A Journey Through Thick and Thin

Pancetta and Pea Risotto

2011-04-20T08:04:00.003-04:00

Oh Jamie Oliver, you always inspire me. Whether it's from "Jamie at Home" , "Jamie's Food Escapes", or even his "Food Revolution", he inspires me to be adventurous and try new things.

On one of his recent episodes of "Jamie's Food Escapes", he traveled to Venice where he made this incredible array of risottos from one basic recipe. I decided it was high time to rid my fear of making risotto and dive in to the deliciousness.

Basic Risotto Recipe (adapted from Jamie Oliver):
32 oz chicken stock (I used Progresso Tuscan Chicken Stock, yum!)
1 TBS butter
2 TBS olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 head celery, finely chopped (confession, I left this out and it's still fine!)
14oz of risotto rice ( I get it in the bulk bin at Whole Foods, it's called Arborio rice)
2 glasses of white wine (about a cup to a cup and a half)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 TBS butter
1/4 cup grated parmesean cheese

Directions:
1. Heat the stock. In a separate pan heat the olive oil and butter, add the onions, garlic and celery, and fry very slowly for about 15 minutes without colouring. When the vegetables have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat.

2.The rice will now begin to lightly fry, so keep stirring it. After a minute it will look slightly translucent. Add the wine and keep stirring — it will smell fantastic. Any harsh alcohol flavours will evaporate and leave the rice with a tasty essence.

3. Once the wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a simmer so the rice doesn’t cook too quickly on the outside. Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and almost massaging the creamy starch out of the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take around 15 minutes. Taste the rice — is it cooked? Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. Don’t forget to check the seasoning carefully. If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, add some boiling water.

4. Remove from the heat and add the butter and Parmesan. Stir well. Place a lid on the pan and allow to sit for 2 minutes. This is the most important part of making the perfect risotto, as this is when it becomes outrageously creamy and oozy like it should be. Eat it as soon as possible, while the risotto retains its beautiful texture.

Variations :

I added cubes of pancetta while the veggies were cooking, then added blanched peas at the end.

You could use leftover rotisserie chicken with some steamed asparagus.

crushed tomatoes with sliced basil

roasted butternut squash for the fall

sautee some sliced cremini mushrooms in marsala wine and mix in at the last minute.

Get creative!

Simple Pleasures

2011-04-03T15:24:00.003-04:00

A tasty breakfast and a good book to read on a Sunday morning is one of my favorite things! Poached eggs with asparagus and chorizo.

Easy Salad Niçoise

2011-03-20T14:07:00.002-04:00

Feeling inspired by a recent Barefoot Contessa episode and my recent haul from the Riverside Arts Market, I decided to throw together a Salad Niçoise for lunch.

A traditional salad niçoise features canned tuna, olives, and french haricot verts to what I've shown here. I had some fresh sugar snap peas and asparagus from the market, so I used that in place of the haricot verts. I made Ina Garten's Mustard Vinigarette to pour over the top of this.

All of the green vegetables were blanched, the potatoes and eggs were boiled, the tuna was seared (1-2 minutes on each side in a lightly greased pan).

I love how pretty this looks arranged on the plate and this would also be a great dish to serve at a party, like a wedding shower. It's fresh, beautiful, and best of all... delicious!

Friends of the James Beard Foundation Dinner Benefit

2011-03-15T09:20:00.003-04:00

One Ocean Resort Hotel & Spa, Northeast Florida’s newest beachfront boutique resort, located in Atlantic Beach, announces the premier partnership with the renowned Friends of James Beard Foundation through a Dinner Benefit on Saturday, April 9, 2011 from 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. Bringing together the best of the best in Florida’s First Coast cuisine with prominent area chefs, the five-course benefit dinner proceeds contribute to a local scholarship for culinary education and Friends of the James Beard Foundation while building national awareness of the gourmet food movement in Northeast Florida and education of the James Beard House in Jacksonville.

The prestigious benefit will be an intimate seated wine dinner for $125 per person for non-James Beard Foundation members and $100 per person for James Beard members. The exclusive team assembled includes Chef Ted Peters and Pastry Chef Nancy Slatsky of Azurea, Chef Tom Gray of Bistro Aix, Chef Matthew Medure of Matthew’s and Chef Brian Siebenschuh of Orsay. All wine pairings for the spring season courses are from the Foley Family Wineries.

Proceeds from the dinner will be divided equally between a local culinary scholarship in the name of Azurea Restaurant, the James Beard Foundation’s scholarship program and general operating fund (which enables the foundation to maintain the historic James Beard House as a performance space for chefs and to administer educational programs).

The James Beard Foundation (JBF) is a not-for-profit culinary organization and its mission is to celebrate, preserve and nurture America’s diverse culinary heritage and future. The JBF’s programs include workshops, classes, conferences, readings, and other educational experiences that help people learn about and engage with food. JBF offers scholarships to culinary students who need financial support to pursue careers in the food and beverage industry. JBF invites chefs to participate in events at the James Beard House in New York City and at events abroad to allow people to experience America’s dynamic cuisine first hand. JBF also administers the annual James Beard Foundation Awards, which recognize and honor excellence among chefs, cookbook authors, food journalists, restaurant designers, and others working the food and beverage industry.

The benefit dinner is hosted at Azurea, the signature restaurant of One Ocean Resort, which has established its own food and wine personality, creating a culture of passion and seeking perfection. True to its coastal surroundings, providing an elegant, artfully inspired atmosphere, Azurea offers a view of the ocean from any seat in the house while recently honored with an Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator.

To join the Friends of James Beard Foundation Benefit Dinner at One Ocean Resort, call Jennifer Aringdale 904-853-2346.

Review : 'town

2010-12-27T13:27:00.000-05:00

While browsing the streets of Avondale during the "Christmas in Avondale" celebration, I decided to give the much talked about " 'town " a try. I snagged a seat at the open kitchen bar, so I could get a full view of Executive Chef Scott Ostrander work his magic. Just like an alchemist brewing a concoction, I watched him add butter, stock, and mirepoix to a pan to begin making his bouillibase.

To begin, I ordered the Sweet Potato chips. These sweet potatoes were thinly sliced, almost translucent. Deliciously crispy, drizzled with a sherry-bacon dressing. The sprinkling of fresh parsley on top gives the dish a great peppery note. I love making sweet potatoes into something savory, and this hit that spot perfectly.

The bouillibase is served in it's own individual le cruset pot. The moment it's served, I can smell the inciting broth, with fennel and fresh herbs. The pot is filled with a generous portion of mussels, shrimp, fish, and half a lobster tail. Chef Olestrander did a great job with this marsaolle based dish. The dish was so wonderful, my only wish was that I had a crusty piece of French bread to soak up that wonderful, flavorful broth.

I had a wonderful meal expierence at 'town, and I plan on coming back for brunch soon.... I hear they put on a fantastic brunch!

Review: Via Napoli at Epcot

2010-11-02T15:02:00.003-04:00

As if gorging ourselves on delicious treats throughout the day at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival wasn't enough, my girls and I had made reservations to eat at one of Epcot's newest restaurants, Via Napoli. This sit-down restaurant is another one of the fantastic dining options at Epcot, located (obviously) in the Italy Pavilion. It's menu features all kinds of Italian specialities, but it's shining star is PIZZA. You can't miss the three giant faces of the wood-fire pizza ovens, each named after active volcanoes in Italy.... there's Stromboli, Vesuvius, and Etna.

Walking in, you feel like you're instantly transported to a well worn in, much loved restaurant in the heart of Italy. The walls are painted with a nice fresco, with views of sun lit vineyards. It may seat 300 but it feels cozy at the same time. We were seated at the GIANT family style table in front of the pizza ovens, it seats about 40 people.

We ordered a glass of red-wine sangria ($7.00) and an Aqua Fresca ($5.00), which is made in-house and is a combination of water, sugar, and fresh fruit. I ordered the Limonata flavor. It was like a better version of a homemade lemonade. Tart, refreshing, and a good way to begin our evening.

Since there were three of us, we decided we wanted to try the Fritto Misto platter ($24.00), which is a sampler platter of a few of Via Napoli's appetizers. It comes with fried calamari, zucchini, asparagus, mozzarella, artichoke hearts, eggplant, and fried risotto balls. Served with a side of zesty marinara sauce, this was a HUGE hit with us. We all got to try different things, and there was plenty for all of us. My favorite was the fried asparagus, that was new for me and it was surprisingly delicious! I also ordered the Proscuitto e melone ($7.00), which was slices of juicy cantaloupe draped with thin slices of Prosciutto di Parma, and is one of my new favorite combinations in life!

Then the crowning glory of the evening arrived, our Quatro Formaggio pizza ($28.00 for the large) was here. Crispy crust, oozing melty cheese on top, this pizza looked divine and we hadn't even tasted it yet. With a blend of four cheeses : Mozzarella, Parmesan, Fontina, Provolone, this pizza's flavor was out of this world. It was without a doubt the richest, most delicious cheese pizza I've ever had. The only thing that could have made it better was if we had gotten sliced pepperoni on top to cut through some of the richness of the cheese. But it was still good either way!

Our server for the evening was Francesco and between him and the other waiters in the place, they had us in tears over how delightfully funny they all were. He was a wonderful server and we will be back to Via Napoli very soon!

Please note that park admission into Epcot is required, and it's highly recommended to make advanced reservations when visiting Disney World, you can call the dining hotline at 407-WDW-DINE or log into Disney's website and make online reservations there.

Review: Taverna San Marco

2010-10-28T16:12:00.001-04:00

I'm lucky enough to get emails from Groupon on a daily basis, alerting me to special deals around Jacksonville. One afternoon, I saw that they had a deal going on for Taverna so I grabbed it and made plans to visit with an old friend of mine.

I made reservations for 8:00pm on a Friday night, which may have been a crazy mistake of mine.... the San Marco area on a Friday night has a serious lack of parking! After a few rounds up and down the boulevard (cue "Don't Stop Believing here) I finally found some parking and made my way in. So just a heads up if you plan to visit, get there way ahead of schedule so you can find parking.

The decor is very nice, the bar has rustic wood accents, the lighting is chic, and the layout is cozy. Our waitress came right out to present us with the charcuterie and cheese menu, along with the dinner menu, and described to us the specials of the day.

After a good look on the menu, my friend and I decided on the Gambas al ajillo ($9) (Prawns with garlic and chili), and the House-made mozzarella, Prosciutto di Parma, grilled peasant bread platter ($14) to start with.

The prawns arrived in a mini skillet, and were perfectly cooked. The tender shrimp were covered in a chili dry rub, then cooked in a sauce of sliced garlic, chili oil, and a squeeze of lemon. These were a great choice, and both of us used the rest of our peasant bread to soak up the rest of the juices.

Our platter came out on an aged wooden board, and was artfully presented. The slices of fresh mozzarella were drizzled with olive oil and smoked sea salt. The peasant bread was grilled and had a slight smoky flavor to it. The platter was even served with dried figs, which was a key element. The combination of these flavors with the silky prosciutto were marvelous.

My friend ordered the Skirt Steak a la Plancha ($22) for his entree. This skirt steak was served with roasted fingerling potatoes and a chimichurri sauce on top. This steak had such incredible flavors going on, with a bit of chili rub on the potatoes and steak, and the chimmichurri sauce was delicious.

I ordered the fish special of the evening, which was Tuna, so I got it Pesce style ($28). The tuna was seared, and then served with haricot verts, fennel, fingerling potatoes,
nicoise olives, tomato confit, fresh picked herbs. I chose to leave out the olives, but all of my other veggies were so fresh and amazing. The crisp fresh green beans and a perfectly seared piece of tuna was a good choice.

Not to be missed are the Patatas Bravas ($5), which are fried fingerling potatoes with spicy paprika served with a garlic ailoi. I would have been so happy having just these and the platter as my meal. Their garlic aioli is to die for, and if you want more to dip in, just request it and they will gladly bring you more!

We finished off the evening with a glass of Sorracco for me and a Sam Adams Oktoberfest Brew for him. An overall great evening trying out a new place that will definitely be added into a rotation for me!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

2010-10-27T15:26:00.000-04:00

This recipe is so delightfully simple and perfect for a lazy Sunday when the weather has cooled off. Make some of these, brew a pot of coffee, and grab your nearest book. I promise you'll have a good day.

Cupcakes:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 15oz can of pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon

Mix all ingredients on low for 30 seconds, then mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Scoop into cupcake liners and bake for at 350 degrees for 17-19 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Place on wire rack to cool.

Frosting:
1 8oz block cream cheese
2 teaspoons of vanilla
1 tablespoon cinnamon
3/4 of a 1lb bag of powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients until smooth and pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

Review: Salt Life Food Shack

2010-10-04T18:52:00.001-04:00

No matter where you go in Jacksonville you're bound to see the phrase "Salt Life" someplace. Whether it be a decal on the back of a car, or on a t-shirt or hat, just look around and you'll see it. What is Salt Life? It's about living a passionate life of enjoying saltwater sports. The company was founded 6 year ago here in Jacksonville Beach and has grown to a massive line of products featured in all types of surf shops around the globe.

Earlier this year, the folks at Salt Life opened up a restaurant in Jacksonville Beach named the Salt Life Seafood Shack. With a menu that heavily features seafood, there's also delicious choices for those "land lovers" as well. I felt like taking advantage of the gorgeous weather we had this weekend and decided it was high time I pay a visit to the Shack.

The decor inside is all aqua tile with wood accents. There is a salt water tank in the middle of the room. It's quite nice and casual all at the same time. Since I was alone, I grabbed a seat at the bar. I was greeted by a friendly waitress, who suggested I try the Tuna Poke bowl, which has been previously recommended to me by many people. Sounds right up my alley, I'll take it!

The Tuna Poke Bowl ($14.99) is a house speciality, served in a generous portion, with beautiful chunks of raw tuna avocados. Served on a bed of sticky rice and sauteed spinach. The top is sprinkled with sesame seeds and scallions. The soy based sauce has a slight kick to it, and any one that's a fan of spicy tuna rolls, this is a dish for you. It's such a refreshing dish, so light and filling. Perfect after a day on the waves!

Other menu items include:

Beer Can Chicken ($9.99): smoked chicken with a maple glaze and served with roasted corn.
Beach Boil ($11.99): shrimp, crab legs, sausage, corn, and potatoes. Similar to a low-country boil.
Ensenada Taco ($8.49): You choice of grilled Mahi or shrimp and chorizo, served with cabbage slaw and cilantro lime sauce.

They have specials featured every day of the week, so stop by next time you're at Jax Beach and "get Salty!"

Review: Urban Flats

2010-09-30T00:13:00.001-04:00

Located in the heart of the hustle and bustle of the Southside is a new place called Urban Flats. It's the newest apres-work watering hole for the blue collar workers. The inside is sleek and modern, there's a huge outdoor seating area with barstools, tables, and comfy couches that will be wonderful for those nights it finally starts to cool down here in Jacksonville.

For a starter, I ordered the Urban Stix ($4.50). These are flat straws made from the same whole wheat dough as their flatbreads. They're baked with smoked gouda cheese and sea salt. What a great bar snack..... the spicy mustard is perfect accompaniment with the smokiness of the cheese. You'll want to enjoy these with a icy cold beverage. I paired it with a generously poured glass of Wente Vineyards Reisling ($8.00).

Since Urban Flats is mainly known for their flatbreads, I ordered the prosciutto and fig flatbread ($9.00). It's topped with slices of prosciutto, bleu cheese crumbles, honeyed figs, mozzarella, and chives. The flatbread is slightly crisp on the bottom and still semi chewy. You get this great combination of savory/sweet with the sweetness of the rich honeyed figs and that salty hit from the prosciutto and bleu cheese. The mozzarella is there to bind it all together and makes sure that the other toppings don't go sliding off every which way.

I really enjoyed my evening here. There was an acoustic guitar performer strumming away and the crowd was quite lively. It makes for a nice spot for a evening with your significant other, girls only night, or your work crew. Try it next time after you're catching a movie over at TinselTown!

Easy Key Lime Pound Cake

2010-09-19T09:20:00.002-04:00

Anytime there's a bake sale at my work, I always get asked to bring a little something. I decided to switch it up from my normal goods and bring a pound cake. I have a great and super easy pound cake recipe that impresses everyone!

Ingredients:
1 box Lemon cake mix
1 box Lemon flavored instant pudding
4 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup Key Lime Juice
1/4 cup water
Zest of 1 lime
Can of cream cheese frosting

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F . Prep your Bundt pan with Pam or any type of grease or flour.
Combine all your ingredients (except for the frosting) in a mixer, and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour batter into prepped Bundt pan.
Bake for 45-50 minutes. Once you remove it from the oven, let it sit in the pan for about 10 minutes on a cooling rack. After resting, take it out of the pan and sit on cooling rack until completely cooled. Transfer to plate or platter of your choice.
When ready to frost the cake, remove the lid and seal from container of frosting. Microwave for 30 seconds at a time, until frosting is pourable.
Casually pour the melted frosting over the cake, looking like a complete domestic diva.

This cake is fabulous and easy for so many occasions. And you can change it up with different cake flavors and juices. I think a chocolate cake with coffee used in place of the juice and water, along with some melted Nutella drizzed on top would be wonderful!

Review: Bistro Aix

2010-09-17T13:12:00.002-04:00

Right in the heart of San Marco and 5 Points, lies Bistro Aix. I have had many of my foodie friends gush over how delicious it really is, so I decided to treat my mom to a dinner there before catching Mamma Mia at the Times Union Center.

The atmosphere is bistro/lounge hybrid. Exposed brick walls combined with hammered metal bartops creates a cool look.

Our server handed us the menus, and even they had a nice well worn copper look about them. A definite first for any place I've been to in Jacksonville.

Mom and I scanned the menu and each decided to try the $29 Prix Fixe menu. I decided to get the Fire roasted Tomato soup, Mussles Frites, and Profiteroles. Mom got the French Onion Soup, Roasted Chicken with port and mushroom sauce, and the German Chocolate cake.

Our soups came out, steamy and hot, in these adorable mini tureens. My tomato soup was garnished with a dollop of creme fraiche and chives. Mom's french onion looked like it was straight from a Parisian Bistro with the broiled gryuere and toast on top. The first taste of my soup, I could taste that delicious smoky tomato note. I took a bite of mom's and the broth had a deep and rich onion and herb flavor. We both at as much as we could, and our server brought our entrees.

Mom's chicken looked delicious, the chicken's skin was roasted to perfection and was lovingly surrounded with the roasted mushrooms and cipolini onions in the decadent port reduction.

My Mussles Frites looked incredible. They were drizzled with a saffron garlic aioli, served with toast pointes to soak up the broth. But the superstar of the evening was the fries. I could sing praises for days about these fries. Hand cut, double fried, tossed in cracked salt and pepper, chopped rosemary, and thyme. Every bite had me groaning and exclaiming how amazing they really are.

I was completely shocked that I actually saved some room for the dessert, and I am glad I did. My profiteroles were served with vanilla bean ice cream and drizzled with warm chocolate ganache and caramel.

Mom's German Chocolate Cake was a generous slice, served with fresh berries. She said it was one of the best tasting German Chocolate cakes that she has ever had.

If you're looking for a fantastic meal here in Jacksonville, but want to try something new, drive over to Bistro Aix for a meal you're not soon to forget!

Review: Bento Cafe at St. John's Town Center

2010-09-14T15:49:00.002-04:00

One of my new go-to places out at the Town Center is Bento Cafe, located in the same area as Best Buy/Toys R Us/ Ulta.

They call themselves "Pan-Asian", and they have menu items featured from multiple Asian cuisines. In fact, when you walk in, there's two menus, one is the Kitchen Menu and features dishes like Garlic Broccoli, Curries, Kung Pao, and the other menu is strictly sushi. For this visit I figured I'd try a little of both.

I start off by ordering one of my favorite cold drinks.... Boba Tea ($3.25) . It's a blended drink that has sweet and chewy tapioca pearls floating in the bottom. I was delighted to find they had Honeydew as a flavor choice, it's always my preferred flavor! Within a minute or two, I was happily slurping down my drink. Cold, sweet, refreshing. Make sure you don't suck up that drink too fast, otherwise you're likely to start choking on one of those tapioca pearls!

For my sushi selection, I picked my old standby, a spicy tuna roll ($6.25). I can always judge a place by how good the spicy tuna roll is. The roll arrived so nicely plated and drizzled with a spicy shrimp sauce. Inside the roll, the tuna was seasoned perfectly, with the perfect bite of heat from the sriacha mixed in with it.

For my entree, I ordered the Garlic Chicken and Broccoli Bento Box ($7.50). I love how visually appealing this looks in the seperated compartments! Each bento box comes with small sides of ginger salad, white rice, noodles, and vegetables. You can also order the entrees as a Noodle Bowl (served over udon noodles) or as a Rice Bowl (served over white rice). My garlic chicken was very flavorful, and even had a slight bit of spicyness from the kung pao sauce they toss it in. The ginger salad was fresh, I always enjoy the ginger dressing. After my tea and sushi roll, I couldn't finish my entire bento box.

I frequent this place quite often now, pretty much go every other week. I always know I can get a good meal here, and get my sushi fix for a great price! And right next door is the ever delicious Mochi frozen yogurt... but I'll save that review for another day!

Review: French Pantry

2010-03-18T15:21:00.004-04:00

One of my favorite lunch spots in all of Jacksonville is The French Pantry. Located in what looks like an old warehouse, this place is truly a treasure.

Only open from 11-2:15, Monday thru Friday, there is almost always a line that goes out the door. Seating inside is at French farmhouse tables, and more than likely, you will be sharing your table with others. Your menu choices of the day are featured on 3-4 chalkboards. As you wait in line, you can check out the menus, French Pantry is well known for their Bruscetta, which is unlike any you've had! They also have salads, sandwiches, and sometimes soup. The best part is that they feature items that change daily. Sometimes you can get lucky and they will have the crab cakes or Bang Bang shrimp salad. Two things NOT to miss if you see them. This is also the kind of place where everything is made fresh for you, to order, and once they are out of that item for the day, it gets wiped from the blackboards. Drinks to choose from include water, brewed iced tea, Diet Coke, regular Coke, or Sprite. They do have coffee and espresso available.

Once you place your order, you will be directed to a table, and fresh bread quickly follows you to your table. A steamy loaf of bread served with a bowl of dipping spices, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar is yours to share with your table mates. Your food is brought out very quickly, faster than most table service restaurants. At our table that day, there was very little talking, the only sounds you could hear were sighs and groans of contentment. My party ordered the Chicken and Artichoke bruscetta with goat cheese, the Fried Shrimp and Green tomato salad, and I got the Ar

tichoke, Prosciutto, and mozzarella Bruscetta. Most items are served with a small mixed green salad. Food is never scarce here, you will be stuffed if you eat it all!

The French Pantry also has a delicious selection of desserts to choose from, and it changes daily. Popular items are the Strawberry Cake, Carrot Cake, German Chocolate cake, and the White Chocolate Cheesecake. Make sure you ask for it when you order, because if you think about it and try to get it later, it may not be available anymore! You can also purchase freshly baked bread and rolls while you're there. Some choices include French baguettes, 7 grain, whole wheat, goat cheese and sun dried tomato foccica, and their delightful goat cheese rolls.

Menu items range anywhere from $8-$12, and desserts are $5.50 a slice. Definetly check this plac out for lunch one day, trust me, you'll be hooked!

Guy Fieri and Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives: Metro Diner

2010-03-01T16:30:00.004-05:00

I was invited to participate in a taping of Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives at the Metro Diner in San Marco. Let me first say that I'm pretty much a Food Network junkie. I pretty much always have it on, no matter what time of day it is. When I got wind from a friend that Guy was going to be filming in the area, I got SO excited!

The morning started at 10am. Guy and crew were already inside hard at work filming the dishes to spotlight, which were the "Yo Hala on the Square" stuffed french toast, the Pittsburg Steak Salad, and the Mealoaf Plate.I don't want to really give away all the behind the scene secrets as to how it all happens...but I will say that I did finally get interviewed by the producer about what I thought about the place and the food. I hope they like my interview enough to show it on TV :)

I leave you with a few photos!

Me posing with Guy's Camaro

Guy, standing out on San Jose Blvd about to cause an accident.

Guy giving a description of the exterior. The older man is the Field Producer, Mike Morris. VERY nice man and really funny!

This guy's nickname is "Fraggle" and he does most of the prep stuff w/ the stand ins, giving instructions and what not. He actually has the trailer with all the equipment and Camaro, and he is the one that drives it everywhere. Cool guy to talk to, he said it's great checking out the entire USA from the road.

Metro's Menu board.... if you look in the top left corner, you can see where Guy spraypainted his logo and autographed it!

Crabcakes Benedict.... SO good at Metro Diner!!

The Yo Hala on the Square and the Pittsburg Steak Salad

**UPDATE** The episode will be airing on Monday, September 20th at 10:00pm! The episode is titled "You Found 'Em". Here's the link to the episode.

THEY SHOWED ME 4 TIMES!!! OMG! I can't believe it!

Review: Gilmon's Bakery

2010-02-23T15:47:00.004-05:00

Jacksonville's newest Bakery has arrived, and it's called Gilmon's Bakery. Conveniently located at 11362 San Jose Blvd, in the same plaza as the Tree Steakhouse and Beach Road Diner, it's going to be Mandarin's go-to source for their fix of sweet treats.

As you walk into the shop, you're greeted with the heavenly aroma of baking, a swirl of vanilla goodness. The walls are painted a shade of Tiffany blue and the floors have a retro feel with a black and white checkerboard pattern. There are some brushed stainless tables to sit and enjoy your treats with your friends. You can't miss the display case holding all of the luscious sweets. I picked out 6 different flavors to try and share with my co-workers. They have a great selection of cupcakes including the following, plus more:

Peanut Butter : chocolate cake topped with peanut butter frosting and a Reese's Cup
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: yellow butter cake with a chocolate chip cookie baked inside, topped with chocolate frosting and mini chocolate chips.
Cookies and Cream: chocolate cake topped with Oreo frosting
Coconut Rasberry: Coconut cake with rasperry frosting topped with coconut shreds
Classics: Yellow butter cake topped with chocolate fudge icing, chocolate cake topped with vanilla frosting and chocolate sprinkles, or vanilla cake topped with vanilla frosting
German Chocolate: Chocolate cake topped with chocolate cream cheese frosting and a sprinkling of chopped walnuts, and shredded coconut
Salted Caramel: German chocolate cake topped with a smooth salted caramel frosting
Red Velvet: a red velvet cake topped with cream cheese frosting.

When we had our sampling, the hands down favorite was the Red Velvet. Gilmon's homemade cream cheese frosting just melted in your mouth and was like a little bite of heaven. In a close second place came the Peanut Butter.... the peanut butter frosting complimented the chocolate cake so well, the perfect ratio of peanut butter to chocolate. The cake part of all of the cupcakes was superb. It was moist, and light, not too dense or dry. Each of the frostings were creamy and delicious.

Gilmon's also has a daily selection of cakes available whole or per slice. My mom tried the Italian Cream Cake and said it was simply wonderful. The cake was moist and buttery, while the cream cheese frosting with chopped nuts was to die for.

Gilmon's also takes orders for wedding cakes, special occasion cakes, and cupcakes. Stop by or call Gilmon's owners Dena Bowman or Kathy Jones at 904-288-8128.

Quiche Lorraine

2010-02-01T17:30:00.000-05:00

Ah, the wonders of Quiche. A recipe that uses ingredients that most people have readily available to them. A bit of this, a bit of that, and you've got yourself a delicious breakfast or brunch entree. We had some refrigerated pie crusts that we had bought extras for some Christmas baking that we didn't use.

Classic Quiche Lorraine traditionally is made with bacon, but Julia Child says that it has NO CHEESE. Well where's the fun in that? I grabbed some leftover bacon from the morning's breakfast, some shredded swiss, and some frozen chopped spinach and got to work.

For those that like to take the easy route, grab your thawed pre-packaged pie crust and place it into a high sided pie pan. Press it lightly around the edges, making sure not to tear. Take a piece of foil, press it into the pie crust, and bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the foil, and check for bubbles in the crust. Press down any bubbles, and put the crust back into the oven for 3 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set to the side.

The egg base of the quiche is the following:

5 large eggs
2 cups of heavy whipping cream (you could also use half and half)
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika
I also added 1/4 tsp of dried mustard, 1/2 tsp garlic powder to my mix for extra flavor!

Crack your eggs into a bowl and whisk until they are all combined, then add all other ingredients. Once you have this egg mixture, the possibilities of your own quiche are endless. My quiche had 7 slices of bacon that I finely chopped, 1 1/2 cups of shredded swiss cheese, 1 chopped green onion and a half a package of frozen chopped spinach that I had thawed and squeezed out all the moisture.

Take your filling ingredients and place them into the baked pie crust. I like to mix mine up for even coverage throughout the quiche. I even save a little of the cheese to sprinkle on top before baking. Pour your egg mixture over the filling, then bake at 325 degrees for 45-50 minutes. When it's done, it should not be jiggly, it should be firm. Let stand for 10 minutes before eating. This is also a dish that's served well at room temperature or even cold. One of my favorite lunches is a slice of this paired with a small salad!

Some other ingredients that are wonderful in quiche are :

leftover ham, chopped
sliced mushrooms
sharp cheddar
cooked leeks
blanched and chopped asparagus
cooked and crumbled sausage
crab

As I said before, there are endless possibilities in the world of quiche.... just take whatever is leftover in your fridge and go wild!

24 Before 24, Day Three

2010-01-12T10:29:00.000-05:00

I'd like to make a haiku dedicated to muesli.

Wonderful Muesli
Delicious and Nutritious
Why did I hate you?

Seriously, why did I ever doubt the stuff? It's packed with things that are so good for your body! Normal ingredients in muesli can include the following: uncooked rolled oats ,dried fruits, and nuts.

On my recent trip to IKEA, my Swedish visitors picked up a bag of Finax Nordic Muesli from the Swedish Food Market at the front of the store. Traditionally, they eat it with plain unsweetened yogurt for breakfast. I've NEVER seen people eat as much yogurt as the Swedes do.... just 3 of them killed an entire 2 POUND (32oz) container of yogurt in a morning. It would take me about 2 weeks to finish a container that big!

Today's breakfast is a 1/2 cup of muesli ( I finally found one without nuts! Not a fan of them!), 3/4 cup of 2% milk, and 1/2 a sliced banana. A filling breakfast and sooooo good!

24 Before 24, Day Two

2010-01-11T17:36:00.003-05:00

Day two begins with a breakfast of low fat organic vanilla yogurt with sliced fresh strawberries and sprinkled with a bit of Museli. There's also a slice of whole grain toast with black forest ham slices, a small glass of orange/pineapple/carrot juice, and a cup of PG tips breakfast tea. I'm taking baby steps to eating better breakfast...I used to not eat any breakfast at all. Eating breakfast in the morning signals your body's metabolism to wake up and get going.

Lunch is a salad consisting of mixed baby romaine lettuce, chopped grilled chicken, crumbled herbed feta cheese, diced cucumbers, and chopped hardboiled egg. A filling and perfect salad for lunch!

24 Before 24, Day One

2010-01-10T21:12:00.003-05:00

So I'm starting my New Year's resolution over a week later. I've decided that my new motto is "24 before 24" which means I want to lose 24 lbs before my 24th birthday, which is April 8th. I hit up the grocery store tonight, and over $125 later, I came out well stocked. My plan is to eat as much low fat, healthy grains and protein as possible.

For my first meal, I've got a mixed baby romaine salad with crumbled feta, diced cucumbers, steamed seasoned shrimp, tossed in a homemade dijon vinaigrette. Served with a side of fresh blueberries and a clementine and a big glass of ice water with lemon slices.

Food like this is not only beautiful to the eye, but is honest feel good food. I'm excited to begin this journey!

Breakfast Omelette

2009-11-21T08:59:00.003-05:00

Ahhhh, Saturdays. While the rest of the world gets to enjoy a lazy Saturday at home, sipping coffee, reading the paper, I'm off to work. Sometimes I wake up early enough to have a little breakfast with my family, and this week we made omelettes!

An omelette is a fear of many people and I don't know why! It's such a simple thing you can whip up with whatever leftover ingredients you have in your fridge! Ours today was leftover ham chopped up, green onions, and diced mushrooms.

For delicious and fluffy omelettes, you'll take two or three eggs, add a splash of heavy cream, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and whisk them in a bowl. Set aside. Spray a nonstick frying pan with some Pam spray or if you're feeling naughty, add a tablespoon of butter. Sautee your diced ingredients in your pan, and then add your egg mixture. I like to swirl the eggs around to provide even coverage. Don't stir! Put that spoon down!

Let this sit until your eggs are no longer runny, and add a sprinkle of cheese of your choice. Ours was shredded cheddar this morning. Carefully flip one side on top of the other, and you've got a delicious omelette! I like to let mine sit just a minute in the pan so it gets crispy!

Nigella Lawson's Rapid Ragu

2009-11-12T13:55:00.003-05:00

While browsing some cooking blogs, I caught wind of a cooking group called I Heart Cooking Clubs and saw that they will be featuring Nigella Lawson recipes for the next 6 months. Well, Nigella Lawson is one of my favorite personalities on the Food Network, I make sure to DVR whenever she's on. Watching the way she cooks and describes things makes me want to curl my hair, put on a cute outfit and get in the kitchen. She's so lovely and I'd like nothing more than to sit and gossip with her.

Anyways, this week's recipe was for "Man Food". Could be a number of things, steak, hearty stews, etc. I quickly browsed through my collection of Nigella cookbooks and decided on the "Rapid Ragu" It looked so hearty and delicious, I knew it'd be perfect to make. I adjusted the recipe a little to use ingredients that I had on hand. For Nigella's exact recipe, click here.

Here's what I used:

1 lb of ground beef
1 small container of sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 14oz can of diced tomatos
1 8oz can of tomato sauce
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 cup of small cubed pancetta ( you could also use diced bacon)
1/3 cup of Marsala wine
1/2 cup of water
2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tablespoon of sugar
Grated cheddar (optional)

First you will cook the pancetta with the oil until it's crispy. Once cooked, remove from the pan and set aside. Add your sliced onions and sautee them with the tablespoon of sugar until they are a beautiful golden shade. Nigella uses onion confit in her recipe, which I can't seem to find here. I made to make due! Add the mushrooms and garlic clove to the onions and cook until they have gotten soft. Add the ground beef, stirring it to break it up, also add the pancetta back into the pan at this time. Cook until beef is no longer rare.

Then you'll add the can of tomatoes, tomato sauce, Marsala, and water to the pan and simmer for 20 minutes. You can serve it as is, or be like me and serve it on top of buttered egg noodles.

Trust me on this, it's a perfect man food. It'll stick to your ribs and is perfect for the chilly winter months coming up. Make it for your man this weekend and he may wash your floors and do the laundry for you :)

Spicy Chicken and Black Beans

2009-11-04T15:00:00.001-05:00

I love having recipes that take me such a minimal time to make and don't end up costing me a fortune. This one I just pulled together this morning before work, and it's so fabulous. Let's discuss. But first, a back story.

I normally do my grocery shopping at Publix or SuperTarget, they always seem to have what I need a pretty reasonable prices. But sometimes I head down to my local Super WalMart. I was walking up the Hispanic Aisle, and I saw a section of products I've never really noticed before. There was an entire section of these sauce bases, bouillons in so many different flavors. Since I'm always looking for more ways to add flavor without adding fat, I picked up a few. I picked up a jar of Sofrito, which is a tomato cooking base with green peppers, onions, garlic, cilantro, and olive oil. I also got a box each of onion, garlic, and parsley bouillions. Each little bouillon is equal to 1 TBS of the actual thing.

Okay, back to this morning. I'm wanting to make something to bring for lunch, so I browse through my pantry to find stuff I normally keep on hand... a can of black beans, and a can of chopped tomatoes with green chiles. I'm in a spicy mood, so I take these out, along with 2 chicken breasts, and get to work.

The back of the bottle of the Sofrito says to "Use 2 teaspoons of Softrio per 15 ounce can of black beans", so I opened the beans and dumped them into the sauce pan along with the 2 tsp of the Sofrito. I also throw in one of the onion bouillon cubes for good measure. I then put the lid on and turn the heat down to simmer.

I defrosted my chicken breasts, then cut them into semi-thick slices. Just even enough so they all cook for the same amount of time. I put them in a pan that I had put about a tablespoon of olive oil in, and got them cooking. I added 2 tablespoons of the the Sofrito, along with a teaspoon of dark chile powder, a teaspoon of cumin, and half of the can of chopped tomatoes and green chiles. The other half of the can, I then added to the beans for additional flavor. I let this all cook together until the chicken was done.

You can pretty much add whatever you have on hand, chopped peppers, diced onions, just make it your own dish! I was literally done within 15 minutes, and I had a cheap, low-fat, and delicious meal ready to take for lunch!

Review: Cozy Tea, Jacksonville

2009-11-03T16:07:00.001-05:00

Recently, my co-worker and I were discussing how Jacksonville has such a lack of small cozy cafes in which you can get around with your gal pals, have a little snack, and a little bit of gossip. She then told me of a tea shop in 5 Points that she stumbled upon with her sister while shopping in the area. She said they had a huge selection of tea, and great lunch foods! We planned a trip for the next week for a visit!

Walking into the shop, I was immediately put in a better mood. I could see the selection of chocolate truffles and fresh baked scones in the glass counter. Our hostess then led us to a table. As I looked around the cafe, I noticed how cute and quaint the eating area was. The tables were all set with mismatched china and chairs. This isn't a bad thing! It just made it seem that much cozier. We then browsed through the massive selection of teas, and I finally decided on a black strawberry tea. (around $3.50 per pot, includes 1 refill)

When the individual pot of tea arrived, I was totally smitten. They even had a tag telling me it was my tea. Once I poured the first steaming hot cup, I could immediately smell the fragrant strawberry scent. The menu recommended adding sugar to the black teas to bring out the fruity flavor, so I added a teaspoon. I took a sip, and it felt like my world had just been rocked. I had never tasted a tea as exciting as this one before. I savored cup after cup of that tea, as each teapot holds 3 teacups worth, and a refill is also included in the price.

We then checked out the lunch menu, and after a hard decision, I finally decided on getting the sausage pastry roll, served with a Sour Cream Potato Soup and side salad with my choice of dressing. Other things on the menu include tea sandwiches, like turkey, chicken salad, or cucumber. You also choose just a salad, just soup, or their selection of savory pastries, which are the sausage roll, curried chicken salad, broccoli cheddar quiche, and a few others. My combo was only $8.95, a bargain for the amount of food I got! Most of the items range from about $6.00 to the $8.95 combo. The dessert menu include bread pudding, carrot cake, scones, blueberry pound cake, and chocolate tuffles, and those range from $1.25 per truffle, to about $4.99 for the cakes.

If you'd like to visit Cozy Tea, it's located in Riverside at 1029 Park Street. They are open for Brunch on Sundays, and have a full British High tea service in the afternoons. Once a month, the owner hosts an Indian dinner for $25, reservations are highly recemmonded.

Seared Sesame Ginger Tuna with Curried Quinoa

2009-10-26T11:27:00.010-04:00

Just so you know, in my house, I'm always the adventurous eater. I'm constantly trying new things that I see in stores, especially when I come home from Whole Foods. It's a magical place for me, that Whole Foods. Just standing in front of those bulk bins makes the wheels in my head start turning, and I always think of the things I can make with the contents. Then I spied the quinoa.

For those inquiring minds.... quinoa is a grain. People think it's like cous cous (which is a pasta), but it's actually not. Quinoa is gluten free, and has a very high protein and fiber content, making it popular with the Vegan crowd. It's great option for those that are looking to eat healthier, and works as a good substitute for white rice or cous cous! But enough on quinoa.... let's get to the cooking.

I also picked up a bag of frozen yellowfin tuna steaks when they were on sale at Whole Foods a few weeks back. Dad's been nagging me to cook the last one from the freezer since then. I thawed the tuna steak for about an hour before it was ready to cook. I patted the fish down, removing the moisture from the outside. Then I started pressing on this "Sesame Ginger Crusting Mix" that I picked up at TJ Maxx in the gourmet foods aisle. I used it previously on my Seared Tuna Salad recipe. I seared it in a hot pan for about 45 seconds to a minute on each side, including the sides of the steak! Remove from the pan and set aside.

Before you use the quinoa, make sure that you give it a good rinse or a short soak.. Quinoa is covered in a bitter coating called Saponin that you will need to remove if you bought it in bulk. Most of the Quinoa that is in a box has been pre-rinsed.

You will use a 2 part liquid-1part quinoa ratio. I used a cup of quinoa, so I use 2 cups of low sodium chicken broth as my cooking liquid for more flavor. I also added a teaspoon of curry powder, a small bit of chopped shallots and parsley, and garlic pepper and salt to taste. Cook until the liquid has been absorbed into the quinoa, and it is tranluscent.

Martha Stewart's Perfect Roasted Chicken

2009-10-23T09:49:00.000-04:00

Consider this one an essential recipe. Everyone should know how to make a roast chicken. It's such a simple meal, most everyone will love it and the directions couldn't be any easier. And you can make it YOURS just by changing the flavors.

What you'll need:

A roaster chicken ( these were on sale for 2.99 each at Target a few weeks back!)
2 TBS of unsalted butter, softened
salt and pepper
1 lemon
3 garlic cloves, smashed
herbs of your choice ( I used rosemary and thyme)

Once thawed, let your chicken come to room temperature by letting it sit out for 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the bird. Pre-heat your oven to 425°. Wash the chicken, and then you will need to dry it. Why dry it? Because meat browns better when it's dry!

Your next step is to remove any of the giblets, etc party favors inside the chicken. Then salt and pepper the cavity. Throw in your lemon wedges, garlic, and herbs. Then you'll need to truss the chicken. (Click here for a video showing you how to do that) Once trussed, grab that softened butter and give the chicken a good rub down all over. Liberally sprinkle the buttered surface with salt and pepper, and place the bird breast side up in a roasting pan.

I like to have some sort of root veggies cooking along with the chicken, so I found some yellow creamy new potatoes, chopped them in quarters, tossed in olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme. I put them in the pan surrounding the chicken, and added a splash of white wine. Sounds weird, but trust me on this, it's a great step not to miss.

Roast the chicken in your 425° until the skin is golden brown and the juices run clear when pierced, and that took me about an hour and a half. If you're not sure, use a thermometer and the breast should read at 180° and the thigh should be 190°.

As tempting as it may seem to cut right into that chicken, WAIT. Let that beautiful bird sit for 10-15 minutes so the juices have time to re-distribute throughout the chicken. This is a mistake many people make after cooking meat and they wonder why it's dry. Remember this step!

Slice and enjoy, and turn your leftover chicken into a delicious chicken salad the next day :)

Recipe was from Martha Stewart's Cooking School, which I HIGHLY recommend if you're a new or semi-pro home cook!

Easy Grilled Pizza

2009-10-13T20:37:00.003-04:00

Recently, a close friend invited me over to visit while she was housesitting. She warned me before I got there, that the kitchen was something of dreams. Well I didn't believe it until I saw it for myself.

Walking into the kitchen, my mouth dropped and I started to drool. DUAL OVENS. GAS COOKTOP. WALK IN PANTRY. Be still my heart. And what's even sadder is that most people that have kitchens like this don't even COOK IN THEM. For shame.

Well I decided to put it to good use. I was inspired by my gal pal Ina Garten to make a grilled pizza. It turned out so perfect and it honestly was so simple!

Things you'll need:

Package of pizza dough from your supermarket (mine sells it in the bakery)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Toppings of your choice

Preheat your grill to a medium-high heat. Make sure your grill is clean, because you'll be placing the pizza directly onto it.

Prep your dough by letting it sit out for an hour before using, giving it time to rise. Once the hour is up, shape into individual sizes.

Place it down on the grill. Cook for 1 minute on the 1st side. While it's cooking, brush the uncooked side with EVOO.

Flip the bread over and start to layer on your toppings. I used tomato sauce, caramelized onions, pepperoni, fresh buffalo mozzerella, and fresh basil. Cover grill for 5 minutes to let cheese melt. Remove and enjoy!

I tried it for my mom's birthday the following week and expiremented with pizza toppings. The crowd favorite was the BBQ chicken pizza made with caramelized onions, leftover roast chicken, cheddar cheese, and BBQ sauce.

The Hills are Alive.... with the Sound of Americans

2009-08-19T12:07:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to share some pictures from our Sound of Music Tour today in Salzburg!

Across this lake is the back of the house they used in the movie, many scenes were filmed here, including the children coming out of the lake!

The famous "16 Going on 17" Gazebo! One of my absolute favorite scenes in this movie! They had the doors locked and you can't get in :( I wanted to leap from bench to bench like Leisl did in the movie!

The inside of the church where Maria and Captain Von Trapp got married, it's so beautiful inside!

The Pegasus fountain that Maria and the children march around while singing Do Re Mi

The stairs that Maria and the children hopped up and down in the ending of Do Re Mi

Apologies!

2009-08-17T19:14:00.003-04:00

So sorry for the lack of updates, my wi-fi locations have not been available as I once thought. Right now I'm writing this from Munich, Germany and we're having such a great time!

I'll just update with a few pictures for now, just so you can see what I've been up to. We had two great days in Gothenburg, a night out in Stockholm, and we're on our way to Salzburg tomorrow!

Stockholm Day 4

2009-08-13T04:32:00.002-04:00

Tuesday morning, we woke up and Joakim told us that he would take us to a bigger grocery store to do some of our shopping for our American dinner, since we may not find what we need at his local store. He said that "It's just around the corner, not that far" Well, 45 minutes later we were still walking around, and happened to be in the same spot that Jennah and I were at playing on the playground on Sunday! Joakim was so excited to find this huge hill with stairs and stuff, so he's like "There's an observatory on top, let's go explore!!!" Um, let me think. I've got a dress on. With sandals. Not necissarily climbing/exercising clothes at all. After a little huffing and puffing, we all finally made it to the top, and we were rewarded with such a wonderful view. I guess the few minutes of pain was worth it in the end. All of a sudden, we felt drops of rain, so we headed down to the grocery store.

The grocery store was an adventure in itself. We partly had a menu planned out with some things we wanted to make, so Joakim helped us find what we needed. I had orginally wanted to make some BBQ pulled pork, but pork is really expensive in Sweden, so we settled for BBQ chicken breasts. We purchased a huge block of cheese from the huge cheese section, they are VERY into cheese here. We couldn't find a good cheddar, so we had to settle with a white traditional Swedish cheese. This cheese would end up going into the baked mac and cheese. We headed over to the other side of the Dairy section to pick up some butter and heavy cream, because hey, nothing screams American like a pound of butter and a gallon of cream, right?

Stockholm Day 3

2009-08-12T07:14:00.006-04:00

When I woke up, I had a momentary freak out, because I forgot where I was at this point. Just a little early morning confusion! After I had shuffled sleepily into the kitchen we fixed a great breakfast of Special K Dark Chocolate and Strawberries.... something they don't have in the States but is seriously yummy. We even sliced a few fresh strawberries to put on top for an extra boost of deliciousness. I sat down with a mud of hot tea and the girls and I planned out our day of shopping. Ange wanted to find some walking shoes, so that was the mission of the day.

We headed back to the Central Station area to check out some more of the shops in the area. We went in all kinds of great little and big stores! It's crazy because the stores are multi-level and you have no idea what is on each floor. Bottom level could be accessories, shoes, basically anything. We just keep cracking up at the insane fashions here. I keep pretending to be the Fashion Patrol and take pictures of the out there fashions.

The girls and I stopped for lunch at a Thai Buffet called Pong on Drottning Gatan. They had some great choices like Pad Thai, Coconut Chicken Curry, Spring Rolls, Chili Chicken, glass noodles, and some great shrimp wontons. Included in the price of our meal were big bottles of icy cold water that was so refreshing to us after walking around the stuffy stores downtown.We ate our fill, and drank all that delicious water we could before heading back out to the shops.

Ange finally gave in and purchased the 1995 kickback White Keds that everyone seems to be wearing here. They seem really clean and bright compared to everyone else's shoes, haha. When we got back to Joakim's place, he ended up making a taco dinner for us, with help from Daniel. It's great having a Taco Bar for dinner because it's very socialble and we had a lot of fun sitting around the table chatting about everything in general.

The girls and I got all cleaned up and we went out to Gamla Stan to go out to a lounge/bar. Since it was only a Monday night, the place was not that crowded. We still made it a fun time and had a blast while enjoying a few drinks. We got back to the flat and called it a night. The next night we would be hosting our All American Dinner.

Stockholm Day 2

2009-08-10T19:28:00.003-04:00

Day two, we sleepily awoke to the sound of my iPhone alarm. Gathering the stuff we threw around the place in the few hours we were there, we put our luggage into some lockers and head out to go shopping. We stopped for a bite of breakfast at our supermarket, I got a chocolate croissant and Jennah got a cheese danish... so yum!

We started walking around this quaint little neighborhood, which was great because it was a Sunday and you'd see families just heading out to have a little fun. Sitting in cafes with the morning paper, some coffee, and some pastry is how most of them were. We stopped in a gorgeous park just to enjoy the weather and sunshine, and watched some kids play on the playground..... even big kids get to play sometimes too :)

After our little break, we hopped back on the metro to the Central Station area where we found the huge shopping area of Stockholm. Stores galore! Topshop, H&M, fantastic shoes, makeup, accessories, and we even found a vintage store! The vintage store had mannequins outside dressed up in different color schemes.... Jennah told me to check out the one dressed in all orange. I looked up and what do I see? A FLORIDA GATORS visor sitting on the mannequins head! AH! How cool!!! Who knew that there were Gator fans in Sweden?

After buying some great things in the vintage store, Jennah and I shopped around for a little while longer, and stopped at McDonald's for some lunch. I got the "Italian" burger, which was topped with a basil mayo sauce and arugula!

Full from our tasty lunch, we headed back to our Hostel to go pick up our luggage so we could meet up with Angelina when she flew in from the UK. I was not looking forward to lugging around my 40 pound suitcase again, up and down stairs in the metro. At all. Somehow we made it to our meeting point and had a great greeting with Angelina, and Joakim led us back to his place in the Ostermalm area of Stockholm. Once we made it to his flat, I knew it felt like such a comfy place to be. Gorgeous crown molding, chandeliers in pretty much every room, huge windows letting in that fantastic sunlight. It was Joakim's grandparent's flat and they left it to him when they passed away. The rooms are filled with such interesting pieces from all sorts of different eras. There's a set up table and chairs from the 1800's that is in the sitting room, not to mention there's a framed picture of his grandma shaking hands with the Dali Lama in the living room. We made a short trip to the grocery store, and it was nice to have someone who actually speaks Swedish to tell us what was everything in the store. I picked up a package of lunch meat that I thought was Roast Beef, and it ended up being HORSE MEAT. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? I don't want to eat any HORSE! AH! Joakim got the fixings to make some dinner for us, we had requested Spaghetti and boy it was fantastic! It had some sauteed mushrooms, peppers, carrots, and ground beef. So good to have some home cooked food!

I called it an early night after dinner, I had a pounding headache and went to go sleep it of for a little while. I took a few extra strength Tylenol, and put on my sleeping mask and crashed. Ange and Jennah headed out to a bar with Joakim just to go grab a drink. When they came back, I was feeling a lot better, and we all had sandwiches for a snack. I made mine with smoked salmon and herbed cream cheese on some brown bread. The first real Swedish food I've had!

We all went to bed around 1, knowing we wanted to do a little more shopping in the morning!

Stockholm Day 1

2009-08-09T12:59:00.002-04:00

Arriving at the Stockholm Arlanda Airport at about 11am, Jennah and I hopped on the Arlanda Express to the Central Station here in downtown Stockholm. We followed the directions to get to our hostel and found it with very little effort. Well once we got inside, there was a misunderstanding with the booking, and lucky for us they had a room. Mind you, it was two floors underground, with no windows, and only one bed, they still had a room. So we threw our luggage in there, ready to be rid of it for a little while, and headed out to explore and to grab some lunch.

We hopped on the metro, using our awesome 7 day pass we purchased, we rode the line and got off at Hötorget. As we reached the surface, we were greeted with plenty of fantstic shops and some crazy looking people! The outfits here are unbelieveable, it's like they don't care what kind of outfit they wear! You see people dressed up so great one moment, then another moment looking like they just stepped out of Goodwill. And EVERYONE is wearing like little white Keds sneakers, it's wild. We stopped at a Pizza place to grab some great lunch... I got a ham
and cheese calzone, and it was freshly made and so yum!

After enjoying our pizza and calzones, with an ice cold coke, we proceded to keep walking around the downtown area of the city. It opened up into this beautiful city square and garden area, as well as the waterfront. Listening to a local jazz group peform in the middle of the garden , inhaling the scent of the blooming flowers, hearing a child giggling while being splashed in the fountain, it was kind of real, that I really was in Europe. Work just seems like a million miles away right now, and all that stress I had to deal with last week was so worth it all, just to be here now. It feels so amazing.

So after walking around all afternoon, Jennah and I headed back to our hostel, making a quick pit stop at the grocery store around the corner from our hostel. I grabbed some rotisserie chicken, a bag of chips, and a bottle of water a coke. I've only been here a few days and I'm DYING for a sweet tea. We both crashed at about 9pm, the jet lag finally settling in. We both woke up at around 3am and ended up Skyping my parents for a little bit. Well with our first day done and over with, we know we had to meet up with Angelina the next day!

And so it begins....

2009-08-08T14:03:00.004-04:00

EuroTrip '09 is now underway! We (meaning Jennah and I) began our journey in Jacksonville, where we boarded out plane to head to Philly. After a bit of struggle with her carry on, our nice cabin steward let her keep it as a cabin valet with the strollers and the first class carry on luggage! What a nice man he was! We landed in Philly and were starving so what better way to eat in Philly than by enjoying a Philly Cheesesteak? So Jennah and I split that and a side of fries and it was so scrumptious!

After polishing off that sandwich, we started strolling over to our international gate, only to find them announcing "Last boarding call for Stockholm!" *insert crazy running with a 20lb messenger bag* I can still hear FLAP FLAP FLAP as the bag hits the back of my legs running to the gate. Heck, I'm not suprised that I don't have bruises there today. Entering the plane, I felt like it was such a let down. The plane was a 757 and only had 3 seats to a row, and only two rows. All of the international flights I have ever been on normally have 3 aisles with plenty of room to get up and stretch. On this flight, however, you had to shimmy down the aisle to get to the bathroom, PLUS wait 20 minutes in line for restroom. Oh well.

After we had dinner of some sort of chicken with cream sauce, roasted potatoes, mixed greens, and a chocolate cake, they began to play the in-flight entertainment. Lucky for me, that entertainment was a hot man double feature.... a.k.a. Star Trek. I actually stayed awake for most of the movie, then passed out for the majority of the remainder of the flight.

I awoke to the brightness of daytime in the cabin, plus the sound of people murmuring as they also became awake. They served us breakfast about 30 minutes before we landed, and it was some sort of hot pastry thing with orange marmalade in the middle. I honestly didn't care for it, but I'm not a huge orange marmalade fan to begin with.

I'll begin my 1st day in Stockholm post tomorrow, because it's about 9:30 here and I'm about to pass out. More food and pics to come! :)

Coming soon....

2009-07-28T18:26:00.002-04:00

I know I haven't updated in over a month! I can't believe it.... but I've been really busy with my new side business, check it out here! Every spare moment has been taken up making cake balls for people.

And in other news, I'm leaving for Europe on Friday, August 7th... in a little over a week! I'm planning on updating my blog on a daily basis when I'm over there. I know that I love taking pictures of my food that I eat, and I can't wait to share with everyone! I'll be there from the 7th through the 25th and I'll be visiting Sweden, Germany, and Austria. I am so busy until then, but I can't wait to leave!

Visiting the Farmer's Markets

2009-06-20T17:06:00.002-04:00

With the economy as it is now, more and more people are encouraging to by local products and services, rather than mass produced. Support your local businesses by heading out to your nearest farmer's market! It's a great activity on the weekends, and you're sure to find some of the freshest produce around!

I picked up some peaches, sugarplums, and blueberries at this farmer's market!

Barefoot Blogging: Bonus Recipe Scones!

2009-06-18T14:38:00.003-04:00

I was so thrilled when Em of The Repressed Pastry Chef chose Ina’s Cranberry Orange Scones for this month's Barefoot Blogging Bonus Recipe Challenge. I know that my house is a huge fan of scones, so this was a great treat to share with my mom and grandmother for breakfast.

I wanted to change the recipe by substituting the dried cranberries for dried strawberries. I kept the orange zest in and WOW that gave such a wonderful flavor to these yummy scones!

My only issue was how sticky the dough was to work with. Living in Florida in June with a 300% humidity and 100 degree temperatures outside makes it hard to make these scones. I know I must have put the dough back in the fridge a few times to keep it cool.

I finally got them looking like real scones and the final result was a flaky pastry that had bursts of orange and sweet bites of strawberries. A great choice!

Barefoot Backtracking: Pesto, Peas, and Pasta!

2009-06-11T19:17:00.003-04:00

Since I seemed to be lacking the ingredients for the Curried Cous Cous chosen by Ellyn of Recipe Collector and Tester, I decided to utilize the "Barefoot Backtracking" option and go for a recipe that I wasn't able to particapte in since I just joined in March! I scanned the past recipes page and I heard the "DING!" go off in my head when I saw the Pesto and Peas Pasta salad.

Being that I live in Florida, I enjoy going to the beach on my days off. I normally go with a group of friends, and we take turns making lunch. I made this recipe so that it can withstand being in a cooler all day at the beach or outside at a summer picnic. Since I was making this for an entree, I roasted some chicken in the oven Ina style, with rib-in chicken breasts. It really does give the chicken great flavor and keeps the moisture in!

Making this dish was very simple, and easy enough for kids to assist with! You can make it with the pasta of your choice. I went for the swirly noodles because they are so whimisical and fun to look at. Cook and drain the pasta and toss in a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Set aside until cool.

I had some frozen peas stashed in the freezer, so I took them and boiled them in salted water for 2 minutes, and drained and shocked in an ice bath to retain the vivid green color. Put your cooled pasta and peas into a mixing bowl and add 5-6 tablespoons of prepared pesto (I find it in a jar in the refridgerated pasta section!), and about 1/2 cup of grated parmesean, and 2 tablespoons of toasted pine nuts. Toss until combined, add more pesto as needed! This would also be the time to add the chopped chicken breasts. Serve and enjoy!

Barefoot on a Budget: Bruschetta with Sautéed Sweet Pepper and Creamy Gorgonzola

2009-05-30T23:22:00.003-04:00

So one of our newer challenges at Barefoot Bloggers is the "Barefoot on a Budget" challenge. We take a Barefoot Contessa recipe that has some ingredients that are on the more expensive side, and make them affordable to make.

This month's recipe was Bruschetta with Sautéed Sweet Pepper and Creamy Gorgonzola

I was working against the daylight so I didn't get a chance to make a step-by step post about it but it's a very easy appetizer!

For a shortcut I found a bag of grilled peppers in the frozen veggie section at Super Target. I sauteed them in a pan with a bit of olive oil and leftover roasted garlic. After about 7 minutes, I sprinkled in a teaspoon of sugar to help them caramelize them even more. I also added a teaspoon of drained capers and a sprinkle of chopped basil. Cook this for another 3-5 minutes.

While your peppers are cooking, now is the time to prep your bread. I just thinly sliced a baguette, brushed the slices with olive oil, and put them in the toaster oven for 2 minutes, or until light brown. Once the bread is done, top each slice with a bit of the peppers,and add a few sprinkles of crumbled Gorgonzola. Put this back in the toaster oven for another 1 or 2 minutes, until the cheese has melted. Enjoy!

French Chocolate Macarons

2009-05-25T15:01:00.005-04:00

There's a reason why Paris is my favorite city in the world. Not for the famous artwork, the Eiffel Tower, or the Champs Elysee. It's because of the food. The wondrous food. Pastries especially. Last summer, as my friends and I were walking through the Jardin de Tuleries on our way to the Louvre, we noticed a pastry shoppe in the park. Its name was Paul. Just glancing in the glass window, my heart stopped and it was love at first sight. I saw a beautiful chocolate confection sitting there looking scrumptious and so tempting. Without thinking twice, I forked over my 4 Euros and they handed me my chocolate goodie. Well this goodie was a chocolate macaron.

Most Americans think of a macaroon as a coconut type cookie dipped in chocolate. French macarons are like a cookie that's crisp on the outside, and chewy on the inside. Many pastry shops in Paris are very well known for their Macarons, including Pierre Herme and Laduree. I believe that Laduree was responsible for making all of the delicious looking pastries in the Marie Antoinette movie!

One of my favorite food bloggers would have to be Tartlette. I could honestly spend hours looking at her perfection in baked goods. She is one of the people that have inspired me to take better food pictures and also inspired me to attempt to make these chocolate macaroons. The recipe I used is here and it made about a dozen filled macarons. Enjoy and Bon Appetit!

Barefoot Blogging: Lemon Cake

2009-05-24T19:41:00.002-04:00

One of the bonus recipes for this month's Barefoot Bloggers challenge was Lemon Cake chosen by McKenzie of Kenzie’s Kitchen! I ended up making this, and since it made two loaves I kept one at home and left one at the house. It was gone within a day!

The cake was like a cross between a pound cake and a regular cake. Not heavy, but not light and fluffy. The lemon sugar glaze added just the right bit of tarty sweetness on top. This is a great one for summer picnics!

Barefoot Blogging: Seared Tuna Salad

2009-05-20T00:15:00.001-04:00

Before you don't read this post because you think it's going to be about a regular ol' Tuna Salad, stay with me. Trust me, you'll need to check it out.

This is anything BUT a tuna salad you've ever had in your life. This is not a soggy pile of canned Bumblebee tuna with chopped celery that never fails to overpower it. This is a combination of flavors that does nothing but leave you wanting more after you've had your last bite.

Here's the printable recipe so you can follow along

Here's the ingredients you'll need..... it may look like a lot, but the sauce uses it all.

First up... the tuna. I'm a big fan of fresh tuna, not canned. It may be more expensive but trust me when I say that it's worth it. Seared tuna is like a great steak. It should be rare, and if you overcook it then it's awful.

Let's take a look at this steak and you'll see why you need to make sure you don't overcook it.

Please don't cook this well done. If you even think about it, I'll come and find you and may slap you.

You can sear your tuna as is, but I enjoying taking it to the next level and I like to crust it. It adds an extra crunch and fantastic flavor. I found this wonderful toasted sesame ginger crust at Whole Foods and I'll be using that. I just patted it down all over the tuna, like this

Go to your stove and get a sautee pan searing hot. And I mean HOT. Drizzle in a few tsp of olive oil so your tuna steak won't stick to it.

Add your tuna steak to your amazingly hot pan and cook for ONE MINUTE on each side. I also like to flip it on the sides and cook for about 20 seconds on each side. Take it off the stove and let it set.

While that's resting, let's turn to the dressing and veggies.

We're going to need the zest of a lime. Grab your handy microplane and get to work.

After you're done zesting, we need the juice of it!

*** for those following the recipe, I'm making a different dressing than what's listed!***

Add in 2 TBS of olive oil, 1 TBS of soy sauce, 5 dashes of Tabasco, 1/2 tsp of toasted Sesame oil, 1 tsp of salt and pepper. I found that to balance the tartness of the lime, that a little squeeze of honey balanced it out perfectly.

Whisk this until it is all combined.

I also wanted to kick up the flavor, so I was a naughty girl and added a few drops of Sriacha for an extra bite. Where would I be without Sriacha in my life?

Next up, slice up an avocado and cut it into chunks. Take 1 stalk of scallions and slice it very thin. Then take 1/4 of a red onion and chop it into very fine pieces. Toss this all in the dressing you've made.

Turning back to the tuna. I've cut a few slices just to present it, but then I chopped the rest into cubes.

Ah, yes. Perfection. This is my kind of Tuna Salad. For those that like sushi, it reminds me of a sushi roll minus the rice!

Mother's Day Caprese Salad

2009-05-10T20:53:00.003-04:00

I'm not sure about the rest of you, but my family despises waiting for tables on Mother's Day. Sure, you want to give your mom a break and take her to lunch or dinner, but so does EVERYONE else! So what can you do to remedy that? Why order Carrabba's Catering! We hosted a family get together at my house today, with two family sized orders of Chicken Pollo Rosa Maria and Chicken Parmesan.

With the main dishes ordered, that left us to figure out what sides we would serve alongside this feast. We decided to stick with the Italian theme and made roasted asparagus, roasted broccoli topped with shaved Parmesan, tossed salad, and roasted garlic mashed potatoes.

I decided to throw together one of my favorite Italian salads... a Caprese salad. One of the absolute easiest and tastiest salads you could possibly make. All you need is in season tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil. I seasoned mine with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and some freshly cracked garlic pepper.

If you really want to wow your party guests, then you can artfully arrange it on a nice plate. It's a guaranteed crowd pleaser!

Friday Night Fun

2009-05-06T10:11:00.000-04:00

Picture this. It's a Friday night. You're single. You're at home. What does one do? Why cook mussels of course, who wouldn't do that? Well I finally visited a seafood shop in town that I had been eyeing for awhile but never took the plunge and went in. And I was rewarded with some of the freshest and best priced seafood I've ever seen around town. I quickly snatched up some mussels, already knowing what I'd make with them.

One of my favorite things to order in restaurants is mussels. There's something so special and delicious about those tasty bits cooked in a white wine and herb broth. I always knew that it's be so easy to make at home, so I wanted to give it a go.

Go through your mussels and remove the beard and scrub them really well to remove any dirt. Put them in a bowl of cold water with 1/3 cup of flour. Why flour? Because the mussels will absorb the flour and expel any dirt that still may be in them. Let them soak for 30 minutes, then rinse and drain.

Basically to make the broth, you take about 2 TBS of butter and 2 TBS of olive oil and cook until the butter is melted. Add a half cup of shallots (or very thinly sliced onions if you don't have shallots). Add in a half can of chopped tomatoes, a lot of chopped parsely, two cloves of chopped garlic, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and a few sprigs of thyme. Oh yeah, and a cup of white wine. It's okay to have a swig or two for the chef ;)

Bring this broth to a boil.... and it will smell so amazing by this point. Add your cleaned mussels, and cover with a lid. Cook this over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, until they are all opened. Discard any that did not open. Stir to make sure they don't burn on the bottom. Once finished cooking, pour the mussels and the broth into a big bowl and serve with a crusty piece of bread to soak up that delicious broth. Make sure you have a glass of wine or three for yourself as well!

Barefoot Blogging: Barefoot on a Budget

2009-04-30T16:16:00.003-04:00

So we had a bonus Barefoot Bloggers challenge this month..... and it's Barefoot on a Budget. Basically you have to take one of Ina's recipes that have some pricey ingredients and find a way to make it cheaper. This month's challenge was for Ina's Lobster Cobb Rolls. And I've seen her make this before and my mouth was watering. Watching her chop 2 pounds of freshly cooked lobster was torturing. And then she began adding more of my favorite things in life... avocados, bacon, bleu cheese. This recipe is RIGHT up my alley.

So the other day when I posted my Shrimp Tempura a few posts back, I mentioned that I had 5 lbs of Jumbo Shrimp (isn't that an oxymoron, haha). I had another pound left over to mess around with. I've seen Ina make some Roasted Shrimp for salads and dishes and I've always wanted to try it. I figured it'd be fantastic in this simple salad!

The shrimp was so simple and easy.... season well with salt, pepper, and a bit of garlic pepper. Toss with olive oil and roast in a 400 degree oven for 7 minutes. The shrimp came out perfectly cooked and delicious! So then I chopped them into bite sized pieces and added a few strips of crumbled bacon, 1 chopped avocado, 1 small diced tomato (from my own tomato plant!), and a few shavings of parmesean. I tossed it all in Ina's dijon vinegarette and put it on a plate.

It was so hard taking these photos because I wanted to eat it so badly! :)

I was a busy girl....

2009-04-27T15:02:00.003-04:00

So there's a bake sale for Relay for Life coming up at work, and since people know that I'm a baker they volun-TOLD me that I'd be baking goodies for it.

I've brought in Bakerella's Red Velvet Cake Balls before to rave reviews at work.... I figured they'd be a huge hit at this bake sale. So I decided to make them extra cute and try my hand at Bakerella's Cupcake Bites. In Relay for Life colors.

How can you resist the cute!? It's a mini cupcake!

Here's a platter full of them!

And then I took some more of the cake balls and just did them my regular way... dip and drizzle!

I'll keep you updated on how much we make from this great bake sale! I'll post pictures of all of the baked goods :)

Barefoot Blogging: Croque Monsieur

2009-04-22T18:55:00.005-04:00

WARNING! Extreme cheese overload is ahead!

Just kidding, y'all. Our second Barefoot Blogging Recipe this month would be Croque Monsieurs, chosen by Kathy of All Food Considered. For those that have no idea what it is, then think of it as a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. On crack. It's pronounced "Croak Mon-suer" The literal translation of Croque Monsieur from French to English is "Crunchy Mister". For some this reason, it gives me the giggles thinking of some crunchy french man.

Let's begin making this Crunchy Mister, shall we?

Ingredients

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups hot milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch nutmeg
12 ounces Gruyere, grated (5 cups)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
16 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
Dijon mustard
8 ounces baked Virginia ham, sliced but not paper thin

Turn your oven on to 400 degrees.

Go ahead and stick your cheese in the freezer before you grate it. It makes things MUCH easier when it comes to grating. The Gruyere has a tendency to get soft as it comes to room temperature.

Now we're going to make a sinfully delicious cheese sauce.

Melt your butter in a small saucepan.

Using a spoon, mix in the 3 TBS of flour and cook for 2 minutes to get rid of that flour taste.

Slowly add your 2 cups of hot milk, whisking to avoid lumpy sauce. Whisk and whisk until the sauce has thickened.

Take your sauce off the heat and add your salt, pepper, nutmeg, all of the Parmsean cheese, and 1/2 cup of the shredded Gruyere. Mix until combined. Set aside and we shall begin assembly.

Take your crust-less slices of bread and lay them out on a baking sheet, baking them for 5 minutes, turn them over, and bake for another 2 minutes. They should be toasted when they come out.

Lightly spread the dijon mustard on all of the toasted bread. Add a slice of ham to 8 of the slices.Sprinkle 1/2 of the remaining Gruyere cheese over the ham slices. Oh yeah. This will be good.

Top the ham and cheese with another piece of toasted bread.

Slather each of the tops with the sinful cheese sauce.

Top with the remaining shredded cheese.

Bake these sandwiches for 5 minutes, then turn on the broiler and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and light brown.

I served these with sliced green apples, because I love that tart crunch with the salty cheese, it's perfection.

If you need the printable recipe, then please click here! :)

Not so lazy Sundays....

2009-04-20T08:05:00.004-04:00

So yesterday I got to head out to the Kingsley Plantation for a photoshoot with a co-worker, and while I was out and about on that side of town, I remembered a GREAT seafood shop with cheap prices and the freshest seafood out there. So I ended up picking up 5 pounds of this huge Mayport Shrimp for only $25. Knowing my family loves fried shrimp, I picked up some tempura batter and some tempura mix on the way home.

Then I had the brilliant idea to slice some hearty garlic pickles and dip them in the tempura batter. Fried pickles are one of my new favorite things in life.

Nothing too fancy with my pictures this time, I was eating my food too fast to plate it, haha!

And my "outdoor office" for the day.... I was excited to find out that my wireless works out on our back patio! So I took advantage of the fantastic weather and set up shop outside!

Beatty's Chocolate Cake

2009-04-15T16:05:00.003-04:00

If I didn't have to put this in a baking contest this afternoon, I'd already be eating my 4th slice of this cake. That intoxicating smell of chocolate cake baking, along with a little taste of homemade chocolate buttercream icing has my tastebuds ready to go. Look how pretty it looks! I know it's not perfect, but hey it's supposed to be homemade, not professional!

It's got a little coffee in the batter as well as in the frosting, and it's just enough to enhance that chocolate flavor and send it over the edge. When making it, it's going to look like a REALLY wet batter, but trust me on this it'll be okay. I actually baked it in 3 pans so I can have some great looking layers when it's cut!

If you're looking for the recipe, then please click here! It's pretty easy to do, I promise!

I'll keep you updated if I actually win this contest or not!

Exciting things!

2009-04-14T19:47:00.003-04:00

I'm back from a wonderfully fun Birthday trip to Disney, where I got to let myself be fun and fancy free. Now I'm back in the real world, but with a new fun toy I got for my birthday.... my parents lovingly got me a new MacBook! This is my first expedition into the Mac world and I'm super excited to start really using it!

And I'm baking my favorite chocolate cake recipe tomorrow for a contest at work... Beatty's Chocolate Cake from Ina Garten. This is some seriously delicious eats. I'm tempted to make two so I can have one at home and bring one to work!

So stay tuned for pictures!

In the mean time, please enjoy this picture I found and instantly fell in love with.

Barefoot Blogging: Chinese Chicken Salad

2009-04-06T10:43:00.003-04:00

I'm posting this early because I'll be out of town through next Sunday... I'm going to Disney World for my Birthday! Yay!

Our first recipe for April is Ina's Chinese Chicken Salad chosen by Kenzie of McKenzie's Kitchen. I am shocked to say that I haven't actually seen Ina make this yet, I guess I haven't caught that episode yet. But this recipe is utilizing some spring veggies and you can totally make this your own by adding what veggies you'd like or what you have on hand.

All I'm saying is that you NEED to make this and bring it to a party this spring or summer. It's a wonderful variation of the usual chicken salad made with Mayo. You can actually bring this to a picnic and no one will get sick if it's outside!

Ingredients

4 split chicken breasts (bone-in, skin-on)
Good olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound asparagus, ends removed, and cut in thirds diagonally
1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded
2 scallions (white and green parts), sliced diagonally
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, toasted

For the dressing:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup good apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon peeled, grated fresh ginger
1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat your oven to 350 while you season the chicken breasts. Rub the outside skin liberally with olive oil, and season very well with salt and pepper. Remember you'll be removing the skin after it cooks so you want as much flavor as possible to get into the breast meat. Cook these for 30-40 minutes until the flesh is no longer pink.

While the chicken is cooking, you'll want to prep your veggies and make the dressing. Let's start with the Red Pepper. Slice it in half and rip out the core and seeds.

Slice these into thin strips, and then slice the strips in half. I'm not a fan of huge chunks of red pepper.

The asparagus is a little trickier. You'll need to slice them into 3rd. Check out the red lines.

Then we're going to put them in boiling well-salted water for 3-4 minutes. They should still have a little bite to them.

After they are fulled blanched, then shock them in an ice water bath. This helps stop the cooking process and lets the asparagus keep it's lovely green color.

Then we're going to slice some green onions. Ina says to cut them in thirds like the asparagus, but I say nay to that. I only like cooked green onions that big. So I did it in small chopped bits.

And here we've got all of our sliced veggies ready to go!

Next up.... the sauce. It's pretty simple. Just add all of the ingredients and whisk until combined!

What's that smell? Oh yes... the roasted chicken. This is my first time trying Ina's method of chicken. Otherwise I'd stick the boneless, skinless breasts in the oven and do it that way. Well let's see how they turned out...

WELL NOW! That looks pretty great!!! Once it's cool enough to handle, peel the skin off and strip off the breast meat with a fork. You should have nice big edible chunks.

I was naughty and mixed the chicken pieces in with those juices on the sheet pan. Hey, Ina's all about the extra flavor!

So now all you need to do is grab a big bowl and mix all parts of your salad together. Chicken, veggies, dressing. I only added half of the dressing at first. And it turned out great. Once mixed, top with sesame seeds (and I added edamame!)

And as always, if you'd like a printable copy of this recipe, then please click here!

Spinach and Cheese Manacotti

2009-03-31T14:12:00.002-04:00

My mom takes advantage of the fact that I am off on Fridays. So on those days I'm in charge of dinner. This week she had bought some manacotti shells at the store, so I used that as my inspiration for my Spinach and Cheese Manacotti.

I really didn't use a recipe or anything for it, I just went off what I knew. Here's what I used.

Filling:
1 32oz Container of Ricotta Cheese
1 package of chopped frozen spinach (thawed and liquid squeezed out)
1 tsp chopped rosemary
1 tsp chopped thyme
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup shredded parmesean cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzerella cheese
2 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and fill into cooked manacotti tubes. You may need to make it fit into 2 9x13 pans. Top with 2 cups of shredded Mozzerella cheese ( or any cheese of your choice). Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, taking the foil off for the last 5 minutes so the cheese doesn't burn.

Enjoy!

Barefoot Blogging: Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts

2009-03-26T09:28:00.000-04:00

Anne of Anne Strawberry chose Tomato and Goat Cheese tarts for our last March recipe. Excellent choice if I do say so myself!

Okay. I'm going to admit something. I'm not a huge Goat Cheese fan. I can take it in small doses, but just eating slices with crackers? Forget it. I'd rather have a big hunk of Feta or Bleu cheese any day.

Trying the herbed goat cheese with this recipe made me actually enjoy it more, savoring it with the caramelized onions and the juicy tomatoes. This was a pretty easy recipe to make and the results look simply fantastic! These would be great for a bunch or for a wedding shower party. Ready for instructions... here we go!

Ingredients

1 package (17.3 ounces/2 sheets) puff pastry, defrosted

Good olive oil

4 cups thinly sliced yellow onions (2 large onions)

3 large garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons dry white wine

2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves

4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan, plus 2 ounces shaved with a vegetable peeler

4 ounces garlic-and-herb goat cheese (recommended: Montrachet)

1 large tomato, cut into 4 (1/4-inch-thick) slices

3 tablespoons julienned basil leaves

Crap. I forgot to put the goat cheese in the family photo. Please forgive me.

Go ahead and preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

First you're going to want to take your defrosted Puff Pastry and roll it out to 11 inches by 11 inches.

You're going to cut two 6 inch circles from this piece of pastry. Please don't mind my ghetto pastry cutter... this is the only thing in my kitchen that's 6 inches in diameter, haha.

Once you've cut them out, place them on a sheet of parchment paper on a sheet pan. Only put two pastry circles per sheet pan. Throw them in the fridge until it's time to work with them later.

Now... on to the really good stuff.

Take your two onions and remove the skins. Slice in half by slicing through the root. We want nice thin slivers. So cut the onions into slivers like this. You're going to do the same thing with your three cloves of Garlic!

Next up, put 3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil in your sautee pan and then throw in your thinly sliced onions and garlic.

Sautee this mixture for about 15-20 minutes until your onions are limp and there is no moisture left in the pan. After this, you're going to add the 1/4 tsp of Pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of Salt, the 3 Tablespoons of White Wine, and the 2 tablespoons of Thyme. Like this... ( can you already see how delicious those onions look?!)

Cook this mixture for another 10 minutes and then remove from heat.

At this point, go to the fridge and grab your pastry circles.... Using a paring knife, score a 1/4 inch border around each of the pastry circles.

Then take a fork and prick the pastry that's inside of that scored line.

Take 1 tablespoon of your grated parmesean cheese and lovingly sprinkle it on each pastry round, staying inside of the scored line.

Take 1/4 of your caramelized onion mixture and spread it out on top of that parmesean cheese

Crumble an ounce of your goat cheese on top of the onions...

Place a slice or two of tomato on the center of each tart and brush with a little bit of olive oil. Then sprinkle with salt and pepper and sliced basil.

Take your block of parmesean cheese and make 4 or 5 shavings per tart. I use my veggie peeler to make the shavings

Oh man. This looks like a pizza. A delicious tasting pizza. My mouth is watering already and it's not even in the oven yet!!!

Since I don't want to eat uncooked pastry dough, I unwillingly put these in the oven for 20 to 25 miutes, until the pastry is golden brown. And look what came out..... OH MY HEAVENS.

I hope you'll try these for a party.... they are seriously delicious. And if you're not a goat cheese fan, I bet thin slices of mozzarella or crumbled feta would be just as yum on this!

If you're looking for a printable version, just click here!

Barefoot Blogging: Brownie Pudding

2009-03-21T10:33:00.003-04:00

Once again, I must sing praises for my friend Tia at Southern, Eh? for choosing Ina Garten's Brownie Pudding for one of this month's Barefoot Blogging recipies.

Well I tried a bit of it and I think the heavens opened and the angels sang. This pudding is crispy on top and the edges like a brownie, and the inside is gooey like a molten lava cake. Well HELLO lover, this is such an easy recipe to make and so delicious. I need you to make it for the next event you have.

It serves quite a few people, or one with a lonely heart. I can see myself curling up with the entire dish of this and the 6 Hour BBC version of Pride and Prejudice.

Ingredients

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus extra for buttering the dish
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup good cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean
1 tablespoon framboise liqueur, optional
Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Add your 2 cups of sugar and 4 eggs into your mixer

Mix these on a medium speed for 5-7 minutes until pale yellow and thick, like this.

While that's mixing, take your Flour and Cocoa and sift together.

Add the sifted mixture to the Egg/Sugar combination.

Mix until just combined and add in your 2 sticks of Melted Butter....mmmmm butter.

And mix again until just combined. It should be a yummy looking batter like this. Without a doubt, I WILL be licking the beaters. Don't watch!

Pour this sinful chocolate mixture into a greased or buttered (I used Baker's Joy) round 9x13x2 pan. Bake this at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Serve this with vanilla bean ice cream and a dollop of whipped cream if you're being fancy. Please take a moment to grab a napkin because you're about to start drooling....

If you'd like a printable copy of this recipe please click here. I'm off to go jog 4 miles to burn off all of this butter and sugar! :)

Barefoot Blogging : Chicken Piccata

2009-03-12T01:51:00.001-04:00

My friend Tia has a great blog called Southern, Eh? and I noticed while surfing her blog, that she is a member of the Barefoot Bloggers group. Well knowing my love for Ina Garten and her recipes, I had no choice but to sign up!

So the first recipe for this month is Chicken Piccata. I've actually have the episode that Ina makes this on, so I was lucky to be able to refer to that while I was making this. Ina went all out and served it with buttermilk mashed potatoes, roasted onions, and an apple-pear crisp. I just served it by it's lonesome little self, but it'd be great with a mixed salad. Let's see how to make it....

Ingredients

2 split (1 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 extra-large egg
1/2 tablespoon water
3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
Good olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), lemon halves reserved
1/2 cup dry white wine
Sliced lemon, for serving
Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for serving

First things first, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. This is so we can keep the chicken warm while you're fixing the sauce.

Since we want the chicken to cook evenly and much faster, we're going to pound the breasts. Give them a mammogram! Place the breast in between sheets of wax or parchment paper. Grab your rolling pin, or whatever you've got on hand and get mashing! You're going to want them to be anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.

Next up it's time for a breading bath. Please don't judge me for using my Chinese takeout plastic wear. They are so handy. And I'm cheap. In seprate bowls, I've put 1/2 cup of flour seasoned w/ salt and pepper, an egg whisked with 1/2 TBS of water, and the 3/4 cup of bread crumbs. Look how lovely.

Pick up the breast and dip on both sides in each of the containers. The flour makes sure it's dry enough, and the egg helps the bread crumbs to bind to it while cooking. Make sure you shake off any excess... that's right... SHAKE YOUR BREASTS! WOO HOO! *shimmies*

Next up, you're going to want to pour about 2 TBS of your olive oil into a pan.

Then place your chicken in the heated oil and cook for 2 minutes on each side.

Once throughly cooked, remove and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put in your pre-heated oven to keep warm while preparing the delicious lemony sauce that will get poured on this crispy chicken.

I love that this is a one-pan dish! Simply wipe out the same pan you just cooked the chicken in and add 1TBS of butter, the lemon juice, and wine. Then add in the salt and pepper. While you're at it.... toss in those lemon halves you saved while juicing those lemons. ( For those that cheated and used bottled juice... I won't tell) Cook this until it's reduced by half, which should be about 2-3 minutes.

And since this IS an Ina recipe, we're going to make this sauce extra delicious by adding an additional 2TBS of butter once the sauce has reduced. When adding, make sure you swirl it in the pan to combine.

Discard those lemons, for they've done all the flavoring they can do. Remove your chicken from the oven, and plate it. Scoop up some of that scrumptious sauce you just made and drizzle it over your chicken....mmmmm...

Garnish with chopped parsley and slices of lemon!

Now you can honestly make all kinds of variations of this.... I for one next time would only use 1 lemon for the sauce, as when I tasted it, it was VERY strong. If you want to cut through the sourness, you could also add a TBS or two of drained capers. A handful of Parmesan cheese would be extra delicious in this as well!

If you'd like to check out a printable version of this recipe, here is is.

Check back this month... I've got 3 more recipes to try this month. Sauteed Broccolini, Brownie Pudding, and Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts. I guess that means I need to go sweat at the gym some more, don't I?

An Afternoon at Whole Foods

2009-03-07T10:56:00.001-05:00

Ah, Whole Foods. Or as other people refer to it as "Whole Paycheck". We finally got one here in Jacksonville in December, and ever since it opened, I have forked over parts of my paycheck on a weekly basis.

The moment you walk in, you're greeted by the floral and veggie departments and you feel welcome. The produce is beautifully displayed and arranged, and bascially screams at you to "pick me pick me! I'm good for you!" Walking around the produce you see so many new and interesting items that you have only seen on maybe The Food Network.... dried chiles, rappini, aloe leaf, cactus leaves, bitter oranges, and so much more. I ended up selecting some Broccolini for my Barefoot Bloggers challenge, some dried Chipolte peppers for making enchiladas this week, some Meyer lemons, tomatoes on the vine ( I was sad to see they were out of the big Heriloom tomatoes), some hydroponic Basil, and some fresh garlic.

Since I wasn't really there for grocery shopping, I decided to grab some lunch while I was there. And at Whole Foods, you can get anything under the sun. No matter if you're craving Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Italian, Vegetarian, American, the honestly have it all. I happen to LOVE their marinated Feta cheese from the cold bar section, as well as their marinated artichoke hearts. I was looking at all of the other salads they had available, and they had a fantastic looking Broccoli salad with cashews.... well I just had to try it as well. I scurried over to check out the selections on the hot bar, and they had just brought out a gigantic pan of 3 Cheese Lasagna. Looking at that melty cheese and bubbling sauce, I couldn't resist. I also selected a few meatless meatballs just to try them.

I go to pay for my goods and go to their "cafe" seating area. It's light, spacious, airy, and a perfect place to enjoy your selctions. Whole Foods was so smart to put a seating area in so that you can go shopping, or just come in and eat.

So I will still continue to have myself pulled into the magical world that is Whole Foods week after week. The possibilites are endless. Now if only they brought an IKEA to Jacksonville, my life would be complete. I'd be broke, but at least I'd be happy!

Ina's Herb Baked Eggs

2009-02-22T11:24:00.000-05:00

So I have a confession. I love Ina Garten. I love her simple and no-fuss style of cooking. She makes food that is delicious, gorgeous, and best of all, easy! I TiVo her every day, and I have 65 episodes currently saved. Out of all of my cookbooks that I have, I can honestly say that I reach for hers the most.

I've been meaning to try a recipe that I saw in her "Barefoot in Paris" book a few months ago. It's a recipe for herbed baked eggs, made with fresh herbs and parmesean cheese. It looked simple enough for a Sunday brunch for myself, so I decided to give it a whirl today.

Some things you'll need:
Shredded parmesean cheese
Herbs (I used parsley, chives, rosemary and chopped garlic)
Heavy Cream
Butter
Eggs (duh!)

Go ahead and turn your broiler on and set the top rack about 6 inches away from it.

First you'll need to crack your eggs into a bowl, taking care not to puncture the yolk. You won't be cooking them in this.

Next, you'll need to take 1 tsp of butter and 1TBS of cream and put them in the ramekin you'll be cooking your eggs in. Pop that in the broiler for 3 minutes so it can get melted and bubbly.

Next you'll be mixing about 1.5 TBS of Parmesean cheese, a sprinkle of each of the herbs, as well as a sprinkle of salt and pepper into a bowl. This will be your topping for your eggs.

After the 3 minutes in the broiler, take out the butter/cream mixture. Carefully pour the eggs into the ramekin and sprinkle your cheese/herb mixture over your eggs. Put back under the broiler for 5-6 minutes. After that, remove from the oven and let set for 1 minute. This is best served with some toast, because who wouldn't want to dip their toast into this delicious mixture? It's a wonderful breakfast, full of flavor. And it only took about 15 mintues, MAX.

As Ina would say, doesn't THAT look good?

Even though I'm a non-believer.... Happy Valentine's

2009-02-12T16:39:00.001-05:00

Well technically I abhor Valentine's Day, but I love all the sweets that come with it. I normally spoil my co-workers with some great treats and since some of them won't be here on Saturday, I decided to bring them in on Thursday.

What kind of goodies are here you may ask? Let's see.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese icing:
I cheat and use the red velvet mix from a box, God Bless Duncan Hines! But the cream cheese icing is so easy enough to make, and it tastes SO much better when it's homemade!

All you need is:
1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened

1 16oz box of powdered sugar

2 tsp Vanilla extract

Add all ingredients and mix until smooth and creamy!

And the next treat for your enjoyment would be.....

Red Velvet Cake Balls, Bakerella style.

And last but certainly not least we have:

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

I hope you all enjoyed these Valentine goodies, and if you love or hate the holiday, please make them!!!

Accomplished!

2009-01-11T23:05:00.001-05:00

UPDATE! I've been blogged about!!! OMG! I feel so proud! I was featured on Unclutterer as the Workspace of the Week!

Check it out here!!!!

For the past two weekends, I've tackled a project each Sunday. Last Sunday was getting my closet organized. This Sunday it was all about getting my desk organized. I get angry when I can't find something I'm looking for. My desk was a combination of magazine/mail/general clutter. And with me trying to get into this whole photography and Etsy shop deal, I needed a clean, organized workspace.

So then I started browsing through Pottery Barn's website to get inspired. I already have a great desk to begin with, and I just needed a little guidance on what to do. I thought about what I had already, organizing wise, so I wouldn't have to go out and spend any more than I honestly needed to. Something I knew that I needed was a new printer stand. I had this older busted file cabinet with absolutely no storage space for my things. It needed to have storage drawers as well as room for files. My desk currently has space for drop files. I've never used them for that. They've had crap like binders and junk mail in them for the past few years. Taking all of this into consideration, I got to work.

I had to sort through the entire pile of junk first. I had receipts from electronics from 2004, ones I didn't even have anymore! I found old car papers, random photos, high school essays. Seriously? Why do I even have this anymore?! I ended up throwing out 2 huge paper bags full, not to mention the documents I shredded.

The after...... is so worth it. It's pleasing to the eye, I feel like I can actually get some work done here. My things are so neatly organized and laid out. So now I present you with some before and after shots !

I've got that itch....

2008-11-20T15:37:00.000-05:00

The time has come to plan my next Europe Trip. This time the theme is simplicity. Not trying to cram 7 cities into 15 days. I want to go to places I've not been to. Here's where I'm thinking of going.

Italy- Tuscany and Venice
France- Nice, Marsailles, Aix-en-Provence
Spain - Barcelona
Czech Republic- Prague
Germany- Berlin, Frankfurt
Austria- Vienna
Scotland- Edinburg

I'm wanting to go sometime in late summer or early fall. Time shall see.

Say hello to my new friend.

2008-10-09T14:08:00.000-04:00

So I did it. I took the plunge. Right now I have a Canon XSi D-SLR camera on its way to me. I keep thinking of the possibilities of things I'm going to do with it and I get all kinds of tingly. I have been reading some wonderful blogs about Food Photography lately and they have some tricks and tips on using different settings to getting the best shot out of it.

So if you're one of my friends that wants a few photos done... I'm willing to do them for no cost so I can have a portfolio :) Just let me get used to it and we're on!

I'm in love.

2008-09-30T14:35:00.000-04:00

I have a new love in my life.

I made the plunge yesterday and got an iPhone. Some of the best money I've ever spent. This phone is so easy to use and by gosh, it does anything and everything. Everyone has seen the commercials for the "App Store" and with just a tap of the screen, you can get a new game, program, news site, or anything you'd like on your phone.

I added some great applications... and the best part is that they were free!

Facebook - this is awesome! I like it better than on my computer!
Pandora Radio - it streams just like it does on the web... I can put on my earbuds and listen to the Michael Buble channel all day :D
NYT - I get the latest news articles right on my phone!
Youtube- just a click away and I have anything on Youtube at my fingertips!

Other than having a gorgeous 3.5 inch touch screen display, this phone is honestly the most user friendly phone. Even my technologically ignorant mother would be able to work this phone.

Yum.

2008-09-05T14:46:00.000-04:00

Sesame peanut noodles anyone?? The recipe I did made a TON of it... so I stashed it in the fridge, they are even better cold!

Fresh red pepper slices, snow pea pods, scallions, and bean sprouts tossed with a peanut/sweet chili sauce with whole wheat noodles.

sings These are a few of my favorite things...

2008-08-29T20:30:00.000-04:00

So I was making cupcakes for a friend's birthday celebration tonight and wanted to do an artsy display for photo taking purposes. Enjoy!!

My next big purchases.

2008-08-23T11:43:00.000-04:00

I've decided that I want to invest in a Digital SLR camera. Somewhere along the lines of a Canon Digital Rebel XTi or a Nikon D40. Photography is something that I want to take more seriously. I've already looked into taking some photography classes out by the beaches.

After that I'm going to be a really good girl and save some more and purchase a MAC computer. I think I want a laptop, since I already have a desktop computer that does a good job. I want to see if my parents will go half with me as a Christmas present... they did that for me last time.

Also.... I am feeling kind of low right now. I need some excitement. I can't stay home on Friday nights.... I feel so lame when I do that.

Things you'll need..

2008-07-28T12:24:00.000-04:00

I'm going to list some items that are my summer necessities. Things that make me have a happy summer :)

1. Tinted Moisturizer. It's light, doesn't clog my skin and gives me great coverage. Sometimes when I wear ONLY mineral foundation it looks blotchy when I get sweaty. This prevents it!

2. Degree Clinical protection. Seriously. No pit stains. EVER. This stuff kept working in 100 degree heat on the 4th of July in Daytona.

3. Spray on sunscreen. No Pool Boy around to rub lotion on your back? This is a great spray-on mist sunscreen that ensures no sunburn... and so easy to reapply. No more sandy sunscreen!

4. Camel Bak sipper water bottle. I love this because you basically bite and suck. I love this at the gym because when I'm getting my work out on the Elliptical machine, I don't have to tip back and spill water down my chin, which I used to do all the time. I looked like the "special" girl on the machines.

5. Twilight. Need a great book for the beach? Look no further than Twilight. This tells the story of a regular gal named Bella Swan that moves from hot, sweltering, sunny Phoenix to the place that gets the most rainfall per year, Forks Washington. She notices a gorgeous boy named Edward Cullen at school. Turns out that he's a vampire. The way Stephenie Meyer writes is addicting, and you'll be begging for the next book after you're finished with this one. There are three more books after Twilight.... New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn (comes out this Saturday!).

I know...

2008-07-12T18:05:00.001-04:00

I'm slacking with my blogging. Full post to come in the next few days. I promise!

Delightfully classy.

2008-06-24T16:33:00.000-04:00

This is someone that I strive to be like in life. If I could just ooze class like she did....

I have a new love in my life.... The Pioneer Woman. She has some of the BEST recipes out there on the internet. Picture instructions, easy recipes , witty humour... I love it all. I've already made her "Crash Hot Potatoes" and topped them with crumbled bacon and cheddar. They are so tasty and a perfect side dish for any meat entree! They would be awesome served with a steak! I plan on trying her other side dishes soon... her asian noodle salad looks so delicious and light for a summer lunch!

Expensive things I can't buy right now.

2008-06-17T16:17:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I get these really lusty urges to get out the debit card and charge away. But I resist temptation. Here's just a few things I'm currently drooling over.

1. Tocca : Cleopatra. ($75.00)This fragrance has notes of pink grapefruit and cucumber. It's so delightfully crisp for summer I want to just prance around and sing when I spritz it.

2. Guerlain KissKiss Lipstick in Beige Strass. ($28.00) This stuff is like the Holy Grail of lipsticks. The staying power is unbelieveable and isn't drying, which is my issue with most lipsticks.

3. Guerlain Meteorites Powder for the Face in Beige Chic. ($51.00) These are little balls with magical powers. The glow that this product brings to your cheekbones is incredible. The also come with a delicious violet fragrance makes it even better.

4. A Longchamp "Le Pliage" Tote bag. ($125). I saw these totes EVERYWHERE in Europe. It was like Europe's version of Coach bags. They wear really well and they even fold flat for storage. It's a simple and classic bag.

6. J.Crew "Sea Foam Treasures" necklace ($100.00). I love the colors of this necklace! Very summery and bold. The starfish are too darling as an accent as well.

*sigh* A girl can dream, can't she? I think I need one of these as a reward when I obtain one of my goals. Most likely getting my debt down. And right now I am broke as a joke until Thursday. That $400 cell phone bill from Europe KILLED me this month.

Oh yeah. And to those reading this : The Happening was the suckiest movie alive. Don't waste your money.

The only man in my life. For now.

2008-06-14T12:14:00.000-04:00

CRAP. Father's Day is tomorrow. WTF am I going to get my pops? He is always the hardest one in the family to shop for. He hates the clothes we buy him, rarely uses the gift certificates for Lowe's, Home Depot, etc on himself. I love my Daddy, but damn he is so hard to shop for.

Progress!

2008-06-11T18:06:00.000-04:00

I got offered a free place to stay if I wanted to go to NYC this summer. After hearing some gals on MUA say that it was like a "Piss smelling steam fest" in the subways, I don't think I'll be going. I really need to get my financial situation handled before I go on another trip.

2008-06-10T00:06:00.000-04:00

mo·ti·vate: to provide with a motive or motives; incite; impel.

For me that modivation is Ali from the Biggest Loser. She started off at 235lbs. Which is only 10 more lbs than I was at my highest weight last year. She is only an inch taller than me, she's 5'5". Her before picture is with her mom, Bette Sue. She and her Mom got voted off of the show early on. After being home , Ali continued to lose weight and got to come back on the show for losing the biggest percentage of weight at home.

Well in the finale, she actually won the Biggest Loser competition, and got down to about 125 lbs. She lost 112 pounds. THAT IS A SMALL PERSON. Seriously. That is awesome, awesome motivation for me. Hell, I don't have access to The Biggest Loser ranch and trainers, but I can still have a goal for myself. It may take me longer, but if she can do it, so can I!

And so it begins.

2008-06-08T23:48:00.000-04:00

Well today I worked on one goal... fitness. I rode my bike for 6 miles. Not much, but it's a start. Not to mention all of the swimming I did in the pool today.

Welcome to my madness.

2008-06-07T14:32:00.000-04:00

So here I am writing a blog. Why you may ask? Because this girl needs to motivate herself. I have GOT to set some goals for myself, otherwise I have nothing to really look forward to in life.

Finances. I must get my credit cards manageable. I need to pay off one this summer. It's a limit of one thousand. If I take $250 of each paycheck and put it towards that, I'd have it done in 2 months. Totally do-able.
Working out. I've already lost 45 pounds. And by god I'm going to keep it off. I have access to a gym, I have spare time, why not? I really need to go after I get off work like I used to. The pounds were melting off when I was working out 3 times a week, sometimes more. It's summertime, perfect time to sweat it out! If I can lose 2 lbs a week (which is NORMAL for weight loss) , then I can lose 26 lbs by the end of August. That would put me in the 150's. My ultimate goal would be getting in the 140's.
Self Confidence. I have a huge lack of it. I just need to be more confident in myself. Get out there and stop hiding out in a corner!
Organization. My room and my schedule. I want a manageable workspace on my desk. I want a schedule that I don't have to juggle things around and try to fit things in when it's necessary. I want to get rid of the things I've been hoarding since Jr. High.
Working. I think I spend more time gossiping at work than I do actually working. I know there's things I can work on. My goal for this month is to create my next Toastmaster's speech, and work on quarterly reports for the supervisors.