Blizzard aftermath

So, we survived the blizzard... we got a total of around 16"-14" of snow, and we only lost power for about an hour or so.

Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I missed most of it being in bed with a 24 hour Flu- which I might add is really closer to 36 hours. However I am fine now, and the storm passed without much damage. The roads cleared up fast, as did my rebound from sickness; which was a good thing as we got the call in that the new table we ordered from the Mill Stores was finished (in Salem Maple stain) and ready for pick up! I think going out and getting it helped my recuperation, as even cooking tacos that night seemed luxurious. Between the new cookware for preparing the meal, and seeing it laid out on the new table, I felt 100% better.

Ask and ye shall receive....

Best Christmas ever! True story! A glory of culinary delight for me to revel in... Cast iron cookware of all sorts, a sprout grower, rice cooker, egg poacher, Caphelon utensils, coffee grinder....! All that alongside the neatest chicken sculpture ever, a beautiful clock with legumes suspended in resin, gift cards to my favorite places, alcohol, and ammo! I am truly Blessed by the love and thoughtfulness of my family and friends.

In the aftermath of a great Christmas, I finished up the damage control of setting the house back into order this morning. Which is a good thing, for now I can ramp up the BLIZZARD preparations. We are expected to get close to 2' of snow on the generous side of the reports, or 16" on the conservative side. I have already drawn water (if power goes out, water goes out due to having a well), placed new candles about the house, and I am going to roast a chicken (in one of my new pans!) with all the fixins for a nice warm meal. My boy friend spent the morning chopping and stacking wood. I also sent him to the store for last minute items in case the storm is as bad as predicted. I believe it will be, seeing as how the snowfall started at 9am (6 hours ahead of schedule), and only continues to increase in its accumulation. The strong winds have not kicked in yet -thankfully- but are expected to later. I'll keep y'all updated and post pictures [as long as the power doesn't go out]. I am kind of looking forward to this storm, but only because I can't wait to throw the cats into a snow bank (really, it's not cruel -just funny) and go sledding.

Almost white Christmas...

The eve of Christmas eve - I wanna open my presents already! They have been mocking me beneath the tree the past week! Along with the anticipation of tomorrow nights festivities (that is when my family celebrates Christmas), is the lack of desire to cook something wonderful tonight... Thus, we are regulated to leftover soups (chicken and rice, potato and bacon) and B.L.T.'s for tonight's fare. Tomorrow for Christmas eve, I am making Beer Bread with Bacon Bacon dip by Tastefully Simple. Something savory to offset all the sweetness!
The snow is still on the ground here in New England, no matter how much of the 2-3 inches from last night got melted during the day. We also had Carolers visit our house the other night, and finally, all our presents are wrapped and/or shipped out. Hopefully a quiet peaceful night by the fire and maybe a movie :)
Happy Holiday's y'all!

More snow! Most of what we got on  Monday had melted off during the day today, but it's accumulating fast right now! This calls for something warming and hearty for dinner... Potato, bacon, and cheddar soup with stuffed quahogs on the side -yummy!
Our internet was down for a little while, but now it's back up and I can share some of my  my holiday decorations with y'all....

Birthday dinner continued...

Dinner went excellent! The Bordeaux wine sauce was sooooo amazing! And sooo easy! I ended up putting the shiitake mushrooms into the sauce and they melded incredibly well. So well in fact, the birthday boy was still raving about it this morning. Win! The filets cooked a little more than I would have liked- but hey- you live, you learn... The USDA temp of 125 degrees is far to done for my liking.
However, after all that wonderfulness of cooking last nights meal, clearly, tonight is a order out pizza night.
Also, in other excitement: we bought a new dining room table today from the Mill Stores. It is called a 'boat' table which you can get a preview of through that link. We are having them stain it in "Salem Maple" so it won't be here for a few weeks.I can't wait though!

Birthday dinner

Seeing as it is my darling's birthday and we can not go out for dinner, he requested a restaurant experience at home... So, I will try my best! We aged some Filet Mignon's (on the high end of Choice cuts, but not quite Prime) in the fridge for close to 48 hours, and I will shortly attempt to make this. It is a Bordeaux wine sauce for the filets, which I am serving alongside wilted spinach greens with raisins and walnuts, white truffle olive oil sauteed Shiitake mushrooms, and roasted chili potatoes. The chili potatoes are something new for me. The ones we got are from Chelsea, MA and look like red potatoes almost in the shape of a chili pepper (hence the name?). I am going to oven roast them with rosemary and the white truffle olive oil. It's fun cooking with new ingredients! I will post pictures as well as a review of how his birthday dinner actually turned out. Wish me luck!

Country Fun

This is the video of the paint can that didn't quite make it to paint another day... I apologize for the horrible quality, but I did hit the can every time (just for the record).

Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving this year was small for us - only 7 people. We still had a 18lb bird (farm raised locally of course) that was delicious, and made for many tasty left overs, stock, and soup. On the menu besides the turkey was: Spiral cut ham, cranberry relish, canned cranberry, green bean casserole, a sweet potato bake with craisins and nuts, mashed potatoes, gravy, and stuffing (done in the bird! No controversy!). For a pre-meal appetizer I made beer bread with a bacon dip (from Tastefully Simple).
As small as it was, we still continued our family tradition of skeet/target shooting after dinner before dessert. I'll try to figure out how to post the video of the paint can that didn't quite make it...
Dessert was plentiful to say the least! I made pumpkin cheesecakes with hand made whipped cream topping, but we had so much it was hard to choose. There was Cherry pie, Indian pudding, blueberry pie, cookies, and more I can't even remember!

Cape Cod re-cap

Luckily, we were able to take a mini vacation to Cape Cod a few weeks back. Our "kick off to the Cape" dinner consisted of a rib eye steak sauteed in butter, a seasoned tomato side (think loose interpretation of bruscetta), and fingerling potatoes sauteed in butter with green onions and mushrooms. It went fantastic with a red wine from Rhode Island's Sakonnet Vineyards.

Our first night on the Cape we went to a place called "Sam Diego's" in Hyannis. Our hotel referred us there, but it was sadly disappointing. I ordered a steak and Caesar -something relatively safe- while my boyfriend ordered their taco and enchilada plate. Both were less than enthusiastic eating, consisting of pre-packaged and/or canned ingredients poorly put together.
  For the second night we visited the "Chatham Squire" (located in downtown Chatham) which I highly recommend. The clam chowder tasted freshly made from local sources, and the mussels I had were divine!... The mussels were served over linguine in a white sauce, with fresh diced tomatoes and herbs. This place alone makes me want to frequent the Cape! I believe the last time I ate that well was out in San Fransisco. Also, tips for if you go there; you are able to buy their wine glasses, carpool for the lack of parking, and see if they make reservations -otherwise expect a wait. A wait well worth it though!

Before I end, a neat thing we got to see was while taking a walk along the Cape Cod Canal.... The train bridge actually lowered for a train to cross, and raised up again for a ship to pass. Nifty!