New Year's Resolution... ppsshhtt (yeah right).

You know I really do wish I were one of those people who made and actually kept New Year's Resolutions, but the fact of the matter is-- I am not. One year I said I was going to write and read everyday-- another year I said I was going to save money so that I saved my "eye" income and could quit work for a year and write. Well as you can clearly tell... I am still working in the eye business. I really do want to write and aspire to write, but 1) once you've worked all day, the last thing you wanna do when you come home is write and 2) once you hit a block or your story takes another direction- a different one than what what you thought- you kinda sit there and say, 'okay, now what?' And yes I realize those are just excuses, but those are mine.. and I think they're pretty good ones. :)

So being the New Year in the new place, I have come up with goals.. not resolutions but goals. These are not writing goals as much as ME goals. The week before New Year's, I started on the Special K challenge. This starts week 3 for me. Have I seen results? No. But I do have the results in, I'm trying to eat and be healthier. This means no Coke and no eating out, except for twice a week (trust me, this is better than what it used to be). This means eating breakfast (something I have NEVER done before in my entire life). And this means, less desserts (something I'm still working on) and more walking (again, something I'm still working on). I also keep meaning to keep a food journal, so I can keep track of what's going in but I haven't managed to do that yet. I'm drinking mostly water, unless I get an urge for mostly unsweetened tea.

With this effort in trying to be healthy, this means I'm trying to come up with good recipes that are flavorful and good and healthy (any homecooking is better than fast food, so thankfully in our house, it doesn't have to be TOO healthy).

This is just a list of the recent recipes I've made: Chicken with Caramelized Onion Soup, spaghetti, jambalaya, goulash (which I did NOT like at all), chicken lime soup, cheddar corn chowder, firecracker chicken stir fry, cheesesteak sandwiches with macaroni salad, and then our regulars (cubed steak with mushroom gravy, chicken pot pie etc). Anyone that knows me knows I don't mind to cook at all-- I actually prefer it b/c it always gives us leftovers (lunch OR for future suppers), it's cheaper, and again-- Nothing beats homecooking.

I realize now that I do not have the metabolism I once had when I was 20 or hell, even 25, so I've gotta work to get myself healthy again. One of these days, I've got to be able to stand and paddleboard comfortably. :)

Chicken Fettuccine...

Anyone that knows me knows that I'm a Food Network Junkie.. I love watching people mix ingredients together to produce this awesome dish- whether it's sweet or savory. This morning I was watching Rachel Ray, and she made a wonderful looking dish called Fettuccine with Garden Vegetables and Greens. The dish calls for eggplant and a type of lettuce on top of the pasta-- both of which are weird to me, so I left them out. This is what I did:

1 zucchini- cut into matchsticks or cubed
1 small onion- cut very thin
1 red pepper- cut into matchsticks or cubed
5 small cloves of garlic- if your cloves are big, only use 2-3
2 T of extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes
1 lb chicken breasts or tenders
12 ounce of fettuccine
Kraft Italian 5 Cheese Blend
Handful of basil leaves, julienned or shredded.

Boil and salt (2 tablespoons of salt in the water is fine) your water for the pasta. The recipe says to cook shy of al dente, but this didn't work for me-- so just cook it al dente (for fettuccine, it's about 12-13 minutes).

While your pasta is boiling, cook your chicken until cooked through and then remove. Use the oil leftover from the chicken and put all your veggies in a pan to saute them until they're tender, for about 12 minutes. Cook the veggies over a medium-low or medium heat. Add more oil IF you need to. Add your salt, pepper, and red peppers flakes to the veggies. Once the veggies are tender, add the chicken and warm through.

Once the pasta is done, reserve about a cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta. Add the pasta to the veggies and toss everything together, adding your pasta water. From there, add your basil leaves and your cheese. Continue tossing until the cheese is just melted and the basil have started to wilt.

Transfer to another bowl (if you want to, I just left mine in the pot) and finish topping with cheese and maybe a sprinkle more of extra virgin olive oil... and voila.

Some other ingredients you may add to the dish: mushrooms or alfredo sauce to be tossed until everything is lightly, evenly coated.

This dish, I thought, was really yummy... and thinking back now, I wish I would have taken pictures of it... but my stomach out-ruled my mind, and I didn't think about it. Take my word for it, though, it looked just as good as it tasted.

Bon Appetit!!!

Start of a New Year...

Say good-bye to 2009 and hello to 2010-- only is it two-thousand ten or twenty-ten?! A very good point was made yesterday-- all the good things happen when the year is pronounced in the latter. For instance the Constitution was signed in Seventeen Seventy Six- Prince's song was Party Like It's Nineteen Ninety-Nine.. so I guess it's only fitting to say the year is Twenty-Ten.

So it's been a LONG, LONG time since I've blogged-- I think maybe around my 30th birthday. A lot has changed and happened since that blog. For one I've figured out that there are some people that are willing to and will stand by you and some that will dispose of you at the drop of a hat. Turning 30 was just like any other ordinary day- I don't and still don't feel any different as I did a year ago (although my hair doesn't hold the natural waviness it once did.. an early aging sign maybe?)

The holidays were different but also the very same. Good and new memories were made-- great food, full and deep laughs made from Pictionary (check out my FB Christmas album to understand), wonderful presents (again check the album out to understand), and some much needed time off.

Work is the same-- working with a new doctor and a new team is always an interesting experience, trying to figure them out while they're trying to figure you out. And while Josh and I have decided to stay in NC until April 2011, I have often wondered if it was the right decision. Either way, it's only for a year.. and then we'll be out of NC (yes it will happen). We're paying a lot of stuff off so when we officially move, we don't have a lot of crap hanging over our heads that don't need to be.

I still have dreams of being a writer-- still desire to write for a living, but I guess I've taken a break from it (unfortunately). I have been toying with the idea of writing a blog or a piece called Life with a Great Dane or Life with Paisley (that's my Paisley, not Brad Paisley.. LOL). I've also been dabbling with photography, although, I will NEVER be as good as my husband.. would love to do something with food photography b/c I'm such a foodie. Been thinking about doing a baking blog which could combine the 3 things I love- food, writing, and photography-- but again I don't know. Of course there is no better time than the present to do it, and the best way to get into it, is just to do it--- we'll see I guess.

Life with the dogs is always interesting... I learn something new about Paisley everyday (if I choose to blog about her, you'll find out). Shadow and Branson are still getting used to her, even though we've had her for a little over 2 mos.

So that's the past 2 mos of Vittitow life... so good-bye 2009, hello 2010.. let's see what you hold for me this year. :) I am hoping to blog more, regardless of what it's about. Au Revoir!!!!

Poundcake.

The baking season continues for me... you would think that I would be going through cheesecake mania, but nope- I'm still going and discovering new recipes.

This past week at work, we've been served Red Radish- this awesome catering company out of Asheville and Charlotte- and twice now they've served us Porkloin with Grainy Mustard Rosemary sauce. So I was going to try and copy the recipe but they didn't have it, BUT they did have a recipe for a white chocolate poundcake with lemon icing.

Ooooo, I thought. Might have to make that, so I did.

The recipe called for lemon zest and lemon juice AND the lemon icing.. I love sweet-and-savory lemony things, but I felt the need to do something different.. and the end result was yummified to say the least. I substituted white chocolate chips with milk chocolate chips, the lemon zest and juice with vanilla, and lemon icing with cream cheese icing.

Tomorrow I'm going to try and make the grainy mustard sauce from scratch.. we'll see.

Do I really have to keep working in eyes? Can't I just quit and go into the baking business?!

Tis the Season

So this year I'm getting ready to hit a mile marker in my life-- hitting the big 3-0 in November (eesh)-- and while I'm very much looking forward to celebrating my bday at Kobes (yes I have already put my request in)- there's something else I'm looking forward to-- COOKING AND BAKING!! Oh I Love this time of year. Now this year will be very different from any other for more than one reason- one being that I will be 30, two I'm going to try and experiment with different dessert recipes, and third-- this year will be the first year that we will be without our beloved Cindy-- how weird it will be without her there to celebrate and eat with us and have her say, "Hhhmm Mandy that is sooooo good." (BTW, she is the ONLY one allowed to call me Mandy). She will definitely be there in spirit but still will NOT be the same.

When September rolls around, I honestly feel the seasons change- from Pina Colada cheesecake, grilled steaks, salad, and Iced *Bux coffee to pecan-caramel cheesecake, White chocolate peppermint cheesecake, chili, spaghetti, Thanksgiving and Christmas food, and nice hot *Bux coffee. Now I haven't made my fall/winter cheesecakes yet, but I have made an apple tart and a chocolate cake made from scratch. I'm hoping to master an apple pie this year, as well as make my yummy cheesecakes. There is something so hearty and comforting in cooking and/or baking... maybe it's the end result or seeing the expressions on people's faces and hearing people say, "Oh my god Amanda that was heavenly." (yes it's the Monica in me).

And I swear- if I knew I wouldn't sink to the bottom, I would say "Screw it," and go into business for myself.. but it costs a lot of money to go into the restaurant business and statistics say the businesses fail in first 5 years. Then where would I be? Back to eyes??!!! No thanks- if I'm going to be done with eyes, I need to be completely done with eyes-- I can't backtrack.. once the bridge is burned, it's burned.

Saturday Shopping Trip

One Saturday out of the month, my mom and I get together in Huntersville (it's about equal distance for the both of us- I'm in Hickory, she's in Wingate near Monroe). At first when we were meeting at Birkdale which is interesting enough, but then on a navigating trip we discovered Northlakes Mall complete with a Macy's and Borders- two stores that Valley Hill Malls lacks.

I made the hour trip in the A/C (thanks honey) and listened to the CMA Country Fest (what used to be known as Fan Fair). They were doing a songwriter's session which was the best and only session I've heard. The songwriter that wrote Kelly Pickler's "Red High Heels," and "I Wonder" was on there- also the songwriter that wrote Luke Bryan's "Country Man," and one of the writers (who happened to be a guy) that wrote Carrie Underwood's "Last Name." Oh also heard one of the writer's that wrote Billy Currington's "Must Be Doin Something Right." It was an excellent session.. really really good.

Mom and I met for coffee in the two-story Borders store which is an awesome bookstore that has even better coffee-- better than Starbucks could ever think about being. I got a white chocolate mocha coffee complete with whip cream and white chocolate shavings- mom got her usual coffee. As far as our pastries- she got a raspberry pastry thing with peach cream cheese in the middle, and I got a lemon pound cake that was really yummy.

First store we went into was Belk (by the way it's Belk, not Belk's- mom used to work for them, she would know). I went looking for a darker shade of powder for summertime. Instead of just being shown what to buy for makeup, I was given 3 different powders. I found one that didn't make me look chalky, and after I chose, the Clinque-ician put the powder all over my face and dressed up my eyelids, cheeks, and lips. I don't wear a lot of makeup b/c I'm really prone to breakouts, but I really like what she did. I was almost tempted to buy it all, but I know me and I wouldn't wear it. I also found a pair of jean shorts that are a little longer and nicer than the jean shorts I have now. What's funny about this is these shorts were originally $36 but thought they were on sale for $17.99. When I got up to the register I paid $12.59.. isn't that awesome???

Let's see where did we go from there.. OH we went to Coldwater Creek- mom's favorite store. I helped her pick two shirts out for a skirt and spotted another shirt for her to wear with white capris. I told her I was going to stop working in eyes and be a personal assistant and shopper.

Next was my absolute favorite store- Anthropologie. I love, love, love that store. I could easily drop $1000 in the store on dishes, a bedspread, sheets, and clothes-- not to mention the soap and the candles. It's such a funky store!! Mom bought a lot of scented soaps and two candles that cost more than your average candle (I refuse to say the price, but it was quite up there).

Last shopping place was Border's.. of course all we got there were books, but I got two books- Eat This, Not This (supermarket survival guide) and the book My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. There's a movie getting ready to come about that, but books are already better than movies- so I bought the book.

Originally lunch was going to be at a rustic Italian restaurant that has the best drinks and food, but I changed my mind and opted for TGIFridays which still has good drinks and food. But I decided to stay sober on this shopping trip- lol- but let me talk about the burger I got. It was called the Cheesy Bacon Cheeseburger (so very fattening but I didn't care).. what was good about this burger was the thick piece of FRIED PROVOLONE. Now serious who doesn't love fried cheese of any sort??? Other than that it was just a cheeseburger.

I made the long trip home and have been lazy ever since. I really do enjoy the trip I make down there every month. I enjoy what the day holds.

Oh my, my, my...

I have to share this recipe with you b/c it is probably one of my favorite cookies ever. Now mind you until tonight the only cookies I had made were either out of the package (a quick fix) or homemade chocolate chip, pecan, and toffee cookies (when I'm feeling creative).

I had discovered this cookie recipe out of my Bon Appetit magazine- one of my absolute favorite food magazines ever (should anyone from Bon Appetit read this blog, see how much I love y'all? Can I please write for you now?? LOL). This recipe calls for no eggs which makes it a really good cookie b/c when you bite into them, its flaky and not doughy... kind of like eating a flaky, buttery pie crust... oh my, my, my...

Ok so here's the recipe from Bon Appetit magazine:

Lime Shortbread Cookies with White Chocolate and Almonds.

2 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 cup of powdered sugar

1/4t salt

1 cup (2 sticks) chilled, unsalted butter cut into 1/2 cubes

1t vanilla

2T fresh lime peel (usually 2 limes)

1/2 chopped toasted almonds

1 3.5 ounce bar of white chocolate (I used 3/4 cup of white chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 325. Mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add the cubed butter, lime peel, and vanilla into the processor and pulse until the dough forms clumps. Press the dough evenly into a buttered 13 x 9 x 2 pan. Pierce the dough with a fork and cut the dough (make sure you go all the way through) into 12 bars and then diagonally to make 24 bars.

Bake the shortbread until golden brown around the edges for 30 minutes (the recipe says 45 minutes but with my oven, it's 30 minutes--- so judge your time-- the rule is: if you can smell them, they're overdone). Remove from the oven. Using a knife, immediately recut shortbread, gently seperating triangles. Put them on a cooling rack.

Place white chocolate into a metal bowl and put over simmering water to melt. After the chocolate is completely melted, take it off the water. Using a fork, drizzle the chocolate in a zigzag pattern over the cookies (I put the melted the chocolate and put it into a ziploc baggy, snipped the end and made it into a piping bag- that works too). Sprinkle evenly with the almonds.

You can sprinkle any remaining lime peel over the cookies, but I didn't have enough so I didn't.

I'm telling you once you make these cookies and bite into them, you'll be in cookie heaven. They're not overly sweet and you can taste the lime in the background.

Trust me you won't regret it.

How to Cook a Steak

I used to always get my steak cooked well-done, I wanted no fat on my steak, and I wanted A1 sauce to go with it. It wasn't until I went to eat at a well known steakhouse, that I learned some things about the way steak is cooked.

1. The longer you cook a steak, the less nutritional value it has. Also if you go to a steakhouse and have it cooked well done, they will more than likely give you a steak that is less quality than someone who orders their steak medium rare.

2. Fat gives the steak flavor, so leave it on there.

3. If you have a really good, well seasoned steak, you don't need A1.

SEASONINGS:
You never want your seasonings or marinade to overpower the steak. Sometimes it's as simple as salt and pepper and sometimes it's as simple as a dry rub. A dry rub that I've come up with is chopped rosemary, chopped garlic, salt and pepper. I mix them together and put the dry rub on both sides, just enough to give the steak flavor. Marinades are good as well, but again, I only put enough on the steak to give it flavor.

"HOW WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR STEAK COOKED?"
So now you have your seasoned steak ready to cook, but how? There are five ways to cook a steak by either frying, broiling, or grilling.

Rare: The steak should be lightly charred on the sides and should be bright pink through most of the steak. This steak needs to be cooked on high heat for a minute on both sides. The internal temperature of this steak is 50-55 degrees Celsius.

Medium Rare: The steak should be charred on all sides with a hint of red, but the center should still be pink. The surface should be firm to the touch but still has some give in the center. The internal temperature of this steak is 55-57 degrees Celsius. This steak should be cooked on high heat for 2-3 minutes on each side. Any gourmet chef will tell you this is the way a steak should really be cooked.

Medium: The steak should have a thick pink center but be more browned than pink. The steak should, also, still have some play in the middle but be firm. The internal temperature of this steak is 60-65 degrees Celsius and should be cooked over medium heat for about 5-6 minutes on each side.

Medium well: The steak will be brown all the way through with the slightest hint of pink. This steak needs to be cooked on high heat for a minute (the central part of your grill), and then cooked on medium heat (the side of your grill) for about 5-6 minutes on each side.

Well done: The steak will be brown all the way through with no hint of pink but should not be burnt. The steak is firm all the way through with no give if you press on it. This is by far the hardest steak to cook because you don't want to burn it. The steak needs to be cooked low and slow to prevent this; cooked on medium heat 10-12 minutes on each side. The internal temperature of this steak is 77< degrees Celsius.

You've taken your perfectly cooked steak off the heat; now what? I bet you want to cut right into it and eat it, right? WRONG! Never, never cut into a steak that has just been taken off the heat. The reason being is if you cut into a steak too soon, the wonderful, flavoring juices that should be redistributing through the steak is going to go all over the plate, and the meat will be tough. The rule is to wait 5 minutes before cutting into a steak, so you give the juices time.

Trust me, your mouth will thank you! Bon apptit!