Dear Kathleen.

Been thawing out a chunk of pork and will make some Cuban sandwiches for dinner tonight. Expect a new panini post asap! Thanks for the nice email.

Mussels.

Had some old friends from high school over for drinks and dinner tonight. I'd noticed a trend on some blogs lately discussing mussels and I wanted to give it a shot. Basically for the bread and broth, but also to give the whole mussels thing a try. Luckily I had some willing participants in my experiment.
I was a little leery when the guy behind the counter at Whole Foods told me to be sure and report back if they didn't open and reminded me that they were alive. Apparently this was their first shipment, so they didn't know how they'd handle it. Spoke to Dave last night, and since he is responsible for introducing me to this culinary delight, I took his direction on how to prepare them.

Here goes:

Broth #1
-----------
Cut up and cook some bacon. Set aside.
Saute some leeks and fennel in left over bacon grease and olive oil.
Add 1/2 bottle of white wine and some water (1 cup) to the pot.
Add chopped parsley.
Steam mussels, add bacon back to pot.

Broth #2
-----------
Olive oil with about 6 cloves diced garlic.
Add two dried red chilis and 2 bay leaves.
Add the rest of the white wine and some water.
Steam mussels until they pop open.

I got 8 large green mussels (3/4 pound). These, as the guy suggested, did not open. Only one did actually. I also got about a pound of blues. This amount was the fish guy's recommendation. I think a good rule of thumb moving forward is to do about 1# per person of the little blue ones. Thankfully not everyone was that into the actual mussels so we didn't run out or anything. I just think more would be better.

Dave also suggested making a butter blend for the bread dipping and sopping up. So I mixed a clove of chopped fresh garlic and a bunch of fresh parsley in with the butter. Wow was that good. I mean, the bread coated in the butter and drenched in the broths. Yum. We sided it with acorn squash (butter, brown sugar, salt), a mandarin orange and toasted almond green salad, and some brown rice for Tony. Kinda random but I think everyone had a pretty good time. It's funny how getting together with old friends you see maybe once a year can be so fluid. Gab, gab, gab.

And I was able to "fix" myself of the mussel craving I had all week. I love cooking and entertaining. It's a great way to get the house cleaned as well!

Hillary's Crossfit.

I had been thinking for some time that I wanted to log all my workouts at Atlas Crossfit, but this definitely didn't seem like the place for it. So this weekend I started a new blog to coincide with my debut into the Level One workouts. If you have any interest whatsoever, and I realize you probably don't, you can read more about my Crossfit experience at Hillary's Crossfit.

2009 Cookbooks: Done. Phew.

Now I remember why I didn't do these for several years. Holy a lot of work. Thank god I took the week of Christmas off so I could spend two days of my 'vacation' back at the office. What a dope. Anyway, here's a couple shots of how they (all 16 of them!) turned out.

Can't stop thinking about: Ribs.

Kept up the NYE tradition this year and made some ribs. I was obviously too busy drinking champagne and making the rest of the dinner to take any photos! Whoops. But thankfully this ONE (pre-baking step) was on the camera New Years Day.

THE MENU

Baked Brie with Pears and Cinnamon on French Bread (thanks Eliz!)
Bacon Wrapped Dates
Mandarin Orange and Toasted Almond Green Salad
Brussel Sprouts with Bacon Bits
Roasted Potatoes with Thyme and Garlic (I used little Golden's)
Ribs
Creme Brule (thanks Jamie!)

I basically made up the recipe for the ribs, with help on the sauce from Brad.

RIBS

Take a slab and wash it off. Cut that thin membrane off the back of them. (Gross process, slice it and then just try and pull it off – I think this really helps). Then cut it into 4/5-rib pieces (I got 4). Salt and pepper and spice them up. I coated them liberally with Pike's Peak Butcher's Rub by Savory. Then I stood them up length-wise in the slow-cooker with a thin layer of butter coating the sides of the pot, on High. I added about an inch of apple juice at the bottom. Cook them for about 4 hours, switching to low at some point – when it seems like it's bubbling a lot I guess.

SAUCE*

The whole time the ribs were cooking, so was the sauce in a small pan on the stove, stirring occasionally.

1 cup cider vinegar, 1 cup ketchup, 1 cup apple juice, some sugar (I used brown), some Worcestershire sauce, salt, dry mustard, Cayenne pepper, (I also added some red pepper flakes), (I added garlic powder) and pepper. Cook this all together for a while. (I boiled it up, then low simmered). The longer you cook it, the thicker it gets. I don't really measure spices, so occasionally I tasted it and added what I thought was missing.

Ok, so then I lined a baking sheet with tin foil, put the ribs on round side up, and covered them with the sauce. I baked them at about 450º with the potatoes for about 30 minutes.

Falling off the bone, no really "questionable" or fatty (it was all in the bottom of the cooker) bites. Not to brag but, these tasted amazing. I'm going to try and hold off but I kinda want to make them again this weekend.

*Great for pulled pork sandwiches too!

The Bradford Pear.

My Mom did this drawing of the Bradford Pear Tree and added a cardinal to it. I thought it was lovely and I've never seen her create anything like it. She made it into Christmas cards. I love anything original. She's original. And wonderful, creative, and an overall great Mom. Thanks Helen!

Brad's Pug: It's Mao.

I did this as a surprise for my brother tomorrow and I literally CAN'T WAIT for him to open it. Sometimes I think it's crap and sometimes I think I nailed it.

I used a good friends' pug as my model, a pic I grabbed off Flickr. If you know Brad, we have a love/hate relationship with pugs in general, and the more we work them into conversations, photographs, etc. the better. So, him opening a little 10x10 painting of a pug portrait is priceless.

Aaron and Kate, thank you for inadvertently lending me Mao for this project. I can't say there is any resemblance, but there is a dog here, that Brad can imagine is a pug, and Mao is always around in spirit as a pug we really do enjoy.

The Nutcracker.

So I'm just going to say it. I'm kinda bummed we didn't get tickets this year. Sometimes I guess, things just don't happen. But when I'm wrapping presents, or writing this post, and listening to this music in the background, I regret I didn't pursue a family outing. It's hard to coordinate, and check schedules, and some people in my family (Dad?) I know don't like the event of it all as much as I do. So I let it slide.

In my mind, it was my Aunt Pat's tradition, and she was the one who got us there. (In fairness, it may have really been Grandma Ione). As little kids, Aunt Pat always kind of ring-led any downtown excursions, and I definitely distinctly remember going thru parking garages that are of course everywhere in the city. But as a kid from the quaint suburbs, I had not had much exposure to these immense, complex structures, except on these outings, and they were about as memorable to me as whatever it was we went to go see. Those grated air vents? That seemed like they could suck you in! Wow.

Again as a kid, I never really 'got' alot of what we were doing, seeing and listening to. It was always a drag the night we HAD to go to The Nutcracker. I didn't get the performance of it all I guess. Or how much skill and practice it took for those snowflakes to dance across the stage to this beautiful music, performed LIVE, or how the whole show came together in the first place. I liked that kids were part of the story, and the fantasy of it all, but I didn't understand what it took for those dancers to leap across the stage, or how the music has been around for years and years. How way back when, this all was debuted, and how now it is a tradition many people experience and look forward to all year and all that. You know what I mean?

But what's funny is, I have pictures of Brad and I, as early as 5 and 3 years old, where we'd be 'dressed' in costumes (mostly pajamas) after seeing The Nutcracker.

My little brother. He was a willing participant to many of my schemes, including those where I had him dressed up as Clara – a girl no less. So many times in fact, that around the holidays, my Dad will still sometimes refer to him as 'Clara'. I can hear it now, my father calling to him, Oh Clare-ahh! when he's just hanging out as a grown adult man today.

I got the original nutcracker figure of our family's collection under the tree when I was about 5. I LOVED it, and I'm sure I carried it around like a baby doll. We used it to actually crack nuts, to probably my parents horror, since it was actually meant to be a decoration. Then suddenly after that first year, the annual nutcracker under the tree became part of one of 'Brad's' collections. My first one, with the grey rabbit fur beard and hair and eyebrows, I'm sure is standing on a beam somewhere in his home today. Thankfully one he received at my apartment a few years ago never made it into his suitcase for the return flight. He's NEVER getting it back, and it's pictured above, The Hunter, I think.

Anyway, after this very long day, in a sort of long week of never-ending days and nights, I am thinking about The Nutcracker Suite, and how much it meant and still means to me and my family, even if we don't get to see it together every year.

Happy, happy holidays to all (4 of you) who visit me here.

Reason for the Season.

I'm on Day One of 12 in a row for holiday cheer. This pic is from earlier this week, where My Bestie got our entire office involved in spreading the joy by making snowflakes. I know we had no idea when it started with that first flake it could end up so beautifully... and with 100% office involvement/contribution. 71 flakes. Amazing.

Handel's Messiah @ St. Clement's.

Talk about Holly & Jolly: Joan and I went and saw my friend Kelly and the choir and orchestra from St. Clement's Church in Lincoln Park perform Handel's Messiah by candlelight this afternoon/evening. It was a beautiful performance and the church was incredible. I'm pretty sure we accidentally sat ourselves in the "preferred seating" section, so we were right up there and had a great view. The sound was fantastic and the as the program described, "the building resounds with a near-perfect acoustic unparallelled in the Chicago area". These pictures are pretty bad, and photographing the performance was not allowed, but maybe you get the idea. The architecture is a Byzantine and Romanesque combination, with a soaring dome and amazing arches, mosaics and paintings.

What I also thought was interesting were the instruments used by the orchestra, which was comprised of a group of musicians mostly specializing in "playing music of the baroque and classical eras using period instruments, which use gut strings, resulting in a warmer, more vocal tone than their modern counterparts. The baroque oboes are also warmer and more full-bodied, and the trumpets are valveless." (!!!)

There is a definite threat of this becoming a little holiday tradition I embrace. And although I am not catholic, I can see myself visiting this church again on another occasion. I find it hard to believe that a church choir and orchestra can perform such a show. They are clearly a special assembly of people. I wonder how many of them migrated to the church to become part of this group compared to being members of the congregation first?

What a fine, festive evening spent in the company of some good old friends.

The 'Springs.

I wish I felt more, or was more inspired lately. I don't have much of a drive to seek out new things to post, or worse, regurgitate things others have already found. So here are a few shots I took of my home town, which I love. I love going to the butcher and bakery, waiting forever for my number to be called, and being met by the most amazing smiling familiar faces behind the counter. Or running into old friend's parents, also waiting for their numbers to be called. I love that when I go to the shoe store or fruit store or hardware store, people ask about my Mom and Dad, or Brad.

Tree lights on the pretty trees around the Water Tower uptown.

The best was last summer, when we'd gone to get my fire pit at the local "True Value" hardware store, when the person who helped us knew my mother, BY NAME. And I mean, after she'd been gone for 10 years. He practically asked her if she wanted it on the "house charge". I feel funny about it sometimes, but I literally grew up in Pleasantville.

Remains of a Holiday.

I can't believe it's over almost as much as I can't believe we get/have to do it all again (only bigger) in three weeks. I'm not ready to do the Christmas stuff yet. I think this stuff is so pretty. So, I'm waiting until December, maybe next weekend, to drag out those bins.

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend!

Tomorrow!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I like it low-key and stress-free, which to me means, dinner is ready when it's ready, and the day need just unfold. I was going to keep it just us, because I know it's hard for people not to follow a plan, and I can't really fit more than 6 people around my dining room-in-my-living room table. I also didn't want to worry about a perfectly set table and decorations, or feel a need to wear anything but sweat pants all day.

Then today I decided, Screw that, and invited Pannland to join us whenever they feel like it, and the Swan's to come by for dessert. I'll probably have to eat standing up at the kitchen counter, and it's bound to be stuffy and chaotic in my tiny little house, but isn't all the togetherness also the point of the holiday? Spending time with family and friends? My favorites have always been more hodgepodge and less Martha Stewart anyway.

So, besides stuffing myself with Chex Mix and Heavenly Onions, another highlight of the weekend is when we lay around watching Home for the Holidays. I have no idea how this tradition got started, but my Mom, brother and I still die laughing every year when the cat pukes, the dad plays the organ, and Robert Downey Jr. pimps Holly Hunter in the hot rod.

Finally, I'd like to share the recipe I can't live without, and only eat one day of the year:

HEAVENLY ONIONS

Ingredients:
4 large onions (2 yellow, 2 sweet/vidalia)
4 Tbs butter
1# grated Swiss cheese
1/2 Tbs pepper
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
3-4 tsp soy sauce
french bread - sliced and buttered

1. Saute onions. (I will do this in a large pan on the stove, but the original recipe uses the microwave at 90% power, and goes 5 times for 5 minutes – stirring in between).
2. Mix the sauteed onions and all the rest in a large bowl and pour it into a large, flat baking dish.
3. Place buttered french bread on top.
4. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes.

I seriously can't wait until tomorrow.

My littlest fan.

How cute is Ever looking at my drawings that lamp?

Little one up top is a fish drawing I did for her, the other is an abstract portrait of her parents on their wedding day.

My 2009 Cookbook.

Hi friends. I think I'm going to do another cookbook this year. Opening the last one I'm somewhat distraught to realize it's been FOUR years since the original, which I feel was only 2 years ago. Regardless. If you got one of the 2005 cookbooks, maybe you used it once or twice. (Hopefully more – lots of classic recipes in that one).

*Click to enlarge. From the 2005 edition – worth repeating.*

If you are interested in getting the 2009 version (no repeat recipes), let me know. They are kind of a pain in the a** to make, but I think I'm going to do another round this year, and I want to make sure everyone who uses and enjoys them gets one. SO – leave a comment if you're interested.

Miss Pink Dianthus (I think).

So, my favorite plant of all time got her crew cut this morning and will be stored away in the garage all winter. If she comes back for a third year, it will be tricky to find a replacement for my personal fave. This plant has been beaten down. Eaten to one bald branch last year in the pot by bugs, she revived herself at the end of last summer, and then came back and continued to bloom this year, despite repeated diversity, until about 2 weeks ago. I heart this plant. Delicate and tough.

Graue Mill.

FINALLY got out for a walk in the woods. The weather hasn't been cooperating at all for about the past 6 weeks, so unfortunately that means all photo-ops for the true beauty of colors on the trees were lost, but still got a few pretty ones regardless.




Despite a twinge of a soar throat that kept me home for the most part, this weekend was a good one with some friends, organizing and long naps (3+ hours! both days!). I miss my brother and family lately, so the pending holidays which are rapidly approaching is making me excited for some down-time, decorating and maybe some shopping. Hope everyone had a lovely weekend.

Beef Daube Provençal – Part II.

On Sunday I made this simple and delicious beef stew. (Funny, but that's exactly what Cooking Light said about it). And it was simple. It was delicious.

But tonight I am taking some of the leftovers to another level – all thanks to my new Breville Panini Press. Dave & Jane sent this to me a couple weeks ago and it's literally changed my life.

Now I keep French rolls in the freezer. It's quick and easy to thaw one out, stuff it with goodness and something that will melt, and grill up a masterpiece. In this case, a Burgundy Beef & Cheese. Yep, I just made that one up.

Here's how it went:

1. Defrost roll. Heat up press.
2. Brush roll with olive oil.
3. Press roll halves to flatten and slightly crisp.
4. Build sandwich* and top with cheese.
5. Press sandwich until you have a melty, steamy, toasty delight.

Well, I don't know what to say**. I keep making the most incredible sandwiches.

*I separated the meat from the stew and broke it down by pulling it like pork. I added some of the onions and garlic, and pre-heated this in the microwave.

** I used baby carrots and cut them into circles. Next time I will just halve or quarter them length-wise.

UPDATE: The Berville Panini Press is ON SALE now through December 3rd. $70 off! Get one.

Blown Away.

I just got home from This Is It. All I have to say is WOW. I had heard it was awesome, but I wasn't prepared to be so moved. Sometimes when I see performances, I can't stop smiling, and I want to cry at the same time. I basically felt like that through the whole film.

I'm utterly devastated for the dancers, musicians, singers, art directors, set designers, producers, and literally everyone involved in the making of this unrealized "come back" "farewell" concert and tour. The hours of practice, deliberation, planning, tweaking, sweating, joy and pain are incomprehensible to me. The one consolation is the time each of them got to spend so intimately with arguably the most incredible performer of all time.

His talent is timeless. His unmeasurable knowledge of music and dancing, creativity, and just timing in general – WOW. One of my favorite parts was when someone said, Well how will you know when to start when you can't see the screen behind you? and he simply replied, I'll feel it. What a legend.

Blown away. That is it.

Highlight of Halloween.

The sun finally came out!

Just kidding. It was these three and their swine flu stopping by. I told them I'd heard their haunted house was cool. Bobby said something like how I was awfully generous. Nicky yelled Happy Halloween from the minivan. And Davey asked, Does it [a Heath bar] have nuts in it. Lindsey laughed and said, You're not allergic to nuts, Davey. And Davey: Yes I AM! Davey definitely seemed the least sick.

I had 54 Treaters. 9 were sorta embarrassed teenagers. Only 1 of the groups of kids got away without any of them saying thank you, about 7 tween boys.