Roasted Artichoke and Asparagus Pasta Salad
Recently, Mixologist Molly had her bridal shower. It was such a perfect day! The breeze was floating through, the sun was hot and the vodka lemonade punch was delish. As was the champagne. I promised to bring my pasta salad and crack cookies. But I felt my pasta salad needed a change. A face lift. Some botox if you will. It needed to be younger, fresher and lighter. Wait. I forget. Am I talking about myself or food?
Sigh….
I was craving asparagus and mushrooms and with that, a new recipe was born. This pasta salad kicks my old pasta salad’s ass.
Angry Mac N’ Cheese – Vegas Style
Forgive me cooking gods, it has been weeks since my last post.
See, this little thing called “life” caught up with me. And by “life” I mean this: I was sick. The girls were sick. I was sick again. Sprinkle in two bachelorette parties in Vegas and three bridal showers and you can see why I honestly haven’t had a moment to catch up on sleep, laundry, bills, sleep, grocery shopping, health, sleep and immunity.
Summer Salad
Ryan and I have been on a salad kick. It’s our goal to be cute in our bikinis (well muscular and handsome for Ryan in his manly boardshorts). So I’ve been making every variation of salad and dressing you can think of.
Last night I made this arugula salad (I know! I’m OBSESSED with arugula!) with a fresh strawberry vinaigrette that was light and refreshing and yum.
Hubby’s note: Super healthy, super yummy. Good for the waistline and surprisingly filling.
Heirloom Tomato Stack
Phew. What a week! I know I fell off of the radar for a while. A week ago today, my parents sent me a video of their house showing no less than four feet of snow. With blue skies and the flexibility in my schedule to pack the kids in the car with our “snow clothes crate” and go enjoy a few days in the snow – I jumped on it (ha!). Unfortunately I was also sick as dog. No voice, totally congested, achy…YUCK! I warned my mom and dad that I was SICK. They didn’t care. And neither did I. I just knew I had to do it because it would be my only chance this season to play in the snow with the girls. So, I picked up Pixie from school, loaded up the car and off we went! The girls were so stinkin’ excited.
A few hours later, the girls ripped themselves out of the car as quick as they could and dove face first into the snow. Snow bibs? Who needs ’em! Gloves? Naw! They played for about an hour and when the jeans were too wet and the fingers bright red, we retired inside for some cozy clothes and movies.
The next morning my mom had to head back to Los Angeles to work so my dad gave her a ride down the mountain to the main center in their community. As he was walking her to her car to make sure she could get out….he fell. On black ice. HARD. He came back up to the house limping and barely able to sit down in a chair. CRAP. (Side note- it occurred to me that had I still been nursing, a Boppy would make a wonderful “donut” to cushion one’s bruised tailbone)
Raspberry and Goat Cheese Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette
My hubby is awesome. Sometimes, he really plans out thoughtful and fun presents for me. My absolute favorite musical instrument is the cello. I love the deep, passionate, resonating sound it makes. When we got married, I walked down the aisle to Jeux D’eau which is a song from the Cirque de Soleil show, “O.” About thirty seconds in, a cello starts and it’s one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard.
Back when we still lived in Sherman Oaks, he rented a cello for me and got me private cello lessons. I LOVED IT! It was so much fun to learn – it was a LOT of work. I never realized how difficult it was. The funny part is, I guessed what he had planned for me. I wrote it down, brought it with us and showed it to him when we pulled up at my first cello lesson. He was gobbsmacked. Totally speechless. Honestly could not believe that I had guessed it.
Nut Crusted Halibut with Lemon Aioli
Crap!! I meant to post this one months ago! It somehow slipped through my butter covered fingers until I made it again this past weekend. See, now that I have a “blog,” I just use my “iPad” in the kitchen to “Google” my website and pull up my recipes. Sidetrack for a second. Do you remember that Friends episode when Joey didn’t know how to use air quotes? That show “was” so perfect. And Jen Anniston is still perfect. How in the world is she so beautiful? I still haven’t gotten over her break-up with Brad. Okay – TANGENT. Focus Jessica!
Curried Chicken Sliders
Pay no attention to the little Meatball Slider next to the Curry Slider. He will be the star of his own post. I figure it’s a “he” since, you know…he has balls.
This past weekend I spent a whole day with my sister-in-law and my mother-in-law. We had lunch, tackled some wedding stuff (for the S.I.L.), had pedicures, taste tested cupcakes and window shopped for hoochie dresses for Vegas. Yeah, you heard me right. We shopped for totally trashy dresses for our upcoming trip to Vegas…with my mother-in-law. And I mean sequined-gaudy-barely-covering-your-butt dresses.
Chipotle Cornish Game Hen Chicken Tacos
Wednesday is our busiest day here at the household. Pixie has school and Buggies and I go to a Mommy and Me class. But today, being February 1st, also means that enrollment for the next school year has begun. Here in California, our school systems have decided to align the age/start date for school with the rest of the country (it’s about time!). But rather than change that date from December 1st to September 1st in one fellow swoop, they have decided to pull the band-aid off one arm hair at a time. Starting the 2012-2013 school year, the new cut-off for starting Kindergarten is age 5 by November 1st. My sweet little Pixie turns 5 on November 2nd. Awesome. The district then announced that they would have a “transitional kindergarten” just for the little monkeys who fall between November 2nd and December 1st. I’m sure you see where I’m going with this….
Spicy Dr. Pepper Pork Tacos
Obviously I was having a rough week last week. Buggies had pushed me over the edge of sanity and right into the Grand Canyon. Come to find out, poor little miss needed some antibiotics and is doing much, MUCH better. I, of course, feel like “parent of the year” for allowing myself to get so frustrated with her. So, after hugging and kissing her a million times, we packed up our trailer and headed to the beach to do some beach camping. Thanks to global warming, Los Angeles has been 75 degrees for the last week. So, an impromptu camping trip sounded like a great idea. And it was! Three families, six kids and the beach? How could we go wrong! We sat by the campfire, had s’mores and the kids played and played and played. They came home covered in splinters, dirty as could be and totally exhausted. Which means it was a damn good trip.
Chicken Chutney Tacos
I’m living with a terrorist.
She’s about 3 feet tall, has blonde pigtails and responds to the A.K.A. of “Buggies.”
Toddlers are like little terrorists or drug addicts. Happy one second, hysterical and jones-ing for “insert-anything-from-Goldfish-to-favorite-blankies-here” the next; ready to blow the roof off my house if I don’t allow her to have a “nack” an hour before dinner.