Welcome Baby Heath!

As you probably know, Heath Yuan-Yang Merschat made his way into the world and into our hearts on April 25, 2013.  We left for the hospital to induce labor on the evening of the 23rd and 32 hour later we were blessed with our sweet Heath!

He was a healthy 7 pounds 2 ounces and 20.5 inches with a great set of lungs!

Michael is such a proud papa and I cannot get enough of our wonderful little boy - even though the middle of the night feedings are interrupting my beauty sleep!

And we were so happy to have both sets of proud grandparents and our siblings to share this amazing and wonderful time in our lives.

(Note: Arthur was at the hospital too but I didn't have any photos of him.)  We are so lucky to have our families come from so far away to share this with us!

Needless to say, the last 10 days have been exhausting, emotional, unpredictable, and incredible.  I feel like we're being introduced to a little more of Heath's personality everyday and learning more about ourselves in the process.  There is so much love in our little family.

It's only been 10 days since his birthday, but we couldn't imagine our lives without our sweet baby Heath.  We look forward to sharing more photos (as we find the time)!

Fish in Crazy Water

How fabulous is the name of this recipe?!?!  It tastes as fab as it sounds.

This is yet another Food & Wine recipe, but Michael is slowly working his way through the Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking book by Marcella Hazan that his mom got him a couple years ago and this recipe is in the cookbook too.  We are really starting to appreciate non-Americanized Italian cuisine and I keep daydreaming about a vacation in Rome and/or Florence (especially since my friend just got back from a fabulous Roman holiday)!

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes—coarsely chopped, juices reserved
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1/8 teaspoon chopped fresh red chile, or more to taste
Salt
4 cups water
Four 6-ounce red snapper fillets, skin on
4 slices of grilled sourdough bread

In a deep skillet that’s large enough for the fish fillets to lie flat without overlapping, combine the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, parsley, chile, a large pinch of salt and the water. Cover the skillet and bring the water to a steady simmer over moderate heat; simmer for 45 minutes.

Uncover the skillet and boil the liquid until it has reduced by half. Add the fish, skin side up, and cook for 2 minutes. Using two spatulas, gently turn the fillets. Season the fish with salt and simmer until just cooked through.

Put the grilled bread in shallow bowls and arrange the snapper fillets on top. Spoon the broth all around and serve.

BABY MERSCHAT UPDATE...

Mom and M-C arrived last weekend, my last day of work was last Wednesday, official due date was last Thursday, Daddy flies into town today... and still no baby yet!  We've been doing a lot of walking so we hope he comes soon!

Here are some photos of springtime in DC.  I look okay sitting down...

But I look much larger standing up!

Let's hope this baby comes soon!!!

Chicken Goulash with Biscuit Dumplings

For a cool spring evening, this is a quick and delicious meal that his the spot.  Another Grace Parisi success in Food & Wine.

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1 cup sour cream
1 large white onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons hot Hungarian paprika
3/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon thyme leaves

Preheat the oven to 425°. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dust lightly with flour. In a deep skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in the olive oil. Add the chicken and cook over high heat, turning once, until browned on both sides, 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a plate.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, pulse the 1 1/2 cups of flour with the baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Pulse in the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk 1/2 cup of the stock with 1/2 cup of the sour cream and drizzle over the dry ingredients; pulse until a dough forms.

Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic to the skillet and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 minutes. Return the chicken to the skillet. Stir in the paprika and caraway and cook for 30 seconds. Add the remaining 2 cups of chicken stock and 1/2 cup of sour cream and stir until smooth. Add the thyme and bring to a boil.

Scoop twelve 3-tablespoon-size mounds of biscuit dough over the chicken. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the biscuits are cooked. Turn on the broiler and broil for about 2 minutes, until the biscuits are golden. Serve the goulash in bowls, spooning the biscuits on top.

AND FOR DESSERT...

... I used our favorite moist chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream recipe to make a layer cake with strawberries.  It was so good and so easy!  Just split the batter into two greased 8 or 9 inch cake pans instead of putting them in muffin tins.  Then spread the buttercream and chopped strawberries in the middle layer and on top.  It really quenched my chocolate craving!

And I figured we deserved it since we finished the baby's corner... I hope he likes it!

It won't be long now... the doctor said I could go into labor at any time.  We can't wait to meet the little guy!!!

Spicy Root and Lentil Casserole

This was a fabulous pinterest find from the BBC Good Food blog!  London isn't know for great food, but they sure have good taste in curry.  It's not authentic Indian curry, but it's quick, easy and pretty darn good for London curry!  Healthy too!

And it warms your stomach when it looks like this outside:

And I look like this inside:

As far as we know, Baby Merschat love curry too!  Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
1 onion , chopped
2 garlic cloves , crushed
700g potatoes , peeled and cut into chunks
4 carrots , thickly sliced
2 parsnips , thickly sliced
2 tbsp curry paste or powder
1 litre/1¾ pints vegetable stock
100g red lentils
a small bunch of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
low-fat yogurt and naan bread, to serve

Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onion and garlic over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally. Tip in the potatoes, carrots and parsnips, turn up the heat and cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring, until the vegetables are golden.

Stir in the curry paste or powder, pour in the stock and then bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, add the lentils, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the lentils and vegetables are tender and the sauce has thickened.

Stir in most of the coriander, season and heat for a minute or so. Top with yogurt and the rest of the coriander. Serve with naan bread.

Countdown to Baby Merschat's Arrival

It won't be too long until we get to meet our little boy!  I'm sorry I have not been diligent about posting photos of the pregnancy, but I really haven't had a noticeable baby bump until fairly recently, so I didn't think there was much to show!  But, with only a month or so left, here is a retrospective of the last 33 weeks...

This is our first photo of our little guy in September 2012... our little jelly bean!

And here's a video in October of our little guy kicking up a storm!  Isn't technology AMAZING?!?!  I never get tired watching this video...

And here he is at the end of November!  This is when we found out he was a BOY!!!  He has such a handsome profile, don't you think?

Now is about the time that I started showing just a little bit of a belly... just in time for my first baby shower hosted by mom and Ming-Cee in the bay area the weekend before Christmas...

It was such a wonderful party where we revealed the gender to all the guests when we cut the cake and the inside was blue!

For such a busy time of year, I was so honored to see many of my oldest friends and a lot of my "aunties" that I haven't seen in years!  Here's a photo of my good friends from high school... it's hard to think that we graduated almost 15 years ago!

In mid-January, we saw our little man yawn during our sonogram!  It was so cute and we were lucky that the nurse got a picture of it!

Here's a photo of the little basketball baby bump that I took in the mirror for a friend last month...

And here are some photos of my east coast baby shower last weekend hosted by my mother-in-law (Holley), Elizabeth, Vicky, and Pat!  It was quite a party at Elizabeth's house and everyone had so much fun!!!

Unfortunately, Vicky couldn't make it but she did MAKE this fabulous diaper cake (complete with lion hooded towel on top) and helped plan a bunch!  How impressive is this diaper cake?!?!  Wow.

And unfortunately Pat couldn't make it either but she helped Holley with the planning, contributed so much stuff, and we even used the beautiful Turkish bowl they gave us for Christmas for the fruit!  So super classy!

And I was so humbled by the thoughtful and generous gifts that everyone gave us, but the most special gift was the homemade quilt that Holley made for our little boy.  It was just perfect and we know it is something that he will cherish forever...

And of course the baby shower wouldn't be complete without another baby bump photo with some of my girlfriends...

It was so wonderful for our friends to come share this special time and I'm so grateful for all the generous gifts we got to welcome our little guy into this wonderful world.  And to show our gratitude, I painted and potted many of our house plants to give away to our guests to make room in our one-bedroom apartment for the little baby's arrival... I called it the baby plant adoption!

So with our mid-April due date looming just around the corner, we are working hard to get the place ready for the little guy... I'm only doing light cleaning and reorganizing, and Michael is doing all the heavy lifting and assembling furniture!  My in-laws helped us with some furniture last weekend too - it's really amazing how much work goes into getting ready for a little baby!

We can't wait to meet him and we can't wait for you to meet him too!!!  I'm sure I'll be better at posting pictures of the little guy once he gets here... at least I hope I will...

Roasted Carrot and Avocado Salad with Citrus Dressing

When I first saw this Roasted Carrot and Avocado Salad with Citrus Dressing in Food & Wine I thought: "Hmmmm... interesting but it looks like a lot of work for a salad."  Thank goodness Michael is not so easily discouraged.  It was DELICIOUS and unique and totally worth the little bit of extra time!

INGREDIENTS
1 pound medium carrots
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 chile de árbol or other small red chile
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 orange, halved
1 lemon, halved
Four 1/2-inch-thick slices of ciabatta bread
3 Hass avocados, pitted, peeled and cut into 6 wedges each
8 ounces assorted greens, such as watercress, spinach or mesclun
2 cups baby arugula
2 tablespoons unsalted roasted sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
3 tablespoons low-fat sour cream mixed with 1 tablespoon of water

Preheat the oven to 375°. Bring a deep skillet of salted water to a boil. Add the carrots and simmer, covered, over moderately low heat until crisp-tender, 10 minutes. Drain and transfer the carrots to a large roasting pan.

In a mortar, crush the cumin seeds, chile de árbol, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Add the garlic and thyme and pound into a paste. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the oil and 2 tablespoons of the vinegar.

Pour the cumin dressing over the carrots and toss. Add the orange and lemon halves to the roasting pan, cut side down. Roast for about 25 minutes, until the carrots are tender.

Meanwhile, toast the ciabatta until the edges are golden brown. Tear the bread into bite-size pieces and, in a large bowl, gently toss with the avocados, greens and arugula. In a small bowl, combine the sunflower, sesame and poppy seeds.

Using tongs, squeeze the hot orange and lemon halves into a measuring cup until you have about 1/3 cup of juice. Whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar and 1/3 cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add the warm carrots to the bowl along with the citrus dressing and toss to coat. Transfer the salad to plates and drizzle with the sour cream. Sprinkle the salad with the seed mixture and serve.

Happy Year of the Snake

Happy New Year!  Here's our baby's first lucky pocket money!  Thanks Auntie Vicky!  Gong Hay Fat Choy!!!

We can't wait to meet our little boy but right now, we can only speculate what his personality is going to be and whether he'll look more like mommy or daddy... but it's always fun to read his Chinese zodiac horoscope:

People born in the Year of the Snake are reputed to be thoughtful and wise and to approach problems rationally and logically, seldom instinctively. Such people are complex beings, they are clever and men of few words from their birth. Their business is always going well, but they are stingy very often. They are sometimes egoistic and conceited. However they can be very active in their friends’ life. They are often too active, not believing other people and relying only on themselves. Snakes are also very insightful and naturally intuitive. If anyone has a sixth sense, it's those born in the Snake year. This is partly what makes them so mysterious.

Snakes come in all varieties of colors and patterns. And maybe that's why people born in the Snake year love to appreciate beauty. People with the Chinese zodiac snake sign are very stylish, fashionable and have exceptional taste.

The 2013 year of Snake is Water Snake, Water Snakes are lucky with finances, they always seem to have money flowing their way. They are adventurous spirits and love to take risks. They are also very intelligent and often a wellspring of creative ideas. Water Snakes love to socialize and meet new friends. They are proud of their achievements, and also very thoughtful and considerate of others.

Whatever his personality, we will love him with all our hearts.  And we wish you and your family a wonderful new year!

Curried-Chicken and Vegetable Pan Roast

With all this winter weather, this is a cozy delicious dinner to make this weekend.  So yummy with naan and yogurt... mmmm... Food & Wine again, of course...

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds butternut squash in 1-inch cubes (from one 2 1/2-pound squash)
1 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts, halved
2 large red onions, cut into thin wedges
1 cup canola oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon Madras curry powder
4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
Warm naan, for serving

Preheat the oven to 450° and position racks in the upper and middle thirds. In a very large bowl, toss the butternut squash with the brussels sprouts, onion wedges and 1/2 cup of the canola oil; season with salt and pepper. Spread the vegetables on 2 large, sturdy rimmed baking sheets.

In the same bowl, combine the cup of yogurt with the ginger, garlic, curry powder and the remaining 1/2 cup of oil and season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken and toss until thoroughly coated. Arrange the chicken on top of the vegetables. Roast for about 40 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until the vegetables are nearly tender and the chicken is nearly cooked through. Pour off any accumulated liquid in the pans and roast for about 20 minutes longer, until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is lightly browned. Transfer the chicken and vegetables to a platter and serve with warm naan and yogurt.

MAKE AHEAD: The chicken and vegetables can be refrigerated overnight. Reheat gently before serving.

Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks

Finally!  I finished our digital scrapbook for our 2nd Joint Family Vacation in October to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks!

It took me a while, but it was great to finally see this in print and relive the fun memories we had in the GORGEOUS national treasure in the middle of our great country.  (Confession: hardest part was going through the 1500+ photos that we took and picking out the best ones)

Scroll through the digital scrapbook link to check out what  we did and you can zoom in on a specific page by clicking on it.  Special thanks to geologist extraordinaire Carl Merschat for verifying and editing the scientific text throughout the book.

What a trip. What great memories. We are so blessed to have such wonderful families and we can't wait until our 3rd Joint Family Vacation with the addition of with our new little mountain man!

Beet and Orange Salad

I've been obsessed with oranges lately.  They're always on sale this time of year and so yummy!  One of our favorite salads that I just threw together is so simple, easy and delicious.  Just mix the following together:

Salad greens (I usually use spring mix or baby arugula)
Sliced beets (I boil and slice, but you can roast or buy it pre-cooked at Trader Joe's)
Coarsely chopped pecans (You can use walnuts or pine nuts too)
Dried cranberries (or golden raisins)
Goat cheese, sprinkled on top
Freshly ground pepper
Balsamic Vinaigrette (We love Trader Joe's brand)
Peeled and sliced oranges, arranged on top

So pretty and so yummy.  Enjoy!

Quick, Easy, Delicious Scones!

It's MLK Day and Inauguration Day and for some reason, I felt like making scones this morning... and I'm sure glad I did!  I just googled "easy scone recipe" and this link popped up... this is definitely going into the normal rotation.

I've altered the recipe a little bit since I wanted to use multigrain flour and I didn't have any heavy cream in the fridge, but it turned out so delicious topped with strawberry preserves.

INGREDIENTS
1 ¾ cups flour (I used Trader Joe's multigrain baking mix)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 orange- zested
1/2 cup milk
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 stick cold butter, cut into small squares
a pinch of salt

Heat the oven to 400F.

In a mixer, mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and orange peel.

Add the cold butter and mix until you get a crumb mixture. Pieces of butter will be corn size and not blended in. This is good.

Add the cream and milk and mix only until it begins to form a dough.

Gather the dough and transfer to a flat surface, bringing together to a solid mass.

Flour lightly and roll to 0.5 inch thickness. Cut into circles using a 2.5 inch round cutter (you can also use a glass) and transfer to a pan. Brush with the remaining milk/cream mixture and dust with some coarse sugar.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden.

Bucatini all’Amatriciana

Here's a delicious, easy mid-week meal courtesy of Food & Wine!  Pair with a salad and have it for leftovers the next day.  It's really yummy!

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/4 pound pancetta, cut into 1/2-by- 1/4-inch strips (we used the pre-cut package at Trader Joe's)
1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons dry white wine
One 14.5-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes with their juices, crushed
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
10 ounces bucatini
Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

In a large, deep skillet, heat the oil. Add the onion and cook over moderately low heat until very soft, 7 minutes. Add the pancetta and cook until translucent, 3 minutes.

Add the vinegar, wine, tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of water and simmer until thick, 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

In a pot of salted boiling water, cook the bucatini until al dente; reserve 2 tablespoons of the cooking water. Drain the pasta, add it to the sauce along with the reserved cooking water and cook over moderate heat, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in 3 tablespoons of cheese. Serve right away, passing more cheese at the table.

Buttery Vanilla Shortbread + Downton Abbey

Last night was the first episode of the much anticipated Season 3 of Downton Abbey!  Love this show!  So, of course, I had to host a watch party for my favorite anglophile friends!

I decided on a simple spread of champagne, tea and desserts to go along with the 2 hours of British drama!  It was fabulous.  And I learned that baking shortbread is SUPER easy!  It was a last minute decision to make homemade shortbread (because they type I bought at Whole Foods wasn't up to snuff).  Fortunately, I found a recipe on Food & Wine and it didn't call for many ingredients so I had everything I needed at home!

Try this simple shortbread recipe and enjoy the show!

INGREDIENTS
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and vanilla and pulse until evenly moistened. Turn the crumbs out onto a large piece of parchment paper and press into a disk.

Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and roll out the dough to a rough 8-by-11-inch rectangle. Discard the top sheet of parchment. Trim the edges to form a 7-by-10-inch rectangle. Slide the dough along with the parchment onto a large baking sheet. Using a straight edge and a sharp knife, score the dough into 24 bars. Poke the dough all over with a fork and freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.

Bake the dough until golden, about 25 minutes. While the shortbread is still warm, cut it into bars. Let cool before serving.

MAKE AHEAD The shortbread can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

P.S. I also made a Sticky Orange Marmalade Cake that was supposed to pair well with tea.  It definitely paired well with tea because it was on the dry side.  It was good and goes very well with tea or coffee, but it wasn't to my taste.  But here's the link just in case it sounds like something you'd like!

Salted Dark Chocolate Espresso Cookies

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I think this has been my new year's resolution every year... but once again, it's to update this blog more often!  Honestly, 2012 just flew by and I can't believe it's already 2013 today!  Hope everyone had a great holiday and we'll have select photos from the Farrell's California Christmas posted soon.

This is probably not a surprise but Michael and I rang in the new year with food!  I spent this cold and overcast new year's day being lazy and catching up on our pile of magazines from last month.  Fortunately a recipe for baked beans caught my eye in this month's Food & Wine.  And since no one questions a pregnant lady's cravings, Michael made us an amazing hamburger with baked beans and salad for the first day of the new year!

Impressive, right?!?!  And yes, it was as delicious as it looks!  Mmmmm...

Of course, this meant that I had to make an equally impressive new year's day dessert!  I meant to try these salted dark chocolate espresso cookies for the cookie swap last month, but ran out of time.  Fortunately, that meant that I had all the ingredients already!  Plus, it was the first time that I got to use coconut oil, which is supposed to be healthier than butter... perfect for starting out the new year on a healthy note!

Healthy coconut oil.  Healthy dark chocolate.  Everything's healthy in moderation, right?  Right.

INGREDIENTS
6 oz good quality unsweetened chocolate
4 oz Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
¼ cup coconut oil (I used Trader Joe's organic brand)
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
¼ tspn baking powder
¼ tspn salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1⅓ cups sugar
1½ tspn instant espresso powder (I used Folger's instant coffee)
1 tspn vanilla extract
smoked sea salt flakes (I used kosher salt)

1. Finely chop 6 oz unsweetened chocolate and set in a double boiler over simmering water with the coconut oil. Stirring constantly, melt. Once melted, remove from heat, set aside, and let cool to room temperature.

2. In a bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a mixer bowl with the paddle attachment, combine the eggs, sugar, espresso powder, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium high for about 5-7 minutes, until pale and fluffy and the batter drops off the beaters in a thick ribbon. Fold in the flour mixture, followed by the cooled melted chocolate mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips. Cover and chill until firm, about 1 hour. (Or chill in the freezer for about 30 minutes.)

4. Preheat oven to 350° F. On lined or greased cookie sheets, drop 1 to 1½-inch balls of dough, leaving about 2 inches between each ball. Sprinkle the dough balls with salt flakes.

5. Bake the sheets one at a time for 10 to 14 minutes, rotating once half-way through baking. The centers should still be soft when you remove the pans from the oven. Let the cookies cool at least 5 minutes before enjoying hot, or store in air tight containers for about two days. Serve with a shot of milk.

TIP: Let batter sit out a little while after chilling - it makes it easier to roll into balls.  (Warning: Hands will get very chocolaty when rolling batter into balls.  It's messy!)