Irene gave me this awesome coffee mug for Christmas. It’s an insulated, ceramic mug with a silicon lid from Yedi Housewares. Today I christened it.
Irene volunteers at a fantastic giftshop on 38th street called Sweet Charity. I think you can find these mugs there. Proceeds from the giftstore benefit charity care at Seton Medical Center Austin.
I am creatively challenged today, so this is the moment I’m posting.
…my true love gave to me… a bowl of delicious risotto!
🙂
We made pizzas with Dan and Lynn at their house tonight. We brought the doughs, which Monte made ahead of time. Here is his most excellent recipe:
This thin and crispy pizza dough is best baked in a hot oven directly on a pizza stone. Use a pizza peel to move the pizza on and off the stone. This recipe makes four pizzas about 12 inches in diameter. Use a Kitchen-Aid mixer.
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1 1/2 c. warm water 3 t. dry active yeast 3 T. sugar 2 T. olive oil 4 cup bread flour 1 T. kosher salt |
Bring water to 110 degrees F. Pour half into warm mixing bowl. Add sugar and yeast, stir with a spoon. Wait for the yeast to proof, about 10 minutes.
Add the rest of the water, oil, salt, and mix. Install the dough hook and add flour in increments. Use a high speed while the mixture is soupy. As the dough comes together, set speed on 2 and run for 20 minutes. Adjust flour for dough that is moist but not sticky.
Divide the dough into four. Oil doughs and bowl lightly and let rest for an hour.
Roll then stretch pizza dough to size. Dust peel with corn meal and flour. Place dough on peel and add toppings. Slide pizza off peel directly onto stone. Bake 5-7 minutes in hot 450+ oven.
Monte’s whipping up a batch of chocolate chip and pecan cookies tonight. What a busy little bee. 🙂
I have been craving fall casserole-faire in a big way, lately. I think it started when we watched Jacques Pepin on PBS cooking up a savory scalloped potatoes recipe. That’s high on my list. But tonight I opted for a homemade, baked Mac & Cheese menagerie. So, I consulted google, from which I chose Alton Brown’s recipe.
It’s in the oven as we speak. I will take a pic when it comes out, let it sit for several mins and then enjoy it with some lovely red wine.
While I’m waiting for it to come out, let me just say what a wonderful year this has been, though flying by at light speed. If I’m going to use up my remaining vacation, I’d be out the next 3 weeks. But in reality, I will likely have part meetings, part vacation next week, and then maybe be able to take the last 2 weeks of the year off. We’ll see.
Well, the dish turned out nicely. The photo I took doesn’t look all that appetitzing, but it was yummy.
It’s Wednesday — I can see Friday!
Bon Appetit
I’m not into those dark, bitter beers, or light beers or hoppy or fruity beers.
I’m partial to beers in green bottles. Really cold ones.
This is a view from inside one of them — a moment from my Sunday.
Whew. FINALLY got to take a break this week. I took the opportunity to go to dinner with Monte. We hit up our favorite Indian restaurant. Yum!
The nights are getting chilly (it’s December, already?!). But no wintry weather was going to keep me from having some ice cream for dessert 🙂
Hey, without rewards, where would we be?
If today is your birthday, I hope it was a special day. Special for me meant spending the day not at work (or trying not to be) and with my sweetie. We are taking the week off. Not going anywhere…that we know of yet. Just taking it easy.
Monte baked me a chocolate cake from scratch with raspberry in between and powedered sugar on top. Looks GOOD! I got to lick the spatula, too.
If I weren’t a grown woman of 29, I’d just tear right into it! 🙂
We stopped in for pub grub on the way home tonight. The tables are covered in beer labels and coasters from around the world and back in time.
The Rainier Beer label reminds me of my all-time favorite quirky beer commercial. I remember seeing it when I was a kid in the 70s and I still think it’s great.
Ok, I’m pretending not to notice that it’s 70+ degrees outside this evening because I’m in the mood for some meat-and-potatoes Irish soul food that seems more appropriate for a chillier Fall evening. Oh well. I’ll just crank the AC tonight.
Shepherd’s Pie – it’s what’s for dinner.
Here’s how I make mine:
2 lbs lean ground beef
1/2 c dry red wine
2 T steak sauce
1 T worchestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
1/2 t dried whole marjoram
dash of ground cloves
dash of ground red pepper
salt/pepper to taste
2 onions – diced
2 garlic cloves – finely minced
8 oz frozen peas/carrots
4 oz sliced mushrooms
5 cups cooked mashed potatoes
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
Cook meat in large skillet over medium heat until browned. I use very lean beef, so there’s not much fat, but if there is spoon it off now. Stir next 7 ingredients into pan with browned meat, saute over medium high heat for about 5 mins. Add onion, garlic, mushroom and cook until soft. Add peas/carrots and simmer for a few minutes. Remove bay leaf from skillet and discard. Empty meat mixture into the bottom of a casserole dish. Spread mashed potatoes evenly over top of meat mixture. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
Bake at 350 for 20 mins or so, until mixture is thoroughly heated. Makes 6-8 servings, depending on how hungry everyone is.
Mmmm! Autumn means grapefruit season! Texas produces some sweet, delicious grapefruit. There are many different ways to enjoy them.
One is a drink some people call a Greyhound:
Fill tall glass halfway with ice 2 oz vodka 8 oz freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
Delicious! But, sadly, not so great for anyone taking statin meds to treat high cholesterol, FYI.
We enjoyed a couple tonight while rooting (in vain) for Cincinnati to beat Pittsburgh on Monday Night Football.
We’ve lived in Central Texas for nearly 15 years (gasp). Yet we’ve never made it down to New Braunfels for the annual Wurstfest. It’s a 10 day celebration of beer, bratwurst, oompah music and chicken dancing. And it’s wrapping up this weekend. Alas, we won’t be able to make it down this year either.
Soooo, I decided to have our own little wurstfest at home tonight. Not the same thing, no, but perhaps it will hold us over til next year.
We put a few bratwurst on the grill, cooked up some sauerkraut and shared a couple green-bottled german biers (prost!).
Now, where did I put my lederhosen?
We have really enjoyed our herb garden this year. Well, we do every year, but this year the queen of the garden was the basil. We made many batches of pesto, margherita pizza, and caprese salad. We still have some left. We usually pinch off the flowers, but this time of year it’s better to let them go to seed in the hopes that we can get some seed for new plants next year.
This shot caught a sunbeam as the sun was dropping behind the trees.
Mmm, can’t you just smell the basil?
Tomato Tuesday. It was a slow day. Work and such.
Tonight is the last night in Austin for our friend, Devin. We met him downtown for dinner. Tomorrow he’s off for Cincinnati.
Sheila365 