Michael Hardisty Photography

Mike's finally getting his blog up and running! I've posted a link to it under my blog list. You can also find it HERE. There aren't any real posts yet... still working on that. Until then, you can check out his flickr page HERE or click the link on his blog!

Hope you guys enjoy the photos... I do, but I'm biased :)

Mitzi's Bachelorette Weekend

We road-tripped to the Hill Country last weekend for some single girl activities celebrating Mitzi's upcoming wedding. We stayed at a really cute condo on the lake, had good food, drank good wine and had LOTS to laugh about!

at Flat Creek

barrel room

corn tortilla fritatta

barbacoa & egg tacos

grapes

texas bluebonnets

Congrats Mitzi & Danny! Can't wait for June!

View Outside the Work Window

My co-workers and I noticed this happening on the parking garage roof across the street from our building this morning:




There's a bad glare on the window but, there's a camera crew filming a man-made city in the back corner of the garage. We also saw a photography crew outside the Symphony building!

Cooking with Something New: Broccolini

"Broccolini is a green vegetable similar to broccoli but with small florets and long, thin stalks." per Wikipedia, reliable source, I know! ;)

I'm trying to eat more (and new) vegetables. I'm not a huge fan of broccoli but I was trying to incorporate it into things I was cooking but with little luck. I kept thinking the taste was a bit overwhelming and wanted it more tender. And, I also don't see the point in just smothering it in cheese in order to consume a vegetable. I watch a lot of cooking shows and they seem to use a lot of broccolini. We picked some up last time we were at Central Market and I cooked it using this recipe from Epicurious.

The recipe could have used a bit more seasoning but overall it turned out pretty tasty. I was pretty surprised that I didn't totally hate it (I'm pretty picky... probably not surprising to anyone). The stalks come out really tender and there's a lot less of the pieces that get stuck in your teeth. Most important, the flavor is a lot milder than regular broccoli which is good for me!

Breakfast Nooks

I so hope we have room in the house we buy to have one of these cute little breakfast nooks!

thekitchn.com, Marie Claire Mason

In case I needed a reminder...

This was delivered to my email yesterday...

TheKnot.com | Wedding Shop | Forward to a Friend | View Online

this month: Order Invitations, Find Your Florist, and Choose Your Accessories

Hi Katie! You've got 6 months to go!

Eek! Just around the corner :)

Peak-Season: Spring

I love this map from Epicurious: Peak-Season Map. You can search by month and by state to easily find out what food is in season!

For example: April in Texas gives you this list:

• blackberries
• cauliflower
• celery
• cucumbers
• grapefruit
• oranges
• peaches
• spinach
• strawberries
• turnips

And, in honor of Laura A, here's a list of ideas based on the peak-season list:

peach and blackberry shortcakes

cauliflower with serrano ham and tomato

celery stuffed with smoked gouda and sun-dried tomatoes

my mom's tomato and cucumber salad:

(sliced tomato, peeled & sliced cucumber, splash of vinegar, salt & pepper)

pink grapefruit and champagne sorbet

mixed green salad with oranges, cranberries and pecans

spinach and mushrooms with truffle oil

strawberry butter

roasted turnips

Happy cooking!

Cooking with Leftovers: Pork Fried Rice

A few weeks ago I made Asian Pork Tenderloin. Since its usually just Mike and I eating, we end up with a good amount of leftovers. I froze the leftover slices of pork for a day when we needed a quick dinner.

Yesterday, I thawed the pork and found a quick recipe online for fried rice. I had mine without pork since it was Friday and Mike had his with pork.

Chicken & Dumplings

I wanted to make some kind of comfort food but still wanted something healthier than the typical comfort foods, like mac & cheese. I made my Mom's chicken and dumplings since the dish has protein and lots of veggies.






Even though it looks (and tastes) rich, there is no butter or cream in the dish. Its the best kind of comfort food!

Cooking "Class"

Laura A and I took what we thought was a cooking class but turned out to be a cooking demonstration. While a little disappointed I couldn't cook, I really enjoyed the demonstration and the chef was pretty entertaining. We went to Williams Sonoma for the demonstration and a food tasting based on the new Giada cookbook! It just came out Tuesday and there are so many yummy recipes in it.

Here's a few shots of our night...

artichoke & bean crostini and pea pesto crostini

bibb, basil & mint salad and chicken milanese with tomato & fennel sauce

raspberry pound cake with vin santo cream

We have already started brainstorming a party we can cook the new recipes at! I also picked up a new cake pan while at the store... giant donut pan!