Straight Stitches

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Mussel Bound!

Dana June 29, 2013 0 Comments

Haha, get it? Mussel bound. Can you guess what I've cooked up this week? Mussels! Okay, let me just tell you, this is a pretty cool dish to make for a couple of reasons. One, you feel really mighty because...well...you kill your dinner. Don't be sad, though. It's okay because it's delicious. Also, it looks really impressive, so make this for a dinner party or some other time when you have friend over. Finally, it couldn't be simpler to do. There's hardly a proper recipe, just basic guidelines, because mussels are really versatile. Nevertheless, I used this guide the first time I made them. The biggest thing to remember are the safety guidelines about discarding dead mussels. Besides that, just be sure to choose accompanying players that don't overpower their delicate flavor. Get really creative, though. What about a buttery chardonnay and dried cranberries at Thanksgiving? Or a little sake and soy sauce and served over rice noodles for an Asian flair. Seriously, the sky's the limit. I choose the Mediterranean route when making this batch.

So here are my mussels, freshly home from the store. I sprayed mine gently with water just to give them a rinse. They were already de-bearded, which was nice.

Prep took no more than ten minutes (I cheated with tinned tomatoes) before these little guys went into their "sauna". Sleep tight! A few minutes later the mussels were cooked and ready for a little basil to go on top.

And here's the beautiful finished product. I had some tomato garlic bread for the broth (yum!) and some delicious cider to drink with it. Oh! There's another good idea. Cider and mussels, yes, please! The only thing I would have changed would have been to dice my shallots instead of slicing them, but that's minor. And you get to eat with your hands! Well, I'm sure there are people out there that prefer to use a fork or something, but I find it's easier to just get right in there with the tools God gave you.

Did I mention this took mere minutes? Seriously, this is such a yummy and easy meal. I don't know why I didn't start making mussels sooner. And it feels so fancy. Give it a try.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Sharing a Room

Heather June 26, 2013 0 Comments

So a while ago, after Christmas, we moved the boys into the same room so they could have their space plus a play area.

Then in February, we found out we were pregnant and the play area was then going to have to be returned to a bedroom. That transformation will have to start soon, but in the mean time they've been enjoying it.

Here are a few pics of the boys' new room.

This is from the doorway. We've got 4 dressers total which provides plenty of storage for all of their clothes

Here's just a close-up of some of their wall art and where our guinea pigs live.

Here are the bunk beds, freshly slept in. The beds are not as tall as normal beds, which was one of the concerns we had.

Here's Dev's laptop and desk area. The orange table was a table I had down in the family room, but its perfect for holding wii games.

Here's the sign I just finished for the boys. Hopefully they take it to heart, because honestly that's most of the reason they get in trouble.

These wall figures were made by the boys' great-grandfather. I had to put them high, so the clocks in them would stop being played with. Luckily the boys still love Mario and Yoshi. :)

Tomorrow I'll share more on the sign, and then I've got some updated pics of the room that will be baby sister's nursery!

Heather

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Feeling a Little Raw

Dana June 22, 2013 0 Comments

Howdy, folks! Long time no see. I debated even posting this culinary adventure because it has a sad ending. Nevertheless, I think it's a good one to share. Warning: If you're a germ-ophobe, walk away now. Why? Because we're serving raw meat in this episode of Friday Food Frenzy. That's right. Raw meat. Let's get started.

Carpaccio. Bless you. Nope, not quite. Carpaccio is a fabulous, decadent, yet splendidly simple dish of raw beef tenderloin pounded flat and served very elegantly. And it takes almost that takes almost no time. The prep work actually takes longer than the food because you want to make sure you're working in a clean environment. Here's a little video from Alton Brown that I used as a guide. It's also pretty entertaining, as he usually is. :-)

Okay, first, I got everything ready starting with the work surface. My island was the best place for this because it's nice and isolated and ready to clean. Oh, and it's my favorite place to work as well. :-) I disinfected the top of the island and wiped it down with a wet paper towel afterward.

*Confession: If it was just me, I might not have been so neurotic about sanitization, but the hubs...well, he was a bit nervous.

After the work surface was clean of 99.9% of bacteria (or so the canister said), I laid out all of my materials. Again, isolation was the idea here. Get this. That was the hardest part. Onto the mandatory beatings!

Here you see my tenderloin slices all lined up and wrapped in plastic. I definitely felt a little Dexter-ish at this point. Secure and contained. Oh, and it's important to note that you should only ever do this with a fresh, unopened package of tenderloin. Don't use leftovers for this dish; it deserves better than that.

I'm not 100% certain this part was necessary, but, again, to make the hubs feel better I wrapped the plastic-wrapped loin slices in a tea towel and pounded the entire little package flat on a cookie sheet. Who knows, maybe the plastic could have ripped while it was being flattened...or something. After the slices are nice a thin, it's just time to plate and dress.

Oh, carpaccio, you look beautiful! I just spiraled the slices around the plate, topped with toasted walnuts, shaved parmesan and arugula, and lightly drizzled the whole lot with extra virgin olive oil. Oh, and just a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Se magnifique! Or wait, what's that in Italian? Because this is an Italian dish. Oh, who cares?! It's awesome!

So I loved it. So delicate and delicious and lovely. And, being the cook, I can confidently say I know it was prepared in as germ-free as environment as possible. Now, here's the sad bit. Even having seen the whole process, Mike still felt too uneasy about it to eat any...until he cooked it. This bothers me. Not because I don't understand his fears (I do; I know the risk involved), but because he'll happily order carpaccio at one of our favorite restaurants! He swears it's nothing against me, but I still take it personally. I'm working on getting over this...

This dish is definitely a food-venture if there ever was one.