Mom's Cooking

It's really good to have mom here! All the eating, and none of the cooking! These are just some of the things that I've had in the last couple of days! Had to force myself to go to spin class today to burn off the calories! Thanks mom for being so awesome and hosting some of my friends! NOM!

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving! Thankfully all the food turned out great! The turkey skin was crispy and the meat super juicy! The truffle butter smelled sooo good and made some great tasting pan juice for the gravy! I also made roasted brussels sprouts, pumpkin risotto and stuffed mushrooms as sides and sweet potato souffle to finish!

Truffle Butter Turkey

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Sausage Stuffed Mushroom

My Thanksgiving Meal

Sweet Potato Souffle

Finally, just wanted to say that I'm so thankful to have my family here with me this year!! Also, I'm super thankful to have such great friends! Without y'all, my life would be so boring and miserable! Love y'all!

Guinea Pigs!

I invited a few of my girl friends over tonight to be guinea pigs and test out a different flavor risotto! I chose pumpkin since.. 'tis the season for pumpkin everything! (I still haven't had a piece of pumpkin pie yet!) I steamed half of the pumpkin in the microwave, pureed it and pan fried the other diced half in butter. Made the basic risotto with onions, garlic, white wine, chicken broth and some Parmesan cheese. Added the pumpkin puree and cubes... 30 min of standing in front of the risotto, babysitting the pan.. voila! The sweetness from the pumpkin, nuttiness of the arborio rice made an interesting combination with the butter seared scallops. I think I might have to swap this dish from the butternut squash salad i planned on making for Thanksgiving.

Photo courtesy of G!

Cooking with Friends!

Had another cooking date.. this time with D! D made Vietnamese spring rolls and I made mushroom risotto and baked lobsters with garlic and butter! I wanted to make risotto cause I impulsively bought the Le Creuset risotto pot I've been wanting for years! The risotto turned out perfect! The rice was perfectly cooked with a bite! The mushrooms were nutty with a faintest hint of cognac! Yum! As for the lobster.... I am proud to say that I've perfected the skills of killing and breaking them down! I won't say how I kill them on here, since my friends usually give me the yuck face when I tell them! Let's just say... I do it the way my mom does it! Oh, and of course... as always, lobster congee (not shown) so I don't waste any bits of it!

Baked Lobster with Garlic and Butter

Mushroom Risotto

D's Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Ground Pork and Shrimp

The Pot I Bought!!!

Lastly, one more week till Turkey Day!! Got my menu all sorted out! Hopefully the pictures will turn out okay so I can post them! Can't wait to spend the holiday with the fam!... minus Jen =(

Paella Night

After some week long brainstorming of what to make with B on our cooking date, I've decided on some paella. I love the taste of the yellow saffron flavored rice! And with my favorite type of protein... it really hits the spot! Due to the size of the pan, the rice on the outer ring of the pan was a little under cooked. Overall though the center of the rice and the seafood turned out great! B suggested on cooking it in the oven versus stove top for the evenness next time! Great way to end the weekend! Nom!

Trip to Europe

It's been a long time! I felt like I needed to share some of the photos that I've taken while my travel to Europe. This time around I was able to use some of my acquired techniques over the past year taking photography class and also the prime lens that I've purchased. Definitely should think about upgrading the camera body since the D50 isn't capable of taking any high speed SD card!

This spontaneous last minute trip was planned two weeks before flying out! I felt like I needed to do something, go somewhere during the two weeks in between jobs! Pretty much the boldest thing that I've ever done so far in my life! Thanks to AJH! Also wanted to thank our Paris tour guide JT for taking us around. It was definitely a close call getting our phone/camera taken by that damn 12 year old little boy!

Paris was as beautiful as I remembered and London was just amazing! Here are just a sneak peak of some of the photos that I've taken!