Dinner Party with Taryn =)

 

One of my great law school friends that currently lives in CHINA stayed with us for the weekend while she vacations in the States.  We had so much fun catching up and hanging out!  Lots of shopping and eating and fun!  For dinner we decided to have a little dinner party.  On the menu: parmesan polenta with mushrooms, roasted asparagus, seared scallops, and baby romaine citrus salad.  It was quite the feast!  All the recipes were very easy...

Parmesan Polenta

Polenta

Water

Butter

Parmesan

Salt

Pepper 

Cayenne

Cook polenta with boiling water according to package directions.  Add butter, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and Cayenne pepper to taste.  Hint: lots of cheese!

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Mushroom Topping

Butter

Olive oil

Mixed wild mushrooms

1 Shallot

1 Clove of garlic

Salt

Pepper

Chop shallots.  Put butter and oil in a frying pan and add the shallots.  Saute until almost cooked.  Push shallots to the edge of the pan and add the garlic.  After 1 minute, push the garlic aside.  Then add the mushrooms and cook until soft and brown.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

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Roasted Asparagus

Asparagus

Salt

Pepper

Olive oil

Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Hold tips of asparagus with both hands and allow the asparagus to naturally break.  Then cut remaining asparagus at the natural break line.  Cover a sheet pan with foil and place asparagus on the pan.  Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and coat with olive oil.  Cook 10-12 minutes or until desired softness.

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Seared Scallops

Sea scallops (large)

Parsley (dried or fresh)

Basil (dried)

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Pat tops of scallops until dry.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roll the sides of the scallops onto a mixture of the parsley and basil.  Heat frying pan to medium heat with a small amount of olive oil.  Place scallops in pan and cook on one side for 2 minutes.  Flip and cook another minute or until done.  (Note: I like mine a bit undercooked in the middle -- is that ok??)

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Baby Romaine Citrus Salad

1/8 Cup red wine vinegar

1/4 Cup vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon honey

1/8 Cup chopped green onions

2 Oranges

Baby romaine lettuce

Whisk together first four ingredients.  Section oranges, cutting each section into half.  Add the dressing and oranges to the lettuce and toss.

Serve with a bottle (or two) of red wine!  We picked Malbec.  =)

The Cheese Party!!

 

I told you I would have an MLK cheese party!! =)  Some of my work favorites stopped by on MLK day for a little cheese and wine party.  We each brought our favorite cheese (or 3) and a favorite bottle of wine.  I contributed the Humbolt Fog, which tastes like a delicious cross between goat cheese, brie, and blue cheese.  It was so much fun to try the cheeses and to see them outside of the context of work.  Hooray for great coworkers!

Fitness Goals

One of my struggles with my job is maintaining a health lifestyle.  I feel so much happier when I exercise and eat healthfully, but sadly they are the first things to go when things get busy.  It's really no wonder that so many new attorneys gain weight their first few years on the job!  I did pretty well my first year at the firm.  Part of my success was due to the fact that I ran my first marathon this November.  But since finishing it, I've felt so burnt out on exercise!  And, as a result, I haven't been feeling as happy and healthy as I'd like.  This week I've been focusing on exercising, even if just a little. 

Monday: run two miles, legwork at gym
Tuesday: bike 15 minutes on trainer
Wednesday: lift weights for chest, arms, and shoulders
Thursday: legwork
Friday: nada
Saturday: short weighlifting
Sunday: full-body toning workout (abs, legs, chest, shoulders, arms, back)

You can tell that I hit a slump mid-week, but I'm proud of myself for doing at least something on most days.  This week I'm going to focus on lengthening my workouts a bit and adding more cardio to my routine.  Slowly but surely I will get healthy again!!

Homemade "Squibnocket" Eggs

This week has felt really long!  It's my first full week back at work since the holidays, and I'm exhausted.  Luckily, we get Monday off.  Hooray MLK Day!  Things have really picked up for me at work, meaning that I haven't been able to get home as early as I'd like.  After staying nearly an hour later dealing with an unexpected issue, I was VERY hungry by the time I got home.  We had a few vegetables leftover from our lo mein last week, so I decided to try my hand at making one of our favorite brunch dishes.  Breakfast for dinner?? Yes, please!  This recipe is based on the Squibnocket scrambled eggs served at The Carlyle in Shirlington (a great brunch place!). 

Homemade "Squibnocket" Eggs
1/4 Onion, chopped 
2 Handfuls Mushrooms, chopped
2 New Potatoes, cooked and chopped
5 Eggs
Splash of Milk
1/3 Cup Grated Cheese
Butter
Salt 
Pepper


Melt a small amount of butter in a skillet.  Add the onions and cook until translucent.  Push the onions toward the outer edge of the pan.  Add more butter and the mushrooms.  Cook until soft.  Add the chopped potatoes and season to taste with salt and pepper.  In a small bowl, beat the eggs with the milk.  Push the vegetables in the skillet toward the edge of the skillet and add butter to the middle of the pan.  Pour in eggs, and cook until almost done.  Mix in the vegetables and add half of the cheese.  Remove from the burner.  Serve eggs topped with the remaining cheese.  (Makes 2 large servings)

Despite somehow setting off the fire alarm while cooking this dish, it ended up being quite tasty.  It's nice to cook a meal that has great protein and vegetable content.  But mostly, it's nice to be able to throw something together quickly when I've already had an exhausting workday.

Quick Cheese Lasagna

As an attorney at a large law firm, it goes without saying that I'm expected to keep fairly long hours.  This schedule has wreaked havoc on my cooking, and even after a year of working I'm still working on ways to fit it in.  One thing I have mastered this year is turning complicated (or even relatively simple) recipes into quick and easy recipes.  The results generally aren't 100% as tasty, but it's still pretty good, especially given the time saved.  One of the recipes I've converted is my family recipe for lasagna.  I made this last night, and it will be great to eat for the rest of the week.

Quick Cheese Lasagna
3 cups small curd cottage cheese
2 eggs
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 jars pasta sauce
No-bake lasagna noodles
1 lb grated mozzarella cheese


Mix first six ingredients until combined.  Cover bottom of 8x13 pan with sauce, and then place one layer of lasagna noodles.  Top with 1/4 of the cottage cheese mixture.  Then top with about 1/4 of the mozzarella cheese.  Add about 1/4 of the pasta sauce.  Repeat layers until all four layers are finished.  Top with any remaining mozzarella cheese, and add a bit of Parmesan on top if you'd like.  Bake at 350 degrees uncovered or until cheese is bubbly.

My family's original recipe contains sausage and ground beef, and I think you could probably add both (or either) to the sauce layer if you wanted.  We enjoy this as is (and often!).

The Italian Store

It's been a lovely day.  Puppy once again gifted us with extra time to sleep in this morning.  While the boys spent time freezing playing at the park, I got in my first bike ride of the winter.  Hah, not outside though!  N so sweetly set up my bike on the trainer last night (and even put it away when I was done riding!).  Then, the icing on the cake, we went to the SPA to get a massage.  I feel so relaxed and perfect!

After the massage, we decided to treat ourself to a delicious lunch.  We've been in Arlington for about 1.5 years, and we've been enjoying the Italian Store for just as long.  Today's treat was splitting a Palermo sandwich, which had ham, salami, provolone, and all the special extras that the Italian Store adds to make this sandwich divine.  (While we didn't have it today, the pizza there is also superb!).  The Italian Store is a cute little shop in an unassuming strip mall in Arlington.  They stock tons of Italian delicacies, so there's plenty to browse at while you're there.  Which is good, because on a day like today you will have plenty of time to browse due to the sandwich line.  I can assure you, the wait is 100% worth it.  What a great way to end a great morning!

Amateur...

I had Monday off as the firm's official celebration of New Year's day, so I took the opportunity to cook a nice dinner for N (who had to go into the office).  I spent a lot of the day searching for recipes to make the perfect meal as a nice surprise for him. Since N had mentioned a craving for Chinese food, I decided to try my hand at making home-made lo mein.  I bought all the ingredients, did tons of chopping, and had most of the meal prepared once he got home.  For the last step, I made the sauce.  And that's where it went all wrong.  You know how the cheese sauce in Kraft macaroni and cheese thickens once you take the macaroni off the burner?  (obvious mistake ahead -- never compare real food to Kraft mac&cheese...).  Well I figured that the sauce for my lo mein, which included corn starch, would also thicken if I let it sit.  It did not. :(  We had a soupy and less-than-delicious dinner.

The good news though, is that today I decided to show that sauce who's boss.  I poured the lo mein into my wok and heated it in there until the sauce became a sticky, thick consistency.  Much better!

Shrimp Soba Lo Mein
1/2 onion
3 handfuls baby carrots
1 red bell pepper
1 head of broccoli
3 handfuls of mushrooms
3 small zucchinis
3 handfuls snow peas
1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 ounces soba noodles
8 ounces chicken broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
soy sauce (to taste)
cayenne pepper (to taste)
salt
pepper


Chop all vegetables into a similar size.  Cook vegetables in a small amount of oil in a wok in batches, leaving each vegetable a bit crispy.  After each batch, remove the vegetables into a covered container.  Season each batch with salt and pepper to taste.  Cook shrimp in oil, also seasoning with salt and pepper.  Add shrimp to vegetable container.  Meanwhile, cook soba noodles according to package directions.  In wok, add chicken broth and cornstarch.  Stir until combined.  Add hoisin, soy sauce, and cayenne pepper.  Taste it and add more soy sauce or cayenne to reach desired taste.  Heat sauce until it thickens (important!).  Add vegetables, shrimp, and soba noodles.  

One thing I like about this recipe is the flexibility it gives you to modify according to your own tastes.  Add whichever vegetables you prefer.  You can also change the protein or the type of noodles.  Once I finally got our sauce thickened, it was pretty good!

Cupcake love

Earlier this week we decided to pick up a late-night treat at Crumbs Bake Shop, which recently opened in Clarendon.  We ordered two cupcakes -- one cookies and cream and one cookie dough .  So tasty!  The cupcakes were the perfect moistness and were topped with a generous spread of icing.  Sometimes cupcakes leave me underwhelmed, but these were so rich and delicious that I could barely finish my half (but you better believe I gave it my best try!).  To top it off, they offered free coffee and tea.  Unfortunately for my waistline, I'm sure we'll be back before too long...

Gear I love: Slate Cheese Board

Just in time for our new year's eve party, I ordered this gorgeous slate cheese board made by J. K. Adams. It was so much fun to arrange our cheese on the tray and write on the slate. And we got tons of compliments! I may have to plan another party soon just so we can have an excuse to use this board! Anybody interested in an MLK cheese party??

Missing Durham

Yesterday we spent a lot of time organizing our office, which has been overrun since the day we moved in here (in September...yikes...). It's exciting to finally start feeling settled here.

Even though we're starting to feel more at home here, we still have a lot of days when we miss Durham, where we lived during law school. I loved so many things about Durham, and I am ready to go back for a visit! In the meantime, I made an easy snack for us inspired by one of our favorite restaurants in Durham -- Toast.

Goat Cheese Crostini
Baguette
Olive oil
Goat cheese
Honey
Pepper

Slice the baguette into thin pieces. Drizzle with olive oil, and broil until just toasted. Spread goat cheese over the toast. Drizzle with honey and top with fresh-cracked pepper.

I used honey made at N's house in Ohio. It is so much more delicious than honey in stores! If you haven't already started buying natural honey, you should!

Good luck?

My first full day of the year was pretty fun and relaxing. Puppy surprised us by sleeping in until 9 a.m. - a real treat since he usually wakes up at 6:15 a.m.! After that great start, N brought me home a warm reduced-fat blueberry muffin. The day kept getting better, with a fun trip to the theatre to see "How do you know" (super cute) and some quality relaxing time with my boys. Here's to hoping that the rest of the year will be just as nice!

To ensure that the year would be great, I decided to cook a batch of black-eyed peas for good luck. I've disliked black-eyed peas almost my whole life, and even now I find them more tolerable than delicious. The past few years I've been making them with fresh peas (rather than dried or canned), which really makes them much tastier. I used my own simple and quick recipe that is loosely based on Hoppin' John.

Quick & Easy Hoppin' John
1 small container of fresh black-eyed peas
1 liter of chicken stock
1 cup of rice (we used brown basmati rice)
1/2 of a small onion, chopped
Salt and pepper (to taste)

Soften the onion in a small amount of olive oil. Add the black-eyed peas (rinsed), chicken stock, and rice. Cook until the rice is soft (mine took about 40 minutes). It's best if your finished product is pretty moist.

While I chose to cook black-eyed peas for good luck, these peas got me more concerned about my year's luck than excited. You see, when I opened my three-day old black-eyed peas, I found mold. Yuck! What does it mean for me that my good-luck charm was actually rotten? Luckily (hah), I managed to salvage the peas by going through them pea by pea to toss the moldy ones. Hopefully I was able to: (a) keep us from getting sick, and (b) ensure that we still get good luck for the year. I suppose only time will tell...

New Year, New Blog

We celebrated the new year by having some of our favorites over for a little party. It was fun to ring in the new year with a nail-biting game of Jenga (who knew Jenga was so much fun?), vino, and snacks. N and I had fun picking our party snacks. We also had fun eating them. :) One of our favorite snacks was a recipe that we made up last night that was inspired from a trendy Mexican restaurant in Ohio. We may be biased, but we thought it was delicious.

Goat Cheese Guacamole
Two large avocados
Goat cheese to taste (we used about 4 ounces)
Adobo sauce from one can of chipotle in adobo
Salt
Pepper

Mash the avocados with the goat cheese and adobo sauce. Add salt and a generous amount of pepper. Serve with chips or crackers.

We will definitely serve this again over the coming year!