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My Top 10 Favorite Classic Holiday Movies

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  I was recently reading a blog post from someone who detested the movie, Love Actually – I mean they were really offended by it and thought it silly, useless, and just plain irritating.  I on the other hand, love this movie, and find it charming as it gets me into the Christmas spirit when I watch it.  This made me think of my Go-To list of movies I need to watch between Thanksgiving and New Years Day, that remind me of how important family is and all the magic you can experience when you celebrate the holidays together. Here is a list of my Top 10 Must See Movies every holiday season – you may recognize a couple and hopefully some are your favorites too!

Today is Day 30

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Today is Day 30 for me.  That is if I had stayed on the program.  But about 10 days ago I attended an after work party and had a glass of champagne and a few appetizers.  Nothing big, just a couple stuffed mushrooms, some brie and baguette slices, a couple or three deviled eggs, and a treat that is named “Crispy Truffles” which were these amazing balls of mashed potatoes with bits of chives and truffle, which are then deep-fried and served with a creamy ranch-style sauce – Yum!  And two pieces of pizza.  But that was it.   Seriously. I didn’t feel very good the next day, BUT I didn’t gain any weight, so lucky me – or so I thought.  Since I didn’t gain any weight and I had gone off program, I decided to extend my good fortune and stay off the diet the next day, as after all it was Halloween.  So now I added eating sugar – just a few candies since it was a “holiday” and I was being festive …

Fresh Gnocchi and Maitake Mushrooms

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Today I made my 2nd Blue Apron dinner (see here for the first Blue Apron dinner).   Fresh Gnocchi and Maitake Mushrooms.  I have eaten Gnocchi all my life and always had it with a marinara sauce being the nice Italian girl that I am.  So Blue Apron’s recipe was missing the red sauce  – what?  If you are not familiar with Gnocchi, they are little potato dumplings that end up looking and somewhat tasting like pasta – only they are potatoes and not pasta.  I have only once in my life seen a movie showing people preparing Gnocchi and that was in the movie Godfather III.

Exploring Blue Apron dinner service – Delectable!!

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  I am focused on streamlining grocery shopping, prepping, and cooking dinner during the week, so I decided to try Blue Apron, a food delivery service that offers you tasty and healthy dinner options.  Here is how it works: you join Blue Apron and view the menus; they send all the food and instructions to you on a day that you have designated; arrives in a well-packed refrigerated box; you unpack, follow instructions, and prepare dinner – couldn’t be simpler and the meal tastes like you were eating in a top-notch restaurant.   And it only costs $9.99 per meal (if I order dinner-to-go at a local chain restaurant it usually runs around $25 and just tastes okay.) Last night the menu was: Pan-Seared Chicken Thighs with Roasted Baby Zebra Eggplants & Fennel Salad.  This recipe was created by Chef Michael Anthony, owner and executive chef of Gramercy Tavern in NYC (a restaurant I just happened to have dined at around 5 years ago while on a trip to Manhattan).  Dinner consisted of chicken thighs (my favorite part of the chicken) placed on top of 

One Lovely Blog Award

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Thank you Fae from Fae’s Twist and Tango for nominating me for the One Lovely Blog Award.  This is my first award and what an honor to receive it from such a wonderful blogger.  Fae is fascinated by cuisines far and wide and brings her culinary talents to her blog from the many recipes she has collected and revised from all her travels. You must visit Fae’s blog today, and you will be delighted as much as I am!

Ann Curry’s 20 Acts of Kindness Tribute to Sandy Hook Victims

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Photo compliments of Google I have pondered for days on what my next post should be, as the tragedy from last week in Newtown seems to be so overwhelming.  As I am one to definitely find comfort in food, I thought making a few holiday hors d’oeuvre that I could share with friends and then post would cheer me up.  I was wrong – like the rest of the world my heart is heavy with the sadness of last Friday.  Someone forwarded me an article about Ann Curry’s suggested 20 Acts of Kindness Tribute to Sandy Hook Victims, which I thought was such an amazing and uplifting idea.    Here is the article below for you to read:

BlogHer Food 2012

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DAY One…. Attending the BlogHer Food 2012 conference here in Seattle yesterday and today.   This conference is so well organized, entertaining, informative, and just plain fun!   Have met many new food bloggers, some newbies like me, and others with very successful food blogs that are generous with their tips and advice on how to create and maintain a successful blog.  Great speakers, most notably favorites of mine were:  Elise Bauer, Kalyn Denny, Jaden Hair, and Jeannette Chen – what a treat to meet and listen to these fabulous women and hear about their marketing strategies and stories.  Photos from Friday’s lunch which consisted of sandwiches and salads – the food at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel tasted even better than it looks – and the food looked amazing!! More tomorrow….