My Favorite Holiday

February 17, 2014February 13, 2014 Sadie2 Comments

February is such a great month (despite the questionable weather) because I love Valentine’s day, and I love President’s Day even more! And this year they are both combined into one long weekend! What is better than celebrating TJ with chocolate, hearts, and flowers?

Lately I’ve been in a broadway mood, so of course they best way to celebrate President’s Day in my mind is to listen to the 1776 soundtrack! I saw 1776 on broadway in the 1990’s and it has always been one of my favorites (I wonder why). If you didn’t have the chance to see it on Broadway, there’s always the movie version with Mr. Feeney playing John Adams, it’s a classic!

TJ is always my number one, but John Adams really steals the show in this one. To get in the presidential mood today, I would highly recommend checking out some Youtube clips of the movie or recordings of the stage productions. I would go with this one, this one, and this one. Unfortunately the best productions happened pre-Youtube, so the quality and availability isn’t optimal, but fingers crossed they’ll revive on Broadway again soon!

Speaking of Broadway…Did you hear that Carly Rae Jepsen took over for Laura Osnes as Cinderella in Cinderella? I saw it almost exactly a year ago. I’m curious to hear how she does. She’s obviously a singer, but I wonder if she has Broadway worthy pipes…

Fantastic Frittata for your Valentine

February 12, 2014February 10, 2014 Carrie1 Comment

On Saturday, I had some wonderful ladies over for a Valentine’s brunch. Everyone deserves a Valentine’s Day treat. I made sure to have a nice tablescape as well as a delicious menu. I couldn’t have been happier with how it turned out. I featured chocolate dipped strawberries in the center of the table because nothing says “I appreciate you” like a chocolate. I created free-form white chocolate hearts out of Wilton candy melts to place intermittently on the tray with the strawberries. I also made chocolate-dipped Oreos as well. I placed a heart napkin in the center of each place setting to make the place setting a bit more festive. I used fabric in the center of the table which is an easy way to create a runner and can often be cheaper than buying a table runner.

For the menu, I made overnight blueberry french toast, scalloped potatoes, and an egg frittata. This was the first time I made a frittata and I must say it was a success. I used Ina Garten’s recipe and doctored it up slightly by adding turkey sausage to the original recipe. You can really put anything you would like into the frittata as long as you keep the egg base the same. Below I will give you the adapted recipe for Ina’s roasted veggie frittata and then you can alter it as you please.

Roasted Vegetable Frittata

ingredients

1 small zucchini, 1 red pepper, 1 green pepper, 1 red onion, 1/3 cup olive oil, 2 tsp minced garlic, 12 eggs, 1 cup half and half, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon butter, 1/2 cup grated cheese (swiss, mozzarella, gouda, asiago…really whatever you have on hand will do just fine)

1. Preheat oven to 425.

2. Dice the vegetables and place on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic. Toss the vegetables around on the tray to make sure the vegetables are evenly coated. Bake for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and turn the oven to 350.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, half and half, parmesan, grated cheese, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.

4. In a 10 inch ovenproof saute pan, melt the butter and saute veggies for one minute. Pour the egg mixture over the veggies and cook for 2 minutes over medium heat. DO NOT STIR. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake the frittata for 20 to 30 minutes until it is set in the middle. You can flip the frittata out of the pan for the table presentation. It will be brown on the outside but perfectly cooked on the inside. Enjoy!

Be Mine This Valentine’s

January 21, 2014January 16, 2014 Carrie1 Comment

The heart garland is available at Pier 1 Imports. At $5.95, it is not worth taking the time to make it yourself.

In an effort to get my beau in the mood for Valentine’s Day, I decided I would decorate the house for when he comes to visit this week. I know it’s a little early to celebrate, but let’s be honest…shouldn’t everyday be Valentine’s Day. We should appreciate our other half everyday of the year. In the past, I have not been quite as eager to give in to the Hallmark holiday but this year I must say I put it in gear. As I got out my decorations, I was sadly disappointed with the two owl tea towels on which say “Who loves you?” (which was a sad reminder of my singledom last year and I remember wanting to burn it) and a coordinating owl serving platter. This year I decided I needed to up my Valentine’s game. I said to myself “Never fear for Pinterest is here!” in my superhero voice. I’m sure you all find yourself saying that at times. Anyway this is what I came up with. I hope you have as much fun playing Cupid as I have!