California Christmas

This was Michael's first Christmas away from home and we had a great California Christmas!  We were home a whopping 10 days but it went by super fast. 

The reason we went home a week before Christmas was to go wedding dress shopping with Ming-Cee!  She found her dress at Novella Bridal after MUCH deliberation between two equally fantastic dresses.  It was tough decision but I know she made the right choice and will be beautiful walking down the aisle!

I also threw a little bridal brunch for her and the ladies.  That was so much fun and I'm really looking forward to working with this great group of beautiful women.

And of course we also found some new favorite restaurants!
B-Star - Delicious!  One of our new favorites in SF.  Next time we'll have to make reservations at its sister restaurant down the street, Burma Superstar.
Roxy - We haven't spent much time in Sacramento, but since Ming-Cee and Pat live there now... this is our new favorite place to eat. 
Belden Place - Always a great place to check out when you can't decide what you want to eat... we ate at Cafe Bastille.  Lots of fun.
Chow - The Lafayette restaurant of choice.  Ahhh... Lamorinda... it's nice to be home.

Chocolate Chubbies

This weekend, Vicky and I hosted our annual cookie swap (recipes posted here) and I tried a great new recipe: Chocolate Chubbies. 

Please be warned that these little guys are dangerous when warm right out of the oven... yes, they are THAT delicious.  The only safeguard is that they are so chocolatey and rich that you probably won't be able to eat more than a few before you are stuffed (unless you're a REAL chocoholic... then you need to be extra cafeful not to eat the whole batch out of the oven!).

Note: It's best that you have a standing mixer for this recipe.

INGREDIENTS
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
9 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (no more than 62% cacao), finely chopped
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 ¼ cups superfine sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 ½ cups (5 ½ ounces) coarsely chopped pecans
1 ¼ cups (4 ½ ounces) coarsely chopped walnuts

Position racks in the center and top third of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line two half-sheet pans with parchment paper.

Bring 1 inch of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan over low heat. Put the butter in a wide, heatproof bowl, and melt the butter over the hot water in the saucepan. Add the semisweet and unsweetened chocolate, stirring often, until melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat and let stand, stirring occasionally, until cooled slightly but still warm, about 5 minutes.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl. Whip the eggs in the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed until the eggs are foamy and lightly thickened, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high and gradually add the sugar, then the vanilla. Whip until the eggs are very thick and pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and beat in the tepid chocolate, making sure it is completely incorporated. Change to the paddle attachment and reduce the mixer speed to low. Gradually add the flour mixture. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the chocolate chips, pecans, and walnuts, making sure the chunky ingredients are evenly distributed at the bottom of the bowl.The dough will be somewhat soft.

Using a 2-inch ice-cream scoop, portion the batter onto the prepared pans, placing the cookies about 1 ½ inches apart. Bake the cookies immediately—if you wait, they won’t be shiny after baking. Bake, switching the position of the pans from top to bottom and front to back about halfway through baking, until the cookies are set around the edges (if you lift a cookie from the pan, the edges should release easily, even if the center of the cookie seems underdone), 17 to 20 minutes. Do not overbake. Cool completely on the baking pans. (The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature, with the layers separated by parchment paper, for up to 3 days.)

Found this recipe off Amazon... I think I must get this cookbook!

How to Fold a Fitted Sheet

Definitely doing this. Thanks apartmenttherapy.com!  I wish I knew how to do this 10 years ago.

Can you tell it's been a slow day at work?

The Office Holiday Party

I subscribe to American Life in Poetry where former Poet Laureate Ted Koozer sends out emails featuring poets from around the country (and occasionally from around the world).  This isn't Shakespeare or Thoreau.  Koozer selects poems that capture everyday, simple emotions in short, little stanzas.

I thought I'd share today's poem because sometimes I feel like the annual holiday office party is a strange beast.  There's usually decorations, games, music, dancing, drinking... all the elements of a great party... but then you're forced to hang out with a bunch of co-workers that you would never hang out with outside of work.  I never really thought much about it before, but this can bring up some insecurities... as presented in this installment of American Life in Poetry:

At any given moment, there must be 100,000 of us trying to fit in, and finding it next to impossible. Here’s a wonderful portrayal of that difficulty, by Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz, who lives in Astoria, New York.
At the Office Holiday Party

I can now confirm that I am not just fatter
than everyone I work with, but I’m also fatter
than all their spouses. Even the heavily bearded
bear in accounting has a little otter-like boyfriend.

When my co-workers brightly introduce me
as “the funny one in the office,” their spouses
give them a look which translates to, Well, duh,
then they both wait for me to say something funny.

A gaggle of models comes shrieking into the bar
to further punctuate why I sometimes hate living
in this city. They glitter, a shiny gang of scissors.
I don’t know how to look like I’m not struggling.

Sometimes on the subway back to Queens,
I can tell who’s staying on past the Lexington stop
because I have bought their shoes before at Payless.
They are shoes that fool absolutely no one.

Everyone wore their special holiday party outfits.
It wasn’t until I arrived at the bar that I realized
my special holiday party outfit was exactly the same
as the outfits worn by the restaurant’s busboys.

While I’m standing in line for the bathroom,
another patron asks if I’m there to clean it.

Strawberry and Rosemary Scones

My co-worker Liana made these scones a few months ago and I wasn't sure if I would like them.  Well, I was wrong.  Strawberry and Rosemary compliment each other surprisingly well!  They are really good and perfect to serve at brunch (or a BYOCraft party).

Instead of a heart cookie cutter, I just used a biscuit cutter because that's all I had.  It worked fine but it would be fun to get cute cookie cutters and try this recipe again.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup strawberry jam

Glaze:
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, from 1 large lemon
2 cups powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons water
Special equipment: a 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter

DIRECTIONS
For the scones: Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper. Set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor (see below for hand-mixing instructions), pulse together the flour, sugar, baking powder, rosemary, salt, and butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Gradually stir in the cream until the mixture forms a dough. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 1/2-inch thick, 10-inch circle. Using a 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out heart-shaped pieces of dough and put on the prepared baking sheet. Gently knead together any leftover pieces of dough and roll out to 1/2-inch thick. Cut the dough into more heart shapes and add to the baking sheet. Using an index finger or a small, round measuring spoon, gently make an indentation in the center of each pastry heart. Spoon a heaped 1/2 teaspoon of jam into each indentation.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Transfer the cooked scones onto a wire rack and cool for 30 minutes.

For the glaze: In a medium bowl, mix together the lemon juice and powdered sugar until smooth. Gradually add the water until the mixture is thin enough to spread. Using a spoon, drizzle the glaze over the scones. Let the glaze set for about 30 minutes. Serve or store in an airtight plastic container for 2 days.

Cook's Note: The dough can also be made by hand by stirring together the flour, sugar, baking powder, rosemary, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter. Using your fingertips or a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Gradually stir in the cream until the mixture forms a dough.

Easy Sausage and Egg Casserole

This has been my go-to recipe for while now.  I'm looking at my stained printout from epicurious.com dated 2/12/2004 and think of all the brunches where I've served this casserole.  And it was (again) a hit at my BYOCraft party today.

You can make the meat portion of this recipe the night before so it's great for parties because you just stir up the egg mixture an hour before everyone comes over, pour it in the casserole dish, and throw it in the oven.  That easy!  It's a pretty heavy dish so leftovers can be eaten for dinner with a green salad and it's still super delicious.

INGREDIENTS
1 pound Italian sweet sausage, casings removed
1/2 cup chopped shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

5 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1 cup half and half
1 cup whipping cream
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Sauté sausage in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat until brown and cooked through, breaking up with back of fork into small pieces, about 10 minutes. Add shallots and garlic and sauté 3 minutes. Add sun-dried tomatoes and 2 tablespoons parsley; stir 1 minute. Spread sausage mixture in prepared dish. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Whisk eggs, egg yolks, half and half, whipping cream, 1 1/2 cups cheese, and salt in large bowl to blend well. Pour egg mixture over sausage mixture in dish. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese and 2 tablespoons parsley over. Bake until top of casserole is golden brown and knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

London and Paris Photos

Our photos from London and Paris are finally posted on our website here.

Thanks for your patience... I told you it would be a productive weekend!

Make Your Own Pie Crust!

This year we brought two of pumpkin pies to Thanksgiving!  We used my daddy's award-winning variation to the classic Libby's pumpkin pie recipe AND I decided to make my own pie dough this year too!  It's so easy!  Make the dough up to a week ahead of time, keep it in the fridge, and then just roll it out right before you mix up your filling.  It turned out so good!  I will never buy frozen pie crust again!

Recipe and pie crust tutorial found on smittenkitchen.com.

INGREDIENTS (for 2 pie crusts)
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces, 16 tablespoons or 1 cup) unsalted butter, very cold

DIRECTIONS
Fill a one cup liquid measuring cup with water, and drop in a few ice cubes; set it aside.

In a large bowl — I like to use a very wide one, so I can get my hands in — whisk together 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of salt.

Dice two sticks (8 ounces or 1 cup) of very cold unsalted butter into 1/2-inch pieces. Get out your pastry blender.

Sprinkle the butter cubes over the flour and begin working them in with the pastry blender, using it to scoop and redistribute the mixture as needed so all parts are worked evenly. When all of the butter pieces are the size of tiny peas — this won’t take long — stop.

Start by drizzling 1/2 cup of the ice-cold water (but not the cubes, if there are any left!) over the butter and flour mixture. Using a rubber or silicon spatula, gather the dough together. You’ll probably need an additional 1/4 cup of cold water to bring it together, but add it a tablespoon as a time. Once you’re pulling large clumps with the spatula, take it out and get your hands in there Gather the disparate damp clumps together into one mound, kneading them gently together.

Divide the dough in half, and place each half on a large piece of plastic wrap. I like to use the sides to pull in the dough and shape it into a disk. Let the dough chill in the fridge for one hour, but preferably at least two, before rolling it out.

DADDY'S PUMPKIN PIE RECIPE (makes 2 pies)

Basically, just take the recipe on the back of the Libby's Pumpkin can and zest a medium sized orange into the batter.  I don't think this is actually a secret recipe, but it's delicious.

INGREDIENTS
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 (29 oz.) can Libby's solid pack pumpkin
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
2 (13 oz.) cans evaporated milk or 3 1/4 c. half and half
2 (9") unbaked homemade pie shells with high fluted edge

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine filling ingredients in order given; divide evenly into pie shells. Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees.

Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake an additional 45 minutes or until knife inserted near center of each pie comes out clean. Cool and serve with freshly whipped cream.   mmmm....

Maple-Ginger Roasted Vegetables with Pecans

This year, we stayed in DC for Thanksgiving.  Elizabeth invited us to her friends Lolly and Jay's home out in Vienna, Virginia.  There were 16 guests (8 per table) and we brought pumpkin pie and maple-ginger roasted vegetables with pecans.  Both were a big hit and we found a great new recipe in Food & Wine!

As always, we're very thankful for good friends and good food.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups pecans
4 medium carrots (3/4 pound), peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick on the bias
2 large parsnips (1 pound), peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick on the bias
1 medium head cauliflower (2 1/2 pounds), cut into 1-inch florets
1 small butternut squash (2 pounds)—peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch dice
1 pound brussels sprouts, halved
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1/3 cup pure maple syrup

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 425°. Spread the pecans in a pie plate and toast until fragrant, about 6 minutes. Let cool.

In a large bowl, toss the carrots, parsnips, cauliflower, squash and brussels sprouts with the olive oil and nutmeg and season generously with salt and black pepper. Spread the vegetables on 2 large rimmed baking sheets and roast for 30 minutes, until the vegetables begin to brown.

Scatter the pecans and ginger over the vegetables and drizzle with the maple syrup; toss well. Continue to roast the vegetables for 25 minutes longer, until they are tender and golden. Scrape the vegetables into a bowl and serve hot or at room temperature.

To make in advance: The roasted vegetables can be kept at room temperature for up to two hours before serving.

Definitely a crowd-pleaser!

Our Souvenirs

The last couple weeks have been super busy so I'm sorry for not updating the blog for a bit.  And although I had to work today, I am thankful that I have this Thanksgiving weekend to catch up with stuff!

Most of you know that Michael and I did not purchase formal china for our place settings.  We decided to collect place settings from our vacations so each of our guests could share a little memory and a little story at our dinner parties!

This place setting was purchased at Astier de Villatte.

Astier de Villatte ceramics are entirely handmade in Paris, France. Made of black terracotta clay, the pieces are extremely durable yet surprisingly light to the touch making them perfect for everyday use. The namesake tableware collection is inspired by 18th and 19th century designs and is glazed to create a milky white finish.

We LOVE it.  But unfortunately for us, we apparently have expensive taste and were not happy with any of the other place settings we saw at other stores in Paris.  Isn't it so unique and refined?  So pretty!  Can't wait to put it to use.

Ok, enough about the place setting.  We also got something much more practical for everyday use: Peugeot salt and pepper mills!  Rue de Rennes has fabulous little boutiques and we got a great deal on this salt and pepper mills.  Michael put them to use as soon as we got home!

And last but not least, we brought home a tub of Edmond Fallot mustard.  That's right... a TUB!  Mmmm... that's delicious mustard.  It's really THAT good... cross my heart.

So you've probably figured out by now that this will not be our last trip to Paris.  Can't wait to go back!

Incredible Last Meal for our Last Night in Paris

We just got home from the most amazing dinner of our trip.  Le Reminet is a cozy little restaurant around the corner from our flat.  We had the chef's tasting menu and it was totally worth every penny.  Two starters, two main courses, cheese course, and then dessert.  They even comped us a couple glasses of delicious champagne and I finished it all with a "day-cah" espresso.  And the ambiance - perfect.  We were even one of two couples left in the place and attempted to have a meaningful conversation (us with our broken French and them with thier broken English) and they were having us try their special plum wine or brandy (or something) from the southwest of France.  It was wonderful.  We really cannot wait to come visit Paris again and come back to Le Reminet.

And here are our other recommendations if you ever get the pleasure to visit The City of Lights:
Laduree - The famous macaroons are not overly hyped and well worth the wait (in the rain for us).  Just try not to eat them all before you get back to the hotel.
Jean Charles Rochoux - Do you LOVE chocolate the way Michael LOVES chocolate?  If so, this is the place for you.  They not only sculpt amazing chocolate, it's also amazing to eat.  It is expensive though... we got a few gifts for friends/family but also bought a "fresh" chocolate bar that had fresh pineapple in it that HAD to be eaten within two days (twist our arm a little, huh?) and yes, it was as delicous as it sounds.  Didn't even take us an entire day to finish it.
Astier de Villate - Expensive and beautiful china along with some other stuff.  We spent WAY too much money on a place setting here for our collection, but that's the price for one-of-a-kind.  Plus, it's right next to the Louvre so you have no excuse but to check it out.
G. Detou - Mustard.  Buy the most delicious Edmond Fallot brand mustard (for a reasonable price) and smuggle it home.  We're bringing a 2 pound tub home.  It's that good.
Rue de Rennes - good boutique shopping without the hassle of the Champs de Elysee or Les Halles.  In the neighborhood of Jean Charles Rochoux too but lots of cute home good boutiques, tea shops, and other chocolatiers without a huge mark-up.  We picked up a nice set of Peugeot salt and pepper grinders at a shop on this street at least 15 euros less (each!) than previously spotted.

That's it for now.  We need to get packed and back to London in the morning.  We'll be staying at the Landmark for the night before heading back to DC.  Hope it's all that it's cracked up to be!

Gavottes

Michael went to the market yesterday and made salmon, mushrooms in wine sauce, and sauteed green beans with lemon zest.  Sounds delicious, right?  So what did I contribute?  Dessert.

Gavottes Crepe Chocolat Lait.  In a box.  From the supermarket.  And they are SO YUMMY!!!!  We're bringing back a few boxes of these and I hope we don't eat them all on the plane ride home.

And just for the record, Michael's dinner was even MORE delicous than I described... but wait until you try these cookies!  mmmmmm....

Parisian Mystery Wine & Cheese

We're having a huge issue in Paris... drinking cheap, delicious wine and eating expensive, delicious cheese with no way of buying it at home!

Michael picked up a couple bottles for dinner last night at our neighborhood wine store around the corner and I fell in love with this Horeau-Beylot & Co. Bordeaux 2008 (Appellation Bordeaux Controlee - whatever that means) that I cannot find anywhere on the web!  I don't even like Bordeauxs usually... but love this 4 euro bottle.

We also picked up some cheeses at the cheese stall (right next to the wine store and the yummy boulangerie) and will probably never have that authentic gruyere cheese or that leaf-wrapped ooey, gooey mystery cheese again!

The only thing that I am not a fan of is the tea.  Paris is most definitely a coffee town and I do miss the delicous black tea in London.

Touristy Highlights:

Yesterday we did Notre Dame, Point Neuf, Sainte Chapelle (which was closed for renovations), and most of the stuff within walking distance of our flat.

Today we did Montmartre (and even walked up to the top of the dome... amazing), Eiffel Tower, Esplanade des Invilades, Musée du Quai Branly and a bunch of little things along the way.

Tomorrow we'll be spending a rainy day the Louvre or some other museum... we haven't decided yet.  Our vacation is turning out pretty random depending on the weather but it's still been great so far!

Bonsoir!

Brasserie Balzar

We arrived a few hours ago in Paris and checked into our super fabulous and authentic flat and decided to venture out and grab something to eat.  Brasserie Balzar was in our Eating & Drinking in Paris guide and seemed to be bussling with locals so we decided to check it out.  Here's the run down:

Wine: Paul Jaboulet Aîné Crozes Hermitage “Les Jalets” (Michael picked the perfect wine for our meal - we love their Côtes du Rhône Parallèle 45 in the states, but hadn't yet tried their Crozes Hermitage. Glad we did tonight... Yum!)
Appetizer: Escargot - Très bien!
Main course: Michael had steak and fries; I had roast chicken.  Both were good, but very expensive and on par with our favorite french restaurants in DC.
Dessert: Some sort of éclaire-like dessert with delicious chocolate sauce and I had a decaf espresso (oh, so good!)
Notes: Mustard!  We must find some of this french mustard to bring home... it's the most delicious mustard we've had to date!  Also notable was the cost.  It didn't look very upscale but cost us close to €100.  Yikes.  We'll be hitting the market tomorrow and scaling back on the food costs!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

You have to be living in a cave if you haven't heard of Stieg Larsson's Millennium Series.  I heard so many great things about the books and I needed a few more things to throw into my Amazon.com order to get free shipping so... I bought the first two in the series sometime last summer.  They sat on our bookshelf for a few months and then Michael picked up The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

He could not put it down.  Loved it.

Then he started reading the The Girl That Played with Fire and couldn't put it down.  Loved it too.

He's saving The Girl That Kicked the Hornet's Nest for the flight to and from London... but I'm sure he'll love that one too.

I, on the other hand, have mixed feelings about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and I'm probably not going to read the next two books.  I don't know... it's not that it was bad.  It was a very enjoyable book, even though it was slow setting up the series during the first 200 pages, but I literally could not put it down the remaining 400 pages.  Read two thirds of the book in 2 days!  But, the subject matter is disturbing and I don't think I'm a fan of uncomfortable subjects like sexual deviancy.  I mean, it wasn't THAT bad but it was a little uncomfortable and because of that... I'm giving the book at 7 out of 10.

I'm sure Michael would give it higher marks though and I am VERY happy that he likes the books so my purchase did not go to waste!

Au revoir!  Our next post will probably be from Paris!!!

Wine Glasses

Just read this post in Apartment Therapy on the best wine glasses of 2010 and thought it was worth a post.  Our friends Roger and Martha work at the Australian Embassy and get AMAZING deals on wine and wine glasses.  They got us 12 fabulous Reidel red wine glasses last year for our wedding and it's been a pleasure sipping from them.  Unfortunately, we only had three champagne glasses and desperately needed a new set since sipping champagne from a red wine glass is like drinking malt liquor from a brown paper bag!

The embassy got a Reidel shipment in a few weeks ago and so Roger picked us up a case of champagne flutes (Ouverture, I think) AND a case of white whine glasses too!  How proper are we?!?!  Now, we're not sure where to actually store all these wine glasses but we'll work those details out after we get back from Europe.  I'm just excited that we have the proper wine glasses for our dinner parties... I feel so grown up!

Cheers!

Raspberry Deliciousness

One of the things that I'm going to miss about summer dinner parties is Raspberry Lambic.  It's technically a beer, but it's sweet and bubbley and so delicious.  So refreshing during the hot, sticky summer.

Although, I am enjoying this cool, crisp autumn weather we're FINALLY getting.  Feels like Halloween!

The Little Tercel That Could

This weekend, my car hit 100,000 miles and she's still going strong.

It was Easter weekend 1997 when my parents bought my cute, 2-door, silver Toyota Tercel.  It was a last-minute purchase to replace the beige/brown, hand-me-down 1984 Toyota Corolla, which was parked in front of our house and totalled by a drunk driver who had his license suspended (prior DUI), a concealed weapon in his car, and no car insurance (of course).  Fortunately, no one was hurt and I got a new car!

Since high school, me and my little Tercel have lived in 3 states and the District of Columbia; we've driven cross country with daddy from Moraga to Chapel Hill; and shared so many memories together.

She's not fancy and a little rough around the edges.  She doesn't have power locks, windows, or ANYTHING actually; she doesn't have cruise control; she accelerates best when you turn off the A/C button; she's missing a front right hubcap; and I have to replace the bulb in the back middle brake light... but it's what's on the inside that makes her so special to me.

She's the little engine that could... and I hope to be blogging when she makes it to her 200,000 mile marker... I think she can, I think she can, I think she can...

Romaine Salad with Creamy Lemon Dressing

If you're bored of caesar salad, here's a delicious alternative from Food & Wine (of course)!

Ingredients:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions:
In a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise with the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, mustard and garlic and season with salt and pepper.

Plate the lettuce, drizzle the dressing over, then sprinkle the cheese on top. Enjoy!

First Day of My Fourth Decade

The day is finally here.  I'm 30.

We're just about to head over to dinner at Nora's and I'm sporting my beautiful new earrings Michael got me.  He has such good taste - I'm a lucky girl.

Overall, today has been a wonderful and low-key birthday.  Let's hope that sets the tone for the beginning of my fourth decade.

Chopped!

It's official!  I have short hair!  Here's a comparison. 

Before (April 2010):

After (October 2010):



Pretty drastic but I love it!  And thank goodness Michael loves it too!  I'm calling it my 30-year-old hair style.  I think it makes me look at tad more sophisticated (aka "older"). 

So are you wondering what I did with the 10+ inches of hair I chopped off?  Donated it, of course!  Locks of Love makes wigs for kids that have lost hair because of medical issues (i.e. cancer) and can't afford hairpieces. 

It's an awesome new hair style and helps sick kids feel a little happier... what's not to like about that?

We'll Need A Bigger Suitcase

One of our favorite things about traveling is bringing back food and drinks that we can't find here in the States!  Thanks to my friend that just forwarded me David Lebovitz's blog, thus rendering me horribly unproductive at work today, I just found my shopping list!

Mustard
Salt
Jams
Salted Butter
Lentils
Kitchen Gadgets (Michael's all over that one!)
Speculoos Cream (sounds delicious!)
Valrhona Cocoa Powder
Hazelnut Prailine Paste
Oui, s'il vous plait!!!

The only thing that we probably don't need to get from his top ten list is Biogaze since we already keep a jar of Bao Fu Ling from China in the kitchen (and Lord knows it's come in handy!)

New Favorite Floss

Kind of random but I love our new dental floss!  I feel like I can use less than the regular ol' waxed floss and I feel like it's not as tough on my gums.  Who knew I would have a floss preference?  Ok, just thought I'd share.

R.I.P. Curly

One of of our black skirt tetras, Curly, was found unresponsive on Tuesday night under his favorite plastic fake plant after he did not come up to the top of the tank to eat his flakes.  He could not be revived.  His brothers Moe and Larry, and his tankmate Bud, a zebra danio, were questioned.  His sudden and untimely death remain a mystery but no foul play is suspected.

A brief service was performed last night and his tank has been decommissioned.  Moe, Larry, and Bud have been transferred into Mary Kate and Ashley's tank (also zebra danios).  All parties seem to be getting along and the move has helped the boys cope with the loss.



R.I.P. Curly... we'll miss you... at least for a little bit.

And just because we're doing pet updates, Skeletor is doing quite well and is happy that he just got his tank cleaned!

The Last Harvest

It's a beautiful day with gorgeous autumn weather and the last "harvest" of our balcony garden.

Goodbye garden... see you next spring!

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Here's my new favorite feel-good book.  It's a simple and super quick read, but one of those books that you hate to finish up because you fall in love with the characters.

I have to thank Aunt Mary Ann for recommending this book.  I didn't even know where Guernsey was a month ago and now I want to vacation in the Channel Islands!

This book takes place in the late 1940s and is a compilation of letters surrounding a 30-something journalist who is doing research for a book about the German occupation on Guernsey after WWII.  Sounds heavy, huh?  It's quite the opposite.

It's sweet, clever, funny and thoroughly enjoyable read with a perfect ending.  I'm giving it an 8 out of 10 and I'm sure you're going to love it.

Red Pepper Hummus

Here's Michael's famous red pepper hummus that we served at Victoria's shower.  It's so easy and delicious, we pretty much serve it at all our buffet-style get-togethers (wedding showers, cookie swap, New Year's parties, etc.).  I think Michael used a recipe from epicurious but of course he roasts his own red peppers (he is quite the purist)!

INGREDIENTS
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans (chick-peas), drained
1/3 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 roasted red pepper, chopped (or 1/2 cup chopped drained roasted red peppers from jar)

DIRECTIONS
With processor running, drop garlic through feed tube and mince. Scrape down sides of work bowl. Add chick-peas, tahini and lemon juice; process until mixture is smooth. Add roasted peppers; process until peppers are finely chopped. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer hummus to small bowl. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

Garnish with paprika, olive oil and parsley.

Serve with veggies and/or pita chips.

Daydreaming of Paris! Oui! Oui!

We booked our flat in Paris!  Our trip is finally coming together and we can't wait to explore the Parisian streets, eat the delicious Parisian food, and fall in love with the city!

We decided to rent a flat instead of booking a hotel so we could be in a neighborhood and have a kitchen.  We're right in the heart of the city, close to Notre Dame, and near an open air market.  All the details are on cobblestay.com.  I found this company on the NY Times travel site and bunches of people recommended it.  I hope it's everything that we're dreaming of...

Easy Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Simple and Delicious.  My favorite kind of recipe.  So here was another hit at Victoria's wedding shower: Funfetti mini cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

I had never heard of funfetti cake until I met Victoria - it's her signature cake and all-time favorite - so of course I had to make it for the shower.  The issue I have with funfetti with rainbow chip frosting is that it's super sweet.  I thought a classic cream cheese frosting would be just right to even out the sweetness.

My co-worker pointed me to Tasty Kitchen for a simple recipe and I halfed the sugar - it worked perfectly!  Now Michael has made me promise to make this frosting for any and all cakes because he likes it so much!

INGREDIENTS
8 ounces, weight Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
1/8 teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream

DIRECTIONS
Beat cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla till smooth. Gradually add heavy cream and beat until light and fluffy.

*The hearts are jumbo sprinkles that I got from A.C. Moore.  I thought they made a cute accessory.

New TV and Couch

We picked up our couch a couple weeks ago and we got our new TV delivered last Thursday.  It doesn't look like much but, trust me, it's such a huge upgrade!  Here is how our life has changed:

• We don't need to get up to turn the TV on and off
• We don't need to get up to turn the volume up and down
• We can actually tell if a channel is in HD
• The middle cushion of our couch doesn't bottom out and scratch the wood floor
• Our overnight guests don't need to sleep on the aerobed anymore!

And to make it even better, we gave the old couch to our resident starving student Steve who is in law school right now, and we're giving our old TV to one of the youth rugby kids! 

Life is good.

Meet Mr. Phalaenopsis

There's been one light in our bathroom that's never worked.  Yes, we tried replacing the bulb, but it was something to do with the light fixture or wiring or something that our landlord needed to take care of (ah, the benefits of renting!).  In any case, it wasn't a big deal so we let it slide for a few years.

Fortunately, our dining room light went out last month and our landlord sent out some electrician dude and Michael asked him to replace the light in the bathroom.  It had to be special ordered so he came back last week while we were at work to install it.  You can't really tell by these pictures but it's a totally different light!

It's like WAY brighter than the other three lights in the bathroom and a total spotlight!  And it's in the worst spot: right on top of all our junk on the little corner shelf!  So of course I'm hosting Victoria's shower in 2 days and mortified that 25 strangers are going to be staring at the layer of dust, stuck-on toothpaste globs, and whatever else I've overlooked after almost three years of not paying attention to the dark corner of our bathroom.

So after scrubbing down the shelf with the help of my extra powerful spotlight, I decided to make lemons out of lemonade.  Now we have our newest plant (and my first orchid since moving to DC): Mr. Phalaenopsis!

It actually makes our bathroom look much more sophisticated and I got bunches of compliments yesterday during the shower.  Thank goodness for Trader Joe's selection of orchids!

Now let's pray I can keep it alive.  I don't have a great track record when it comes to orchids.  Fingers crossed!

Dirty Arnold Palmer

'Tis the season for weddings... and wedding showers!  Yesterday, I had to pleasure of hosting my good friend Victoria's wedding shower and it was a big success.  Whenever I sign up to do this stuff, I always forget how much prep and planning goes into these things.  I am so fortunate to have a wonderful husband that is eager to help out and loves hosting parties as much as I do!  (I'll be posting Michael's red pepper hummus and Camembert fondue recipes later this week - they were quite a hit!)

But let's start off with the signature cocktail: The Dirty Victoria Lawrence.  Well, it's real name is a Dirty Arnold Palmer but we switched it up for the occasion!  It's wonderfully refreshing with a hint of mint and an iced tea base - perfect for a light summer party drink.

INGREDIENTS
Sweet Tea Vodka
Citrus Vodka
A Bunch of Mint
A Bag of Lemons
Unsweetened Ice Tea
Lemonade
Club Soda (or sparking water)
Ice*
*You can use regular ice but Nicole (she's a bartender part-time) made some ice with just water and mint for the look, and also made ice cubes using 1 cup sweet tea vodka and 2 cups water with mint leaves. Optional and a little extra work, but worth it because it's so pretty! 


DIRECTIONS
Fill highball glass with ice.  Put one shot sweet tea vodka and one shot citrus vodka.  Squeeze in 2-3 wedges of lemons (use a lemon press or just make sure you catch all the seeds).  Throw in some mint leaves (maybe about 5 or 6 depending on how big your leaves are and how much you like mint).

Pour into martini shaker... and shake!

Pour back into highball glass and add equal amounts of ice tea, lemonade and club soda.

Serve with a sprig of mint on top.

Here's a photo of Nicole serving up Victoria's signature cocktail at the shower.  Aaaaaaah... refreshing!

Tangy Slaw and Sweet Salmon Glaze

When we get cabbage from the Merschat's garden, I usually make soup.  But with this overwhelmingly hot summer, soup is a 4-letter word when it comes to dinner options.  We're not usually a fan of mayonnaise-based slaw so I found this recipe in Food & Wine for a vinegar and mustard based slaw.  But you can't just eat slaw for dinner so we had some salmon fillets in the freezer and used another Food & Wine recipe to make the soy-maple glaze.  We already had some of our favorite sesame noodles prepared so this combo made for a quick and easy summer meal.

Tangy Cabbage Slaw with Golden Raisins
INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup grapeseed oil (or canola oil)
2 tablespoons walnut oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 medium head of green cabbage, shredded (8 cups)
1 large carrot, shredded
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced crosswise
1/4 cup snipped chives

DIRECTIONS
1. In a small bowl, soak the raisins in hot water for 10 minutes. Drain, pressing out any liquid.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the red wine vinegar with the whole-grain mustard and sugar. Whisk in the grapeseed (or canola) and walnut oils and season the dressing with salt and pepper. Add the shredded cabbage, carrot, onion, chives and raisins and toss the salad well. Season with salt and pepper and toss the salad again. Refrigerate until chilled, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and serve.

Salmon with Soy-Maple Glaze
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
4 salmon fillets
2 garlic cloves, smashed
2 scallions, thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large, shallow dish, whisk the soy sauce with the maple syrup and sesame oil. Add the salmon steaks and turn to coat. Press the garlic onto both sides of the fillets. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours, turning the salmon a few times. (We didn't marinade it that long... maybe 20-30 mins)

2. Remove the salmon from the marinade. Pour the marinade into a small saucepan and boil over high heat until syrupy, about 3 minutes. Strain the glaze into a small bowl.

3. Pan fry salmon fillets and brush glaze on top. Transfer to plates and spoon remaining glaze onto fillets. Sprinkle with the scallions and serve.