Cheers!

I got so much done on my day off Friday! Last week Brian brought back all sorts of crystal glasses from his grandparents house. They are beautiful! I spent some time on Friday moving around things in my china cabinet to make room for them.... and cleaning everything. We've been saving wine corks in our ice bucket for a few months and we've finally run out of room. So I took some, put them in this bowl and in the process came across some of the ones I wrote on. I don't do it all the time but sometimes I remember to make notes/dates on corks. It was really fun looking over the ones I did log :) I also found a ridiculous amount of Montes corks. I do believe we like a good Malbec. I'm going to try to remember to do this more often. Try it! 

Giant Monogram.

To say I wasn't really darn proud of myself after I did this... that would be a lie! I put this project off as long as possible. Honestly, I was a little overwhelmed with the thought of cutting giant letters for a sweet new baby room. I wasn't sure if I could pull it off and make it look good. 

After cutting the first S-- I did the 3 footer first-- I stepped back and was said DAMN! I was so proud. It looks so good! I might be partial but gracious I was happy. I was more happy that I didn't screw it up and have to call the girl and tell her thanks- but no thanks. 

These were actually ordered to be left blank. I haven't seen a finished product but I believe she was just painting them a glossy black. I'm sure they look fabulous in their new home. 

Until next time... 

That Charcuterie Tho...

I really love a good charcuterie board! Brian and I have gotten to where we'll fix one for lunch or dinner sometimes and we switch up the meats and cheeses. I quickly put this one together one Saturday afternoon and had to grab a quick picture of it. It was almost too pretty to eat, then we devoured it. This one includes: pickles, stone ground mustard, salami, sharp cheddar, blue cheese, bread and prosciutto. We might have had my favorite, Mediterranean hummus and pretzel chips to the side. Sometimes I add apples or other meats. I kind of stick to these cheeses unless Brian comes with me to the store and picks the others out :) 

It's so easy and so delicious. Try it with a glass of wine. And if you have it for lunch with the glass of wine, I won't judge you ;) 

XOXO

Another Skinnytaste Recipe... Another Homerun!

I don't really care for looking, touching, really anything related to raw meat. But the mouth watering that this picture brings back. O.M.G. This was sooo good! I got it from the Skinny Taste Cookbook. Seriously, if you don't follow her blog, snapchat, instagram and buy her cookbook.. you are missing out on life. I love everything she does! 

So I went to the store to buy the lamb. I think the recipe called for like 1 pound, maybe 1.5. All they had was 3.8 pounds. So I bought it and thought about how wasteful we would be. I ended up doubling the recipe, boy did we have a lot of lamb skewers! We had leftovers for a few days but it was so good... we didn't care! The dipping sauce was amazing. This is so easy!  

I also made the Quinoa Tabbouleh from the Skinny Taste cookbook. I loved it! Brian didn't because he is unamerican and hates cucumbers. We also did a medley of veggies on skewers which were delicious as well. The best part? 1 skewer is 3 WW smart points AND one serving of the quinoa is also 3 smart points! 6 point dinner... means I can have a glass of wine! 

Please forgive the screen grabs from my snapchat.. I always forget to take pictures. Don't let the quality of the pictures keep you from trying this. It's so good my friend Jennifer (what up I have a follower) requested that I blog this. And gave me a nice little pep talk to blog since I've been MIA for a quick second. So this is for you Jenn-- and I think it's dairy free! WHAT! 

Grilled Lamb Skewers with Harissa Dipping Sauce

Lamb:

1.5 lbs trimmed boneless leg of lamb, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/2 T olive oil

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 T finely chopped fresh cilantro

2 1/4 t ground cumin

1.2 t sweet paprika

3/4 t kosher salt

12 wooden skewers, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes

1 medium red onion, quartered

Harissa:

1 T olive oil

2 large garlic cloves, peeled

1 (12 ounce) jar roasted peppers in water, drained

1 t fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 t kosher salt

1 t crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 t ground coriander

1/2 t ground cumin

1/2 t sweet paprika

For the lamb:

Place the lamb in a bowl and rub it with the olive oil, garlic, and cilantro. In a small bowl, combine the cumin, paprika, and salt and rub the mixture on the lamb. Marinate for 3 to 4 hours. Thread the lamb onto the skewers, 3 to 4 per skewer, with onion slices in between. (We also added green and red bell peppers)

For the harissa: 

In a small skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until golden and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the garlic to a blender and add the roasted red peppers, lemon juice, salt, pepper flakes, coriander, cumin, and paprika. Blend until smooth. 

Preheat a grill to high (or preheat a grill pan over high heat). 

Grill the skewers 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a serving plate and serve with harissa on the side. 

 Enjoy! 

I love a good carb!

Who doesn't love carbs? Particularly, pasta.. I LOVE PASTA. I try my very hardest not to eat it, so when I do.. I go all out! Enter- Paul Prudhomme's Shrimp Diane. I actually ordered this at Faded Rose a couple months ago and it was heaven on a plate. SO. MUCH. BUTTER. I mean I dipped bread and ate it and then ate pasta and felt no remorse. We actually took an hour long walk that day AND the day after. So basically I ate nothing, right?

Anyway, Brian tried it, loved it and decided that was our next Paul dish to try! We actually toned down the butter when we made it at home and didn't use as much as he did... it was still so dang delicious! I snap chatted it and grabbed a still. Just try it! I know I say t his about all my recipes... but they are all so good if I take the time to blog them :) 

Shrimp Diane by Paul

1 and 3/4 pounds medium shrimp with shells 

6 tablespoons shrimp stock

1 and 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (we used less!)

1/4 cup finely chopped green onions

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon basil

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1/8 teaspoon oregano

1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick pieces

3 tablespoons very finely chopped parsley leaves

Pasta, French Bread or hot cooked rice

Rinse and peel the shrimp; refrigerate until needed. Use shells to make shrimp stock by boiling them in a pot of water.

In a large skillet melt 1 stick of butter over high heat. When almost melted, add the green onions, garlic, salt, cayenne, white pepper, black pepper, basil, thyme and oregano; stir well. Add the shrimp and saute just until they turn pink, about 1 minute, shaking the pan (versus stirring) in a back and forth motion.

Add the mushrooms and 4 tablespoons of the stock; then add the remaining 1/2 stick butter in chunks and continue to shake the pan. Before the butter chunks are completely melted, add the parsely, then the remaining 2 tablespoons stock; continue cooking and shaking the pan until all ingredients are mixed thoroughly and butter sauce is the consistency of cream.

Serve immediately. I like it best over pasta, but its also good over rice or french bread.

xoxo