Back in the Swing of Things

Tomorrw I return to work and I’m looking forward to it. I am ready to get my routine back on track. M and I had a fun filled weekend with family and friends. Friday night we joined a large group at Manny’s for dinner before a night on the town. I was already one top shelf Don Julio margarita on the rocks before we sat down for dinner (feeling good). I had the sour cream chicken enchiladas and a cheese enchilada smothered in queso. The chicken enchiladas were very dry. The cream sauce was good, but not enough to save the chicken. Thank goodness the cheese enchilada was just like the one at El Fenix (perfection in my mind). I can’t remember what M had. Obviously, it wasn’t worth writing about. Manny’s is great for people watching and that’s about it. We finished the night at Liar’s Den (new place on McKinney Ave.) with more drinks and conversation. Of course, the minute M and I got home I heated up left over tamales from Luna’s. Munchies kill me every time.

Saturday, I worked out, shopped at the grocery store and bought tons of books on-line. M and I watched two movies; Joyeux Noel and Burn After Reading. Both worth renting. We topped the night off with a deep dish pie from Pastazios. Yum! I was only able to manage one piece. That pie is MASSIVE! If you order, prepare to have left overs.

As if buying books wasn’t enough, I bought another one today after reading a review in the Dallas Morning News. I plan to start that book when I take a bath tonight. I need a good soak after today’s long run. My Mom and I did a little shopping at Crate and Barrel and Lamps Plus. If you are in the market for anything that glows then head over to Lamps Plus. They are having a huge sale. My Mom got a ceiling fixture for $80 marked down from $404. Wow!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. We have another big day ahead this week. Seafood gumbo is our New Year’s Day family tradition. What meals/traditions do you celebrate on the 1st of January?

Christmas

Good morning everyone! Merry Christmas! I’ve got A Christmas Story playing in the background and a cup of coffee in hand. Last night was wonderful. I’ll be ready for that first cocktail this morning. I need a little hair of the dog to get me going. Need I say more about the amount of alcohol consumed last night. Cheers!

Chirstmas Eve

I’m enjoying a nice morning alone with a yummy cup of Hazelnut coffee. Mmm… We have a great day ahead of us. M is at the office this morning and plans to get home in time to take me to get the tamales. He’s so weird about me driving around on Harry Hines Blvd. Gee, how’d I ever survive this world before M? Ha!

Mom and I are going for a long walk this morning. I can’t wait! I need it from last night’s activities. M’s best friend is in town for the holidays and Plucker’s is a must. We plowed our way through Honey BBQ wings, Goldrush wings, cheddar fries, fried pickles and magic mushrooms. Oh, did I mention the case of Miller Lite? Geez, talk about gluttons! Did I mention that the cheddar fries there suck yet we order them every time. I’ve never heard of cheddar fries sanz cheese. Interesting concept. The reverse cheddar fry. Brilliant!

We rented Mummy, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. We find it highly amuzing to rent horrible movies. We have a ball of a time making fun of the acting. Brandon Fraser provides belly aching laughs. Check it out. I dare you!

We start Christmas Eve with a champagne toast and then head to the early church service. I am reminded of the true meaning of Christmas. It’s a time to relax, take it all in and thank the Lord. I love it. Then it’s off to Mom’s house for Luna’s tamales, The Shed enchiladas (add fried egg for me), margaritas, egg nog, Christmas cookies and margaritas. Yes, we like our ritas. It’s a Wonderful Life always plays in the background. Then it’s a cab ride home and we start the whole shabang all over again.

Happy holidays!

Is roasting the traditional method?

Last night M and I were craving Mexican food. The closest place to us is On the Border (we’re lazy and didn’t want to drive all over town). OTB fits the bill when need be. Chuy’s is right next door, but they are hit and miss. With OTB, I know what I’m going to get time after time (quality wise).

We settled up at the bar and placed our to go order. A couple of beers later and our food was ready. Did I mention that the bar draws a nice crowd? I was quite surprised for a freezing Monday night. I went with the pick three option getting two sour cream chicken enchiladas and a cheese chile rellano with rice and black beans.

My first bite of the rellano was quite tasty. Same goes for the chicken enchiladas. I polished my plate in no time flat. I realized a few bites in that my rellano was not roasted hence the knife and fork. What’s with that? Is that normal? I have always roasted my poblanos for rellanos. Is that the traditional way or not? Do tell.

Chile Rellano

I decided to conquer Chile rellanos over the weekend. M mentioned wanting them for our Sunday dinner. Let me just tell you, these turned out great. They may be a bit messy, but very tasty nonetheless.

2 poblano chiles, roasted, skin peeled, seeds removed
1 cup cooked breakfast sausage
2 pieces of good mozzarella cheese
1 cup sautéed onions in grease from sausage
Flour for dredging (add 1 tsp Chile powder, 1 tsp cumin, salt and pepper to taste)
1 egg
1 TBS butter
1 TBS olive oil
1 tsp Chile powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

*sour cream sauce with New Mexican Chile powder and cumin

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.

Stuff chilies with onions, sausage and cheese. Heat butter and oil in an oven proof 2-qt sauté pan over medium high heat. Dredge chilies in egg then flour. Add to sauté pan. Cook for 5 to 7 min until brown on one side. Finish in the oven for another 15 minutes. Serve with sour cream sauce.

Sour Cream Sauce:
¼ cup butter
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup flour
1 tsp. Chile powder
1 tsp cumin
2 cups water
1 cube chicken bouillon
Salt and pepper to taste
16 oz. sour cream

In a large saucepan heat, heat the butter and oil over medium heat. Once heated, add flour stirring well to combine until mixture is golden (roux).

In a separate pan, bring the water and bouillon to a boil. Then add salt and pepper, cumin, Chile powder and sour cream. Stir until smooth then stir in the roux.

Ladle sour cream sauce onto a plate. Top with rellano, additional sausage, onion, cheese and cilantro.

Cibus

My Mom and I dined at Cibus Ristorante for lunch today. The atmosphere is bright and cozy with an airy feel. We both enjoyed a glass of Sauvignon Blanc while we browsed the menu. I opted for the seared Scottish salmon with a meyer lemon sauce. This dish itself was quite ordinary. I found it to be bland and lacking in structure. However, the saffron sauce was incredible. Unfortunately, it paired better with my bread than the salmon. The salmon needed something more powerful to counter it’s strong flavor. The salmon was center stage, but the supporting Israeli cous cous and roasted root vegetables belonged with a roast chicken not the almighty salmon.

My Mom ordered the special of the day; polenta with provolone and mushrooms drizzled with truffle oil. This dish is comfort all the way. It’s rich and cheesy. Surprisingly, the taste reminded me of La Madeline’s French onion soup. I couldn’t believe how similar these two dishes were. I couldn’t keep my fork from wandering over to her plate. One bite salmon then two bites polenta.

The highlight of the meal was dessert. Oh my heavens you have to try their gelato. We got the small which comes with two flavors. There is a medium that comes with four and a large with six. We tried pistachio (my favorite) and chocolate. To my Mom’s surprise the pistachio was the better of the two. Of course, they were both to die for! Next time I am going to try the coconut.

Good news guys! I got all of my Christmas shopping done today. Sad to say, but Northpark was not nearly as crowded as I had anticipated. It was almost scary to see how little shopping was being done. It seemed like some stores were practically giving their merchandise away.

Happy Friday

I took a half day today. My Mom and I are going to tackle Northpark this afternoon. First stop, Cibus! I can’t wait to try this place. A little wine and some lunch. We’ll be all set to get our shopping done.

We’re going to a Christmas Party tonight. The one catch is that you have to wear a tacky sweater. Does that sound fun or what? I am already laughing a little on the inside. I should probably bring a hostess gift (bottle of red wine). I’ve never been to her place before. She’s like going to be my sister-in-law. You’d think I would have been over before. Then again, she’s never been to my place.

M and I have fallen in love with Penfolds Koonunga Hill. You must try this red beauty. You will be thankful that you did. It’s become our obsession the past three weeks. We can’t seem to get enough of it. The price is great too!

Happy Friday everyone!! What’s on the books for your weekend? Other than tonight’s party, M and I have nothing planned. I like the sound of that.

TJ’s

We didn’t end up splurging for the lobsters. Instead, I went with the Alaskan King salmon and M with a prime rib eye. . I’ve become an addict to seaweed salad. Yep, I’ve been buying some daily and having it for lunch. Last night, I served the teriyaki salmon on top of seaweed salad with a sweet potato on the side. I love me some sweet potatoes. M went with the rib eye seared on the stove and finished in the oven along with a Caesar salad, garlic bread and a loaded baked potato. He was kind enough to give me a bite of his steak. Yum!

I have this thing about the Cowboys. If I watch them, they perform poorly. When I don’t watch them, they do great. Well, I watched them yesterday. Sorry everyone. I should have stayed in the bedroom watching anything other than the Cowboy game. I had to make dinner and couldn’t help but hear the entire game.

M did the sweetest thing the other day. His department has a raffle once a month. He put all of his tickets towards the item of his choice and he won. Guess who really won? Me! I got three awesome cookbooks from Sur la Table. He’s such a sweetie!

TGIF

Happy Friday everyone! This week has been a long one. It’s always hard to go back to work after a nice little vacation. I am so pumped about the weekend. There was a post on Eats that TJ’s has lobsters for $12.99 a pound. Oh man! We’re going to order up a couple for Sunday night’s dinner.

Last night M and I watched a really great band on DVD. Sigur Ros is an Icelandic indie group that is awesome. If you haven’t heard of them then look them up. They are fabulous. We sipped on wine and nibbled on Cub Scout’s caramel popcorn. Mmm.. Our evening started out with a full tin of popcorn and ended with it almost completely gone. I’ll be putting in my time on the treadmill today.

Today, M and I are taking it easy tonight. We have Dirty Pretty Things all ready to go in the DVD player and some good vino to take us late in the night. I have no idea what we’ll have for dinner. Bangkok City was mighty tasty last week. We might give that another whirl.

Tomorrow is M and I’s pizza night. We ALWAYS have pizza on Saturday night. I’m feeling a chain pizza with a stuffed crust. Yep, that’s it. I want stuffed crust with lots of Ranch dressing. Yes, I am one of those pizza and Ranch loving fans. So good!

I need to get started on my holiday shopping. We’re not giving gifts within the immediate family this year. Due to the economy, we are focusing on good food and drink. I love that idea. Talk about less stress. We’re still doing gifts on M’s side of the family and we have Secret Santa with extended family. Between M and I, that’s only 6 gifts. I can knock that out in half a day.

So, what is everyone doing for the holidays? Are you spending less, more or the same as years past?