Food for thought...

So, the spring semester has been humming along. We've mostly been working, but we have ventured into the realm of French cooking. So there might be disproportionately more food shots than usual, but really, we have to balance the dog shots out somehow. Speaking of food, for my birthday a few weeks ago we went to the Mirbeau Inn and Spa for dinner. It was a total splurge, which was made affordable thanks to a gift certificate I won over the summer at the horse shows. We had the four-course meal with wine pairings for each course. It was marvelous--a great place to go if you ever have a small fortune to burn.

The results of our second Julia Child recipe--"Coquilles St. Jacques a la Parisienne" (Scallops and Mushrooms in White Wine Sauce). This one took a measly one hour to make, and again turned out great (probably because of the butter and cream...). One of the perks of living somewhat near the coast (compared to Wisconsin) is the fresh scallops available at our favorite grocery store.

Braden and I recently decided to challenge our collective culinary skills by venturing into a new era of cooking. We purchased Julia Childs "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" along with a book about a woman who cooked and then blogged about every recipe in the book over the course of a year. We thought about one a week or two would be good enough for us--and our waistlines. Our first task was "Beouf Bourguignon" (Beef Stew in Red Wine, with Bacon, Onions, and Mushrooms), which turned out smashingly (surprisingly). Actually, it's not so surprising considering that the beef was browned in bacon fat, the onions braised by themselves in wine for 45 minutes, and the mushrooms were cooked separately in butter. And it took a total of 5 hours to make.

Reducing the stew sauce...

Rachel's 27th birthday on February 17... and her favorite mint chipwich for dessert.

Valentine's Catch-Up

Happy Valentine's Day! Our present was a genuine snow day, thanks to the nor'easter that's currently in Syracuse. SU actually cancelled afternoon and evening classes, which is pretty rare. (Sure, we'd already decided not to go into work, but it's nice to know anyway.) We spent a nice day in the apartment reading and also taking Tsuki to play in the snowy park. (That might have been more for our enjoyment than hers... she's kind of a wuss when it comes to snow/cold.) What's a snow day without going outside to play?

Tsuki is not at all sure that she's a snow dog.

Braden is considerably more excited about the snow than Tsuki is.

Snow-bound.

Running hard (towards home)

Running around in the park by our apartment.

She hates us.

She REALLY hates us for this. Stupid snow stuck in her paws... 

I made some chocolate madeleines, our new very favorite cookie. They have chocolate and coffee and almonds and whiskey and kahlua. They stay tasty for days, with crispy edges and brownie-like centers. Plus you get to use those cute madeleine pans. They're much easier to make than they sound. Here's the recipe.

 

Braden enjoys some birthday cannoli (he picked it) on Jan. 31. Happy 26th! 

Smokin' ... 

Flan: Take Two. It finally turned out! 

A slice of our new bookshelves... $39.99 at Target; getting a year's worth of books off the office floor-priceless. 

Tsuki's convinced she will like orange this time, even though she didn't last year.