Let's Take Bets on When I Black Out Tonight

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

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

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!

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

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!