Cold!

The season has ended what little autumn Texas sees, and brought a tiny bit of winter. I'm not certain if autumn is completely over, but I am sad to see it go if it has.

It's now time to gear up for the busiest time of year. News is always brought to every family gathering I attend, and I'm eager to know what's transpired after the majority of 2009 has passed. I'll be cooking for each event, so I hope to have pictures and recipes to share.

Have a happy, chilly day!

Unhappy with Oprah

I feel strongly about this - don't laugh.

Yes, I'm one of the millions that have read the Twilight series. I admit it. They were a fun read, and I enjoy being in-the-know about this craze and all that goes along with it. However, I am very disappointed in the episode of Oprah today, which featured the author of the Twilight books, Stephenie Meyer. Oprah promised ME (a small exaggeration, but go with it) she would ask Stephenie if there will be a 5th installment of the series...NEVER happened.

I can't tell you how ridiculous it is that Oprah dangled this carrot of a revelation in front of all the fans (TWICE), and then never made mention of it later. Does she think she won't have the 13-year-olds blasting her on their LiveJournals, or the 10th grade English teachers giving her an earful on the Oprah Web site?! (Not to mention the married 20-something that DVR's Oprah regularly...)

I hope that someone will get through to Oprah, and in some Skype session, phone call or whatever - this burning question of Midnight Sun, or what ever name Stephenie Meyer chooses, and if it will ever be completed or restarted.

I hope I haven't scared you all.

Oh, Oprah.

Waiting on Photos

We're back from a fabulous time in Austin! I don't have any photos yet, but I will post them as soon as I do.

I'll try to give a small summary of what we did: look and eat. Done.

Friday we got in to Austin just in time for dinner. Qas made us Pakistani home-cookin, which was amazing. That's even an understatement. It was like no other food I've eaten in restaurants, and so much more flavorful. I'm hoping to get the recipes to try them in my kitchen at home. We spent the rest of the night catching up and talking each other's ears off.

Saturday morning we woke up and went to Mozart's for coffee and a biscotti (http://www.mozartscoffee.com), on Lake Austin. That lake has HUGE fish in it! I wish I would have taken a picture of these fish - and not to mention the size of the turtles! It was like an aquarium! Then we took a car tour, with the windows down, of Westlake Hills. Located off of Red Bud Trail, this is one of the nicest areas in the city. It had some great modern homes, adjacent to older split-levels with tons of charm. We lunched at Blue Dahlia in the up-and-coming part of East Austin. We sat on the back patio, that was shaded by overhead reed mats and palms. GREAT weather. I had the fig, honey and ricotta tartine, and Michael had a chicken salad and dried cranberry tartine. Very nice. Later, we traveled over to Pedernales State Park for some hiking and relaxing beside nature. Dinner was at Ranch 616, where the nightly specials is where it's at! I had the mixed grill special, which involved barbecued quail, venison, sausage, smoked poblano mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables. Michael and Jamie had the same special: filet mignon, pork tenderloin, asparagus, and lobster. Qas had another mixed plate of lobster, crab, duck and amazing sides. It was such a great meal! One of the hosts was a jerk, but every other person on the waitstaff was excellent. Then, in efforts to have a stupidly good time, we went to the bowling alley down the street for a little Buck Sisters versus the Men bowling action. Needless to say, The Buck Sisters were somewhat all bark and no bite, but didn't lose by much. A rematch is in order. Then we got changed and went downtown for some drinks and dancing. Dancing on Qas, Jamie and Michael's parts. I don't dance...well. We ended up seeing a few of my friends from college at the club, and got to have some fun with that.

Sunday we had brunch, home made by Jamie. I contributed a Challah, and she made eggs, sausage, Provencal tomatoes, and chai. Then we made a final tour of The Oasis and Lake Travis. It was misty, but still beautiful. Sometimes I forget those cliffs aren't in the Mediterranean, and are in the middle of Texas. Then we had an early dinner at El Borrego de Oro, and got on the road. We made a quick stop by Amy's Ice Cream (http://www.amysicecreams.com) before heading out of town for good so Michael could savor the flavor of Mexican Vanilla.

It was an excellent and tasty trip!

Weekend in Austin!

Today I am off work, which means my weekend started Wednesday night! I am prepping for this weekend when we go see Jamie and Qas in Austin.
I'm excited to visit Austin and be shown around by two people that actually live there. I've been to Austin before and always did the tour of the Capitol (yawn!) and other usual things. This time I'm going to experience the city with people that know the ins and outs - where the good features are. I'm mostly excited about the weather and the food! I'll post when I return!

Pumpkin House

The Great Pumpkin House at the Dallas Arboretum

...it's more like a hut.

Ginger Pepper Berry

I am being very productive today around the house, but I wanted to stop and blog (for the first time in over two weeks!). A week or so ago, we met up with our (Michael and my) good friends Matt and James at The Ginger Man. I haven't seen either one of the guys in a long time, and it was so much fun to hang out. Matt and his girlfriend live south of Dallas, and James just recently moved to Lubbock to get ANOTHER degree. How I long for the days of spending untold amounts of time hanging out! Anyway, the beer and cider were lovely, and I always enjoy their upstairs balcony. Good times!

Last weekend Michael's mom, Martie, and his sister, Amanda, came down to see us and go to the Dallas Arboretum. If you don't recall (those of you that are Dallas-dwellers), the Arboretum always has the Pumpkin Festival in the fall which features the Pumpkin House. It's awesome. There are pumpkins everywhere, and even a house made completely out of pumpkins. Also, there are a few displays of rare gourds (stop now if this is boring you), which are actually quite interesting. My BB didn't have enough space on it for more pictures, so the Pepper Berry Plant (as I like to call it...mainly because I didn't get the name) will have to do. This is a hedge on the outside of the big grassy areas, but it caught my eye. It's some sort of pepper variety, but it looks like a black bush full of cranberries and blueberries. Gorgeous! Then we headed out for lunch at Cafe Lago, one of my favorite cafes in the city. Good times again!

Now I must get back to the productivity! Happy Halloween!

Crafty Gift

For Michael's birthday, I learned a craft.
Quit laughing.
I learned to crochet, and made him a scarf.



Also, there's a pussy in the basket.

Michael's 24th Birthday

Michael had his 24th birthday this past weekend-slash-Monday, and I'd like to share. I will blog about our Friday evening in a bit. I must get a picture after I procure a model...

Saturday night we went out for drinks with Michelle and Corban at Gingerman. It was really busy, and we decided to move on. After drinks at our apartment, we went over to a mutual friend's housewarming party in Carrollton. It was a good time!

Sunday Michael chose his pre-birthday dinner: roasted potato and leek soup, crusty bread and Sprinkles red velvet cake cupcakes. What a menu! He looked through all of my Barefoot Contessa cookbooks and decided on the soup. (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-potato-leek-soup-recipe/index.html) It had roasted potatoes, roasted leeks, arugula, creme fraiche, white wine and Gruyere. It was so completely subliminal, I thought it must have had several sticks of butter. But no butter went into the recipe! Also, I made the crispy shallots to go on top -- another simple but incredible outcome. Anyway, I made everyone jealous at work with my leftover soup. And did I relish that jealousy? Of course. I will definitely make it again. And again.

Earlier that day, we picked up his birthday present from my family at Williams-Sonoma, which I will write about soon, and while we were there, we grabbed a Sprinkles cupcake mix. Now, I am not one to endorse cake mixes, for obvious reasons. The icing was amazing, but the cake itself wasn't the best. It was really rather dry, and not intensely-flavored as I had originally thought it would be. They looked very cute, though. Also, the package said it made 12 cupcakes (more than enough for two people, for sure), and the batter amount could easily confuse a home baker into thinking it made 24. Usually, with cupcakes you only fill the wrapper 2/3 or even 1/2 full - you don't want spillage on the tin. There was a TON of batter to be used, but I stuffed it into the wrappers in the hopes they would come out decently. Maybe that contributed to the dryness? Either way, I have come to a final conclusion. We'll be sure to buy them from the actual store next time!

Now for the birthday present. THE birthday present. Michael decided we were in horrendous need of a set of "good knives." (Surely an idea placed in his head by the one-and-only Ina Garten.) So, he asked for the Wustof knives from Williams-Sonoma, and now they sit in the kitchen. I feel so chefy! Except for they're his, and I am only privileged with the use one of the knives under supervision. ;) I have a tendency to slice through my fingers with super sharp knives.

Finally, Monday was Michael's actual birthday, which means even more celebrating. I made him a nice medium rare steak, roasted root vegetables, roasted Parmesan and garlic broccoli, and crusty bread. Then, more birthday red velvet cake cupcakes. It was a wonderful birthday weekend according to the old man!

Weather

It will be 85 degrees today in Dallas, Texas.

It will be 64 degrees in Boston, Massachusetts.

It's October. Why do I live here?

October is Here!

This weekend has been a good one, and it's not over! We made steak last night, and paired it with a Merlot and heirloom tomatoes. Simple, but filling and exactly what we wanted. Then, today we've made some plans, went grocery shopping, and relaxed at the apartment. Tomorrow my parents are hosting a birthday celebration for Michael at their house in Sherman. My mom is making chicken fried steak, green beans, yeast rolls, and a Bride's cake. I'm bringing smashed garlic-Parmesan potatoes and cards. We haven't been to Sherman for more than a month now, so that will be nice.

I went on an interview for an internship last Friday, and I was hoping to hear from them by the middle of next week. It turns out that they aren't going to make a decision until the end of November! Ugh. I'm a little put-off, but I'll just carry on with other avenues. We'll see what happens around Thanksgiving.

Presently, there is a Brenden Fraser movie marathon on HBO. I never knew he was in so many action movies. Anyway, we caught most of Journey to the Center of the Earth, and it wasn't bad. I never read the book, so I didn't catch most of the references to the text. Did anyone read it? I think I might throw it on my never-ending to-read list. There's no more room on my bookshelves at home!

On another note, I bought my first computer game...ever. Don't laugh. I haven't ever been into the computer or video game thing, so this will be interesting. I think it's a kids game, but it seems like a good time to me: