Where did January go?

What happened to January? It came and went in a blink. Between having company for 3 weeks over Christmas and New Years, going to San Francisco 1 week after they left, having 1 week to get cheese of the month ready for shipping, and getting our business taxes to the accountant, I lost the month. I am here to say I am back.
Last February, I quit smoking. I have not had 1 cigarette in almost a year. It is very hard and I still find myself wanting a cigarette every once in awhile. I have had some dreams where I was smoking. I gained a lot of weight but I am okay with that. I decided that 2009 was all about quitting smoking and 2010 would be about losing the weight and getting healthy.
I have tried many, many diet plans and for one reason or another, I have moderate success before reverting back to my normal habits and ending up weighing more than I did before the diet. This time is going to be different. I made up my own plan (who knows me better than me?). I call it my 654321 plan. It is all calorie based, with some intentional movement (notice I refrain from calling it exercising) thrown in. I have 3 meals - one is 600 calories, one is 500 calories and one is 400 calories (for me, that is dinner, lunch, and breakfast, respectively). I am trying to MOVE, at least 3 times a week for at least 20 minutes each time. I also get 1 snack a day (100-200 calories). It is really coming down to eating what I want (okay, maybe not everything I want) just less! I am going to a beach this summer so I do have strong motivation. I will keep you updated on my progress.

Happy 2010

Happy New Year everyone! It has been extremely busy in Leavenworth which has been wonderful. We were shipping gift packages almost every day and we are now getting ready to ship out our Cheese of the Month package for January. Only a few more days before we start wishing for people to come to town. December is our busiest month and then it falls off to one of the slowest months. I must say though, I think I could sleep for a week.
We will be traveling to San Francisco in January and I can't wait to go. I always enjoy visiting the Bay area. We have not planned any other vacations for 2010 yet. I think I would like to visit the east coast and all the families out there. Maybe an early beach trip. We'll see.
Now that I will begin to have some time, I will be trying out some new recipes and will post the ones that come out okay. This year, I would like to work on perfecting a home made pizza crust. I hope everyone had a great holiday season and again, happy New Year!

Creamy Herbed Potatoes (from The Pioneer Woman)

As promised, here is the recipe for the Creamy Herbed Potatoes that I had at the party. Some people had 3-4 helpings. They are good! You must make these.

Creamy Herbed Potatoes
4-5 whole Russet Potatoes
1 stick butter
1 whole medium onion, finely diced
8 ounces cream cheese
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup half and half
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary (I used dried)
1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley (I used fresh and used 2 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon finely chopped chives (I used green onions)
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped sage (I used dried)
Parmesan cheese, grated (about 2-3 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice potatoes very thinly. Add butter to a skillet over medium low heat. When melted, add diced onion. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cream cheese to the pan and stir to melt. Pour in cream and half & half, stirring to combine. Season with plenty of salt and pepper, then add chopped herbs. Place potatoes in a buttered baking dish. Pour sauce over the top. Top with grated Parmesan cheese and bake for 45 minutes, or until bubbly. Allow potatoes to sit 15 minutes before serving.

Party Follow Up and Public Service Announcement

It has been a little while since I have written but, there is a very good explanation. It's not that I don't have anything to say, that never happens. The reason....well, that brings us to the public service announcement. The day before the party, I was using a mandolin to thinly slice potatoes. The safety part didn't work very well when the potatoes were whole so, in the beginning, I wouldn't use it and as the potato got smaller, I would start using it. BIG mistake. I took a big slice off my thumb. OUCH!!!! After an hour of pressure, we were able to bandage it. My DH ended up having to do a lot of work for the party. He is sooooo sweet! Luckily, I had finished making many of the more time consuming things and had most of the cleaning done. You never realize how much you use your thumb until you can't use it. It has now been a week and it is well on it's way to healing although is still pretty painful and part of it has yet to grow a new skin covering.

So, the public announcement is:

WHEN USING A MANDOLIN, USE THE SAFETY PART!!!!!!!

Overall, the party was a hit. The food was good. The hit of the dinner was the creamy herbed potatoes (one of The Pioneer Woman's recipes). It's butter, onion, garlic, cream cheese, heavy cream, half and half, rosemary, parsley, thyme, sage, potatoes, and cheese. It is rich and delicious. I will post the recipe in the next couple of days.

Not sure if I am coming or going?

If someone sees my mind running around, let me know as I think I've lost it. Actually, right this very second, I think everything may come together (though it could be a fleeting feeling). We are having 20 people for dinner on Thursday night. I am excited about it. I just sent my DH to the grocery store 30 miles away for a good ham (we really don't have any good ones here, he looked and agrees). I realized that we don't have enough seats for everyone to sit so I asked him to pick up some new folding chairs also.
At this point, the menu is as follows:
Baked Ham
Creamy Herbed Potatoes (from Pioneer Woman)
Green Beans with onion and garlic
Parker House rolls
Applesauce
Pineapple Stuffing (from Cooking with Joey)
Vegie tray with dip
A few other random appetizers
and cookies (which I need to bake right now).

I have wrapped our secret santa gifts plus a few little extra things. I will try to get some pictures and post them on Thursday. I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday season so far!

Happy Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

This chocolate pumpkin was handmade by Schocolat, a chocolate shop in Leavenworth. They use some of the finest Belgian chocolate to make their chocolates. My favorite truffle, that they make, is the Brandied Pear Caramel in a milk chocolate shell.
So, what are you thankful for today?
I am thankful that I have a wonderful husband, and wonderful families, and wonderful co-workers, who have become like family, and a wonderful cat. I am thankful that I have a job that I really enjoy, a roof over my head, food to eat and my health. I am thankful for the beauty of where I live all around me every day.
I am thankful that I have this outlet to write my favorite recipes, thoughts, travels and other miscellaneous activities.
The holiday season has now officially started and I am sure time will fly by. I have to remember to stop every once in awhile and think about how much I have.

Gourmet Dinner Club - The Decadence

We just had our gourmet dinner club the other night and I must say this one ended up being the most decadent food we have ever had. Everything was delicious and very rich. I vowed to never eat again when the evening was done. We had already started on devouring the food when we remembered to take pictures so you will notice some of the pictures looking a little sparse. Believe me when I say NOTHING was sparse. I am missing one picture - the 2nd course - mine. This dinner brings the old ad campaign to mind - I can't remember for what but "I can't believe I ate the whole thing" is quite fitting. Without further ado, here is what we consumed....

For the appetizers, we had:

Sherried Pecan Gruyere Spread with homemade Pepper Rosemary Crackers

Gruyere Puffs

Artichoke Gruyere Crostini

and homemade Limoncello with or without strawberry lemonade

For the soup/salad course, we had:

Whiskey Sherried Crab Bisque with toasted croutons

For the main course, we had:

Scallops in a White Wine Mushroom Sauce

Sauteed Spinach Ovals

Sweet Potato Puree with peaches, ginger, craisins, and walnuts

For dessert, we had:

Asti with Chambord and Pomegranite Juice

A Chocolate cup with a orange yogurt whipped cream topped with a sugared orange peel knot

A Coconut cookie topped with a chestnut rum cream puree

An Apricot toast made with a cherry pound cake, apricot glaze, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, topped with a broiled apricot, some chesnut cream and pistachio pieces

A Cranberry Orange Truffle made with bitter sweet chocolate, cranberries dipped in white chocolate topped with craisins and almond slivers.

ARE YOU DROOLING YET?