tom foolery

any guesses on my costume this year?

2009-10-31T17:05:00.000-04:00

2009-10-29T00:21:00.005-04:00

I had been up late the night before, making these horrific looking peanut butter sandwiches cut into the shape of ghosts and covered in marshmallow fluff mess to share with my friends at school. Despite being tired I was so anxious to get the day started - Quill and Scroll elections were going on, it was the last home football game for our high school senior class, and for the special Halloween show that evening, my friends and I were dressing up in M&M costumes...I was the orange M&M.

Like any other morning, my mom was standing in the kitchen by the sink, my dad was reading the newspaper in his bedroom, and my brother and I were eating breakfast; that would be the last time I would eat cocoa wheats again for over 5 years. When the phone rang, before I even answered it, I got this sick feeling. I picked up the receiver the same time as my dad and my cousin said only my dad's name when he said "Mom's dead, isn't she?" I dropped the receiver and fell to the ground on my knees...not waiting for the answer, I already knew.

My grandma was in Pennsylvania visiting my cousins, as she did a few times each year, along with her sister, my great aunt. The night before she left I was getting ready to leave for Student Council Fall Convention and was annoyed that she insisted we come to her house (about 1 min away) to tell her goodbye in person. That snotty teenager had no idea it would be the last time I would see her alive.

That day was October 29, 1999, ten years ago today. Unfortunately I'm really good about remembering sad dates in my life and I've been emotionally preparing for this anniversary for several months. In recent years it has been the kick off for the season of depressing events in my life. Grandma, then my aunt on Nov 11 (I was holding her hand and saying the Lord's Prayer as she died.), then my Grandpa and my husband's boss who were both buried on Christmas Eve) and then of course my daddy on January 1. I'm aware of how morbid it is to seemingly torture yourself on purpose; anyone who knows me will tell you I have a really hard time letting go.

Today, I'm probably going to cry a little bit (hey who am I kidding, I'm crying right now). I'm going to bundle myself up in a quilt she made that rests on the back of my living room chaise lounge. I'm going to look at pictures and remember all of the fantastic times we shared, all the laughs we had, all the lessons learned...and I'm going to call my other grandmother, my Granny, and tell her how much she means to me, and how honored I am to have her in my life, after all, it is a very precious thing, and we never know when that phone might ring again.

Jazmyn!

2009-10-25T10:37:00.000-04:00

max is looking to see where summer went?

2009-10-21T14:08:00.000-04:00

orcas we saw from the ship one evening

2009-09-29T20:12:00.000-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Imz3RpVLneQ

2009-09-04T20:39:00.002-04:00

today was very educational:

1.) the arc trainer is more fun than the elliptical machine

2.) the italian heritage festival = fantastic people watching

3.) when your husband finds dog vomit he will hide it instead of cleaning it up so you find it later

4.) if i see you leave your 2 dogs in a hot car with the windows rolled up, I will call the police and wait around for them to get there so I can tell them what you look like and that you are inside of catos

5.) hardened dog vomit is much harder to remove than the fresh variety

looks perfectly legit to me....

2009-09-03T20:18:00.000-04:00

It's Maxers Monday!!

2009-08-31T18:38:00.001-04:00

2009-08-27T10:12:00.001-04:00

So I went a little nuts last night and used all of my amazon.com reward dollars…I got a vera Bradley weekender AND tote (night owl), a new pair of crocs (ruby and cotton candy celestas like my fave choc and sienna ones), an Alaska book for my nephew (the one I was going to bring him back from Alaska but this way I don’t have to add it to my suitcase mess/weight), a wide angle fisheye lens adapter and a remote control for my Nikon….add to that a lens I’m going to have to return that I received last week in the mail, and dennis’ noise cancelling head phones, and then help me justify to myself that getting all that was better than buying a new point and shoot…or a wii. Eeeek.

I’m extremely excited that two weeks from tomorrow I’ll be on my way to Pittsburgh to catch a plane bound for seattle where I then get on the NCL Star, where I’ll then be headed NORTH TO ALASKA! We’ll be going to Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and Prince Rupert, BC. The day we are going to Skagway, we have decided to rent a car and drive to a place called Emerald Lake – what an adventure! That will also mean I have been to Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, and thanks to this trip British Columbia and the Yukon Territory!

If anyone would like a post card, please contact me with your address J

2009-08-10T22:00:00.006-04:00

I feel like as much as i've been cooking lately i have REALLY been neglecting my blog. I'm not sure if it was excitement over the release of Julie and Julia or a week of walking around the strip district in Pittsburgh and all of my culinary adventures there, but I've been so pumped I've been taking D lunch at work just to be able to cook twice a day! (now if this urge could only translate over to cleaning also....)

This evening I made fish tacos (panko breaded, baked tilapia for D) and a triple sec, honey lime shrimp tacos for both of us...is that food name dropping? in jest (i hope) i was told i was a food name dropper and i'm not sure how to take it honestly...makes me feel as though i've been pretentious which i'm really not trying to be...more just like passionate ;-)

While in Morgantown Saturday I picked up some homemade gnocchi from Nonna's Bakery...I was concerned about how it would turn out because it thawed on the way home (I foolishly made several stops and forgot to stick it in my freezer bag...) so I left it in the fridge and the last thing I wanted was for it to be gross as a result.

Happily, it turned out quite well....I browned butter with some jullienned fresh sage thrown in there until slightly crispy, and tossed the cooked gnocchi in to brown up a little then i shredded some romano on top. it was quite excellent and while looking for some gnocchi inspiration i came across a recipe for pumpkin gnocchi (also with the brown butter and sage) which i am anxious to try. I had purchased some little neck clams Saturday also, so after I poured the gnocchi into our bowls, I gave the skillet a quick wipe and threw the clams in the same pan...a little dab of butter and some red wine went in there too - then i just covered them until they opened up and dumped the whole thing onto D's dish.

I was on a streak and made dinner 7 night in a row but D REALLLY wanted Muriale's so I obliged. I must say though, I've been so pumped about cooking that it almost tarnished my dining experience...notice I said almost - we are talking about Muriale's afterall, and there were meatballs involved.

2009-08-08T12:42:00.000-04:00

My trip to the farmer’s market today was a great success! I spent exactly $40 dollars and got the following

1 head of purple Italian garlic

1 head of mild sweet garlic

1 head green leaf lettuce

1 head red leaf lettuce

1 bag salad mix

1 bunch carrots

1 bunch rainbow chard

1 bunch kale

1 bag of tiny red potatoes

1 bag of tiny “crispy” potatoes (which included a clove of garlic and fresh herbs to roast)

1 bunch fresh oregano

1 bunch fresh sage

2 blackberry muffins

1 eggplant

6 ears of corn

1 bunch of shallots

…I think that is all…pics to come ;-)

2009-08-04T23:33:00.001-04:00

A few days ago (maybe even over a week ago) I posted the following:

Menu:
crawfish cakes

cheese grits

prosciutto and capicola wrapped grilled asparagus

blackberry cobbler with cream cheese crust

I’ve been cooking with crawfish since 2000 when I started dating my husband and learned how things like etouffee and crawfish fettuccine. I can honestly say that in all that time, I’ve never had worse crawfish to work with than the brand pictured. Crawfish is normally pretty smelly nasty stuff but this was horrible – I had to rinse something like 10-15 times and still the water draining out was sickening:

Ask at the seafood counter or look in the frozen seafood section, most grocery stores and superstores will sell frozen crawfish tails. Thaw in a container of ice water in the fridge and rinse SEVERAL times until water runs clear through them. This is what you should end up with:

For crawfish cakes, like crab cakes, you want to make sure the product is fairly dry so you may have to spread it out on paper towels and blot it a bit. Then throw it in a bowl and mix your favorite crab cake mixins – bread crumbs, fresh parsley, lemon juice, finely diced red bell pepper, onion powder, garlic, black pepper and a beaten egg. As you know by now I’m not a precise cook – more of a throw it in until it looks right (how is it supposed to look? Um, I don’t know, I just know.)

In my food chopper thingy I make my favorite red pepper sauce: roasted red peppers, garlic, goat cheese, black pepper and a touch of half and half. You’ll drizzle this on the cakes later – very good camoflauge when they look gross, like mine did because they fell apart. Which leads me to: form your crawfish into cakes and put them onto a very hot skillet that has a bit of olive oil and butter melted in it – if you want a sear, which you do, then don’t use non-stick. Let them go around 3 or 4 minutes and then flip…or if they fall apart, as mine did, then just kind of flop everything around….if I were to try these again maybe I’d add more of a binding agent, like mayo perhaps?

I know I talked about the crawfish first but sautéing the cakes will be the last thing you want to do, as you will want to serve them pretty much right after taking them off the stove.

For the grits, I simply followed package directions on original (not quick cook) grits, subbing half the water for fat free half and half at the suggestion of my aunt. I grated in lots of sharp cheddar and fontina and some goat cheese and sundried tomato cream cheese, and some fine chopped sundried tomatoes, then I poured all that goodness into a big casserole dish (spray with cooking spray) and topped with fresh parsley, cracked black pepper and chopped prosciutto – then pop in the oven until they are a little browned on top and the prosciutto is crispy.

Before:

After:

They were the best grits I’ve ever had…even 2 nights later served alongside red pepper flat iron buffalo steak sandwiches on mancini’s basil pesto bread:

I first had prosciutto and fontina wrapped asparagus last fall at this wonderful Italian restaurant in Washington D.C. (Ristorante Luigino which has sadly closed). We sat down next to this very friendly couple who conversed with us the entire meal and immediately suggested the asparagus when we sat down. On some food network show I also saw someone using spicy capicola ham. This is incredibly easy and in my opinion, impressive sounding. All you do is trim your asparagus, chopping off any woody stems, then wrap in prosciutto or capicola, and toss on the grill…I also did some plain asparagus tossed in some roasted red pepper salad dressing…

Throw on a serving plate and shave some fontina on top…

As I mentioned, my crawfish cakes kind of just fell apart so I just kind of smooshed them together and drizzled on lots of red pepper sauce.

2009-08-03T10:14:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I think I really confuse my Amazon.com suggestions page….

2009-07-31T15:43:00.000-04:00

Downy wrinkle releaser spray and dollar general’s $1.50 knockoff of the same, have dramatically changed my quality of non-iron-loving life. Is that sad?

2009-07-30T18:39:00.000-04:00

I’m sure you have noticed my awesome new blog logo – major props (and thanks) to my friend sara!

2009-07-30T10:19:00.000-04:00

Maybe I’m living under a rock and I’m just the last person on earth to know about this…but did you know about google 411? I guess I shouldn’t say I didn’t KNOW about it since my cousin programmed it into my phone December 2007 while we were at the hospital when my dad died, but I guess it just never occurred to me to use it…I just always dialed the 1800free411 and listened to those dumb free ads…but google 411 not only does not make you listen to the dumb mcdonalds song every time you call, it also connects you for free!!

I’m turning into one of those old people who is overly impressed by technology, aren’t i?

2009-07-28T16:12:00.001-04:00

So let me preface by saying that I really have done more than just eat while I’ve been in Pittsburgh…the food stories just happen to be the most interesting.

i started out my lazy day intending to go to the Carnegie science center via hotel shuttle. I stood outside for the better part of a half hour waiting patiently and minutes before the said shuttle arrived, a large group of employees from the neighboring office building come over and when the bus pulled up, the ring leader runs over to the driver and says the 3 loads of people standing there all need transported to some restaurant. How polite!

Since it is a very pretty albeit hot day, I decided just to walk up the strip instead. It was hovering around noon so I made a stop in the S&D Polish Deli, where a cute little girl took my order. I think I confused her (we are talking like child of owner little girl) when I asked what her favorite kind of perogie was. She steered me towards the potato and cheddar and 4 delicious little dumplings later, I left quite happy.

I browsed several shops and galleries and gallivanted my way to the Right by Nature natural and organic foods market. They bill themselves as the most affordable natural market in the area but Whole foods knocked their socks off price wise…let alone my el cheapo foodie mecca Trader Joes.

I left empty handed (though I’ll definitely go back, if not just for the free garage parking with purchase or wide variety of izze.) Next I headed up to Klavon’s Ice Cream Parlor – such a neat experience! You can read all about it on the website…I had an “authentic” cherry coke…and um, I also had a chocolate phosphate soda (phosphate used to be used mainstream for sodas) it was basically carbonated water with chocolate syrup which sounds very bizarre and well…it kind of was, but in a good way J The ice cream looked fantastic, a large group came in as I was finishing up and I enjoyed seeing all the treats they ordered. They are only open until 5 on weekdays but they area open on weekends.

I began my way back to the hotel as I was starting to suffer from hot fat girl syndrome (aka misery and crankiness induced by hot fat thigh rubbing/chaffing), stopping in several more little shops and markets…including Mancini’s where I got 2 pepperoni rolls to go..they had just come out of the oven and well, is it a siwn to say a Pittsburgh pepperoni roll is better than a West Virginia pepperoni roll? (excluding elk river foodland pepperoni rolls which are the best in all the land and I would say regardless of ownership…same with glazed donuts by the way…)

I also stopped into an asian market where I procured some Thomas the Train Pocky to be delivered to someone I know who will shortly be giving birth to an Xavier Thomas...

2009-07-27T22:13:00.000-04:00

Posting via email….

Dinner tonight at Six Penn Kitchen

www.sixpennkitchen.com

Reconstructed spinach artichoke crab dip…D liked it much more than I did…it was a chunk of bread covered in a creamy cheesey spinach sauce with garlic and diced tomatoes and a crab cake on top with artichoke hearts

Smoked pork chop, cornmeal waffles, bacon braised greens with a honey thyme demi glaze

Lobster macaroni with cherry tomatoes and peas

We shared cream puffs: almond cheesecake filled cream puffs dipped in ganache, crispy caramel and white chocolate with a tart cherry sauce

2009-07-23T01:11:00.004-04:00

Okay so I just realized how crappy my new logo looks, and as soon as I get the gumption to get on my desktop pc, I'll fix it. :-) In the meantime, want to hear about what I made for dinner? Here is a little teaser.

to be continued....

2009-07-22T00:08:00.010-04:00

It all started when I picked up a package of Demus sausage. for non-central wvians, Demus sausage comes from nearby Worthington, WV and is sold throughout the state along with their Italian peppers. Like the peppers, their sausage is available in hot, mild or sweet varieties, and being fans of hot and spicy in this house - I went with the hot. During the same shopping trip, I came across some beautiful delicate kale - which in my mind meant soup!

I took half the package of sausge - around 1/2 lb. and place in a hot skillet - the fat content and non-stick saucepan I was using meant no greasing the pan. After breaking up the sausage a little bit, I added some chopped onions (if I haven't mentioned it before, I'm totally onion lazy and buy pre-chopped frozen) and let that mingle for a bit. In the mean time, I cut some small red skinned potatoes into 3rds, and then cut the 3rds into 3rds. I did not blanche or steam the potatoes, just tossed them into the pan, stirring occasionally. The heavy paprika content of the sausage means everything takes on a nice orangey color.

When the potatoes started to get a little tender, I added a healthy spoonful of minced garlic, some pino grigio and a little veggie broth. A few weeks ago I marniated a chicken in white wine and roasted it over potatoes. I saved and froze the wonderful stock that was created as a result of this and pulled it out Sunday, thawing it and adding it to the pan. At this point, I finely chopped some kale, careful not to get the large stems, and added it to the mix. I was really lucky to get such a good bunch as it can turn out tough no matter how you prepare it- this was soft and tender. I also added half a can of organic cannellini beans which i rinsed and drained.

I made a roux and added half n half, parm blend (parm, romano and asiago), goat cheese, garden veg cream cheese. I added this to the pot and then just let it all simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally and, let's be honest...adding more goat cheese crumbles periodically.

On the same shopping trip I picked up some garlic foccacia which I have previously enjoyed on its own. I decided to dress it up and use up the half can of cannelini beans, so into the food chopper they went with goat cheese and garlic. I spread it on the bread, and topped it with chopped tomatoes and some red and yellow peppers that I had roasted a few days ago. I topped it with a little parm blend.

Needless to say it was a meal that did not dissapoint! Fast forward to today. I had several zuchinni that needed to be used, and half a pound of the remaining sausage, so stuffed zuchinni it was!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, then brown your sausage and onions, adding a little white wine and some black pepper and garlic, then I added a mirepox blend (onions, celery and carrots). After the mirepox softened, I poured in some more wine and veggie both, a finely chopped tomato and the last of my roasted peppers. I poured in about a cup of whole wheat orzo (maybe not that much....half a little box of it at least), covered and walked away for 5 minutes or so until all the liquid was absorbed....oh and since i'm going to Whole Foods on Friday (!!!!) i tossed in one of my precious parm rinds prior to the orzo...). I had just bit of goat cheese left so I also mixed that in which produced the perfect creaminess factor.

I popped the zuchinni shells (i hollowed out the middle making little boats) into my microwave steamer for about 1 minute, then put them into small baking dishes and halved my yummy concoction into and ontop of the zuchinni. I could have easily stuffed 3 or 4 shells but I just did two and piled them up....my hubs said it was more like inundated zuchinni rather than stuffed....i topped with a lil more parm blend and into the oven they went. YUM!

Because there weren't already enough calories being dished out (haha) we finished the meal off with homemade brownies (my great granny's recipe) and homemade marchino cherry ice cream.

]

2009-07-06T14:12:00.006-04:00

so i follow martha stewart on twitter, and when i saw this i was intrigued...

so i click and i find this on http://www.themarthablog.com/

(my copy paste isn't working on blogger for some reason and i'm too lazy to type it out...)

all my local bars are stocked with st. germain elderflower liqueur, aren't yours??

2009-07-02T00:47:00.008-04:00

random things....in no particular order:

i lie on my facebook status sometimes. for example just now i wrote that i was making "frozen yogurt" in my new ice cream maker, when really i'm making whole milk, freaking awesome, full of fat ice cream...vanilla with cinnamon and the peach and raspberry innards of a pie i made that went horribly wrong (by wrong i mean runny and vomit-like in appearance). it turned out really well and i am excited at all the new flavors of "frozen yogurt" just waiting to be made.

i was the matron of honor at a wedding last weekend and it was awesome. when the bride told me she wanted to have fake birds glued onto sticks, i thought she had gone completely off the deep end quite honestly - but nope, i loved it!!

i also had a rocking good time with my family...the last few times i've seen them have either been for my great aunt's passing, or my dad's so it was good to break bread for a joyful cause this time. i think a few of them read my site and i just want to say thanks - you'll never know what it meant to me and i hope we do it again very soon...like saturday haha.

speaking of family, my uncle's 50th class reunion would be this year if he were alive. i've probably mentioned this before, but he died when he was 17 and my dad was 5 - he had Hodgkin's disease. it is one of those things that makes you wonder how different your life might be had things played out differently.

my tomato plants are huge. i have 2 of them and they have taken over my planter...i just hope josephine, my clematis does not suffer as a result.

i loooooove tomatoes and like to do all kinds of things with them, like stuff them with bulgur or quinoa or couscous, fill them with salad like cucumbuers and peppers and feta or get crafty with them.

we went to helvetia for father's day. i was really sad that the wunderbar gallery closed...i bought a beautiful little vase last year that got knocked off the night stand and i really wanted to replace it. now there is just a gift shop with things like those little wooden boxes that say "3 piece chicken dinner" the old homeplace was peaceful and it was a beautiful day. the property includes the 2nd oldest building in the settlement.

2009-06-22T23:23:00.007-04:00

the history, arts and culture of the mountain state have always been a major interest of mine.

you can't clog for as long as i did, and go to as many vandalia gatherings, augusta heritage festivals, and jubilees at jackson's mill and not get teary eyed when you hear a dulcimer strumming out simple gifts.

you can imagine my excitement then when a friend invited me to a special state museum grand opening event:

i have been going to the cultural center for as long as i can remember, and even elementary school trips have stuck with me to this day. an amazing amount of work has gone into remodeling the museum - though revitalizing might be a better word.

i got to spend some much cherished time with good friends, finally get to see pianafiddle perform in a very intimate setting, AND get one of the first looks of a building that has held great meaning for me - you could say i was a happy girl.

did i mention i even tried some goat meat?

2009-06-02T15:10:00.003-04:00

my friend Sarah gave me my first blog award!

My new role of Queen of Awe-Summm requires me to list 7 things that make me "Awe-Summ!!!"

1. i can ride my bicycle over 25 miles and still be able to walk the next day.
2. i can take beautiful pictures.
3. i love to cook and bake yummy things and share with others.
4. i am an awesome aunt.
5. i can tell what aisle something is in the grocery store, where it's at on the shelf, how much it costs, and what is usually on sale for
6. i'm good at visually arranging things.
7. friend, family or even foe, i would probably do anything i could for you if you needed me.

It is hard to pick who to tag with this, and I hope there aren't hard feelings, but with her recent injury Tonya has had a rough time of it as of late, and i want to remind her that she's awe-summmmm!

2009-06-01T17:00:00.002-04:00

chocolate graham crackers + crunchy peanut butter + cherry butter + bananas = YUM

edited to add: right after writing this i went into the kitchen to check the bread dough i'm letting rise and i came back to find max in my chair trying to eat my graham cracker goodness - i yell "MAX" and he tries to get off the chair, flopping sideways and falls in the floor before he RUNS back into the living room. thankfully it doesn't appear this has resulted in yet another leg injury :-P