Perfect Soup For Cold Winter Day

I just came across the best resolution list ever!  It's a food resolution list from Brown Eyed Baker, a baking blog I just found.

The first thing that caught my eye on her blog was this picture of French onion soup and the great recipe accompanying it.  I love this soup in the winter but have never tried making myself because it seemed little intimidating.  Have you ever made it?

And then as I was reading about the soup, I saw her food resolution list from 2009.  It includes the 100 different kinds of food that she was try making.  She then went back a few weeks ago and crossed off the things that she'd actually made along with a link to the recipe she used (click on the word "complete" below to go to her recipe pages).  What a great idea!  Take a look at her list:


Yeast Goodies:
1. Focaccia bread
2. Bagels ~ Completed
3. English muffins ~ Completed
4. Challah ~ Completed 
5. No-Knead bread
6. Ciabatta
7. Babka ~ Completed (Chocolate Babka)
8. Kaiser rolls
9. Panettone
10. Sour dough bread
11. Parker House Rolls
12. Olive oil bread
13. Baguettes ~ Completed
13. Croissants ~ Completed
14. Donuts
15. Yeasted Coffee Cake

Quick Breads:
16. Zucchini bread ~ Completed
17. Gingerbread
18. Shortbread
19. Irish Soda bread ~ Completed
20. Popovers
21. Herbed Cheese and Beer bread ~ Completed

Cookies/Bars:
22. Blondies ~ Completed with Coconut Chocolate Chunk Blondies
23. Macaroons ~ Completed with Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons
24. Snickerdoodles ~ Completed
25. Gingerbread cookies
26. Rugelach ~ Completed
27. Seven Layer Bars ~ Completed
28. Cannoli ~ Completed

Spoon Desserts:
29. Chocolate Mousse
30. Souffle
31. Baked Alaska
32. Bread pudding ~ Completed
33. Creme Brulee

Pastries:
34. Danish ~ Completed (Daring Bakers May 2008)
35. Strudel
36. Nutroll
37. Baklava
38. Éclairs ~ Completed
39. Cream puffs ~ Completed
40. Turnovers
41. Gougeres

Cakes:
42. Crumb Cake ~ Completed
43. Coffee Cake ~ Completed
44. Pineapple Upside Down Cake ~ Completed
45. Charlotte
46. Angel food cake
47. Carrot cake
48. German chocolate cake
49. Pumpkin roll
50. Black Forest Cake
51. Black bottom cupcakes ~ Completed
52. New York cheesecake
53. Chocolate cheesecake
54. Bundt-style cake (rum)
55. Better Than Sex Cake
56. Flourless Chocolate cake
57. Boston Cream Pie
58. Tiered Cake ~ Completed for class and a wedding shower

Pies:
59. Lattice-topped pie ~ Completed on my blueberry pie
60. Blueberry pie ~ Completed
61. Pumpkin pie
62. Chocolate cream pie
63. Pecan pie

Italian:
64. Lasagna
65. Stuffed Shells
66. Manicotti
67. Chicken parmesan
68. Fettuccine Alfredo ~ Completed
69. Homemade noodles ~ Completed
70. Pigu ~ Completed
71. Tortellini
72. Deep dish pizza
73. Calzones ~ Completed with Italian Supreme Calzones
74. Stromboli
75. Frittata

Soups, Entrees, and Sides:
76. French onion soup ~ Completed
77. Minestrone
78. Cream of mushroom soup ~ Completed
79. Coq au Vin
80. Beef stroganoff
81. Baked ham
82. Lamb
83. Stuffed cabbage
84. Roast chicken
85. Beef Wellington ~ Completed!
86. Stuffing
87. Fritters
88. Baked beans

Frozen Desserts:
89. Homemade ice cream ~ Completed with Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
90. Sorbet
91. Semifreddo ~ Completed with Chocolate Espresso Semifreddo

Miscellaneous (not sure what category these go in!):
92. German Apple Pancake
93. Crepes
94. Quiche ~ Completed
95. Spanakopita
96. Petit Fours
97. Gingerbread House
98. Fudge ~ Completed
99. Pierogi ~ Completed
100. Truffles

101 and Beyond…
101. Sfogatelle
102. Braised Short Ribs
103. Butternut Squash anything
104. Kouign Amann
105. Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
106. Moussaka
107. Egg Rolls
108. Potstickers/Dumplings
109. Homemade onion rings
110. Guacamole

All I have to say about this list is WOW!  I need to get myself some resolutions and fast.  Do you have a food list?

When Cookies Meet LOST

When my friend Christy told me to check out a food blog called My First Kitchen, I had no idea that I would find the marriage of two of my favorite things...cookies and the show LOST!  

Kendra has some yummy stuff on her blog but these are what caught my eye.  Aren't they great?

Take a look at her post if you want to see how to make these!  :)

Should We Party With Oscar?

The oscar nominations are out and I for one am excited!

I think there have been some really great movies this past year and I am looking forward to seeing who walks away with the golden statue.  I know, I sound like Billy Bush (the guy from Access Hollywood) but I genuinely enjoy the whole movie process and there is a thrill in seeing your favorite movie or actor winning.  

The only problem is that since I've had kids, I can barely make it to the movies so it's hard for me to see even a portion of the nominated movies before the Oscars.  But this year, I'm going to challenge myself to somehow see the major contenders before the big night.  I might even throw together an Oscar night party at my place if I'm able to achieve this very silly but fun goal.

Who's with me?  Any thoughts of doing the same?

Great Giveaways At ScaryMommy!

Take a look at these beautiful and fun things you could win from Jill's give away at Scary Mommy.  All you need to do is comment on her give away posts.

Here is the post you can comment on to win a $50 gift certificate from The Vintage Pearl:

Here is the post you can comment on to win up to $75 worth of goodies from Bread & Butter:

Here's the post you can comment on to win a Wilton Cake Decorating Kits ($180 value):

And finally, here's the post you can comment on to win the Love in the Kitchen Trio from Bread & Butter:

I'm so excited about these giveaways!  I hope one of us wins something.  Let me know if you win.  I'm keeping my fingers.  :)

Someone Help Me!

I just realized something disturbing.  I've suspected it for a while but it really hit me today.  I have a bad case of exclamationitis!

That's right ladies and gentlemen, I am an overly obsessive and chronic exclamation point user!!!

I use it all the time, on facebook, on my blog, in e-mails (God help me even in the occasional work e-mails), and even in my own personal documents and to do lists.  I can't help it.  It's gotten so bad that I can barely finish a sentence without pulling one out (let alone two or three)!

Apparently, it's an absolute no no in well thought of writing manuals and books.  But even though I'm well aware of this fact, I still pull it out at a drop of a hat.  Somehow I think that I am except from the rule because what I'm saying is really really exciting and is in desperate need of one of those shapely vertical lines atop a perfect sphere.

Any treatment ideas are welcome.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOST

T-minus one hour until the season premiere. (see update below)

I'm glad this is the final season.  It's time to wrap it up and let us in on all the mysteries and twists and turns they've taken us on...especially for those of us that have been loyal watchers since the first episode. Did you watch?  What did you think?

Well, the premiere didn't disappoint in terms of total confusion and dozens of strange surprises.  I don't want to spoil it here for the people that haven't seen it but I have tons of theories about what's happening, especially the Sayid thing... loved that!  Take a look at this site for some interesting theories from different LOST fans.  I'd love to hear your theories... 

Discovering The German Pancake

Have you ever tried making a German pancake?  I had never even heard of it until a few weeks ago.  We were walking through William Sonoma (where everything is so beautiful but way to expensive) when I saw a mix for it.  Since my family loves breakfast foods I looked it up a few days later and decided to give it a try. It's a cross between a regular pancake and a soufflé.  When you take it out of the oven, you sprinkle powdered sugar on it and then eat it hot with maple syrup and if you're adventurous a squeeze of lemon.  My family loved it the first time I made it so it's because a regular weekend treat in our house.

I made it today for friends that came over for a playdate.  Take a look:

Here's the recipe from foodnetwork.com in case you want to try it:

German Pancake

 Ingredients

• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup milk, warmed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons vegetable shortening
• Confectioners' sugar
• Marinated Berries or Glazed Apples and Pears, recipes follow
• Serving suggestion: Maple syrup

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt, sugar, milk, vanilla, and butter. Whisk in the flour to make a smooth batter. Set aside.

Heat a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and brush the inside with the shortening. Pour in the batter and bake for 15 minutes.

Lower the oven to 350 degrees F. and continue baking until puffed and golden brown, about 13 to 15 minutes more. Run a knife around the edge of the skillet. Sift the confectioners' sugar over the pancake. Serve immediately in the skillet with maple syrup, marinated berries, or glazed apples and pears.

We also had a couple of other treats! :)

Not all of our playdates involve such treats but today we decided to spruce it up a bit.  It was a yummy morning!

Glimpses of Cuarnavaca

In honor of one of my best friend's tenth wedding anniversary, I wanted to share a few pictures of one of the best weekends of my life and loveliest cities I've visited.  Ten years ago, I was lucky enough to be part of a beautiful wedding in Cuarnavaca, Mexico.  Have you ever been?  If you ever go to Mexico City, you need to take the trip south to this gem of a city.

I knew nothing about the city and was a little nervous on the hour and half bus ride south from Mexico City.  It was hot and I was exhausted from the trip down but the minute I got off the bus I was impressed by the city's charm.  The weekend was filled with celebration, laughter and joy and a great deal of exploration of the city.  Here are just a few pictures of the wedding weekend.

We all stayed at the Rancho Cuernava.    It's an old fashioned ranch with lost of splendid gardens and romantic rooms.  My room had a fireplace which was such a treat.  It was cold enough at night that I think we actually used it!

The rehearsal dinner was at one of the most historic and beautiful sites in Cuernavaca, the Hacienda Cortes, a sixteenth century sugar cane hacienda founded by Hernandez Cortes.  The first picture is of two of the bride's close friends singing her a song that they had written for her.  Can you imagine?  It was cool!

And the wedding was at an old church called la Parroquia del Divino Salvador in the nearby town of Ocotepec. 

Isn't this carriage romantic?

I love the great columns in this picture.  I don't even remember them probably because I was too wrapped up in the wedding moments but looking at them now...wow, the details are so intricate.  
















Happy 10th Anniversary my dear friend!

Outside Celebrations

Have you ever been to an outdoor wedding or dinner party?  It has a completely different feel than the traditional way most of us gather to celebrate and eat.  Feeling the wind on your shoulders as you eat and share the joy of the occasion is so fun.

I have to admit, I've only attempted to do it once when I had a ladies brunch outside and even though it was fun, I thought it was tough to orchestrate.

Here are a couple of outside gathering from two beautiful blogs.  The first is the header photo from Maya's blog, Completely Coastal.  Doesn't it make you want to live close to the beach and have friends that love to entertain like this?

The other blog is all about weddings!  This picture is from Emily Newman's website Once Wed.

What do you think of outside weddings?  I have been to a few outsides weddings.  Two of my closest friends did outside weddings, one on Orcas Island (off the Seattle coast) and the other in Cuernavaca, Mexico.  Both were magical.

I was too nervous to ever contemplate an outside wedding because of the unpredictability of the weather and the bugs.  I'm the kind of person that will attract any mosquito within a hundred mile radius so I'm terrible with outside gatherings but I do love them.

Photograph by: Sarah Yates Photography

Don't these picture make you want to have beautiful outdoor parties!?

Glimpses of Morocco

Here's a country that I'm eager to visit but also probably not in the cards for the near future.  Morocco!  My brother went last year and had an amazing time.

I hear Marrakech is amazing.  I have a few friends that have gone and just rave about it.  Have you ever been?  Here are his pictures of Marrakech, Fez and Tangiers!

This is where he stayed in Marrakech.  It's called Ksar Char Bagh.  Check out their website...great pictures and interesting music.

And finally....