…busy enjoying the omelet…recipe will be posted shortly.

—

I have a confession to make. The past week or so I have been avoiding Etsy (because I gave my favorites list to the Boy for Christmas shopping and don’t want to be tempted to peek), so I didn’t have my usual list of new favorites for inspiration. But happy, delicious, festive cranberries have been on my mind, and these are some of my favorite results gleaned from that search.

Other festive red things on my mind include red lipstick, red patent-leather Mary Janes, and contemplating the idea of using red ninja packing tape for mailing Christmas packages (from Archie McPhee, some day I’ll have to devote an entire post to that wonderful WONDERFUL store).

But back to that tart fruit, this recipe for cranberry relish reminded me of one of my favorite holiday hors d’oeuvre: cranberry salsa with lemon brie. It’s delicious, so pretty, and my favorite holiday party snack.

Cranberry Salsa with Lemon Brie Spread

Cranberry Salsa:
2 cups fresh cranberries, chopped
3 medium green onions, chopped
1 small red jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for 4 hours. This isn’t really a “make the day before” recipe, but it comes together quickly, especially if you have a food processor.

Lemon Brie Spread:
3/4 lb brie
8 oz cream cheese
1/3 teaspoons black pepper
1 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
Bring cheeses to room temperature. Remove rind from brie. Mix all ingredients thoroughly and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature for serving.

Serve together with crackers. See, I told you, easy! The brie acts as a nice cement to anchor the salsa on top of the cracker. I like the Pepperidge Farm butterfly crackers, or of course, Carr’s Table Water Crackers.

Items available from Etsy.

Heart bowls from Red Hot Pottery.

Cranberry Fig Soap from Cocoa Beans.

French Pet Lobster Shirt from Xenotees.

Necklace from Mia Sophia.

…when you are trying to get to class on time.

My transit ride into school today was ridiculous. I should have sauntered into my lecture right when it was beginning, but no…I was 30 min late. And when your class is only 50 min, it hardly seems like it was worth the effort to even go out there!

But before we get to that, let’s check out breakfast on the run.

It started with a glass of Happy Planet Tropical Tango.

I downed that while I gathered items for my “to-go” breakfast.

I packed up some yogurt, topped with peanut butter and homemade pumpkin butter into my handy dandy thermos, and brought along the granola and muffin because I couldn’t decide which I actually wanted in the yogurt!

I also grabbed a Cashew Cookie Larabar, as I wasn’t sure how long I’d be out of the house today (never consumed).

So back to the transit debacle. The train was normal, but when I got off to get the express bus to campus, the line up was insane. This bus comes every few minutes in the morning, and I waited at the station for 25 min, during which two busses came (the first was too full before I could get on). Then we get onto the school endowment lands, and it is a parking lot. Turns out all of the trolley bus wires were covered in frost, and the trolley buses lost power and couldn’t go any further onto campus (the bus I take isn’t a trolley bus). So it was a complete mess. Someone failed and de-icing those lines – here’s hoping they get it figured out tomorrow, since it’s going to be another cold one tonight.

Instead of taking notes in class (our prof puts them all online afterwards anyways), I just enjoyed my breakfast. I went with the granola – I’m sure my crunching was annoying to those sitting around me, but meh, not my problem

After class I went on another bus adventure (this time it went smoothly), to BC Children’s Hospital. I have finally scored a volunteer opportunity with a dietitian! I have a friend who just completed her RD, and she got me in contact with some senior dietitians at her hospital who had projects I could potentially work on. I’m doing some work with one of the Renal Dialysis Unit RD’s, putting together 72-hour emergency disaster kits for their dialysis patients. They are like the emergency kit we should all have, but designed to have foods the kids can eat in case they can’t get to dialysis due to an emergency/disaster (like an earthquake). It was really interesting, learning about the aspects of an acute renal failure diet, plus I was able to meet up with my friend at the Starbucks for coffee. And by coffee, you know I mean a green tea latte

I left the hospital around 1 pm, and because it was such a beautiful, crisp, sunny day, I decided to walk the 20+ blocks back to the street where I needed to catch my bus. Strangely, lunch hunger crept up on me just as I was walking towards Whole Foods. I know, crazy how those things happen I took it as a sign I should grab a bite to eat.

Although the hot/salad bar was soooo tempting, I’m saving that monetary splurge for after my last winter exam. Instead, I grabbed a sandwich and a spritzer.

This is the Sea To Sky Sandwich (named after the highway between Vancouver and Whistler) – chicken, brie, greenery (can’t remember what it was), and basil pesto on foccacia bread. I had it grilled up, because sandwiches are always better grilled.

Once my belly was happy and full, I hopped back on the bus and made my way home.

I watched the hockey game (win!), and waited around until I was actually hungry for dinner.

Mom made a roast beef pot pie. Homemade pastry crust is one million times better than store bought, hands down.

With some corn.

And a scoop of apple/craisin/pecan salad.

Enjoyed while watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation with my sister

And someone brought home this box of Timbits.

I may have consumed a few this evening.

And now it’s that time where I say goodbye and head off to sleep. Or at least read a bit. Big group presentation tomorrow – once that’s done, I’m so close to being free! Night.

Several years ago at a small house-made-restaurant in Houston whose name I can’t remember anymore, I tried a turkey sandwich that had pears and brie on it. It was so delicious I’ve wanted to try it again ever since, but I haven’t run across it again on restaurant menus. So I decided to make one myself. It was delicious, although next time I’ll go with french bread instead of a sliced bagel, as the bagel was a little too dense for this sandwich.

Pear and Brie Sandwich

Pear and Brie Sandwich

Ingredients: brie, sliced bartlett pear, sliced smoked turkey, bread (french bread recommended)

1. Set out the brie for about 10-15 minutes to soften at room temperature.
2. Slice the bread.
3. Layer turkey, pear slices, and brie slices to your liking.
4. Enjoy!

Hi all!
I have about 3 minutes to blab about the cheesy sights that I’ve seen today! Then I have to go back to work.. which is ok, because I get to work with the cheese – lucky me! Today was cheese arrival day! What does that mean exactly? Well, it means skids and skids of holiday cheese to sort through!

We got in tons of cheese, that are currently smelling up our packing area.. and not in such a good way. It seems the smells of the various cheeses are kind of clashing… makes me want to send it all to you now! Ok, well, not allll of it!

I am so excited to see one of my favourites, Brillat aux Truffes sitting on the skids! I know its sort of a cliche favourite, but it really is great! Who doesn’t like a brie… that has truffles in it?? It’s like someonecut open one of my favourite foods and shoved another one of my favourite foods right on in there! Its such a fantastic mix of creamy and rich and sharp and savoury. mmm! I can’t wait to break one open!

I ought to be going back to work, writing up cheese description for all of our holiday cheese buyers! Keep your eyes (and mouths) out for more of my favourite cheeses!

Cheese ya later!

The Cavepeople’s take on a classic appetizer. This is part of the TJ’s Appetizer Trio that will make your next soiree appear to be a high-priced affair … for only about $6 a head!!

INGREDIENTS

Preheat oven to 350°.
Drain peaches from canning juice, reserving 1/4 cup of the liquid. Place peaches and reserved juice into a food processor or blender, coarsely blend (do not liquify!), and set aside.
Place the wheel of cheese centered in a small round baking dish. Cover cheese with peach sauce, pecans and cherries.
HINT #1: Make sure there is some room for the sauce to expand in the dish when cooked.
Place in oven with some type of drip pan underneath the baking dish, in case of boil-over. Cook for 20-25 minutes, remove from oven, and let stand for 5 minutes before serving with your favorite crackers or fresh slices of Baguette.
HINT #2: If you are having a bigger get-together just get the larger 10″ or 12″ wheel, add about 50% more peaches, and double the other ingredients.

Prep Time = 10 minutes
Cook Time = 30 minutes
Serves 6-8

©2009 Caution: Caveman Cooking/UHearMe, Inc. All rights reserved. This recipe originally appeared on the Caution: Caveman Cooking blog at http://cavemancooking.wordpress.com authored by Caveman. This recipe may be shared and reprinted as long as this entire copyright message accompanies it.

I think Brie makes just about anything taste better.  This recipe was pretty darn easy to make, and I wasn’t sure if it would be flavorful enough, but it was! Toby’s comment was “I am not sure I like arugula.” Well, I think the arugula MADE this dish. Something about a forkful of the pasta, the cheese, mushrooms, and then the peppery arugula. MMMM. I suppose you could sub spinach. Really good. Serve this with some warm crusty bread.

rating: 8.5

Pasta with Brie, mushrooms, and arugula

(from the Nov. 09 issue of Real Simple magazine)

Bubblies should not always be used a the end of dinner for celebration.  There is a wide range of foods that sweet, semi-sweet, and fully dry sparklers can be paired with.  Their high levels of acidity and carbonation lend themselves well to a vast range of food stuffs.  Lets start with the sweet sparklers like Asti Spumante.

The grape used to make Asti is called Moscato.  This grape has naturally high levels of sugar, a low complexity and high aromatics.  These sparklers are great to either start a dinner or to finish.  Their sweetness and low level of alcohol make them a good aperitif.  They generally dont go too well with savory meaty foods but you can find a nice compliment with some salads.  A salad of mixed greens, sliced fruit, crumbled blue cheese and some sort of berry vinaigrette would go perfect.  For dessert, you would have to go on the light side.  An apple or pear tart, fresh fruit salads, and some cakes would work well.  The sweet apple and pare flavors of the wine would accompany the fruits very nicely and the bubbles would do a good job at cleansing your palate.

Next we have dry sparklers like Prosecco.  This sparkling wine is made from the Prosecco grape in the Veneto region of Italy.  They can be fully dry, but some may have a tiny bit of residual swetness.  We’ll stick to the dry ones for now.  These wines are very fresh, crisp, low in alcohol, fruity and sometimes even display a slight mineral character which makse them excellent as aperitifs.  Because of the low alcohol and low level of complexity you want to keep the the foods simple and stay away from red meets.  Prosecco can also go well with fried foods(veggies,squid and other fish) because of the carbonation and high acidity. Food recommendations:

Toasted bread topped with tomatoes

Fish tartar

Smoked  salmon, cream cheese, onions and cucumber on toasted bread

Delicately prepared filets of fish(sole, trout, bass) basically white flaky fish

Pastas with light sauces

sauteed veggies

A variety of light chicken dishes

Now we are going to get into the good stuff: Champagne, Franciacorta, Cava, and Cremant.  These are all sparkling wines made from the Champenois Methods.  These sparklers are fuller in body and more complex due to the aging criteria.  Click here and here to read about these wines and how they are made. One of my favorite Champagne pairings is with sushi.  Aim to buy a Blanc de Blancs because these are made with 100% Chardonnay which means that they are lighter in body and more elegant.  The delicate crispness and bready character pair excellent with the rice and raw fish.  The smoked eel sushi is one of my favorite combinations.  Be careful with the use of soy sauce and wasabi because these flavoring tend to over power the wine AND THE SUSHI.

Some people forget what an actual shrimp looks like...

Creamy risottos prepared with Parmesan cheese  are superb.  Any type of crustacean(shrimp, lobster, crab, etc) are perfect with Champagne.  Mollusk(clams, oysters, scallops, muscles) and crustacean pasta dishes present a wide range of great pairings. Battered and fried oysters with a touch of lemon aiole is great way to start a meal.   Why not pair Champagne with cheese too?  Fresh brie and goat cheeses work well because they are not too strong in flavor.  The carbonation cleans your mouth from the creamy brie and the tangyness of goat cheese matches the sharp acidity in the wine.   most types of chicken dishes work well with these types of sparkling wines as well.  Don’t be afraid to try veal and pork either.  Once again, try to avoid red meats.

As you can see, there is an infinite amount of possibilities when pairing food with sparkling wines.  This is where you want to let your imagination run loose.The point I want to get a across is that bubbly should not only be popped for celebration purposes.  There are so many food pairing opportunities out there that are waiting to be discovered.   The key to enjoying food and wine is to try new wines with new foods.  When you find that perfect combination, I can assure you that you will never forget that moment.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!!!!  Are you ready for some Sunday night football???  Should be a blood bath tonight, but I have a lot to do before then!

I slept in a bit and ate our last piece of fruit for breakfast…

Heated apple with cinnamon and pb, Go Lean Crunch, Shredded Wheat, H2H and Uncle Sam.  With a mug.

After breakfast I headed out to 3 different grocery store…ugh.

First up was Trader Joe’s.  I needed almond butter and coffee and TJ’s is really the only place it makes sense to buy them.  Of course I got some other things while I was there

I then went to Giant to get Nick his regular grocery store things, Boar’s Head deli meat, salt and vinegar chips etc.  Lastly I stopped at the Shoppers to get the large Okios and use one of my buy 2 get 1 free coupons from Brown Cow.  Sharing the yogurt wealth.

I returned to make a delicioso lunch!

I had been wanting melted brie for a while now, and I remembered to pick up some light brie at TJs today.

The cheese really was melted, but I don’t have a press (yet! Coming for Christmas!!!) so it stayed in its slices.  Along with the brie I had spinach and pumpkin butter.  Really good combo.

I also had a plain Brown cow pb&j yogurt.

Love this combo, but it is even better with bananas.  I wonder if they have tried to make a pb&j yogurt yet?

All together now.

  With a glass of iced tea.

I am now soaking up some last minute relaxing before going for a run, making pumpkin chili, cleaning and then watching the Ravens!!!!!!

See you for the game!

Dear Roommate Agatha,

You were right–Kiwi, Fig, Brie and Bacon don’t go well together.

Love,
Allie.

P.S. But in certain combinations, they can be delicious (especially with buttery puff pastry!)

Inspired by a recipe from cooktobang.com, I decided to make my own variation on the Kiwi Melt-In-Your-Mouth. I will say that the actual recipe has a few too many ingredients for my taste–I’m not sure that I love the combination of bacon and kiwi, but it was worth a try. Here’s what happened with this recipe:

I bought a package of frozen puff pastry shells from Shaws on sale for…, bacon on sale for…, kiwis on sale for…, brie on sale for…, and dried figs for full price (sadface). I tried making fig jam with it, but that just failed miserably, so for this, I just used the rest of the dried figs.

I put the pastry shells in the oven as directed on the box. When they were done puffing, I took a fork and lifted the centers out. (The centers are buttery and crusty. I definitely ate them with some leftover kiwi slices). For the pastries, I tried a few combinations:

Bacon (cook it first) and brie
Kiwi, fig and brie
Kiwi, fig, bacon and brie (the flavors clashed a little)

After you’ve filled the centers with kiwi, fig and/or bacon, put a slice of brie on top and pop the tray back in the oven for 5 minutes. It’ll melt the cheese and warm the fruit. When they come out give them 2 minutes to cool and serve.

The first two were delicous. Both could easily be a fatty breakfast food to start off your Thanksgiving morning (when you wake up at 8AM to cook that massive turkey!). The Bacon and Brie were the more savory of the appetizers and I felt stuffed after eating only one (or, I’ll admit it, two…). The fruit ones were delicious and lighter and were a nice compliment to the bacon pastries. I’d suggest making both together so your guests, roommates, or family will have a choice.

Roommate Agatha liked the fruit ones. Roommate Kristin would probably like the bacon ones. This was a great idea. Kind of fatty-but great!

Los Campesinos! – Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks
Los Campesinos! – Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks (2008)
Los Campesinos! – Death to Los Campesinos

I don’t speak Spanish, but apparently “campesinos” translates to “peasants” in English. Los Campesinos! is a 7-piece pop band from Wales and their lead singer is adorably awkward when you see them live. You may be wondering to yourself, “why did she post the same song twice? Is that a mistake?” No it is not! I have two versions of the song from two different times. I haven’t been able to track down the year for the first one, but I’m pretty sure it’s the demo version.

I’m not sure which I prefer. I think I may actually like the demo better, even though it’s a little rougher. What do you think? Which song do you prefer? Which puff pastry melt do you prefer?

Perhaps it was the fond memories of some crazy Frenchies we met on Friday night on the M15…but when stopping at my bodega for a cheesy snack while slightly intoxicated and feeling very content with the memories of a really fun weekend…I knew what I needed was France’s king of cheese…le brie!

So I scooped up a wedge of brie, swung around from some carr’s water cracker, and enjoyed this delicious snack in my bed while googling lady gaga videos. (I can’t believe I just put that on the Internet).

I have been putting off going to the grocer store for approx two weeks and the situation was getting dire and I was running out of excuses to eat every meal out when I am supposed to be watching my pennies. I went with the intention of picking up just enough to last the week, and some things I could eat my brie with.

I chose turkey from the deli counter, a Toufayan flatbread, and a granny smith apple. Then I grilled the turkey and the brie in the flatbread until the bread was toasty and the brie was melty, and then I removed it and slipped in a layer of thinly sliced granny smith apple and a couple of squirts of honey mustard. This was delicious.

I initally began eating this sandwich after a recipe in Self magazine…I had never thought of grilling the brie before, and the did it in a wrap, which is what I did before this flatbread adventure. In some ways, the wrap was advantageous to the recipe. It didn’t involve quite as much brie because it can’t hold that much. It was easier to eat the apples in the wrap than on the flatbread, because they weren’t slipping out.

On the pros for the flatbread side…it made a heartier sandwich for a hungry girl (or guy!). It was also very visually appealing, because in the flatbread you could see the brie all dripping down the sides and stuff which was kind of hot. I wanted to take a picture, but m camera is missing. I am like 95% sure its in my room somewhere but I really can’t seem to locate it. Basically, I would make this sandwich either way in the future.

Another variation I used to order at lunchtime when I was employed was the ‘Alice’ sandwich from NYC sandwich shop Toasties (it’s a chain). This was served on a think multi-grainish bread (I can’t remember exactly) and featured turkey, cold brie and extremely thinly sliced apples, honey mustard, maybe some like sprouts or something? I might be confusing it with another sandwich but I don’t feel like googling it right now. The best thing about this particular version were that someone else was making it, and the paper-thin slices of granny smith apple. I have poor knife skills and am consistently unable to replicate such a thing.

I’d be interested to see if any readers have any other sandwich variations they would suggest…one caveat is that I am not fond of fruity jellies in any way, shape, or form and those are often paired with brie.

Also: TAKE MY FIRST POLL!

I’m a big proponent of hot soups and sandwiches on a cold day. The feeling of warm soup in the body just feels calming. And it’s easy to make, plus it’s cheap. Unlike the soup lady that rips me off every week at work. $10 for a grilled cheese and a tomato basil soup…ahhhh makes me so mad!

Anyways, I looked up a recipe on allrecipes.com and it was a hit with the reviewers, so it couldn’t be that bad. I added some sauteed garlic and onion and holy begeesus it was good. And it only took 20 minutes to make. Now I want to open up my own stand next to that soup lady.

Tomato Basil Soup
Adapted from allrecipes

1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup of onion, diced
1 tablespoon butter
2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes (I used some fresh tomatoes with the skin peeled too)
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
18 fresh basil leaves
1/4 whipping cream (I used milk)

Directions
1. In a large saucepan, melt the butter and saute the garlic and onion until the onion is transparent.

2. Add the tomatoes and broth to the garlic and onion and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn stove off.

3. Let cool for 5 minutes. Ladle into blender. Add basil and cream. Blend.

While the soup was cooking, I made a brie & ham sandwich and toasted it. It’s mustard, ham, brie and fig preserves between two pieces of bread. Heaven.

Poate parea ciudatica reteta asta, dar rezultatul e chiar misto de tot. Un file de somon dulce-iute chiar interesant. Vazusem mai demult ceva similar si eram curios sa incerc si eu. Garnitura? Va recomand orezul ala cu nuca de cocos de mai jos

Durata: ~ 30 de minute

Ce avem nevoie:

Carne:
-2 file-uri de somon

Altele:
- 1 mango
- 2 lingurite mustar de dijon
- 5-6 lingurite de zahar brun
- 2-4 felii de Brie (depinde cat sunt de mari, ideea e sa “acopere” somonul
- 1 lingura de unt

1. Intr-un castronel se amesteca mustarul (NEAPARAT de dijon) cu zaharul brun. De ce neaparat de dijon? ca sa iasa combinatia de dulce-iute exact asa cum trebuie

2. Se spala pestele, se aseaza intr-o tava si se unge cu amestecul ala mustaricios.

3. Deasupra, se aseaza feliile de Brie, dupa care se introduce anume tava la cuptor timp de 20 de minute (sau pana se face somonul).

4. In timpul asta, simtiti-va liberi sa ciopartiti mango-ul in bucatele mici-mici.

5. Intr-o tigaie se topeste untul si se arunca mango-ul acolo vreo 10 minute, sau pana se inmoaie cu totul si devine finut si gingas

6. Se scoate pestele din cuptor, se mangaie cu mango pe deasupra, si se ingurgiteaza. Eventual cu orezul ala cu nuca de cocos

This past week The lady received several new cheeses for the holidays and one of those is Cambozola Black Label from the German Kaserei which also makes the Blue Label Cambozola and the Champignon Mushroom Brie. I have already reviewed the new offerings from Sartori and will review the remainder over this weekend.

Like the Blue label, Black Label is a triple crème with blue gorgonzola veins throughout. That’s where the likeness ends and heaven begins. Black Label is sublime; it melts on the palate and leaves you begging for more.

This cheese is smaller in circumference than its Blue Labeled Sister and stands taller. It is cold-ripened in special cold caves. It has a natural gray mold rind. The taste is nutty and sweet.

Mary, who is owned by a dozen of my East Coast Quadrant comrades, loves the Blue Label. Well, Mary, hold onto your socks; this one is going to make you crazy.

The Lady made a Modena Balsamic Reduction (see video below) and drizzled it over this baby – wow, The Man and I thought we had died and gone to the cheese mine heavens…heaven, I’m in heaven…

I give Cambozola Black Label 4 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got…most days that’s all I need…)

Serving Suggestions: In addition to the Modena Reduction, you can also drizzle some honey over this cheese after spreading it on a slice of crusty French bread.

Wine Pairing: The Lady served the CBL with a David Hill Winery Tawny Port.

Beer Pairing: The Man drank a Rogue Chocolate Stout with his CBL.

Cat Pairing: I sipped on a 2009 Washington State Tap Water while licking this cheese off Beecher’s Hazelnut Crackers.

Source: Cow’s Milk

Up next: Bavarian Blue Brie

The challenge: make a great looking appetizer that tastes fantastic in less time than it takes to wiggle into your party clothes.

The solution: Fruit and Nut topped Camembert

1 wheel Camembert or Brie cheese
Liquid honey
1 handful Back to Nature Raisins, Almonds, Pumpkin Seeds, Pecans and Apricots blend

Place the cheese on a platter and drizzle with some honey. Mound some of the trail mix on top. Drizzle with a bit more honey and serve with grapes, apple slices and crackers.

Need a wine match? Try an off-dry Riesling for white drinkers or a light, fruity pinot noir for a red choice. Can’t decide between red or white? Prosecco is a great match, too!

Now that you’ve seen my favourite party trick, tell me about yours!

Attention, readers of this blog. Sadly, I am out of the Soup for a Year competition. I know, I know. It’s not going to be the same without me. Try to be rational about it and see it from my point of view. Also, it’s not you; it’s me.

Here is the thing: Thanksgiving is next Thursday. THANKSGIVING you guys! The only food-based holiday. And my mom’s fiance is cooking a deep-fried turkey, which I’ve never had and can’t miss. Also, my mom is making ribs on Sunday. I can’t miss that either. Also, she’s planning some sort of fancy Thanksgiving Day brunch that I should really be a part of. So Mike and I had been thinking of calling a truce for Thanksgiving weekend, and I was giving that some thought. But then this weekend is the OSU game, and I’ll probably be at a bar all day on Saturday and probably won’t want to eat soup in that situation. I was going to make that sacrifice, though, until something happened yesterday.

As I was sitting at my desk working, my best friend J called and told me she has a job interview in NC on Monday. Do I want to go with her? Um, yes I do. I have four vacation days left this year, and I need to use them. So I get the days off and I think, do I really want to eat soup on a road trip? In some sort of thermos? The whole way, and the whole time I’m there, and the whole way back? Taking all of the other things into consideration, I decided that I actually could not eat only soup for this road trip, so why eat only soup all day on Saturday at the bar? For that matter, why wait until Saturday? So I made the executive decision to quit Soup for a Year yesterday. So I went to Skyline and ate a cheese coney and a small 3-way. It was delicious, unsurprisingly.

I must say, though, I think the soup is getting to David. I sat down to lunch today, and I had a grilled cheese and a bowl of tomato soup with croutons. I poured some of the croutons into my soup, and then David asked to have some. I looked at him for a moment, trying to understand why he would want croutons in chili, and then he sassed me about how he could put croutons in whatever he wanted, even chili! He was very grumpy, and now that I’m out and it’s only a matter of time for Mike, how long will we as a society have to put up with a grumpy David? Only one person can answer that.

So I must say, it’s been a pleasure? Maybe? Well, the eating soup was interesting, and the blogging was fun, I guess. The thing about blogs, though, is that writing things on one feels like homework. I like to be able to do whatever I want whenever I want and not have to worry about when the last time I blogged was. So, hello and good bye to blogging, or, as they say in Hawaii, aloha, blogging, aloha.

P.S. I heart Eric Northman from “True Blood” and Puck from “Glee.” So there’s that!

This week is all about easy things to make for myself while Adam is out-of-town.  I usually don’t like to cook when Adam isn’t here to enjoy it with me because, ultimately, after he hears how wonderful my dinner was, I will have to make it again next week when he returns.  So, what’s easier than a quesadilla?  Not much.  Quesadilla = tortilla, cheese, tortilla, flip once during cooking, and enjoy with salsa.  Bam, dinner!  I decided to take the quesadilla to a whole new level.

I was inspired by a fellow food blogger, Kate in the Kitchen, who made Apple, Brie and Sweet Salty Praline Quesadilla, back in October.  This was actually the recipe that got me hooked on reading her blog.  Not only did it sound fantastic, her photos made me want to reach into the computer screen and grab it.  Kate’s quesadilla reminded me of Los Angeles.  Back in Los Angeles, my go-to sandwich at my favorite restaurant, The Alcove, was the Apple and Brie Panini.  The granny smith apples and brie are snuggled up to caramelized onions between two fabulous pieces of focaccia, and grilled to perfection.  Mouth-watering and seriously amazing!  So, I thought I’d give Kate’s recipe a try.  I bought the tortillas, brie, and pecans.  I thought I had apples at home, but alas, I did not.  So, instead of making a trip to the store, I improvised with cranberry sauce.  I hoped that it would mimic baked brie – the tortilla being the puff pastry.  It did.  The gooey, mild brie with the salty, sweet, nutty pecans and the tart and sweet cranberries definitely worked!  It was one sophisticated quesadilla.

Cranberry, Brie, and Praline Quesadilla

1-2 TBS cranberry sauce (whole berry, or regular)
Two slices of Brie cheese cut into sections
Sweet Salty Pralines (recipe below)
Two Flour tortillas

In a skillet, heat one tortilla until starting to crisp and brown. Remove to plate and add second tortilla to pan. While second tortilla heats, spread brie, cranberry sauce and scatter pralines on the tortilla on the plate.  Remove second tortilla, and return the tortilla with the toppings to the pan and heat until you can see the cheese melting.  Cover with second tortilla. Carefully flip tortilla once during heating. When cheese is melted, place on plate and cut into wedges. Serve hot.

Pralines (adapted from Kate)

1 cup pecans
1 TBS unsalted butter
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS brown sugar

In a medium-sized skillet, melt butter over medium heat until foamy. Add pecans and stir to coat. Cook, stirring regularly for about 2-3 minutes, then sprinkle in brown sugar and salt.  Stir to coat pecans, breaking up any chunks that form. After a minute or two, carefully pour 2 TBS of water into the skillet and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring regularly, until syrup thickens and pecans are fully coated.  Pour onto a plate and spread to cool, being careful not to touch the caramel.

This past weekend we did what I love to do.

Eat, Drink and play.

Which translated having  friends over, who consumed huge amount of food and drinks and played pictionary.

Have you even drank and played Pictionary? No? Well, I highly recommended it, because drinking and pictionary equals hilarious behavior by people.

Don’t believe me?

Start planning your very own pictionary party now, and then come back here, to pat me on the back for making you (and your guest) laugh until you pee in your pants.

I love playing games, any type of games that you get to act silly and shout out stupid answers and then totally blame it on the bottle of liquor you have in your hand is totally up my alley.

This weekend we decided to go all out, invite a couple of Tom’s friends and see who could take the heat play a friendly game of pictionary.

Now, I’m going to plug a new version of pictionary here because the folks over in Mattel have taken it to another level and turned this favorite board game into a 3D Electronic experience (it was a matter of time folks). May I present you the Pictionary Man – Ta da!

Aren't you a cute little bunny?

Yes, it looks sort of basic and blah, but,  people, two words:

FUN TIME!

The rules of the games are pretty much the same.  The Pictionary “Man” which is a blank human shaped figure made of, what seems to be, a dry erase board type material.  On the bottom of the foot of the “Man” one finds an on/off switch, an LED display and two buttons (labeled 1 and 2, respectively). Once you press it, it will spit out the clue that you will need to draw.  The twist, is that you draw on the man, and use the props to convey the clues.  If one’s teammates guess the subject successfully, then the team gets a point. The first team to reach 15 points wins.

While Tom and the other couple had never played the “regular” pictionary before, they were able to pick up on this pretty fast. For me it took me a while to get the hang of it, since I was so use to doing it the old way. But, eventually I got it and it was not long before we were jumping up and getting more creative with our role playing.  Because in this game,  you role play A LOT! The need to use the props makes you become very inventive. When one of us got “Smuggler”, it was hysterical to see the interpretation using the man and one of the props.  Think about it – a man, a square and you need to translate that into “smuggler”.

It was such a great night, we are totally going to try to have them happen more often, trying out more games along the way, but for now Pictionary Man will go into rotation with other favorites.  Plus, Tom’s friend are a total blast and personally I would like to have them around more – hi guys – (We totally DIG YOU!)

As far as the food, for those wondering (Hi Mo!), it was a total hit, with numerous requests of the recipes, which I will be posting over in Sweet Bites (click your way over there) as the weeks go by, but you can get a feel of it with this visual:

Makes you want to dig in, right?

The menu was composed of Spinach Dip, Asparagus in a blanket, Chicken Quesadillas, Rajas, Bean Dip and last but not least (and a total hit) a wheel of Brie en Croute (Pastry Crust) and of course for a sweet ending a Tres Leche cake.

Hungry yet?

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 12 ounces penne (3/4 box)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound button mushrooms, quartered
• 1 small red onion, sliced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 8 ounces Brie, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4 cups baby arugula

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water, drain the pasta, and return it to the pot.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and onion and cook, tossing occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to release their juices, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the wine, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook until the mushrooms begin to brown, 5 to 6 minutes.
3. Toss the pasta with the Brie and reserved pasta water until the pasta is coated. Stir in the mushroom mixture and arugula.

From Real Simple, November 2009

This is my new favorite snack. So delicious.

I’m making Baked Chicken Meatballs tonight. We’ll see how they turn out!