Engagement Chicken round 2

I attempted to make Ina Garten’s Engagement Chicken a few weeks ago as a nice dinner for Chris. Not sure what was wrong with me that day but it didn’t turn out, and I mean did not turn out. So being the stubburn person I am, I decided tonight I was going to attempt round 2. It was actually a nice night, chris helped me cook it (aka clean out the chicken) and we had an enjoyable time cooking together. It looked good from the begining and I evan made sure that I placed it right side up in the roaster. Thankfully this chicken turned out super yummy and moist. I highly recomend making it if you like these 3 things, onions, lemon, and garlic. I think next time I am going to add a little more garlic and some purple onions for color.

Ingredients
nocoupons
1 (4 to 5 pound) roasting chicken
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 lemons
1 whole head garlic, cut in 1/2 crosswise
Good olive oil
2 Spanish onions, peeled and thickly sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove and discard the chicken giblets. Pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Cut the lemons in quarters, place 2 quarters in the chicken along with the garlic and reserve the rest of the lemons. Brush the outside of the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle the chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the chicken in a small (11 by 14-inch) roasting pan. (If the pan is too large, the onions will burn.) Place the reserved lemons and the sliced onions in a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Pour the mixture around the chicken in the pan.

Roast the chicken for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and a thigh. Remove the chicken to a platter, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the sauce, leaving the lemons and onions in the pan.

Place the pan on top of the stove and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the wine and stir with a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits. Add the stock and sprinkle on the flour, stirring constantly for a minute, until the sauce thickens. Add any juices that collect under the chicken. Carve the chicken onto a platter and serve with the lemons, onions, and warm sauce.

Summer Vegetable Tian

Summer Vegetable Tian

I have made this recipe a few times over the years and it has always been a hit. I love cooking with vegetables. In fact I would rather eat veggies than ever eat any type of fruit. This recipe includes some of my favorite vegetables zucchini and summer squash (crookneck squash) along with tomatoes, red peppers, onions and garlic. It does take some time to cook but is fairly easy to prep and make. This was my first time using my broiler in this house so it did get a little crispy so I recommend not using the broiler for the full 5 minutes.
It was a perfect side to our peppercorn steak with sauteed mushrooms in a redwine reduction and a casear salad!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup olive oil, plus more for greasing pan
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into
1/8-inch strips
5 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 small zucchini, cut into 1/8-inch rounds
2 small crookneck squash, cut into
1/8-inch rounds
1 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp. finely chopped fresh thyme
1 lb. plum tomatoes, cut into 1/8-inch rounds
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup fine dried bread crumbs
Directions:
Preheat an oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a 2-quart baking dish with olive oil.

In a fry pan over medium heat, warm 5 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the bell pepper and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer the onion-pepper mixture to the prepared baking dish and spread evenly. Set aside.

In a bowl, combine the zucchini, crookneck squash, 5 Tbs. of the oil, the rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper and stir to coat evenly. Arrange the zucchini, crookneck squash and tomato slices on the onion-pepper mixture, overlapping the rows. Drizzle with the remaining 2 Tbs. oil and bake for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, stir together the cheese and bread crumbs. Remove the baking dish from the oven and sprinkle the bread crumb mixture on top. Bake for 15 minutes more.

Turn the oven to broil and broil until the cheese is golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serves 6.

yummy dinner

lemon curd triffle with fresh berries

I have given up on writing a blog about myself and my life in Seattle. My life is rather unexciting plus I never feel like I am that good of a writer. However I am a good cook/baker. I held my first Easter dinner at our house on Sunday. I think it turned out allright but I do think the dessert was amazing. I decided to try my hand at a triffle. I have always loved triffles but have never had the confidence to make one.

I used this recipe by Tyler Florence

Ingredients
6 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
4 lemons, zested and juiced
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut in chunks
1 pint fresh strawberries, stemmed and halved lengthwise
1 pint fresh blueberries
1 pint fresh blackberries
2 cups sweetened whipped cream
1 prepared lemon pound cake, sliced
1/4 cup Lemoncello or Grand Marnier liqueur (optional)
Fresh mint leaves, for garnish
Directions
To make the lemon curd: Bring a pot of water to a simmer over medium-low heat. Combine the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and zest in a metal or glass heat-resistant bowl and whisk until smooth. Set the bowl over the simmering water, without letting the bottom touch, and continue to whisk. Keep working-out that arm and whisk it vigorously for a good 10 minutes, until the curd has doubled in volume and is very thick and yellow. Don’t let it boil. Remove the bowl from heat and whisk in the butter, a couple of chunks at a time, until melted. Refrigerate until the custard is cold and firm.

To build the trifle: put the berries in a mixing bowl and toss them together so they are evenly distributed. Fold the whipped cream into the chilled lemon curd to lighten it up into a mousse. Line a glass trifle bowl with pieces of pound cake to fit. Drizzle or brush the cake with the Lemoncello, spoon a layer of the lemon curd over the cake, and then a layer of mixed berries. Repeat the layers until the ingredients are used up, the last layer looks best if it’s the berries. Chill before serving. Garnish with fresh mint.

I did make a few changes to make it a little easier. Instead of making my own lemon curd, I used the one from WS, it is super yummy. I also made my own pound cake using a mix from WS again. I did not use lemoncello because I forgot to buy it. However I did defrost some frozen lemonade and used that instead I also had raspberries because lets be honest they are super yummy.
Chris has been eating the leftovers every day so I consider it a good sign. I highly suggest that if you like lemon, cake, and berries that you make this. It is wonderful!

Exhausting

Exhausting…..That is how I feel about my New Years Resolution. I normally don’t make any sort of resolution because lets all be honest, I would never really stick to it. This year however I decided to eat more veggies. All this started after Christmas when spending the week in oroville. My aunt in law (???) mentioned that they eat on average 3 lbs of veggies a day. I was and am in shock. However Chris and I decided to just add more veggies into our meals. Both of us like them so why not. 17 days later, I am still struggling probably to put 1 lb of veggies on the table and finding recipes that make them taste yummy is tiring. I would probably quit if all I did was steam veggies.
I am learning to like more veggies though, I used to hate cauliflower now I am realizing it is not that bad. Brussel sprouts are really good when cooked right (my current favorite is Barefoot Contessa’s roasted brussel sprouts) Spinich is really yummy sauted with red onion and soy sauce. Chris and I personal favorite is grilling them on the grill. Good thing I have Pikes Place market close to buy lots of fresh veggies.

That being said, I wonder if anyone reads this anymore.

I may like this city after all

I am still confused learning this new city. I don’t reallly understand how 3rd street becomes 4th street. Today though I gained a new appreciation for it. Chris is out with his friends tonight, so I found myself alone. I decided to take in a movie and then head home. After the movie, i took the long way home in an effort to 1. find a grocery store and 2. learn more than the 2 streets I know. As I drove up a hill as the sun was setting, I looked to my left and see Mt. Rainer just stunning. As I look to my left I see the local park filled with kids and sports. I have missed the stunning beauty of the Northwest and the weather and neighborhoods that allow kids to play outside at dusk. I may just get used to this city after all

A Sunny Saturday in Seattle

This past weekend we had amazing weather in Seattle! Sunny, clear and highs of 85! Practically perfect! Chris and I took advantage of the weather and made a day of it on Saturday. We met up with his sister and her family and spent the day together. We went to the Ice caves which are located past of Granite Falls and then that evening headed to the fair. It is fun getting to know my future family! I am really enjoying getting to know them.

Courtney, Pat and Sebastian

The hike was so much fun! Although I am not sure if it can really be called a hike. The trail is 1.1 miles up to the ice caves. The ice caves are water runoff the mountain through the glaciers that cause these caves. They really are stunning.

There were 4 ice caves and I took tons of pictures, my favorite being the last one. It was almost melted so we could walk through and climb up the waterfall. All my pictures are on facebook! We capped off the day with a visit to the puyullap fair. Not quite the Texas state fair but still lots of fun! I ate too much fair food and rode some crazy rides. I was exhausted! But a fun day!

I promise I am still alive…

I may not write often, however I desire too. Maybe moving halfway across the country will finally inspire me to write on a regular basis. I arrived in Seattle yesterday around 12pm. It was a long long drive. My dad and Chris were great, doing most of the driving of the two cars. We traveled 2214 miles, crossed 8 states and learned countless random facts about Colorado and Wyoming from my dad!
My first day in Seattle has been busy, I unpacked the kitchen which took the entire day. I am pretty sure I had almost 40 boxes in Kitchen alone. I did manage to find a home for everything. We began the process of painting the bedroom and will finish that tomorrow! I promise to post pictures soon!
Well Goodnight all this begins my new life in Seattle

Reflection

My time in Dallas is nearing its end, after 9 years I am finally heading back to the Northwest. I am so excited to what my future holds, it is a new chapter in my life. As much as I am looking forward to all the new adventures, there is a part of me that is sad to be saying goodbye to Dallas and more importantly the relationships I have formed over the past 9 years.
I have found myself reflecting on these relationships and all that they mean to me. I am not always the best at letting people know what they mean to me. This is my attempt at that. A few of you even read my blog, so this post is for you.
Well lets start at the beginning…
Carlee-Before I even moved down to Dallas, Carlee offered me a place to stay. Over the past 7 years I lived with her on and off in various places around dallas. So many great memories with her. She is a constant to me, always there and always honest even when I don’t want to hear it. Whether it be racing home from the TIME office or racing to get dressed we have had our fun.
Marce-I actually think I lived with Marce the longest and man am I thankful for all those years. Marce and I first bonded back in 1998 when we shared a hotel for 3 days. However it was over dinner at the cheesecake factory in 2001 that to me sealed our friendship forever. Whether it was Sunday afternoon naps or guilty pleasure TV we clicked and got each other. Even though it has been a few years, I still miss those times.
If I am talking about roommates, I have to mention the other two that often spent time at all these places Matt and Aaron-and all I have to say about that is listening to an entire convesation on how to cheat the government out of a penny at Jack in the Box.
Scott and Kirsty Bean plus kids-Well for the first few years this is where my holidays were spent. I mean I spent easter with them one year and Kirsty and I made a feast. Actually who am I kidding anytime I got together with Kirsty and her family it was a feast. They embraced me and welcomed me into their crazy life from the very first day. In fact they encouraged me to visit a church with them and I have been there ever since. They moved to London a few years ago and I miss them like crazy.
Chris and Leslie Linebarger plus Callie, Sadie and Grace-This friendship to me was made over time. It took awhile to work my way into their lives and now they are just sort of stuck with me. They let me live with them during a rough few months of my life always showing me kindness. Over time I found myself spending more and more time at their house. I remember early on I was always scared to go to their place without any of the above mentioned people and now I am totally comfortable on any given day. When the Beans moved to England, Chris and Leslie allowed me to spend the holidays with them. I am so thankful for that. I feel like I have known their girls forever and now Callie is even in the youth group I help lead. It is crazy, and I am going to seriously miss my wed. nights with this family plus the lemon chicken casserole.

Okay that is enough for today ..the rest of dallas will have to wait….

The Proposal

So many of you have been asking for details of the big day last week. Sorry it has taken me a few days to get around to writing it, but I have been busy!!
It all started about two weeks ago when Chris informed me on saturday Sept 28th we would be going to dinner that night. (This was all to throw me off). Meanwhile, I thought I was going to dinner with the Shakes on Thursday night.
Imagine my surprise on Thursday night when I opened the door to find Chris instead of the Shakes. He was standing there with a dozen roses and all dressed up in a suit. I was so excited and happy to see him. We then proceeded to drive to Las Colinas and the Omni Mandolay Hotel. Waiting for us there was a gondola, you know like the ones in Venice. We had dinner on the gondola on the water, it was so romantic.
About an hour into the ride, our gondolier (?????) started talking about trash and litering in the lake. He then proceeded to ask me to grab a empty bottle out of the water. I did and put it on the ground. Chris suggested that I might want to open the bottle. Only then did I look at the bottle and see that there was a note inside. I proceeded to open it and inside was a note that read Caity, will you marry me?
I looked over he was down on bended knee with a ring. I of course said yes!!! It was the best day ever.
Sorry it isnt written better….love to all

blah..blah..blah..blah that is what I say about what people are saying about my work

So like many retail companies in recent week my company also layed off 1400 people last week in an effort to reduce costs for 2009. As the news began leaking over the last two weeks about my company, I couldn’t help but read the various articles that were being written about the company. Along with the articles I made the mistake of reading the comments.
I understand that there are many people in this world and even in my life that find the products in my store expensive and not practical. I disagree, I believe quality items like my cookware will last a lifetime. I also firmly believe that my store brings families and friends closer together by creating meals that are cooked at home. I respect these peoples opinions after all everyone has the right to speak their mind.
However, I draw the line at random people bashing my place of work for having to lay off associates and saying they will never shop with our company again as some comments suggest.
I firmly stand behind my company and believe with all my heart that they did not want to lay off anybody. We are a family, I spend 40+ hrs a week within the walls of my store and my co workers see more of me than anybody else in my life. My little store was lucky we did not lose anybody, but not every store was lucky and people were let go. Last week was a tough emotional week for my company and several other companies in todays economy, and I wish people would realize that it is rude to write mean comments.
I mean I don’t like coffee and have even had horrible service the few times I have been in a starbucks, but you know what I feel for the 6,700 employees that will lose their jobs in this fiscal year because of the economy.
Well that is my little rant and I know the whopping five readers of my blog would never write mean comments about my work on random news articles, I guess I felt the need to just vent