My First E-Book

I just finished reading my first e-book on my new kindle. I got my kindle in the mail a week ago today and I already managed to read my first book on it. For my first ebook I choose "The Girl Who Played With Fire," the second in the trilogy series (I couldn't put the first down while we were in Hawaii). The book itself was really good and there were a couple things in the plot I wasn't expecting (Mike heard me say "no way" out loud to myself as I was reading it). It was very easy to want to keep reading and see what else was going to happen.

My first impressions of using the kindle was that I was so surprised at how much the text really resembled that of reading a print book, the e-ink technology is pretty amazing and very quickly put out all of my qualms I had about "reading from a computer" versus reading from print book. This made it very easy to adapt to and easy on the eyes, it is also clear you could take the kindle outside in the summer time and have no problems reading it. At no point did I ever feel like I was reading from a screen, it was completely different from a computer. I almost preferred this aspect, it was always easy to see the screen.

I got a case with my kindle so it made balancing it really easy, it was also easy to put the kindle down whether on my lap or the sofa or rest it up to feel up my hands, versus holding a book steady and reading from the pages is more difficult. It also made it feel more like I was holding an actual book the way the case opens up like a book. These are probably my two favorite features about using the kindle.

Some things that I came to notice as I read through the book, there were times when I wanted to flip back a couple pages to refer to something earlier. This was difficult to do on the kindle, I attempted to look back a couple of times but couldn't find what I was looking for or it was too far back. Something small I did miss slightly as compared to flipping back pages in a print book it is easier to find previous pages you may be looking for. Maybe when I learn more about the features and how to search in them it will be easier.

As for the progress aspect of a book, as you're reading through a print book you can physically see the amount of pages accumulate and see how close you are to the end. I did find the progress bar on the kindle equally satisfying and kept me going. Mike would ask me how far into the book I was and it seemed like I was flying through, once I got to 80% and then 85% complete early this evening I knew I had to keep going to the end.

Overall I did really enjoy reading from the kindle and I am happy with my recent purchase. There are a couple things I missed while reading with the kindle, but I do think the pros that the kindle has to offer far out weigh the cons. The convenient portable nature and clutter reducing book shelves are certainly up there as well. Plus as soon as I finished the book I was able to go right onto amazon (I did so from the computer but I could have gone through the kindle directly too) and purchased the final book in the trilogy series and it was the instant gratification that I already have the next book in hand versus I remember having to go out to both target and borders when I was reading the Twilight series to get the  next books in the series.

Anyway, I'm off to go start the "Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest" now. I can see myself becoming addicted to this and putting a new fire to my reading habit, it feels so much more satisfying than watching tv at night!

Giada Doesn't Disappoint

Thank you to Giada for adding a new staple to my make again list!!! I love Giada, tonight I made her Chicken Piccata recipe, and it was so good. This one def got Mike's stamp of approval, which def means it was good. It was pretty simple to make too. It was just like making chicken cutlets with some sauce on it. For the sauce I did double the sauce part of the recipe, so extra butter and olive oil I'm sure helped enhance the flavor. I doubled the sauce because I wanted to serve it over angel hair pasta. This recipe gets our stamp of approval, I highly suggest making it sometime, it's a can't miss!!!

Chicken Piccata by Giada De Laurentis
Source & Photo: Food Network

Ingredients
4 skinless and boneless chicken breasts
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups all purpose flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

In a large 10 or 12-inch skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.

Reduce heat to medium low and add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

Hawaiian Favorites

All this snow and cold weather is so depressing, I cannot wait for the spring and summer to get here with the sunny, warm weather. This weather makes me long for Hawaii and how beautiful it was there. We had so many wonderful foods while we were there, some of the best food I have ever eaten! It makes me day dream about having a luau party at our house and sharing some of our Hawaiian favorites with all of our friends. For my imaginary party Hawaiian Luau Party I would serve the following:

(I'm realizing I have probably put way too much thought into my imaginary party but it all sounded so good and I got a bit carried away. I'll have to try a couple of the recipes at some point but it would certainly be fun to have a whole themed party with all of it)

Cocktails 
Strawberry Lava Flow
Pina Colada
Tropical Fruit Punch

Appetizers
Coconut Shrimp
Hawaiian Pizza
Mini Hotdogs with Pineapple Relish

Salad 
Tropical Salad with Pineapple Vinaigrette

Dinner
Macadamia Nut Crusted Fish
Grilled Flank Steak with Confetti Salsa
Chicken Adobo 

Dessert
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Aunt Sandy's Banana Bread
Banana Macadamia Nut Crisp
Tropical Muffins with Coconut-Macadamia Topping
Pina Colada Bread Pudding

Was Low Fat Carrot Muffins

Mike says I'm really into testing out all my new bakeware lately, but this one was really inspired by the fact that I had leftover carrots in the house that I didn't know what to use them for so I decided to make a low-fat carrot cake muffin recipe I found. They were very easy to make, the hardest part was squeezing the water out of the pineapple and carrots, which my finger nails turned orange because of.

The muffins turned out pretty good, although I think next time if I made them I would do the half whole wheat flour, half white, I did all whole wheat. I also called this post "was" low fat because Mike pointed out that we had a ton of cream cheese icing left from the red velvet cake I made for his birthday. That was probably a bad discovery to make because let me tell you the icing tastes fantastic on these formally low fat muffins!

ps... I never realized how hard it really is to take good pictures of food, mine def need some work!

Low-Fat Carrot Cake Muffins
Source: Food.com

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour ( or use half white and whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2-3/4 cup brown sugar ( or to taste, or can use brown sugar Splenda)
1 eggs, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup nonfat milk ( or use low-fat milk)
1 (8 ounce) cans crushed pineapple, well drained
1 1/2 cups grated carrots ( squeeze out some of the moisture with hands)
1/2 cup raisins

Directions
Set oven to 350 degrees.
Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners or spray tins with non-stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl mix together first 7 ingredients.
In a small bowl whisk together egg, oil, milk and vanilla.
In a medium bowl mix the shredded carrots with the crushed pineapple.
Add in the oil/egg mixture into the carrot/pineapple mixture; mix well to combine, then add to the dry ingredients; mix JUST until combined.
Add in the raisins and chopped nuts.
Divide the mixture between the 12 muffin tins.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the muffins test done.

Back to School

After a 5 month hiatus I am officially a student again, for what will be my last semester at school (probably ever, unless I decide to do some drastic career change in the long-term future). I finally started my final semester, I started this journey back in January 2008 which now feels like a lifetime ago. Back then I was dating Mike and we were sharing an apartment in Westchester (not really living together, we really had separate bedrooms and a roommate). Since then we've bought a house, moved to New Jersey, gotten engaged and married all since I started graduate school!

For the past 3 1/2 years at least once I week I would make the hour drive each way down to Piscataway, NJ to go to school, usually taking two classes back to back and getting out of school at 10pm before I started my journey back home. Most nights my mom would keep me company on the phone (unless she was too tired to stay awake), it got me through many late night drives home from school.

Just two classes stand between me now and my Masters Degrees, Organizational Learning and HR Strategy IV. And in less than 15 weeks from now that journey will be complete, and the wall space that I saved above my Bachelor's Degree since we moved into the house will finally be filled. Also in less than 15 weeks from now - I'll also be a new aunt three times over! Pretty exciting things going on this semester - maybe we can even add a puppy to that list, if Mike will finally let me!

My 30 Before 30

As I've been reading more blogs lately I've noticed that several of them have a "30 before 30 list" of things they want to do or things they want to make (mostly because I've been reading a lot of cooking blogs looking for recipes). I was intrigued by these lists, I always have so many ideas and things that I want to do, I thought this might be a good way to hold myself accountable and check track of all my ideas of things that I want to do (since I'm usually all over the place). The timing also fit nicely since I'm just under 2 years shy of turning 30, not that 30 is this big scary number or anything, after all Mike is 31 now and he seems to be doing just fine. For me it is also a representation of some things that I want to do for me before we decide to start a family (in 3 years hopefully) and I know my time then will become quite limited for a lot of the extra things and classes I want to do, I'm sure my priorities will change at that point in my life. Some of the things I want to do are classes, many are travel related and places I want to go, and some are just general life things or silly projects of things I want to do. This is my attempt to keep track of and do all kinds of things in my life on my 30 before 30 list:

1. Learn to use my camera in manual 
2. Travel to Napa Valley, California 
3. Go on a trip to Europe once a year 
4. Graduate with my Masters Degree 
5. Run a 5K race 
6. Get a puppy
7. Go on a double decker tour of NYC
8. Go to the Long Island Wineries 
9. Take cooking classes 
10. Learn to speak Italian (better) 
11. Go to Chicago, catch a Cubs game at Wrigley Field
12. Spend a whole day at the spa 
13. Join a tennis league 
14. Take dance classes (like tap or ballet) 
15. Take photography classes
16. Join a book club
17. Cook with more organic & unprocessed foods
18. Go on a romantic date night in the city 
19. Go away on vacation with our friends 
20. Learn to swim (I'm not so good right now) 
21. Go to famous food places in new cities 
22. Have a Guinness at the factory in Dublin (again)
23. Go back to Italy  
24. Make a cookbook of all the women in my life recipes 
25. Learn to make a digital scrapbook 
26. Go out and stay overnight at my brother's in NYC
27. Go on weekend trips to places like New England, DC, Niagara Falls
28. Take a sign language class 
29. Get a "really killer sophisticated city outfit"
30. Host a wine tasting party at our house 

Print is Dead?

I took the plunge and ordered a kindle today. I had some gift cards from christmas and cashed in some credit card rewards points and used them towards purchasing my very own kindle. I had been thinking about an e-reader for some time now but couldn't bring myself to make the change. With my collection of books growing and the size of my book case shrinking and so many books on there simply collecting dust it seemed like an opportune time to make the big purchase.

According to a recent article, "In the words of Dr. Egon Spengler, print is dead. Or at least it’s one step closer to that great library in the sky, according to Amazon’s announcement that the third-generation model of their electronic reader, the Kindle, is now their biggest selling item ever, pulling ahead of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the previous title-holder." It is hard to believe that an e-reader has now been sold more than one of the greatest selling books of all time. I'll probably look back on this in 10 years and be shocked that I lived without one for so long, just like a cd player and then an mp3 player or a digital camera. I remember when I studied abroad for the semester in Italy in fall 2002, digital cameras were just gaining ground on the market and I still had my 35mm film camera. Or when I bought my very first iPod with my first bonus check from work in April 2004, and now here it is January 2011 and I am purchasing my first e-reader. I bet my kids will have some version of an e-reader for all their text books for school, I used to lug home what felt like 15 pounds worth of books every day.

I do hope that it's not true that print is dead. I know e-readers open up a lot more opportunities and doors to new things, and certainly a lot of space, and I am all for less clutter, but that doesn't mean I won't miss the look, feel, and smell of reading a book and flipping the pages, and for me of course never bending the spine of my books! But I'm excited to try out my new kindle, I wonder what book I should read first?

Red Velvet Deliciousness

I wanted to make something special for Mike for his birthday this year. This gave me a good excuse to make something new and different. I had seen some recipes online for red velvet cakes, not to mention the absolutely incredible one we had made for the grooms cake for our rehearsal dinner, and it is Mike's favorite cake. When I mentioned the idea to him, he seemed excited about having a red velvet cake. So tonight I attempted to conquer this new baking feat.

Three trips to the supermarket later I was well on my way (two of which were mid-cake-baking, Mike graciously went for me the 3rd time I needed something, talk about being ill-prepared). The batter was very easy to assemble. The first thing that threw me that I didn't read carefully when I was preparing was that I had assumed the red food coloring I had in the house would be enough, the recipe calls for a hefty amount of food coloring (not that it comes as a surprise). I carefully greased my pans and rotated them while they were in the oven to ensure an even baking experience.

Meanwhile I whipped together my icing, this I can say was delicious since I liked the spoon and bowl when I was done. However you probably don't want to know how much, butter, cream cheese and sugar goes into the icing. The most difficult and challenging part of the recipe was icing the cake, good thing I purchased an icing knife today. By the time I added the third layer on top the cake was stacked pretty high, the layers below also started sliding around as I iced the top and it was even harder to ice the sides. Unfortunately the biggest disappointment was that the top layer cracked!!!! So my cake has a 'hole' in the top of top of, with the icing it's a little harder to see it, but it is def caving in and the appearance isn't great. I do think that it is going to taste really good. I can't wait to try it when we celebrate Mike's birthday tomorrow night. Here is the recipe I used

Red Velvet Cake 
Source & Photo: Saveur 
(adapted from Raven Dennis of Cake Man Raven Confectionary

For the Cake: 
1 tbsp. butter:
2 1/2 cups plus 12 tbsp. cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp. (1 oz.) red food coloring
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. white distilled vinegar

For the Frosting: 
12 oz. cream cheese, softened
12 oz. butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (I omitted these)

For the cake: Preheat oven to 350°. Grease three 8" round cake pans with butter. Dust with 2 tbsp. of the flour and set aside. Sift remaining flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa, and salt into a bowl. Beat eggs, oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar in a bowl with an electric mixer until combined. Add dry ingredients and beat until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Divide batter evenly between pans. Bake cakes, rotating halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 25–30 minutes. Let cakes cool for 5 minutes, then invert each onto a plate, then invert again onto a rack. Let cakes cool.

For the frosting: Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer until well combined. Add sugar and beat until frosting is light and fluffy, 5–7 minutes.

Put 1 cake layer on a cake plate; spread one-quarter of the frosting on top. Set another layer on top and repeat frosting. Set remaining layer on top and frost top and sides with the remaining frosting. Press pecans into the sides of the cake.

A Chicken Favorite

It seems there are few recipes that Mike looks forward to and actually requests, this is one of them. This is his absolute favorite dish that my Mom makes for him when we come over. When he knew I was making it for dinner tonight he made several comments to me today like it better be as good as my mom's and I better not mess it up. Well, I am extremely happy to report that it turned out incredible and was every bit as good as my mom's!!!!

I truly enjoyed making this delicious dish, although it was a bit time consuming the time seemed to pass by quickly as I listened to some favorite songs like classic Michael Jackson. I think it did take at least an hour to make but a good glass of wine (or two) and the songs helped to pass the time.

The recipe made it so easy to follow and was dead on for everything (except how long the pancetta took to brown). I kept setting the timer on the oven and it was perfect. My mom and I really think the key to this recipe is to purchase a sweet marsala wine from the liquor store (and not using the cheap supermarket brand), it really makes a big difference and gives it a huge amount of flavor. I serve it over   pound of bow tie pasta and it's excellent plus it's even better the second night after the pasta and chicken have time to absorb the sauce. This is definitely a recipe I plan to make many more times and will be in the front of my recipe collection for years to come!!!

Chicken Marsala

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
Salt & Pepper
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 ½ ounces pancetta (about 3 slices), cut into pieces 1 inch long
8 ounces white mushrooms sliced (about 2 cups)
1 medium clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. tomato paste
1 ½ cups sweet marsala wine
1 ½ Tbsp. lemon juice
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley leaves

Pat the chicken breasts dry. Place the flour in a shallow baking dish or pie plate. Season both sides of the chicken cutlets with salt and peppers to taste. Working with one cutlet at a time, coat both sides with flour. Lift the breast from the tapered end and shake to remove excess flour; set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place the floured cutlets in a single layer in the skillet and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using tongs flip the cutlets and cook on the second side until golden brown and the mean feels firm when pressed with a finger, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer the chicken to the heated plate and return the plate to the oven.

Return the skillet to low heat and add the pancetta. Sauté, stirring occasionally and scraping the pan bottom with a wooden spoon to loosen browned bits, until the pancetta is brown and crisp, about 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a paper-towel.

Add the mushrooms to the pan and increase the heat to medium-high. Sauté, stirring occasionally and scraping the pan bottom, until the liquid released by the mushrooms evaporates and the mushrooms begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste, and cooked pancetta and cook stirring constantly, until the tomato paste begins to brown, about 1 minute. Off the heat, add the Marsala. Return the pan to high heat and simmer vigorously, scraping the browned bits from the pan bottom, until the sauce is slightly syrupy and reduced to about 1 ¼ cups, about 5 minutes. Off the heat, add the lemon juice and any accumulated juices from the chicken. Whisk in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve immediately.

Delicious Pie

Last night for dinner I made a delicious Chicken Pot Pie. I got an "it's good for something I don't like from Mike" out of it and he did have a second piece. Of course he had already made himself a sandwich while my dinner was cooking and while it was in the oven I ran out to the supermarket quick to get more milk and came home to find him munching on snacks when I got back 20 minutes later. As I was taking it out of the oven he also tells me, "I don't like chicken pot pie." I don't know how I am going to cook for this boy besides making him spaghetti and chicken nuggets.... Anyway I really enjoyed the recipe, I thought it was delicious, super easy to make, and even better it was low fat. With a million different versions of chicken pot pie out there I was extremely happy with the end results of this one and I absolutely plan to mak it again.

A couple of notes, I used a mixed bag of frozen vegetables, instead of fresh carrots and green peas, the bag I used also had corn in it. I also didn't have (nor know what) herbes de provence was so I omitted that. And for the biscuits I used Pillsbury crescent rounds which worked out awesome. I laid them out flat over the top of the pie and it made a delicious flaky crust.

Chicken Pot Pie 
From Belle of the Kitchen
Source: Prevention RD Blog

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup peeled carrots, sliced (about 2 medium carrots)
1 cup frozen green peas
2 cups new potatoes, cubed
1/2 cup celery, diced (about 2 stalks)
1/2 medium sweet onion, diced
3 Tbsp 50/50 Smart Balance Butter Blend
1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp herbes de provence
1/2 cup low-fat milk
8 raw buttermilk biscuits (such as Pillsbury)

Directions:

In a large saucepan, combine the chicken, broth, carrots, peas and potatoes.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce the heat to medium low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove the chicken to a cutting board to cool.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the vegetables to a deep dish pie pan.  Reserve the chicken broth in a measuring cup or small bowl.  Cut the chicken into 1/2 inch cubes and transfer it to the pie pan.

Using the same saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Saute the onions and celery for five minutes.  Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, herbes de provence; cook for one minute.  Add the milk and reserved stock and cook for 3-4 minutes, until thick.  Pour the sauce over the chicken mixture in the pie pan, spreading to reach the edges.

Preheat the oven to 425° F. Top the pie with biscuits which have been flattened out and arrange the biscuits over the top of the pie.  Place a piece of foil under the pie to catch any drips.  Bake for 35 minutes, then cool for 10 minutes before serving. Serves 6.

Nutrition Information (per serving): 476 calories; 16.2 g. fat; 46 mg. cholesterol; 929 mg. sodium; 55.5 g. carbohydrate; 3 g. fiber; 26 g. protein

Potato Girl

I am hands down a potato girl, I consider it the Irish in me. I love my potatoes any which way you serve them, baked, fried, you name it, I will eat it, I don't discriminate with my potatoes. When I saw this recipe in cooking light I knew I had to try it, plus I also happened to have a big bag of potatoes on hand. How could you go wrong with loaded potato soup and it was low fat, no heavy cream involved.

This soup could not have been any easier to make, it literally took about 20 minutes to cook and assemble. The end result was delicious, I was pleasantly surprised at how good it turned out, with the coarsely mashed potatoes and the crispy, crunchy bacon on top (which was cooked in the microwave - I was so skeptical of this, who knew), when you top it with the bacon, cheese and scallions it completes the soup. I can tell already this is a delicious soup which I will absolutely be making again. Here's the recipe:

Loaded Potato Soup 
Source: Cooking Light (October 2010)

4  (6-ounce) red potatoes
2  teaspoons  olive oil
1/2  cup prechopped onion
1 1/4  cups low sodium chicken broth
3  tablespoons all-purpose flour
2  cups  1% low-fat milk, divided
1/4  cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/2  teaspoon salt
1/4  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3  bacon slices, halved
1/3  cup shredded cheddar cheese
4  teaspoons thinly sliced green onions

Pierce potatoes with a fork. Microwave on high 13 minutes or until tender. Cut in half; cool slightly. While potatoes cook, heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add broth. Combine flour and 1/2 cup milk; add to pan with 1 1/2 cups milk. Bring to a boil; stir often. Cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream, salt, and pepper. Arrange bacon on a paper towel on a microwave-safe plate. Cover with a paper towel; microwave on high for 4 minutes. Crumble bacon. Discard potato skins. Coarsely mash potatoes into soup. Top with cheese, green onions, and bacon. Enjoy!

Reflections on 2010

2010 has certainly been a big year for us, of mostly all good things, the biggest of which was certainly our wedding! We've shared a lot of happy memories with a lot of important people in our lives. 

We started the year out with the big 3-0 Birthday for Mike. We organized a small surprise party for him at his parents house 

In February just after a big snow storm we headed down to South Jersey for Andrea and Adam's wedding, where the Bride had us outside in the snow banks in our boots, although it was cold, it was totally worth it, to get some amazing pictures! 

The summer months brought lots of fun memories. There was our first trip up to Cape Cod to visit our friends Anna and Dennis. We had some awesome fish and chips up there and enjoyed relaxing on the cape. Dennis finally got his picture with the Dennis fire truck. It was kind of a big deal. 

In July I also had the most wonderful bridal shower a girl could ever ask for. I was surrounded by all of my amazing friends and family, it was incredible, one of the best days of my life! 

I got to visit the great state of Virginia in August, where the Southern Hospitality was in full force. I was greeted with big welcome arms and given a wonderful tour of Virginia, which included Colonial Williamsburg! 

And then there was my big girls night out in New York City for my bachelorette party, filled with lots of girl fun. We danced the night away, and rode away on a bull! 

The fall wouldn't have been complete without our annual apple picking tradition. We crammed the 6 of us into the car so no one missed out on any part of the adventure, picking the apples is only a small part of the journey! 

October brought the biggest day of our lives. I married my best friend and had the most amazing wedding day, everything was perfect!

We honeymooned in beautiful, sunny Hawaii and spent two weeks in paradise

We spent the Holidays and our first married Christmas with our families 

And if that weren't enough in 2011 we get to welcome THREE new nieces and nephews to our family!!! 

New Recipes

I tried a new recipe tonight for dinner. I saw it on a blog and thought it looked appealing. It was Pork Chops with Warm Apple Slaw. I think I was mostly drawn to it because I liked the apple slaw part of it, but also because I am trying to branch out with my cooking. I used to only make chicken and red meat I would really like to expand my cooking to include more fish for starters, I enjoy fish, even if it's just a simple salmon, every time someone makes it for me, I always get the idea I want to make it but I never seem to pick it up in the supermarket, I guess because I would have to make it that night, so instead I am venturing into trying Pork. I have to say I think this was only my second time cooking pork, I worry about not cooking it enough and then it being tough.

The recipe itself was quite simple to make. Overall I don't think either one of us would rave about it or I'd put it in the make again pile. It was ok, at least Mike ate it which is a bonus, the other night I made pasta primavera he wouldn't even try it. I thought I would enjoy the slaw part more, while it was extremely healthy and packed with tons of fruit and vegetable with little to no fat or calories, maybe it was missing something. I think going forward I am going to stick with some common recipes for a little while and work on improving my skills with them, things like chicken piccata, francese, or marsala. In any case here's the recipe I tried tonight:

Pork Chops with Warm Apple Slaw
Source: Apple a Day (*photo also by Apple a Day)

adapted from Ellie Krieger, The Food You Crave

Ingredients:

4 tsp. chopped fresh sage or 1 1/2 tsp. dried

2large cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. salt, divided

freshly-ground black pepper

4 bone-in pork loin chops (about 8 oz)

1 large red onion

2 medium Granny Smith apples, cored

1 bag slaw mix OR

1/2 head green cabbage, cored

3 large carrots, shredded

2 tsp. olive oil, divided

1/4 c. cider vinegar

3/4 c. low-sodium chicken broth

Directions:

1. Combine three tsp. fresh sage or or 1 tsp. dried, garlic, a half tsp. of salt, and pepper.  Rub into the pork chops and let sit at room temperature for ten minutes. 
2. Meanwhile, thinly slice the onion, apple and cabbage (if necessary).  Shred or julienne the carrots. 
3. Heat one tsp. of the oil in a large nonstick saute pan until hot but not smoking. Add the chops and brown on both sides, one to two minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
4. Heat the remaining teaspoon oil over moderate heat and add the onion, apples, and remaining sage. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is soft and golden brown, four to five minutes. 
5. Add the cabbage, carrots, vinegar and remaining 1/2 tsp. salt.  Cook until the cabbage and carrots begin to soften, about five minutes. Add the broth and return the pork chops to the pan burying them in the vegetable mixture.   Cover and cook five to seven minutes longer.
6. To serve, arrange the warm slaw on individual plates and top with a pork chop and pan juices.

Disney Plans

Of course I am already excited to finally graduate in May but I am even more excited about graduating because it means a celebration with my mom in Disney World. Our trip is officially booked, come May 17th we'll be hitting the road for Orlando, Florida. My mom and I have been looking forward to this trip for so long. We'll be spending 6 days/5 nights at the Disney Beach Club Resort. We wanted to stay close to EPCOT so we can walk over there and walk through the park. It tends to be less crowded than the other parks but walking through the countries is so exciting. I am looking forward to getting a beer with her in Germany or the UK or even a glass of wine in Italy or France. So many fun things to look forward to. I think Disney is just as exciting for adults as it is for children. I think it will be exciting when we have kids one day and experiencing Disney through their eyes will be just as exciting. I have so many fond memories of Disney as a child, can't wait to have this special trip with my mom.

One new thing for Disney is with their new dining plan you have to pick out all your restaurants in advance and make reservations. I didn't realize how popular this would be, even at an off peak time. It's amazing the amount of restaurants they have to pick from, it's making it a very difficult choice to pick out where we want to eat, and we 'only' have time for 5 dinner meals so I want to make them count. Here's where I have picked out so far, I'm so excited to try them all!

1. EPCOT - Les Chefs des France (menu)
2. Polynesian Resort - Ohana (menu) 
3. Yacht Club - Captains Grille (menu) 
4. Animal Kingdom Lodge - Boma (menu) 
5. The Grand Floridan - 1900 Park Fare (menu) 

There are so many good looking choices it was hard to narrow it down to even this. There were some other appealing options at the Contemporary Resort too. I'm sure I will prob change my mind on some of these as I keep looking at them. I've already picked out a couple of my meals! 

I'm a Bridesmaid!

Over the Holidays we got to spend lots of time with Mike's Brother and my future Sister-in-Law, I'm so happy I finally get to say that. I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful sister. I never had a sister of my own but feel blessed that Nick has picked such a wonderful woman to be his wife and as a result we get to grow old together as well. I look forward to the day we will spend the Holidays at our In-Laws house with our own children and traditions, of course this day will not be for a long while. But until then we can have lots of fun doing all kinds of fun wedding things and for me that includes being a bridesmaid in Nick & Stephanie's wedding!!! I was super excited when Stephanie asked me. And with Mike being the Best Man, I'll have some good company. Now I can't wait to hear what Mike comes up with for his speech!

Christmas Cookies

Once a year if it I get it into my head I decide to make Christmas cookies and it turns into quite the baking extravaganza. I blame Mike who got it into my head that he wanted my rainbow cookies and ricotta cookies, don't ask me where he got ricotta cookies from because I'm still not sure, not my favorite but if the boy asked for them I'm going to bake them. I was off to bake all kinds of delicious cookies. I had decided on the following:

1. Seven-Layer Cookies (aka Rainbow Cookies)
2. My new favorite coconut macaroons 
3. M&M Cookies - I had to go to 2 supermarkets to get the darn M&M's
4. Ricotta Cookies for Mike 
5. And Truffles  

I was also going to make peppermint bark but I nixed that in the store when my cart was already full of expensive ingredients. After that I was off and baking. I soon realized that my kitchen was way too small for this big endeavor, counter space was limited to say the least. I also had a couple of baking fails along the way, as I sit here writing this post I had the recipe open for the truffles, Mike just walked over and said "oh you tried to make those, they looked like them on the outside but the inside tasted like poop." The recipe looked so simple, I'm still not sure where I went wrong but they def did not taste edible so those were a waste. I also failed at my macaroons, I made them exactly the same way just the week before and these were a complete flop so I was without my macaroons sadly. The M&M cookies, ricotta cookies and rainbow cookies all turned out delicious, I sampled them all so I can vouch for them. Overall it made 4 trays of cookies so I still had plenty to go around for 4 trays worth, although I think my Dad made a big dent in eating through 2 of them!

Christmas in NY 2010

It's hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone already and here we are in the New Year.  Before it passed us by we did get to make a trip into New York City for our favorite time of year with some of our favorite people. We headed into the city in Mid December on a beautiful, Saturday afternoon. After an extremely crowded train ride when we got there we were surprised to see thousands of people dressed up in their finest santa attire, yes, thousands, including my very own brother, whose interpretation was santa with a sombereo.

Clearly we were not the only ones partaking in the city's Holiday festivities. We were also along with hundreds of people who went to Macy's to get their picture taken with Santa, unfortunately with a 3 hour wait I would not be getting my picture with Santa this year.

My disappointment was soon forgotten when we passed a Crumbs bakery, of course we had to go in and sample the goods. I had never had one before and was dying to taste this deliciousness. It was an agonizing decision to pick out which cupcake I wanted to indulge in. With everything from apple pie, to vanilla coconut and chocolate ones galore, it was a tough choice, ultimately Mike selected the espresso one for us which was delicious, I also got a bite of Michelle's red velvet which was equally incredible. I think I need to go back and try them all, but I don't think my pants would ever fit me again....

We continued our journey up town through Times Square where we attempted a drink at the Hard Rock, bad move, all of Times Square seemed to be there also so we found our friendly neighborhood Irish pub Connelly's and parked ourselves there for a bit. Michelle, Amy and me were also entertained by two of the Santa-Con-Fellows that also stopped in for a beer.

For the highlight of the day, "the tree" its safe to say that we were not alone there either. I'd never seen Rockefeller Center as crowded as it was that day. We caught a quick glimpse of the tree before pushing our way through the crowd to get out of there.

Our dinner was the endcap of the night, I think we all had to roll out of there. We headed into Heartland Brewery where it felt like we ordered every appetizer on the menu, all of them being equally good, from awesome nachos to mozzarella sticks (they were romano and garlic crusted - delicious) to southern fried dill pickle spears, I made us order those, I had to try them, they weren't bad. We really enjoyed our meal, it could have been the company as well, Amy had a few good quotes of the night to get us going. Can't wait to see what next year brings for our trip, who knows maybe we'll be dressed up for santa con as well, I said I'd be an elf!

Teaberry's Tradition

Every year when my future Sister-in-Law (I can officially say that now) Stephanie comes to visit our Mother-in-Law has a tradition of taking us to this adorable tea place near their house for a girls afternoon out. Teaberry's is the most adorable place and boy do they also have some incredible food.

The restaurant is in a beautiful old victorian house that each little room in the house is set up, there are all kinds of old teapots and teacups decorating the entire house, it's so quaint. The first thing you pick out is what type of tea you would like, they have a list of over 50 different teas to pick from, and you are served you own little tea pot and it has a little warmer on it, with everyone getting different mismatched tea cups to drink from.

They serve breakfast, brunch and lunch at the restaurant, all meals being equally good. The menu features items such as the quiche of the day or crepes and everything is homemade, freshly baked and from scratch. For lunch they also have the most incredibly delicious sandwiches, usually with something like melted brie on them. The one I had this time was a Pecan Crusted Chicken, Peach Clove Jam, Caramelized Onions, Jack Cheese & Spinach, it was delicious!

This year we even indulged in desserts, each of us with our own plate, from the carrot cake, I had, to Stephanie's delicious warm chocolate pecan pie with homemade vanilla gelato ice cream, to Mom's lemon tart we scraped the plates clean. It is so much fun just going out with the girls and enjoying a wonderful meal, we look forward to going there every time.