I need help

I have been enlisted to make an appetizer for our annual Christmas dinner with our family friends. This is the first year that I have been required to bring anything to the dinner besides my merry self, and I'm beginning to feel the pressure.

I need something with pizzaz and flourish. An appetizer that says, "Yes...Sarah made me; and I'm still going to taste delicious even if she did stray from the recipe." I need a WOW factor.

I've done some basic researching in order to gear myself up for this event, and I feel like I'm coming up cold. I'm trying to steer clear of the bruschetta, cheese and cracker, chips and dip sorts of appetizers and really go for a BANG ba da BOOM situation. Any suggestions?!?

No...I probably won't be making these wine-poached pears. But aren't they pretty!?

Happy Halloween!

It's Halloween. I was planning on eating an entire diet of candy today. This including my main showing of a candy dinner followed by a candy dessert. Tim was ready to take on this challenge with me...but we lost gusto around breakfast time when candy just didn't sound like the best way to kick off our day.

This presented slight problems as we have very little food in our house. We desperately need to go to the grocery. However, as I was perusing through the cabinets around dinner time, I discovered the necessary ingredients to make Pumpkin Ravioli! It seemed like a Halloweeny meal, so we went for it!

The following pictures are of marginal quality....I'm hankering for a nice new camera. We shall see.

Pumpkin being shtuffed in the ravioli shell!

The plated, finished product.

An over-exposed picture of the inside pumpkin situation.

Now, to sit and wait for trick-or-treaters! I'm bemoaning the fact that we live in an apartment complex with a gate out front. I'm guessing we get a total of ZERO Halloween cuties dressed up in cool costumes and demanding sugary goods. :(

Nomming!

My parents came home today. Being the wonderful, incredibly thoughtful daughter that I am, I decided to have a dinner prepared for the weary travelers.

The menu: Turkey Chili for the main course with an Apple and Cranberry Crisp for dessert. Of course I'll be pairing this with a nice fresh salad, and a California Red Table Wine that my Dad picked up. It's pretty much the best wine ever...pictures below.

Cranberries for the crisp. Tis the season!

The crisp getting ready for the oven!

So my dad came home with a bottle of wine to have for dinner. He picked it out especially for me. It's most definitely the best bottle I've seen in a long time.... :)

For anyone who doesn't know, I happen to be the middle child in my family. Of course, this is something I bring up everytime I have an argument with either my parents or siblings just in case I get pity points for being the token middle child. I never do.

I love the label on this bottle, however for our family it needed to be changed just a smidge.

Abbey, Sarah, and Spencer.

I tried to make the woman on stage right into a man so as to represent my brother Spencer, but my drawing skillz were not quite up to snuff.

I would recommend Middle Sister Rebel Red!! :)

Hot Dogs and Beans...But Different!

Yes. Last night Jane called for Hot Dogs and Beans...But Different.

How is it different? Who could say? I didn't grow up with hot dogs and beans, thankfully. In fact, I could probably go the rest of my life without eating them again and be a completely happy camper. Unless I'm camping, in which case hot dogs and beans might be just the ticket.

This meal was really a gold star for Josh, however, as the man has a mild obsession with hot dogs.

The finished product = not aesthetic. Seriously though, how can you make hot dogs and beans look good? Trying hard to not stray too far from the integrity of Jane's recipe, I managed to make this meal a bit healthier by using Hebrew National All Beef Hot Doggies, and Vegetarian Baked Beans. I also cooked a side-dish of red potato's and brussel sprouts, to additionally health things up a smidge.

It tasted pretty good. Not sure if it beats the Hamburger Bean Ring, but you be the judge.

If you click on the picture, it gets huge. You may note the additional recipe of the Meat Shortcake. This one we decided to nix on account of concerns for our arteries.

There you have it. Hot Dogs and Beans - But Different.

Real Housewife of Denver, CO

Doesn't pot roast just sound like the most domestic meal to make...ever? Well, being the wife that I am, I decided to make a Roast for dinner last night. Of course, it was also a perfect opportunity to try out my new cast iron slow cooker, complements of jailbird Martha Stewart, and her ingenious team of ever creative folks.

The Roast was smooth sailing. I decided to cook it in the oven rather than on the stove, thus shortening the six hours of cooking to a mere three. I did some chopping, slicing, dicing, (throwing in some potato's for good measure), stuck that Roast in the oven for a few hours and went on with my life.

Martha Stewart Cast Iron Slow Cooker

The Roast, pre-cooked

When I got back from running the mile high loop in City Park (it's so awesome that we live two blocks away from this!!), the Roast was beginning to smell delish. Tim treated me to a delightful appetizer of bruschetta, green grapes and vino; which brought us right up to exiting time for the Roasty Roast.

The Roast, directly after oven removal

After removing the Pot Roast from the oven, I was quite pleased that I had pulled this recipe off without a hitch! My typical M.O. usually necessitates one or two mistakes, potentially disastrous. Enter next image.

The Roast after meat removal.

Woops. Looks like I forgot to remove that wierd thingy that goes under raw meat before cooking. So whatever the deuce that is got slow cooked right along with everything else. Ergo I could only assume that any potential bacteria was nixed in the slow cook process taking place in 350 degree temperatures. No big deal. Tim and I simply disposed of the unknown, and carried on.

The Roast, sans meat.

The plated Roast.

Regardless of the slight mishap, the meal was great! I think next time I'll use beef broth, rather than water to give the gravy a bit more umph. Other than that, a winner!!

Sarah/Jane Project

Some time ago I stumbled on an estate sale where everything was extremely overpriced. Estate sales are such an enigma to me. They are either amazingly cheap or ridiculously expensive. This particular sale was definitely the latter. However, my thriftiness and thorough searching skills lent me to a fabulous find!! In the kitchen, under piles of old pots and pans, I discovered "The Jane Christopher Recipe File - A Collection of Tested Favorites from Families, Friends, and Neighbors, and Famous Chefs."

A quick glance through the contents told me that is was definitely worth the price-tag. Fifty cents cheaper, I walked out of that estate sale feeling pretty saucy (and that's NOT on account of about 50 sauce recipes included in the box).

I knew this was quite the find, but I wasn't quite sure how I should go about harnessing the power that I now possessed in the Jane Christopher Recipe File. As Tim and I were perusing the contents over our first meal in our new apartment, I was struck with an idea I can only attribute to my creative genius (And probably a smidgeon of credit goes to my predecessor Julie Powell, creator of the Julie/Julia Project. I can only hope they make a movie about meeeee!!)

Tim and I are embarking on the Sarah/Jane Project. The project is as follows. Each week, we will blindly and randomly choose a recipe from the file box, with a promise to make whatever treasure the card holds for us. When that specific meal is served, we will then choose another meal for the next week.

The Julie/Julia style was to cook through the entire Julia Child Cookbook in a year. I make no such promise to get through this file in a year, or even ten years. First of all, consider the finances necessary to make a new recipe daily; especially considering some of the meats Jane and I will be dealing with. Example: Braunschweiger. Yes, I had to look it up too. (Did I mention this file box was copywritten in 1955? Because that's pretty vital information for you to understand what the heck kind of meals we'll be cooking. ) Also, the leftover situation would be pure insanity! And finally, Tim and I want to freedom to take off at a moments notice to do something spontaneous, without having Jane Christopher hold us back!

Our first recipe was picked by Tim. Hamburger Bean Ring! Are you excited yet? Because WE WERE!! In my opinion, there's nothing more appetizing than a ring of meat!! Actually, I was really just excited to put my new casserole pan to use.

My recipe card: note 1955 copyright in lower left corner.

Alas. I failed to take a picture of the initial meat ring, but you can just see it peaking out at the top right corner of the picture.

The Bean Ring...Complete!

Happy and brave diners.

All in all, I would consider the initial installment of the Sarah/Jane project to be a roaring success. The food was genuinely enjoyed...and without cutting too many of Jane's corners, I tried to make the meal as healthy as a 50's dinner can be.

Next week..... "Hot Dogs and Beans...But Different!" (complements of one, Josh Davis).

Adventures in Baking

Eventually, at one point in my life, I WILL make a 4-layer cake. QUOTE ME! Countless times for people's birthday's, I've had good intentions about making a beautiful, four layered cake. Naturally, when my mother's birthday rolled around the corner (MAY 01...HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAPSIE!) I was obviously going to go for the big kahuna. I had the random, epiphanic moment of deciding that the cake was going to be coconut cream! Why? No idea. I don't even like coconut very much. Whatever. I thought my mom would like it.

SOOOOO....I looked at a few recipes online and sort of got a gist for the type of ingredients they needed. I obviously failed to write these down, and headed to the grocery without so much as a written, or mental list. (insert a subliminal plea for an iphone). I came home with some random food shenanigans, complete with three limes (they were a great price). I set off to make the cake; mentally combining a few recipes I remember looking at. I have a psuedo problem of making recipes up. This can, at times, be disastrous.

Mistake number 1: Did not take the high altitude into consideration. I mean, even if I had thought to, I would have had no idea what changes to make. Maybe add more flower? Whatever.

Mistake number 2: I used 8 inch cake rounds, rather than 9. Doesn't sound like a big problem, but let me paint you a mental picture of what the cakes looked like. I would say we had about a 2.5 inch vertical from the top of the pan, to the apex of the cake. There was also some additional horizontal cake action that kind of lipped over the pan edges.

Mistake number 3: I apparently, did NOT grease and flour the pans in such a way that would ensure a clean exit from the pan. This was frustrating to me, as I took a painstakingly long time to try and insure the aforementioned. I think the fault lies in the 8 inch rounds, rather than my greasing abilities.

Mistake number 4: After I had finally gotten the cakes out of the pans (I will spare you the details of how cake number 2 literally fell apart in my hands), I didn't want to wait until they were completely cool to start frosting. Result: structure failure.

Mistake number 5: I did NOT make enough frosting. But what can you really expect when you make up a recipe from your mind grapes? I mean, at least it tasted good.

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I will say, however, the toasted coconut on top really did an excellent camouflage job to cover the frosting, or lack thereof. All in all I would say it was a roaring success! My favorite was the reaction of Kapsie. "Oh Sarah! My goodness, I love it! It's really quite unique!"

BAHAHAH

Don't question the candle.

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2nd post in three days?

Yes. It’s true. I’m attempting to become better at updating zee blog. Why? Probably because I’m really important, I have so many followers, people need to know what I’m up to...and let’s just face it--lives depend on this blog. Exempli gratia, post numero DOS en trois jours.

First things first. Shoutout to the Denver Bronco’s. 5-0. Solid performance Kyle Orton. I’m thinking the special teams needs a smidgeon of work, however (um.....can we NOT give the other team THREE CHANCES to get a first down after we’ve held them off? eesh) And I suppose, since I’m feeling spirited, I’ll give the Rockies some credit as well. Playoffs two times in the last three years? That’s somewhat impressive after their drought of, oh, about a MILLION years without so much as tasting the playoff experience. Buffs...not so hot. Although I’m faithfully wearing a jersey every Saturday.

I will now take this opportunity to comment on the sheer ridiculouslity of Santa Barbarians. The date is October 11. The temperature is 62 degrees. OBVIOUSLY this calls for full-on winter garb. I’m talking mittens, scarves, wool coats, winter hats, leggings...and I wouldn’t be surprised if people have foot warmers in their knee high boots. Ok, YES, I know you just spent 300.00 on a coat that is far to warm for this environment. By all means, get some use out of that overpriced piece of wool. While it may exemplify this season’s latest trends, you and I both know that you’re sweating like a pig in there, and just pretending that you’re still cold (as you pull on your trendy fingerless mittens that serve absolutely no purpose while you shop for yet more useless winter garb). To cut the Saint Barby’s some slack, many of them have never been exposed to environments that drop below 45 degrees. However, knowing that almost everywhere else in the world gets colder than it does in Santa Barbara, California, I can’t help but think all this winter clothing is just plain silly.

While I’m on the topic of clothing, I’d just like to point out one more fashion woops that basically drives me crazy. Belt-buckles that spell words. In my opinion, there is a lot going wrong with these babies. First of all, they usually say ridiculous things like “cutie,” or “hot.” Second, they draw attention to an area of the body that is somewhat personal. Call me crazy, but I don’t think I would want someone staring at my crotch until they figured out that my belt spelled “stop looking at my crotch.” Maybe I’m the only one this fashion trend bothers. Maybe because I’m missing the social buffer that says, “hey, someone just walked by with an ugly belt that spelled something, but don’t stare”--because I can’t let it go. You’d better believe I’m going to follow that person until I know what statement they’re trying to make with the apparatus they use to keep their pants up.

That said, I feel as if I can move on to bigger and better posts. Por ejemplo. Today I was domestic. I made (1) applesauce, AND (2) chili.

1. For some reason, I don‘t like applesauce from the store, and I only like it if it’s warm. So it’s just easier for me to make. Aaaaaaand it makes the house smell SOOOOO good. It’s also very autumnal....
2. CHILI! It’s football food. And it’s nice and warm--a perfect compliment to a gray day. My first attempt at Kapsie’s usual make---and I’d like to think I represented the recipe quite well. Of course, I was missing several key ingredients, but I’m a master improviser. Let’s just saw I had no complaints.

As a conclusion to my endless and pointless babble, I will say that I’m an epic fail as a member of my book club. We are reading East of Eden, by John Steinbeck. And when I say “we,” I mean everyone but myself. I successfully finished the first chapter the other night. (hooray!) I’m supposed to be on Chapter 30. I don’t know what’s come over me. I’m typically such a good reader--I need to get my tooshie in gear. I know, I should probably just stop blogging.

PSYCH.

As if I would desert all of my avid readers at the drop of a hat. I don’t think so.