Cornbread-Topped Chili Con Carne & Chocolate Fondue

You've heard me talk about it. I've already told y'all to go download the recipe and get cooking.  Nigella Lawson's Cornbread-Topped Chili Con Carne is, in my mother's words, to die for. Now, the ingredients aren't anything to marvel over. Fairly standard for an outside-of-Texas chili. However, one thing Nigella adds in makes this chili incredible.

Cocoa.

{Nigella's Cornbread-Topped Chili Con Carne}*

Ingredients:

4 onions,  2 cloves garlic,  4 tablespoons olive oil,  2 teaspoons crushed chiles,  2 teaspoons ground coriander, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 5 cardamom pods,  2 red peppers, 1.5kg minced beef (We used ground turkey), 4 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes,  8 tablespoons tomato ketchup, 8 tablespoons tomato puree,  250ml water,  2 tablespoons cocoa, and 2 x 400g cans red kidney beans. 

*The rest of the recipe can be found in the link at the top of this post. 

• 
  
• Then, she puts cinnamon and honey in the cornbread topping! So smart, that Nigella! After following her directions, you should come out with something glorious like this!

Look at those crusty, cheesy bubbles!

 Then, plated, it looks like this lump of majesty. 

After eating way too much of the chili, we took a break before making our special dessert. I know you had been waiting for it, and here it is! We made chocolate fondue!

Ingredient display, Pioneer Woman Style.

 And yes, I chose to use Ghiradelli chocolate. Who can blame me?

We gathered the best of what we had for dipping.

Lightly salted pretzels.

Honeycrisp apple wedges.

Mini Marshmallows.

Graham Crackers.

...and Swiss Cake Rolls. You can't leave out Little Debbie!

 The 'hardware.'

 The setup. 

We toasted to the new year with Bailey's and whiskey-glass ice cubes.

Snow! Outside!

For this Texan, snow is a beautiful thing. I've lived through winters of yellow, dead grass or dirty icy snow storms for many years, so naturally, I smiled and ogled at the several inches of snow fall we just got here. 

Incredibly fluffy and gorgeous snow. 

Across the street neighbors. 

I open my door, and this is what I see!

And this!

I know these photos aren't much to speak of, but all around me are white birch trees, houses on hilltops, and mountains covered in this glorious white blanket. 

I keep having to remind myself I don't live at a ski resort. 

I'll try to take better photos as winter progresses.

Ripped in 30?

Welcome to a new year! I started my day with having my butt kicked by Jillian Michaels in her Ripped in 30 [Days] DVD.

via fitbottomedgirls.com 

What a wake up call. I bought the DVD initially because the weather was getting colder, preventing me from jogging outside, and I don't have a gym yet because I don't have a job yet! Boo-hoo, get over it and get it done, right?

It's a 4-week program (30 days total), and there's a new workout each week. Each workout gets harder, with different exercises, weights, etc. Let me tell you - it was tough! I'll report more later.

What I Wore Today: Museum New Year's Eve

 Saturday Husband treated me to a museum day around Pittsburgh. (Get ready for the photos!) I got excited about putting together my outfit, because as you know, you have to dress up to walk around the museum. So, I put on an outfit, and I walk down the stairs. Husband looks at me and says, "Why don't you wear some normal clothes?" What are these 'normal' clothes, I asked. Jeans, was his reply. Who wears jeans when you go to the museum!?

I informed him that I would wear what I please, and I felt like being pretty and special that day. Silly Husband. 

Here's what I came up with, using my first Modcloth dress.

Dress: ModCloth's Hometown Overlook Dress
Sweater: Merona/Target | Tights: George/Walmart

At the Heinz Museum

Dress Hem

Pit Stop at Caribou Coffee, a new favorite.

Patterns in my coat, dress and tights.

We headed to the Heinz History Center first. It was an interesting mix of Pittsburgh history, western Pennsylvania sports history, political history, and art.  

 Of course, there was half a floor dedicated to the Heniz Company history. My favorite part was their use of advertisements to get people to purchase their products. It would have worked for me!

Ignore the terrible focus and lines of these photos. I was going quickly!

 After a quick stop at Caribou Coffee for a Northern Lights Latte and REI for their garage sale (no luck!),  we headed to the Carnegie Museum of Art. When we drove into Pittsburgh for the first time, I saw a billboard for the Teenie Harris special exhibit at the Carnegie. Such wonderful photos.

The layout of the exhibit was perfect. Five rows of his prints (made from the originals), framed in white, on the museum wall. Perfect for viewing. Then, down the middle of the room, there were banks of computers with digital versions of the prints along the wall.

For a lifetime of work, it was an incredible sight. 

 In Harris' several decade-long career, he took many amazing photos. These are a few of my favorites. 

 The museum itself was gorgeous, too. 

Gallery hall. 

As we were leaving, we saw a large metal sculpture of an old compass rose. 

These two museums are must-sees for Pittsburgh visitors. I'm glad I was able to check them out on our New Year's Eve!

First Day of 2012

Today was the first day of 2012.
How did I spend today?
Husband and I organized the office/workout space, lamented over how much food we'd been eating, and thought about how many leftovers we still had in the fridge. Mostly, I just nursed my stomach and thought about eating more of that fabulous cornbread-topped chili. Absolutely ridiculous. You need to go buy the ingredients now.

I'll be posting various photos from the weekend, hopefully tomorrow, (maybe even with an outfit!) after Husband and I get a workout in over yonder in the cemetery. First, I'll give you a hint of some of our activities for NYE.

How did you spend your first day of 2012?