Happy Valentine's Day!

Our first married Valentine's Day :)

Blue Cheese Filet Mignon over Thyme-Infused Mashed Potatoes
served with Broiled Lobster Tail and Garlic Green Beans

3 yellow potatoes
1 lb green beans
butter (3/4 stick, divided)
1/2 + 3/4 + 1/2 c low sodium beef broth
1 T EVOO
1 head garlic, minced
1 onion, minced
2 filet mignon
2 lobster tails
3 T fresh thyme
1/2 c heavy cream
1/4 c almond milk
1/2 c parmesean
1/2 c pinot noir
1/2 c + 1/4 c blue cheese
1/4 c panko crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 350. Bring large pot of water to a boil, add potatoes, and boil until tender. Remove from water, let cool slightly, and remove skin. In small pot, heat 1 T butter, and sautee 3 cloves garlic, 1/4 onion, and 1 T thyme. Once onions are translucent, add potatoes, heavy cream, almond milk, 1/2 c beef broth, and S&P. Mash until desired consistency. Add 1/4 c blue cheese and 1/2 c Parmesan.

2. In a small dutch oven, sautee 4 cloves garlic and 1/4 onion in 1 T EVOO and 1 T butter. Once translucent, add 1/2 c wine and 3/4 c broth. Simmer until reduced to 1/2 c.

3. Meanwhile, heat 1/2 T butter and 1 T EVOO in skillet. Add 1/2 onion and 3 cloves garlic, sautee until translucent. Add green beans (cleaned and ends discarded) and sautee until slightly soft but still crispy. Add 1/2 c broth and simmer until reduced.

4.  Oil grill pan and heat. Sear steaks on all sides (about 30 s per side). Once seared, put pan in oven and cook for approximately 15 minutes (until slightly under desired doneness).

5. Using kitchen shears, slice down center of underbelly shell. Brush exposed meat with EVOO and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on silpat and baking sheet, exposed side up.

6. Mix panko breadcrumbs and remaining blue cheese in bowl. 

7. Once steaks are done, preheat broiler. Place steaks on baking sheet with lobster, and top steaks with blue cheese mixture. Put 6" under broiler. Remove steaks after 3-4 minutes (topping should be bubbly), then remove lobsters after 6-8 minutes (3-4 additional minutes). Shell should be bright red.

8. Serve mashed potatoes topped with steaks and lobster, then covered in wine sauce. Accompany with green beans. ... and don't forget to smooch your Valentine! :)

the best kind of breakfasts...

.. are made with love.

After a long week at work and a 36 hour assessment trip to Kansas, I was so excited to wake up to my wonderful husband making breakfast :) I won't give away his tricks, but the meal went something like this:

mmm... delicious pancakes!

the creature fiercely competed for pancake scraps

the chef... who wouldn't cooperate for the paparazzi
... but has beautiful blue eyes, don't you think?

Clearly the perfect morning, no? :)

I'm feeling a little under the weather today, but I'm excited about the week ahead. I just got back from a great assessment in Kansas, which has left me exhausted but encouraged. While eating dinner with the family, one of the little girls decided to hold "court" and have each of us (her mom, me, my advisor) tell the group why we love our husbands. It's been so fun to meet these families, these children.. to hear their stories. With the busy, busy weeks ahead, visiting with the families we work with is the best motivation to keep pushing forward. Like all of the kids we work with, our new little fellow came to us with an incredible and inspiring story.

Cory and I leave Friday for San Francisco - I'm so excited! I have a conference Tues-Friday of the following week, but we're heading down the weekend before for a mini-vacation in the middle of all of this chaos. My uncle has graciously offered us his condo near the boho Mission district -- I can't wait to explore, eat yummy food, visit the family... and most importantly, catch up with my man! Cory leaves Tues, then my friends from school are coming for the conference. I think we're planning so sneak off to Napa Valley, then I'll be presenting my master's thesis data ... then I come home for the weekend, re-pack, and head to Texas for a NIH workshop, conference, and another assessment. Two and a half full weeks of travel.

... hence why I'm a bit perturbed that I'm not feeling to hot today. I got about 3 hours of sleep every night last week, then hopped a plane to Kansas... so I'm not surprised my body is protesting. I just really need this week to catch up on school work and get ahead on school work so I can miss two weeks of classes without completely falling apart. Luckily, spring break comes after the Texas trips, so I'll have 5 days off to frantically catch up.

::sigh:: conference season. It's my favorite time of year, but it's always filled with adventures!

Thus, my posts may become a little more about eating fabulous food versus making fabulous food. The Mission district in SF is known for its amazing ethnic restaurants, so I've already started scoping out some potential conquests. The goal will be to eat somewhat healthily so I can still fit in my clothes when I get home!

So back to the present... I'm feeling so incredibly blessed amidst the cheesiness of Valentine's day. Cory and I have been married for less than a year, but I already can't imagine my life without him. He's such an inspiring man -- so kind, forgiving, loving, caring. He's constantly reminding me of the things in life that really matter - he pulls me out of my little world and back to life. I'm so lucky to have such an amazing valentine :)

"Love takes up where knowledge leaves off." - St. Thomas Aquinas

A taste of NYC... Pretzel Crusted Chicken, Croissant Pudding

I'm still in a food coma from tonight's yummy dinner :). Cooking today was a priority - life has been nuts this week (.. is it only Tuesday?!), so I really wanted to spend some quality time with hubbie and creature.

This week is one of those exciting times when I know I'll feel accomplished by the end... but making it to the end will be a challenge. In addition to presenting my first draft of my masters thesis on Thursday, helping our undergrads submit their first conference presentation abstracts (woohoo! so proud of them!), and putting together another awesome attention paradigm for our infant study (by, oh, tomorrow), I'm also flying out of town Friday morning to do a somewhat impromptu 36-hour research assessment with a sweet kiddo who has fragile X syndrome. To make matters more interesting, the week kicked off with a somewhat comical bang yesterday.

Yesterday was a Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

... to the point where it was almost laughable. I slipped on a patch of ice while walking Molly, at which point the brave cat-wannabe got scared and ran to our apartment, leaving me face down on the sidewalk. Monday just kept getting worse ... clients out of school, tons of RTI meetings, manuscript rejected (expected, but still sad), an increasingly sore rear end from the Ice Incident, and a bunked dataset that kept me at the office until 1AM. Although Molly lost some points due to lack of bravery during the Ice Incident, she somewhat redeemed herself by meeting me at the door, chipper as ever, in the middle of the night when I finally returned home after a record breaking 17.5 hour day.

The great part about a terrible Monday? Tuesday had to be better... and it so was. I found another broken parking meter, one of my dear friends met me at the office at 8am with lattes (seriously - how sweet!), my master's analyses are DONE.... and I beat Cory home in time to have dinner going by the time he walked in the door. Exponentially superior to Monday.

Tonight's dinner made Tuesday even better. Both recipes were tweaked from Food and Wine Magazine. The pretzel dish was delicious - pretty easy, and it mixed up our usual chicken repetoire. The croissant desert reminded me of a french toast tailgating dish I sometimes make - it'd be a delicious brunch treat, but we loved it as a rich dessert. The original recipe called for a few tablespoons of bourbon - I'd imagine cinnamon and brown sugar would be a yummy addition, too!


Pretzel and Mustard-Encrusted Chicken
1 10-oz bag Snyders honey mustard pretzels (must be the thick, stubby ones!)
1/2 c vegetable oil
3 T red wine vinegar
1/2 c coarse mustard
3 T dijon mustard
1/2 c water
salt and pepper
6 boneless, skinless chicken halves

Preheat oven to 400. In a food processor, pulse pretzels until coarsely chopped. Pour into a shallow bowl. Wipe out the food processor, then add the rest of the ingredients (minus the chicken). Process until smooth, then pour half of the mixture into a shallow dish, reserving the rest. Arrange a wire rack over a jelly-roll baking sheet (with edges). Coat chicken in mustard mixture, then roll in pretzels, pressing the mixture into the sides. Bake for 15 minutes, then cover with foil to avoid burning and continue to bake 10-15 minutes, or until juices run clear. Serve with reserved mustard sauce drizzled over top.

Caramelized Croissant Pudding

Pam

1/2 c sugar

2 T water

2 large croissants, torn into small pieces

1/2 c heavy cream

1/2 c almond milk

2 eggs.

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a small baking dish with Pam, then add torn croissant pieces. Meanwhile, bring sugar and water to a slow boil over medium high heat, stirring continuously. Once crystals dissolve, leave mixture on heat for 5 minutes until it begins to turn a light amber color. Immediately take off heat and stir in heavy cream and almond milk, slowing continuously. If caramel solidifies, put mixture back over heat and stir until combined. Whisk eggs in a bowl and add to milk mixture, then pour over croissants. Push down on croissants to ensure they absorb the liquid, then let sit for 10-15 minutes. Bake 20-25 minutes on a medium rack. Serve warm.

family photoshoot

Creature napping by the fire :)

typical night with Team Tonnsen

She's not symmetrical... but she's cute!

11. Haitian Rice, Black Beans, and Corn Fritters

I must say -- I was pleasantly surprised with Haiti night! In all the hustle and bustle of this term, I've been looking forward to a mid-week cooking break.

I've felt so blessed lately - I have a wonderful husband, a job that I love, and such supportive friends and family. Sometimes, though, I forget to sit back and appreciate everything. I get bogged down in the details and to-do's, and I lose the big picture. Dorky disclaimer on this next statement, but I get a little sappy on weeks when I'm analyzing data. There's something empowering and almost awe-filled about unveiling a new pattern in the numbers-- particularly when those relationships can potentially change people's lives. I've decided data analysis days are among the few times when researching autism and fragile X is just about as inspiring as working one-on-one with kids and families affected by these disabilities. I feel so lucky to have a job that enables me to better understand the experiences and development of the super special kiddos who inspired me to go to grad school in the first place. So many random moments this week have reminded me of them. :)

I'm trying to "soak in" the little things more these days. During dinner, I had a little flashback to one of my favorite wedding day memories: our nearest and dearests lined up outside the dock with sparklers, leaving the two of us inside to "soak it in" -- we just stood there and looked out over the water. I remember saying, "This is it. We're married. We're at our wedding reception." It felt so peaceful to say it -- to just enjoy it for a few moments.

My mom has always been so supportive of my little adventures, and she's always telling me to "remember this," or "enjoy that," or "keep these memories." We have so much to be grateful for -- as stressful and crazy as our young, busy lives can get. Cooking gives me time to think, refocus, soak it all in. The house is quiet, the e-mails put away... it's just me, some obscure spices/ingredients, my trusty "boston terrier," and Co (if he's braving the kitchen that day). Such a therapeutic experience after a long day of work.

This meal wasn't too labor intensive, but it certainly took some time. I actually prefer those meals sometimes -- it's such a stress relief to do something productive with my hands without worrying too much about technique. I never fry food, but the corn fritters were a fun treat. The tumeric in the rice was subtle but satisfying. I've also never tried black beans mixed with balsamic, but they turned out delicious, too... after Co went to the store to buy me another bottle of balsamic. I dropped a grocery bag of vinegar and wine on the way home, and luckily the vinegar buffered the wine's fall :)

Enjoy!

Haitian Rice, Beans, and Corn Fritters

Healthy Haitian Tumeric Rice

1 T EVOO
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 c brown rice
1 box low sodium chicken stock
2 tsp tumeric
2 bay leaves
S, P, and cayenne

Heat the EVOO in a skillet, then saute the onion and garlic until translucent (5 minutes). Add the rice, and stir for one minute. Next, add spices and enough broth to cover. Cook for approximately 30 minutes, adding more broth as the mixture reduces. Remove bay leaves and serve.

*Note: the original recipe called for 1 c Arborio rice and 1/2 c broth + 1/2 c water (mixed in at once). I think brown rice has a longer cooking time, hence my method above. You may need to mix and match until you find the right fit for you!

Haitian Balsamic Black Beans

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced and cut into 1" pieces
2 T balsalmic
S&P

Combine ingredients in a bowl, let marinate for 30 minutes.. then serve alongside (or on top of) rice.

Haitian Corn Fritters

Mmm... a fried (but delicious) mess.

3 eggs
1/2 c water
1/4 c butter
1 c flour
1 can corn, drained and rinsed
oil for frying
sea salt
tomato sauce for dipping

Combine eggs water, butter, and flour until mixed through. Stir in corn, and let the mixture sit for a few minutes. I radically changed the proportion on this (doubling the flour, reducing the water), so find a proportion that works for you. Drop into hot oil and drain on paper towels. Serve with tomato sauce for dipping.

Recipes tweaked from:  http://friendseat.com/CARIBBEAN-RICE-AND-BEANS-Recipe