another 15 feet of pure white snow

life has been pretty crazy lately. my new project at work has started to go full swing (well, not really, but it is still taking up all my time), plus my previous project isn't complete, and there's normal day to day stuff as well. we always seem to fill up our weekends with running here and there. all in all it's been good, just very busy.

i've been wondering lately if life would be easier if i wasn't so smart. i don't mean that in a conceited way; sometimes it would just be easier, i think, to have blind faith and trust in things without needing to learn the truth for myself, and that it may be easier to toil away in mediocrity rather than feel the need to excel at everything. my job would be so very much easier if i didn't try to be better at it. couldn't i just stay mid level forever? that's not me, though. i as myself could not be happy doing that. sometimes i just wonder if life isn't easier that way, though. i think i've just been feeling drained lately, which i blame partially on the weather making my drives home from work very, very long.

enough of the heavy stuff! i'll get right to everything else, since we have a lot to catch up on. i'll try not to bore you with the last month's worth of stuff.

way back on sunday november 23rd, we had mom and dad over for pork souvlaki. bryan marinated the pork in a red wine marinade for 24 hours, imbuing it with the most wonderful flavor. we served that with tzatziki (of course), beans, warm fluffy pita bread, and squash fries. oh and red wine. the pork just begged for it.

tuesday november 25th, we had large, bone in pork chops, grilled on the cast iron grill pan. we made celery root and squash gratin with walnut-thyme streusel, because it is so easy and delicious, and homemade macaroni and cheese, for the same reason.

the following night, we had a lovely beef roast with some kind of sauce (i don't recall what kind), which bryan topped with one of my favorites - fried leeks. roasted potatoes and peas rounded out the meal. the fried leeks were a hit with oliver as well.

that thursday was thanksgiving. shannon spent most of the afternoon over at our house cooking with bryan. she brought oliver a birthday gift - a fisher price phone. phones are his favorite thing, so he was pretty pleased.

bryan and shannon did a great job with the food, as to be expected. everyone had a great time. it was nice to see shannon, katie, and kevin, and for oliver to get to play with them. they were shocked at how big he'd gotten just since august. kevin brought his sister, corrine, and it was really nice to extend the family and have her there.


shannon made a classic waldorf salad, which was one of my favorite dishes of the meal. she served it on whole romaine leaves. (the lettuce looks a little wilted, because my camera sucks, but i assure you it was not.)

bryan made brussel sprouts with plenty of bacon. oliver gobbled up the bacon!


instead of a standard stuffing, bryan made a mushroom bread pudding, which i thought was WAY better than stuffing.


bryan made corn budin, a must at our thanksgiving meals regardless of the rest of the menu.


we also had a green bean casserole of sorts, with fresh green beans, a wine sauce instead of a cream sauce, and plenty of fried red onions (which mom and i taste tested many times, just to be sure).


dad carved our salted roast turkey with herbs, which was incredibly moist and flavorful. bryan made a shallot-dijon gravy for it, which was a little sweet for my tastes, but a big hit with everyone else.


we also had cranberries with port, but of course.




mom made her delicious yeast rolls (both white and whole wheat), shannon made mashed potatoes, and aunt debbie brought a cheesy potato dish. aunt debbie also brought a few pies, my cousin andy and his wife marissa brought an scrumptious apple cake with cream cheese frosting, shannon made a pecan pie, and i made my apple and fennel pie. we had plenty of dessert. everyone left stuffed.



the next day, we made use of some of our leftovers, and served brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes with a pork roast. pork roasts are an ultimate comfort food to me: i remember my gram making them when we'd come over for dinner.

that weekend, we realized that we needed to get a move on making corned beef if we were going to have it for new year's day dinner. mom took us to sam's club so we could pick up a brisket, and i made my brine. it has been resting comfortably in the basement fridge since then, getting most delicious. we'll have that with greens and black eyed peas on new year's day.

tuesday december 2nd, we again hit up the leftovers, and had the green beans and mashed potatoes along with a bacon mushroom swiss meatloaf (based on this recipe, with a few changes). we all love meatloaf (it's one of oliver's favorites), so this was a great dinner.

saturday december 6th, i made a pork loin in a normandy style, with a brandy cream sauce with apples. some potatoes and sauteed cabbage completed the meal.

that weekend, i put up our christmas decorations. we decided this year to forego the full size tree, since oliver would be far too interested in it, and it seems he is a climber. bryan has been wanting a silver christmas tree for a very long time, so we found a miniature one at target, replete with fiber optic lights (which thrilled him, as you can imagine). oliver has been fascinated with both the tree and the stockings. i can't wait for christmas morning with him!

the following friday, the 12th, was my birthday. oliver bought me a purple coach cashmere scarf (he has great taste). i went to work, though bryan took the day off. for dinner, he made me salmon cakes with a dill shallot white wine cream sauce (my new favorite sauce), artichokes with a balsamic reduction, homemade potato chips, and a caesar salad. he even made me red velvet cake for dessert, and the man does not bake. everything was delicious.

that monday, we had veal and spinach patties for dinner. we used a recipe from marcella says, and served it with cauliflower and buttered noodles (with parmesan). very good, and very easy. oliver was pretty happy with the veal. who doesn't love a tasty baby cow?

the next day, as part of my continuing effort to use the crock pot a lot this winter, i made a bbq chicken with cornbread topping dish. i picked up a bottle of speed queen bbq sauce, which turned out to be a little spicy. however, it was so delicious oliver had stuffed nearly all of his dinner down his gullet before he realized it.


last wednesday, we had one of our favorites - leonora's chicken tostadas. fried corn tortilla, sour cream, avocado, shredded roast chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and pickled red onions. deeply satisfying. another food memory, this one from mexico.

friday for dinner, we had cod with braised kale and potatoes. bryan has never liked kale (a holdover from it being simply a garnish in the food industry), but he liked this.

saturday, we went to the milwaukee public museum. mom gave me a family membership for christmas. they have a live butterfly exhibit right now. oliver was very entranced by all the live butterflies! he was so excited we couldn't get him to move. he stood in one place staring. every once in awhile he would smile at us, point at the butterflies, and yell excitedly. we ended up having to carry him around. we had a lot of fun exploring the museum; oliver was pretty excited by all the stuffed animals. some additional pictures:








that night for dinner, i made my new favorite lasagna recipe - winter greens lasagne. this was insanely delicious. i used lacinto kale and swiss chard, and added some mozzarella to the layers, because i like cheese. that along with garlic bread was enough to fill us up. i wasn't sure how oliver would like the greens, but he had no problems scarfing them down.

today i worked from home. bryan is off today, and adrianne is hanging out with us as well. bryan made beef & butternut squash stew with rosemary and balsamic vinegar for lunch, which was absolutely delicious. i'm not a huge fan of butternut squash, but i think the balsamic tempered the squashiness of it. tonight for dinner, we'll be making our traditional christmas eve dinner: shrimp and grits. pretty excited for that. i have a lovely bottle of wine from portland, or to try with it.
we have been getting a LOT of snow. the last count i heard was 36" so far this month, and it snowed more yesterday and it currently dumping on us as i type. I AM SO SICK OF SNOW. hannah wanted to have a white christmas while she is here, and she will definitely get it. we took oliver out into the snow, and he wasn't too sure what to do with it. he looked pretty cute all bundled up in snow pants and his boots, though. hannah is dying to make a snow man, so assuming the weather stays relatively warm (it's up to 30 today, which positively balmy compared to the -30 it was here on saturday), we'll be able to take oliver out as well. that should make for some very cute pictures. my only fear is that the snow in front of the house is actually too deep to build a snowman in - it comes up to the bottom of the bay window (3, 3 1/2 feet?).

oliver can sum up how i am feeling about the snow:

we have been getting more and more presents in the mail (mostly for oliver). we got him a BUNCH of stuff, and i know my family has as well (my dad went to target today to get him MORE, just because he couldn't resist). he hasn't shown much interest in the gifts yet (save for one really cool bow, which i moved). tomorrow morning will be very interesting. christmas is my favorite holiday. we bought him a large stuffed blue (from blues clues), which he is surely going to pee his pants over. we'll be sure to catch his reaction upon seeing that one. i got bryan some neat stuff, including a subscription to martha stewart living magazine (his "other" woman), which showed up yesterday, much to his glee. we'll be hanging out inside most of the day, trying to stay out of the snow, then we'll head over to mom and dad's house for an early christmas dinner and gifts with the family.

hannah shows up friday. we are all SO EXCITED! it's going to be great having her around. she can't wait to play in all the snow, and to see oliver. we don't have many plans, so we'll try to keep it low key, but i'm sure we'll find things to do to fill the time (i'm sure she'll love the live butterfly exhibit as well!).

sunday is the christmas party for my mom's whole family, which is always a lot of fun. hannah usually misses this, but it's a week earlier this year, so she'll be here, and she is thrilled.

oliver has been doing pretty good. his walking has turned into kamikaze style running, and he has definitely been learning new words. he understands more than he can say, which is still pretty cool. he's what they call "spirited". he's definitely clever, mischievous, and loving. i thought we had another year before we hit the sassy toddler years, but apparently not. he's a handful but oh man, is he a blast. he is quite the goofy character, and can be such a sweet little doll when he wants to.

well, if you made it through all that, there's a prize waiting for you somewhere. i'm off work all next week so i'll have to be sure to get off my lazy butt and post pictures from christmas/hannah.

i'll leave you with some random cute oliver pictures:

















(he did actually try to put all the bags back in the box and the box back in the cabinet when he was done... hmm, i wonder where he gets his ocd from??)


good lord, he is a cute baby, even with that silly cheesy grin.

additional pictures in the november 2008 and december 2008 galleries.

merry christmas everyone!

visions of sugarplums

starting my list of prep for tomorrow's dinner. mom, dad, shannon, gram, and gramps are coming over for a farewell dinner party before shannon leaves for school next weekend.

planning a menu with shannon in mind is tougher than one may think. she doesn't eat anything with sugar or carbs. she also won't eat anything with fat, visible or not (not to mention imagined or not). so that leaves out most steaks, the good kinds of pork, anything fried, anything with bacon, anything with cream... just about anything we would normally eat.

so i've planned to make leonora's chicken tostadas. shh we won't tell her that the tostadas are fried corn tortillas. if she doesn't see me fry em, she won't even know. these tostadas are replicas of ones we had in mexico from leonora's loncheria on isla mujeres. it's a fresh fried corn tortilla slathered with sour cream, and layered with avocado, tomato, lettuce, chicken, queso fresco, and the coup d'état (in my heart) - pickled red onions. it's what makes the dish. we'll serve the tostadas with some pinto beans on the side.

i plan on making my own rennet free queso freso. i've been having a hard time finding it in a store nearby, and i refuse to have to drive far for something so simple as queso fresco. so i'll try to whip up a batch of my own, and the grocery store can suck it. we'll see how it goes. i plan on having a back up of some kind on hand, however, just in case!

for dessert, i picked up a fresh pineapple, since shannon will pretty much only eat fruit for dessert. not satisfied to serve that plain, i started thinking about carmelizing the pineapple. which is good with chocolate. then i found a recipe for a cognac sabayon. oh yes, you heard me, cognac sabayon. so i'm going to whip that up tonight, and serve it on the carmelized pineapple tomorrow, possibly with a chocolate shaving or two. shannon will get plain pineapple. she's crazy. more sabayon for me.

zzzzzzzz

we've been pretty boring lately, which has been nice. some errands on the weekend, and housework (i think we're actually caught up on our painting), but it's not the constant go-go-go it has been. i even got to nap on sunday, and finish my book.

oliver's been growing like a maniac, and kicking like one too. hard to believe he'll be here in a little over 2 months! we are, in theory, ready.

shannon leaves for school at the end of the month. she's pretty excited about moving into an apartment. mom and dad are less excited about having to move a bunch of crap 5 1/2 hours away. it'll be different without her around! we're having them, and gram and gramps, over for dinner friday to send shannon off. leonora's chicken tostadas will be making an appearance, which is always a pretty exciting event. more details on that later.

had a fantastic thunderstorm here last night. incredibly heavy rain, house shaking thunder, and magnetar strength lightning. woke me up, the thunder and rain were so loud. overall the weather has been kind of crappy lately. either cool and rainy, or hot and rainy. it's not a hurricane though, so i won't complain too much.

honestly, i think that's about it. getting through the work day by thinking about tonight's chicken fried steak.

white flag

well, i was waiting to post until i had high speed internet (or access to it), but i am losing hope on that, so here i am. i am the french in the war - i give up.

so we made it to wisconsin safe and sound. the drive took me about 13 hours total. it really wasn't bad at all, nice and steady going. the dogs were well behaved and napped in the back. the only bad part was chicago - whose bright idea was it to close down the entire highway through the entire city to one and two lanes? did they not know 12 million people live there? driving through that was pretty ungodly, and the experience managed to strip away what little respect i had left for the speed limit. once i got through that, i blasted it to my parents' house.

have been going on interviews, and may have some options. waiting to hear back on some stuff this week; should be having some follow up interviews, so waiting on times for that. i am hoping against reason that i'll have something lined up by the end of the week. i'd really like a job [paycheck].

we've been house hunting as well. that is slow going. there aren't a lot of house rentals, and with 2 larger dogs, our options are further limited. we've got some places in a trendy area downtown to check out this week, so keep your fingers crossed for us.

other than the general job/housing stress, things are going pretty well. we were finally able to tell my parents that we're pregnant, and they are so very happy and excited. they can't wait! also got to tell my good friend maggie, who is super excited as well, and start spreading the news to the family.

bryan and i visited the milwaukee public market this past saturday. how freaking cool is that place! it's small, but has a good variety of vendors with lots of fun items. i saw a whole salmon that couldn't have been more perfect, and i found myself trying to find an excuse to serve a whole salmon to 4 people (i couldn't come up with one that would satisfy bryan). we're excited to go back, and are hoping to find a home close by so we can have saturday morning adventures there.

we've been having fun cooking for my parents as well. this past week, we made:

- lenora's chicken tostadas: on isla mujeres in mexico, there is a woman named leonora who runs a loncheria. she has the most outstanding tostadas for lunch. while she makes her corn tortillas by hand, i admit i cheated and bought ours. :) we fry those up, slather on sour cream, and layer on sliced avocado, shredded lettuce, roasted chicken, sliced tomato, mexican cheese, and pickled red onions. it's the onions that do the trick. so simple, and so knock out delicious.

- pork chops milanese with spinach and rice: milanese is an old stand by for us. just something a little extra.

- mousakka and greek salad: since bryan lived in greece, we really enjoy recreating dishes from there. mousakka is a good standard.

- shrimp and grits: my parents had never had this, so we had so introuduce them. our recipe includes bacon and onions, and bryan also added some left over garlic sausage. my mom was unsure about the grits, but dad loved it (2 healthy helpings worth).

- cashew chicken and rice: simple meal after a busy day.

- charcoal grilled burgers with pepper jelly: the addition of pepper jelly just about negates the need for much else on a burger. expect some monterray jack cheese. there's few better burgers that than.

i just did the grocery shopping today at sendik's, an upscale grocery store. suffice to say i had fun. our menu for this week:

- greek rubbed pork chops with lemon parsley rice and toasted pine nuts, and green beans: another easy meal.

- mediterranean roast chicken with roast vegetable pearl couscous: bryan's roast veggie couscous with golden raisins and toasted almonds is almost a meal by itself. with some roast chicken it's perfect.

- risotto with peas and prawns: what more can i say? yum.

- cedar planked salmon with pink peppercorns, cucumbers, and balsamic vinegar: a favorite of ours. the weather is just nice enough to use the grill.

- center cut beef tenderloin with baked potatoes and honey parsley carrots: everyone loves a baked potato + beef.

- red beans and rice: another southern favorite to introuduce my parents too. i found a lovely smoked ham hock for that extra oopmh.

if it wasn't for the love of a paycheck, i could stay home and cook all the time. speaking of, i need to start soaking some cedar planks.