Tis the Season, even in Vegas

I just spent a week in Vegas - went for a conference for work, but my girlfriends thought it made sense to come spend a weekend as well, and well, I'm never opposed to that. I thought a week in Vegas would be a week away from my favorite Christmas season, but who knew? They even celebrate in Vegas. Here's a few pictures of the gorgeous decorations we saw and one of my absolute favorite thing on the Strip - the water show. Makes me smile to myself everytime whether the show is choreographed to Shania Twain or Mozart. It's truly beautiful. Bellagio gardens were as expected by far the best; Caesars Palace was classy as well.

Tis the Season

In the words of my mother "The anticipation is as fun as the real deal". Tonight we put up the Christmas decorations while watching Home Alone. A perfect evening.

She Makes a Wicked Pecan Pie

Does it seem as if my blog title is a misnomer if I tell you that last week I made a pecan pie for the first time? I really can't give a perfect explanation of where my title came from, but all along I've loved cooking and baking (proof: I have a quiche in the oven as I'm writing!) and I appreciate homemade pecan pie very much (my grandmother, Honey, is well known for hers).

It's just that I myself had never made one. And that now is no longer a confession - I have. No lying, it only came out OK...but it was a great experience.

I felt this thanksgiving was a great opportunity to try it for the first time. First of all, I got to try family friends' mothers tried and true recipe. It was pretty fool proof, but I managed it get something not quite right. It tasted awesome, but when we cut into it, the inside came seeping out. It didn't congeal as it should have. Possible mistakes: too much egg or corn syrup, or more likely, the oven was too hot. I'd like to blame the oven; it's happened to me in other endeavors before, but knowing that, I should have accounted for it and turned the heat down. Second of all, while I was told I only needed to bring myself to the feast, I wanted to offer more than that and I'm glad I did. It's no secret that I find great joy in others enjoying my culinary creations, but also, I think it comes back to a universal truth - we are created to be contributors. Contributors to our families, to our work, to our earth, to Thanksgiving dinner. I love to give back even in small ways and my attempt at pecan pie last week was fulfilling, just like a strong week at work or a shift in the soup kitchen.


Who makes a wicked Pecan Pie - Baba, not Sarabeth. But she's working on it like many other things. All in time we figure ourselves out.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving all! I hope you found joy in your holiday feast just as I did. Especially grateful this weekend for my loving family, for health, for laughter, and for meaningful work. I am truly blessed.

Time to take the quiche out of the oven

Recipe: Parmesan Spinach Chicken with Cavatappi

Ingredients:
Chicken Cutlets – about 7, thawed, pounded out evenly
Parmesan – 1/3 cup
Bread Crumbs – 1 T.
Italian Seasoning – 1 tsp.
Spinach – 10 oz?, rough chopped
Red Pepper – ½ cup, diced
Margarine – 1 Tb, ½ tsp.
Scallions – ½ cup, diced
Garlic – 1 tsp., minced
Flour – 1T.
Milk – ½ cup, skim
Cavatappi – for 3 servings, can sub other pastas but I think this one goes well with the dish. Maybe penne if you prefer.

1. Preheat oven to 350F, Pam a baking dish – I used a 13x9 but it was too large. If you have a smaller one, use that.
2. Boil spinach just barely to soften it. Let it sit in a strainer until we need it again to let it drain out fully.
3. Combine parmesan, bread crumbs and Italian seasoning. Dip the chicken in it just to get a thin layer on both sides. Set mixture aside for topping later.
4. Pre-bake chicken for 12 minutes.
5. Boil water and cook the cavatappi.
6. In a small frying pan, melt margarine and add garlic and scallions. sauté until scallions are soft.
7. Add flour and combine into a paste. Add milk. Mix and bring to a simmer.
8. Turn off heat. Add spinach and red pepper. Mix and cover – let stand for a few minutes.
9. Spoon veggie mixture over chicken. Sprinkle remaining parmesan mixture over top.
10. Bake for 17 minutes, until chicken is fully cooked/no longer pink.
11. Once cavatappi is cooked, heat from olive oil, garlic and Italian seasoning. Add pasta just before serving and toss to coat and heat just briefly.
12. Serve chicken over pasta.

I made this one last night for Suz – just meant to be a quick dinner before we went to our friends’ house warming party, but we ended up sitting and finishing a bottle of Cab before ever leaving. We were a bit late, but in good form for a party. Francine had just given me a ton of spinach because she was leaving town (I always get her leftover produce – lucky me!) but I’m going out of town on Wednesday too so I wanted to use it up. I have chicken spinach and pasta – what shall we make?? This worked out handsomely – definitely want to make this one again. Sorry if my measurements aren’t precise ; I tend to make up my own rules as I go. That’s part of the joy I find in cooking.
Also, I ended making enough for 3 using these amounts – you’ll have to extend it for 4 and cut it down for 2 if you prefer. We’ll see how it tastes as a leftover…

Sorry friends. I'm back.

I have let this go for so long, but a certain someone has helped me see that I should keep it, really and truly. I don’t think I’m very good at giving an accurate depiction of my life because there are limited number of things that I enjoy writing about, but I’ll continue nonetheless.

It’s that season within the summer when thunderstorms frequently, but the forecast predicts it will storm even more than it does so I extend that to believe that it’s never going to storm when they say it will.

Today I got caught in a thunderstorm while I was out running. I can’t say the storm came out of nowhere; the skies were very apparently bringing on a storm, but I didn’t believe it would come. I held firm that it may just blow over - the strong winds and the dark clouds rolling in quickly, they were meaningless, though very telling signs. Naturally, I was wrong and I got soaked head to toe. But I kept up my pace as I passed many people huddling under overhangs, deciding that if I’m going to stop the only place I want to be is home and if I’m going to get soaked, what better to be wearing than my shorts and sneaks.

My younger sister is coming to visit this weekend - I get to introduce her to the magic of New York City. It’s funny to think of myself as the connoisseur in this scenario, but that seems to be the way it is and I’m preparing to show her Manhattan’s best side. On the schedule so far is a cruise out to Lady Liberty, wandering around central park, perhaps the Natural History Museum, 2 shows - Billy Elliot and Wicked. I’m used to just the social aspects of the city, but that’s not for my 17-year-old seester. I need to work on my plan here...

Today Marks the Arrival of Spring

I can’t believe it’s been almost 2 months since I’ve written. So many wonderful things have been going on in my world the past couple of months and sitting down to say hi feel to the wayside. I got to celebrate one of my best friends from Cornell marriage, I visited Fort Worth, TX and Albuquerque, NM and worked super hard throughout. But today is one of those days when I’m so grateful to be alive and I want to tell everyone about the joy of it all, in its utter simplicity.

It reached mid-50s and was more sunny than it’s been in a long time. I opened the run roof on my mini and drove out to my favorite path for a good run and got all that I was hoping for. Honestly I’m not as strong as I was last time I was there, but I enjoyed it just the same. I stopped at the beach to take in the view of the sound – breathtaking after months of winter. The trees are still bear, but the sky is beautiful and the water looks and smells just the same. Our world is SO beautiful and the people in it are lovely. How can one see it all and not believe in such an intentionally beautiful creation?

I got to do some spring cleaning, open up the windows and air this place out. My roommate and I are making great plans for the newly born warm weather and counting down to day light savings next weekend. Finishing the day with the Academy Awards. Sadly, I’ve seen none of the films nominated for best picture, but this makes for a great to-see list. Rachel McAdams, your dress is gorgeous!

Film: It's Complicated - a good laugh

I saw this movie with some girlfriends on Friday night and was so pleasantly surprised. I admire Meryl Streep and always laugh when Alec Baldwin is involved, but it was even better than I expected. Streep’s character is beautiful to the core. Leaving I found myself wishing I were more like her – maybe that is because as a little girl I always wanted to open my own bakery, so I’m a little jealous, BUT I assure you it was much deeper than that. I love a woman who is beautiful and is found very attractive by the men in her life even though she's not the typical Hollywood perfect. Steve Martin in endearing like his Father of the Bride character and Alec Baldwin is your classic high-powered man who let himself go, but still has his charm. It’s light-hearted and will provide you a good laugh if you are looking for one, so I want to send my recommendation out into the world.

Watch the trailer