Friday, November 26, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!


Soulmates

This Thanksgiving, the whole family went to the Valley (as in, the Rio Grande Valley for the non-Texans) to visit my grandma. We don't get down south very often, but when we do it's always a treat. Gramma and I are very close, and visiting her means I get to poke through drawers of pictures, catalogs of jewelery, and play with a rainbow selection of scarves and purses. Plus, we gorge on everything from homemade pickles to homemade pies, and not an ounce of food comes from a can. For those of you who's Thanksgivings consist of Boston Market and canned cranberry jelly.... I'm sorry you missed it. We had plenty of extras.


Me and Gramma at my graduation.
 Gramma is, for lack of better terms, a helluva woman.  Standing at a mighty 4'11, she weilds matriarchal power with grace as she teeters around the kitchen in a fully color-coordinated outfit. Even her sweats match her tennis shoes; in the Christmas spirit, she was wearing red today. Don't let the matching fool you, though. She's weathered depressions, wars, deaths, and more with unvarnished class. It would take me hours to detail just why she's my hero, but since you (and I) don't have the time, I'll just share some pictures and insist that you take my word on it.

 
We are a family divided on Thanksgiving, but you better believe this 12th Man Towel appeared so that everyone knew where Gramma stood.

Just some of her candy-colored bangles


Gramma's jewelery drawers are a showcase in jewelery from the 40s to today. Check out the Aggie section in the top right corner. The Gig 'Em thumb earrings are classic!

One of her jewelery stands. The other is the lighter colored cabinent to the left.

My Gramma and Grandpa's cake-topper from their wedding in 1949. Found this in a china cabinent stuffed to the brim with crystal and antique plates.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Las Colinas Living

When I finally moved out of the suburbs, I promised I would never go back. That's the thing about promises.... Move out of small town to go to the big city (suburbs.) Love you, Sean. Anyway! We got an AMAZING deal on an AMAZING place that I am really, really excited to move into. Take that, suburbs! Look at this pool. Just look at it. Feel free to drool a little. Anyway, done gloating. We signed on Saturday and will move in on the 15th. It's a crazy-tight timeline since Sean graduates on the 17th and starts work on the 20th. I can't wait to start this adventure. IKEA gift certificates are highly encouraged as housewarming/Christmas gifts. We would really love a coffee table. 

After we signed our lease, we ate at Blu Ginger. http://www.yelp.com/biz/blu-ginger-thai-cafe-irving-2 I had  the Flying Shrimp and Sean had Catching Cashew Nut. It wasn't spectacular but it was a giant step above your average greasy Thai place. $2 beers all weekend, too. We went to help Heine move in to her new place (so excited she moved to Dallas!) and then went back to Hockaday to watch the Aggies. Needless to say, WRECKING CREW IS BACK, or for non-football fans, we won. It was a big deal. And if we're lucky, Bo Pelini is fired (HA!) and T-Magic is coming to Aggieland. Wikipedia is not the best source though.

So Sunday, we continued celebrating (obvi) by going to Cindi's for an awesome breakfast with Heine and Frank. http://www.yelp.com/biz/cindis-ny-delicatessen-restaurant-and-bakery-carrollton Go there; eat breakfast; be happy.

For dinner, I cooked Sean a homemade meal, which he did not at all beg for. One of his favorites: chicken piccata with ravioli and okra scramble. 
Date night :)

Here's the recipe:

Chicken piccata

Ingredients:
Chicken breasts
Lemons
Capers
Butter
Olive Oil
Flour
Salt
Pepper

Prep:
Butterfly chicken breasts. Melt butter in olive oil (2 parts butter to 1 part oil). Salt and pepper your flour. Dredge chicken in flour mixture. Brown 1 breast (pervy) in butter/olive oil. Add 1 tablespoon butter for each new breast (pervy x2). Set breasts (seriously!?) aside. Melt 1/2 stick of butter with 1/2 cup lemon juice and capers. Use a lot of capers if you love capers; use less if you don't. It's whatever. Bring sauce to a boil and stir in pan brownings. Scrape all that off the bottom of the pan! It's so good! Taste the sauce. Add lemon if it's too buttery; add butter if it's too lemony -- there is no science to this. Once you like the flavor, put the chicken in the sauce and let it simmer for 5ish minutes. 
So this looks like a big pile of mush but if I had a camera (hint) instead of my  iPhone, I promise you would be better able to tell the deliciousness.

Okra MacKenzie
Ingredients:
Frozen okra
Onion
Garlic
Can diced tomatoes
Marjoram
Thyme
Oregano
Salt 
Pepper
Cheese


Prep:
Preheat oven to 350. Chop onion and garlic. I use one large onion and a whole bulb of garlic because I love onions and garlic. Use as much/little as you want. Again -- it's whatever. Put in large saute pan with frozen okra and the can of diced tomatoes on medium heat. While simmering, season to taste. I like a lot of pepper for spice. Easy on the herbs; you can always add more but too many overpower the veggie flavor. Simmer until the onions are clear and the garlic is soft. Pour into a baking dish. Cover with your choice of cheese. I like parmigiana or provolone. Mozzarella is also yummy. Bake until the cheese is bubbling and browning. Serve.  FYI - Any seedy (as in, with seeds, not sketchy) veggie works well in this. Squash, zucchini, etc. Yum!
 

Ravioli:
Buy from store. Put in boiling water. Drain. Serve. Pretend like you made it. SO SUE ME.

Enjoy, y'all.

Always,
MacKenzie









Wednesday, November 17, 2010

I did it!

Seriously, EVERYONE I know has been pleading for me to write a blog because my life is so interesting. Not really, but I am bending to requests so here it is. A warning: there will probably a lot of opinions, good times, rants about incorrect grammar, cute clothes/shoes, apartment decorating, meal making, sappy love posts (who am I these days, really?), and crazy cat lady moments. If you can't handle that -- why are we friends, again? And just to live up to expectations, a story. 

Last weekend, Sean and I (and most of his fraternity) went to New Orleans. I love New Orleans because it combines many of my favorite things: wandering around with a hand grenade, eating delicious food, creepy ghost stories, and late nights. What's not to love? Anyway, if you are there, you must go to the Royal Oyster House. Eat well. Order the New Orleans Trio. Or the scallop and shrimp pasta. Or the Corn Chowder. Really, order anything. Just go. I wish I had pictures, but my camera broke. If I did, I could show you the scallops the size of silver dollars that were in my pasta. Delish. Do you know what is not delish? Eating pizza off Bourbon Street. Not from a pizza place on Bourbon Street -- that is tasty, especially at 4 a.m. Eating pizza from a pizza place off Bourbon Street after you've dropped said pizza on the ground. I won't name names, but he owes me. Also for not posting a certain Lady GaGa dance routine on YouTube. You're welcome. Chalk it up to Good Time #1. It was a fantastic weekend.

One more thing: 
Quinton's pretty much the cutest.

Always,
MacKenzie