2.28.2011

Curry Chicken Pot Pie

Photograph by Cedric Angeles for Bon Appetit

I made Alton Brown's Curry Chicken Pot Pie Recipe last night. It's a great and delicious way to clean out the freezer.  The recipe is below.

Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 25 min
Serves: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 cups frozen vegetable mix, peas, carrots
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder
  • 2 tablespoons dried parsley
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
  • 2 cups cubed cooked chicken
  • 1 package puff pastry (I only used half of the package)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Toss frozen vegetables with canola oil and spread evenly onto a sheet pan. I lined the sheet pan with foil for easy clean up. Place into oven and cook until golden brown.
In a saute pan heat 1 tablespoon of butter and sweat the onion and celery. In another saucepan, heat the broth and milk. Add 2 more tablespoons of butter to the celery mix and cook out the water. Add the flour and curry and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the hot milk mixture and cook until thickened. Add the parsley, salt and pepper. Toss with the browned vegetables and the chicken. Pour into a shallow baking pan, or a large terra cotta pot base, lined with foil, and top with 6 to 8 circles of puff pastry (I used a rectangular le creuset ceramic baker and I didn't bother with the foil lining). I cut a few slivers along the center of the pastry dough to create vents for steam to escape. Place into the oven and cook until puff pastry has browned and the mixture is hot and bubbly, about 25 minutes. The Hubby and I both loved this recipe. I am definitely adding it to my repertoire.

2.25.2011

Friday Favorite Quote


"I think that playing dress-up
begins at age five and never truly ends."
Kate Spade

2.24.2011

Hello Pretty


Found this fabulous mirror on Wisteria today. I love the geometric design. Horn and black wood, yes please. The price is pretty reasonable at $199. Now where could I put it...

2.22.2011

It's Five O'Clock Somewhere...

 Happy National Margarita Day!


The Hubby and I are using the "holiday" as a good excuse to have a Mexican Fiesta tonight. I'm excited because the Hubby knows how to make a mean margarita. We like to use Hornitas tequila (it's our favorite). Cheers!

2.18.2011

Friday Favorite Quote

Source

"Be who you are, and say what you feel, because those that mind don't matter and those that matter don't mind."
Dr. Seuss

2.17.2011

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall


Our new apartment will have a separate dining room as opposed to our current kitchen/dining combo. We will have enough space for a larger dining room table, additional seating, a buffet, and a china cabinet. This means we will be able to start entertaining more, which is something the Hubby and I love to do. I have been gathering ideas and inspiration from catalogues and design magazines to pin down the style we want. I really like the use of mirrors in dining rooms. I fell in love with the 3 Piece Grand Palais Mirror ever since I looked through the Ballard Designs catalogue a few months ago (the Hubby likes it too). It looks like a Palladian style window and it would add great reflective light to any room and show off the high ceilings. Unfortunately this beautiful mirror is not in the budget at $479. Ouch. This dream will have to wait...
 



...or will it? I found this look-alike 3 Piece Windowpane Mirror Set (Copy Cat Chic style) from World Market. It’s on sale for $125.99 (internet only)*! The dimensions are smaller than the Grand Palais Mirror, but I think it will still give us the look we are going for.


My idea was to hang the mirror above a buffet like above (inspired by pg. 30 of the Ballard Designs catalogue). I have been eyeing up the STORNĂ„S Buffet from IKEA (shown). It's $449 for the brown/black. The mirror should be able to hold its own on the wall until we can save up for the buffet. What do you think?


*World Market is having a 20% off sale today (2/17/11) from 11am-2pm for online purchases! Use code q1vt6X5S0t2n at checkout.

**Ballard Designs is having a sale March 1st through March 21st. Save 20% on anything that hangs on your walls (mirrors included)! Discount automatically applied at checkout.

  
**UPDATE** The 3 Piece Windowpane Mirror from World Market sold out and is no longer available. I did find another look alike mirror available on Wisteria for $329. If you subscribe to their weekly email list or request a free catalogue, they email you a 10% off promo code for your first purchase!

2.14.2011

Happy Valentine's Day!


Happy Valentine's Day! What are your plans for the evening? The Hubby and I celebrated Valentine's Day on Saturday night. We watched The Proposal and had a four course dinner at home with some champagne. The table was set with our wedding china, crystal, and silver since it was a special occasion. We started with cocktails, pesto goat cheese from Appleton Creamery with French bread, and raw oysters. Then the Hubby made my favorite Belgium endive salad with roquefort blue cheese. We had stuffed Lobster with asparagus for the main course. It was so rich and delicious. I made Ina Garten's Red Velvet Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for dessert. It was a wonderfully romantic evening. The Hubby even surprised me with flowers and pretty earrings. Tonight the Hubby is making Linguine with Clams (recipe below) from the Williams-Sonoma Bride & Groom Cookbook for us. He has made this recipe before and it's delightfully simple and delicious. I hope your Valentine's Day is as wonderful as mine. Love you Hubby!

Linguine with Clams

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Servings: 2

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh clams such as littleneck or Manila, preferably baby clams
½ lb. dried linguine
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large clove garlic, peeled and left whole
¼ cup dry white wine
Kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Rinse the clams under cold water and rub away any dirt with your fingers. The clams should glisten and feel clean. Discard any clams that do not close to the touch.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook until al dente, tender but firm, according to the package directions.

While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the clams, garlic, and wine. Cover and steam until the clams begin to open, 3-5 minutes. For clams that do not open, try to open them by inserting the flat end of a pair of tongs between the shells. If they open easily, return them to the pan. Discard any clams that do not open easily.

Drain the linguine thoroughly and add to the pan with the clams. Season the linguine liberally with salt and mix in a generous drizzle of olive oil. Toss. Divide the linguine between warmed plates. Ladle the clam mixture over the pasta with the clam juices. Drizzle with more olive oil and sprinkle the lemon zest and parsley on top. Serve at once. 

pg. 141, The Bride & Groom Cookbook, by Gayle Pirie & John Clark, chefs of Foreign Cinema

2.11.2011

Friday Favorite Quote


"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles."
Audrey Hepburn

2.09.2011

Lilly Furniture!?!

Source 

I was just browsing through the Lilly Pulitzer website reviewing their Spring 2011 Collection and accessories when I saw it- a “Furniture” link. I clicked on it immediately and discovered the debut of their furniture line is scheduled for Summer 2011. This is very exciting news.

The advertisement is a fantastic sneak peak for what's to come! The green pillows with the striped couch look playful and elegant at the same time. I love the pop of color in an otherwise neutral living room. The matching ottoman is punchy but not overwhelming. And the Pink and Green Strasbourg chair...Yes, please. Fingers crossed for reasonable prices on their home accessories! Let’s just hope the Hubby will go for it...

2.04.2011

Friday Favorite Quote



“The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.”  

Anna Quindlen

2.03.2011

The iPhone 4 is almost here!


Source 
The Hubby and I successfully pre-ordered our Verizon iPhone 4s at 3am this morning. By that, I mean that he woke up and ordered our new phones. And he let me stay in our warm bed and reap the benefits. He is so good to me. The ship date is next week and I am so excited! First step was the iPod, now the iPhone, and next the iPad...soon it will be total Apple domination! And I'm okay with that.