Thankful Thursday (this is going to be a long one!)

Get comfy, put on your pj pants and settle in, because I haven't blogged since vacation started, and I've got a lot to share! At least I think so. And pictures - finally I remembered to take some! Kind of.

I mentioned my DIY Christmas project a few times recently, but now that the gift-giving is done (mostly), I can finally post some pictures I took to document the fun! On on the one hand I am totally and completely crafted out. On the other, it was so much fun to think of what a person might like, and find a way to make it myself! That's why I took pictures of each and every item. Here we go:

Of course you've seen the stockings - had to include them again!

 A bread warmer...

 A burlap and lace table runner with 6 utensil holders!

 A bib for you-know-who...

 A warm and fuzzy beanie :)

 A wine and glass holder for out near the hot tub (notice the corks lining the bottom).

 A book of memories!

 An earring holder...

 Wallet/phone cases made from ties!

 Bay Rum Aftershave and Peppermint Sugar Scrub...

 A brimmed beanie!

 Candied orange peel!

 They all came together to make our living room look super festive:

Christmas break was a whirlwind - we had 10 people staying in the house, sharing 2 bathrooms and a cozy space, and nobody killed anyone. Instead the fireplace was roaring, the spa was on each night, and the food was delicious. It was good quality time with our favourite people in the world! Nothing beats family together on Christmas. And of course we had to hit up Sweetie Pie's (I had an egg white and veggie omelet - I never thought I'd see the day that happened!)

Nolan and I went to Chinese food with my parents at some point, and this was in Nolan's fortune cookie. I am totally serious. We didn't swap or anything.

We got to see our ever-growing mammoth of a nephew after a 6-month hiatus and he is a drooling machine! It's crazy how much can change in a little person in 6 months!

We also made sure to fit in Insanity every day with whoever was willing to do it. It's so much more fun to work out with people rather than alone! One of the days I didn't burn off enough energy, and woke up the next morning feeling like a psychopath. So I did Insanity, then went for a 3-mile run, and an hour later lifted some weights while the boys did their Insanity. My knees deeply regretted all this later.

We also went to our absolute favourite Sushi spot, Amerikan Ichi. I'm still so pleasantly surprised that the best sushi place is in Placerville! We have big plans for going there again next week.

We even got to take Rory and Summer (and Nate!) out for dinner and drinks to celebrate Summer's 19th birthday. I think there is a picture somewhere, but I will have to add it when I find it.

Sometime on the trip I noticed my old shoes that I was wearing had a remnant of my past on them - graffiti that Nolan had put there sophomore year of college. 19-year old Anneliese should have said no to Nolan writing on shoes, because I love those shoes still! If you can't read it, I'll enlighten you: it says dork.

When we came home and picked up Milo, he was angry that we had left him for so long. So Nolan cuddled him hard to make him happy again. It was also probably part of this game that Nolan likes to play called "show Milo who is the alpha in this house". It always works.

New Year's Eve, Nolan was working the night shift at the hospital, so I got to celebrate with some dear friends who took us out to Green's (!) for dinner in San Francisco, then to Nectar for some bubbly and ringing in the New Year! I love this couple - and it says a lot that I didn't feel like a third wheel even for a second! I think I went to bed at 2am, and if you know me...yeah. Yikes. I think I spent the 2 hours before they picked me up listening to loud dance music and drinking coffee. Preparation.

So what did I do with the several free days I had, you might ask? Besides checking items off of my long to-do list and being luxuriously busy (that's my theme for winter break), I cooked. A lot. I even did breakfasts - like a tofu and pumpkin french toast bake (divine!) And then I started a fun tradition: each meal was from a different spot around the world. It started when we had almost nothing in our fridge but cauliflower florets. So I made a cauliflower crust pizza - and finally got it right! It was nice and crispy, with homemade tomato sauce, artichoke hearts, chicken, a little mozzarella and garlic, etc. Then I decided we needed a nice Italian-style salad to go with it. So we went to Italy - and the concept was born! The next night, I was trying to health-ify enchiladas. I knew Nolan loved them, but I didn't want to use crappy tortillas or sour cream or cheese (though I did end up putting a tiny sprinkle of cheese on top at the end just for looks) or tons of sodium and oil. So? I made coconut flour and egg white tortillas (yum!), sauteed chicken in coconut milk, cumin, green chilies, tomato puree, cayenne, garlic, and a tiny dash of seasoning salt, etc...and I stuffed the tortillas with the chilies, olives, chicken, and avocados, and poured the delicious sauce over the top. It was fantastic! So we went to Mexico.

Then I stopped worrying about the healthy factor and kicked it up a notch. The next night took more time - I decided on something a little more challenging. I ended up making braised lamb shoulder chops in a red wine and fig sauce and rubbed in roasted fennel. It braised for hours and made the kitchen smell like savoury heaven. Meanwhile, I made healthy fig nut squares as a treat and made a little pumpkin spiced gnocchi while I prepared a fig and pine nut salad with sun dried tomatoes, arugula, and a red wine and mustard dressing. We had a solid red wine to pair with this, and it. was. delicious. So we went to the Mediterranean (a little Lebanon, a little Greece and a little Italy in there with the pumpkin gnocchi)!

But our favourite meal so far, the one we were drooling over?

Tuesday night, Nolan requested something I hadn't made him since the night before his MCATs. Chicken Cordon-Bleu. There are a million recipes out there, but I have the golden ticket. Really and truly, there is something special about this recipe. Thin chicken fillets, stuffed with a delicate ham and a strong Swiss (I've also used provolone and prosciutto, but the store was out of prosciutto this time!), rolled and dusted with a paprika flour, and pinned into neat pinwheels. Then I browned them in a bubbling butter, added a fair amount of white wine and a little bit of chicken bouillon granules, and whipped in frothy cream towards the end. Meanwhile, I took a couple of french popovers out of the oven and prepared the delicate salad, which I'll share with you in a second because it was that good. We lit candles and sipped the rest of the white wine and chewed slowly...because it was the best food we've had in a long time. So we went to France.

Salad recipes can sometimes be boring, but trust me on this one. If you're making a nice meal and need a unique salad to go with it - this is it.

Winter Vegetables with Sweet Orange and Warm Goat Cheese
Each small salad plate has a small bed of arugula as a base. I added thin pieces of Belgian Endive along the sides because I love it. I also added slivers of beet for the colour! You top this with a lightly boiled mix of:
- thinly sliced radishes
- quartered brussel sprouts
- very small chunks of peeled butternut squash
- any other winter veggies you like!
Drain those after lightly boiling, and let cool. Arrange on top of arugula and endive. Then I toasted some hazelnuts and halved them after they were browned. Sprinkle these very lightly on top of arranged mix. I sprinkle the vinaigrette (below) over all of this.
Honey-Orange Vinaigrette
-1/2 clove minced garlic
-1 tbsp dijon mustard
-1 tbsp honey
-1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
-3 tbsp hazelnut oil
-3 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
-salt and pepper to taste
The coup de grace is something that took me a little bit to master - the warmed goat cheese. Because what I was aiming for was a liquified form that still had the strong flavour of goat cheese. If you add milk or any other liquids to goat cheese, it tends to lose all flavour. So I experimented and found that if you add about 1/4 cup of goat cheese in a small saucepan over the lowest heat to about 1 1/2 tbsp of heavy whipping cream and stir gently, you get a good consistency. To keep the flavour, I added some pepper, a tiny bit of tarragon, a pinch of bouillon granules, and just kept tasting to get it where I wanted it. I spooned a generous amount next to the salads on the salad plates so that each person could take as much per bite of salad as they wanted (I know it's a strong flavour!). So there you have it. My new favourite recipe.

Pictures? Nope - we completely and totally forgot to take any pictures! Bummer.

Okay, so are we finally back to the whole point of this post? I guess so. It should be easy this week! The theme will probably be time!

1. I'm thankful for so much time with family - we are immensely blessed to have such a big, beautiful family that all love each other.
2. I'm thankful for so much time off for the holidays! I feel a little bit like I've been reset - which is exactly what I needed. See picture for reference! I also took a nice long bath...but I'll spare you that picture.

Ready for yoga!

3. I'm thankful for hours and hours with Nolan, even if we were doing nothing. It's good being lazy with your partner-in-crime and having good cuddle and conversation time.
4. I'm thankful for a good job to come back to - it made January not so depressing after all! Who knew I'd actually be looking forward to getting back to the office?
5. I'm thankful for an exciting year ahead of us - with so many plans already in place and so many surprises in store, we already know we're blessed. And we're grateful in advance for what this new year will bring.

What are you thankful for?