Archive for December, 2007

2007

Published by mel on December 27, 2007 in random.

When I think about this past year, I can’t imagine how I crammed everything into 365 short days. So, what did I do in 2007?

Well, for starters, I packed up my life in NYC and moved to back to Miami (it was actually December 28th, 2006, but we’ll fudge it), something I swore I’d never do. Tom soon followed and he developed a nice tan and a deep affection for linen and flip flops.

On the second day of the year, I started my new job as Production Manager at AgencyNet. I’ve learned quite a few things this year, including that I absolutely love commuting to the sweet sound of an audiobook (to the absolute shock of the bookworm in me).

In February, Favaunt eloped in San Diego where Tom and Eliz witnessed the occassion, and we drove out to see La Jolla and its lounging sea lions.

In March, my mom threw me a bridal shower and we attended the Sony Ericcson Open. Serena Williams won and we downed a pitcher of Mojitos.

April was a whirlwind of favor wrapping, invitation lists and RSVPs.

On May 5, 2007 I married my best friend. It was the very first humid day of the summer and we had steak and sea bass and champagne. After the wedding it was off to Hawaii for 2 weeks of hiking and sunning and 17.2 miles of kayaking.


(I’m vain, I know - but I LOVE this picture)

June brought house hunting and mortgage approvals, offers and failed contracts. Toward the end of the month we found our perfect place and made an offer. We signed the contract on the 4th of July on the beach in our bathing suits and with beers in hand.

July, August and September were a mess of countertops, tiles, backsplashes, cabinets, flooring and more tiles.

Diana and Jon were married in Maryland in June; Lisa and Lang made it official in Boston in August.

We closed on our first home on Oct 3, 2007. We ripped out the plastic drop-ceiling in the kitchen that night while we drank champagne and ate pizza. By the end of the weekend, we had torn out the cabinets, removed walls and wallpaper. It was chaos.

In November we painted and cleaned and repeated the process 23 times over. Meli & Augi got married on November 17, 2007. Tom and I spent our first Thanksgiving together at my house where we stuffed ourselves with butternut squash lasagna, bacon-wrapped turkey and apple pie galore.

Our new home was finally complete on December 3, 2007 and we were able to move in exactly two months after we closed. I am fascinated by our first home.

We just got back from a cold and snowy Christmas in Michigan, where we ate twice baked potatoes and beef tenderloin and the best Christmas cookies of all time.

2007 was an amazing year for me and my family, but I can only hope that 2008 will be a little less hectic. Next year I plan to write my first cookbook, renew my tan and cycle at least once a week. These aren’t my resolutions. They’re merely things I’m looking forward to doing in the new year.

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Sausage Bread Pudding

Published by mel on December 21, 2007 in recipe.

Sausage bread pudding

I spied a savory bread pudding recipe awhile back, and have been dying to make it ever since. It just seemed like too much for two, so I’ve been waiting until I had company over. Also, I’d never made it before and you never try a recipe out when company is over for dinner. What a quandary. Last night I had a small dinner party for my family to celebrate Christmas since Tom and I will be in Michigan on the actual day. Family is the exception to the never make a new recipe rule. My family loved it, Tom took it to work for lunch, and I’m sorry there’s no more left. I love this recipe. The bread is soft and creamy, the veggies add a nice medium texture, and the firmness of the sausage keeps the dish from being too mushy or soggy. Also, who can resist a bunch of browned and melted cheese? No one.

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Pine nut Rosemary Shortbread

Published by mel on December 21, 2007 in recipe.

pine nut rosemary shortbread

I came across this recipe on 101cookbooks and knew that this was the only cookie I’d be making this holiday season. With all the construction and moving, I didn’t have time to put up lights or decorate a tree. All in all, it’s been very scrooge-like at my house. But these cookies just begged for me to make them and I needed something for dessert when my family came over for early Christmas (because we’ll be in Michigan for actual Christmas). I’d never made shortbread before, and it may be awhile before I’m brave enough to make it again. It’s a pain. You have to refrigerate the dough. You have to roll it. You have to take a cookie cutter to it. Like I said, a pain.

But the results were tasty enough, and I served the cookies with a pretty little ball of vanilla ice cream. After all, it’s not Christmas if there’s no ice cream according to Tom.

shortbread and ice cream

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Fettuccini with Marinated Brussel Sprouts

Published by mel on December 21, 2007 in recipe.

marinated sprouts

I really wanted to make a simple pasta. Something in the traditional vein of olive oil, garlic and Parmesan. But if I leave it simple as that, I often find myself eating at least half a pound of pasta. Not quite as healthy as I’d like, but that was often my hangover cure in college, and I just can’t seem to stop myself around big bowls of noodles. So, in the interest of health, I wanted to add some kind of vegetable to cut the carbiness (Is that a word?) of the dish. I decided on brussel sprouts because they looked so fresh at the supermarket and because I’ve been wanting to try them raw (or close to it) dressed with olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper as a salad. This was close enough.

The final dish was tangy, light and flavorful and came together in less that 30 minutes. A total winner that will surely be added to the weekly roster.

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Quinoa-stuffed peppers

Published by mel on December 16, 2007 in recipe.

stuffed peppers

I’ve had 2 peppers in my fridge for a few days, with no plans to use them. Instead of watching them shrivel away, I decided to stuff them with Quinoa and cheese and call it lunch tomorrow. Stuffed peppers are usually meaty and heavy and not very exciting. I try to keep my lunches healthy so that I won’t be sleepy in the afternoon. So, instead of stuffing the peppers with ground beef, I stuffed them with Quinoa, which is rich in protein and amino acids.

I cooked the Quinoa in chicken broth, and then added light havarti, sweet paprika and chopped onions to complete the filling. The peppers were super easy to make, and I’ll be eating something healthy and tasty tomorrow.

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Steak sandwiches with chimichurri-jicama slaw

Published by mel on December 16, 2007 in recipe.

After a long day of cleaning and unpacking on Saturday, we unwound with some much-deserved beer in our newly frosted beer mugs. Delicious.

beer

We’d gone to the grocery store earlier that day with the intention of making lamb burgers with a yogurty-mint sauce, but alas, no ground lamb. Instead, we found a nice-looking, grass-fed skirt steak. Since I’d spent the majority of the day cleaning, I wanted something simple, something that could be eaten on its own without a side dish. A steak sandwich seemed perfect.

steak sandwich

Even though we were having sandwiches, I wanted to dress them up a bit. I decided on a jicama-chimichurri slaw that I would use to add some crunch and interest to the sandwiches. According to Wikipedia, “Chimichurri originated in Argentina and is a popular sauce used with grilled meat in many Latin American countries.” It’s made up of olive oil, lemon juice or vinegar, parsley, fresh garlic and chili flakes. The ingredients are simply blended to make a sauce or paste the consistency of pesto. That’s always tasty on meat, but this time I wanted to add a little bit of a crunch to the sandwich so I used the Chimichurri as a dressing for some shredded jicama.

jicama slaw

I was really pleased with the way the slaw came out. It’s easy to make and super versatile. Recipe below.

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first meal

Published by mel on December 13, 2007 in entree and recipe.

lemon lime

It’s not really the first meal we’ve eaten in our new home. We’ve had toast, cereal, coffee, turkey chili and many many sandwiches. But it was the first time I really cooked on a weeknight, for just the two of us. And it was just lovely. I made chicken tacos with hominy salsa, which Tom loves and is easy to make. I cooked the chicken in a spicy chipotle broth and seasoned it with chili powder, cumin and a bit of saffron. The hominy salsa is my standard for any tacos and also works well on chili and veggie burgers.

chicken tacos

Recipes below

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first home

Published by mel on December 11, 2007 in random.

new place

It’s been 2 months since the day we closed on our first home. That’s 64 days of tearing out walls, scraping wallpaper, paining, cleaning, painting and I’m still cleaning. But, we’re finally in our first place. Not that it would’ve happened without the man hours our families, and especially my dad (Project Manager Extrordinaire) put in during those 64 days.

64 days of trash removal, garbage dumping and toilet smuggling. Of neighbors so angry, nosy and obstinate that they made us crazy.

64 days of headaches, sore muscles and stress. So, was it worth it? Hell yes.

I love my first home.

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