Tuesday, March 29, 2011

A little list

1.  I am finally done with weeks of suckiness, business and everything in between.

2.  I ate seafood in not one but 2 hotel kitchens last week.  More on that later.

3. I’m done with my major concert and I’m kinda sad to see it go.

4.  A guy sitting near Jen at Avery Fisher Hall last night asked her to put away her cell as the light was shining.  Her answer?  Maybe. :)

5. Cedars Garlic Lovers Hummus.  Still the best ever.

6. My true love told me he would drive me back to the city so I can cheat on him with my Zumba soulmate on Thursday.   That might be one of the sweetest things he’ll ever do.

7. I’m struggling.  I can’t get on track to (literally) save my life.  I eat a salad, I get a Happy Meal.  I run, I sit on my ass for days.

8. I’m getting a cold.  F-in winter.  It won’t leave.

9. I made Pasta Carbonara the other night.  And then again the next night.  More on that later.

10. I miss you guys.  Better, more substantial posts to come.  Thanks for hanging in there.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

M-I-C….See you real soon…

Hey there!

I know my posting has been…let’s say…erratic.  It’s been a tough week or so in SS land.  I’m super busy with work – I live in 3 different places (essentially) and…it was my dad’s birthday last Friday.

Just when you think that you’re doing OK it comes back and hits you in the face.   I had a bit of a meltdown about it all.  I’m better but still a little shaky.

I’m heading away for work this week so foods will be….hotel banquet related.   In order to combat that culinary festival let me give you a little retrospective of where I’ve been. 

I went to a fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters and wore a dress Jen bought for her Christmas Cotillion in 1996.

 ss 550ss 549 ss 554 Dave and I drank this in New Hope, PA.ss 561 And had soup, black bean burgers (very dry – not very good) and a fish sandwich.ss 562 ss 563 ss 564 We had a couple of drinks at the Ritz in Philadelphia.ss 568ss 566  And then ate soup and sandwiches at Cracker Barrel.ss 569 I watched Dave try and win the golf tee game.ss 572 He sacrificed his non-mayo bread to appease his picky girlfriend.  And also ordered her a biscuit.ss 573 ss 574Diane and I went out on St. Patty’s Day.

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We had profiteroles instead of birthday cake on my dad’s birthday.  This is all that’s left.ss 577On Saturday my brother, sister-in-law and the girls were there for the weekend.   Jen and I made Surf & Turf for dinner.  Roasted shrimp.  (Olive Oil, S&P, in the oven at about 400 for about 8 minutes)ss 578 Garlic Mashed Potatoes.   3 1/4 lbs of Yukon Gold – boiled till fork tender. 1/4 stick of unsalted butter,  a generous amount of sea salt, 1 cup of steamed milk, 3 cloves of roasted garlic and cracked black pepper.   The best mashed potatoes I’ve ever made.ss 580 Filet mignon roasted in the oven.ss 582 Roasted asparagus – with just a little olive oil, S&P and granulated garlic.ss 583 My plate.ss 585 

And there you go.  I’m trying to get back to it.  I’ve been walking more and trying to eat less.  I’m headed to the gym, then the airport to fair Orlando for the remainder of the week. 

Jen promised a video post soon as she makes one of her specialties.

Stay tuned.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Paper Spaghetti with Newman’s Own Cabernet Marinara

 

I received a bunch of products (and a Flip camera!) from Newman’s Own as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program.    As soon as I got the package I knew I’d have to have my lovely assistant, Miss Mora help me out.

You will soon see she’s really the star of the show.

Even though I am a control freak who won’t let the poor kid touch the spoon to save her life. :)

We had a terrific time making the video last night.   Thanks again to Dave for his fine camera work and direction and to Maddie and Alex for being so patient.

Dave and I once had Spaghetti al Cartaccio at Barolo in NYC.   Once I got these ingredients and was asked to make a quick and easy recipe I knew what I had to do. 

The video (at the end of this post) will show you step-by-step but here’s some pictures from the shoot to help you out.

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I have to say the sauce was pretty delicious all on it’s own.  You could really taste the wine and to me wine is an important ingredient in my homemade sauce.  I would definitely use this again in a pinch.   This recipe looks fancy but is super simple and really takes less than a half hour all told.

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Disclaimer:  The camera adds 10 lbs.   The sweater adds another 10.  Less Pinot Grigio and Girl Scout Cookies + more salads and Zumba will get me to minus 20.

PS: No comments on my corny jokes or my Long Island accent thankyouverymuch.

Hope you enjoy!

 

Salads Galore

I am here to report that my latest project has done it.  I filmed my first video last night and though I do stand by making an unfortunate wardrobe choice (I should not have worn my dad’s old XXL sweater) it is clear now that I have to get my ass in gear. 

I hate the way I look.   I haven’t hated the way I look in a really long time and I don’t like it one bit.

Last night’s pasta dinner notwithstanding (more on that later) Dave and I have eaten a lot of salads in the past 2 days.

Dinner on Monday was Salad ‘n Steak.

I bought a new cast iron pan for $14.99 when Dave and I stopped for dinner at Cracker Barrel on Sunday.

Yes.  We eat at Cracker Barrel.    This pan has already changed my life significantly.

 ss 516 I marinated a London Broil Joe Malone style with Gravy Master, soy sauce and garlic powder.  Served over spinach with caramelized onions and peppers & crumbled goat cheese.  I also made a quick dressing of dijon balsamic vinaigrette.   With a baked red potato on the side.ss 518 ss 519 The steak was cooked pretty perfectly if I do say so.ss 520Yesterday’s lunch were his and her salads.  Iceberg, grilled chicken, soppressata, tomato, onion, carrot and celery and parmesan for him….ss 522Grilled chicken and leftover spinach salad from dinner the night before for moi.ss 524

 

 

Tomorrow I will also show the scientific way I decided who will win the Multigrain Cheerios prize pack. (I know this was like 100 years ago). 

Later I will show you how I used the 3 things below to make a recipe video.

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Until then….

Monday, March 14, 2011

Fun, Food, Flowers, Philadelphia

I haven’t gotten to the gym as much as I wanted to last week – but I’ve done a ton of walking and I’ve been eating better.  There have been some slip ups – but I’m eating half more than whole these days.  I’ve skipped fries in favor of vegetable soup.   These things are steps in the right direction.

Also – it’s been fun.  I mean – look how cute these sandwich thins are!!!

 ss 350 This is roasted chicken breast, spinach, red bell pepper, onions and fresh mozzarella.  ss 351Tomato soup with spinach and goat cheese.  This is what you can do with a can of Campbell’s!ss 352Roasted chicken, brown rice, tomato paste, yellow bell peppers, peas, spinach, fresh mozzarella.ss 353

Dave and I went to Philadelphia for the weekend.   We spent some time with his parents and some time just running around the city.

I had a lovely time.

On Saturday I had the best pretzel ever at Miller’s Twist at the….ss 355 Dave wants to come back for Scrapplefest.  I, unfortunately, have plans that weekend.  Drats!ss 356We bought some yummy treats at Di Bruno Bros. Market.  3 types of cheese, homemade pepperoni and soppressata.ss 357 After a looooooong walk we ended up at Bridget Foy’s. ss 364ss 358 Dave liked these chairs. ss 362We started with hummus.ss 365 ss 366Dave and I split this delicious burger – we even left some of the fries.

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And also this Mac & Cheese.  We still have some left over.   And it was just as good as it looks.  More even.  It had a potato chip crust!

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We walked some more.

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Then we headed over to the Flower Show.  We were met with a free wine tasting as we walked in but sadly there was nothing special about any of the wines we tasted.  :(   Disappointing.  At one point I told Dave I’d rather stop tasting and wait and get a good glass of wine later.  That’s how mediocre it was. 

The flowers however were pretty amazing.  It had a French theme.  This just doubly confirms how much I need to go to France.  I’ll let most of the pics speak for themselves.ss 378ss 380  ss 379 ss 383 ss 382 ss 384 ss 386 ss 387 ss 388 ss 392 ss 400 ss 407 ss 408 ss 409 ss 410 ss 414 ss 490 ss 420 ss 422ss 416 ss 426  ss 434 ss 436 ss 448 ss 452 ss 456 ss 457  ss 459ss 458 ss 460 These purses (and pictures) are made with pressed flowers.  So cool.ss 461 ss 462 ss 463 ss 464 ss 471 ss 473 ss 474 ss 475 A Bonsai Tree – which was not made by a 180 year old man trained for 5 years – but is a 180 year old tree trained for 5 years. :)ss 483 ss 489ss 486  ss 507  ss 513There was also Antique shopping, drinks at the Ritz, a delicious Italian dinner, and a Penn State basketball victory.   And about 6 ish miles of walking throughout the day.

Pretty much perfect.

Stay tuned for some blog housekeeping, such as me flipping a coin to award Cheerios, and the great possibility of a video post starring me and Mora.

Hope you all had a good weekend.  Be back shortly.

I promise. :)