Adventures in Cooking

During my spare time at work, I have a tendency to troll the Internet for recipes. I have a few sites I like, a few blogs I frequent, and I usually end up finding lots of things that I keep in mind for potential dinner ideas. Though I have many staple dishes that I'm comfortable with, I like to experiment as well. 

In a kick of optimism, I decided to make homemade pizza, starting with homemade dough. While I consider myself to be a big baker (how many of these posts have included some mention of cupcakes…), I've never really attempted much in the bread department. Yeast is one of those ingredients that I'm sure they have in the regular grocery store, but I've never really bothered to look for it. 

But, with this new project in mind, I located and bought a few packets of yeast, and, on Monday night, set out to start the pizza making process. The recipe that I read for pizza dough said to let it sit at least 24 hours in the fridge, and up to four days. So I figured if I made it on Monday, I'd have it ready to go any night of the week. 

Last night, after a workout at Chris's dad's gym, I decided to go ahead and make the pizza. Our selected toppings were Italian sausage, onions, mushrooms, and a little bit of green bell pepper for color. 

Starting to get nervous about this whole dough thing, I joked that, if all else failed, we could at least make a pretty good meal out of the toppings. 

Do I really need to tell you what happens next?

Here are the mistakes I think I made:

1) I think my dough was too wet
2) I think I used the wrong kind of pan. It was pretty thick, which I'm convincing myself had something to do with the sides of the dough getting crispy, while the bottom stayed like paste
3) I think I used the wrong kind of yeast

      4) I think I should stick to cupcakes

Luckily, Chris is an excellent sport, and a not picky eater. He gamely scooped up servings of our pizza topping sauce type dinner, while I mixed a salad. And in the end, dinner was good. We drank red wine, and, bonus points, actually ended up with a healthier dinner since I inadvertently cut out the carbs. Silver lining and all that. 

                                      Yeah. Not the best.                           A plate full of...

                      

I do plan on try, trying again at some point, but for now, I think I'll stick to more tried and true dishes.  

Winter Wonderland

On Sunday, it snowed. 

Chris and I noticed a few flutters while we were eating breakfast, but around 1:30, it really got going. At first it was sticking to the bushes and the grass, but not on the street. But then it picked up and kept on keeping on. 

Being the little child that I am, I insisted on getting bundled up and going for a walk outside in the snow. Chris agreed, and we began getting ready. I put some tea on for us to take with us in a thermos, and then started getting dressed. 

Being from the east coast, as I am, I have experience getting dressed to go out in the snow, and own a great many things to make the time enjoyable: leggings, a waterproof fleece jackets, hats, gloves, scarves, sweaters, etc. Chris did not have quite as many options for such an outing, but he did pretty a good job in layering up to brave the cold. 

The one place where I had him completely beat, though, was footwear. This Christmas, I was lucky enough to become the owner of heavy duty rain boots with fleece liners. Chris, meanwhile, wore shoes designed for trail running. A good option for walking on the snow, but unfortunately, the shoes are ventilated. Not the best. 

 

Snowy boy

                                                                           Snowy girl

After we had completed our snowy trek (and I had finished making a snow angel on the deck…couldn't resist), we spent the rest of the day tucked away indoors. 

                    

 

Ta-da!

Chris made veggie chili, a perfect cold weather dinner, which we followed with chocolate cupcakes with coconut buttercream frosting. Seriously, he should have never given me that KitchenAid.

We watched a movie while we ate, and waited to hear word from our respective jobs on whether or not we'd be expected to show up in the morning. 

Chris got a text from a co-worker that his office would be opening at 10. No such message came for me, and at 8:30 Monday morning, Chris was driving me to work.  

So you can imagine my surprise when, at 9:30 on Monday morning, I got a message telling me that the office was officially closed. The eight of us who were there hadn't found it closed when we showed up on time, but whatever. 

Luckily, one of the people that was there was my editor, and she gave me major credit for showing up. So it actually turned out to be the best of both worlds: I scored points for coming, but didn't have to stay. I was free to go home, watch Teen Mom, do laundry, clean the kitchen and read a magazine. 

Which is exactly what I did.

Bittersweet

Well, the Hogs fought a good fight. 

For what turned out to be the most gut-wrenching college football game I've ever experienced, Chris and I opted to stay in, make cheese dip and hot dogs and drink beer. We debated going out, but eventually decided against it, and I'm glad we did. I watched most of the last quarter with my hands covering my eyes, which I'm not sure would have been acceptable in a social arena. 

Ah, well. Life goes on. 

Yesterday, at work, I was given the happy assignment of finding something for our intern to do. This was a very strange experience for me, as in the past, I've always been the intern looking for things to do. To be on the other side was both kind of nice and very weird. 

Unfortunately, as is often the case, there really wasn't much to be done. But, since I know too well what it's like to be the bored intern, I managed to come up with a way for Emily to help me with the assignment I was working on (the list for this week's issue). I gave her a list of people's names and contact information, and as she dictated it to me, I typed it in. Terribly exciting for both of us, let me tell you. 

Luckily, tomorrow is Friday, and this week has gone by pretty fast. Not sure what we're up to for tomorrow, but on Saturday the boy and I plan to work out at his dad's gym per usual, and then watch the Saint's playoff game against Seattle. 

Saturday night, we are meeting Remy's friend Lee and her fiancé Carl, who are newly minted Arkansans and live in North Little Rock. We'll be "continuing their Arkansas education," as Lee put it, by taking them out in our 'hood. 

Also, Sunday is supposed to bring the coldest weather of the season. Oh good.

 New Year's Resolution Tracker:

-Ran on Sunday, have a run planned for today and a workout planned for Saturday

-Read for an hour last night, and am very close to finishing my book

-Speaks for itself

A New Year, Eh?

After an excellent break Living with My Family in Virginia, I am back in Arkansas. 

I got back to the Natural State on Thursday, and promptly got to work grocery shopping and unpacking. It was startlingly warm (in the 60s), which may have been one the reasons it felt good to be back. It was also very nice to be back in the house with Chris, and, after a brief trip to Target, which was theoretically for conditioner and more hangers but somehow resulted in more than that, we spent Thursday night making dinner and showing off our Christmas gifts. 

Chris, unfortunately, had to go into work for an hour on Friday morning, so I passed the time while he was away by reading a bit of my book and watching an Ally McBeal rerun. When Chris got home from work, I figured it was time to change out of my pajamas so we could venture out into the real world. We went to the mall first, where I continued to take advantage of the Gap sale, and then to Anthropologie, where I bought a small bowl (I got a purple one for Christmas, and I like to keep the numbers even, so I bought a white one to go with it). 

Our plans for New Year's Eve were slow in coming together, but we planned to have an early dinner out with Chris's mom, sister, aunts and uncle. So, after a brief visit from Chris's dad and step-mom, which included a lovely champagne break, we got ready and headed out to the first of our evening's activities. 

After dinner, we headed home for a dessert of more champagne and cupcakes and then decided that, since it was about 7:00, we should probably figure out our plans for the night. Luckily, our friends Steven and Caitlin were wondering the same thing, so they headed over to our house so we could make a plan together.

After more drinks and several heated rounds of Guess Who (one of Chris's Christmas presents and a shockingly competitive game), we called a cab to whisk us off to a club downtown, where we planned to ring in 2011. We arrived at Sway just in time for a drink and some dancing before the countdown began and the bartenders (one of whom is the editor of Arkansas Bride…awkward), started doling out free champagne.

We got home around 2:00, went to bed around 4:00 and woke up around 11:00. As such, I'm assuming nothing needs to be said about what our Saturday was like. 

Sunday, Steven and Caitlin came over for lunch, mimosas, and the Saints game, and Chris and I undecorated our house. 

Now, back at work, I've spent most of the day reading all the e-mails I received over the past week, set up two meetings for tomorrow, and read Vanity Fair online. Let's say I'm easing back in, shall we?

New Year's Resolutions Include:

-Keeping a more consistent running schedule (aka, running 2-3 times a week, and not just any time there's some festive 5k in town)

-Reading more

-Dedicating more attention to this blog (since I know yall care oh so much)

And you?

Happy 2011!

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Sunday morning, Chris and I celebrated our Christmas together. Since I leave to go home Thursday, it was our last weekend morning together before the actual holiday. 

We woke up and made our Christmas breakfast of muffins, bacon and hot chocolate, and then settled down to open our presents. 

                                                          Eggnog muffins for Xmas morning

First, Chris opened his present from my fam, a sweater which he loved and wore later that day (looked great and fit him perfect). 

Then, it was my turn to open his present from me. As I'm wont to do, I'd been trying to guess what it was since he put it under the tree. The box most closely resembled a shoe box, but I had a hard time believing that he would buy me shoes. As I started to unwrap, Chris told me that there was an explanation that went along with the present. As a veteran of my family, I am used to this, as our presents tend to come in the form of card with picture/poem, and an explanation of why the object isn't actually there in physical form/when it will be coming.

So, when I opened Chris's box to reveal a can of bike lubricant, I immediately feared that he was getting me a bike. This seemed unlikely since I don't ride bikes and don't like bikes, and have mentioned this several times. Still, I didn't know what else to think. 

Until Chris went to the closet and pulled out a much larger box, which I came to understand was actually my present. The bike lubricant was completed unrelated, and the shoe-sized box was just a diversion. He didn't want to put the real box under the tree and thus give me time to guess what it was. 

So, with joy and relief, I began to unwrap my actual present. There are no words for how surprised I was or how much I love it. The pictures will have to speak for themselves, but let me just say: much better than bike lubricant. Or a bike for that matter. 

                Glamor shots of my wonderful Christmas present from the wonderful boy I live with.

Then Chris opened his present from me, which was a nice pair of dark jeans to wear to work and go with his sweater and new grown-up persona. After gift-giving, we watched Love Actually, to further deepen our Christmas spirit. 

Leaving the mess behind, we eventually changed out of our pajamas and went to his mom's house, where we were having a little family party to celebrate Chris's birthday. I also used it as an opportunity to give his family my Christmas gifts to them, and received their gifts to me: a great, big L.L. Bean bag from Margaret, inside of which was a smaller cosmetic bag, inside of which was a cute headband. From Stephanie I got a manicure kit with two nail polishes, which will come hugely in handy, as I repaint my nails about twice a week. 

From there, we headed to his dad's house for his Christmas party. Starved by that point, we spent the first twenty minutes being anti-social and stuffing our faces, but eventually joined the party-goers to participate in actual conversation.

When we finally got home, we changed back into our pajamas, made ourselves a little Christmas drink, and stared at the mess in our living room without making any attempt whatsoever to clean it up. 

                                              The remains of Christmas. We'll clean up later!

A very merry Christmas indeed.

Reunited (it'll feel so good)

Well, the weekend is almost here (hooray!).

For my part, I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of my three dear girlfriends from New Orleans, who are arriving Saturday evening to decompress from their finals, and visit the boy and I.  I have not seen Alexa and Sara since May, and I have not seen Hannah for almost a year! So, it will be a very happy reunion.

As far as I'm concerned, a huge chunk of the agenda is watching Sex and the City DVDs, and continuing the (several) vigorous conversations we've all had about which one of us is which one of them. Chris, as you could imagine, is very excited.

Have a good weekend!

Merry Christmakkah...

This weekend, the celebrations began. On Friday, Chris and I hosted friends Caitlin and Steven, as well as Chris's mom and sister, for a Hanukkah dinner. Being the first time I had undertaken a Jewish meal of such magnitude, I planned it down to the wire, and it actually came out pretty ok. 

Our menu included: brisket (many thanks to Barbara Brown for the easy and delicious recipe), latkes (many thanks to Chris for peeling all the potatoes), applesauce (again, many thanks to Chris for peeling all of the apples), and kugel, which I made using my grandmother's recipe, which had to be verified and edited several times. But which was extremely delicious. 

In an effort to time everything precisely, I made the brisket Thursday night, where it tortured us by smelling delicious for three hours in the oven. We also did the apples on Thursday, by which I mean Chris did the hard part by peeling them all, and I helped him slice them. 

When we got home from work on Friday we went, well, straight to work putting the rest of the meal together. I mapped out my burners and set the applesauce on the left back burner. Meanwhile, Chris peeled potatoes. The water for the kugel noodles went on the front right burner, and while it boiled, I changed and got ready. Meanwhile, Chris peeled potatoes. I then added the noodles and tended to the applesauce, while, you guessed it, Chris peeled potatoes. When the noodles were done, I put the rest of the kugel together and stuck it in the oven. Chris, bored (and finished) with peeling potatoes, began, instead, to grate them. A hard-working goyim!

The brisket reheating in its yummy juices and the applesauce doing its thing, it came time to face the latkes. I had grated the onions and Chris had drained everything, so when the oil was heated, it was time to fry. Chris entertained our guests, and, in between sips of red wine, our potato pancakes got made. 

Rather than simply allowing everyone to eat as soon as dinner was ready, we all gathered in the living room to light the candles. When that was done, I figured I had denied my guests long enough, so we all crowded around the dining room table to eat and eat and eat. Chris's mom gave us wine glasses as our Hanukkah present, which were immediately put to use. Suffice it to say, we were very full and satisfied. 

                                            From left to right: applesauce, brisket, latkes. Yum.

                                                                         Full up!                                                          

                                                     Opening our Hanukkah presents!                                                 

 

Lovely. Will go to good use.  

On Saturday, Chris and I woke up and headed downtown to run the Jingle Bell 5K. It's a race to benefit arthritis, and included with your number, you get two jingle bells to pin on your shirt or tie on your shoelaces. The effect, as you might guess, is a very noisy race that jingles along for three miles. The weather was gorgeous, though, and we had a lot of fun. I'm a bit out of shape, but, as one of the basketball players holding signs up along the route said, "Santa will know if you walk." So, we ran it out.

After leftover brisket for lunch, we switched into Christmas mode, and headed out to buy wrapping paper, a few ornaments, and our Christmas tree. More so than paying rent, having my own Christmas tree makes me feel very grown up. Saturday night we stayed in, ate pizza, watched a movie, and decorated. 

                                                          Christmas tree in the living room. 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmakkah!