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.