Dinner a la me

The other night I made dinner for my hubs.

Don't get too excited, I really didn't have the energy to be that creative. 

Here's what I made:

Brussel Spouts

I typically parboil my brussels first so that they cook all the way through and a little faster. Then, I roasted them in some chopped garlic, oil and sea salt.

I also fried up some bacon and toasted the chopped walnuts in the bacon grease(yes, I know, not exactly healthy, shame on me!)

Then, I tossed them all together, YUMMERS!

I also made boiled potatoes, boring I know. 

For dessert, Ghiradelli brownies! Yes Please!

Beautiful sear on my steak, thanks to the hubs. Usually I grill, but it was displaced, as in not right outside my back door.

 Here's the finished product. Grilled steak, boiled potatoes and roasted brussels with bacon and walnuts- I think that was the most exciting part of the dinner. 

Later this week I'm going to dabble in grilling a rack of lamb. If anyone has any tips....and or recipes....send them my way!

Favorite Parts of this Season

~Fall~

Fall is not my favorite season although there are definitely aspects of every season that I love.  

Favorites of this season:

• -apple picking
• - barlett pears
• - the beautiful leaves, as they change color
• -cooler weather
• -cute scarves
• -boots
• - pumpkins

I told Gary to hold up a pumpkin, this is what he chose(he clearly hates pictures). And yes, there were bugs coming out of that disgusting thing.  Sorry pumpkin, you are unwanted.

 I feel like I should be wearing Snow White's evil stepmother's costume and maybe not smiling. Just one little bite.

Since Gary and I had off today(thanks Hurricane Sandy) I thought it perfect to carve our pumpkins, well pumpkin, it took me forever just to do one. In hindsight I probably should have started yesterday. 

We have a bunch of pumpkin stencils, but we've used most of them.  I bought one of those kits a few years ago that came with two carving knives and a scoop.  Gary always gets frustrated that it doesn't scoop well so this year I bought a large metal scoop with "teeth"  from Michaels.  A lot easier I believe.  

I give him the job of opening up the top and scooping out the inside.  Then it is up to me to trace on the design and use my meticulous cutting skills to carve our pumpkin.  
For some reason I wanted to a Disney Pumpkin. I love everything Disney!  I really do love Disney World too, I almost think it is better without kids. haha, maybe I'm wrong......Here's my finished product. It needs a little more fine tuning, there is still a lot of pulp.

I also get the joy of cleaning off all the pulp from the seeds and seasoning and roasting them.  I love roasted pumpkin seeds.  If you have never done it before, you should.  You can season them with all different toppings. 

This year I did half with cayenne and half with garlic.

Of course they are all seasoned with melted butter and salt. You can of course substitute oil for the butter. But there is just something about the taste of real butter.  

So as I speak those delicious little seeds are roasting away in the oven, smells super yummy!  

What are your favorite things to do in the fall?

What I ate Wednesday

Haven't done this in awhile.  It isn't because I haven't eaten anything good, it's pretty much because I've been MIA.....

Breakfast:
Anyway, this morning I had some extra time to actually make breakfast.  I had to attend a workshop and didn't have to be there until 8:30. This means that I didn't have to get up at 5:30, but could get up at 7:30 or so.  Two whole extra hours of sleep, complete *Bliss*

Ever since I watched the MasterChef episode where they had to make eggs three ways, poached, soft boiled and omelette I have been on a mission.  I've tried the poached several times and still can't seem to perfect it. I've done the vinegar thing, but maybe it's because I only had cider vinegar. I just can't seem to get all the white to not spread out. Grrr.....
If anyone has any tips I'd love to hear them!

So this morning I decided to poach an egg.  I don't have any of those cute little egg cups.  They are on my Christmas wish list.  

Lunch: 
The workshop that I was at served lunch buffet style.  Not what I would typically eat for lunch, not to mention that hot lunches always make me super sleepy.  They had fried chicken, a greenbean medley, a creamed corn dish that was super yummy, fried cod, fried oysters (see the theme with the main foods?!), a pasta salad, rolls, crab soup, potatoes and some other side dishes.  The potatoes were yummy, whatever they cooked them in. 
Yeah, I have a huge plate full, kinda wanted to try a lil of everything.  I just couldn't stomach the oyster.

There was also cake for dessert, I'm not usually a huge fan of dessert, but I tried it, free is free after all.  It had strawberry layers and some raspberry sauce.  It was meh....

Dinner: 
I only wish that I could have found a yummy heirloom tomato for my dish.  C'est la vie.  

Homemade Ravioli

Who doesn't love food from scratch?  If you say no you are either lazy, don't care for good food or maybe you are a bad cook. 

Don't get me wrong, sometimes fast food is great, so are those frozen orange stouffers boxes, or that blue craft mac n' cheese box.    In my opinion it is just really satisfying to make something from scratch, plus I like the compliments I get from my husband and friends.  

The other day one of my besties, Meg, and I made homemade ravioli.  I have the pasta attachment for my kitchenaid thanks to my MIL.  It's so much easier to make pasta with 4 hands than 2.  What's the phrase, "many hands make..._______" I don't actually remember the rest of the phrase.  

Anyway we bought this neat little ravioli press.  It took a few tries to get them pressed out correctly, but it makes a bunch at a time.  I know that there are single presses, but the hubs used his head and got the one that makes many. Thanks hubs! Way to use your noggin.

 My lovely manicured nail, although I feel that my thumb looks aged....

 Mmmm....love this stuff....

 Pancetta, fresh parsley ricotta, regianno, fresh garlic and egg mixture

I need a good recipe for sauce. This is just regular sauce with italian herbs, garlic and mascarpone cheese. Anyone have a good recipe?!

The hubs enjoying the delicacy that is our meal.

What I ate Wednesday

So I'm kinda mad at myself.  I forgot today was Wednesday and therefore forgot to take pictures of my lunch. Sadly too.
** Also if you don't like hunting/fishing this may not be the article for you.

For breakfast I had....

with milk




Lunch, here's the tragic part.  Chris, Jess' bf caught a fish, in the morning, a bass filleted him immediately and put him in the fridge.  Yesterday he had caught a catfish- a pretty decent size one and kinda hooked/tied him up leaving him alive and in the water. Sadly and yet good for the fish he got away, but the bass was yummy.  Chris fried him up with some of this seasoning and it was nice and mild. I'm always worried that fish are going to be too "fishy" if you know what I mean.  I also had a chobani cinnamon apple yogurt with grapes, some swiss cheese and bugles. It's a typical vacation snack.  Oh yes, and some cherries.  I wasn't fast enough taking a picture pre-death, nor did I take one after. But I do have some pics of the poor catfish that got away.


Dinner was a meat fest from the great hunter. We had smoked bear chops and pulled BBQ venison(topped with sweet billy rays) and venison roast with some type of sauce.  I am a huge fan of venison. Actually my favorite was the roast. Bear was a first for me and it was pretty tender...those guys are big fatties though.  We also had corn-on-the-cob. A must for vacation.
Smoked Bear Chops

 Venison Roast in yummy sauce

 Pulled Venison in sauce below

 Lovely smattering of meat on my wonderfully retro plate:-)

 Dessert: Coffee Toffee with LOTS of SPRINKLES!!!

Does it make you cry?

What makes you cry? 

Do TV shows make you cry? Specifically realty shows? I know that The Biggest Loser has made me cry, so has So You Think You Can Dance.  Lately Gary and I have been watching Master Chefs. It's on Monday and Tuesday night, followed by Hells Kitchen, both Gordon Ramsey's shows.  

Master Chef is the show where aspiring chefs try for a chance to win money. People from all walks of life, career changes, stay at homes, students.....all cook their best dish and have 5 minutes to prep it for the 3 judges, Gordon Ramsey, Graham Elliot and Joe Bastianich.  If the judges like it than they get an apron and get to move on. If the judges don't than they get sent home.  

My tears were flowing here too

I always have favorites, as do most viewers I'm sure. For some reason I always tend to root for the Asians, unless they are not very nice....I'm a little partial.  This season they have a woman, Christine, who has gone blind.  She's such an inspiration.  She does have an aid who helps her pick out ingredients and describes how things look, but other than that she's on her own.  I am so impressed and how she has overcome her handicap and not let it overcome her.  She has an excellent palate, as she must to be a good cook, since she has to rely on her other senses to help her master her dishes.  

On Monday their team lost the main challenge and so they had to cook apple pie.  I've made apple pie many times, but I have to hang my head in shame, I haven't made my crust from scratch. I never even thought about cooking my apples before baking my pie....note to self, next time. I assume that it probably helps with the cooking time so that the crust doesn't burn.  I mean, I have enough trouble using a peeler with both eyes working.  She had to chop her apples and cook them.....and to top it all over cook her crust so that it cooked all the way through and make sure that it was browned on the top.  Her aid had to be her eyes!  

How did she do? The crust was perfect! Golden and the sugar on top made a great glaze. The pie came out in a perfect slice, no drips, nothing falling apart.  And.....She ended up getting picked for 1 of the top 3!  She cried, I cried. They complemented her....

Tuesday nights challenge was to use either tongue, lamb head, testicles  


Christine was one of the top three! She cooked panko breaded sweetbread with bok choy and a dipping sauce (unmentioned).  I mean I burn myself when I fry things from the splatter. I can't even imagine doing it without the capability of being able to see what I am doing.  


Now, the winner of this challenge got to choose what people were going to cook either live crab, or canned.  The winner is a guy I can't stand, he's overly confident and cocky, the type of person I CAN'T stand. I don't mind people who are good, or confident, but mean people make me mad!  SO of course, he gives Christine a live crab! She ends up cutting herself on the shell when she was trying to open it.  He makes me so mad! Who does that?! MEAN people, that's who! But, she arises to the occasion and cracks that sucker and gets out the meat. 

She made a crab ceviche- You Go Girl! Gordon Ramsey told her that it was beautiful and then asked her if she was really blind!  Then, he made Ryan taste it. She's not vindictive, she doesn't talk behind people's backs (at least not that I know of).  Integrity is the word that comes to mind.  Who got first place? Josh and Christine! They are the new team captains for the next challenge.  

Team Christine!