odd moment for me when I got the call from a friend that my ex was getting married to a girl he hadn't even been dating for 6 months. It was a call that brought up some mixed emotions for me... I was sad for the girl (biggest mistake she'll ever make), sad to remember all the hell he put me through, and relieved that I got out of things stronger, and ready to find someone who would show me what being in love, and in a relationship, really felt like. Also in March, a trip to Texas to help my friend Blair pick out her wedding dress. A little bittersweet, considering she won't get to wear it as soon as we'd hoped.

April marked Gimpy and my first Easter together, a tangerine maple glazed ham, and 19 bottles of wine for 12 people. Oops. My volleyball team won our league and playoffs, so I got to take home two huge trophys. It was also Gimpy's birthday month, and the first time I went to VA with him to meet his whole family. I threw a "Nothing Suits You Like a Suit" party for my friend Mike, and closed down the month.

May was the Long Branch Half Marathon with Kitty - the most epic hot day. May also was home to the Preppy Pub Crawl, and a visit from my fabulous friend V. We finished up the month with a massive tailgate and DMB concert, and were ready for boating season.

June is Birthday Month for us. We had B's birthday, Kitty's birthday, and if you can believe, we had 6 other birthdays. It was also the beginning of Alive at 5, our outdoor summer concert series, and the end to productive Fridays!

July kicked off with a fantastic trip to Nantucket, and a creepy underware thief. We threw a jewlery party for a friend who started a new business, and spent more time on a boat than you can even imagine....

August was filled with weddings, more boating, and my historic icing. While there have been some good ones, I think I am still unmatched in this area! We had more birthdays, housewarmings, more and more boating, and my youngest nephew turning one.

September kicked off with a Labor Day BBQ, Gimpy further convincing me that I'm the luckiest girl on the planet, a Yankees game, a Hurricane party, and more boating. October was here before we knew it. My sister's best friend got married to a guy who told her 8 years ago he didn't believe in marriage, I took 23 people on a tour of 5 vineyards, and I threw a Coming to America party for my friend's 2nd anniversary here. We went apple picking, I got to visit my friends in Texas, and Gimpy's childhood friend had HIS heart broken. We also had Halloween, several nights of it!

November marked our scavenger hunt, the throwing out of my back, and the first time I had my dad's whole family over for Thanksgiving dinner. I also threw my 10 year high school reunion, and got to feel a little old as I met everyone's pregnant wives! Now it was my favorite time of year... the holidays!

We had some more birthdays, a cookie swap party, of course the 12 Bars of Christmas, Festivus, family time, and the sadness of losing Flip. Tonight marks the end of an amazing 2010, and for me holds a lot of promise that 2011 will be even better.

So, to you and yours, have a Happy and Safe New Year, and may 2011 be filled with amazing times!

An Italian Sandwich

2010-12-29T17:02:00.000-08:00

One work day I was bored and chatting with my friend Glenn (ladies, if you like athletic, funny, awesome guys with an MBA who are just a little short, let me know and I'll hook you up), and he was trying to figure out what he could make for dinner.

I suggested that he make an Italian sandwich, and he loved it so much that he reported back that he makes it all the time! Of course, that made me think I needed to make it a blog post for you guys.

Italian Sandwich
Take a cibatta roll, slice in half, and layer with pesto
Add roasted red peppers

Layer with prosciutto and mozzarella

Top and enjoy!

Skinny Chicken Corn Chowder

2010-12-27T19:09:00.000-08:00

We have been having a massive two day blizzard rocking through the North East, which makes me crave soup, but of course my favorite soups are loaded with cream and other nonsense. I set out on a mission to make a healthy corn chowder. I found a recipe, and decided I need to plump it up! I wanted to add more veggies, garlic, and add some chicken - protein takes it up a notch.

Skinny Chicken Corn Chowder
4 cups of corn
2 cups skim milk
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 cup assorted peppers diced
1 chicken breast, diced
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 cups veggie stock
3 garlic cloves, put through the garlic press
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine 2 cups of corn and milk in a bowl, cream using an immersion blender. Set aside.

Meanwhile, put the olive oil in the bottom of your large stock pot with the diced chicken, and diced veggies - with the exception of the tomatoes. Cook until the chicken is cooked through and veggies are soft. Add the stock and bring to a boil.

After boiling, turn the heat down slightly and add the creamed corn mixture and tomatoes. Add salt and pepper, and heat through. Serve and enjoy!

Cookie Swap Party!

2010-12-26T09:50:00.000-08:00

Last week we had a cookie swap party! It was 13 girls, and we each made 5 dozen cookies of one type of cookie and got to take 5 of each flavor. It ended up being a perfect assortment, but a TON of cookies!

We had some of the traditional cookies - sugar cookies, Italian wedding cookies, rum balls, gingerbread, kiss cookies and then we had some unique cookies. B made marshmallows covered with chocolate and peppermint, and we had haystacks, cranberry pistachio biscotti, pumpkin cookies, and I made peppermint whoopie pies!

It was great because I was able to make three plates like above! One for my sister, one for my dad's family, and one to send with Gimpy to VA.

Peppermint Whoopie Pies

3 cups sugar

1 cup butter

4 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tbsp vanilla

6 cups flour

2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tbsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350. In mixer, mix butter, sugar, and eggs until well blended. Add oil and vanilla and mix again. Meanwhile, mix all dry ingredients together. Add half of the dry ingredients to the mixer, and blend. Add 1 1/2 cups of milk, mix. Add the remaining dry ingredients, mix, add remaining milk, and blend.

Scoop tiny (size of a large marble) spoonfuls of dough on ungreased cookie sheets, an inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool, stuff, and serve!

Filling

1 1/2 cups shortening

3 cups confectioners sugar

1 1/2 cup marshmallow fluff

Dash of salt

1 tsp of peppermint extract

1/2 cup crushed candy canes

1/3 - 1/2 cup milk

Combine all ingredients in your mixer except the milk. Add just enough milk to make the filling creamy. Spread over cookie halves, and put together.

Man Down - Flamingo Lost

2010-12-22T20:31:00.000-08:00

Well, tonight was an interesting Wednesday. I'm not sure if I've ever told the blogosphere about my pet flamingo.... or our pet chimpanzee for that matter. Flip, my flamingo, used to sing and dance, and have a blast, and one very, very drunk night (8pm), B and I decided to make him a facebook page, some music videos, and do a photo montage. It basically sealed his cult status around town.

Flip was the perfect buffer! When we met random people who wanted to come on our pub crawls, we'd have them friend Flip, not us (who wants creepy stalkers??), and he could send out the invites, without us having to worry about sending them to randoms. He usually will come to the first two or three bars, and then pass out drunk in the car so we don't have to worry about him all night.

This year, the girls brought him out. I knew I couldn't watch him - I was managing 120 people through 12 bars, it's kind of a lot of work! We got our family photo....

And then I proceeded to move people through 9 more bars. Soooo.... basically, someone left Flip behind. I was told at one point he was left at a particular bar, and called over. They told me they had him, so I was relieved! Little did I know they were about to earn a lifetime ban for lying to me....

Sunday morning we got up and did the pub crawl in reverse, in new outfits, or versions of our outfits from the night before!

When we got to the lying bar, we were crushed to hear that they didn't have Flip. We checked back another few bars, and I became extremely upset! We started a facebook group to Find Flip, and began our hunt.

My awesome friend Danielle made posters, and she and I posted them all around town. Hopefully we'll find him soon....

With that being said - if you find a random pink flamingo dressed like a present, please send him home!

Third Annual 12 Bars of Christmas - a Smashing Success!

2010-12-20T09:35:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday marked the Third Annual 12 Bars of Christmas in Stamford. It was a HUGE success! We met at 5 at Butterfield and just before 6 we held the first ever costume contest. I was so pleased with the spirited costumes and the great attitudes that everyone had.

We had lots of creative costumes - some of the most unique were

The grinch and his dog Max
A stocking stuffer
A Christmas tree
Christmas Bleeker
A Jewish Ice in a Box (see here for icing)
Reindeer Games
And of course, Gimpy's Gingerbread man

I sold out of the 100 koozies we had by 10 minutes into the second bar, making this officially our biggest pub crawl ever! We hit at least 115 people, so very much a successful night. We had two small glitches, because of time we ended up cutting Buffalo Wild Wings off of our line-up. We figured if we had to cut one, it was better to cut one that wasn't offering specials. 10 of us did still run in to take a shot though! We also had to skip Grand... turns out they had a private party, and couldn't fit us in! Here again though, about 10 of us ran in to take a shot, so I did make it to all 12 bars!

Adding to another success, is that we were written up in one of Stamford's online news sources, the Stamford Patch. I am so pleased to be able to throw these types of events, and am really lucky to live in a City that supports fun!

Special thanks to the following bars:

Butterfield 8, Tigin, SBC, Rack and Roll, Hula Hanks, Black Bear, Tiernan's, Bobby V's, and Riviera Maya! Thanks for your support and help in making this our best pub crawl to date!

12 Bars of Christmas Crunch Time

2010-12-17T06:34:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow marks the 3rd Annual 12 Bars of Christmas! I am excited and nervous. Excited because we have 95 people who have RSVP'd that they will be coming, and nervous because of three things.

1. That's a lot of people to move between bars
2. I lost last week because of a business trip in San Francisco, so I am way behind in costume prep
3. From losing last week, I've been up all hours of the night sewing, and have gotten sick :(

My costume is a little bit of a nightmare! I'm going as a gingerbread girl, and sewing a dress. Problem is, the pattern left off directions to make the pleats in the skirt, and to attach it to the bodice! So I'm trying to figure that out.

Gimpy's costume is almost done. I need him to try it on before I can hem the sleeves and the legs, and then put the frosting on it. He's going to be Gingy from Shrek

And... this is what I have done so far

I have to make his head, put in the zipper, and do the frosting. Should be fairly easy!

We have a housewarming party tonight, so I want to try and finish my costume before we go, and then only stay a short time and finish Gimpy's when we get home!

Fun Party Display from San Francisco

2010-12-09T22:50:00.000-08:00

This week I'm in San Francisco for a work conference. It's been a loooong week, and I did a little bit of Christmas shopping while I've been here. I wandered into Crate and Barrel to send Gimpy some ideas for holiday gifts for me, and saw the cutest idea.

They used their place card holders to label bottles of wine!

I wouldn't use my place card holders to label wine, I mean, let's be serious, it's on the labels! I do love this idea though for labeling my appetizers that I put out. I have some really cute ones at home that are super Christmas-y, so I think I'll try it for my next party or brunch.

Simple, Make Ahead Party Appetizers!

2010-11-28T17:16:00.000-08:00

This one's for you V....

A few days ago I got an email from my good friend asking for easy party appetizers that can be made ahead for a holiday party that she's having next weekend. Of course she asked me the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, so here's her answer!

Baked Brie
1 Brie Round
3 Tbsp Raspberry Preserves
1/4 Cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
Crescent Roll Dough

Preheat oven to 375. Take 4 triangles of the crescent roll dough, and make a square, pinching the seams tightly to avoid leaking brie. Place the brie on top, followed by the raspberry preserves and chocolate chips . Take the other 4 triangles of dough, and make them a square. Lay over the top of the brie, sealing the crescent roll dough together on both sides. Make sure that all of the seams are sealed tightly!
Bake for 25 minutes, or until the brie is golden. Serve with crackers, apple, and pear slices.

Tomato Basil Bruschetta
Loaf of French Bread
2 Tomatoes
1 Ball Fresh Mozzarella
Fresh Basil
Salt and Pepper
Balsamic Vinegar

Thinly slice the bread, and toast the slices. In the meantime, chop into tiny chunks the tomatoes and cheese, and julienne the basil. Mix all together in a bowl, adding salt and pepper to taste. Arrange the bread slices on a plate and top each with a scoop of the bruschetta topping. Sprinkle with a little balsamic vinegar, and serve.

You can't go wrong with a fruit platter with a simple low-fat yogurt dip as dessert. People are consuming so many calories with alcohol this time of year, go with a slightly healthier dessert!

Chicken Pesto Cheese Bread
1 Loaf Raw Bread Dough
1/4 Cup Pesto
1/2 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 Grilled Chicken Breast

Spread out the bread dough, and smear pesto in the middle. Chop the chicken breast, and spread that with the cheese. Seal the dough, and bake the loaf on a greased pan for 35 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Slice, and serve!

Thanksgiving Dinner for 18, oh wait, 15!

2010-11-24T07:54:00.000-08:00

Today is going to be a busy day! I am hosting Thanksgiving for 15 tomorrow and I hurt my back pretty badly at the end of last week (still not sure what I did), so I have to give myself plenty of time for prepping! This is my first time actually hosting my biological family for any type of event, so I'm a little nervous.

My dad is the second oldest of 6 boys, though the oldest passed away when I was about 6, and while he and my mom were married for 25 years, she never hosted his family for a holiday. My youngest uncle's wife has been doing both Thanksgiving and Christmas for at least four years now, and my grandmother and I thought she could use a break.

On Sunday after church, Gimpy came with me to the grocery store to buy everything. I was cooking for 18, and so wanted to get a 24lb turkey. Problem was, they sold out of the 20-25lb in the kind I wanted, and were trying to get me to pay close to $3/lb for a 24lb in another type! So Gimpy had the brilliant idea that I should get the 28lb, and just save myself $20. Check, and check. My aunt and uncle who always flake on holidays called me yesterday to let me know they weren't coming, so down a few people, but still enough food for 18. Good thing I have a dad and a sister to send leftovers home with!

I have to map out everything I'm making, and figure out the timing over the next two days, giving myself extra time for my back :(

So this morning, I woke up and made the brine for my turkey!

Turkey Brine
1 cup salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp black peppercorns
1 gallon low sodium chicken stock
Rosemary, thyme, garlic cloves, parsley, scallions

I put all the ingredients together, brought to a boil, making sure to dissolve the salt and sugar completely. I then put it in an easy pour pitcher, and left it in the mini fridge to cool while I'm at work. When I get home, I'll pull out Mr Turkey, give him a good rinse down, clean out his insides, and put him in a brining bag with the above mixture and another gallon of water. I'll then put him in a cooler on the balcony filled with more ice water to keep him chilled. Tomorrow morning, he'll come out of the oven, get a rinse, and put in my roasting pan!

After my turkey is taken care of this afternoon, I'll chunk up my butternut squash and sweet potatoes, get them roasting in the oven, and roast some garlic at the same time. I'll then prep my corn casserole, broccoli casserole, my green beans (not in cheese or cream thank you very much!), make my pecan pie, cube my bread for whisky sausage stuffing, prep my baked brie..... Lots of work to be done!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Guess What Arrived Today....

2010-11-17T19:52:00.000-08:00

The koozies for the 3rd Annual 12 Bars of Christmas! I am so excited, because now we can really start to get people in the holiday spirit. We have 52 people who've RSVP'd for the pub crawl so far, but with over 100 who haven't yet responded, I am confident we'll hit at least 70 this year.

Three years ago we launched the first 12 Bars of Christmas, and didn't like the idea of everyone wearing Santa Suits, or matching tee shirts. Call me crazy, but I love to let people tap into their individuality, and go nuts with their costumes.

The rules of 12 Bars is simple. Pick 12 bar locations, and keep in mind you need to be able to walk between them, or at least the last 10. Tell your guests that they have to wear their finest holiday gear - tacky Christmas sweater, santa suit, antlers, slutty elf costume, whatever they want! They then bring money for the koozie, I charge $3 each, and then they'd better be prepared to drink their way through the day and night!

Determine your approximate number of attendees, and then approach the bar owners or managers, and let them know the date, the approximate time you'll be there, and how many people. If you can get drink specials, that's even better for your crew!

I always let the managers and owners know that all the people on my pub crawl will have matching koozies, and show them what they look like. That way, everyone can just show their koozie to get the drink special, and the bar doesn't have to print up bracelets or anything. We stay at the first bar for an hour and a half, and then try to limit to an hour each bar after that.

Next step! The invitation. I like to send it out at least 5-6 weeks in advance because the holidays get a little busy for everyone. We also always make sure our pub crawls are the same weekend every year! Always the Saturday before Christmas. Let the guests know the order of the bars, the drink special at each one, and how to join if they're late.

Then sing this little jingle....

On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, A frosty beer just for me.

On the second day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, Two friends a laughing

On the third day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, Three stout ales

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, Four full glasses

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, Fiiiiive Jaaaaaager bombs

On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, Six straws a sipping

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, Seven drinks a spilling

On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, Eight drunks a singing

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, Nine dudes a stumbling

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, Ten shots a downing

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, Eleven pints guzzling

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, Twelve bars of crawling

Drunken Scavenger Hunt around Town! - Now with pictures!

2010-11-12T21:37:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow night I am organizing what can only be called a drunken night around town. I've decided we need to mix it up a bit, and get out to some new places, as well as break up the group of 40+ of us into smaller groups! I've organized a scavenger hunt!

Gimpy and I are having people meet at Gingerman at 8 to have the first beer. We'll give everyone to about 8:30, and we'll announce the rules and pass out the lists. They'll have from 8:30 to 12:30 to gather as many points from the list as they can.

Here's my list!

5 Pts - Picture with a person in a band tee shirt (5 bonus points for their fave song
10 Pts - Business cards with handwritten cell phone numbers on them (we will check them...)
15 Pts - Chug a drink against another person (photo evidence required)
5 Pts - Picture with a person who has a musical instrument
20 Pts - Photo evidence of someone serenading you, or you serenading them

6 Pts - 6 different beer bottle caps
Unlimited - 1 Point for every matchbook from a bar or restaurant
25 Pts - Photo with someone in a uniform, any uniform
50 Pts - 6 person human pyramid (photo evidence)

10 Pts - Take out menu
15 Pts - Photo of one team member working behind the bar
75 Pts - Find Julie at Match, and figure out her favorite shot. One team mate has to take shots until you get the right one - you don't both have to take them, but Julie will initial off when you get the right one!
   a. Sex on the Beach
   b. Slippery Nipple
   c. Buttery Nipple
   d. Blow Job
   e. Red Headed Slut
25 Pts - An empty nip bottle
10 Pts - Photo of the worst hair you can find
20 Pts - Cocktail umbrella
Unlimited - Wine corks, 1 point for each
5 Pts per person - How many people can you fit in a bathroom stall? (Photo evidence required)

75 Pts - A Zima
15 Pts - Picture with the preppiest person at the bar
25 Pts - 5 cocktail napkins with phone numbers and lipstick kisses

Gimpy and I will also include some clues where they have to figure out what bar we are at to end the night. They have to report in at 12:30, and then we'll judge them, and announce the winners!

It was a really, really good time! We had a blast, and I think that everyone around town also enjoyed my friends darting in and out.

New Year's Eve Nightmare...

2010-11-08T14:00:00.000-08:00

Right now I'm in the middle of a New Year's Eve nightmare. We've been talking about booking a ski house for weeks, and got everyone on board. This isn't an event I am planning, I've just been serving as a consultant....

So the idea was, get all our friends together and have a big dinner on NYE, and then all hang out at the house and drink and have fun together. More of a grown-up night than most of us have been having lately. We'd have about 20 people (ideally 22), ski a few days, roast some marshmallows, and just have a good time in general.

It's recently come to my attention that about half of our group, plans on going out to a bar on New Year's! It's not something I can swing, the weekend alone is going to be close to $600 per person, and Gimpy and I are even skipping Hawaii in January for it (don't even get me started on how bummed I am). I kind of feel that if we have a big group traveling 3 hours away, we should ALL do the same thing New Year's Eve - the whole point of it is to be together, not all go up to VT to do things on our own.

This is when we need more friends in couples.... Luckily we have brunch Sunday to all talk and get on the same page - we need to get this straightened out ASAP!

A Halloween Celebration!

2010-10-27T17:22:00.000-07:00

This Saturday, since we are no longer going to VA for the wedding, we're celebrating Halloween in style! B and I are doing a pre-game, and so I am ready for a celebration!

The first essential to a killer Halloween party is to have an inflatable beer pool! You add ice, pumpkin beer, seasonal ales, and get ready to serve them up!

The next step is to have a killer seasonal cocktail. I am making Cinnamon Snaps - a large pitcher of them!

Cinnamon Snaps

1.5 cups vodka

1 cup apple schnapps

1 cup apple cider

3/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp cinnamon

1. Mix the vodka, schnapps, and cider in a pitcher. Add ice cubes and stir.

2. On a plate, mix the sugar and cinnamon. Moisten the rims of champagne glasses, and dip in the mixture.

3. Pour the cocktail into your glass, serve, and enjoy!

I'm making some delicious treats too! The traditional piggies in a blanket, with turkey little smokies, Halloween cupcakes, mushrooms stuffed with boursin cheese, and a chicken with roasted red pepper pesto bread...

Chicken with Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Bread

1 Package of raw bread dough

1/3 cup roasted red pepper pesto

6 oz grilled chicken breast, sliced thin

1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Grease a cookie sheet with a little olive oil

2. Spread out the bread dough, put the roasted red pepper pesto down in the middle

3. Layer the chicken on top of the pesto, top with cheese

4. Roll up the edges of the dough, and pinch the seams tightly

5. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until browned on top. Slice and serve!

Stay tuned for Halloween brunch...

I Believe in Forever...

2010-10-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

A lot of people don't believe in forever anymore, but I really do. I guess I am old fashioned in the sense that I think when you are dating someone, the second that you feel like you can't see your future being with them, you should end things, but if you make a committment to love, honor, and cherish someone forever, you stick with it, no matter how difficult things get.

Lately we've been busy with weddings. We had three in August, and then another in October. You may remember me saying about a month ago that my friend had her engagement called off, and I thought the guy was a big jerk.

Well, Gimpy and I were supposed to drive to VA for a Halloween wedding on October 30th, and last night after kickball I went to his place. He was looking at something on his computer, and asked if girls often get cold feet before their weddings.

It turned out that the girl his friend was supposed to marry packed all of her things in the house that they shared while he was in Vegas for his bachelor party this past weekend. When he got home, all traces of her were gone, and she'd moved back in with her mom.

I think what really bugs me about both situations, is that clearly they've been having these feelings for a while. Why wouldn't they feel comfortable talking about them with someone they loved so much that they asked/promised to marry them? Does anyone have any thoughts?

Two Super Exciting Party Announcements!

2010-10-19T10:14:00.000-07:00

The joke with my friends is that I'm like Brett Farve. A few weeks ago in frustration, I retired from party planning, but added the addendum that it didn't include pub crawls, and was really mostly limited to events that required tickets or money. Everyone knew it wouldn't last long.

Now, here's one thing, for my friends in CT who read my blog, and speak to my friends here, stop reading if you can't keep this strictly confidential. Just go on and read the next post about making a fabulous mushroom pasta. If you can keep a secret, go ahead and read on.

So, last night after volleyball, I was sitting with my friend BG and discussing the frustration that while I am blissfully, perfectly, amazingly happy to have the hands down best boyfriend on the planet in Gimpy, all I want is for my friends to find that same happiness with their perfect person. He's 30, and is in the same boat as a lot of my huge group of single friends - he wants to find someone special to share his life with. We discussed that while it's amazing to have such a huge group of friends, it really hurts you when it comes to meeting new people. As does going to the same bars, over, and over, and over again, where you've met all of the regulars.

That's when it hit me. I turned to him, and said "BG! I have an idea. I'm planning an event. It will be a bar scavenger hunt, played as individuals, at the bars in SoNo. I'm going to make all sorts of challenges for everyone, and it will be the perfect icebreaker to meet new people at the bar, and a great way to force everyone to talk to people they normally wouldn't approach, but might be super cool."

The questions will be fun, and for some you'll have to get photo evidence on the phone, and others, people will have to write down parts. The end will come at 12:30, and they'll have to follow the clues to where Gimpy and I are waiting to determine the winner. Some examples will be "Identify someone wearing the shirt to a band. Find out their favorite song." "Get 2 people to send Flip a facebook friend request asking to be invited to The 12 Bars of Christmas". I'm really excited for it, and I think it will be really good and fun for my friends.

Second piece of exciting news... I'm going as a gingerbread girl for the 12 Bars of Christmas this year, and Gimpy wants to go as the gingerbread man from Shrek! Not matching, but coordinating for sure... I've got to start making them both!

Meatless Mushroom Pasta

2010-10-18T08:19:00.000-07:00

Last week I was visiting my friends in Texas after a 3 day work conference in Austin. On Saturday, I went to stay with my friend Jena, who is partially responsible for my love of cooking. Jena and I lived together right out of college, and we'd cook our meals together. When you're cooking for 2 instead of 1, you can really experiment and try new things.

Jena and I went to my favorite place - Central Market - to pick up some things to cook for dinner. It was during their Hail to the Cheese festival, so there were lots of yummy samples to try. We decided to do a very mushroom pasta dish, and picked up 4 kinds of mushrooms.

Mushroom Pasta
2 bunches fresh fettucini
Fresh thyme
Handful shiitake mushrooms
Handful chanterelle mushrooms
Handful hen of the woods mushrooms
Handful of matsutake mushrooms
1/4 cup (half a stick) butter
3 TBSP half and half - or light cream, whatever you have
Salt & Pepper
1/4 cup each shredded asiago, manchego, and parmesean cheeses

Bring water to a boil with salt and three springs of thyme - this will impart the flavor into your pasta. In a wok, melt the butter, and add all of the chopped mushrooms. Sautee until tender, add salt and pepper, the leaves of 2 sprigs of thyme, and the cream. Add in 1/4 cup of the assorted cheeses.

Drain your pasta, remove the thyme sprigs, and add to the wok. Mix together the mushrooms and pasta, and top with remaining cheese. Serve with wine, and enjoy!

How to Start a Wine Tour...

2010-10-12T14:20:00.000-07:00

Some of you may remember me telling you that I was taking a group of people wine tasting this Fall, and last weekend was the big Saturday!

This was one of my most challenging events to organize, but one that paid off big time. I created a facebook event asking people in the subject line to read all of the details before responding. No brainer, right? Not so much. So I had my 24 people committed, most paid in the timely manner that I asked, and then a few who I got so mad at (3 weeks delinquent with their money) so I sold away their spots.

Step 1 - Determine pricing, and availability of the minibus. I used Bus Bank, and would highly recommend them! I found out it would be $775 for the bus, 8 hours, unlimited stops, and seat 24. They are nationwide!
Step 2 - Find 23 people who will commit and pay upfront by a deadline
Step 3 - Book the bus, collect the money
Step 4 - Notify the wineries! We went to 5, and I mapped out ahead of time how long it would take to drive between each locations, and got an idea of how long it would take to have 24 people taste and pay for their wares. I then called each winery to let them know approximately when we would be there.
Step 5 - I traveled with my friend Michelle to Christmas Tree Shops to buy 24 white shirt boxes and a few bunches of tissue paper
Step 6 - Have amazing friends, and a boyfriend who is basically perfect...

So the night before wine tasting, I went out and bought 15 bottles of Andre, and my amazing friends Betsey and Chelsea made a ton of sandwiches.

The next morning everyone met at our local high school at 9:45, and we boarded the bus to take off at 10am! I was making pitchers of mimosas - 3 bottles of champagne, and a splash of oj. Gimpy loaded the bus first with stuff, and then with people. Seriously, I have an awesome boyfriend. Later that day when I was beyond the point where I could any more, he took over my role of shephearding people onto the bus and keeping us on track.

When everyone was on the bus, I explained how things would work. Everyone had a box and some tissue paper, as every winery we went to would be providing them with a tasting glass that they would then take home with them. They should write their names on the boxes, and keep track of their glasses so that everything made it home. I then poured everyone their first mimosa of the day, and we did a toast!

We were on our way! We finished up 18 bottles of andre (Michelle brought a few) before we hit the second vineyard, and began to instruct people to buy a few bottles to share with the bus. It was an amazing day! The CT Wine Trail does these neat passports where all 23 wineries have a page that they will stamp and date for you. I collected all of them and passed them out at the end of the trip. I had some reservations because of how much work it was, but it was totally worth it in the end!

See? Wine to Share...

Lessons learned for next time:

1. There's tax on the bus.... Find out how much, and add that into the cost...

2. Don't stress so much about filling the seats, we had a waiting list for this trip, and it will definately fill

3. Add in $5 per person for the bus drivers' tip, and $10 for the beverages. I lost a ton of money on the champagne and mimosa materials

Next Spring... we're going to hit the Eastern half!

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Grains & Chicken Sausage

2010-10-04T19:06:00.000-07:00

Last Week I wanted to introduce Gimpy to one of my favorite Fall vegetables - acorn squash. I started with one acorn squash, cut in half, with the inside (seeds, strings) scraped out and baked in a 350 degree oven for 50 minutes. When you put it in the oven, bake it with the cut size up.

In the meantime, I put 1 3/4 cup chicken stock in a sauce pan with 1 1/4 cup of mixed grains - wild rice, quinoa, and couscous. Bring that to a boil and cook for 15 minutes until tender. On another burner, melt 1 tablespoon of butter, and chop up 2 jalapeno mango chicken sausages and sauté.

Steam a cup of peas, and then mix the grains, sausage, and peas together. Place them in the acorn squash and serve! You can either have them just fill the cavity...

Or you could have it overflowing the edges and cascading down! Gimpy loved it :)

Blueberry Raspberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

2010-09-28T19:22:00.000-07:00

My sister and BIL have this thing about birthday parties starting super early in the morning. I mean 10:30 am, and I live 2 hours away! They do brunch, and the BIL loves this stuffed french toast casserole that I made a few years ago, and so it's requested every time.

Blueberry Raspberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

1 Loaf French Bread

1 cup blueberries

1 cup raspberries

18 eggs

2 Tbsp vanilla

12 Tsp cinnamon

8 oz block of cream cheese

Preheat oven to 350 and spray bottom of casserole pan with cooking spray. Chop the bread into little squares, do the same with the cream cheese. Layer bread, cream cheese, and berries throughout the pan. In a side bowl, beat the eggs with vanilla and cinnamon together. Pour over the top of the bread mixture until thoroughly soaked.

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes. Serve warm - syrup optional!

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce

2010-09-28T19:01:00.000-07:00

Friday night Gimpy and I decided to stay in. I did a crazy 2 hour Zumba class with the girls, and arrived home sweaty, exhausted, and ready to pass out from hunger. Gimpy had been sick, and we had my nephew's 3rd birthday very early the next morning, so it seemed like a good idea.

I had gotten some delicious frozen butternut squash ravioli, and made sage brown butter sauce.

Sage Brown Butter Sauce
4 Tbsp Butter
8 Fresh Sage Leaves

Heat the butter over medium heat until it begins to brown. When it begins to turn brown, about 8 minutes, I added 8 sage leaves and continued to cook for 2 more minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the ravioli until tender poofs. The important thing to remember when cooking ravioli is to bring the water to a rolling boil, but then turn the heat down and cook them when the water is medium heat. Also, salt the water liberally. This is the only time you can flavor the pasta!

Pull the sage leaves out of the butter sauce and pour it on top of the ravioli. Top with parmesan cheese and garnish with fresh sage leaves.

Sometimes a Storm Makes Date Night Even Better...

2010-09-23T19:15:00.000-07:00

Last night Gimpy came over for date night just as a storm was rolling in. The sky got dark, the wind picked up, and a big storm rolled in. I was busy at the stove making risotto, which is what I'm giving you a recipe for tonight! In spirit of the cutest boy ever, that probably no one will ever appreciate as much as I do, Gimpy was standing by the sliding glass doors to the patio and turned to me.

"Do you know what I love?" He said. "What's that?" I replied. "That when you cook, you stand on your tip toes as you move around the stove." Cue me melting deep inside... I really love that boy.

Truffle Risotto
1/2 a sweet onion
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp truffle oil
1/2 cup wine
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup asiago cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oils together and add the onion. Cook 8 minutes until translucent. Add rice until just a tiny white spot appears in the center. Add the wine - use whatever you are drinking with dinner to really enhance the flavor of your meal. Cook until absorbed.

Add 3/4 cup of the chicken stock, and cook until absorbed. Continue adding the stock 1/2 a cup at a time (I use a ladle and keep adding scoops) until all of the liquid is absorbed and the risotto is creamy. Add the cheese and stir till well mixed. I also added a cup or so of cooked peas as well!

To add to our dinner, I bought 8 huge diver scallops. In a frying pan, I put 1 Tbsp olive oil and another 1 Tbsp of truffle oil and heated thoroughly. When the oil was hot, I added the 8 scallops. Cook until the bottom of the scallops are a nice golden brown, and the scallops appear milky instead of translucent. Flip, and then cook until the other side is golden!

Place 4 scallops on top of a heap of risotto, and serve. Drizzle with a little additional truffle oil. Yum!

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pizza

2010-09-12T15:29:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite memories of Texas was a wine tasting shower I threw for some friends. We had 6 bottles of wine, and food pairings to go with each course. One of my favorite new recipes from that day was a pizza I haven't made since.

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pizza with Manchego, Feta, and Chicken
1 Boboli Crust
1/4 Cup Roasted Red Pepper Pesto
1/4 Cup Feta Cheese
1/2 Cup Manchego
1/2 Cup Rotisserie Chicken

Preheat oven to 350. Put pesto all over the boboli crust.

Top with the manchego and feta. Add the chicken scattered around, and bake for 25 minutes.

Slice and serve! Yummm.....

Sometimes I Really Hate Men...

2010-09-07T06:35:00.000-07:00

I should preface this post by saying it is in no way, shape, or form about Gimpy. He's an amazing boyfriend, and I wake up every morning wondering how I ever managed to be so lucky as to end up with him. This post is about another guy entirely...

So I have a friend from grad school at TCU, a sweet little girl named B. We met in our first grad school class a few years ago, and became fast friends and running buddies (while I lived in Texas). She was there for me all the time when my ex and I broke up, and she was always on the look-out for her Prince Charming. In January 2009, she called me excitedly because she thought she'd met him. The Hamburgler was everything she had ever dreamed of (with the exception of his family being huge OU fans). I met him that February when MM and I went into town early for another friend's wedding, and he seemed like a really, really good match for her.

Cue to the next December, when I had this feeling deep down in my stomach, I just needed to call B. I was wandering through Target, and she picked up right away - she was beyond estatic - the Hamburgler had just proposed! That was followed by a weekend trip to Texas in March to pick out her dress, our bridesmaid dresses, and to meet her other girls.

Last night I was laying in bed with Gimpy after yet another eventful weekend full of parties, puppy sitting, and fun, and my phone starts to vibrate with a text.

"Just wanted you to know, I'm not ready to talk about it yet, but The Hamburgler called off our engagement tonight."

It makes me furious. I hate it, I hate him, and I am so mad I am 2000 miles away and can't be there for her right now.

Thanks for letting me vent.

An Afternoon Down the Connecticut Wine Trail

2010-09-02T07:16:00.000-07:00

For the past two years that I've lived back home in CT, my friends and I have been talking about renting a minibus and going for a tour of the Connecticut Wine Trail. Shockingly, there are 23 vineyards in our little state, and they have a convenient way that you can plan your trip from one to the next.

So after waiting for two years for one of my friends to do something, I finally sat down with B at the beginning of August and we mapped out our schedules for the rest of the year. We had a free weekend in October, so I made some calls, found a mini-coach that seats 24, have 22 solid committments so far, and we are going wine tasting!

The plan is to hit five vineyards, and then come back to my place for a wine and cheese party. I'm super excited because my newly married cousin and her husband, and my sister and her husband are all coming down! Now if only my girls V and M could fly in from Chicago and Alaska... but there's always next year!

My Next Food Challenge

2010-08-23T13:10:00.000-07:00

My cousin Aly got married last Friday, at a beautiful wedding with amazing food. The salad course was scrumptious, and my brother in law asked me if I could replicate it at some point.

The apple was stuffed with chicken sausage, and then baked with a cinnamon stick stuck in it. It sat on a field of baby greens, with candied walnuts, craisins, and gorgonzola.

Stay tuned... I will see if I can make a yummy recipe to give you all!

A Million Dresses, and Nothing to Wear

2010-08-18T17:38:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, my friends Zack and Marisa got married. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding on the water at The Inn at Longshore - stunning setting. I wore a super cute blue dress with a scalloped top, it was the perfect dress for the occasion.

This Friday night, my cousin Aly is getting married at Elizabeth Park in Hartford, CT, and I have a super cute coral-pink dress with one shoulder and roses on the left sleeve. So excited. Blue last Friday, coral-pink this Friday, and now the big issue.

This Friday, after leaving Aly's wedding, Gimpy and I will be driving the 9 hours to Virginia for a wedding that he is in. We'll sleep about 2 hours, shower, and get ready for a Saturday 2pm wedding that's at an outdoor gazebo. Trouble is, I am out of colorful dresses with the exception of the one I am loaning my sister... so I don't know what to wear! Right now I am leaning toward borrowing B's dress (far right above)...

No, a 9" Round Cake is Not Big Enough for a Smirnoff Ice...

2010-08-18T16:42:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Gimpy's old roommate celebrated his 30th birthday, and so Gimpy and I threw him a party at his place for Greg. I prepared a bunch of food, but the crowning glory of the weekend was the chocolate cake with an Icy Surprise.

If you don't have a group of immature guy friends, you may not know about Bros Icing Bros, but it's been a huge thing around Stamford this year. Basically what happens is that you are supposed to come up with a creative and unique way to "Ice" your bro. You give him a Smirnoff Ice, and he has to get on one knee and chug it. If they have another Smirnoff Ice, they can block you, and you have to drink two. Needless to say, I have drank more Smirnoff Ice this year than ever before.

So! I asked Gimpy, "Hunny, do you want me to make a cake and put a Smirnoff Ice inside it?" Obviously the answer was yes.

I made 4- 9" round cakes, and tried to go out the Ice in, only to discover that it wasn't long enough! So I had to get a little creative.

It wasn't my ideal, but I carved two of the cakes into a rectangle, and put the Raspberry Smirnoff Ice into the middle of it. I had originally planned to put posts in to the bottom three layers of cake, carve the space, and then put a very, very thin layer of the cake on top.

So anyway, I put the cake in the center, and carved out a piece of the top section. I figured I would put it toward the top, and start to bury the bottle.

So! The next few steps included some serious frosting action to bury the bottle fully. I didn't want him to have any clue what the "raspberry filling" was in his chocolate cake. Little did I know that by the time we got there, Greg would be so wasted he would have no idea what to expect!

So, the cake came to the party, and people kept asking what kind it was. Chocolate with Raspberry filling was our standard response. When the time came, one of our friends hit the lights, we grabbed a lighter, lit the candles, and started to sing happy birthday. Greg blew out the candles, made a wish, Betsey handed him a knife, and he went to slice. When he started to slice... there was a bottle of Smirnoff Ice!

My Best Icing Ever!

That Time We Had a Jewelry Party....

2010-07-27T17:53:00.000-07:00

So our friend lost her job about a month and a half ago, and decided to start selling jewelry for Lia Sophia. To date, B and I have been invited to 5 or 6 of these in the last year or so, and have always resisted throwing one. Now we didn't have a choice, you have to help a friend!

We invited about 40 girls over on a Wednesday night, and had about 5 show up, ah well! Summer is busy. I put B in charge of wine, and made a very nice food spread.

I fixed some artichoke dip with tortilla chips, buffalo chicken meatballs, spring rolls, cheese plate with crackers and rosemary bread, and a fruit platter with my key lime yogurt dip!

Key Lime Yogurt Dip

8 oz package of cream cheese

6 oz container of french vanilla yogurt

3 oz of key lime yogurt

1 Tbsp vanilla

1 Tbsp confectioners sugar

Beat all ingredients together until smooth and creamy.

Serve with fruit, cookies, cake, or other sweets.

We had a good time, shopped for some sparkly pieces, and drank a bunch of wine. All in all a success!

There Once Was a Man From Nantucket.... and he was a creepy pervert!

2010-07-09T07:36:00.000-07:00

I just returned from a glorious week in Nantucket - fun, sun, friends, biking, drinking, etc. It was wonderful - with one exception....

There was a creepy thief! We arrived on the island by ferry on Sunday morning because Gimpy and I had to go to his roommate's huge annual party - Visifest. So we arrived, went to the grocery store, liquor store, and then headed over to the beach. We spent a few hours on the beach, drinking, body surfing, having a good time. At this point, there were 5 of us girls, and 3 guys staying at the house my friend Bobby rents every year. After leaving the beach, we showered, hung up our suits, and went out for the night. My roommate, B hung hers up over the deck railing, and Chelsea and I hung up ours on the line. We went out for the night in full on Fourth of July glory to go explore the town (after a dinner of grilled salmon on cedar planks, salad, and orzo pasta salad).

After a night of drinking, dancing, shots, and bar hopping, we all headed back home. The next morning I made breakfast and a huge pitcher of iced coffee and we headed out to the deck to have breakfast. That's when B noticed that her bathing suit was missing. We were concerned (it was royal blue, and that's not easy to find!). We concluded that it must have blown over the edge and been taken by the neighborhood dog. So we headed to the beach (luckily we all packed multiple suits) and played for a few hours.

When we got back from the beach, I went to hang the peach bathing suit I had been wearing on the line, and pulled down Chelsea's and mine from the day before. The bottom to Chelsea's bathing suit was missing. This was a concern, but again, we figured it fell and the dog got it. We showered and went downtown to explore the shops. Gimpy and I had ridden our bikes down, and everyone else took a cab to meet our other 2 guys who were coming in.

On the way home, Mike and Bob got into the house before we did. They thought Jeremy and I had made it back first, and saw a person they assumed was me running out of the house. That's when someone told them we weren't home yet. I rode my bike into the back yard, and stopped by my friends. First question asked "Please tell me one of you took my peach bathing suit off the line" - they hadn't. Miss Kitty was packing, and came out announcing that one of her thongs was stolen.

The girls immediately ran into the house. We had left both doors locked when we came back, the spare key to the house was gone and the back door was unlocked. Turns out the little perv had gone through every single bag and removed a pair of underwear from each girl's bag, and also taken another bikini from mine! Needless to say, we were freaked. The landlord came over, changed the locks, and called the police for us. Nothing else was stolen, but still a creppy side to our vacay!

Total lost:
3.5 bikinis
5 pairs underwear

Mussels in a White Wine Garlic Butter Sauce

2010-06-21T08:53:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was intense. With B's birthday, it turned into a very expensive weekend for me. We kicked off with a party Saturday night with a pre-game at my place complete with jalepeno poppers, southwest chicken egg rolls, jello shots, andre, and the like. After that, what was supposed to be a dinner for four girls on Tuesday turned into me making fajitas, guacamole, and strawberry shortcake for 13. Needless to say, I needed a break!

Friday night Miss Kitty came over with her adorable puppy Bernie. He's beyond precious, and I would dognap him if B liked animals! I cooked her dinner, crab cakes over salad and mussels in a white wine garlic butter sauce. Whole Foods has been having a sale where you get a large bag of mussels for $5.99. It's a fantastic deal because they are tasty, healthy, and so easy to prepare. Just make sure you have cleaned and debearded the mussels first!

Mussels in White Wine Garlic Butter Sauce
In a large saute pan melt four tablespoons of butter over medium heat
Add 4 cloves of garlic, minced through a garlic press
When the butter is melted, add your mussels to the pan
Add about 2 1/2 cups of white wine*, it should cover the mussels about half way
Cover and cook until all of the mussels have opened in their shells (about 7-10 minutes)
Scoop out, discarding any that don't open on their own
Serve with crusty bread and wine!

*When I make this dish, I always use whatever wine I am drinking that night. I used a sauvignon blanc, but you can also use a pinot grigio. You don't want to use anything sweeter than that (a riesling would be terrible), and you know I will never recommend a chardonnay! Some people will buy "cooking wine" but I would caution you away from that. If you don't want to drink it, why would you put it in your food?

My Sister is Turning 30!!

2010-06-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

My beautiful (older) sister is turning 30 this year, but I should note that it won't be happening until July 11th. K is in a very, very different place than I am in her life; she's married to E, has two beautiful, adorable, wonderful little boys, and lives in a house in the 'burbs. I love my life, but sometimes I think it would be astounding to compare our livers. Mine is clearly in much worse shape.

K married E, and her best friend Jen married his little brother. E sent me a text message late in March to let me know that they were going to throw a surprise, joint 30th b-day party May 22nd for K, Jen, and E's sister Laura... to which I immediately texted back "nooooooo! I can't go! It's the biggest social event of the Spring, and I've had the date set since January 1st!" - clearly it was the Preppy Pub Crawl. I should also point out that Jen's (31st) birthday was June 12th, K's was July 11th, and Laura's March 23rd. Hmm... So, E came through as an awesome brother-in-law and changed the date of the party so that I can attend. Yay!

So E called me a few weeks ago, and we had the following conversation:

E: "Hey! I need your opinion on something. My mom and I are discussing the party, and I want everyone to have a little take home favor of some sort. Do you think tee-shirts or visors are better?"
Me: "Um.... honestly, neither. It's a backyard BBQ, why don't you do koozies?"
E: "Koozies? What are those?" (mind you, E can drink, a lot)
Me: "Beer koozies! They are like a snuggie for your beer, the little foam things that your beer slides into and it keeps it cold. I order 125 of them twice a year for my pub crawls, always a big hit."
E: "Hmm... that's a good idea. How much are they? I mean, I still want to get t-shirts for the girls to wear that day."
Me: "Around $125 for 100, that includes shipping, and people actually can use them again. People don't really wear t-shirts or visors. Also, if you are getting shirts for the girls, please go to Customized Girl, it's a much better selection than any other!"

I am looking forward to the birthday, I am driving up with Gimpy and one of K and my mutual good friends, Steve. I have a feeling the boys will be getting drunk in my backseat while I drive, and Gimpy has already planned to "Ice" Steve before they get in the car. Should be an interesting ride. Then when we get there I will proceed to ignore them both and play with the boys!

Just glad E listened to me and ordered the koozies! Can you imagine if someone gave you a visor as a party favor? Ugh.

A Concert, a Tailgate, and Cocktails, Oh my!

2010-06-03T19:44:00.000-07:00

Gimpy's birthday was back in April, and he is a huge Dave Matthew's Fan, so I got him tickets for this Memorial Day Weekend. We were able to drum up some additional friends, and turned out a 30 person tailgate. Yay!

We made a ton of jello shots to start the day, packed up our coolers of beer and snacks, and brought the new little grill I bought at Walmart. It was a terrific deal! Only $25 for a small propane grill, and then gas itself was super cheap too. It turned out to be one of the best investments I could have made, I fully intend to use it more this summer, and next Fall during tailgate season.

I made a big batch of guacamole, turkey burgers, cheddar beef brats, and some killer jalapeno mango chicken sausages. I am going to find the brand and add that here for you guys. I also made some veggie skewers, which were also a surprising hit - you never expect people to want veggies at a tailgate, but they totally do!

Unfortunately we were too drunk to take pictures of the food, so I promise those for next time. In the meantime, here are some lovely images of me grilling and people waiting hungrily for food!

Time to Throw a Pub Crawl!!

2010-06-02T17:48:00.000-07:00

Two years ago, I was sitting at Kona Bar and Grill with my friend Bob. It was November, and we were discussing which bars we would hit that night. The bartender, Megan, got excited and asked us, "Are you guys doing the 12 Bars of Christmas?" We were intrigued - she then explained that she knew some people who did a pub crawl in December and they did 12 bars in ugly Christmas sweaters. I hate ugly Christmas sweaters, so we decided just Christmas costumes, and in December 2008 - the 1st pub crawl I ever threw was born!

The problem was, in January people starting asking when the next pub crawl was! My roommate and I decided that we needed to keep it limited to two a year, and we needed some time off between them. I don't like when people can't express their individuality, so the decision to get custom koozies instead of t-shirts was an easy one.

This May marked the 2nd Annual Preppy Pub Crawl!

The secret to throwing a killer pub crawl is simple - invite everyone you know, invite them to bring their friends, get people who love to express themselves, and choose a great line up of bars!

I order my koozies from Custom Ink - I get the collapsable kind, which works well for packing in to purses, pockets, etc. I order about 100 of them, and charge $3 each. That way, people aren't spending a ton of money, but everyone can identify each other.

My friend Tristyn got me a big bag from Vineyard Vines to keep my koozies in this year - it was a huge score! I am totally glad it made it home for the next Preppy Pub Crawl too. She also picked up my headband for me. It was red with navy blue anchors, and it totally rocked with my navy blue Ralph tennis dress (from the kids section, thank goodness I am short!).

The night was a huge success. We had about 75-80 people in total, and with the exception of a huge jerk at Bradfords (hate that bar anyway) who tried to fight a bunch of us - and told me that I need a boob job (um, are you kidding??) - the night went off without a hitch!

Gimpy even rocked an outfit that kind of matched mine, and we didn't even plan it. Isn't he cute with his little lobster shorts?

Date Night - Lobster Ravioli and Crab Cakes!

2010-05-14T18:40:00.000-07:00

Last week I went to Trader Joe's, and found that they carried some packages of lobster ravioli. I obviously had to buy it, as in my head I was already imagining cooking it up with some lobster tails and a white wine garlic butter sauce! I stuck it in the freezer, as Spring and Summer are insanely busy seasons for me, and I didn't know when I would have a chance to make it.

Luckily for all of us, the chance came this past Wednesday for date night with Gimpy. I stopped at Stew Leonards on my way home and picked up a couple of 3oz lobster tails and some crab cakes. The thing that I love about seafood and fresh pasta, is that it is so simple and quick to whip up, especially with a wine sauce like this one.

As promised, I have lots of photos to walk you through it. To start, heat a large sautee pan to medium, and melt in a half a stick of butter (approximately 4 Tbsp). Do NOT use margarine. When the butter is nice and melted, add in 3 large cloves of garlic (pushed through your garlic press or dice finely), and cook to mix.

When the butter is all melted and the garlic is nice and golden, add your lobster tails. Stir them around the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring fairly constantly. Your lobster shells will begin to take on a reddish pink color - this is what's supposed to happen! At this point, bring the water for your pasta to a boil. Make sure you salt the water, as this will give your pasta a little bit of extra flavor.

Add to the pan 1 1/2 cups of white wine, either Pinot Grigio or a Sauvignon Blanc (you'll learn I hate Chardonnay and won't ever use it, even for cooking). Once you add the wine, stir a few more times, and cover the pan. This will steam the flavor into your lobster tails. At this time you should go ahead and pour yourself a glass of the wine. You should always have a glass while cooking!

When your water is boiling, add your pasta, and stir. Now is when I poured a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil into a small sautee pan, and brought it to medium heat. With the pasta cooking, I added three fresh crab cakes to the pan. Cook them for three minutes each side until they are nice and golden, and heated all the way through. Drain your pasta and add to your lobster and sauce. Toss to coat.

Meanwhile, set up some field greens on two small plates. Add the crab cakes (I gave Gimpy two and kept one for myself!). Put some cocktail sauce on the side of the crab cakes, and serve!

Now on to the main course! Take two large plates, add some of the ravioli to each, and top with a lobster tail. For the finishing touch, add some fresh parmesan cheese. I love to take a vegetable peeler and shave off large pieces.

Now serve!

Cinco de Mayo!

2010-05-10T09:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since I've had a blog post... things have been crazy.

This week/weekend was chock full of Cinco de Mayo parties. Wednesday night we had to go out to Viva Zapatas in Westport, amazing Mexican food, killer margaritas, and an awesome patio for drinking on. Add that to 78 degree weather, and it is the perfect way to spend Cinco de Mayo - out drinking till midnight (Yikes!).

Friday night Gimpy's roommate had a Cinco de Mayo themed birthday party, and I made my famous queso, guacamole, and a 5 layer dip. Queso is honestly the easiest thing to make, the worst thing for you, and the only, only, only time I will ever purchase the ghetto processed cheese food known to the world as Velveeta (I shudder to even admit I buy it).

Queso

1 small block Velveeta
1 can rotelle
Hot sauce* optional

Melt the rotelle and the Velveeta in a pan on the stove top until melted and gooey. Add a few dashes of hot sauce for extra spice if desired. Serve with chips or as a topping in your burrito bar.

5 Layer Dip
1 can vegetarian refried beans
1.5 cup fat free sour cream
1/2 small can diced green chilies
1.5 cup guacamole
1.5 cup salsa of your choice
1.5 cup shredded cheese (pepper jack, cheddar, etc)\
Sliced black olives *optional

In a glass pan, layer the can of refried beans. In a small bowl, mix the green chilies with the sour cream, and spread on top of the beans. Layer the guacamole followed by the salsa, and then add the cheese to the top. If desired, sprinkle sliced black olives on the top. Serve with chips - I recommend Tostitos Scoops, because they make a yummy little bowl that gives you more per bite.

Guacamole
3 ripe avocado (soft to the touch but not mushy)
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/8 cup finely diced onion
1 jalapeno, seeds removed, diced finely
Cilantro, to taste, fresh, chopped
2 garlic cloves, diced or squeezed through a garlic press
Salt and pepper to taste

Blend all the ingredients with a fork, making sure to include the lemon juice. If you do not add it, your guacamole will be a gross brown color. Serve with chips :)

I love how easy Mexican food is...

To reward you all for your patience, on Wednesday I am making lobster in a white wine garlic sauce over lobster ravioli for Gimpy for date night dinner, and I will take pictures along the way to ensure it is an educational blog post for you all!

A little bit about weddings...

2010-04-11T08:57:00.000-07:00

It's almost wedding season, which means it is wedding invitation season. It's been a popular topic among my friends lately because we are at that age where our friends are getting married, having babies, or, if you are us, going out a lot...

So that brings me to what apparently isn't commonly known. Ladies, if you are getting married, first of all, congratulations! Now, if you have single friends over the age of 25, invite them with a guest!

There is not much more depressing for your single friends than going to a wedding and sitting with a bunch of couples, all by themselves... or, having everyone around them getting up to dance, and not having anyone to dance with!

Some exceptions do exist, if your group of friends is very large, a lot of them are single, and you are inviting all of them, you don't have to give them an and guest. If you haven't spoken to your friend in over a year, and you don't know that she isn't dating someone, then you also don't know if she is. I understand that it costs a lot to throw a wedding, and to feed people, and trust me, so does she.

Let's back this up ladies - I want to review what my grandmother has always said is proper gift etiquette. Figure out how much your friend is spending on your meal (estimate, don't ask), add $50, and that's the total value of your gift. If you are invited with a guest, you double the meal price! So, let's imagine you and a date are attending a wedding. Total value of your gift is probably around $250 - if you live in CT - so divide that between your parties. Maybe $50 on the shower gift, $50 on the lingerie shower, and then $150 on the wedding gift, which you should mail to their house!

I am sure right now you are thinking "What does she know?" but trust me, I have been to 18 friends' weddings, been a bridesmaid 8 times, and have heard countless friends complain about certain things from both ends. I am sure you will hear more about it, but now I am off my soap box so I can make creamy mushroom chicken for date night with Gimpy.

Welcome!

2010-04-06T06:44:00.000-07:00

So last night I noticed I have two new followers, and this morning another two. Yay! I am very excited. I am guessing you all found me because of V, so thanks, and I am very glad you are here. I hope I don't let you down, and if you need any help with parties or recipes , let me know!

Easter Dinner for 12

2010-04-05T19:09:00.000-07:00

This year I had 11 people over for Easter dinner. Gimpy is from Virginia, my friends Angie, Marcus, and Richard all have their parents in London, we had a few girls whose parents are in the mid-west, and then a few who just decided that my cooking was more appealing than any other option!

Saturday I went hiking with Gimpy, Mike, and Bridget, and when we get back, Bridget and I went nuts in the kitchen prepping for our respective Easters. I made my strawberry rhubarb pie and cream of asparagus soup. I thought it would be a good idea to make my cream of asparagus soup without any actual cream so that it would be nice and healthy!

Cream of Asparagus Soup

1/2 stick unsalted butter

1/2 onion, chopped, (about 1/2 cup)

1 clove garlic, crushed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 pounds asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

6 cups chicken stock

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, and saute 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add asparagus and saute another 4 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for 30 minutes, until asparagus is very tender. Next, remove from heat and blend with your immersion blender. Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

I set the table, complete with my little bunny tapers, also known as the cutest candle holders ever, my new light blue table cloth, and some spring tulips. After a date night at Fat Cat Pie Company with Gimpy, we came back and ended up watching a few hours of Food Network while I prepped and baked my bunny cake, and peeled and sliced potatoes for scalloped potatoes.

Sunday morning I went to church early with Gimpy and Bobby, then I rushed back to put the ham in the oven. I made a tangerine/orange glaze to put on the ham, and everyone said it was awesome. I don't actually eat ham, but I took their word for it!

Citrus Glaze for Ham

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut in chunks

2 tangerines, sliced thin, seeds removed

2 cups orange juice

2 cups light brown sugar, packed

1 cup water

1/4 teaspoon whole cloves

2 cinnamon sticks

Cook all together in a saucepan over medium heat until well blended. Pour over your ham, and use to baste as you cook.

I also made shrimp cocktail, baked brie with raspberry jam, garlic green beans with slivered almonds, a big salad, the scalloped potatoes, and crescent rolls.

We had a ton of fun, about 19 bottles of wine (really, it was a lot), sat outside in the sunshine drinking for a while, and had dessert. The bunny cake was a huge hit until someone went to cut a slice and he tumbled off the table! Luckily drunk me whipped up a new carrot cake and slapped some cream cheese frosting on it when it came out of the oven so there was plenty of dessert.

Chicken Parm - the Healthy Way!

2010-03-29T20:07:00.000-07:00

So this Sunday I hosted the first official family dinner of the Spring. It's been awhile, as I was feeling a little taken advantage of. All I ask of my friends is that they bring a bottle of wine (if you bring chardonnay you will lose all future invites), and I cook them a gourmet meal. Quite a few people had been forgetting their wine, or letting me know they would bring it the next week, and they wouldn't bring it.

After much thought, I decided to bring dinner back. We had chicken parm with fettucini, home made red sauce, salad, and bread.

Healthy Chicken Parm - serves 6
1 1/2 Cups Panko Bread Crumbs
1/2 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1/4 tsp Dried Organo
1/4 tsp Dried Basil
2 Eggs
3 Chicken Breasts, cut in half
Salt and Pepper
Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350. In one bowl, mix salt, pepper, bread crumbs, oregano, basil, and parmesan cheese. In another bowl, beat the eggs. Separate the chicken breasts to be in six pieces. Pound out the chicken breast until they are flat, and dip in the egg. Dip the chicken into the bread crumb mixture until the sides are coated and lay on a cookie sheet.

Bake the chicken for 18 minutes at 350. Switch the oven to a low broil and place a thin slice of mozzarella on top. Broil for 4 more minutes, and serve.

For a lower cholesterol version, use egg whites instead of full eggs.

Red Sauce
1 Large Can of Diced Tomatoes
Handful of Fresh Basil
1/4 Cup Diced Onion
1 Roasted Red Pepper, Diced
3 Garlic Cloves, Diced
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
3 TBSP Balsamic Vinegar
Other Italian Spices to Taste

In a large saute pan, spray olive oil with your mister. Heat burner at medium low and add onions and cook until slightly tender. Add roasted red pepper and minced garlic cloves. Cook another minute, and add the tomatoes. Cook, stirring frequently on low about 6 minutes. Add basil, salt and pepper, and other Italian seasonings based on your preferences. Once mixed, add balsamic vinegar, if you are lucky enough to live near an Oil & Vinegar shop, buy the tomato flavored balsamic. It will change your pasta sauce in a revolutionary way!

Meanwhile, cook your pasta until al dente, making sure to add salt to your water before cooking. Mix with the red sauce, serve, and add the chicken parm on top!

Next up, Easter dinner!

Easter Dinner Musings...

2010-03-19T07:31:00.000-07:00

It's almost Easter, and it feels like it around here. It's been sunny and beautiful, and then rainy and gross at the drop of a hat - exactly typical of Spring in New England.

With Easter, I normally go to my roommate B's house and spend the day with her family... 3 brothers, a sister, an 2 little nieces. This year though, I found out that several of my British friends and my boyfriend Gimpy didn't have plans for Easter, so I decided to cook!

Now I am just contemplating the menu.... I know I want to make a tangerine glazed Easter ham, probably some deviled eggs, but I am stuck there! Any suggestions?

Cinnamon Streusel Bread French Toast

2010-03-18T16:26:00.000-07:00

So last weekend was my birthday. 25 again. Not sure how many more of these I will get away with...

We started the weekend with Andre, then went to Black Bear for a $2 happy hour. A ton of friends came out, which was awesome, and then we moved to Tiernans, one of our favorite hot spots. Can't really report much from the evening... but the next morning everyone came over for brunch!

I made a couple loaves of cinnamon streusel bread on Thursday night, and I will admit I cheated and bought boxed mix, but in all fairness, I was too busy to find a new recipe! I got up early and started some coffee, laid out champagne and vodka grapefruits, and sliced the bread to be about a pinkie finger thick. I made a standard french toast batter, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla, and a dash of skim milk. Then I pulled out my griddle, battered my bread, and made some of the best french toast! It really came out amazing, and was a good breakfast choice considering we were drinking from 10am to 11:30 that night...

I only wish that Miss Kitty had been there for the weekend, so I could have had this amazing apron that she designed for my birthday!

The Famous Whipped Cream Incident

2010-03-18T15:54:00.000-07:00

Everyone I know gets a bad case of the Sundays. I think in large part it is due to the fact that we have entirely too much fun Thursday through Saturday that just leaves you dreading Mondays. To combat this, last year I instituted Family Dinners on Sunday. It's given me the opportunity to try new recipes, try new wines, and just have some fun with my friends.

Last Spring, we were having a typical family dinner, friends, wine, dinner, and it came time to have dessert. I had made a Flourless Chocolate Cake, recipe courtesy of Chef Jon Bonnell in Fort Worth, sliced up some fresh strawberries, and poured heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract from Mexico into my whipped cream maker. On a side note, if you don't have a whipped cream maker, go get one. Now. Everyone should always have home made whipped cream on hand, it comes in handy on so many occasions, both in and out of the kitchen.

This particular Sunday, I filled my whipped cream maker with a little bit too much heavy cream. I had given it to my friend Amanda, she pushed the button, and nothing happened. That's when I realized what I had done, so I decided, foolishly, to try and open the container to pour out some of the cream. I couldn't get the container open, so I asked Amanda's boyfriend Tyler to take a crack at it... He was able to loosen it, but cream started pouring down the sides. I opened it the rest of the way, and boom! Whipped cream exploded all over the table, the sliding glass doors to the balcony, and us. Yikes! It was quite a mess, but made for some fun stories, and even better pictures!