Maybe I'll See Santa Later

Well, Friday night was interesting. Dinner was fantastic and fully confirmed that you can "Parmesan encrust" anything and it will be yummy. I this case it was perfectly cooked asparagus with a bleu cheese fodue and tomato relish. Holy cow! Sooo good!

After dinner, the plan was to see the Denver Christmas Parade of Lights. We've been every year since we originally moved here, so this would have been #5. However, it was 70 degrees and sunny here on Friday. That means that EVERY person in the metro area decided to go to the parade this year. The local news reported "more than 100,000 people." The crowd was from the curb to the edge of the buildings of solid people. I lasted about 10 minutes in the haze of cigarette smoke, booze-filled flasks, and other forms of tacky inappropriateness until I decided that Santa wouldn't approve of these people either so it's OK to leave. And we did. And I was not that sad about it. It made for a very productive Saturday.

Let's start with the errands: Chris really wants a train for around the Christmas tree and perhaps as a hobby to entertain him throughout the year. We made the trek to a place called Caboose Hobbies. It was a HUGE store of nothing but mini train stuff. I think I felt as Chris does when I take him into Williams-Sonoma. Fish out of water! But it was fun nonetheless!

Then the cooking: Here's a note for you...when your husband is a master with a grill but is...ummm...well...not so good with other cooking methods, don't try potato latkes and herb Bearnaise sauce at the same time. I literally needed a clone. Although, it all worked out and was REALLY good. Even the sauce. I have never had a Bearnaise before so I have nothing to compare it to. It was a little runnier than I was expecting, but the flavor was fantastic!

Then there was the requested 2-crust cherry pie. I have never made a 2-crust pie before. And my last couple attempts at cherry pie ended with spoons and calling it cobbler (sort of runny!). So, I made the crusts, made the filling, vented the top crust and stuck it in the oven. I am still working on making prettier edges, and my oven is not level so everything spills or moves to the front left, but look! It was perfect. And tasted amazing! My pies will never win a beauty contest, but I have to say (sorry about bragging here!) that it was honestly the best cherry pie I have ever had in my life! HOORAY!! Finally!




Sunday resulted in a day at the computer finishing a huge project for work, a little grocery shopping and cleaning followed by a couple Christmas movies (so long as you count Die Hard 2 as a Christmas movie!).

Another busy week this week, and Thursday we head to Dallas for my company Christmas Party. I am excited about it, but a little stressed about the outfit. I bought a dress and will be returning it today. I hope I can find something a little more practical tonight!

Let the Birthday Begin

Chris' birthday is Monday, and in true McFarlane fashion, he will begin celebrating tonight! He feels he's entitled to celebrate like a McFarlane after the pear brandy debacle the first time I brought him home with me...I'll never live that down.

Here's the agenda for our weekend:

Friday
5:30 pm: Leave for downtown Denver. Parking then a flight of wine at Cru Wine Bar
6:30 pm: Dinner reservations at The Oceanaire where he can eat his fill of water dwellers and I will have either chicken or pork (steak is tomorrow night!).
8:30 pm: Head back to the car, put on the warm jackets, hats and gloves. Stay for the Denver Christmas Parade of Lights. And Santa is at the end! This is my favorite part! I almost cry every year when I see Santa in the parade. I love him. Maybe it's because I was an adult the first time I saw Santa in a parade!

Saturday: no specific timeline
breakfast in a ramekin with an English muffin, spinach, bacon and an egg.
finish the Christmas lights outside. We need an outdoor bow and 2 floodlights (one for Santa and one for the reindeer)
Whole Foods for dinner fixings. Here's the request:

• Iceberg Wedge Salad with bleu cheese/ranch dressing, cherry tomatoes and bacon crumbles
• Petite Fillet Mignon with an herb Bearnaise sauce and sauteed mushrooms
• Potato and Thyme latkes with thyme and chive sour cream
• Homemade cherry pie

I guess I will be cooking all afternoon!

Sunday, Chris has requested a lazy day of watching Christmas movies in comfy clothes. I haven't told him yet, but he's on his own on that one! I have some shopping and cleaning to do! Although, I am sure I can find time for a movie or two! There are 24 hours in a day, after all.

Sounds fun and festive to me!

These are a Few of my Favorite Things

I keep hearing the song. Although I am not sure what it has to do with Christmas! It makes me thing of The Sound of Music which is definitely NOT a Christmas movie. Although I do love the way the song makes me feel.

This week I have been getting bombarded with "Favorite Things" emails. Oprah, Ellen, Barnes & Noble, Ann Taylor, Groupon. Everyone is sharing their list of favorite things that we should all rush out and buy. Well, that inspired me to make a Favorite Things list of my own, although most of them you can't buy. With that, a list. These are a few of my favorite things (in my best Julie Andrews impersonation!)

1. Christmas lights on other houses. I know I have said it before, but I LOVE our city. I would say that 6 out of 10 homes have Christmas lights on and they are beautiful. It's way more fun to have it dark at 5 pm with all those twinkling lights! Thanks, Highlands Ranch community!
2. XM radio. With 2 Christmas stations to choose from, I can get my favorites by my favorites including The Ray Conniff singers, and Chris can hear Alvin and the Chipmunks and Mariah Carey. Everyone is happy.
   
3. Santa Claus. That's right. I said I am thankful for Santa. He represents the good in all of us and reminds us of the innocence and imagination of our childhood. The sheer joy he brings to kids and the giggles and squeals of happiness and excitement that follow him everywhere. How could you not love the way Santa makes you feel?
4. 24-Hour Fitness and Facebook. Yep, my gym and Facebook. I have a love/hate relationship with both. And I don't love them for what they do for me, I love them for what they are doing for others. Facebook started offering "check-ins" whereby you use your smart phone to check-in with the nearest retailer based on your GPS location. 24-Hour Fitness donates $1 to Kaboom (a non-profit to help build kids playgrounds) for every check-in. That's my incentive. They have donated $6 on my behalf this week. That's awesome!
5. Creativity. But not in an artistic way...I lack that altogether, but I am creative with problem solving, cooking and duct tape. I think I get that from my Grandma Melanie. I don't think of it as a gift until others point out that they would never have thought of that. I am helping a friend create a cookbook so she can survive her allergy diagnosis. I tied my Santa and Reindeer to trees using an old phone cord. Chris didn't get that. He wanted to use curling ribbon. Guess he's never seen a bird build a nest before.
6. Water. I know. It's basic. But without it I suffer from dry skin and chapped lips. Water is cheaper than any lotion, potion or balm to fix the winter flakes.
7. Walgreen's Pharmacy. Weird, I know. But with the help of "my" pharmacist, I finally found an inexpensive daily vitamin that doesn't give me a MASSIVE headache. Something about the fillers and transporters. I don't get it, but whatever. It works! Thanks Dan and Nature Made!
8. Our fireplace. Few things can evoke such simultaneous feelings of calm, love, peace and home as a fire in a fireplace. Even on the worst of days, a fire (of the non-destructive variety) can make me feel whole again.
9. Bobbi Brown Lip Balm with SPF. I know, I know...I already said water. But this stuff is like lip magic in metal tin. An incredible lip moisturizer with SPF and a hint of gloss without being too shiny. Can't. Live. Without. It. It isn't as cheap as Blistex but it lasts a long time and makes a great gift! Right, Mom?!
10. You. I am thankful for you! All 8 of you who read my blog (could be more, but only 8 of you "follow" it.). You keep me positive and always have GREAT feedback. Thank you. There's nothing better than blogging knowing that somebody is reading and actually seeks you out and looks forward to what you have to say.

Cheers!

Culinary Cry for Help

I love to cook. I think that's been evident from many of my previous posts. But I have been thrown a challenge. Chris and I have a good friend who's been diagnosed with an allergy to yeast and mold. We've been invited to a Christmas party at their home and it's a pot luck of appetizers and deserts. Poor Krista won't be able to eat much so I have volunteered to bring one of each and ensure that they are things she can eat.

I have pasted her list of "do NOT eat" foods below and am looking for some recipes that I can share with her as well as 2 to bring to the party; one sweet, one savory. Any suggestions are welcome as are any resources. Keeping in mind that Krista is a self-proclaimed bad cook. She's mastering the art of the crock pot and her husband, Justin, is pretty good with the grill.

Can't wait to see what my friends come up with here, and THANK YOU in advance for your suggestions :-)

Foods to avoid on a yeast free diet

Yeasty foods:

Breads, rolls, cookies, pastries, pretzels and other bready foods

Vinegar, and foods which contain it, like mayonnaise, salad dressing, barbecue sauce, mustard, pickles and pickled foods.

Wine, beer and spirits

Fermented foods and beverages like sauerkraut or cider

Moldy foods:

All cheese

Dried, smoked or pickled meats

Cured bacon

Mushrooms, peanuts, and pistachios

Soy sauce, miso, tamari, and tempeh

Malt

Pre-packaged herbs and teas

Canned tomatoes

Sugary foods:

Processed sugar (granulated, confectioner’s, brown)

Grapes, raisins, dates, prunes and figs; citrus fruits

Fruit juices and dried fruits

Soft drinks and drink mixes

Honey and maple syrup

High-fructose corn syrup

Chocolate

Starchy foods:

Corn

Potatoes

Experiment with Denim

I hate to iron. I try hard to buy wrinkle free garments and wear things that are forgiving of wrinkles. But there is one culprit in the laundry that drives me bananas. The auto-cuff feature of most jeans. I refuse to iron my jeans, so for years I have accepted the fact that the stupid seam on the bottom cuff of denim will always fold up.

A few weeks ago, you'll remember that I was in a HUGE rush and had to do last minute laundry to get to JA in time. My mom used to get after me all the time because my dirty laundry was always inside-out. As an adult, I have tried hard to take my clothes off without turning them inside-out, but it still happens, only now I tend to turn it the right way before tossing in the washer. That was, until a couple weeks ago.

See, when I threw that laundry in, I didn't have time to figure out what may be inside-out. I just washed and dried in a hurry. I did notice that my jeans were inside out (and dry!) but there was no cuff at the bottom. So for the past few weeks I have turned ALL my jeans inside out before washing and drying and guess what....NO MORE STUPID CUFFS AT THE BOTTOM! It actually cured the problem.

I waited to blog it because I wanted to make sure it consistently worked. And maybe none of you have this issue, and if you do, maybe it doesn't bug you like it bugs me...or maybe you really like to iron!

From now on, I wash jeans inside out.

Reinventing the Wheel

I am throwing culinary caution to the wind this week! I am going to cook Thanksgiving dinner as if there will be 15 people at my house this year. Sadly and happily, there will only be 4 of us. More leftovers for us that way!

My reinvention inspiration, you ask?! Here it is... on Saturday night, my friend Lisa and I had a girls night out. We went to dinner and the Little Big Town (country music) concert. We had dinner at Tag Restaurant in Denver and consumed what I would classify as one of the 10 best meals I have ever had in a restaurant. A-MA-ZING. And the French Onion "Soup" Dumplings were a completely new twist on one of the classics. The way it melted in my mouth and tasted like French Onion Soup sans the spoon I am drooling just thinking about it. That got me thinking, if this chef can do this to French Onion Soup, maybe I can do something to Thanksgiving.

It may be a little ambitious on my party, but hey, Friday is a paid holiday for me so I figure I should do something productive with my time, knowledge and love and appreciation of the culinary arts. Keeping in mind that my father-in-law can't have dairy AT ALL...Here's my subject-to-change plan for lunch on Friday:


Turkey Tortilla Soup (broth made from the carcass)
Mashed Potato Latke with thyme, sage and Hungarian Smoked Paprika
Sweet Potato Bread (like Banana bread, but not and only if I can figure out how to get the marshmallows off the top) with Cranberry glaze

And Farm Grandma Salad. Somethings shouldn't be messed with!

I am so excited to get in the kitchen that I can hardly stand it! Happy Thanksgiving! There will be before/after/after after pictures this weekend! Stay tuned!

Cheers!

Tis the Season

I love this time of year! I think Thanksgiving is neck-and-neck with Christmas Eve in my book. All the great smells, yummy food, happy people, paid days off...it's all so much fun!

But you know you are getting close to the holidays when the UPS truck has 2 guys in it! One driving like a bat after a bug and the other with one foot perpetually out the door, ready to leave the long anticipated package on the front porch.

Having a window like this makes it perfect for spying on our weird-o neighbor, the UPS guy and the dogs across the street that guard the back yard with an enthusiasm level opposite that of the UPS guys! They just look around, dig an occasional hole, but never bark. My favorite kind of neighbor dogs!