Gab's House o' Sass!

Are You Ready for some Football?

Gabs — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 21:12:00 +0000

You are? Great!

Me? Not so much. Never really been a huge fan of football. But the parties (and the food)? Totally!

We're having a few folks over to watch the big game (in our teeny house). We'll have the usual fair, but with a couple of twists.

Instead of regular ol' pigs in a blanket, I'll be switching it up by using Aidell's mini chicken apple sausages
Instead of just nacho cheese dip, I'll be making Queso Fundido

and of course there will be the obligatory chips and dip, soda, bloody marys, and beer.

Yum! Have a great (and allergy free) day!

Gab

For Me???

Gabs — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 17:50:00 +0000

Dear Valentine Fairy,

If you are looking for something to bring me for Valentine's Day, look no further.

Thank you,

G

p.s. if you bring me this, i will be your best friend. seriously.

Pork Fat Rules!

Gabs — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 17:33:00 +0000

My mother-in-law celebrated her 65th birthday on Saturday, so we had everyone over at Casa Peterson for a feast.

But what to cook?

Many folks who read this blog don't know that Mark's mom's family are Mexican-American which means that whenever we visit Mamanina (his grandma), we're usually treated to some homemade tortillas. On an even better day, we're treated to homemade tamales (yum!).

That being said, I decided to cook some Mexican food for Olivia.

What was on the menu? Well, I thought you'd never ask Here's a menu (along with links to recipes if you'd like to make this menu as well).

Olivia's 65th Feast
Carnitas (note:I used this recipe as a master, but changed up the spices. BTW, A 5lb pork shoulder was barely enough for us)
Corn and Flour Tortillas (store bought)
Red Rice (I cook my rice in my rice cooker with this - it's kind of weird I know, but the end result is tasty)
Pinquito Beans (you can always use the canned kind from the grocery store)
Pickled Red Onions (this is a foolproof recipe for pickled red onions - no cooking required)
Crema (you haven't lived if you haven't tried this yet - it's basically Mexican Sour Cream)
Tomatillo Salsa (ok, so I bought some from the store - sue me)

A good time (and margaritas and chips and guacamole) was had by all 9 of us.

It's Hard to Believe...That I Couldn't See.

Gabs — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 07:50:00 +0000

That you were always right beside me.

WTF, you ask?

Bella asked if she could watch High School Musical Last week. Have you seen it?

We watched about 20 minutes with her and then ended up recording the rest of it on our DVR. And once Bella was asleep Mark and I watched the rest of it. In silence. Waiting to see what happened. Turns out it just one of those 'aw shucks' kind of movies where the guy gets the girl and everyone realizes that we're all the same deep down inside. But it was riveting. So clean cut and catchy. I almost wanted to tape HSM2, but Mark laid down the law.

So, in a nutshell, it's safe for a 3 year old. Heck, there wasn't even smooching (you can't say that for Hannah Montana people).

The downside? Now I have HSM (see how I'm down with the lingo now?) songs on a constant loop in my head. Mark's head on the other hand, is about to explode due to my sudden outbursts throughout the day while I'm doing dishes, surfing the web, giving Bella a bath....

I guess since I'm talking about HSM this blog has officially jumped the shark. Hopefully 2008 will bring more interesting (and frequent) posts.

Ho Ho Ho!

Gabs — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 23:06:00 +0000

So I had grand intentions of driving out to Half Moon Bay today with the family to cut down a gorgeous Christmas tree, really I did.

But then I got to thinking about the environment and all that crap.

So we bought a fake-o one instead. We even went to Kmart to get it. Ick. But we came home with one of these.

And the best part? It has a rotating base! It moves around! In a circle! So you can see all the sides!

The second best part? I think they mis-charged me! $99.99 and the label in the store said $179.99! Maybe I was involved in a super secret 40% off sale? Who knows? Who cares! This baby will pay for itself in two years.

What a day. Now we just need to find our Christmas decorations.

I Want This...

Gabs — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 19:14:00 +0000

There must be something in the water. I've been craving all these modern pieces of furniture. Anyone who knows me will wonder if this chair will 'fit' into my home. I can't help it though. I must have 6 for my dining table. Hello, um, Santa?

Ravelry

Gabs — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 22:57:00 +0000

Just joined ravelry.com.

Haven't uploaded a thing. My user name is Gabster though. Looking forward to adding projects, getting my stash in order, and organizing my WIP's. I haven't been knitting that much, but I do -incredibly enough- have quite a bit to add to the site.

Are any of you on it? Let me know.

In My Mind Right Now...

Gabs — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 04:46:00 +0000

From DWR

Eames Molded Armchair
Eames Molded Plastic Rocker (i swear the second i find out i'm pregnant i'm buying one of these)

From CB2:

From West Elm

silver parsons table (it would match my new computer - he he)

Smith and Hawken

glass cloches

NapaStyle

Benvenuto door mat
Pauchard step stool

Wishing I lived in Portland after finding this site.

Wishing my copy of the Darjeeling Limited soundtrack would arrive already.

And i know i am putting the cart before the horse, but isn't this bassinet just the cutest?

oh. and...

Gabs — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 04:28:00 +0000

i dreamed of something big. and mark got me something bigger.

i don't deserve you honey.

Latest Purchase

Gabs — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 03:26:00 +0000

Hot Chocolate Cups from Crate and Barrel.

Glossy inside. Matte finish outside. Fits in my Tassimo machine.

So cute. For coffee (grownups) or hot chocolate (bella).

Wishin' and a Hopin'

Gabs — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 18:13:00 +0000

Dear Diary,

I only have one wish for my birthday. Please, please, please let me get the new iPod Touch.

Pretty please?

BFF,

G

What We're Eating This Week...

Gabs — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 04:37:00 +0000

If you care, I posted our menu for the week on Peanut Free Mama.

What's your go-to menu each week? Fill me in!

New Semi-Obsession

Gabs — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 20:42:00 +0000

Mark and I had a romantic evening in SF this week (including a great meal). We were right around the corner from a Borders, so we stopped in to peruse the mags. And I found this:

Atomic Ranch. A magazine all about midcentury marvels. So sleek. So hip. So not me. But I am loving the landscaping ideas.

Must...resist...urge...to...have...atomic...ranch...house.

New Blog

Gabs — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 22:50:00 +0000

I started a new blog to keep my food allergy findings in one place. If you're interested, head on over.

Must be the Milkman's...

Gabs — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 22:27:00 +0000

Did you know that a service still exists on the SF Peninsula that delivers milk and other dairy products?

Here it is.

Cheaper than the grocery store (at least the one near me).

Moo.

This is how we plan our meals...

Gabs — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 18:04:00 +0000

A few of the sites I read have talked about how they go about planning their meals so they don't feel like their only option each night is takeout (fresh or leftover), pasta with jarred sauce, or cereal. The NYTimes had an article about this type of thing last week, but I didn't like it enough to archive it. Check it out for yourself (hopefully it will still be free)>

Here's what I do:

1. First I print out my menu planner sheet (warning: it's a PDF). I used to buy a pad of almost the same thing, but the company discontinued it. So, being the crafty bugger I am, I created one myself. I put in more than 7 meals because sometimes I have to plan 7+ meals in a week (for example, my aunt is coming for Sunday lunch, but I still have dinner to plan too).

2. I figure out what nights I know we're eating out either at restaurants or someone else's place (I like these nights) and mark those in the appropriate day/meal sections.

3. For the nights I know we'll be eating in, I decide what meals will be good each night. I factor in lunches (for example, Fridays at Bella's school are pizza day, so that's out for Friday night). I usually write my ideas in pencil. Sometimes I'll do the math and figure out that spaghetti and meatballs aren't good on those nights Bella doesn't get a bath (so sue me - my kid gets a bath every other night!). So sometimes I switch things around.

As I write down each meal, I write down the groceries that go along with it in the bulleted list below the menu. I usually group them by produce, meats, dairy, etc. I didn't label the planner with these tags because it was too limiting. Some weeks I bought more produce than household stuff and vice versa. I didn't want to be contained by the number of lines on my list! I also added a notes field. This is for anything you want, but I use it for things like reminders about Bella's school - last week she needed an empty egg carton, so a dozen eggs went on the list (as well as a Quiche for Wednesday night to use all those eggs).

4. And before I go shopping, after I've added all the other household stuff I'll need from the store (TP, bleach, etc), I do a quick scan in my pantry one last time to make sure that I really don't have a can of chicken stock in the pantry. I have a small house, so I take the space saving where I can get it.

And that's it. The menu is posted on the fridge for the week. I can tell Mark what's for dinner (so he doesn't have the same thing for lunch), and I don't stress out about what we're having each night.

Try it yourself. It works for me, it might just work for you.

What do you do?

My next post will have some of my favorite standbys for meals that everyone in my family eats. Stay tuned...

How I prevent the pay wall from falling down on me.....

Gabs — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 17:44:00 +0000

The NY Times has a solid business model in place. You can read an article for about a week, and then it goes behind a pay wall. This is really smart - sort of heroin dealer smart. You make someone interested in the content and then take it away so if they want to refer back to it in the future, they are stuck and they have to pay.

So how do you personally keep the content accessible? You can't bookmark it, or tag it - it wont be there when you return. You can print it (ugh, paper!) or cut and paste the contents into a word doc. Or maybe if it's short, do a print screen.

But this doesn't help you if it's July and you want to make that no-knead bread that you saw months ago in the Times but never tried...now this is probably a bad example as practically every blog in the universe that had something to do with food posted the recipe, but say they didn't. What are you supposed to do?

Want to know what I do?

Any time I see a recipe or article that I want to keep for future reference, I make a PDF. But you don't have acrobat, you say? No problem, download CutePDF (or a variety of other freeware available) and you're set.

And after that PDF is made, I can file it away in folders (recipes, house, money, family, etc.) where I can access it at a later date. And I can put it on my PDA to read in the kitchen while I'm cooking.

Some of you are out there saying "well duh", but maybe one or two of you aren't. And you can use this for just about anything you find on the web. Think of it as your way to freeze the web for a small moment.

Just a small way for me to contribute to my fellow foodies.

Foodie Must Read

Gabs — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 17:35:00 +0000

Happy Summer Everyone!

Today's NY Times has a great list by Mark Bittman on 101 Summer Meals to make in 10 minutes or less. Do yourself a favor and read it now, before it goes behind a pay wall. There are too many yummy options in this list to choose a favorite.

G

p.s. Things are hectic these days around Casa Peterson, but I promise I do have a few posts up my sleeve for this site and Paper Palate - please be patient!

Somewhere else to find me...

Gabs — Fri, 18 May 2007 17:52:00 +0000

I'm now contributing to a food site called Paper Palate writing about food magazines, books - anything in print or online relating to food.

Check me out (and you can even subscribe to my feed to get notified when new articles are posted).

It is a nice way for me to start the weekend!

food memories of my youth...

Gabs — Thu, 03 May 2007 23:04:00 +0000

i grew up in southwestern connecticut and spent my summers alternately in cape cod and rowayton. my parents were avid sailors so we owned (sometimes) multiple sailboats (catamarans) at once. my brothers sailed too. and me? well, i was a bathing beauty and an all around cutie pie, winning over our fellow beach club members.

roton point was where i learned to swim, where i was hit by the rock that resulted in my first experience with stitches, and where i have my first real food memories.

each night, after a day of sun, we would dress a little warmer and wait for dusk, looking out over the auburn hued water, as the fireflies made their way into the night air. dad would fire up the hibachi, and mom would prepare salade nicoise (it is only now that i realize how 'french chef' that is - all i cared about then was getting to those juicy bits of green beans, eggs, and flaked tuna - yum). the adults (all fairly raucous sailors - holdover hippies really as this was the early seventies) drank their dubonnet on ice in plastic tumblers and the kids had...well, i just don't know what we drank. but i do know what we ate before dinner.

does anyone remember this?

ahhhh port wine cheese spread. cheesy enough for a kid, but with a kick of port to make you think you are being deviant. i don't know if it was this brand, but it sure looks the same. sure i've moved on to affinoise as my cheese of choice, but there is something so satisfying about the bite of this cheese, even now. i keep a container of this in my fridge. my husband doesn't get it, but all i need to do is show it to my mom and i get a nod of approval.

to this day, the sight of port wine cheese sends me back to that little run down beach haven on the long island sound. when i have my bad days, if i'm missing my mum, or feeling down, a slathering of this on a cracker just somehow brings me....up.

The Best Breakfast

Gabs — Thu, 03 May 2007 22:57:00 +0000

2 slices of ciabatta, sliced on the diagonal

lightly toasted

slathered in butter

drizzled in honey.

bliss.

yum-o?

Gabs — Tue, 01 May 2007 23:43:00 +0000

i've never been a dog person. just a cat person.

that is, until i started working with an incredible woman who loves her dog pico THIS MUCH. this dog is her child and she treats him as such - including being just as picky as a mom is (or in this day and age should be) with her baby. put it this way, pico gets tri tip, fresh sausage, free range chicken, and jenni is a vegetarian. you've got to love your dog if you are vegetarian AND willing to handle meat. i digress. back to the treats.

bella and i wanted to do something for little (actually quite large) pico. lo and behold, in the latest rachael ray magazine, was a recipe for doggie treats. it looked kid friendly. and easy. we had to jump into action!

Oh, and before you turn the other way with your nose in the air because you're too cool to like or even try RR's recipes, the recipe was developed by someone else.

Jessica Gorman's Olive Oil and Bacon Truffles

you can find the recipe here, as well as an archive of other recipes here.

basically, these are little scones with nuggets of crispy bacon inside. the ingredients are simple: whole wheat flour, bacon, cornmeal, beef broth, olive oil, and water. mix the dry ingredients and bacon, then add the wet and knead into a smooth dough. roll into balls and place on a foil lined sheet (i used parchment - it was fine). oh, and you bake them after drizzling them with the leftover bacon fat. 35 minutes exactly in a 350 degree oven and they're done.

the ease of this recipe was superb - it came together just as the recipe stated and the cooking time was spot on. considering the scare that pet owners received of late with tainted meat, making your dog's (or cat's) food seems less high maintenance with recipes like this.

as for the pico taste test, you'll have to wait until next week for the verdict...but by the looks of these, i would eat one - who can resist all that bacony goodness? oh wait, I'm starting to sound like the queen of yum-o herself.

i'm still not a dog person necessarily, but if a little pooch should cross my path, i have just the thing to soothe the savage beast.

ok, back to human food...

Review - Everyday Pasta, Giada De Laurentiis

Gabs — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 16:37:00 +0000

Cookbook: Everyday Pasta
Author: Giada De Laurentiis
Publisher: Clarkson Potter

Recipe: Linguini with Turkey Meatballs
Page#: 177

Giada De Laurentiis just released her third cookbook, Everyday Pasta. Every time I get a new cookbook, I try at least one recipe within the first day or two, just to gauge the book. I usually try something simple. Why? Because if the simple stuff doesn't work, then the rest of the book is likely to disappoint. So what did I choose? Something easy: Linguini with Turkey Meatballs. It is featured as quick and tasty, and is supposed to leave my guests hungry for more (her words, not mine).

Ahem. Now let's get down to business.

What Worked:
Giada had a brilliant idea to add chopped sun dried tomatoes to the meatballs along with diced pancetta. Brilliant! Those little nuggets were a welcome surprise in the otherwise non brilliant meatballs (see below).

What Didn't:
Putting the recipe together was fairly easy, but the ingredients DID need to be tweaked (specifically more bread-crumbs to hold the meatballs together). Also, adding two eggs to the mixture left you with pretty wet meatballs (even after the addition of more bread-crumbs - but you can only add so much to offset the overabundance of eggs).

But the biggest disappointment was that the flavors of this dish just weren't there. The meatballs were bland (even with pancetta AND sun dried tomatoes) and the sauce lacked spark or depth (or heft for that matter, even after simmering a bit longer). My testing companion commented that even when the sauce is there 'it's just not there - it's just water and tomatoes'.

Verdict:
While it wasn't terrible, I wouldn't make it again. Which isn't to say I've given up on the book. But for spaghetti and meatballs, save your time and use another recipe from another book. How about this one? And I hate to say it, but even this one is better than Giada's. And you really can't go wrong with Mario. Doesn't he have sugo coursing through his bloodstream?

I think this recipe speaks volumes for the way that TV personalities tend to crank out cookbooks one after the other. Much like new rock bands who spend years crafting that first hit record, the second and third installments just fall flat.

Bottom line: this is just one of those recipes that looks great on paper, but just doesn't come through in execution. But I will be stealing the diced pancetta for my next meatball experiment.

All the Guys should look the other way now...

Gabs — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:32:00 +0000

this is a chick post. about boobies. but not in a sexy way. unless you call squishing them between two sheets of plexiglass sexy. uh oh, i do know a few of you who read this blog, so you might...

i wanted to tell all my female readers (all 12 of you) that today i got my first ever mammogram. before you start saying to yourself, 'don't you need to be, like, 40 or something to get one of those?', just stop.

i'll have you know i have quite some time before i get there. at least a year or two.

Ahem. Back to my point.

I had a baseline mammogram (or slammogram as I was referring to it this morning) today. Baseline means it's (hopefully) a photo of your healthy boob. and hopefully the photo wont change over the years, but if it does, your doctor will know immediately.

What I am trying to say is that it really wasn't that bad. A little pinching, a little discomfort. But really not so bad. And it was over before you know it.

So go ahead, schedule one. How about doing that now?

Could save your life, you know.

I'm just saying.

OK boys, chick post is over.

G

New Reads....

Gabs — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 21:02:00 +0000

New Cookbook:

Vietnamese Cooking Made Easy

my next purchase will be the Filipino volume.

Books to inspire our upcoming remodel:

The Barefoot Home

Creating the Not So Big House

Patterns of Home

I think the expression 'your eyes are bigger than your stomach' applies here somehow.